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Raghu Ram

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Raghu Ram

PhD Student

NIPGR

Brief description about me

I am a PhD student, performing research in National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR). We, in our laboratory, study rice plant, the mechanisms involved inside the plant to overcome the stress conditions like drought and floods, cold and heat, intense light and dim light etc. The mechanisms or processes undergoing inside the plant can be termed as signaling mechanisms. I have been working as a researcher since four years.

Challenges in job

Understanding the plant from its inside is really a tough job. We seek to learn what we do not see from the outside, by the way of questioning the answers we get. Like say, a type of periwinkle plant has pink flowers, and if you take a look closely, you will find a white circle at the centre of the flower. Also the pink colour seems to be ending in a gradient, making it difficult to spot where exactly the pink colour ends and white colour starts. Our first question would be what determines the flower colour to be pink and what determines the white circle, its size and the colour. Next, what restricts the pink colour and what processes inside the flower start the white circle. Why doesn’t the white circle spread into the pink region.

Job made easy

Patience, clear mind, open thinking (often thinking must be not influenced by conventional belief) and most important thing is desire to pursue. All these qualities, I think are required to enjoy our job.

India strategy towards technology development

I think, we in our country are failing in few critical areas by which our country is unable to dominate the world market. First failure in this direction is to retain the talent in India. When the talented people are retained, the inability of the society or the government (whatsoever the cause is) to recognize such talent and provide adequate opportunity to facilitate the nourishment and successful use of that talent. Most of the times I see that people really struggle to get through the bound societal beliefs. And this hinders the performance overall. Few get passed through it and few drop off and continue their compromised life.

Family background

I come from a lower middle class family from Bellary, Karnataka. My father owns medical stores and looks after its business. Since the day one, my father is obsessed with the medical stores and would force me to take over after him. Initially I felt fine, but later on I started disliking it. I want to be in much good position, my aims are higher. I would always try to convince my father that of course I would look after the shop but it would not be my main priority. But he always disagreed. I somehow didn’t at all like sitting in the shop and selling medicines all day long throughout my life. It was impossible to imagine myself in that situation. So I got into science research, which I feel best suites me. My father is not at all happy for this decision of mine. As he is getting older he is being obsessed with many other things, which are the common social problems in our country. He is becoming more adamant to his thinking and doesn’t try to understand the problems faced by the family members. So, I am one of the victims of the general social problems and I am trying and struggling hard to overcome it.

Advice to students

Always take suggestions from the successful people in the field and not by the failures. Believe in yourself, think calmly and decide where you fit best in the field. I feel, it is often a mistake when people take advice from parents who are innocent about our field. Normally all the parents want their children to be settled as soon as possible and their decisions also would be influenced by the same. But what drives you to do, to work and perform better, to learn more is really you who could decide better. Few parents are really good, they research upon the whole field, ask the opinion of their child, thinks what could be best for their child and suggests the ultimate thing. Such suggestions are really reliable.