A New Beginning...

Eight months.

That's how long it's been since the virus commenced its sweet & gentle life in this world.

Seven months.

That's how long it's been since my first and last post.

Six months.

That's how long ago the world actually went fully digital.

Five months.

Since I decided to start working out.

Four months.

Since I graduated with a Master's degree in Physics.

Three months.

That's how long I've been no-less-than literally jobless and partially non-medically-depressed.

Two months.

Since I changed my fate. Forever.

One month.

Of complete uncertainty and anxiety.

Two days.

Of total and complete euphoria.

Two days, since I officially got accepted into a Ph. D. programme in Physics.

I was in year six of my school, when a temporary substitute teacher had joined us, filling up for someone on maternity leave. This man had a distinctive way about him, with an even more distinctive accent. First day he walks in, standing at over six feet tall, he took the scared piece of chalk between his plump fingers and wrote down something on the black rough board. We were in the terminal part of our year, so most of our syllabus was complete. He wrote something that six year's kids could understand. It was "from within the syllabus". Yet, the studious ones among us, who swore they could solve any problem from our school-prescribed mathematics textbooks, felt uneasy. Ever stubbed your toe in your own house? This felt just like that, just a ton more painful and embarrassing inside your head.

After a few seconds of mutual blank stares, we got to work. A minute goes by. Then another twelve. The class topper raises his hand exclaiming that he did it! You should note that in year six, a decent enough student shouldn't take more than about a minute to solve any year-six-appropriate problem. Why? Because they're taught math with rules and examples. Much like how machines learn these days. Kids naturally do not take an extended period of time to repeat a routinely and monotonously trained pattern consisting of rigid and arbitrary rules. Well, he indeed did it. Guess who was the second to finish? I was the fourth in the class according to the annual report cards. Why finish second then? Looking back I think it was because I was incapable of blindly following the strongly-built construct of rules which MUST be used to solve mathematics problems. (If you think that I'm saying that I was a math wiz, please stop reading. Now!)

He was a graduate from ISI, Kolkata. Since then, this name has been analogous to pure evil mathematical geniuses for me. No wonder I wanted to get in too, but one glance at the entrance examination paper was enough to make me question my life's choices. So I went into an easier and much-less-interesting field: Physics.

I took me five full years of study into this subject to realize that all I was doing was Applied Mathematics all-along! No wonder I ended up in the Physics and Applied Mathematics Unit at ISI, Kolkata. An eleven-year long wish had finally come true.

Do you still think wishes don't fructify?