Vinda Karandikar's Message for everyone...Especially Researchers and Scientists

The world is fighting an unprecedented pandemic that has forced every one to stay indoors. Like all of you, I am also trying to reconnect with some of the good habits which were lost in everyday routine. One such habit is writing this blog. I started with great enthusiasm but then could not maintain the patience and willingness to write regularly. Now after the hiatus of almost five years I am starting to write again. Let's hope this time, I am able to maintain the momentum.

Today's subject is a poem composed by one of the most prolific poets of Marathi language Govind Vinayak Karandikar famously known as Vinda Karandikar. He is one of the three recipients of  the Dyanpeeth award in Marathi language. The poem that I have chosen for today's article is pretty special one. It is said that you have to read a particular poem many times for appreciating it's hidden treasures. I experienced this particular fact while reading, reciting and discussing this poem countless times.  The poem prima facie touches various aspects of our life and how we have to act under different circumstances. While going through the intermittent anxiety phases associated with Doctoral studies I realized that this particular advice is also applicable to a researcher or person working in scientific field. The poem is called "एवढे लक्षात ठेवा " (Remember this)

In the first stanza itself, like a pro batsman, he hits a sixer (I hope you can understand this cricket analogy) and says

उंची न आपली वाढते फारशी वाटून हेवा 

श्रेय ज्याचे त्यास द्यावे एवढे लक्षात ठेवा 

Nothing comes good out of jealousy. Further he says give credit where its due. In scientific field we get to hear so many stories about people not acknowledging the work or help provided by someone and taking all the credit themselves. So this is where these lines really strike you. 

The next stanza reads

ती पूर्वजांची थोरवी, त्या पूर्वजांना गौरवी 

ती न कामी आपुल्या , एवढे लक्षात ठेवा 

Whatever your forefathers have done is of no use to you if your are not capable yourself. If we can try to connect this to science, whatever you have done in the past may not be of use in future, as science is continuously evolving. And if you don't evolve and adapt there is high chance that you will be irrelevant sooner or later. 

The third stanza reminds me of a quote by none other than the famous physicist Richard Feynman which says "science is the belief in the ignorance of experts". Even a very senior scientist or researcher can be ignorant. So as a budding researcher, you always verify the facts yourselves rather than trusting someone totally. This particular line of thinking is very useful for teachers too I think. The stanza goes like

जाणते जे सांगती, ते ऐकून घ्यावे सदा 

मात्र तीही माणसे; एवढे लक्षात ठेवा

In this COVID-hit period we are facing many anxieties and uncertainties. But if you think about it, being anxious and uncertain comes naturally to human beings. As researchers we are bogged down by uncertainties related to funding, tenure, publications, intellectual property generation, consultancies and so on. Addressing this aspect of human nature Vinda says there only one way to get over the anxieties which is engaging in some or other activities which will naturally distract your brain from the path of uncertainty. The stanza reads

चिंता जगी या सर्वथा, कोणा न येई टाळता 

उद्योग चिंता घालवी , एवढे लक्षात ठेवा 

The world of science works on collaborations and interdisciplinary research. When you initiate any collaboration, it is usually based on your personal relations and certain trust. But it has to be formalized sooner or later by some form of written agreement with the terms acceptable to parties involved. That is what Vinda comments on in next 2 lines. He says you have to trust someone in your business or work but that trust cannot be blind. The lines are

विश्वास ठेवावाच लगे, व्यवहार चाले त्यावरी 

सीमा तयाला पाहिजे, एवढे लक्षात ठेवा 

All of us need guidance and mentoring in our life. Parents are our first teachers and as we grow old we learn, directly or indirectly, from people as well as experiences. At some point of time we have to give that knowledge back to the society. While you are giving it back it should be given back with interest, so to speak. This is particularly important if your are in the academic set up or teaching field. You try to give back more than what you have received. Vinda says

दुप्पटीने देतसे जो ज्ञान आपण घेतलेले 

तो गुरुचे पांग फेडी एवढे लक्षात ठेवा 

After giving all this advice and tips, in the last stanza, he gives the most important advice of all. In order to achieve all of the things that he has said earlier, we as human beings must first battle the enemies which are inside us. In marathi these are called "षड्रिपू", the six enemies. They include anger, jealousy, greed, attachment, pride and lust. Once we conquer these guys, we can truly live a good life. He ends the poem by saying

माणसाला शोभणारे युद्ध एकाच या जागी 

त्याने स्वतःला जिंकणे एवढे लक्षात ठेवा 

Coming to Institute of Chemical Technology (UDCT), Mumbai

Dear readers,

This is a small but a wonderful story about how I came to Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), formerly known as UDCT.

