My list of great books

Uncle Tom's cabin -- Harriett Beecher Stowe

To kill a mocking bird -- Harper Lee

One flew over the cuckoo's nest -- Ken Kasey

Gone with the wind -- Margaret Mitchell

Wuthering Heights -- Emily Bronte

Jane Eyre -- Charlotte Bronte

Pride and Prejudice -- Jane Austen

Emma --Jane Austen

Roots -- Alex Haley

The Kite Runner -- Khaled Hosseini

The Golden Gate -- Vikram Seth

The Great Gatsby -- F. Scott Fitzgerland

Catcher in the rye -- J D Salinger

Catch 22 -- Joseph Heller

Anna Karenina -- Leo Tolstoy

Lord of the flies -- William Golding

Count of Monte Cristo -- Alexnader Dumas

The Lowland -- Jhumpa Lahiri

Interpreter of Maladies -- Jhumpa Lahiri

The Unaccustomed Earth -- Jhumpa Lahiri

And the mountains echoed -- Khaled Hosseini

The three musketeers -- Alexander Dumas

The imperfectionists -- Tom Rachman

The Fountainhead -- Ayn Rand

Comments

Looking back on the last 5 years: Dedicated to my students

IISER Bhopal Campus I remember my first day at IISER Bhopal on 31st Jan. 2019. I had just arrived, all jet-lagged and groggy eyed. I filled up all the forms, met the HOD of my department and was taken to my new office. Thereafter, I was asked to go to the Chirayu Hospital for a medical check-up, was asked to fill up some more forms upon my return to campus and left to my own devices. However, I did not have a bank account, a phone number, a PAN card and most importantly, good internet (hah!). Procuring all these over the course of the next 10 days led to varying levels of frustration with the Indian system. It was a reverse cultural shock in some sense and made me question my decision of coming back to India. I think it is fair to say that my postdoctoral experience in the US had left me drained and this new life here was not helping in making me feel better. I was like a fish out of water, not able to find comfort anywhere. The next few months of my professional life were a struggle w...

A letter to the "smart" students

To the students who think they're so smart that they can fool the instructor: Sorry to break this to you, but no, you're not fooling anybody! In fact, you are the fool if you think otherwise. So, let me tell you something that might shine a light on your otherwise dead brain. Learning is a two-way street. If you want to learn, I am willing to teach over and beyond what is expected of me. I will still teach even if you don't want to learn because that is my job. However, like they say, you can only bring the horse to the water, you cannot make it drink. When you leave the class, I notice. When you talk, I notice. When you don't bring a notebook or a pen and pretend to be attentive, I notice. So, to reiterate, you're really not fooling anybody. I frankly don't care. I am happier teaching a small class of students who are sincere and want to learn. In fact, that's better for me. As then, we are in sync and I don't have to worry about the distractor...

Phrases that must never be used when talking to your PhD Guide

There are some phrases that must never be uttered when talking to your PhD guide. 'Coz if you do, then you might have to endure a lecture from him/her that will leave you wondering what got into you, that you said that!! "You said so earlier..." : Never ever say this. If your Prof. asks you to remove something from your presentation that he himself had asked you to add, you're done for if you tell him, "But, you asked me to put this in earlier". The standard reply you may get will be something like this- "I may have said so many things." Or worse, you may get a scorn for a reply that will instantly shut you up. "I didn't get time to..." : You should definitely steer clear from saying anything of this sort. 'Coz if you do, then before you even finish your sentence, you're bound to get a look that says, "What? You didn't get time?!!." Then your Prof. will ask you, "So, what is it that you do that you don't...

Random Thoughts

Search This Blog