Home » Columns, Pastimes

What Does Tamraparni Dasu Like to Do When She Is Not Being a Statistician?

1 March 2019 3,632 views No Comment
This column focuses on what statisticians do when they are not being statisticians. If you would like to share your pastime with readers, please email Megan Murphy, Amstat News managing editor.
Tamraparni Dasu

Tamraparni Dasu

Who are you, and what is your statistics position?

I am Tamraparni Dasu, a lead inventive scientist at AT&T Labs – Research. I work across multiple disciplines to develop algorithms for large-scale, automatic monitoring of data movement, data quality, and data content using adaptive statistical approaches. The best part of my job is the people I work with. They are smart, funny, and generous with their time and knowledge. I have enjoyed my job of 28 years and learned so much professionally and personally from my colleagues.

My formal writing adventure began with the publication of the first technical book on data quality, Exploratory Data Mining and Data Cleaning, in 2003. It turned out to be a segue to my real hobby, much like Lewis Carroll, who dabbled in writing about mathematics while his more famous creations claimed the bulk of his mind space.

Tell us about what you like to do for fun when you are not being a statistician.

I write fiction under the name T. Dasu. My trilogy, Spy, Interrupted, focuses on an unlikely couple, an Indian-American woman and the undercover CIA officer tasked with recruiting her. The first part (Spy, Interrupted: The Waiting Wife, 2014) is a love story and thriller in which the two lovers are pursued by terrorists across multiple continents. After vanquishing the villains, they decide to settle down to a quiet life, but the hero decides to run for political office when boredom sets in. The second book (Spy, Interrupted: The Perfect Candidate, 2015) follows the hero’s political campaign and features a vengeful tabloid journalist who is determined to humiliate the candidate and his family. The final part of the trilogy (coming soon) is set in an ashram, where the main characters settle scores in a dramatic showdown with unexpected consequences. Stay tuned!

The proceeds from the sale of my fiction support charitable organizations, including International Rescue Committee, Kiva, and Malala’s Fund. You can read all about it on my website.

In addition, I founded IndiaWrites Publishers, a 501(c)3 organization, to support and give exposure to regional Indian writers by commissioning and publishing English translations of their work. Our first anthology, 1947 Santoshabad Passenger and Other Stories, was published in 2010 to critical acclaim by Rupa & Co., India’s top publisher. I have spoken at a number of literary events and festivals, including the Indo-American Arts Council Literary Festival in NYC and Fall for the Book Festival in Virginia, and been interviewed by India Abroad, an eminent publication serving the Indian diaspora, and ITV Gold, the longest-running Indian TV channel in the US.

What drew you to this hobby, and what keeps you interested?

Both my parents come from distinguished literary families in India. I was considered the black sheep of the family for choosing statistics over music, literature, or law. I guess the writing gene lurked in my blood all along and finally demanded its due.

I have always admired good writing—Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jose Saramago, Doris Lessing, Salman Rushdie, Jane Austen—and it seemed natural to start writing. It has turned out to be a terrible yet wonderful hobby—time consuming, tiring, frustrating, and never as good as what’s in my head, but always stimulating and exhilarating.

According to my father, an authority on desserts and literature, writing is like cheesecake for your brain. No wonder it is so addictive! I find it helps me understand my behavior and that of the world around me and to capture fleeting joys and let go of sadness.

I write longhand before committing my novel to a digital format, and just the feel of a high-quality pen against a smooth sheet of white paper is a sensual pleasure. And the characters! Once you are in the middle of a novel, they won’t let you sleep with their constant jostling for attention. It’s quite amazing! I highly recommend it.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Comments are closed.