Born and brought up in south London, Shafik Meghji co-presented the Channel 4 youth sports programme Rookies, before heading to the University of Warwick to study politics and international studies. After graduating in 2001, he gained the Guardian's Scott Trust Bursary for aspiring journalists and went on to write for the paper and study newspaper journalism at City University, London. Shafik then worked as a news and sports reporter for the Evening Standard until wanderlust set in and he left for India and South America, where he wrote for UK and US publications.After returning to London, Shafik worked as a freelance news, features and sports journalist for a wide range of newspapers, magazines and websites, including the Independent and the Mirror, before joining Rough Guides in 2007. A co-author of the forthcoming Rough Guide to India (eighth edition), Shafik has also contributed to Rough Guides to the Baltic States, Chile, Nepal, Paris and Egypt, as well as Earthbound: a Rough Guide to the World in Pictures and Make the Most of Your Time on Earth: a Rough Guide to the World (second edition). When not on the road, Shafik is based in south London, where he works as a writer and editor for Amnesty International UK and as a freelance journalist.