Street Style: No, This Is Not A Prank

Rohan Murty was surprised when I asked if I could take his picture: “My wife always teases me about how sloppily I dress,” he said, sheepishly. Sorry, Mrs. Murty (or the name you go by), but I think Rohan did a great job. All you really need are nice shoes and pants that fit. Read on to find out why Rohan is one of the coolest, most interesting people I’ve met on assignment.

What are you wearing?

Uhh…

Let’s start with the shoes.

My shoes are from Zappos…

Ok, any idea what brand they are?

I don’t remember the brand! But I know my coat is from Banana Republic. And my pants, Gap, shirt, Gap, scarf…Gap. (Laughs) I go to MIT, what do you expect?

You did a great job. So you’re a student?

I’m actually a post-doc in computer science.

Where are you from?

I’m from Bangalore. I came to here for undergrad, stayed around to get my Ph.D. at Harvard, and I’m at MIT now.

Where’s your favorite place in Boston to hang out?

Harvard Square of course, because most of my Ph.D. friends are there. I also really like Quincy Market, although, I don’t know, nobody seems to like it as much as I do. I often bring a book and I just sit there, because it reminds me of India, to a limited extent, of course, because there’s so many people there, bustling noise, and activity. And I like that.

Read any good books lately?

Oh man, I’m reading a few. Actually, on my webpage I have a list of books I’ve read since 2005, each rated 1-5. But besides Quincy Market, the other place I really like in Boston is the Boston Symphony. I used to go to the symphony quite a lot in my first couple years of grad school. I didn’t know much about about Western classical even though my father does, so I decided I would learn. I got two sets of season tickets (I spent all my stipend money as a grad student on them), and anyone who knew something about classical music would get a free ticket, as long as they promised to teach me something about it.

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