Thoughts on moving

My stay at N1 is coming to an end.  Packers and movers will move my household tomorrow.  I plan to leave the day after, spend an evening with a very dear friend and colleague and fly out to New1-city after that.

Planning and coordinating the move has been very smooth this time.  After a couple more signatures on my no dues form, I will be good to go!

I was going through some of the initial posts on this blog about my excitement at joining N1.  I have spent a little more than two years here and have learnt a lot. At the time of joining, I did not anticipate that I will move.  I imagined that I will live "happily ever after" at N1, but now realize that one cannot predict the future in such certain terms.  My experience here has been mostly very positive.  I feel privileged for getting a chance to teach motivated and sincere students,  work with talented and energetic colleagues and serve the institute.

I hope that my experience at N1 can enable me to do a much better job at New1.  The three most crucial lessons I have learnt during my stay here are

1) the importance of time management  to balance both research and teaching activities

2) to serve the institute wholeheartedly, but not to take any unpleasant interaction with colleagues personally

3) to always remember that while an institute needs the employee, the employee needs the institute more [this is something I learnt from my colleague, Prince Calming]

But, I have to admit - I have developed a serious aversion to attending meetings!  See the contrast in what I felt about attending meetings here (last year) and here (this year). [1]

Recently, when I was talking to a relative [who thinks I am too starry eyed for my own good] about the upcoming move, he remarked, "It's nice to see you excited to move to New1. But, weren't you as excited two years ago when you were moving to N1?"

Yes, I was, and I don't see why I should not be so all over again.  

I am now moving to a place where I will be a much better fit.  There are many reasons to be happy about - the presence of an active group in my research area, the efforts made by the leadership to encourage and facilitate the growth of my future department and of course, the interest they have shown in my application.  It is always great to join a place where one feels welcomed and an integral part of the system. 






[1] During my interview at New1, members of the selection team remarked about the high number of committees that I was a member of at N1 (this was mentioned in my CV).  When one of them mentioned that I might find myself without a lot of these jobs on joining New1, I wanted to stand up and dance in joy. 
 

Conflict of (non) interest?

Tomorrow, there is going to be a meeting about a very important issue which involves our department.  Thus, the department needs a representative to be present to clearly convey the departmental requirements/point of view and ensure that these are understood and taken into account.  Due to logistical reasons, the meeting is scheduled during a weekend.  As almost all my colleagues are on leave, I have to be present in the meeting.

Members of my department have had serious discussions about this matter and we have a proper plan of action.  So, technically speaking, I am prepared for this meeting.  As a responsible member of the department, I will do my best to convey the above requirements.  But, I am a little concerned that tomorrow's meeting might come to a final decision about this matter.  This is because I personally will not be affected by the outcome [I am leaving N1 in less than a week].  Members of my department, who will be affected by the outcome, may later feel unhappy with the decision.  Some may also feel that I did not push our department's interests strongly enough because I do not have long-term stakes in the matter.

It did not help at all when both my father and guest writer, on hearing about this meeting, advised me to take it easy and not get involved. "Just keep quiet during the meeting and don't react to anything," my father said.

I just called a colleague and requested him to go for this meeting instead, explaining my concerns.  Due to some urgent personal issues, he can't do so.  We once again went over the main points that need to be presented tomorrow.   He suggested that if there is any confusion, I can call him up to clarify.

It is possible that no final decisions will be taken tomorrow and this meeting is to just set the ball rolling, so to speak.  Apart from representing the department, I also need to communicate the outcome of the meeting to my colleagues so that there is no misinformation or gap in communication later.

This will be my last meeting at N1.  I just wish it weren't so important [1].





[1] On a totally unrelated note, it is not clear to me if one should say "I just wish it wasn't so important".  So, I googled and came across websites which talked about indicative mood vs subjunctive mood, formal vs informal, but am still confused.  Any help, blogosphere? 

Moving prep - I

While many preliminary arrangements for the upcoming move had been made long ago, the main steps began today.

1) I took out the no dues form that has to be signed by a lot of functionaries.  One of the deans has signed and so has the computer center coordinator.  I hold some duties at N1, which require me to sign this form for people who leave.  There has been no announcement about who will replace me in these duties.  So, I might end up signing my own no dues form!

2) My PhD student is waiting for his release order.  There has been some confusion about his release date because as per CSIR rules, when a JRF transfers his/her fellowship, the date of joining the new place must not be more than a day after leaving the old place.  But, the train journey between these places takes more than a day.  The confusion was sorted out today.  I am very happy to see my student's excitement to move!

