Personal

In my pastime, I like to read novels (mostly detective fiction) , play chess and some video games & listen to music (from Rap to Indian classical!). I used to write on Quora occasionally.

Books

I am a huge Potterhead - I have read the Harry Potter Series innumerable times, starting when I was 8. It was one of the first series of novels that I read, and it laid the foundation for the way I look at English literature till now. Even now when I re-read those books I feel the same level of excitement as I felt as an eight-year old.

I love detective fiction - Agatha Christie is my favorite writer. She is known as the 'Queen of Crime'. She has written over 80 novels and is one of the few writers who has created more than one lead detectives in her stories. Almost every modern crime show is directly or indirectly inspired by her work. She is outsold only by the Bible. My favorite books by her are 'Evil Under the Sun' & 'ABC Murders'.

Apart from Madam Christie, I have also read Sherlock Holmes. I like the novels - but the short-stories have a perpetual feeling of Holmes pulling out rabbits (or rather criminals!) out of his deer-stalker hat by the end of each story. It doesn't offer much scope for the reader to think for themselves. It's a pity that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 56 short stories, but only 4 novels. Sherlock Holmes in a longer format would've been a delight to read.

I have tremendously enjoyed the novels of Dan Brown - Angels & Demons, The Lost Symbol and Digital Fortress. I enjoy their fast paced nature - each novel is like a race against time for the protagonist (Robert Langdon mostly). I also liked the two Sidney Sheldon novels that I have read - Doomsday Conspiracy & The Stars Shine Down.

Chess

I love studying chess and watching grandmaster games. My interest in chess was piqued by the World Chess Championship in 2013 between Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen, which was held in India. I generally play on chess.com and chess24. I support the 15th World Champion Vishwanathan Anand and my favorite player is Mikhail Botvinnik.