Date: Sat, 21 Jan 1995 13:59:40 +0100 COUNTRY: India STATE: Karnataka TOWN: Bangalore NAME: Ramaswamy P. Aditya (I am addressed by my given name, which is 'Aditya' though in order, it is my last name.) ADDRESS: Sudhasadan, Flat No.10 41, 6th Main Rd., Malleswaram Bangalore, 560003 EMAIL: aditya@physics.berkeley.edu PHONE: (+91) (80) 331-2465 (also fax) SEX/AGE: M/22 ACCOMMODATION: Most likely sleeping bag/mattress in house, possibly bed. LOCATION: Residential area 15 mins by bus to city 'center'. MAX GUESTS: 2 MAX LENGTH: 1 week EXPENSES: telephone/email, food, transportation, laundry RESTRICTIONS: no smokers or book-haters EXPECTATIONS: clean up after yourself, be open and curious, bring books to exchange PRIOR NOTICE: 15 days LANGUAGES: English, Kannada, Tamil (fluent) French, Hindi (almost fluent) Sanskrit (1-yr academic knowledge) Spanish, Amharic (passable) Portuguese (learning) THE HOST: I am very keen on outdoor activities, especially mountain climbing (no ice climbing or cave diving though) and backpacking. I would consider joining any such ventures. I have backpacked and climbed in Alaska and British Columbia in addition to some parts of California, Mexico, Central America and Haiti; I plan to do a lot more in South America, New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia over the next few months. I prefer to travel, in order of preference, by foot, horse, bicycle, train, bus and boat/ship. I appreciate a wide variety of sports, especially basketball, which, unusually for India, is available close by my house. I studied physics but have decided to live in India doing 'other' things since I could not stomach having to live in the US. I find computers remarkably useful and use them accordingly, but also debilitating and distracting. In no particular order, are some books that have influenced me greatly, _Godel, Escher and Bach: The eternal golden braid_ by Douglas Hofstadter, _Tools for Conviviality_ by Ivan Illich, _A House for Mr. Biswas_ by V.S. Naipaul and the quartet by Pramoedya Ananta Toer which includes _Child of All Nations_, _This Earth of Mankind_, _Footsteps_ and _House of Glass_. OTHER: I am willing to provide extensive information about travelling in India, especially by train, which is THE way to travel in India.