Extra Curricular

Extra Curricular

Some of the cartoons drawn by Dr.Sunder for Dhwani a magazine on Carnatic Music

Dr.Sunder is a very versatile person. He is a polyglot who speaks reads and writes in eight languages and is very fluent in four. His interest in languages began in childhood when he enrolled for the Hindi exams conducted by the Rashtrabasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha. He sailed through the initial Prathamic, Prarambhik, Pravesh, Parichay and then embarked on the much more difficult Kovid and Rathna, the latter being equivalent to a Bachelor's degree in Hindi. Having enrolled in a class to learn Bengali Music, Sunder decided to learn the language too, ostensibly to improve his diction while singing! He can read and write in Bengali too.

In English of course he is not only fluent but has written short stories and articles in several magazines. He even did a stint of copyrighting in an advertising agency editing their advertisements! The other languages he can read and write are Malayalam ( his parents hail from Kerala and his mother taught him the language), Tamizh ( he was born here in Chennai), Marathi and French ( languages he had to study when in School at Mumbai), (ditto) & Sanskrit(which was the compulsory language during the BA Music course that he did after M.B.B.S.).

List of short stories & other articles published in Indian Express and other magazines

  • Stingy
  • Train to nowhere
  • Why cook
  • My mother and her silk saris
  • Your back & you
  • So far yet so near
  • Occupatioanl health - a challenging future
  • Don't dress me in mourning
  • All in the name of God
  • A starry look at the future
  • Survival
  • Kidney for sale
  • The silver lining
  • My star, my life
  • Mother of invention
  • Smoke signals
  • Towards your career
  • Drugs - Double edged weapon
  • Lost & indifferent
  • Ragging
  • Conversion confusion
  • Honey sweet and killing
  • Rediscovery of India
  • Article in Frozen thoughts Dec 2010
  • Article in Frozen thoughts Jan 2011

In 2002 UNDERWENT A PERSONALITY TRANSFORMATION COURSE CONDUCTED BY ALMA MATER

One would imagine Sunder to be a book worm. Nothing could be further from the truth. He played Tennis earlier & finds time even now to swim a kilometer everyday. He plays a good game of Shuttle Badminton, Scrabble or Chess within the family. He is an avid film buff and watches English & Malayalam movies almost daily. He has even acted in a school play & a short movie.