‘I don’t want to be “Durga”. I want to be Anindita’

Anindita Bhadra, Professor at the Behaviour and Ecology Lab, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata, does not believe in glorifying women as multitaskers. A former PhD student at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Anindita studied hierarchy in social wasps and later shifted to researching the behaviour of stray dogs in India. […]

Behind the Badge

A day in the life of hostel warden Chikka Gangamma    In the early morning hours, when most of the campus is still stirring from sleep, a familiar figure makes her way through the quiet streets of IISc. With a gentle smile that has become her trademark, Chikka Gangamma begins another day of guarding not […]

Connecting Calls

Beginning in the 1980s, Dhanalakshmi M, was one of the many dedicated telephone operators at IISc for over three decades. She was born on 13 May 1957 in Bangalore, and completed her BSc in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Biology from Maharani’s College. After a diploma in ‘Reception and Bookkeeping’ from Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic, Bangalore, she […]

‘It’s difficult to get into IISc. It’s also difficult to get out because you fall in love with it’

Yadati Narahari leans over his desk, turning his computer screen around as he shows an image. It shows a group of people standing side-by-side staring into the camera. It is an image that Narahari holds with great regard, one – he feels – encapsulates his time at IISc. “This is six generations of researchers and […]

‘In this Field, Every Day is a New Experience’

Parveen Kaswan is an officer in the Indian Forest Service, currently posted in Jaldapara National Park in West Bengal, home to one of the largest remaining populations of the Indian rhino (also called the greater one-horned rhino). Born in Mirjawali village, in the Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan, his journey to this position was circuitous. He […]

‘People Come up with Labels, I Enjoy the Work I do’

Gagandeep Kang is an interdisciplinary researcher famed for her work on enteric infections. She was part of the teams responsible for the development of two Indian rotavirus vaccines, Rotavac and Rotasiil, and has worked extensively on viruses that cause different types of diarrheal diseases and on typhoid surveillance networks. She completed her MBBS in 1987, […]

Keeping a Clean Lab

Twenty years ago, T Chandrashekar joined PB Seshagiri’s lab at the Department of Developmental Biology and Genetics or DBG (earlier called Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics) as a lab assistant. Since then, he has helped countless students with their research by prepping their worktables every day. Along the way, he worked at different labs in […]

‘Chandrayaan-3 Showed What India is Capable of’

Sreedhara Panicker Somanath is the 10th Chair of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from TKM College of Engineering, Kollam, in 1985. Soon after, he started his stint in ISRO as team leader of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). After 10 years of service, he […]