Passion

The word science means knowledge. Wikipedia gives a 4 page brief definition of science, in short - Knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method [and] concerned with the physical world.

In life science I hold Two Masters degree in MICROBIOLOGY.

Actual reason why I wanted to write this blog is because of an incident that happened in the children park yesterday.

I have taken my 3-years old girl to play in park, and there two elderly women too have accompanied their grand-daughter to the park. Slowly the kids started playing with each other, and we elders started all the formality talks...of whereabouts....

All of a sudden one of the elderly ladies asked me, what I am. I proudly told I am a Scientist, working for a German based MNC. By watching them, I understood they do not understand what I am saying. Then like a thunder, came the second question what is your salary?

Usually educated people never asked this question directly to me, since my salary was also peanuts, I felt humiliated to reply back with same quick reflex. I was hesitant to reply, but I was happy about my career, so I reviled my 5-figure salary to them. I saw an exclamatory mark in their face!!!

Then I enquired about their S-N-L job. They didn't know his position or his company but told in a   Gramophone amplified voice that HE is a software Engineer, with Rs. 1.25 Lakhs monthly salary. OH' I responded. Then the conversation preceded to other topics and finally we where about to leave the park. Her S-N-L came in a big car (I still don't understand why people use car, just for an    individual, Its waste of fuel and unnecessary traffic block in narrow roads) and the granny introduced me to him after a brief HI and Bye we departed in our own way back home.

While going back to home a queer thought was haunting me. Did I make a wrong decision taking life science as my subject and career? The knowledge and amount of efforts and the passion that I input in my studies and in my work is not yielding any materialistic fantasy, yes of course it yields enough money to sustain my family, but those cars and bungalows are still a dream.

Was I wise to choose to science as my main-course? Nothing to blame on science, it is the Indian job market.

I was consoling myself, past is past. I am happy with what I AM. My thought took me back to my class- XII. It was a biology period, my teacher Geetha Nair, short and strict was teaching us about DNA.

DNA- The blue print of life.  I was wonder struck by the simplicity of life and it’s secret. How just a combination and permutation of four nucleotides produced such diversity among the different species and with-in the species? That was my first love towards the science. Newton's law, Big bang theory, Relativity theory attracted me. As I understood the subject I fell in love with it, I wanted to be a researcher, scientist and wanted to study more. Science was a passion for me. I used to come home from my science class and torture my parents especially my Mom (Even my granny), by explaining what I studied on that day, I even went up to the level of drawing on the walls to explain her.

Biology -especially Genetics was my interest. I pursued my studies, and got married to another bright scientist and a good lecturer. I always feel very happy when ever we discuss biology at home.

I got placed in one of the scientific company in Bangalore. I thank GOD and My luck, for giving me this opportunity to input my academic knowledge in my profession.  I feel proud to say this as now-a-days people study something during their academics and they end up working in a different domain.

Then slowly I came to sense and understood what I was pondering upon was wrong. Science is my passion, I went for it, may be it yields me peanuts, but the satisfaction that I get from my work can never match any Dollars or Euro.  I live with a satisfaction that whatever was my interest I am still sticking to it and I am not changing my profession for money. May be bungalow and car will be a struggle, but while walking I enjoy my walk (with nature) and knowing how many calories I am spending, what is the metabolism that is undergoing at present inside me :).

I am Proud that I am a SCIENTIST.