Music.

Music has always been part of my life. I grew up with it at home; my father is a sarod player, and there was always something playing in the background. Old Hindi film songs from the golden era were the default soundtrack to most evenings. That early exposure shaped how I listen. I still have a soft spot for melody-driven compositions with strong vocals, the kind where you remember every word even if you haven't heard the song in years.

Bollywood holds its own category in my head. Nothing matches that energy, the big orchestral arrangements, the dramatic lyrics, the way a single song can carry an entire film. I grew up on it and I haven't outgrown it. I probably never will.

Bengali music is harder to explain to people who didn't grow up with it. The alternative and rock scene in Kolkata produced some incredible songwriting, and I spent a lot of my college years listening to bands that most people outside Bengal have never heard of. It's music that feels personal in a way that's difficult to translate, tied to the city, the language, and a very specific kind of nostalgia.

English music has been around since school. I got into indie rock, post-rock, dream pop, and whatever sits in the quiet space between ambient and melancholy. My taste here is broad and not particularly curated; a shoegaze track might follow a pop album, and I'm fine with that.