Hobbies

Indian Classical Music

I have been an active student of the South Indian form of Classical music, popularly known as Carnatic Music. I am still learning to sing (I will probably continue to do that for the rest of my life). The list of carnatic perfomers I like to listen to is infinitely long and ever growing. Some of my recent addictions include this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this. Additionally, I am interested in the theory of Carnatic music, and try to learn as much as I can though I may not be able to execute with my voice, everything that I learn. Sometimes, I write songs (usually devotional) and try to set them to some Ragam.

Though I had learnt Carnatic since my childhood, I completely stopped taking lessons just before high school and did not revert back until my mid-twenties. In the mean time, I took a keen interest in a lighter form of music. Sadly, there is not an independent music industry where I come from, and need to rely on the film industry for almost any kind of music. At times, there are albums like this and this, these attempts happen once in a blue moon. I love Ilaiyaraaja and AR Rahman - the former for his exceptional command over classical music, folk music and light music, orchestration and arrangement, and the latter for his impeccable mastery over sound engineering, sound synthesizing, and general use of technology in music. When it comes to listening melodies that hypnotize me, I still revert to MS Viswanathan for songs like this and this.

Photography

Photography is my passion, and I am specifically interested in bird photography. I usually shoot with Nikon D-40 and Nikkor 70 - 300 VR lens. While the camera probably needs an upgrade, the lens is an excellent one (a larger aperture lens is not affordable). Sometimes, I take some landscapes, but I have to make do with my old Nikkor 18 - 55 kit lens. My gear needs updating, and I am keeping an eye on the new D600, the newer D7100, and this lens. (My D7100 is a year old, as of Dec 2014)

You can view some of my pics here and here.

Traveling

I love to travel to exotic places, and generally avoid commercial destinations that invite too much crowd. For example, I would rather camp in Everglades National Park (which I have done thrice) than spend a day in Miami beach. I am very active on Trip Advisor and ready to help you if are planning to visit places I am familiar with (for instance, if you want to visit Luxor or Joao Pessoa or the Peruvian Amazon).

Below is a list of places I have been to:

Courtesy: Trip Advisor

Creative Writing

I love writing short stories in both English and Tamil (my native language). I am also interested in writing scientific articles in simple Tamil, in order to educate the uninitiated. I am still trying to publish some of my English writings, and have not made them online yet. Some of Tamil writings (under the pseudonym of "Naren") can be found here.

In recent times, I have not done a whole lot of new writing, may be because my time is filled up writing these.

Reading

I used to read a whole lot (mostly fiction) before I started seriously working on my Ph.D. During my Ph.D. though, I did not have enough time to read research articles. I am now slowly trying to get back to my reading schedule. I am an ardent fan of both English and Tamil literature. Some of my favorite books and not-so-favorite books can be found here.

I consider myself not (yet) ready for non-fiction - may be some time, some day in the future, it will happen.