Like many of us I decided to give GRE and TOEFL in my Final Year B.Pharm and apply to the US for post graduate education. My GRE score was not that great. It was average. The TOEFL score was good. But I had more confidence (and a bit of overconfidence as I see it in retrospect) about my academics till that point of time. Therefore I was convinced that even though my GRE score is not that good I may get admit based on my Statement of Purpose (SOP) and acads.  So keeping this in mind I applied for 10 universities cross’ USA.

But reality struck in the form of 10 rejects. I did not take into consideration that the US was going through a phase of recession and cost cutting. So there was some want of funding at that time. Another reason could have been my average GRE score…..I can think of so many things which I might have done correctly at that time. Anyways I was really disheartened. I had put in my sincere efforts in studying for GRE and too much time and energy in the entire application process. Not to forget the pre-application costs. Someone could say that I wasted an entire year on fruitless quest, with mad hope. I had not considered the option of M.Pharm before all this. But now I had to make some serious decisions. I had no backup plan. Therefore after getting 6^th or 7^th reject I filled the application form for Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) which is the entrance examination for securing admission for M.Pharm with stipend. Now the problem was studying for GPAT. As our Final Year B.Pharm exam was approaching fast it was getting really difficult to study for GPAT with its huge syllabus covering subjects from First year to Final year of the B.Pharm course. I studied with my best friend Nishad who went through same ordeal of 10 rejects with no backup plan. We studied only for 3-4 days. I am not joking or being modest or anything. But we had absolutely no time to study from GPAT point of view. I was sure that I was not going to qualify given the quantum of study required and seeing what we managed.

I believe (which may be entirely wrong) that when something bad happens to you there is always compensation. Homeostasis is the nature’s way of balancing things out. Similar thing happened to me and Nishad. We qualified GPAT (most surprisingly) and that too with respectable ranks. Now the question arose about admission to M.Pharm. Everyone in India has probably heard about UDCT in one way or another. So even I knew that it was impossible for me to enter UDCT with my rank I applied and waited. When the list was displayed my rank was 72^nd on the list and there were only 30 seats for M.Pharm. So I gave up the hope of getting into a good institute and took admission in AISSMS College of Pharmacy, where I completed my B.Pharm.

Slowly the routine in Pune began. College reopened on 1^st September 2010 and initially there was not much work to do. Nishad took admission in Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Poona College of Pharmacy. So we had plenty of time to hang out. It was 5^th September 2010. We were playing badminton in the morning when my phone rang. It was one of our seniors, Avinash, who was doing M.Pharm while we were in Final Year. He told me that my name is 3^rd in the waiting list of UDCT in 4^th round of admission. Until that moment I had completely forgotten about my application to UDCT and I had not even checked the website for updates since there was no need (That’s what I thought at least). Had he not called I would have been a part of very small world called AISSMS. Elated with joy I called Aai-Baba to inform them about this development and they were happy too. Subsequently we went to UDCT and on 8^th September I took admission in M.Pharm in Medicinal Chemistry course at UDCT.

Some would say it was destiny. Others would consider it as luck. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know why Avinash called me. What I did to deserve such a wonderful entry into a new world. As Brahmavidya teaches, all I can do is to be grateful and that’s what I am. Even when I take a dive in my mind’s pensive all I can think is that feeling of happiness and gratefulness. And that gives me hope and inspiration to do something good with the chance that I was given and I am trying to do that ever since.  

Mihir

I am "SHER"locked!!!

Dear readers

“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

One of the most famous quotes by one of the most famous and celebrated detectives of all times. Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

My introduction to the world of Sherlock Holmes goes way back when I was in school. Being from a Marathi medium school meant I had some difficulty and apprehension when it came to English literature. But in my house at Dadar I was literally surrounded by all types of books Marathi as well as English. I am a voracious reader. But still my inclination was always towards reading Marathi literature. As I see back, because of that fear, I was missing out the entire magic world of English literature. So my father, being a Marathi medium student himself, used to tell me stories about how he developed habit of reading English and how he used to check the unknown words using dictionary etc. What I starkly remember is him telling me about this fantastic story called “Silver Blaze”. And I thought “Okay. Let me give it a try”. 

