Kaleidoscope of Curiosity

What topics do you like to discuss?

I wasn’t much of a discussion guy, but I met Lord Evans in Ranchi, and his curiosity was so contagious that by the time I left Ranchi, I was a proud nerd. Add to this the diverse exposure to different disciplines: from Maths to commerce to history; so I was inclined to study and understand myriads of themes. This meant I was interested in discussing everything under the sun and beyond. Still, if I must list a few, here is the list:

Microbiology and Genetics:

This is my latest interest, and I am building my fundamentals. What’s most fascinating about this is, all biology, at the most basic level, is chemistry.

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Literature

I just love to discuss the novels and the novelists; and everything from the text to the context to the subtext. In fact, I can talk about books all day. I convert non readers into bibliophiles with my talks. They borrow my books. And never return those.

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Cinema and Series

Who doesn’t like to talk about cinema?

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History

I have an MA in history, and I can’t bear it when people peddle rumours and myths and political narratives as ‘history’. So I can’t help but correct them. The majority of them are already beyond cure, but still, I try to talk sense into the few.

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Chess

I am rated 2000+ on lichess. I mostly play blitz, but I never miss a chance to talk people into developing a hobby of chess. I like to talk about its history and the present, and about the players and their genius and their eccentricities.

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Cricket

Indians are born to discuss cricket. We discuss cricket everywhere- from melas to morgue.

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Politics

Being political is the first sign of being an adult, in my opinion. So we talk about politics a lot. Mostly about the problems with the country’s politics.

Politics, samosa and Web series

Baba and his four friends were discussing the resignation of an AAP minister like you talk about someone’s death. The party has been tossed into a tempest by the center, a centralising machine, and there are rumours of its undoing in the coming months.

“It seems like the spirit of democracy is gone, all that remains is the ritual apparatus. ” Lamented Baba’s friend as I picked up an elaichi flavored tea. I didn’t know Baba’s friends were capable of intellectual conversations, so this was a surprise.

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My healthy-food unbreakable-vow lasted till 5 pm after which I ran to the samosa shop as if my life depended on it. Even in the era of momos, this centuries old delicacy hasn’t lost its charm.

This was followed by a relapse into the old addiction of tea and monaco. My sincere advice to non-tea people: don’t get into this. You can get away with crime, but never with an addiction.

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Watched some episodes of Netflix’s Three Body Problem. I think I am not cut out for web/tv series. I have the attention span of a baby housefly. The science part is interesting, but the way the plot has been rushed, it feels like the art part of storytelling doesn’t matter to the makers.