This month has been mad as a bag of snakes.

Literally the day after I typed “The End” on the second draft of our new play (title still marinating), I was off to Hamilton to perform Guru of Chai at the Hamilton Arts Festival. The next day I found myself amongst four esteemed writers at the Hamilton Literary Festival, trying to sound profound while still digesting festival snacks.

Fast forward 48 hours, and I’m in Auckland, taking on my most daring audience yet—30 Indian Ink patrons eager to learn the fine art of chapati-making. Patrons Andrew and Jenny Smith, in a stunning act of bravery, hosted our inaugural Chapati Parti at their beautiful home in Remuera.

The concept? Simple. Our patrons made their own chapatis (with varying degrees of success), paired them with a chickpea curry I’d prepped earlier, and then settled in to a post-feast storytelling session. I read them The Kabuliwallah by Rabindranath Tagore—the inspiration for our latest play—while they digested both food and literature.

The verdict? A resounding success! We even welcomed three new flour-dusted patrons into the fold. But wait, there’s more! No sooner shall I put the full stop on this than I will be back on the road, en route to the kitchens of Jas Singh & Bryce Keith in Wellington and Brian & Gill Walker in Christchurch to do it all over again.

Madness, I tell you!