Nabokov's Questionnaire

I came across this questionnaire on a fellow blogger's site Abantor & here are my answers. I have tried to answer them as truthfully as of this moment, a different mood and a different situation could warrant a different set of answers... but for now here it is

A Questionnaire for the Immodest and Curious - Vladimir Nabokov
Name, patronymic, last name: 
Deepanjana Majumdar 

Pen-name, or a preferred pen-name:  
Raka

Age and preferred age: 
29 and 27

Attitude to marriage: 
so far so good

Attitude to children: 
My attitude to them depends on the parents of the said children

Profession and preferred profession: 
Professionally being trained to be a geomatics expert (whatever that means) In another life would love to be a writer or involved in performing arts!

What century would you like to live in? 
Would have loved to live my youth in the 1960’s, seems that the world was much more liberal back then or too involved in sex, drugs and rock’n’roll to go to war! mid 20th century onwards, better sanitation, improvement in life expectancy etc. etc.

What city would you like to live in? 
New York/Paris/san Francisco

From what age do you remember yourself and your first memory? 
Don't know if I really remember it or it’s an effect of the story being repeated to me multiple times, I don't trust my memories, I believe most of it is made up. But my maternal grandparents’ house features in a lot of them.

Which of the existing religions is closest to your world-view? 
None

What kind of literature do you like the most? What literary genre? 
Since one of my favourite books is a Roman á clef I would name that, I also like Bildungsroman and crime fiction. I believe our preferences change with our experiences in life.

Your favorite books: 
The Fountainhead, The Bell Jar, Gone with the Wind, We the Living, P.G. Wodehouse

Your favorite art: 
Photography and Indian classical dance forms

Your favorite artwork: 
The Swing- Renoir and Water Lilies -Monet 

Your attitude to technology:  
Necessary evil

Do you appreciate philosophy? As a form of scholarship, as a pastime:  
Yes I do, I like to discuss Ideology, philosophy gives a structure to thought.

Do you believe in progress?
I believe in evolution, if that encompasses progress, then yes.

Your favorite aphorism: 
You made your bed, now lie in it

Your favorite language: 
That would have to be Bengali and English - Urdu comes a close 2nd.

On what foundations does the world stand? 
Big Bang

What miracle would you perform if you had a chance? 
Eradicate hunger

What would you do if you suddenly got a lot of money? 
After giving some away to cure diseases and provide food to the hungry I would travel the world with the rest of it.

Your attitude to modern woman: 
Good on you mate!

Your attitude to modern man: 
About time!

What virtue and vice do you prefer and disapprove of in a woman? 
multitasker and fickle

What virtue and vice do you prefer and disapprove of in a man? 
their ability to chill out and their cluelessness.
I think I should mention here that I wrote the above answers in all seriousness but I don't think men and women are that different and it is hard to generalise.

What gives you the keenest pleasure? 
travelling

What gives you the keenest suffering? 
children suffering

Are you a jealous person? 
No

Your attitude to lies:  
I sometimes prefer to hear a lie than the true.

Do you believe in love? 
Yes- all kinds of love

Your attitude to drugs: 
We wouldn't have any groundbreaking music and art without them. 

Your most memorable dream: 
Being lost and cant find my way back home.

Do you believe in fate and predestination? 
In the loosest possible sense.

Your next reincarnation? 
Inanimate object

Are you afraid of death? 
Je ne sais pas

Would you like man to become immortal? 
No

Your attitude to suicide: 
More painful for those who live on.

Are you an anti-Semite? Yes. No. Why? 
No, if I were an anti semite I would be anti a lot of other ethnic groups and communities too… I am anti nothing. 

Do you like cheese? 
No

Your favorite mode of transportation: 
Train

Your attitude to solitude: 
solitude is an absolute necessity for personal growth and creativity. 
Man should be comfortable in his own company. 


Favorite menu: 

Bengali food, like mom makes and grandma made

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