My Findings from Life

(This article was written for and published in 'Thread' the Reunion-2015 magazine of my alma mater Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya)

Sixteen years ago, on a dreary September afternoon, I walked in through the gates of the then BCKV North Bengal Campus, for the first time. I still remember the anxiety I carried in my heart of what hostel life held in store for me. I had little other thoughts in my mind. Having failed to make my mark in any of the Medical entrance examinations, I had just let a lot of my daydreams of a career in Medicine simply evaporate. Unsure of what I was going to do, completely ignorant of where this course in Agriculture would lead me, I had literally entered this campus with nothing specific in my mind, no clear ambition, no solid goal.

Sixteen years later, as I sit down to write this article today, my mind is flooded with wonderful memories of the bygone days. My conscience is swayed by a concoction of various emotions, a profound nostalgia. I was requested to write an article about opportunities for Agriculture graduates outside the field of agriculture. I started doing some research to that end, but soon realized that such a data based presentation of probable opportunities would turn out into a damp piece of information that any search engine can throw up in a matter of seconds. In all these years I have realized that there is no dearth of opportunities in terms of jobs. What matters the most is whether we are game enough to avail of them. I would like to share realizations from my own experiences.

Having taken two hundred six credits of as diverse a set of courses as our curriculum had in those days, we were well equipped with basic know how to enable transition into a wide range of job functions. However, the most critical question was; what job suits one best? Remember the old Bengali adage that says, “Porashona kore je, gari-ghora chore se.” Believe me it’s not just about boarding a vehicle anymore; it’s the choice of the vehicle that matters. It is easier for those who have a definite aim, a clear vision of what their future should be. But for the second type with whom chaos is the natural order of life, choices are always paired with risks. I am not of the first type; I had come to terms with this fact way back in my life. I have always depended on instincts to decide what’s best for me. Many a times I have been wrong but I have learnt from those mistakes.

The realization ‘I am who I am’ has always helped me to stay out of the futile cycles of comparison and competition. In today’s competitive world it is a difficult task to nurture one’s individuality to an extent that one never has to look out for social approval. Walking one’s own path, making one’s own mistakes and learning to take things in the stride are an essential part of ‘growing up’.

It is very important to ‘look-in’ and take stock of one’s strengths and weaknesses. The better one gets to know oneself the easier it becomes to make correct choices. A person who is ignorant of his own self falls prey to herd behavior. We are humans not sheep. Remember “The Road Not Taken”? Venturing into uncharted territories once in a while does have its own benefits. Haruki Murakami says in Norwegian Woods, “If you only read the books that everyone is reading, you can only think what everyone is thinking.”

While one’s individuality makes him stand out in the crowd, acknowledging others’ individualities and accepting mutual interdependence makes him wise. Ego is the worst bane in any social interaction, be it personal or professional. In the long run, just talent will not catapult one into the forefront; correct attitude and relationships are necessary for sustenance in hard times and to keep one on the right track. Remember what Rocky Balboa says, “But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” Believe me when I say the dude is right.

When I was young, I heard a Buddhist monk say, “If a person teaches you even a single alphabet, he is your teacher. Respect him.” Each day we get to learn from different people, different situations, if we are receptive enough. Respect and gratitude are two virtues that help in building relationships. I think of human relations as actual achievements in life. They have always given me strength and confidence. The willingness to learn is a great asset in any profession. It helps to keep one’s mind open; for knowledge can come from anywhere. It is the eagerness to learn that keeps one motivated even when the going is tough.

From the domain of Agriculture to my current industry of pharmaceuticals, it has been an interesting journey, specializing in pesticide chemistry, doing my masters in plant molecular biology, working in biopharmaceutical quality control then analytical research and development, working with proteins to peptides and now carbohydrates; there have been a number of boats I have rowed in. Throughout this journey I have learnt that things are only as difficult as one makes them out to be. It depends on us to allow others dictate what we can do and what we can’t.

Sixteen years ago, at the ‘Fresher’s Welcome’ arranged for our batch, each of us was asked what he/ she wants to be in life. I clearly remember, I had said, “I want to be a person who does whatever his heart wants to.” It was an un-thought reply, seemingly naive at that point in life. But today when I look back, I may not have done everything that my heart told me to, but whatever I did, I always listened to my heart. Everything else kept aside, the objective of human life is to be happy. One should always hold on to the small things that bring happiness. Other things generally take care of themselves. Today if someone asks me what I wanted to be, it would be, “Happy and at peace with myself.”

PS: I have always believed that the people we meet in our lives have an influence, howsoever big or small on our lives. What we are today reflects a cumulative result of all these little influences. My Alma mater, my teachers, my friends, my seniors and juniors and every single individual connected with UBKV, I pay my obeisance to you, for the way in which you have touched my life. I am proud of being what I am today and I am profoundly grateful to you for that.