Fun

Chess

• Chess Camps for Kids: I have developed material for teaching chess to children aged 5 and above. The idea is to introduce them to the fun of the game, while hinting at tactics and possible strategies for older kids. I am happy to hold these camps on request.  For a copy of the materials (PowerPoint Slides and handouts) send me an email.  For a good set of links for beginners, see the Learning Chess page.

• Chess Writing: From time to time, I write articles about chess matches. These articles are written with the aim of bring the fun of chess to those who are not chess fanatics.

Juggling

I have wasted spent 1000s of hours teaching myself to juggle balls and clubs. As a result of all that, I can juggle 5 balls (though I have ‘qualified’ with 6). I used to specialize in “ball bounce” juggling, and I can comfortably juggle 7, though I won a couple of medals for 8 balls. I don’t juggle much these days, but I do hope to work on a personal goal I set for myself years ago. Goal: To teach a 1000 people the joy of juggling 3 balls (or more). I must have taught around 50 people, so I have a very long way to go.

CrowdSourcing

I am fascinated by the ‘wisdom of the crowds’ and feel that I should share my experiences and knowledge in return for everything the web gives me. To this effect, I edit and create pages in Wikipedia, add stuff using Google MapMaker, write reviews of products I use and buy.

Puzzles
I am drawn to modeling and formulating common puzzles (logic and simple games) as Integer or Linear programs. One can learn a lot about the puzzles and also about the art of math formulation through such exercises. If this is of interest to you (and you have a background in OR modeling) do get in touch with me.

Travelogs – Slide Shows
There are two travel related slide shows that I have prepared and am ready to present if there is interest and an audience.

1. The Maha Kumbh Mela – The largest gathering of humanity on earth: This slide show is around stories and photos from my trip to Allahabad during the Kumbh Mela of 2001. (The next one is in 2013.)
   
2. Travel Guidebooks – Which is the right one? The travel guidebook has become a huge industry with quite a number of players. After having used several of them in our trips abroad, I have a presentation on the strengths and weaknesses of different guidebooks.