My Erdős Number is 3.
I was named after one of the most popular Indian actors of all time. Hence, googling me can be an interesting experience.
I am not a great lover of travel or adventure but have been fortunate enough to set foot in all four quadrants of the Mercator projection, mostly thanks to my academic career.
I am a native of Kolkata, West Bengal, India, where I spent the first 23 years of my life.
I have also lived in Troy, New York (2009-2012); Blacksburg, Virginia (2012-2013); St. Louis, Missouri (2013-2017); Singapore (2017-2020); Ann Arbor, Michigan (2020-).
The countries/territories other than India, the USA, and Singapore that I have visited include Spain (Barcelona), France (Paris), Sweden (Stockholm), Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton), Brazil (São Paulo), Australia (Melbourne), and China (Macau).
I identify as a linguaphile:
My mother-tongue is Bengali, but I grew up trilingual: I am proficient in English (Indian, British, and US) and Modern Standard Hindi; I also have varying degrees of familiarity with a few other dialects and registers of the Hindustani language spectrum, including Urdu.
I take an active interest in the ancient languages of India — in particular, Sanskrit, and the Prakrits — and, more generally, in the history, art, culture, and literature of South, South-East, and East Asia. I love to collect and curate epigrams in Sanskrit and the Prakrits on a wide range of topics. I own a couple of blogs (this and this) where you can enjoy a sampling of my collection along with my translations and commentaries in English. Unfortunately, neither has been updated in a long time.
I also dabble in creative writing — including constrained writing, rhyming verse, puns, word puzzles, and pastiches (mostly comedic) — in my mother-tongue and to a lesser extent in Sanskrit, Urdu, and the medieval, artificial literary language of Brajabuli. I am particularly proud of the thousands of lucid Bengali palindromes that I have authored. Many of these palindromes have been included in locally circulated/electronic magazines and collections in India, Bangladesh, and the US; some examples are available here and here as well.