I was born and raised in Assam, in a world far removed from the cities. It was an idyllic childhood—quiet, expansive, and deeply connected to nature. I remember sitting on the deep verandahs overlooking the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary. Once, I saw a Royal Bengal tiger traipse through our bougainvillea bushes. We went on elephant-back safaris through the tall grasses. I went to boarding school in Shillong, and later moved to Calcutta, where I worked with Mother Teresa. City life taught me empathy, resilience, and stillness. It also gave me a deep appreciation for architecture—something Calcutta is renowned for. The evocative colors of the city, the richness of its buildings, and the sheer energy of it all left a mark on me. There was something almost cinematic about life in Calcutta—chaotic yet beautiful.

Growing up there shaped a part of me that still lingers. I studied international relations in the U.S., followed by a master’s in marketing in Scotland. My career took me to Singapore, where I worked with Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. We lived across Indonesia, Israel, and the U.S.—but wherever we were, we always came back to Goa. My parents had moved here, and Steve and I were married on the shores of the Arabian Sea. Each December, we returned with our boys—who played football on the beach, drank coconut water, and ran free under the Goan sun. Those visits deepened our bond with this place—for them, and for us.

We came back to Goa and built Villa in the Palms—a project that honoured the land by preserving every single tree. That villa became the beginning of building the way we wanted to live: with reverence, soul, and openness to light and space. I’ve always been drawn to subtlety—to proportion, texture, restraint. I believe true luxury doesn’t shout. It lingers. It’s felt more than seen.

Real estate is in my DNA. My family has been building and developing property for over a century—beginning with my grandparents in Phoenix, Arizona and continuing today through my work in Goa. The home Marisha and I created, Villa in the Palms, stands out as one of the most celebrated homes on the subcontinent—ArchDaily named it among the “Top 80 Homes of the World” (one of only two in India to make the list). That villa was just the beginning of our signature neo-tropical style, which is now finding full expression at Q Vagator—bespoke contemporary villas that blend architectural precision with the soul of their surroundings.

Every villa is shaped to the land, elevated by craft, and made to feel deeply personal. Before I turned full-time to building homes, I led a very different life—reporting from war zones and global flashpoints as a senior foreign correspondent and bureau chief for the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, and CBS News. I covered the rise and fall of the Medellin and Cali cocaine cartels (my articles helped guide the producers of Narcos), the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I interviewed figures like Fidel Castro, Lee Kuan Yew, Jimmy Carter, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Even then, between deadlines and danger, Goa was my escape—and eventually, my home.

Marisha and I were married 23 years ago on the shores of the Arabian Sea in Goa, where we raised our two sons. Today, I bring the same integrity, curiosity, and eye for detail that shaped my journalism to the villas I now create—crafting spaces that offer beauty, depth, and a profound sense of place.