IndiaEconomics: Abhi's Interests
Research Interests
At Sheffield, I am analysing the structure and composition of India's trade with the 'Triad' economies, namely, the USA, the EU and Japan. I am also examining the determinants of process of increasing level of sophistication of exports from LDCs. My interests include transition economies (especially Russia) and economic and monetary union in the EU. I am a graduate tutor for courses on macroeconomics, microeconomics, European business environment, economics of the EU, and applied economics.
Other interests
I am fond of watching movies. My favourite directors include Luis Bunuel, Francois Truffaut, Sidney Lumet, Martin Scorcese, Claude Lelouche, Iztvan Szabo, Constantin Costa-Gavras, Mattheu Kossovitz, Roman Polanski, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Govind Nihalani, Bajo Ulloa, Almadovar, Louis Malle, Eric Rohmer, and others. Some movies that I liked include: Viridiana (Bunuel), Cet Obscur Objet du Desir (That Obscure Object of Desire: Bunuel), Belle de Jour (Bunuel), Ardhsatya (Nihalani), La Haine (Kossovitz), Three Colours (Kieslowski) and Un Homme et Une Femme (Lelouche). I like to travel and I like playing squash, chess and bridge.
I am also fond of reading books - some favourites include Dumas, Malamud, Sadat Hasan Manto, Auden, Sylvia Plath, 'Agyeya', Herman Wouk and JM Coetzee.I am fond of the poetry of Mirza Ghalib. A leading parable of our times can be found in the trenchant satire penned by Saadat Hasan Manto in his remarkably prescient work, Toba Tek Singh. (You can read it online by clicking on the link).
I also have an interest in learning languages. I have been learning German for three years. I consider myself to be bilingual - being at ease in both Hindi and English. I can speak and understand urdu and have a basic knowledge of Punjabi and Sanskrit.
Some useful language links:
The Rig Veda, an extensive collection of more than one thousand hymns, represents the first extensive composition in any IndoEuropean / IndoAryan language (written circa 1500-1200 BC). Fraught with paradox, the hymns are meant 'to puzzle, to surprise, to trouble the mind [Prof O'Flaherty].' The Rig Veda contains details of daily life, the rich symbolism and mechanism of Vedic ritual and the pure poetry of hymns. These elements combine to form a unique insight into early Indian mythology and philosophy. As the personification of fire, cosmic or man-made, Agni is second in importance only to Indra, being addressed in at least two hundred hymns. Agni symbolises a pure, eternal element that empowers and cleanses. The following link includes excerpts from the Rig Veda, hymns to Agni. Friedrich Max Mueller (1828-1900) was a great friend of India. He was a savant who familiarised the West with classical Sanskrit literature, and he produced a highly acclaimed translation of the Upanishads. In his honour, Germany's cultural centres in India are called Max Mueller Bhawan(s), instead of Goethe houses as is the practice in the rest of the world.
I am also interested in the military history of Rome, especially the period 82 BC to 180 AD (Sulla's dictatorship through to the reign of Marcus Aurelius). I have an interest in the process of (and causes for) the transition of Rome from a republic to a de facto monarchy, and the role of the emperor's persona as soldier as well as the Roman Army in this process. I am particularly interested in the Julio-Claudians (especially Augustus), as well as the Flavian and the Antonine emperors. A bibliography of warfare in the Roman World can be obtained by following the highlighted link.