Welcome!

Mridu Khullar, 26, is a freelance journalist from New Delhi, India.

She has lived and worked in Asia and Africa, and is currently a Visiting Scholar at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Mridu has worked with Time, Glamour, Marie Claire, Elle, Ms., Self,  Parade.com, Women's eNews, US Airways, The Women's International Perspective, and Writer's Digest, among others. She has also been a contributor to the books Chicken Soup for the Pre-Teen Soul II and Voices of Alcoholism.

For rates, reprints and assignments, please contact her here.
To read what her readers write in to say each week, click here.
 

Recent Features:

Have They Forgotten the Kama Sutra?
	In rapidly modernizing India, the generation gap has become a gaping abyss. More and more young people, especially women, are fumbling for reliable information about sexual choices and contraceptive methods, since pre-marital sex still is considered taboo.
Take It Slower (Self, November 2008)
	Forget multitasking. The key to a joyful life lies in savoring the moment.
Going Boldly Into That Good Night (Spirituality & Health, Sep/Oct 2008)
	A large fish. An oversized Coca Cola bottle. A hammer. A mobile phone. A shoe. They could be art exhibits in a gallery in Paris. Instead, they're coffins. Handmade, very detailed, and created to carry a deceased Ghanaian into his afterlife.
Women in Mumbai Avoid Harassment on the "Ladies' Special" (The Women's International Perspective, September 2008)
	The Ladies Special is a welcome relief. Introduced in 1992, the trains run on Mumbai's Western and Central Railway lines. While there are ladies-only compartments in other trains as well, these trains are exclusively for female travelers. The Churchgate to Virar Ladies Special was the first to run the line and was the first of its kind in India.
Discovering Ghana (ELLE, September 2008)
	Africa has a reputation and for good reason. It is relatively unsafe, especially for a single woman, things are not organized, there is corruption and disease, and basic amenities (regarded as luxuries) are expensive. But Africa is also misunderstood.
The Rise of Medical Tourism (The WIP, September 2008)
	According to the National Coalition of Health Care in America, in 2007, total national health expenditures were expected to rise 6.9 percent—twice the rate of inflation. Healthcare spending is 4.3 times the amount spent on national defense. And although 47 million Americans are uninsured, the United States spends more on healthcare than other industrialized nations. It is no wonder then that scores of American citizens are heading off to foreign shores for their healthcare needs.
Indian Couples Seek Security in Modern Marriages (The WIP, August 2008)
	Couples in India are finally figuring out that hours of horoscope-matching sessions followed by measures to correct planetary positions make not a good marriage. Urban educated twenty-somethings of today are ditching the priest's grass mat and heading to the counselor's leather couch.
"I Escaped From Tibet" (Orato.com, August 2008)
	(By Dakpa, as told to Mridu Khullar) My name is Dakpa. I’m 24 years old. I was born in Thepo, in the Amdo province of Tibet in 1984. I’m a Tibetan monk and a refugee. This is my story.
Pride Meets Prejudice (ELLE, August 2008)
	The law labels them criminals. Society labels them different, morally corrupt, and sometimes even mentally ill. Friends and family often label them a disgrace. But in June this year, homosexuals in four cities came together and labelled themselves proud.
Tibetans Find Power in Words (The Women's International Perspective, August 5, 2008)
	With the 2008 Olympics in China beginning this week, protests from the Tibetan refugee community in India are intensifying. But since the Tibetan spiritual leader—the 14th Dalai Lama—discourages Tibetans from picking up arms, a small but powerful segment of Tibetans have picked up another weapon—their pens.
The Big Fat Lie of My Big Fat Indian Wedding (Orato.com, July 23, 2008)
	My wedding and marriage, like any Indian girl's wedding and marriage, were constant topics of discussion. At 10, I'd get giddy and excited at every mention of it; at 15, I'd blush. By the time I was 20, I had taken to yawning. It wasn't that I was no longer excited about the idea of finding a life partner. I had simply realized by then that everything an Indian girl is promised about her wedding and consequent marriage is a big fat lie.

More Features...