// a zigzag journey through places and phases //
Born and brought up in Mumbai. Crowded trains, monsoon floods, and the constant hum of the city. Early fascination with puzzles and numbers started here — probably from too many hours staring at railway timetables.
Moved to Bolpur for schooling — a quieter life near Shantiniketan. Red soil, sal trees, and lazy afternoons. This is where mathematics stopped being homework and started being interesting.
Undergraduate at Bolpur College, then B.Ed at Visva-Bharati. First exposure to research culture and the idea that you could spend your life thinking about problems. Got hooked.
Deep dive into cryptography at Indian Statistical Institute. Late nights debugging code, early mornings reading papers, and the thrill of finding a new attack. Coffee consumption reached historic highs.
Research Fellow at NTU Singapore. Still breaking ciphers, still drinking too much coffee. New city, new challenges, same curiosity. The journey continues.