Difficult to write as my interests are varied. I am just trying to capture whatever has endured the test of time as my interests. All places of interest, languages etc unless otherwise mentioned are in India/Indian. A detailed list of my interests with links wherever available can be found in my favourites page.

Reading

I like to read. Read all types of books and periodicals I can lay my hands on. This primarily includes philosophy, fiction, travel, auto/biographies and general awareness including politics, society, international relations etc. in personal front. Professionally publications related to business management and technology/systems management-my area of practice. A list of my favorite readings (non professional) are available in favourites page.

Reading Philosophy

Philosophy is close to my heart from my childhood (or tweens). Nurtured by my grandparents and seeded from the bedtime stories related to the saints, epics and ancient texts of India; reading philosophy (especially Indian) became my major interest over a period of time. Studying in DAV Public School further strengthened this. I had an overview of Vedas, Upanishads, (auto)biographies of great saints of India and other philosophical texts in my pre-teens (fact that I can read Sanskrit fluently). This interest continues today as I try to read (and hopefully understand) philosophy. This has created the thirst for knowledge, curiosity and analytical characteristic of my nature. I have also experienced reading philosophy broadens the horizons of thinking and gives a much broader and balanced outlook towards life, values, society, religions and other materialistic issues; brings more maturity to a person than age.

Other Readings

Reading fiction from different geographies (mostly translations) made me aware of customs, traditions and culture of those countries. Used to spend my pocket money savings buying fiction and storybooks, including comic books (parents who scold their kids for reading fiction, including mine, should read Sherlock Holmes and Jules Verne). Travelogues, literature (starting from my school text books) in both English and vernacular has broadened my horizons. Was deep in to vernacular literature; Devabhasha Sanskrit , Rashtrabhasha Hindi and Matrubhasha Bangla, to gather the gems in the respective literary works. Its a culture to be inculcated in every child and s/he will grow up in to a more balanced person. Testimony to this are my top scores in languages/literature in my graduation (bachelors degree in Bangalore University amongst 350,000+ students). Preference towards humanities and lack of interest towards basic/pure sciences was a direct fallout. Reading a cross section of general newspapers  and general magazines have kept me updated with the dynamic surroundings. With all due credit to Harry Potter (and J.K Rowling-I have read all of Harry), there seems to be a revival of kid's reading habits.

The Internet

Being an early adopter of the www information superhighway (logged in by 1997-98) and continuing the journey thereafter. Have visited all the Diagon alleys and Knockturn alleys of the web and further (refer to Harry Potter for details). Consider myself senior netizen and quite a traveler in virtual world. Can stay without it for days if not weeks without any withdrawal symptoms.

Travel

I like to travel. I have inherited this from my family as most of my earlier generations have traveled across India and abroad. Personally I have traveled from my teens with my family (like all Indians). Have visited some of the famous hill stations, sea beaches, religious/pilgrimage places and forests/national parks across  India with my family or with friends. Some of my recent travel were also work related where I added a dosage of tourism and sight-seeing. My favourites remain the hills, foggy mountains and misty forests in valley regions.

Hill stations visited include Shimla, Kulu-Manali situated in Himachal Pradesh-northern Indian Himalayas, Kulu, christened the valley of Gods and Manali with its surroundings compete with the Swiss alps in natural beauty. Darjeeling & Kalimpong in west Bengal-eastern Himalayas. Darjeeling is known for its premium world famous tea. Munnar situated in western ghats-Kerala, south of India famous for tea gardens and spice plantations. Hill stations of Kodaikanal and Ooty both in Nilgiris, Tamilnadu-south of India. Ooty is famous for medicinal oils, spices and gardens. Kodaikanal is known for its misty forests and scenic spots. Ranchi where I grew up is a township situated in Chottanagpur plateau region surrounded by dense forests and hills with waterfalls dotting them. Innumerable times I have visited these forests and waterfalls which include some of the well known picnic spots of Dasam, Jonha and Hundru falls. The forests of Palamau and Betla (national parks declared Tiger reserves) are virgin forests untouched by the horded of tourists. Hill resort of Netarhat situated near Ranchi is known for its misty hills, dense jungles inhabited by elephant hordes and sunrise/sunset spots.

Among the sea beaches visited, Puri in Orissa-eastern part of India has some of the best beaches. Study and work related travel has taken me to Goa in western India with its beaches attracting tourists by thousands from India and abroad. Chennai, capital of Tamilnadu in southern part of India is also known for its scenic beaches which I frequent while in transit.

Places of religious interest and piligrimage which I have visited include Puri (where Lord Jagannath is the reigning deity) and Bhubaneswar in Orissa, Rajrappa in Jharkhand(reigning deity Kali); Madurai-temple city of the south in Tamilnadu, Tirupati (abode of Lord Venkateshwara) in Andhra Pradesh, Varanasi (abode of Lord Vishwanath and Annapurna) among the major ones. Other religious placed visited are Pawapuri (in Bihar) and Sharavanabelagola (in Karnataka) are places of religious as well as archaeological importance for Jains. Places closely associated with Buddhism which I have visited include Bodh Gaya (in Bihar) where Buddha achieved enlightment, Sarnath (in Uttar Pradesh ) where Buddha gave his first sermon after enlightment and Rajgruha or Rajgir (in Bihar) where Buddha preached, all in eastern India.

Belur, Halebidu (places of archaeological importance in Karnataka), Mysore (city of silk and palaces in Karnataka),  Hyderabad (capital of Andhra Pradesh) all in south India, Delhi (Capital of India, rich historical past)in North, Patna (capital of Bihar--one of oldest cities in India), Calcutta (now Kolkata, capital of Bengal-first capital of pre-independence India) in east are some other places I have visited as a tourist or related to work.

The list above is indicative and goes on. Bitten by the travel bug I travel whenever my profession and resources permit as I work in knowledge sector. In last few years I have traveled extensively across tourist spots in southern part of India as I am based in Bangalore now. I intend to travel in India and abroad as and when work, time and resources permit; specially interested in Hill stations and treks.

Photography

Directly stems from the fact that I like to travel. To capture nature (mostly landscapes) turned an amateur/hobby photographer. Trained under a professional photographer for some time to understand the basics of cameras, SLR photography, film processing and printing. Proud owner of Nikon FM10 with a Sigma 28-105 zoom (that's photography lingo), Vivitar flash, UV lens and other accessories. Gives immense control over light, depth and exposure compared to point-and-shoot cameras what most people use. Have captured mostly landscapes from hills, valleys and jungles during tours and treks.

Gardening

Used to be an avid gardener till I was in my ancestral home in Ranchi (Jharkhand, India). Had the golden touch-whatever I used to sow used to blossom. Now metro life has put me out of touch (no space in multistory apartments). Whenever life allows me the luxury of an open piece of land I will go back to natures lap.

Audio/Video Systems

Primarily multi channel home audio and video systems (also called home theatre). Consider myself well aware with the various types and quality of systems. Alas! cannot even think of buying even level-III systems; far to expensive for me and Indian conditions (Bose systems are L-III or lower; so are all other integrated systems). The best-in-class components now available in India on order and cost a fortune--can be affordable to super-rich only. Connoisseurs integrate components from various vendors to get a great system (yes, even connecting wires may cost lakhs).

Good Food

I am a complete foodie. Again inherited from generations. Cannot resist good food. As I travel, try to sample local food and eateries-mostly roadside, which I consider to be more authentic reflecting the taste of the town. wherever I have studied, worked, have tried to visit the lesser known places apart from the well known ones. Some of my favourite eateries, restaurants can be found in my favourites page classified city wise.