Hey, there has to be more to life than papers and grants. I have had an absorbing interest in music, languages and philosophy. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time in life to do everything. So, I am currently limiting myself to learning tabla, the classical Indian percussion instrument. I have been at it for only about 6 months, and they tell me that I need to learn for about three years before I can become proficient enough to play in front of an audience!

Languages are fascinating, and I have tried to learn five (English, Kannada, German, Hindi and Tamil) so far. Nowadays, Kannada, my mother tongue has been drawing me back; here is an essay (in English!) I wrote about teaching Kannada to youngsters. I feel that many immigrant Indians lose their language (and, along with it, a lot of cultural richness) very quickly when they should be enriching their children's lives with more languages and more literature. I have read extensively in English, but I have not read anything that can replace Kuvempu, the famous Kannada poet, just like no translation can do justice to William Shakespeare in its original middle English. Every language has its own richness that can not be duplicated in any other.