Unfortunately my enthusiasm melted in no fewer than 2 pages as I kept looking in the dictionary for the unknown words. I gave up. Luckily I came across a Marathi translation of Sherlock Holmes stories by Bhalba Kelkar and Bha. Ra. Bhagwat. And wow!! I was totally mesmerised.  It had a huge impact on me. I even tried thinking like Holmes (unsuccessfully of course). I read those books at least 5 times so as to remember what happens in every story.

Years went by. I started learning Science and Mathematics in English for the first time since my 8^th standard and full coursework in English in my HSC. Slowly the apprehension about English began to get converted into a fascination, curiosity and desire to master it. “La lingua pura” as Dan Brown puts it in Angels and Demons. Another landmark came when I started preparing for GRE. I may not have gone abroad for studying but learning all those difficult words surely helped to improve my command over English language. With this armour I revisited my dear Holmes once again and god I enjoyed it. I could see why it became so popular. What a masterpiece it is. It showed me how logical thinking could change the way you look at simple things. “You see but you don’t observe”. Absolutely. Can you remember number of steps to your house? I don’t know how that will help you. But it shows you that there are so many things happening in your surroundings. You are just not well equipped to appreciate them and you need to train yourself in those awesome powers of observation and deduction. Somehow methods Sherlock used to employ seem to be applicable to daily routine as well. Anyways I went on and read all the stories including the short stories as well as full novels. Now, not all the stories are good. But still to think in such a diverse way revolutionized the detective genre of literature. Someone like Agatha Christie (a subject for another article) went on to explore the psychology of criminals via the grey cells of Hercule Poirot. Now a days we see so many detective shows, police shows on television but I can definitely say in some way or the other you will be reminded of the pioneer of these techniques, our beloved hooked nose detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

It is not at all surprising that so many adaptations exist for this fictional detective. It’s a dream role for many actors and it has been played over past decades by multitude of fine actors who bring in their own interpretation of Sherlock. My three most favourite are Jeremy Brett, Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller. Jeremy can be considered as quintessential Sherlock being a part of many short stories and movies and portraying the character to the finest details mentioned in the book. Benedict stars in TV series “Sherlock” which can be said as new age adaptation of old stories, where Sherlock uses all the new tools modern science has to offer. But the basic science of deduction remains the same. Johnny Lee Miller stars in an American version of Sherlock Holmes in TV series called “Elementary”. In this Sherlock is a recovering drug addict and to get over the addiction he consults with NYPD. I love all these 3 portrayals. The cases are varied and it is fun to guess beforehand who the culprit will be. Happiness is when your guess is correct. All Sherlock lovers and lovers of Mystery genre in general must have felt the thrill of being right. And that’s what Sherlock does to you. It takes you away from the world you live in. It makes you stretch your imagination. It makes you feel irritated when your guess goes haywire. It makes you fall in love with notable enemies too (Remember Prof. Moriarty). Most important of all it gives you immense joy and happiness to read or see your favourite detective solving the crimes which seem impossible to ordinary people. The character of Dr. Watson teaches you value of friendship, courage, loyalty and provides a big contrast for the eccentric personality of Sherlock. All in all once you watch it or read it you are going to like it. 

We went to United Kingdom in 2011 for a family trip and was I interested in Big Ben? No. Was I interested in Madam Tussauds? No. Was I interested in Buckingham palace? No. Any guesses?? Yes. It was visiting 221B Baker Street. It’s an important junction for many tube lines. We went to Sherlock Holmes museum, put on Sherlock Holmes hat, pretended to smoke his pipe. It took me right back to my childhood. It was a great feeling.

I still read it sometimes when I am bored. I know why the dog did not bark or I know what’s in the sixth Napoleon or I know what the speckled band is. But I still read it and feel the thrill that I felt while reading it for the first time. Why?? “Elementary Watson. Because I am SHERlocked” 

Mihir

My experience with the recording of song!!!!!!

Dear Readers,

As the title of the blog indicates I am planning to share some of my memorable moments and experiences and I think I’ll begin with this particular experience which gave me an immense joy. Probably I’ll never be able to experience it again. Here it goes.

Every year Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) organizes Drama competition among all the employees of BMC. One of the entries for this year’s competition was KEM hospital. Since last three years I have come in contact with lots of people from KEM hospital (which is a topic for different article) and some of them have become very close friends. Among those, there are two very talented doctors Dr. Adwait Godse and Dr. Raghavendra Ramdasi (We call him Prasad). Adwait was playing an important character in this drama which was based on the concept of poetry therapy. Prasad, apart from being a neurosurgeon, is a very talented poet much like Kusumagraj and he composed a beautiful song for this drama specially. He had a tune in mind based on Rag Des and it was decided to record the song. Now the question arose about accompaniments and singer. One of KEM’s undergraduate students Siddhi was asked to sing and I was asked to accompany on Tabla. Prasad came to my house that evening. We fixed the tune, practiced it once and went to T9 studio, Mahim for recording the song around 7.30 pm.

