What I'm into.
MY HONDA CB300R · PHOTO: PRANAV SAJITH
I got the Honda CB300R as a birthday gift for my 18th birthday, and it's been a perfect bike as an 18-year-old kid in what is considered the world's 2nd city for the worst traffic. At 146 kg and 300-odd cc, the pocket rocket was a great bike to drive 1 hr 30 minutes a day to uni and back, and for the occasional weekend rides to places and villages south of Bangalore.
Now that I'm in New Zealand, I'm hoping to get a CBR500R here.
I've loved stand-up comedy since I was a kid, and if I get financially sorted someday, I would love to do it part-time. I grew up a fan of Kenny Sebastian and a few other Indian English stand-up comics, and from there it spread to guys like Hasan Minhaj and Vir Das. I don't always fully agree with their opinions, but they have incredible storytelling and writing ability.
I want to make it big in business and tech, and I think humour is an interesting quality in a leader. I've started writing material, and I've been going to open mics in Auckland to see how beginner stand-up comics do it.
M. CHINNASWAMY STADIUM · IPL 2025 · PHOTO: PRANAV SAJITH
My sports fandom is pretty much defined by patience, heartbreak, and massive payoffs.
As a Bangalore boy, it is criminal not to back the heart of Bengaluru, the Royal Challengers. I survived all the ownership drama and an 18-year drought, showing up at the Chinnaswamy almost every season. Finally watching them go back-to-back felt incredible, starting in 2025. Today, they are the only franchise holding both the men's and women's trophies together in the IPL, which is rapidly becoming the most valuable league in the world.
In the NBA, it was Derrick Rose who got me hooked. Watching his electric rookie year, his historic MVP run, and the heart-wrenching injuries he fought through afterward made me a die-hard Chicago Bulls fan. It is crazy to think that a story of hope, resilience, and one of basketball's biggest "what-ifs" is what made me love the Bulls, rather than the perfection of Michael Jordan.
In football, it all started with a 2010 Frank Lampard jersey. It was the first kit I ever owned, locking me in for life with "Super Frank" and Chelsea. Since then, I have watched the Blue Lions from London conquer Europe twice and become two-time World Champions.
A Malayali boy conquering the world while based out of Bangalore? Sign me up! I have been following Hanumankind since before "Big Dawgs" went viral. I love what he has done for Indian rap and South Indian culture, and seeing him bring traditional Malayali chenda drummers to the Coachella stage for "Run It Up" was special. Watching someone from our community represent us on a global stage meant the world, much like seeing Diljit Dosanjh rep Punjab with all his heart.
ONEREPUBLIC · SPARK ARENA, AUCKLAND · FEB 2026 · PHOTO: PRANAV SAJITH
Beyond hip-hop, I grew up on Arctic Monkeys, Panic! At The Disco, OneRepublic, and Bring Me The Horizon. I actually caught OneRepublic live in Auckland back in February 2026, and experiencing "Counting Stars" in person was legendary. I am also big into indie artists like Tyler Hilton and Barns Courtney. A few others always on rotation: The Chainsmokers, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, Brodha V and Jakes Bejoy, and I’m sure I’m missing a few more.
And then there’s 5 Seconds of Summer. I caught them live in Auckland in October 2026, and it was insane! Shoutout to my flatmate April for the free tickets.
5 SECONDS OF SUMMER · AUCKLAND · OCT 2026 · PHOTO: PRANAV SAJITH
THE QUIZ SHELF · PHOTO: PRANAV SAJITH
National-level quizzer and quizmaster through the Christ University Quiz Association, a few years of weekly quizzes, inter-college circuits and running events on stage.
Quizzing is where I learned how to think on my feet, host a room and chase a niche topic into the ground. It's also why I still enjoy collecting strange facts. I also love winning ;)
Read more about my quizzing →I love watching crime and suspense thrillers. The Gentlemen is, in my opinion, Guy Ritchie being the absolute legend that he is. Theo James and Kaya Scodelario are absolutely grand in this incredibly well-written show.
I also started watching Ted Lasso this year, all four seasons, and I can understand why people call it one of the most inspiring shows, alongside The Bear. I wrote more about it here.
For the last two years I've been hooked on The Rookie as well. It's gripping and light-hearted, and I can see why the producers think it'll be the Grey's Anatomy of cop shows.
A recent one was How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. I watched the whole thing on a flight from Malaysia to Auckland, and it was, as the Irish say, deadly.
THE BIG BANG THEORY · SOURCE: CBS
My all-time favourite sitcom is The Big Bang Theory. I had the exact same T-shirts as Sheldon Cooper growing up, and I love having the same spot to work in at my co-living. But I also love the character development across 12 seasons, and how each of the lads ended up becoming the best versions of themselves, Penny finding a career she was amazing at, Bernadette being an absolute tigress in pharmaceuticals, and Amy and Sheldon winning the Nobel.
The FRM curriculum touches on crypto and how regulators are working out how to integrate it into the mainstream financial system. Barring Bitcoin and Ethereum, a lot of it is still a bit dodgy, obviously. I'd be interested to see how it develops with the advent of AI and the way the structures of societies are changing.
Prediction markets are another thing. They just go to show that people will bet on literally anything. It's super interesting, and I'm excited to see how markets outside the US, especially developing and emerging ones, will deal with prediction markets going mainstream. In the US, we're already seeing regulators and lawmakers take on insider trading in prediction markets, and Wall Street has started to cash in as well. Exciting times.