Communication has become quite easy for our generation thanks to several inventions such as the internet and smartphones. However, this wasn't the case when our parents were young.?
Communication was definitely a problem in 1997 and?Samrat Mukhopadhyay, a professor at the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Mohali, Punjab shared how he had to get through that to reach his dream interview.?
In a Twitter thread, Mukhopadhyay narrated how he finally reached Bangalore from Calcutta in time and qualified with flying colours. He started off by saying how excited he was for an integrated PhD programme at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. After his graduation from Jadavpur University with high marks, he was sure to make it to the prestigious institution.
He was so sure of getting admitted to the university that he booked his train tickets beforehand.?¡°I reserved my seats on the trains quite early. There was no direct train from Howrah (main station near Kolkata) to Bangalore ¨C Howrah to Madras (now Chennai) by Coromandel Express and then Madras-Bangalore Mail (total travel time including a stopover in Madras ~ 36 hours),¡± he wrote.
However, even though he was quite hopeful, he never received the call letter for the interview. So he got disappointed and?cancelled his train reservation.?
And just when he thought all was lost, fate had other plans for him. He did receive the letter on the day the interviews started. Although he thanked the postman for the letter and understood it was a postal delay, Mukhopadhyay admitted, ¡°I was even more disappointed to receive the letter¡±.
?Even though he thought he had missed the opportunity?he still opened his letter. Only after looking at it carefully did he realise his interview had been scheduled for June 18 and that he still had about 45 hours to make it.
?
Even though he had cancelled the train, he got more time to fix things after the train got delayed for over 3 hours. However, things weren't easy for him.?The first train got delayed, making him lose his connection train in Chennai. ¡°Madras-Bangalore Mail had already left. I was going from pillar to post to find out how to travel to Bangalore. There was a severe storm and a power blackout,¡± he recalled.
?
However, he did find a spot on another train, the Guwahati-Bangalore Express, to take him to his destination. With severe rainfall, however, the train did not start for several hours and he was still stuck in Chennai. Finally, when the train left the station its slow speed only increased his anxiety and fear.
To his relief, the train sped up a little and he reached Bangalore - only 30 minutes before his appointment. Huffing and puffing and armed with all his luggage, he somehow made it before the interview panel. ¡°My interview went on for ~ 40 min and I did very well. It couldn¡¯t have been better,¡± he wrote.?
?
He told the committee why he showed up late. But his determination clearly made him stand out. Eventually, he did make it. ¡°My life changed 25 years ago. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d have done had I not made it to IISc. Whatever I have done in my life, I owe it to IISc,¡± he concluded.
Follow us on?telegram.?