A Short Bio

A Sikh by religion, I was christened Bhupinder by opening our holy book to a random page and choosing a name beginning with the first letter of the first verse of that page. I get my name from Page 730 of the Guru Granth Sahib.

I was brought up in Bangalore, but finished my schooling in my hometown. I reached the peak of my scientific career in Grade 12, when I built a working Van De Graaf generator. It has been downhill ever since. I went to undergrad to IIT Kharagpur, majoring in Computer Science. I then spent one and a half years as a grad student at the University of Virginia. I now work for Microsoft.

I spent quite some time in Kharagpur playing this game while in classes.

Although I like to think that I can appreciate a variety of books and music, I like some better than others. I believe that Hindi film music began and ended with S.D.Burman, especially the songs he sung himself :-). Various friends have introduced me to other (albeit lower) forms of music. I appreciate light Carnatic, as well as some Western Classical. My liking for Eagles, Dire Straits and Pink Floyd is a legacy of undergrad days.

Having had a public school education, I have a predeliction towards books from the British Raaj. Rudyard Kipling has remained a favorite; but my favorite author is American, John Steinbeck.

In the vernacular, I have read a variety of authors, primarily as part of curriculum. Madhushala by Harivansh Rai Bachchan remains a favorite. I appreciate urdu poetry that I can comprehend. I grew up hearing Shiv Kumar Batalvi's poems at home; unfortunately I don't find much on him on the web. Feel free to mail me if you have some stuff (other than the stock Jagjit Singh/Chitra Singh album) on the man.

I like reading good graphic novels (Watchmen, Fables). I still enjoy Tintin and Asterix comics when I get my hands on one. I was brought up on Amar Chitra Katha, Mandrake and Phantom.

More of what I read can be found on my book pages.