I was born and brought up in Mumbai, India, and presently work in Bangalore in Karnataka, India. I'm an engineer by profession and love playing tennis, music and visiting places in the countryside or in the hills, as well as towns/cities of historical, cultural and religious significance. I enjoy road-trips and traveling by public transport.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I interact with people from 9-10 different countries at work. During my leisure time, I often pester them with questions about their cultures, day-to-day habits and interests as well as try to pick up a few key words in their language. I cherish these interactions and realized that I'd like to have many more such.
Couchsurfing would thus help me meet natives from the country/city I'm traveling to, as well as travelers like and unlike myself; it's these interactions I look forward to!

Interests

An ardent Tennis follower and amateur player
Music lover and guitarist (enjoy listening to and playing the blues)
Reading, History (especially Indian History) and Mythology
Enjoy wordplay (puns and the like) and a novice at Cryptic Crosswords
Lately interested in Foreign Policy and Geopolitics

• reading
• music
• tennis
• geopolitics
• history
• solo travel

Music, Movies, and Books

Enjoy listening to the Blues, Country and Ethnic Rock. Particularly like Tommy Emmanuel's music among others.

Not much a movie buff, but manage to catch the good ones that come by.

Previously enjoyed reading historical fiction, mythology, fantasy. Lately have been getting into non-fiction, mostly history and geopolitics.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Travelling solo to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia, Feb 2015: I stayed in hostels and couchsurfed for the first time as well. Met a variety of strangers, and saw some beautiful and some harrowing specimens of history. This experience has motivated me to undertake more solo travels.

Snorkeling off the beach at Phi Phi Islands, Thailand, Jan 2015: Though I can swim fairly well, that was my first experience of swimming in the sea. Watched schools of fish cutely nibble food off my fingers.

Teach, Learn, Share

Would like to learn some aspects of the local language, daily habits and cuisine, and can share what I know about my country and some unique travel experiences I've been fortunate to have.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share my views and interpretations of Indian culture, traditions, history.

I can play some Indian and Western music on guitar, play tennis, as well as cook Indian vegetable curries for my hosts.

I follow Jain vegetarianism, (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_vegetarianism), which may be interesting and new for my hosts. I can share some Indian recipes too.

Countries I’ve Visited

Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, Singapore, United States