We are not actually classified as COVID warriors, but we are as much overworked as the ones who are. The scenario at my home cannot be much different from the other homes I am sure. I am watching online tutions/ school for my son happen from a distance. Online office for my back to pavilion husband and online lectures for me.

It is a solution for not so normal times and at least the small world we as a family inhibit is going on line smoothly (pun intended). It was not so smooth initially when the full impact of COVID was understood by me. The home wifi was not as broad as the broadband predicted (pun intended). So I had to get another wifi connection solely for myself. That initial exhilaration was fine, till a heavy thunderstorm caused a tree branch to fall on the wifi connection wires and my connection to the online world was snapped. I decided we need a backup and so third wifi come into our lives and finally I could breathe that my son’s class and my lectures will go uninterrupted.

Now you will ask why am I so worried about missing a class? bad wifi connections? It is taken very seriously and no slacking from work is allowed. Woe betides if you are unwell and would want to take a day off. You are working from HOME = not working/ relaxing/ chilled out. So most of the work from home entities is overworked. This means we have not been able to find a fine balance to manage this situation. Or we have not been able to chill while working and work while chilling as insinuated. Must be because we are honest and hardworking and not hardly working!

The students are looking at screens and trying their best to understand the teaching happening along with us in these tiring times, rest play pubg or COD, etc as a popular youtube video ” Mrs. Janaki” says. But I have learned to find my peace with the times. I have happy making my lecture presentations which were pushed aside for more pressing work, happy teaching a group of really great chaps who lap up knowledge, happy to not go behind my son’s life … hope you get the flow. I am happy because I realized I have so many new things to learn. Technology has always interested me and this was the time to use it to my benefit.

Things may become normal and life will go on…hopefully COVID will be defeated by humans and we can travel and see the world again and not only on a shiny bright screen. Till that happens let me make kadha/ kashayam, walk on my terrace, drink warm water, check my eye power for new pair of glasses and wait for a no COVID day to dawn.

It has not been easy this lock down, not been easy on the stomach that is!

I am sure most reading this would agree that it has not been easy. When life was what it was; cooking was a quick breakfast- pack lunch for son and myself and if husband is back from posting keep lunch aside- come home- cook arrives- have tea – dinner is something simple. Weekends were elaborate late breakfast and lunch. Cook was on Sunday break so I would do the elaborate breakfast and lunch. Not much time and work was the overriding plan with much needed rest on weekends.

Now everyday is today. And with no maids, cook or help around everything has to be managed by poor me. My son chips in but like I had shared in my previous blog a teen is a different zone altogether. So (long sigh) I was on this trip that I am going to be fine… won’t do much cooking, just two of us at home, not much exercise happening so we will cook less, eat less, balancing out the eating with burning calories. No ordering junk is possible in these times ( happy sigh)… Such profound thinking!

Then came along family whats app (WA groups, henceforth) groups. Everyone was cooking and on display were their cooking skills. They were plastering the page with olden days recipes, new innovative recipes. Clicking pictures of their garden full of mangoes, micro greens…I can add more if you want.. the list that is. I was zapped as I was nowhere in that league. I had articles to be submitted, classes on zoom to be readied for son, research publications and such unappetizing tasks to complete. My college friend called. He while ending the talk said Mumbai was in deep trouble with COVID-19 crisis. I agreed. We talk about the doom that has befallen us. Its fun catching up with old friends. Then he spoils it all by saying that they were having pani puri for dinner!! No way, I had not planned any dinner as I felt I had not yet digested my lunch! But pani puri would have been an amazing dinner. One WA group no longer posts forwards, good morning messages, or gossip but only posts the days menu with awkward camera work on their handiwork. I encountered the same problem on Face book (sigh). Friends who have never liked cooking are now mastering the art. My kattan kapi or filter kapi was being downed by Dalgona coffee!!! Was it inspired by Salvador Dali, by any chance? (with a name like that, I rather drink my kapi). A close friend doesn’t feel any remorse showing of paratha making skills! While my students wife( who is one amazing chef anyway) shakes me out of my calm meditation by posting her new Pilaf with everyone dripping over the electronic device which carried the pictures. Oh Lord! HALP! Its all so tempting.

My son would have none of it, so I stared heavenwards and began… to.. cook. Days have passed and I have myself sent some pictures of items I made to my husband posted far, to close friends who have eaten at home, or tasted what I have cooked. I am not so adventurous to post them anywhere else, I guess! The other day Arjun came on to the kitchen to rustle up some tasty cheese and capsicum grilled sandwich, by then I had understood something.

