Welcome to my website! Looks like I've made the ultimate narcissistic dream come true with a website of one's own. You probably came from the homepage to read more about me, so here it is, as an extended introduction and my first blog post.
I am Rahul, from Kolkata, West Bengal, India, planet Earth. Ever curious as a child, I often faced people narrate me the Tragedy of the Curious Cat. Well that cat has now evolved into a Schrödinger's cat! I'll never know if you (the observer) gets this reference until you tell me about it (make an observation). Well, for the dead cats (those who didn't!), do not be dismayed. You don't have to be a science nerd to understand all that I say.
I had always wanted to make a site of my own and being quarantined (during the pandemic of '20) finally gave me the chance to actually get it done. It started off mainly as a way to list my academic and professional activities or what some would call, "a fancy CV"! During the process I thought I should also start a blog, write my thoughts for everyone to see. I'm not sure what I expect from this, but why not just do it? What's the worst that could happen anyway? You only live once after all. Heck! I don't even know how long I'll continue this, but it seems like fun, hope I keep at it.
So back to "about me"! My curiosity about the world ultimately led me to pursue physics as more than a hobby and I hope to make a career out of it too; at least I'll try to. I am highly interested in fundamental (and fancy) science questions which often go like, "why do we exist?", "what is everything made of?", "is there any order in the chaos of nature?", and sometimes even "does God exist?". A bit more theoretically oriented than practical, I love to sit down with a pen and paper and do math. As boring as that sounds, I assure you it's not, since mathematics is more about the logic than the cumbersome notation which drives most away from it at school. More on that some day later.
I am still a newbie in the scientific community, having earned my bachelor's degree from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata and as of the time of writing this, pursuing my master's degree from the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science. I have attended numerous workshops and seminars and have had a few opportunities to experience research first hand. I hope to share my experiences from those too, very soon.
Post my master's I aspire to get into a full-fledged Ph.D. program, should anyone accept me as one! Gravitational physics, mainly, gravitational waves, interests me a lot and I hope to learn more about those in particular in the years to come. Would surely write about my daily experiences which would perhaps give those younger than me an idea as to what doing a Ph.D. is actually like.
I am not made up of only physics. Lately I have taken an interest to every other field, be it history or economics or even the arts! I love to learn. Be it about the newest discoveries made in biology, or novel discoveries from ancient reins or even what my neighbor is up to (sssh, don't tell them!).
For those wondering if I do anything apart from learn: Yes! I do. Music, cooking, photography and video games are some of the things I love to do to relax. I would perhaps be posting about those too from time to time.
Well, that's basically all there is to it. It certainly isn't possible to express oneself fully through a blog, especially when one is not a trained writer. So I welcome everyone to feel free to get in touch with me over my socials or the classic way - the electronic mail. Who knows, we could end up working together, or collaborating in some project or maybe just be friends!
Again, feel free to explore the site and thank you for visiting and reading!