Ranjan Ghosh was born in Siliguri, where he went to school and university, and to which he chose to return after research and teaching stints in Europe. Though he has strong likes and dislikes, there is much more he likes than he dislikes. On that list are the mountains around his hometown; fish that he loves to eat; Indian music, that connects him to his mother and her family; cricket and tennis and football, that he once used to play and now watches greedily; a nephew and niece that remind him of a childhood that he would like to return to. He reads and writes, for a living, of course, but, more importantly, from loving. ​