About Ram

We live in Illinois having moved from Connecticut, in 2002 after 15 years in the New York City area. We also did a stint in London, England while working in Salomon Smith Barney's Fixed Income group. I am married to UK and have two children. I love backpacking and I have climbed in the Himalayas and in the Sierra Nevada ... and I recently did a trek to Everest Base Camp in May 2004. Other interests include Jazz, Reggae, classical music (Indian and Western), as well as traveling and reading. Lately, Superstring Theory, and the 10 dimensions, and wormholes. If you are intrigued by these ... I recommend Michio Kaku's "Hyperspace" and read all about strings and 'branes by visiting http://superstringtheory.com. Brian Greene's most recent book "The Fabric of the Cosmos" is a wonderful overview of the latest developments in this field, and his previous book "The Elegant Universe" is another favourite.

I like to read about Hindu and Eastern philosophies, Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita, and the core principles of Hinduism as a fundamentally tolerant and monotheistic religion that is not ritualistic, and that accepts that there are many ways to the one reality. Indian civilization has a historical tradition of "sarva dharma samabhava", which underlines respect for all religions and belief systems. In this context, I enjoy readings and discussions on political and philosophical issues related to religion, secularism, democracy and free markets. My other interests include the origins and the history of the various communities and peoples of India, and genealogical research into the origins of my own community - the Chitpavans - that hail from the Konkan (West) Coast of India. I especially enjoy Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead", and I believe in the philosophy of Objectivism and what it stands for - "... man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute ... man as an end in himself ... give me liberty or give me death." I find parallels in this to the Bhagavad Gita's exhortation - "Karmanye vadhikaraste maa faleshu kadachana", which essentially states that man's duty is to action, without regard to the results.

I am a Director and Member of the Executive Committee of the IIT Bombay Heritage Fund (IITBHF) which is the Alumni Fund of IIT Bombay, and I am also the webmaster for IITBHF website at http://www.iitbombay.org - please visit it if you are an alumnus of IIT. IITBHF has raised over $20 Million in funds for IIT Bombay ... click here for Yearbook page for the Class of 1980.

Click here for more about Ram's association with the Alumni Fund of his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT).
Class of 1980 Year Book Page.
featured the Indian Institute of Technology on Sunday, January 12 ... Ram helped CBS News put the story together ... click here for excerpts from the transcripts ... excerpts from the 60 Minutes segment - click here for a WEBCAST.