Careers in Science, Bangalore, India

The panel where I was the only woman “ Would you please be on our panel for the Science Careers Conference, we are holding in SJC, “ asked the sweet and gentle HOD of the Science department -- Sandra Misquith in St. Joseph’s Arts and Science College. “ You are a Science and Environment journalist and we want to educate the kids that there is more to a career in Science, than only research jobs in the pure sciences.” “ Sure!” I said, “ I always love talking about my job as it happened quite by chance way back in 2004. I won a scholarship to the UN in New York and that triggered my interest and all my subsequent scholarships and fellowships all over the world was with different arms of the UN. UNFCCC, UNEP, UN-Water etc.” Six of us sat on the panel, on the 7th March starting with a talk by Professor Siddharth Sarma from the IISc. After a coffee break came Dr Subrajit Bjattacharya, VP Data Science @ CL Educate. Dr. Bhattacharya was educated in the IIT Kanpur after which he went to the US to further his studies in Engineering. He returned to Bangalore, after 16 years in the US to look after his old parents. Then came the exciting panel discussion where we had to talk about ourselves. Dr Richard Fernandes -- George Fernandes minister’s brother who is principal of the Azim Premji University, Naga Praveen who was incharge of Intellectual property rights, Rohitesh Natarajan a Stress Testing Analyst and Nikhil Prawar who designs Math and Science curriculums, besides me -- the ONLY woman-- were on the panel.

My work speaks for itself I was asked to go first and decided to let my work speak for itself. I brought a pendrive of my stories and opened them out for the kids to see for themselves on the huge OHP. What an impact that made, as my magazine stories are stupendous with their myriad of pictures spanning two pages too. I also brought my novels for them to view and encourage them that writing takes as many forms, as you would like it to take. I always get great joy in explaining that there was not enough money to send me into a professional course as a young woman. There were five kids and in my generation yes the girls were educated but in the arts,besides music & sewing. I have a LTCL on the Piano from the Trinity College of Music London but there was no money to do professional courses which my brothers got. There was no one to advise me too. Both my parents were double grads, but Dad could not see beyond Engineering. I think I would have made a great lawyer in retrospect.

Making a point, especially for the women So I just did the regular BA in Arts and since I got 90 plus in History in my ISC I decided to do my first MA in History from the Bangalore University. My Father -in-law- to- be wanted me to stop it, as he felt I would be more educated than my husband to be. But lucky for me, my fiance was an educated man and said I needed to finish it. It was only when my sons were in their final years of school that I closed down and sold my Ad agency called Arc Advertising and decided to go to work in the Deccan Herald full time. It was a great experience and in my second year there in 2004 I landed the prestigious Erasmus Mundus, Masters in Journalism scholarship, where hundreds apply and just 30 get selected. That’s because the scholarship gives us 42 thousand Euros for two years. A mind boggling sum. That was the turning point in my life. I went off to do a two years full time Masters in The EU --- six months in Denmark, six months in Amsterdam and one year in the UK. That changed my narrow indian mind-set forever. I found there was so much joy in studying and after completing the Masters successfully returned to India and to the Deccan Herald.

We were unanimous that all children need to grab all opportunities I was promoted to Assistant Editor and had my own cabin. Wow, I had broken the glass ceiling where mainly men were Assistant Editors. But soon I got bored of being clerical. I wanted to teach and share what I learned and so when Fr Ambrose Pinto, the then Principal of St. Joseph’s College connected with me to publish his articles, he suggested coming to join him and start the PG Media Course in St. Joseph’s. I resigned overnight and had a most enjoyable 12 year stint in St. Joseph’s starting and growing the section which is doing well now with my students running the show now! But studying abroad changed me and I needed to complete a PhD. I could have got a seat in Europe but I was a family person and that was not feasible. So I returned and in five years completed my PHd from Madurai University. Now I have moved on choosing the colleges to take work shops in -- Mount Carmel’s, Jyothi Nivas, COMMITS. The reason is simple, I need to be free to travel and go visit my sons whenever I want to. “ Mum come and shout for me, I am participating in this year's Iron Man,” said my second son who is a doc and a great athlete -- I need to be free to go and shout and scream for my son like his days as a young adult in Bangalore. So no full time jobs for me. Last year he swam in the river in Chattanooga, while other team mates ran and cycled. It was so exciting and my DIL and me and the babies screamed the shouted, when he came in the first few. I run a book club too and told the kids at the Science workshop to join for free. Books have always been my passion, a hobby inculcated by my parents at a young age. The college kids who come learn so much from the authors I invite. When the club where I started the original club began to charge, I quit starting my own for free. That's my mantra. I got my education for free and so I will give it for free. Then we all sat down in the brand new cafeteria and were treated to a delicious meal along with a gift of a glitzy new slim flask to use for coffee. I was mobbed by the kids and by the end of it I felt they had taken away all my knowledge and that was a marvelous thing.