Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Living your dream!! Been there, done that...

When I was a kid, I had always wondered about one of the largest parks in Bangalore. I was thrilled to know that people live in such a serene atmosphere, with large spaces to play around. I was envious of all the people who were residing in this beautiful "resort", in the heart of Bangalore.

As I grew up and entered college, I realized that the park I was referring to was none other than the premier research institute of the country, Indian Institute of Science. I was told that the best brains of the country were working here and that most of the country's top notch research happens in this "park". I grew up with one dream in mind - to get into the top research institute of the country - to get a Ph.D from the Indian Institute of Science. Well, like all other boys from India, I also dreamt that I will play for the Indian cricket team one day. At that point, these were two unrealistic dreams. I had no choice. I had to achieve one of them. I simply had to. When the choice was made, it was a simple and a straightforward one.

Thus began the journey to get into "The Institute" of the country. The path, as it is for all those who get into this lovely campus, was not easy. There were a lot of negative vibes and criticism. But there was always the love and support of all the near and dear ones too, which pushed me on.

The first few steps I took on the roads of this wonderful arena of scientific brilliance gave me my goose bumps. Here I was, one who had envied these people as a kid, now becoming a part of their family!! Life at the Institute is way different from that on the other side of its gates. Here, at times, time ceases to exist!!! The chaos of the outside world is somewhat lost inside the "campus". Yes, we do go out to have our share of 'freaking out', but mainly we are in our coccoons. The Institute teaches you and moulds you into a person who can strive to achieve, whatever you wish to, in life.

I landed here, at the institute, in 2007, to pursue my dream. Here I was, a naive, inexperienced lad, just out of college right into the thick of things. I had no experience or knowledge of research. Very soon I realized that what we did in college were hardly in the category of 'experiments'!! But this phase was shortlived. Soon, I began feeling that I was one among them. I was made to believe, by people around me, that I was capable. So started my exploits with the real experiments!

Working at the institute is like acting in a play!! You get to express all your feelings. You have your happiness and your sorrows. You have your tempers flaring up, and at times, you are so depressed that you want to be away from everything and everyone. But at no time does the life at the institute let you linger in such emotions. You are never in inertia here! There is constant variation, which is phenomenal.

The last few years have been the best years of my life. I have had such memorable experiences and they were possible because of all those nice, kind and wonderful souls that made sure we never had a dull moment. Although coming from different parts of the country, science and research united us. We shared our happiness and sorrow and the friendship was fantastic. I never realized how a time span of 5 and a half years went by. After 5 years of diligent work with a lot of help from scores of people, I have managed to live my dream - get a Ph.D from IISc - and the day I got it, it was a sense of finally achieving something substantial in life. It was a feeling indescribable. You need to experience it to understand.

Despite the happiness, there is a tinge of sorrow attached somewhere. The fact that in the near future, you will be parting ways with the place and the people who made you the person you are, is a difficult pill to swallow. But the separation is only physical. I am sure all those who have been a part of this institute would have, in the past, had similar emotions attached to this campus. For all of us, it is a real feeling of living our dream. As for me, its now time to start dreaming again, to set a bigger and better challenge, and try to achieve it. But one thing is for sure - when my kids look at the campus in awe - I can proudly tell them "been there, done that"!!!!!

Certainly, coming here, and experiencing what I did, I can say that I did live my dream to the fullest and it was a memorable dream and hardly a nightmare!! It now time to start dreaming again !!!!!