We will need more than will power to get back into shape after the safe lock down period is over. Amen.

My son Arjun turned 15 right over today and he is now going to be pat in the middle age for teens! As a mother I am seeing much changes around me without any warning. I think 15 – 17 age should come with a statutory warning for parents like me who have been the crux of our children life. “Beware…you are entering into the danger zone” should be pasted all over the air by now…but I saw nothing! PHD is not required to catch these warnings, a simple talent to catch the symptoms is enough. I didn’t have that talent obviously. His universe has expanded and now includes friends I have known well but they all now inhibit a galaxy different from mine.

He has always been self sufficient and very understanding child who had so much to share about his day. However, now the talks are short hurried answers, unless he is hungry ( which he always is) and food is required. Amma! what are you packing for my lunch?… whats there to eat, I am coming home from school… dinner can we have something fried/ order something..are the general conversation leads. Allz well will be the steady response for other queries…or Amma you chill! But this hunger based conversations could be sorted by my rival Swiggy/ Zomato!!! Since I have put a rule that home cooked food is a must twice/ thrice a day, I feel I am at an advantage over Swiggy/ Zomato. A sense of relief washes over me.

The phone being constantly used be a laughing matter for me when my friends would share their plight about teenage sons. But suddenly its no longer as laughable with my son. I am dead serious. They have so much to talk about after just coming back from school. I suddenly have started believing I have done none of these myself. I felt I was never a teenager because I only feel I am a mother ( the most important stage of my life). He has started bonding with Dad more. How painful can that be (ha ha). Information reaches Dad dear posted out faster than it reaches me. Huh!

His room which was unused till last year has now become a fortress. Dirty shoes, mud laden football boots near the wardrobe — dirty sandy socks carelessly thrown into the wash bucket– stinky parka, hooded Ts kept with care to be used again– football on the bed– books on the floor and study with snacks and drinks –the balcony attached to his room I don’t want to detail. The maid has a funny expression while sorting it out cause she loves this boy growing up right in front of her eyes. No complaints from her. Boy! and isn’t he so hap with the carnage around him..peace such peace.

Suddenly I was living in our home with a stranger. I couldn’t connect with that chubby cutie pudding and this 6 foot 1 inch tall dark handsome guy who just walked past me while I type this saying he is going out for a while.

Anyway, my good luck to have two counselors who I can share my plight. Both at different times gave me a keen ear but gave me the same advice. I was told to ” wean myself away and have my own life again”. I was aghast! I am having my own life, I said indignantly. One of the guys asked me a question then. He said, ” Veera, who are you?“. I stumbled on uncharted terrains again.. I had no idea what I was required to say to be correct. He then smilingly elaborated saying if I considered my self to be a wife, mother, teacher, researcher etc as the true me. I said all these are me only. Then he said something which changed everything I was feeling turbulent about. He said that you are you. If I needed to be the others then I should be myself completely. I need to claim my life back and this is my opportunity. It is true because it has revolved around husband transfers, sons life, it has never been mine. He said that my son needs to grow and make himself acceptable to this peers and companions. Connections like these are important. He needs validation from his peers. He needs to find his own foothold. They are still our babies and will always be ours. The values instilled in them will always be there. That helped me and I also understood that I am not the only one who had forgotten who we are. Thanks to my counselors timely advice I understood I need to give my son lots of support, privacy, peace and unconditional love and let him learn from his mistakes..

Did I hear mistakes…No way.. (ha ha)

Men are definitely from Mars because I am am surely from Venus.

Happy birthday son. Whenever you read this post later you will remember your teenage years and laugh at Amma’s confusion.

That is the most difficult part. We are surrounded by expectations. The day we are born we are expected to coo-coo to the right sounds made by divergent groups of people visiting the hospital or later at home. We are expected to rattle of our knowledge for “demo purpose” when guests arrive, to showcase how good our early years nursery teaching is. All “money worth” for the parents when we are toddlers…this list is endless and never ends as we grow older. Boys are expected to behave in a certain way and girls definitely in no similar way to them boys.

The difficulty is when we hold on to this expectations people have and our attitude changes and slowly we are hunching with this guilt of not living up to expectations. I don’t even know since when I started holding these expectations close to my heart that I had slowly accumulated a burden that was holding me back from feeling happy. I looked happy, I smiled, I laughed, I did what was right and what was expected, I am successful, I am capable and people depend on me to sort out things at work and my home is running smoothly. But I was not happy as I was carrying a burden of other peoples expectations. I kept telling myself to become what I am not. I could not do that because I loved myself as I am with all my goodness and little not so good.

