Uncovering Jerusalem One Landmark at A Time
This travel piece on Jerusalem was the cover story in National Geographic Traveller India, March 2019 edition
About me
Hi, welcome to my little corner on the Internet.
I am a journalist, writer and editor with over 15 years of experience, both in the newsroom and ad agencies – the former outnumbering the latter. My work samples span a wide range of topics, but I am especially interested in culture, films, travel, and social issues. Writing in all forms excites me, be it in-depth feature pieces for news publications and blogs, or more succinct ways of listicles and the clever forms of social media storytelling. I’ve written cover stories for National Geographic Traveller India, and I co-founded a non-fiction short story project on Instagram called The Pao of Love, that curates real love stories set in Mumbai.
I’m currently available for hire on a freelance and/or full-time basis. I am interested in opportunities involving content creation, in-depth journalistic writing, editorial development, copywriting and social media. If you have any questions about me or my work, or want to collaborate, please connect at das.kusumita@gmail.com. Let’s talk!
My work
An experiential piece on the Vienna State Opera
Unravelling the story of one of the oldest and most prestigious opera houses in the world
How Game of Thrones creators packed the title sequence with clues for those who knew nothing
For my column 'Cold Open' that dissects opening credits of TV shows, a deep dive into the Emmy-winning title sequence of Game of Thrones
An Indian Traveller’s Storybook Night in Bethlehem
Christmas in the land of the origin story
Book review: Attention Factory unravels the mystery of TikTok and the art of converting attention into dollars
Attention Factory takes a hawk-eyed look at how the company behind TikTok managed to change the world for good through short videos
In Jerusalem, a Ramadan Festive and Fierce
An Iftar dinner with an Afro-Palestinian family takes an unexpected turn in the Ramadan of 2021 in Jerusalem's tension-fraught Old City
A masterclass with Gary Mehigan of Masterchef Australia
The chatty chef shares a bunch of kitchen stories while taking over the kitchen of a five-star hotel to conduct his first ever masterclass in India
Interview with Hollywood director Ang Lee
In this cover story, the Academy Award winning director speaks about cinema, philosophy and how to balance emotion with technique
Interviewing Khaled Hosseini, who imagines a Syrian father's pain in his latest story
No matter how dark the stories he encounters, Khaled Hosseini finds hope in telling them. In this exclusive interview he talks about his latest work
An investigative piece on the future of Godmen empires after they are put behind bars
Do deras collapse in the absence of their leaders or does systemic indoctrination and corporate-style governance keep the wheels turning?
