How did I become a Chemical Engineer ?

I have never resisted life, as it happened to me. Like a fluid takes the path of least resistance, my life has almost always taken the path of least resistance. I studied
in 3 schools in 1st 10 years (from Class-1 to 10) of my academic life, and by default these schools were chosen based on their proximity to my house. Although there was an entrance examination for Class-VI in our school, it was a certainty that I would crack it. Getting admission to a government college for 10+2 in the town where I lived was also certain based on my 10th mark and other available options were not even considered. 

First serious time for decision making in academics came during the choice of subjects, whether to take Biology or Statistics along with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, when I was joining 10th+2. It was based on what I wanted to became. If I wanted to became a doctor then Biology is a must and if engineer then it is ideal if I take Statistics along with PCM. Like every middle class family I had only two choices, either doctor or engineer. Deep down I knew I wanted to be an Engineer. To be specific a Computer Engineer because that is what I used to hear / read in papers. It is a different fact that till that point of time I had touched a computer only once in our school when I got a chance to type my name. Some how computers looked cool to me and I wanted to have a good time with one. But my father wanted to see his son as a doctor. So Biology was my 4th Optional i.e the subject with least priority.

But the decision of not becoming an doctor was a gradual one, which developed over a period of time since childhood. In earlier times, there used to be vaccination program in school where every children were given vaccines. The vaccines used to be very painful and many of the children caught fever. During one such vaccination drive, I could not walk up to home after vaccination and vomited in between. From that day there was a fear for needles and syringes. This fear gradually became stronger over a period of time and every time I took and injections. On next vaccination drive, somehow went home but was brought back. Any time, I visited a hospital, the smell of the disinfectant would drive me nuts. Whenever visited a doctor I would pray that he prescribe a medicine instead of an injection. But final nail on the coffins of a being a doctor was an incident which happened in 1999.

In the summer of 1999, we visited to see an ailing grandmother of a friend While administering saline through veins, there was a small trickle of blood and I do not know why but I fainted at the spot looking at the trickle of blood. The doctor, instead of attending the grandmother, started to attend me. That day a small needle attached to a plastic tube declared that I wont be a medical doctor anymore (I still have a dream of earning a PhD, for Dr. title).

Fast forward to 3 years. In July 2002, I had to make another career choice. Which branch to choose during counselling? By this time, I came to knew that there are other branches of engineering apart from Computer one. My rank in the entrance examination was not that good to have a choice in selecting branches in NITs. One of my fathers senior colleague while visiting our home advised that I should study chemical engineering and joined ONGC. He gave his brothers example, who was working in Assam. [ Later I came to know his brother was working in Indian Oil, Guwahati Refinery, not ONGC]. One of my Professor had advised to joined NIT, irrespective of branch. So, one thing was sure that I wanted to study in a NIT and I expected that I would get a seat among Comp Sc, Electrical, Electronics and Instrumentation and Mechanical. 

During counselling, NIT Rourkela Mechanical seat filled up in by the the rank 110 or 120. Next choice was to go to an NIT out side state. There was no seat left for other top NITs like Trichy, Surtakal. NIT Bhopal had only one seat left in Mechnical and was secretly hoping to get it. But the guy with the rank 137 (mine was 143 in State JEE) also thought the same and picked up the seat. I was devastated. Now I had to go to NIT Surat where I was getting almost all branches. So when my turn came to go to the dais for giving my choice I had already decided to go with Surat. Just before I wanted to lock Surat, my father dropped a bomb. He said, "Your mother want you to study inside Odisha". For that condition to be satisfied, I had two options, either study Chemical Engineering in NIT Rourkela or Comp Science in UCE Burla (presently known as VSSUT) or CET, Bhubaneswar. Among Physics, Maths and Chemistry I hated Chemistry. I thought that Chemical engineering will be full of organic and inorganic chemistry and I can not read those shit again for 4 years. But then I had to lose NIT seat also. In this dillemma I spent almost 5-10 minutes on the dais and finally, very reluctantly, I choose Chemical Engineering. I was so frustrated that I remained gloomy for next 3-4 days. 

After I joined NIT, there was a ray of home. If I perform well in 1st semester, I could change the branch. One of my school senior, was also a senior in NIT had done that when he topped Chemical Engineering in his 1st Semester. So my next target was to earn Rank-1 or 2 in the department. When the results were declared, I was placed 5th or 6th in the Department. Top 2 students changed their branch and thus I became a Chemical Engineer.

3 years later in 2005, I again had a chance to switch field from Chemical Engineering to IT field. But things had changed by that time. I had a fair idea that, chemical engineering can be studied without a big knowledge of Chemistry. There are fields in Chemical Engineering which do not require deep understanding of Chemistry. More over the visit to Damanjodi and Guwahati in summer training, had somehow inspired me to join a core chemical engineering company.

Hence during the placements in July 2005, I decided not to appear for IT companies. That was big decision then. But on hindsight it was Nash Equilibrium in practice. I wanted non IT job and my friends wanted IT jobs. So by choosing to do what is best for our own interest, we were doing overall good for the group by avoiding competition with each other. After I got placed in Indian Oil, I permanently became a chemical engineer. The advise by my fathers senior colleague turned out to be prophetic.