Then one day, furious at my son for not doing whatever I had asked him to do, (in his case not waste time and study) asked him, ” How do you see yourself 10 to 15 years from now?” I love to ask this question to teenagers. Since I was angry at my son, I had already thought of the answer he would be giving me and how I could shoot my next barb at him. I was expecting him to say…I want to answer IIT JEE or NEET or something similar…and then I would have said that with this kind of study habits and marks you will go no where etc etc.. I think you got the flow. I am good at sarcasm. I have no patience. And now I was waiting for a war of words. I enjoy a debate…I generally win because I always think 10 steps ahead of my opponent. I was keen to win against my son. I already knew the answer or so I thought.

I was stumped with his reply. He looked at me straight in the eye. And he said and I quote ” I want to be HAPPY. I want to see myself happy with the choices I made.” I had no retort for that! No one has ever told me that they want to be HAPPY! It meant that he had the best aim in life. Being happy is the quest which we don’t even look at because of the expectations we carry. And success is measured by the wrong meter. Obviously I felt bad about myself. I realized the only thing I could possibly change is myself but letting go of expectations I have first of myself and second from others. And for the first time losing a debate felt good.

I meanwhile started to take my meditation time seriously. I slowly but surely can say that the minute I started letting go of expectations, I am feeling lighter, happier and more peaceful with myself. I am happy that I could understand that I needed to heal myself before I was at the brink. I understand that I should allow people to be and if they are not the way I like, I am still fine with them. I am fine if I don’t live up to others expectations because am honest with myself and I am trying to do my best within my capacity and capabilities.

So, when my students asked me what my new year resolution is this year, I said, letting go of expectations and speaking less….

Maunam vidhvaana bhushanam- meaning for the learned silence can be used as a tool to accomplish things.

This year is about to end and for some of us it is just another year end and for the others it means a fresh chance to prove oneself.

I was invited as chief guest to an all- girls school run by the Christian missionary nuns, a couple of years back, on the occasion of their Valedictory day.. rite of passage for these lovely bunch of young ladies. It was an honor to speak to them and I am sure they must have done well for themselves. In a simple yet elegant ceremony, as wont of a missionary school, I could see the genuine interest of the teachers and the administration to do the best for these young ladies under their tutelage.

Principal, Vice Principal, staff, parents / guardians of the graduating students, guests and most importantly the valedictorians, Good evening.

Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to speak to you. A convocation is a historic occasion and marks the realization of a dream, the commitment, innovation, and hard work of the founding nuns of this institution. We must all be grateful to them for their contribution. I feel honored to be here today with the extraordinary individuals connected with this institution. As your school song has been guiding you all through your life here, let toil, faith and love be the motto of your life.

Let us look at these three words and their impact on us generally and you specifically.

TOIL is important because if you don’t work hard towards your goal then you will never achieve what you have been created for! If we rest all the time and do nothing, we will still grow older, wont we? Aging is mandatory but success isn’t. If   we want to succeed we have to do something which sets us apart from others. I am telling by example. I don’t get sleep if I don’t read something new every day, my quest for doing new things is insatiable even if I have learnt how, not to do something!! Even then, I feel I have learnt something. If you want to achieve this zest for life keep your focus on yourself and learn something every day. Even if it means walking that extra mile or meeting that impossible deadline.

Next is FAITH! Ah! Faith is so important…Faith in your creators (parents can’t go wrong, can they!). They may be stern at times and you may have felt like rebelling, they are the people you go back to when in trouble, don’t you?  Faith on your alma- mater, your Principal and especially your teachers. They have equal rights over you. They have molded you from what you WERE to the beautiful and accomplished ladies you ARE, sacrificing their time sometimes to just give you that extra push. If they are tough on you and don’t allow certain liberties, remember they know what is wrong and right because they have gone through all this too.

And the third word …. LOVE! Love yourself first! Then everything will fall in place. If your heart is unhappy you cannot spread happiness. You have to have something, to give to others. Appreciate what God has given you. You are special, each of us is unique. Looking at you all, listening so intently, I feel so honored because I am speaking to a generation which can revolutionize the thought process of millions of people if they want to. SO! Do that…Revolutionize…Love everything around you. Respect yourself and others. And be the change you want to see in others.

As women we have more responsibility entrusted upon us. To do everything to the best of our ability is not easy because we are judged by the society. People may objectify you, they will see your face first than anything else, they will judge you by your color, caste, opinions, height, weight, education, achievements,……oh my God…the list is endless! Even I have gone through this all.