My first reaction after entering the studio was, “Oh wow!!! We have entered a different world”. Before this I always wondered how the entire process worked out. This was a real chance to experience it first-hand. First the song was recorded in Prasad’s voice with Beats per Minute sounding like “Click” in the background. At that time I realized how difficult it was to sing in a fixed rhythm and trust me you can go wrong if you miss even half a bit. All the mistakes that we make while singing casually, without realizing, seemed to magnify in the studio. Anyways after 2 takes it was called “Ok”. Now it was my turn to play Tabla. So I entered the sound proof room where I was supposed to sit and arranged the Tabla. The studio engineer, Elton, instructed me as to how to proceed. I was supposed to play Tabla based on the earlier recorded track in Prasad’s voice along with Clicks. To my pleasant surprise it was “One take Ok”. Still to be on the safer side we recorded the Tabla again. Wow!!! What a great feeling it was. I simply cannot express that in words. One thing I never thought I’ll be able to do in my life was suddenly accomplished. Next day we recorded the actual song, this time in Siddhi’s voice. She finished the recording in like 15 minutes like a professional singer. Once this was done there were 3 layers of the sound track Siddhi’s vocal, my Tabla and background harmonium and tanpura. Elton mixed these 3 layers with the help of a software (which is apparently really expensive), adjusted the fine notes, added some reverb, basically optimized it and finally the song was ready to be used in the drama.

Me with the composer Dr. Raghavendra Ramdasi (Prasad). Photo credits: Dr. Adwait Godse

All in all, it was a really thrilling experience for me. It gave me a new insight into the world of recording and sound. And as the song was based on Indian Classical Music, for me, it was like icing on the cake!! I hope I get to attend and even play in some more recordings if time and luck permit!!! And let me say this, if you get such an opportunity don’t let it go!!!!

Mihir

The First Post

Dear Readers

I am attempting yet again to write a blog. I initiated a blog called "Connoisseurs of Happiness" with my good friend Surahit some time back. But since he moved to Germany to pursue his PhD he is not able to write regularly. Same is the case with me. I am on the verge of finishing my second year of PhD and things are starting to get harder, challenging and demanding. But hey, that's why I signed up for this. The thrill of research, teaching, publishing, patenting and what not. 

Yet it is my belief that you can get stuck in your routine very quickly, even get attached to it. Your life can become mundane and monotonous in no time if you don't take efforts. I have seen this happen all around me. And I simply cannot live like this. 

Taking a risk of self appreciation, I can say that I have varied interests. Apart from research I mean. That includes food, friends, music, reading, acting, performing, teaching and what not. I consider myself really lucky to be able to explore so many things at a go. People ask me these questions routinely. "How do you do all these things?" and I search the answer again and again. But with no luck. I don't know how I find time for all the things...May be I have great friends who are even more good at multitasking...I don't know. Only thing that I definitely know is I personally like to explore these things and yes....I am curious about the world.

A few years back I was not at all like this. I mean I still liked doing all these things. But my world view was bit stereotypical. I was very good at studies and still managed to do co-curricular and extra curricular activities nicely. Still I was not open minded. Whenever someone used to ask me something which was not in my comfort zone the first answer that came to my mind was always "No". Without even trying. 

When I came to Mumbai I realized that this attitude is taking me nowhere. I must change myself and be able to enjoy (or at least try) new things rather than ruling them outright. I was fortunate enough to find friends who were as dynamic (May be more) and as ready to explore things as you can get. And now after spending 5 years in this beautiful city I can definitely say I have given my best. I made so many friends, I gathered experiences for life time and now I think I am mature enough to share them with all of you..That means whoever reads this blog. Lols.

The articles which will follow are recollections from my memories and my perspectives and experiences as the name of the blog clearly indicates. These are my avenues of happiness and ultimately I believe your goal should be that. Being Happy. Being Content (Not complacent). Think beyond the worldly and materialistic attachments and find happiness in small things which may not be expensive but cherished. And if this blog can help you find your happiness then I will be very happy for all of you. As Sant Dyaneshwar says in Pasaydan.."जो जे वांछिल तो ते लाहो" ...Let everyone get what he/she wants....I wish you all the happiness in the world...Its raining outside. Go and enjoy the Monsoon. Cya. Take care.

Mihir