Born: Edinburgh, Scotland, a much longer time ago than it seems. Education: Fettes College and the Universities of Cambridge, Lancaster and Exeter. Work: Gurdjieff once said that once you get on the path you have to learn to earn your living with your left foot. Well, I can relate to that, having turned my hand (if not my foot) to many occupations over the years, including stints as a:

• Dealer in Indian art;
• Lecturer in the art of Asia (The British Museum; Sotheby’s; Christie’s; SOAS; Prince Charles’ School of Architecture; Royal Academy of Arts; various Art Colleges; Swan Hellenic Art Treasure Tours);
• Photographer (for publishers and magazines);
• Teacher of English as a Foreign Language;
• Writer (books and articles);
• Cultural Tour Operator (Trishula Travel) and
• Teacher of meditation and the perennial philosophy.

Somewhere along the line I absent-mindedly stood for Parliament in West Suffolk – mercifully failing in spectacular fashion. My current incarnation is as co-founder of Neeleshwar Hermitage, a retreat hotel on the Coast of Malabar, South India. www.neeleshwarhermitage.com

To send Alistair an email, please click here [email protected]