I PREFER HOSTING PEOPLE WHO HOST
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ABOUT ME
Hi, I am Supratim from Kolkata, India. I speak Bengali, the sixth most spoken language in the world. Like most Bengalees I like 'adda', which in Bengali means endless and purposeless chatting over countless cups of tea. But my first love is music.

And my second love is travelling. I have been travelling all over India since childhood, first with my parents and then with family and friends. My job demanded me to travel in remote corners of India two weeks every month and I enjoy every bit of it. But I wanted to see more. So I left my job on 31st December 2017. Now I wish to travel all over India in my own small car. I also want to see other parts of the world.

I think I am an honest and straightforward person (sometimes a bit too much for my convenience) who can be trusted with his words. I am indebted to the society for what I am today and would like to pay back a part of it in my own insignificant way.

ME AS A HOST
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I like hosting. I have reserved a good part of my house for hosting. I try to provide my guests some comfort (no luxury), some privacy and a family environment. I spend some quality time with all my guest and show them around if time permits. And when asked I also try to help them out with their travel plans. However, after hosting indiscriminately for three years now I am a bit selective about whom I host. I look for surfers whom I can call friends long after they are gone.

ME AS A SURFER
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As a surfer I am usually accompanied by my wife Sonali who is my equal partner is hosting. We are budget travelers. We plan our trips months in advance and usually stick to our schedule. We use public transport, cook as far as possible, avoid costly monuments, walk a lot - in a way try to make best use of our resources without making too many compromises. We don't party at night, rather we spend a nice evening with our host sharing our stories. For a couple of days we will stay like family members and hope that you will remember us long after we are gone. Just one thing, we do not want to be hosted by people who want us out when they are away from home.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I want to make friends from all corners of the globe. By hosting or surfing I try to build a strong cultural relationship between two nations. I try to guide my guests to those less frequented places which I personally visited and liked. I also try to update them about the ongoing or upcoming cultural events.

AN APPEAL TO SURFERS
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As anyone can see, there are more surfers and less hosts in the CS community. Majority of the surfers register just before a trip begins and simply disappear after the trip ends. The few active hosts are showered with copy-paste type couch requests most of which are eventually rejected. However this also reduces the chance of some genuinely active couchsurfers who get lost in the crowd. This is killing the system. Something must be done in the CS website to encourage hosting.

Till that happens I appeal to everyone reading my profile to host as they surf. For most of them the excuse is lack of space and time. In my opinion hosting should not be limited to providing accommodation. There are a lot of other ways one can help a stranger like picking up, sharing food, showing around and so on. Think about it and clearly state in your profile how you can help a traveler rather than why you cannot. Just imagine how you would value a small gesture of hospitality in a foreign land.

MY COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
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My hosting experiences have been mostly satisfying, often exciting, but occasionally boring too. So far I have hosted:-

