The Untold Story of... Arindam Mandal, Ph.D.

1. I grew up in Delhi, India - a sprawling metropolis of 32 million people (just for comparison, the NYC metro has 20 million). Delhi has a history dating back to 1400 BC, making it one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.
2. India has 22 official languages, as recognized in the Indian Constitution. However, I am fluent in just three of them - Bengali (my mother tongue, my name in Bengali letters অরিন্দম), Hindi (अरिन्दम) and English (Arindam). I had to learn all three of them since my kindergarten days. On the top of that, I had to learn Sanskrit - an ancient Indian language. Honestly, I remember little of Sanskrit since we never had to use it outside of the Sanskrit class.
3. I came to UAlbany for my PhD after receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics from Delhi University. I was torn between majoring in history and economics for my college degree. It was just on a whim I decided to pursue economics instead of history.
4. Prior to joining Siena in 2009, I taught for a year at Hartwick College. Teaching in a liberal arts environment at Hartwick was an eye-opening experience for me. My experience at Hartwick helped me to secure my current position at Siena. It's been a wonderful experience so far being in Siena.
5. I have a younger sister who lives in Germany with her husband and a five-year old-son. My nephew, growing up in Germany, is juggling three languages - Bengali, German and English. He is still trying to figure out how not to jumble up three languages.
6. My wife, Debjani, and I met in NYC. Her job mainly revolved around NYC and surrounding areas. Because of our job situation, we maintain residences both closer to NYC and in Albany. So, I get to visit NYC often, and I really enjoy being there.
7. I love to travel. In 2006, I did a cross-country road trip from Seattle, WA to Towson, MD with two friends. Then in 2017, I completed a cross-country road trip in India. When I was two, my parents took me on a road trip all over India. This time, I took my parents on a trip that lasted 45 days and covered over 5000 miles. It was an awesome experience. I have also done a wildlife safari in Kenya - another jaw dropping experience.
8. I have visited eight countries - Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Kenya, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Romania and Canada. Yes, I visited Dracula's castle typically refers to Bran Castle in Transylvania, Romania. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet Count Dracula.
9. For Debjani and I, our favorite place to visit is Niagara Falls. We have visited Niagara Falls at least 15 times over the years.
10. I am an avid table tennis player. I play at least twice a week. Every Thursday, I travel to Kingston, NY to play in a club. My USATT rating is roughly 1600, considered an early advanced level.

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