33 A tale of two lives

Srubabati Goswami

am lucky to be born in a family where one is allowed to pur- sue one’s own interests irrespective of one’s gender. I devel- Ioped an interest in mathematics and science in school and chose the science stream for further studies. I worked in Neutrino for my Ph.D. with Prof. Amitava Raychaudhuri in the . It was an upcoming field and I enjoyed my work a lot. I got married during my Ph.D. period to another physi- cist. It was my own decision. Two years after my marriage I submitted my thesis and applied for a postdoctoral position in the institute where my hus- band was working. However, it was not clear when the selection interview would take place. I was allowed to use the facilities there and I even had an office space. However, I soon started facing difficulties since I did not have any affiliation. So I started apply- ing to other institutes in for a postdoctoral position and I got an offer from TIFR. However, I was expecting at that time and because of my health conditions we decided that it was best for me to go back to my parent’s house for the delivery of the child. The interview for which I waited for seven months was held soon after my departure. My daughter was born on 27th July, 1997 and within a few days I came to know that there would be a second interview in A TALE OF TWO LIVES 115 Finally, I joined as a postdoctoral fellow in January 1998 in January fellow joined as a postdoctoral I Finally, for the a talk I had to give of one year After completion very started work well at this stage. I had progressing My col- my gratitude to my I take this opportunity to express had to 2002 and after that I never I joined HRI in April my husband’s Institute in early September. I managed to attend managed I early September. in Institute my husband’s this interview selected. and got was back to physics come To break. years than a more after about of. take care a small child to specially with not easy, the from feedback and I got a positive of my fellowship renewal report in my wrote the head of the group committee. However, so my postdoctoral fel- and not punctual and that I was irregular once again I faced the pos- Thus, should not be renewed. lowship of restart- one year just within of my career sibility of termination I used to go to during that period. very hard ing it. I was working on my sincerity at on holidays. A question mark the institute even someone totally un- last thing I expected from that stage was the But at that or what could be its possible impact. aware of my work the work and I thought time I was feeling very confident about the objections my goal. Despite that I should not deviate from and there an extension. I completed my tenure finally I was given as a visiting fellow. Institute 2000 I joined Saha in January in work for long hours. But the support of my family and I could admit our daughter to should 2001 my husband told me that we he was staying as later getting admission to the a school where with him, I came back to stay school would be very So difficult. This was a very crucial point in Institute. from Saha taking leave I So with a lot of new results. the field in which I was working, that time I worked At should not stop. decided that the work wrote a paper analyzing these from home, from cyber-cafes and we on to become a top cite. This paper went results. with- Bandyopadhyay Choubey and Abhijit laborators Sandhya between, I had done in this period. In out whom I could not have and had got offers from applied for postdoctoral positions abroad At the same time, I got a job offer from and Japan. Spain Portugal, (HRI), in March Institute Chandra Research Harish 2002. I decided to take up the offer. 116 LILAVATI’S DAUGHTERS lier. with bothparents muchear- –achancethatperhapsshedeserved and whereIamnow based. faculty positionintheinstitutewhere myhusbandwasworking Into mylifeandhasmadeitworthwhile. 2007, Iwasoffered a and havingmydaughteraround hasaddedatotallynewmeaning achieved itonmyown. Ofcourse,beingin HRIhasmadeiteasier that.’ Today happythatwhatIhaveachieved, I have Iamvery on your own strength. Do notdependonmeoranyone elsefor husband hadoncetoldme,‘ifyou wanttobuildyourcareer doit ter. However, hedidalsorealise thatIhadtotakethejob. My sion. My muchtobewithourdaugh- husband,Ifeel,wantedvery accepted lifeasitcametousandtriedmakethebestoutofit. person sacrificingthecareer andremaining unhappy. We which, Ifound,wasmuchbetterthanstayingtogetherwithone was alone.But wemanaged.In ourseparateliveswe were happy husband. It wasdifficultformeandIthinkmore soforhimashe golden periodformealso. Of courseIwasnotstayingwithmy this fieldwashighlyappreciated worldwide. compelled ustothinkbeyondourstandard ideas.Our work in called Neutrinos are massive. importantresult that This wasavery experiments establishingbeyonddoubtthattheinvisibleparticles in Neutrino Physics. There were remarkableresults fromseveral lent. Ienjoyedmyself,myworkandeverythingverymuch. friendly andprogressive. The academicenvironmentwasexcel- look backagain. We stayedoncampus. The atmosphere was This hasgiven mydaughterthechancetostaytogether My toughdeci- decisiontocomeAllahabadwasavery After thestrugglingperiodfrom 1996–2002.itwaslikea These yearsweretermedasthegoldenperiodofresearch