 BUT DOES THAT MATTER? NO!

Because we are not what others deem us to be, we are this because we CHOSE to be this. So next thing is love your choice.  And DON’T BE SCARED TO TAKE CHANCES…. If you are not passionate about what you are doing you cannot be an achiever. You are the next generation. You will be the reflection to our society so chose your passion carefully. Be a great teacher, a great engineer /doctor/ dancer/ sportswomen/ banker/ lawyer/ homemaker….anything… but most importantly be a great human!

I read this somewhere and it makes a lot of sense. Listen to this story carefully

A young woman (studying in college) went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” the young woman replied. The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity – boiling water – but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened! The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

Which are you Girls…are u a carrot or an egg or the coffee?

 “Which are you?” the mother asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?” Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong but, with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity?

So think today. Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Dear teachers/ educators, you have been the inspiration to the girls. Each one of you have contributed richly to the future of these girls. They emulate you and so the power you wield is immense. Your contribution will and has shaped the lives of many. Thank you teachers!

For all the parents present here, Educating is the most important thing we do as parents. Educating our children to prepare them for the future, prepare them to challenge and help them improve our society. Children who are educated have the confidence to look beyond the given situation. Thank you for choosing education over everything else, however difficult it may have been for you financially to see that the girls receive good education at a safe and developing institution. Thank you parents!

Did you know, in the US, this occasion is called Commencement because you are commencing your journey of translating your education to the benefit of the world? May every one of you realize your potential fully and wholly to make this country and the world a better place for all of us. You have received an excellent education from your teachers. I am in full agreement with that. Therefore, I will speak on another important topic. That is, becoming a patriotic Indian.

What is patriotism? To me, patriotism is not just singing our national anthem or draping myself in our national flag. They are important and necessary but not sufficient. To me, patriotism is about working ethically and wholeheartedly in our chosen sphere to enhance public good. What do I mean by that? It means working efficiently, swiftly, effectively, honestly and in a co-operative manner with the interfaces of everyone around you.  It is -AS A WOMAN, all about conducting ourselves in a manner that enhances the confidence of our next generation in our institutions. It is about making the next generation proud of you, your school and our country. These things do not happen because of mere speeches and slogans. They happen because of performance. Unless you translate your aspirations to actions they do not mean a thing. I want you to remember that performance leads to recognition. Recognition leads to respect. Respect leads to power. Therefore,…….. Remember the words of John Kennedy who said that a society, that cannot help many who are poor, cannot save the few who are rich. Your betterment lies in the betterment of the entire society. So take care of your family first as charity begins at home…then the entire society will become better.

I have noticed that now a days, young people are under too much of stress. In a beautiful song “Good Night” by the Beatles the lyrics written by John Lennon has this famous quote “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Have some plans in your life but don’t push everything into the future because you might not be able to do it or it might be too late. Do some planning BUT LIVE EVERYDAY; that’s important. The learning process never stops. You should always look for opportunities to increase your knowledge and understanding. One really good tip from me is that I always say this to myself that I am the best. It works, try it…!!!

I am honored to be present on such an important day. I am proud to be here. I salute every woman in India as women are the real leaders. They courageously face every impediment in life and reach their objective. Life is about constant improvement. I am proud to see these young women entering a great new life.

May the Lord shower you with all happiness each one of you deserve, may the Lords hand be in all choices you make, may the Lord bestow upon each one of you abundance of  love and prosperity to share with others. May each one of you make the society proud.

Thank you.

“Education is the manifestation of perfection already present in man” is what Swami Vivekananda said.

My mother had developed health issues and required urgent expert handling. I had to rush her to the doctor she was referred to. The reports were not encouraging and the hospital said that they were ill-equipped to handle such a case and in case there is any emergency it was beyond them. They suggested an ‘important’ name and said he will do a good job.

Tagging a then toddler son, my mother and me went in search of this great person who would rid my mother of her pain. My husband called and requested us to go to the hospital we have been going to for all our ailments ” Apoorva Diagnostics” CMH road. But we had made up our mind to meet this better more educated doctor. It was a meeting we would love to forget. He was rude to the core. He looked at my mother disdainfully and told her directly that she is going to die a terrible death and that he was happy that he doesn’t have this problem! He then progressed to tick off series of tests on a paper he had in front of him. He told me that these tests would cost a bomb. This I should add was said with a smirk.