3) Grades for the three courses I taught this term will be submitted tomorrow.  In the online teaching plan for N1 next semester, I have been indicated as a course instructor.  Huh?

4) I transferred my gas connection to New1-city today.  This was much smoother than getting the gas connection two years ago.  I had planned to deposit a friend's empty cylinder and use mine till the day of move.  But, it did not work out because the regulator had to be deposited as well.  So, I am now without cooking facilities and have to get food from the campus canteen.  Good thing I gave up the morning tea/coffee habit long ago and replaced it with milk.  Wait, how do I boil the milk?

Guest post: Third and final instalment (A walk in the academic garden)

Our guest writer has accepted X's offer.  They have agreed to defer his position so that he can take up his dream postdoc before joining.  He can now officially dream of returning to India.  Here's his third and final post (though I sure hope he will write more at a later time):

In a happy frame of mind, chatting as usual on a google voice call, I was scrolling up and down the department webpage when I realized that my lax teaching schedule that semester meant I had four days off in an upcoming week. Added to the weekend, that's six days off work. I mentioned this to her and she replied, in the sweetest possible voice: Why don't you come over then? In matters of the heart, you don't turn down a request like that. I got someone to cover one lecture and soon enough, I was on a flight back to India to spend a few days with my special someone. We will call her J.

Apart from a loving fiance, J has a job at an academic institute in India (which reminds me a lot of my undergraduate institute).  For the next few days, we explored her academic garden together. There were at least three reasons for this. First, we wanted to spend as much time together as possible. Secondly, I was anxious to see Indian academia up close now that I was about to join it myself. And finally, I wanted to be showered with more niceties, such as the security guard who stood up to attention when he saw us.

J's place was a delight. It reminded me of my childhood days, when I wouldn't mind playing in the hot summer sun for hours and then rushing in to drink Rooh-afza straight out of the refrigerator.  The food was absolutely great and J made sure it was cooked to my taste. Above all, I got to watch live the Hindi serials I had been craving for a long time. Being a junkie for food, romance and TV, this was one vacation I would never forget. And finally, there was the small talk with the people who work around her house. In India, small talk quickly leads people to tell each other everything about their families and daily lives. The easy familiarity with which Indians treat each other is very refreshing. I would say its one of the charms of our country.

As I immersed myself in the Indian academic culture after several years, memories of my undergrad days came flooding back. Except, this time I didn't have to be a powerless student any more. In fact, J appeared to be surrounded by students eager to please her and they felt obliged to extend the same courtesies to me. I must  say the attention has some definite charm and while I resist being called "Sir", I believe I can totally get used to that.

The best part was that we could take off, now and then, to the tea shop where the soul of the campus resides. It was always easy to find people who were willing to go there with us. And once there, we would meet a steady stream of her colleagues. She would introduce me with a smile and I would give each person the same smile and say: "She always tells me such nice things about you". For me, it was like meeting the cast of my favorite daily soap. There was something about the place that made people drop their guard and speak freely. Gossip was easy to come by and was never lacking in entertainment value. As I poured ketchup liberally over my omelette toast, I asked J how she would feel about me opening another such shop outside her institute. Not only would this solve our two body problem, but I think it could even be a more fun job. Again, I was only half-kidding. However, J said a vehement no. She insisted that if I did so, I would be throwing the two-body out with the two-body problem.  I don't think she was kidding about that.

Guest Post: Second instalment

I couldn't say I wasn't flattered. I had received an email from Institute X
in India inviting me to apply for a faculty position. Not only was Institute
X prestigious, but I also had an old connection to them from the days
of high school. There were two caveats though, first my heart was set
on taking this short term dream position at a dream place which would
delay my return by at least a year. The second was, if you don't mind
taking me seriously, the fact that I did not know the local language at
the place where X was located. Not that I wasn't eager to learn, but this
meant it would be difficult for me to lead that nation changing political
movement I always planned to lead :) I am only half-kidding.

I wrote about my first caveat to institute X and they assured me they
would be flexible. So, that was that. Secondly, certain political events
in India had started unfolding around the same time that assured me
my services would not be required immediately. It was time to apply.
However, knowing that life has a way of playing practical jokes on me,
I decided to make another application to Institute Y. Institute Y was very new
and located in a "mera gaon mera desh"  type place where I knew I would
be very happy.

