I love to read. Period. I am trying to compile a list of books that I have read and liked over the past decade or so, and hopefully, it won't take another decade to complete this list. I have read a few books in my mother tongue, Bengali, and even fewer books in my national language, Hindi. These are not a part of my list right now. The reason is not indifference. The fact is that I am humbled by the vastness and richness of their literature. I will only begin to add their books to my list when my repertoire is more respectable.
This is also a good place to mention that I enjoy writing. I would probably want to be a writer if my current career pursuits fail entirely. Let me just leave it at that.
Who can live without music! I have trained to sing (for more years than I want to recount) Rabindrasangeet (songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore) and Hindustani classical music. I must admit that this training has not had the desired effect on improving my singing talent. It has, however, succeeded in invoking in me a deep love and respect for serious music, and an equally deep intolerance for unqualified loud noise.
I like to sketch, and I used to paint using watercolours and oils a long time back. Of all my hobbies, sketching has been the eaiest to pursue alongside my PhD work. I am not supertalented, but if I do want to sketch a tree, it does end up looking like one most of the time. I use MS Paint a lot these days, and pencils when I can find them. This is where you will find my artwork, when I manage to upload some stuff.
On a sidenote, I am a big fan of Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Michaelangelo, and of course, Leonardo da Vinci. I am always collecting their prints and will be thrilled if you gift me a rare one!
Anyone who has known me in grad. school will raise an eyebrow when they see this section. Well, I haven't been as lazy and sluggish all my life. I love to play badminton and I used to be pretty good at it. I have also tried my hand at a number of other games that include table tennis and volleyball. I have played an occasional racquetball game as a graduate student, but I remember those more for the neck and ankle sprains than for anything else. I used to love to go on hikes, and still do. I just need to find myself some mountains to climb.
I do not like meaningless cinema. And I do not like pretentious cinema. Here is a list of movies that I have seen and loved - a list definitely more multi-lingual than my list of books. I also enjoy watching plays, sometimes more than movies. They seem more real.