2 Free Cycles and Life in Between

Like every child, learning to ride a bicycle was particularly a happy moment for me. Initially while learning, I tried with my father's cycle. It was an old design Hero Cycle. Since the height of the cycle was greater than mine, balancing it was difficult. My left hand controlled the handle and the right one balanced the body weight by holding the cross bar while the armpit rested on the cycle's seat. Initially only one pedal was used by the right foot and the other foot was used for multiple purpose like for support as well as a braking medium in emergency. This arrangement was not particularly a stable one to ride and resulted in frequent falls and resultant scars. On one occasion, while riding the bicycle on a slope on the road towards the river, I had a very bad fall and my right shin bone had a big swelling after it hit a stone. Since I was not able to walk for few days, my mother used to carry me in her arms to the school and back. The wound has left a scar, which is still prominent till date. I use it now as any physical identification mark if it is required in any forms. With practice, gradually I learned to use both the hands and pedals. When I was 8 years old, a second hand cycle was bought for my elder sister, which did not have a cross bar. It was easy to ride and I honed my cycling skills with it. Since school was very near to home I did not need a cycle. Only after my sister returned from her school, I used to ride it. This arrangement was continuous till I reached Class 6. 

It was 1994 and I moved to a bigger school in town. Since it was approximately 3-4 kms, walking daily was not an option. My father was a teacher in the same school, so initially for few months, I used to go with him in his cycle. While returning, either we used to come together or I used to come with any of the school seniors who stayed in our locality. Being a teachers son, hardly any one refused a ride. But this arrangement was not sustainable in long term. Because I needed a cycle for the morning tuition classes and my father had tuition to take during evening hours in town. Discussion started in our home to buy me a cycle. During that time most common cycle was Hero Cycles. It was designed well and sturdy also, but only demerit was the looks. Most of the old generation people used this cycle, hence I did not like this type of cycle. I wanted to buy BSA-SLR or Photon, two cycles which were trendy, colorful and which I thought would do justice to my age and generation. But life had other plans. In the same year during Dusserha, my father bought 4 lottery tickets (or Rs 2 each) in the name of all 4 family members. The tickets numbers were 314,315,316,317. I being the youngest got the ticket no 317, which incidentally won the 3rd prize, which was a cycle. The make was hero jet. So my dream of owning a trendy cycle was not fulfilled. The cycle was dark green in color. Few accessories that were not supplied originally was installed.  I got my name and nick name printed with radium stickers on the chain guard. It glowed bright in night time when external light fell on it. Additional, handle bars were used for safety purpose. Cycles needed care also. Every Sunday, while taking bath in the river, the cycle was properly washed. On the afternoons oil and grease was applied on the chains, bearings and brakes. Although initially I did not like it, gradually it became my partner in all my activities. I completed school in 1999 on the same cycle.

In 1999 when I joined college, the same cycle was used. By this time, we had moved to our own house built at a place farther from the town. With typical middle class mindset, buying new cycle, when already one is available in good condition, was not justified. I fitted a book carrier from my uncles cycle on the handle. It helped carrying note books in absence of a carry bag. In 1999, when for the 1st time I learned the concepts of Physics, the cycle helped a lot in experimenting with the laws of physics. Inertia of motion of water particles was understood when a wet wheel was rotated. The fundamentals of "angle of banking"  was more clear when I understood that for turning with a lower radius of curvature at same speed, you need more angle of banking. Practical use of rolling friction is demonstrated in ball bearings. The concepts of relative velocity was clear when the apparent angle of rain drops was different when I cycled at different speeds. This understanding also helped me position the umbrella better. My college was around 7 kms away from home and I had to travel twice daily, once for college classes and again for tuition. So I used to cycle around 28 kms daily for about 6 days a week. On this cycle I returned home dejected when I failed to even pass JEE in 2001 and on this cycle I toiled hard in next year to score a good rank in JEE 2002. 

Next phase of my life was spend in NIT Rourkela. For the 1st one year I did not use cycle. The hostel was near to department and there was no big requirement. In second year, when I needed cycle, I carried the same cycle in a bus to Rourkela. It was used for some time in 2nd and 3rd year but during final year it was hardly used. After completion of my B Tech, for some time I thought to leave it in campus for use by juniors but decided against it due to the emotional connect for the last 12 years. The cycle is still in my home and in running conditions. 

From 2006 till 2016, I owned a bike and car but did not ride any bicycle. In 2016 I bought another one (of my choice this time) which I used for exercise and sometimes going to township market. My wife used it for some time for cycling with her friends in township. How ever, it was used very rarely and my gardener used it more than me till 2020. The enthusiasm for regularly cycling again aroused when I visited IIT Kharagpur for my Masters in February 2020. Riding bike inside the campus is banned for students. IIT Kharagpur is in a big campus (largest technical college in India in terms of area). The hostels, departments, labs and classrooms are very far away from each other. Hence most of the student use cycles. We also hired cycles during the period for commuting from department. After return, during lock down, I made full use of the time and opportunity to cycle inside township and used to cycle 1 hour per day, to increase physical fitness. In 2021, I got a free cycle again. During the Energy Conservation month celebration, I had proposed a process scheme which could result in a potential savings of Rs 5.5 Crore/year and was awarded a very trendy bicycle having nice colors and water bottle holder. I am yet to ride the cycle but seems it will be comfortable. When i visited home in March 2021, I again rode my 27 years old bicycle which is still in running condition and all the memories of the struggle and hard work came back.

In between these two free cycles in 1994 and 2021, life has given me some wonderful memories and some failures. While the memories are good, failures hurt. As I learned during cycling, to avoid falling down you have to keep on riding and balance it in between. 

Same is with life, isn't it? Just keep on riding.