Both institutes X and Y wanted to put me through 2 rounds of interviews.
For X, the first  round would happen on Skype, but for the second
round, I would have to fly to India. Being new, Y was ready to do both
rounds on Skype. In the course of these events, I realized how easy
it is to interview on Skype. There is no pressure to make eye contact
and if you trip up and need a moment to craft a response, you can always
blame a flaky internet connection to buy some time.

But for round 2 at Institute X, I had to fly to India. By carefully studying
breaks in my teaching schedule and their proximity to the weekend,
I devised a plan that would allow me to interview in India by missing just
1 day of teaching. The catch was, of course, that I would have to fly
halfway across the globe, spend less than 24 hours in India and fly
right back. But as a veteran Greyhound traveler and airport floor sleeper,
I was ready for it. The lady at the airport check in thought I was crazy
to fly to India with no checked luggage, but the whole experience was
remarkably easy and untiring. I was introduced to everyone in the
department, I made my buzzword laden presentation, the audience clapped
dutifully, I had a sumptuous dinner and I was on my way back.

On my way back, I was in such a good mood, I would have been whistling
if I knew exactly how to (I have never really perfected the "seeti"...what
can I say...I am a gentleman :P). Since I was changing planes in one of those
insanely, obscenely rich countries in the Middle East, security for my US
bound flight seemed more paranoid than usual, but it was ok.  On the last
leg of my journey, I even decided to strike up a conversation with my
fellow passengers. I started with the jovial looking person to my left. To my
dismay, he seemed grumpy (why does this always happen to me?).
Time to try again, this time the dude to my right with the thin mustache was an Indian...IT professional...and with a fake accent! Bingo!  I treated him to a fake
French accent for a while to throw him off his game (seriously, try it... it's
way cooler than the fake American accent)  but it was good fun all the way.
Life does get better :)

Guest post: The job search story of a soon-to-be new prof - I

A friend and regular reader of this blog, who will soon be starting a faculty position in India, has graciously agreed to write a few guest posts about his job search.  Here comes the first instalment : 

She repeated her question 3 times and each time I shook my head miserably.

"What?"... I kept asking in return. It seemed like yesterday that I stood before 

the American visa officer, straining to understand her accent.  She gave up 

soon after, but stamped my passport nevertheless. A month later, I stepped 

off the plane bravely into the land of the free. 

Like cars rolling off an assembly line, I am the standard Indian geek. Driven

by hormones and ego, I went through the four years of madness in high school, 

on to prestigious Indian institute and finally to middling American university for

my PhD. I had a desk of my own, an adviser and even some undergraduate

minions to lord over as a TA. All that remained was to get down to the business

of making stunning discoveries.

This last one turned out to be harder than I thought. I learned to recalibrate

my expectations and soon enough, life was good again. It was about this

time that I discovered my travel bug and also that I had a thing for schmoozing.

I had found myself the perfect profession to combine the two. My first time

in Europe was a dream; the continent beckoned with its shady roads, its

lazy lunches and exotic languages. I worked hard on perfecting the art of taking 

myself seriously. I cultivated fake hobbies such as a taste for fine wines and

even classical music... Western classical of course!

It was time to get older and wiser. Soon enough, they printed out a degree

for me and I was handed a postdoc with one of my adviser's collaborators.

With a little more cash in my pocket, I was beginning to appreciate America

more. And while I definitely appreciated the meaty pizzas and the free 

customer service, I was beginning to connect with America on a deeper level:

freedom.

Freedom: this was what I craved all along when I instinctively rejected all the

opinions of pushy parents and bossy teachers. I wanted to live it. Of course,

this is anything but easy when trying to build a publication record and 

faced with the tyranny of referees. But, I learned to keep my chin up. Once

again, not taking myself too seriously helped. 

I will stick my neck out and say here that everyone who goes abroad (except

in some extreme cases, perhaps) dreams of returning at some point. Like

so many other dreams... winning a Nobel prize, becoming a billionaire

or dating a supermodel, often these dreams don't come true. But for Indians

of my generation, who saw Saurav Ganguly waving his shirt around in the

balcony at Lord's as a signal to arms, the dream was easier to attain. India

was open for business and the possibilities seemed endless. I decided

to pick up my suitcase and jetset my way back home. But, older and

wiser that I was, I made a few prior arrangements. If Newprof so desires, you

folks will hear about it in another post :)