Cancer is a word that scares people and we were scared.. rather my mother was scared and I was in tears. When my husband came to pick us up he was furious when he found out about this episode and we called Apoorva to speak to the doctor there. The ENT specialist was just the opposite. He allayed all our fears. And gave us hope. Hope was what we all count on during our troubled times.

This person and his battery of specialists were there and my mother had a really good treatment given to her. Let me add that it was all affordable. And the tests where minimal and only what was required. She recovered well. My cousins & I wanted to go and meet the other doctor and give him a piece of our mind but were dissuaded by my otherwise peace loving husband.

I suddenly remembered, I am sure you do know how the knowledge of the atomic bomb in the wrong hands destroyed a country. Einstein could never forgive himself. So…

I understood something here. Education and literacy are different. Education without focusing on CHARACTER is just literacy and can ruin lives and even a nation. Compelling people by working on their fears is unbecoming of anyone who prides his degrees. True education is one which not just empowers us with information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.

The other day we had a birthday celebration in our family. My husband who loves anything sweet and chocolate was the right candidate to get a surprise chocolate truffle cake from our son and me. We landed at the well known confectionery shop on Temple road, The Cake Walk. Arjun chose the cake and asked an attender to write the usual “Happy birthday Daddy”. The attender asked him to spell out Daddy and I was surprised. I was now worried and asked him if he had gone to school. He affirmed that he had and was a graduate. I was astonished. He then interpreted the reason for his statement to Arjun.

He said that most children call their that parents differently.He has written “Pops”, ” da” “Dady” , etc earlier. He elaborated more on that with some prodding. According to him, its not wrong, however the respect that was shown towards parents is lost in such cases. We Indians are known for our reverence towards elders, he continued. We are trying to become friends with our children and so the level has changed. He said that a child can get many friends but gets only one set of parents. We cannot change such a profound relationship. I just listened. He sited many holy books and various great thinkers to prove his point fortuitously.He then said that parents take their children only to theme parks and spend much to see what other countries offer.We should first see our country, because its beautiful, he said. Our heritage is limitless. I was now speechless.

I could not believe myself. A young guy so profound in his thoughts! I asked him how I can help him, in case he requires any. He just wanted books of leaders, thinkers and other holy books. He loves to read such books he said. I am sure I will go back soon and give him the books.

And I am sure I learnt something.

Musings

By Veera Menon

According to the Vedas, there are 3 stages of human life; Bhramcharya, Grihastha and Vanaprastha. Most of us reading this would by capacity be in one of the above stages. Unequivocally we don’t and will not want to be classified in the Vanaprastha stage. I read that middle age is no longer the 30-40 years and the new midlife is 50-60 years. Heartening to most of us as we aspire to be and look young and behave younger. The inundation of information about which actor has defied aging by using some cosmetic creams, done some plastic surgeries fill our eyes with a promise we crave. I have been asked on social portals how come I have not changed over the years and it surprises me to no end because I have changed. I am the same person, true, but I am not the same in many ways. I accept that with humility as it is a blessing to grow old. Not many are lucky to see old age. Sanjeev Kumar the late actor was asked why at a young age he had accepted roles portraying old men ( Aandhi, Trishul and more). He seems to have said that, he may die young as predicted by some astrologer so he wants to enjoy that stage of life on screen at least! He passed away relatively young.

Many famous personalities have taken the cosmetic route to enhance themselves and now I believe girls are going under the knife before and after marriage. Why can’t we be happy as we are? Pulling, tucking, nipping and stitching I am sure can never give the glow peace gives! It may for a short while but gravity will do its job again! Some people end up looking totally different and have to justify their looks by giving fragile reasons. Why so much importance for the outwards when we are not taking care of the more important component the soul.

The crux of the matter is that we should forget cosmetic changes and short term happiness. Man becomes wiser drawing right lessons from experiences. Merely going through experiences doesn’t make a person wise, peaceful, forgiving and/ or happy.  Like some wise man said, “what lies behind us and what lies before us are paltry nothing compared to what lies within us”.

WOMEN AND NOBEL PRIZE- A PERSPECTIVE

By Veera Menon

Half the humanity is made up of women but why do so few women win Nobel prizes? In fact 49 out of 923 have been awarded till now. Göran Hansson, Vice chairman of the board of directors of the Nobel Foundation had said and I quote “We are very proud of the laureates who were awarded the prize this year. But we are disappointed looking at the larger perspective that more women should be awarded”

Everyone has heard of Madame’ Curie and would also know that she has received her Nobel in Physics 1903and Chemistry 1911.

