08/16/2026
There are a million ways to carry your country with you.
Through its food. Its stories. Its traditions. Its people.
On Independence Day, we remember the generations who fought for the freedom we have today - but I also think about all the generations after them, and the beautiful ways they’ve carried India forward. The dreams they’ve chased, the stories they’ve shared, and the little pieces of India they’ve taken with them around the world.
Chef Vikas Khanna’s journey is one of those stories.
From Amritsar to New York, life may have taken him thousands of miles from where he started, but India never really left him.
Through Bungalow, he’s created a little piece of home - a place where our food, our traditions, our stories and our culture are celebrated and shared with the world.
When I visited him in New York, I got to experience that warmth firsthand. Of course, he had me sit down for lunch - because in true Indian fashion, you simply cannot let someone leave without feeding them. ❤️
And maybe that’s what I love most about where we come from.
No matter where life takes us, somehow we find ways to take a little bit of home with us.
You can leave India, but India never really leaves you. 🇮🇳
Happy 80th Independence Day, India!
Vikas Khanna
Bungalow
Sameer Bhatt
Jimmy Rizvi
Mysha Rizvi
Shaila Ali Rizvi