Blog

Two funny shows I watched last semester and sort of understood in languages I speak (Marathi) and don't (Hindi), and some reflections on speaking heritage languages as a third-generation immigrant

March 01, 2026

Mi Marathi bolato

In August, I was browsing Sulekha (as one does) when I came across a listing for a (well-known) Marathi stand-up comedian named Sarang Sathaye who was going to be performing in Boston. I was immediately curious about the prospect of attending a stand-up show in what is technically my first language, so I put it on my calendar (5pm on Sunday, September 14, 2025 at Melrose Memorial Hall in Melrose).

Unfortunately, the commuter rail timings for the Haverhill Line weren't convenient for a 5pm start time, so I'd have to get a rental car. Rental cars aren't …

I helped a couple get married more efficiently this morning by serving as a pop-up ATM

February 17, 2026

This morning, I stopped by City Hall to pick up a One-Day Entertainment License from the Cambridge License Commission for Boston Bandish, the new Desi a cappella competition that I'm organizing at MIT this upcoming Saturday. The One-Day Entertainment License is required for any event that involves live music or dancing and costs $50, and it's issued by a committee comprising the License Commission Chair, the Cambridge Fire Chief, and the Cambridge Police Commissioner. It seems the license exists to protect the licenseholder from any possible noise complaints or similar.

I applied for the license a few weeks ago and …

Garlic bread

January 24, 2026

I'm in Providence this weekend visiting a friend. We had initially planned to go skiing in New Hampshire this weekend, which would have conveniently allowed me to head straight to Bretton Woods on Monday morning for our annual MIT QuARC conference, but this plan got slightly derailed due to the cold weather. So I instead took the Providence/Stoughton commuter rail his way on Satuday morning. I disembarked at Attleboro so we could make a quick grocery run at the nearby Patel Brothers on the way to his house.

For late lunch, we had some leftovers, and he also suggested that …

How to put together an MIT Ohms 15th anniversary concert in Kresge Auditorium

December 18, 2025

Last month, the MIT Ohms hosted our semesterly end-of-semester concert. Much like every other semester, we performed our entire set, comprising twelve original arrangements (as well as one original composition). The theme for our concert was "Spider-Man: Hohmcoming," so our two script writers wrote an original story featuring Spider-Man (as an MIT student) and a cast of adversaries and villains. Our music was interwoven into the script, and we alternated, sort of like a musical, between performing scenes (starring the "micro-ohms"--our freshmen--in the lead roles) and singing our music.

Unlike most semesters, this one marked the group's fifteen year anniversary. …

Traversing the MBTA, one stop at a time

November 16, 2025

I'm a big fan of exploring public transportation systems and am on a quest to visit as many MBTA subway and commuter rail stops (or lines) as possible. I'm counting a visit as any time I exited the station after riding the line. My goal is to do something meaningful at/near/around each stop, rather than visiting just for the sake of visiting. This blog post will serve as a live record of my progress.

Red Line

Alewife. I took the Red Line here one weekend to bike around Fresh Pond, clear my mind, and enjoy the fresh air.

Davis. For …

How to put together a Diwali showcase concert

November 05, 2025

This past Sunday, my a cappella group--the MIT Ohms--put together a Diwalloween showcase concert. We booked Lobdell Dining Hall in the MIT Student Center (we've performed there at a few events in the past) and invited a few South Asian fusion music groups from around the region to perform with us. The event went quite well, and I now feel qualified to write about how to arrange such a showcase.

[forthcoming: post on the Ohms and why I joined]

The idea

The Ohms typically perform a few times throughout the semester, in addition to our semesterly showcase concert. These mid-semester …

Mile time trial on the MIT track

September 26, 2025

Previous snapshots of Om's running adventures: I half assed a half marathon

This past Monday, I ran a mile in 5:20 on the MIT track!

On Sunday evening, I found out from fellow runners in the EECS department that there was going to be a mile time trial on the MIT track the next evening. I thought it would be a good break from work and signed up immediately. I've been running a lot more recently, and I had done several intense track workouts in the prior weeks, so I was confident that I could break six minutes, and I …

Road trip to Quebec (plus a few landscape and food photos)

August 22, 2025

Last week, my sister and I took a road trip to Quebec City. It was a fun, relaxing trip with scenic landscapes, interesting architecture, high temperatures, and fortuitous restaurant discoveries. Below is a brief trip summary with some pictures. Delete "resized/" from the image link to view the full image.

She flew in on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning we picked up the rental car and started driving north. Our first stop was in Hooksett, NH to pick up some snacks for the car. Next, we briefly got out of the car in Lincoln, NH at the RiverWalk Resort …

Towards visiting the entire USA

July 18, 2025

Tracking my progress as I attempt to visit and do something meaningful in all fifty states (plus DC). Years and seasons mostly from memory, months mostly validated via Shutterfly. In map form.

Index: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona …

A senior recital makes for a great graduation party

June 01, 2025

This morning, I attended my cousin's senior guitar recital and high school graduation party. She performed a selection of solo pieces, two duets (one with her dad playing the guitar and one with my sister singing), and a quartet with her teacher and two other students from his studio. The performance was sandwiched by thoughtful speeches from my cousin, her parents, and her teacher and was followed by a lunch reception. It was an enjoyable program, a worthwhile culmination of her fourteen years of guitar training, and a wonderful opportunity to celebrate her.

I mostly helped with setting up the …