Painting : It's a childhood interest. Doodling, sketching, painting. In the US, I joined artists' groups and classes mainly for reasons of discipline. But I should clarify; I have an eye for art, I spot good art but, alas, I know I'm no artist. I have no illusions there. But I enjoy art, I do a lot of sketching with charcoal and painting with acrylics and oil. I've done painting on clothing, very amateurish, for fun — on T-shirts, shirts and saree pallus ! I've also designed a few cards.

Books: I've written 12 books, am planning one more on philosophy and I've edited some as well.

Food: I am very Catholic, I can eat anything that is considered edible by any people. I love Korean and other Oriental food as also Continental food. But I am experimental in food; my most daring experience was in Oaxaca, Mexico, where I ate fried insects which look like little cockroaches. I thought if Mexicans can survive so can I, and it was great fun. It is deep-fried, crunchy and they put a lot of vinegar on it so the taste is drowned. I had it twice! Just like we serve peanuts in little bits of paper and munch them while walking around, Oaxacans do it with these insects.

Cooking: I can do survival cooking. I am fond of it but don't have the patience to do it regularly.

Reading: Right now my reading is very limited, as I'm bogged down with documents. I read more non-fiction than fiction. I love reading Indian and Western playwrights. I like poetry — T.S. Eliot, Cavafy, Larkin, several Bengali poets. I read a lot of philosophy and love philosophical playwrights; the master being Tom Stoppard. I like Tennessee Williams for the sheer power and emotions. Among Indian playwrights, I enjoy Badal Sircar, Elkunchwar, Mahesh Dattani, Vijay Tendulkar. In philosophy, I'm a great admirer of David Hume and Bertrand Russell.

A natty dresser : People tell me so. But I spend very little time or money on what I wear. I like aesthetics in everything, but when you can get aesthetics at a low price, that is true aesthetics. It reflects your taste rather than a designer's skill.

Music: I like music but I am tone deaf so can't claim any profound understanding of classical music. But I love Hindi film songs of the 1960s and 1970s… particularly O.P. Nayyar — which I carry on my iPad.

Tech savvy : Only moderately so; in today's world you are forced to be so to a certain extent but I have to call up my children every now and then when I get stuck which is often enough. I have an iPad, and just got onto Kindle, which is easier on the eye.

Growing divide between rich and poor : Very troubled ; I feel the current inequalities are intolerable. There is a lot of focus on this in my most recent book Beyond the Invisible Hand. Left to itself, the free market can generate a lot of wealth but it has no natural propensity to curb poverty and inequality, tackling of which requires intelligent Government action.

Economics: It gives great grounding for a wide range of careers. A PhD in Economics can get into Wall Street, banks, Governments or international organisations and, of course, academics. It can also be useful if you are planning a revolution. Very few disciplines prepare you for so many things. So there are purely mercenary reasons to do economics. It calls for a certain mathematical base which is fairly demanding. Intellectually too, it is a fascinating discipline, especially the deductive and philosophical parts of the discipline.

Future plans : To go back to research and writing, when this assignment ends next year.

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