Music Recommendations
Favourite genre: Jazz
Favourite songwriter: Rabindranath Tagore (Very experimental for his time)
Movie Recommendations
On the Waterfront by Elia Kazan. (Only film that made me want to be a director for 5 mins)
Best film: Eight and a Half by Federico Fellini. (the film acts as a tribute to Cinema itself)
Favourite director: Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Satyajit Ray.
Literature Recommendations
Non-fiction: Terry Eagleton’s What is Literary Theory (Great book that demystifies literary theory)
Fiction: Catcher in the Rye (Read when I was 17 and appeals to me on an existential level)
Visit from the Goon Squad (A book about Music and Memory, highly recommended)
Favourite Writers
From a purely literary perspective: James Joyce
Among contemporary writers: Jennifer Egan, Roddy Doyle and Jhumpa Lahiri
Favourite Cultural Theorists and Philosophers
Slavoj Zizek, Bill Brown (Thing Theory), Sara Ahmed (Affect Theory), Patricia Waugh (Metafiction)
If I weren’t a Lit prof,
I would probably be a Truck Driver (as I love driving) or a Sportsperson (If I had the skill for it)
What do you do to unwind?
Martial Arts: Taekwondo, Running, Football and other Sports. Doing non-cerebral things with that involve your body is equally important and sports acts as a great leveller.
Favourite sports and Favourite players
Favourite sports: Football; Favourite team: Argentina; Favourite player: Messi
Travel Recommendations
Pondicherry, Fort Kochi (As travelling to these places is also sort of like time travelling)
Research Tip
Be practical and pragmatic in your approach and don’t let your academic profession be your only identity.
Which course do you enjoy teaching the most?
Every course is special. It is about how you approach the course, not what you teach itself.
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Interview by Article 19
Design by Neenu Elza
Article 19 