1. Joshua Littlejohn from New Orleans, USA in Feb'12

2. Peng Li from Beijing, China in Apr'12

3. Burkhard Sohn from Edemissen, Germany in May'12

4. Michal Knitl from Bratislava, Slovakia in Jun'12

5. Clement, Paul & Dimitri from Paris, France in Jul'12

6. Marc Davies & Holly Gray from London, UK in Aug'12

7. Claudine Desjardins from Montreal, Canada in Aug'12

8. Mairead Kelly from Cork, Ireland in Dec'12

9. Kasper Souren from Brussels, Belgium in Jan'13

10. Gustavo Machiavelli from Balneario Camboriu, Brazil in Jan'13

11. Franka Suchantke, Anja Gottschalk, Marlene Zoellner and Rico from Saxony, Germany in Jan'13

12. Paul Napoléoni from Paris, France in Jan'13

13. Thomas Righty and Joela Walla from Vienna, Austria in Jan'13

14. Lily Dong from Portland, USA in Feb'13

15. Lucas Klamert from Vienna and Ted Chang from Singapore in Feb'13

16. Yegor Maximenko and Nadya from Vladivostok, Russia in May'13

17. Emma Dey and her four children from Mayapur, India (originally from New Zealand) in May'13.

18. Mira Ishenko from Kyiv, Ukraine in Jul'13.

19. Minjae Yoo from Seoul, South Korea in Jul'13.

20. Caesey and Anna from Hongkong, China in Jul'13.

21. Youssef and Sophie from Paris, France in Aug'13

22. Ted Chang from Singapore in Oct'13 (2nd time)

23. Magdalena And Pawel Kowalski from Poznan, Poland in Nov'13

24. Diego Camilo from Michigan, US in Nov'13.

25. Stani (British) and Richard (French) in Nov'13.

26. Ren Yazan and Indri Indhoy from Jakarta, Indonesia in Dec'13.

27. Johan Modig from Stockholm, Sweden in Dec'13.

28. Helga Weissel from Vienna, Austria in Feb'14.

29. Christine and Catherine from France in Apr'14.

30. Irene (Italy) and Justyna (Poland) in April'14

31. Yuri Medvedev from St. Petersburg, Russia in Oct'14

32. David Chen and Kristina from Portland, USA in Nov'14

33. Katerina Zykun from Minsk, Belarus in Nov'14

34. Judith & Markus Scharnowski from Switzerland in Nov'14

35. Takahiro Maruyama from Nagano, Japan in Jan'15

36. Leonie, Nurring and Etta from Pontianak, West Borneo, Indonesia in Jan'15

37. Yuri Medvedev from St. Petersburg, Russia in Feb'15 (2nd time)

38. My dearest friend Helga Weissel from Vienna, Austria in Mar'15 (2nd visit)

39. Vandesh Jajoo from New Delhi, India in Apr'15.

40. Lee McJohnson from Oss, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands in Apr'15.

41. Mingaile Zemaityte (and her friend) from Alytus, Lithuania in Apr'15

42. Sukh and Sonu from Punjab, India in May'15

43. Khotaman Mustofa from Sumatra, Indonesia in Dec'15

44. Ganesh and his little kid from Udupi, Karnataka, India in Apr'17.

45. Michael & Katerina (2nd visit) from Switzerland and Katerina's brother Dzmitryy from Belarus in May.'17.

46. Padmaja from Vadodara, India in Nov'17.

47. Cihan from Turkey and Irina from Kazakhstan in Jun'18.

All my surfing experiences have been extremely pleasing. So far I have surfed with:-

1. Helga Weissel in Vienna, Austria in Oct'12.

2. Tiago Raffo in Zurich, Switzerland in Oct'12.

3. Markus Stohler in Luzern, Switzerland in Oct'12.

4. Lucas Klamert in Vienna, Austria in Oct'12.

5. Siti Ann and Maarten Luycx in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in Jul'14.

6. Suvasish Paul in Siliguri, India in Apr'15

7. Helga and Lucas in Vienna in Sep-Oct'15 for the second time

8. Paul Franc in Paris in Sep'15.

9. Arunava and Sweta in Varanasi in Mar'18.

Interests

Music, travelling, trekking, technical reading. Better talk about our likes and interests when we meet.

• environment
• dining
• cooking
• partying
• reading
• traveling
• music
• surfing
• tourism
• budget travel

Music, Movies, and Books

The real charm is in sharing our interests over a cup of coffee. That's where CS is different from other social networking sites. Here we interact in person, not in a virtual world. Let us find out more about ourselves when we meet in person.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

During Bagini Glacier Trek I covered three days' trek in one day just to catch up with my family and friends at the final destination. On the way back I could not believe I really did it.

Sixteen hours nonstop overnight drive from Kolkata to Phuntsolling (Bhutan). The pain was adequately rewarded by the Himalayas.

Some 25 years back, one full moon night, I played the harmonica in the basement of The Taj Mahal where Shahjahan and Mumtaj were buried. The sound of music reverberated all across the monument of love.

Teach, Learn, Share

Music is the first thing that comes in my mind.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A separate room with mattress, pillow, etc. A separate non-attached bathroom. Authentic Bengali cuisine. Other essential facilities one need to live comfortably. If time permits I can show around a bit. I can also share my knowledge about India. Many of my guests have benefited from it.

If you are not used to very hot and humid climate avoid Kolkata for three months from April to June. I do not have aircon in my guest room. If you don't dislike rain (I like it personally) the monsoon (Jul-Sep) will give you a different flavour. Best time for Kolkata is October to March.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

India

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