I don't know when did I develope an interest for trekking. But, I guess, it was my first trek to Gorakhgad, near Kalyan, Maharashtra that I started liking this adventures activity. Since then, I've visited about a dozen trekking spots in and around Sahyadri but it's been quite some time since I last trekked..

I have visited too few (a little over a dozen) a forts/trekking spots not to list them here. They include Chanderi, Rajmachi (2 Times), Lohgad-Visapur, Naneghat, Harishchandragad, Mahuli, Manikgad. The last one I've visited is Rajgad, Near Pune in July 2004. Here is the complete list anyway.

Thanks to the fact that I am not photogenic, I always opted to be on the other side of camera. On 9/11, I purchased a Canon SLR System consisting of :

• Canon EOS 500N Body
• Canon EF 28-80mm 3.5-5.6 Lens
• Canon EF 80-200mm 4.5-5.6 Lens
• Hama Tripod
• And some filters

Thanks to my friend, Philip, I've born a strong affinity for Calvin & Hobbes and Peanuts I am already a great fan of Dilbert.

In Fiction, I adore Frederyk Forsyth. I've also read Sydney Sheldon, Jeffery Archer, Arthur Hailey et al but Mr.Forsyth continues to lure me the most. I am reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged these days but have put it on hold at the moment. Probably, it is too difficult to digest.

I don't have patience to read Non-fictions! All the same, I am reading A brief history of time by Stephen Hawking

In Marathi - my mothertongue, Pu.La.Deshpande, but of course. I would add Arun Sadhu and Anant Samant as well. The last Marathi book I've read is America - A Travelogue by Anil Awchat

I like all sorts of music, even hard rock at times ! But, again to classify:

• Hindi Film Music Shankar-Jaikishen are still my favorites. Salil Choudhury, Khayyam and Roshan as all time favorites.
• Marathi Sudhir Phadake, Jitendra Abhisheki, Hrudaynath Mangesh, Srinivas Khale, Yashawant Deo. I think, I've added all of them, haven't I ?
• Hindustani Classical Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Mallikarjun Mansoor, Gangubai Hangal in Vocal. In Instrumental : Pt. Himangshu Biswas (Santoor), Pt. Pannalal Ghosh (Flute), Ustad Vilayat Khan (Sitar)
• Pop ABBA, Bee Gees
• Rock Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, U2.

Around Mid-2001, I started taking interest in Impressionist style of painting. I don't know how exactly. Fortunately, I could see works of some of the great artists in this field. Here is a nice link to know more about Impressionism

Credit goes to my friend - Kiran Ranade - for this section. It is he who started reading a lot about this and narrating the stories to me, thus making me think I should know more about this!

I intend to elaborate more on this topic in a separate page here as and when I get the mood.