But that is one small speck in the supernova of the research field still practically untouched by the feminine hands till now. Research is still a male dominated field and proudly told to me as fatherland! These comments are outrageous at this space of time and so, although with a few resounding successes; finally this bastion has been decimated however with severe discriminations. Women’s contribution to science has gone unnoticed and uncelebrated till now. A few such stories that would prove my point and these I would love to share with you.

Maria Goeppert Mayer (pic above)born in Germany (June 28, 1906) was the second woman to be awarded a Nobel in Physics for proposing the nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus. But was it easy? She had great difficulty in getting admission into a PhD programme and could enter obliquely through her husband Prof. Meyer. Departments refused to pay her and suggested stereotype feminine research work. But she craved science so much to tolerate such abysmal conditions. She followed her hunch when the structure of atom was being created and suggested the NUCLEAR SHELL MODEL. It was brilliant theoretical physics. Given her precarious status as a woman amongst men researchers, she was nevertheless dismayed to discover that her work has been duplicated by male physicists in her homeland. She risked losing credit for everything. However, both     sides had produced the idea independently,   and when the Germans graciously acknowledged her work and asked her to collaborate, she felt much validation. When she won her highest honor a San Diego newspaper greeted her big day a demeaning headline “S. D Mother wins Nobel Prize”.

Has the condition changed since then, let us see.

Many women have been awarded Nobel since then and we have seen an increase in numbers especially Nobel in Peace (women are naturally good at that!), Literature and a handful in medicine (11), physics (3), chemistry (5) and just one in economics till date ( aren’t we good economists I wonder).  I am sure you may have read about  Mother Teresa, Alva Myrdal, Aung San Suu Kyi, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Malala Yousafzai, Nadia Murad Basee Taha ( peace), Marie Skłodowska Curie, Irène Joliot-Curie, Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin,Ada E. Yonath,  Frances Hamilton Arnold (Chemistry) and Marie Skłodowska Curie, Maria Goeppert Mayer, Donna Theo Strickland (Physics).

Ms. Strickland’s (pic below) invention of optical tweezers and the invention of chirp pulse amplification technique to produce ultra-short and intense laser pulses called ‘ tools of light’ which won her 2018 Nobel Prize ( after 60 years gap) have paved a way for femto lazers and state of the art technology for enabling advancement in eye surgery, micromatching, ultrafast optics and sensors. This will obviously transform our way of seeing science.

 Ms. Frances Arnold won 2018 Nobel in Chemistry ( pic above) was selectively breeding bacteria to develop potent proteins (for the directed evolution of enzymes) which will find applications in drugs, biofuels, environmentally-friendly detergents and brain imaging.

Recently Prof Alessandro Strumia of Pisa University, has been suspended after it was revealed that at a presentation he argued male scientists were being discriminated against, and that physics was “invented and built by men, it’s not by invitation.” Quoting Prof Anne-Christine Davis of Cambridge University, she was very vocal saying “His comments were absolutely outrageous. They are the sort of comments that people may have made decades ago but, coming in this day and age, I just don’t know what planet he lives on.”

Many women have made it to the list but men have far outnumbered women. This isn’t due to lack of meritorious nominees I am sure. The discovery of DNA double helix structure was a work shared between Watson, Crick and Rosalind Franklin. But she was not awarded Nobel due to her death prior to the award of the prize which rewarded the discovery, and the Nobel’s are not awarded posthumously. Lise Meitner was nominated 48 times for chemistry and physics.  Her discovery of nuclear fission of Uranium was pathbreaking. However Otto Hahn, who also contributed to the research, was awarded a Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1944 and her contributions were not recognised. This is cited as one of the famous Nobel snubs.

The rarity of women may be due to the systematic exclusion  of women in fields of science and education in general. It may have decreased with modernization  of society, but the damage has already been done. Women are underrepresented in the stem field of science, math and technology to name a few. We face ridicule, are subjected to unreasonable scrutiny and bias if we made our choice to traverse the male bastion. The field of academics is as brutal as politics.

Sir Tim Hunt ( Nobel Prize – Medicine 2001) had joked in 2015 about the lachrymatory attitude of female researchers and this can be ranked as one of the most derogatory comments. He said and I quote ” Let me tell you about my trouble with girls. Three things happen when they are in the lab. You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them, they cry”. This I think is one of the classic case of self harm done. An incredible stupid things to say by a man who is a gentleman and feminist to boot. This almost ended his career as a senior scientific advisor.

Since Not much has changed I presume.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton