Beyond the 'academic veil'
In his book Identity and Violence, Amartya Sen contemplates the “miniaturization of people” that fails to take into account people’s social identities to understand their decisions, behavior and interactions. For this reason (and for readers' undeniable preference for photos), this page contains a few—admittedly select—glimpses beyond the 'academic veil' of my existence.
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In addition to diving into the ocean of knowledge, I enjoy spending time in the vast and silent blue depths of our planet. For me, it is not about the challenge to glide to the maximum depth a person can reach on one breath. Instead, I rejoice the intense sensation and peace of diving below the ocean’s surface and the magic encounters with sea creatures big and small.
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In addition to diving into the ocean of knowledge, I enjoy spending time in the vast and silent blue depths of our planet. For me, it is not about the challenge to glide to the maximum depth a person can reach on one breath. Instead, I rejoice the intense sensation and peace of diving below the ocean’s surface and the magic encounters with sea creatures big and small.
I thoroughly enjoy traveling around the globe, exploring jungles, mountains, cities and the underwater world on and off continents and interacting with people of different cultures and heritage. I am fond of learning new languages and thrive on the minor and major differences in the ways in which we communicate. I am grateful that I had many opportunities to live in and visit many places on all continents (except Antarctica, which also my widely traveled grandmother only crossed off her bucket list when she turned 82) and hope that I will continue to do so with my wife Richa, who loves exploring the world just as much as I do. I am also a passionate underwater rugby player (yes, it's a thing!) and when I'm not grading papers, advising the UN on human mobility, or playing hide&seek with my son, there is a good chance you find me training with my team in New Jersey for the next tournament.
(If you click on any picture, you can see the photos as a slide show with small notes)
(If you click on any picture, you can see the photos as a slide show with small notes)
For the past six years, my academic pursuits have been flanked by an equally exciting personal quest for advancing my understanding of the world (with an in-depth n=1 study and lots of participatory observation).
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Lastly, I am grateful for good books and poetry that enrich me with ideas, concepts and normative challenges and I hope that I will never be too saturated or inert to start learning something new.
