It was the summer of 2010. I got the offer letter from Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) , Ahmedabad. I was working at MG College Thiruvananthapuram as a project fellow. My guide, then HOD, was reluctant to send me off and I had a tough time convincing him. He even threatened me that I will have to give back my whole salary. I almost dropped the plan. Fortunately, other faculties came for help and convinced him for letting me go. Hence I packed my bags and took a train to Vadodara (former Baroda) first.  One of my distant cousin Devettan is a faculty in the Baroda university in the fine arts department. So I went to visit him first and then moved to Ahmedabad on the next day. 

As I was never rooted anywhere, I didn’t had any feeling of uprooting and I was enthusiastic to explore the new place. PRL is situated in the new city of Ahmedabad. The center was initiated by the late visionary  Vikram Sarabhai who was the founder of space program in India. He gave away his land for the development of institutes like PRL, ATIRA and IIMA. The new city was a relatively posh area with malls and multiplexes everywhere. The old city, however, was congested and had more traditional markets and historic structures. The class differences between the people living in new and old cities were apparent. There was a religious difference as well. Old city was primarily occupied by Muslims who are mainly small shop owners. The wealthy Gujarati business people, academics etc who were predominantly from Hindu and Jain communities were in the new city. The river Sabarmathi separates the two contrasting shades of Ahmedabad. 

I got a room in a quarters in the residential compound of PRL. This was situated in Navrangpura and IIM Ahmedabad was just opposite to our campus. The hostel life was lively and I met many people from all over India.  My seniors in the institute were welcoming and through them I became familiar with the whole PRL community. I was a project associate in the geological science division (GSDN). I had nothing to do with geology, but the method of dating old stones involved a lot of physics. I must say, I enjoyed learning new techniques. I didn’t had much difficulty in catching up with the subject and experimental procedure, again, thanks to the seniors. 

The experience of Ahmedabad was, of course, new since I had not lived in any metropolitan city. Moreover, I was financially independent. I could afford eating out in restaurants and go for movies. Though the pay was an average one compared to a private job, the daily expenses were marginal. The subsidized meal at PRL was Rs 5.50 only and the hostel meal was about Rs 30-s40. However, the world outside PRL was not so cheap. I still remember my shocking discovery of metropolitan expenses at a  multiplex theaters. Costly tickets and small screen felt like a rip off to me. I couldn’t digest the idea of  getting a water bottle for Rs 40  just because we were in a multiplex. But soon enough I got familiar and adjusted to the  city. I also had chance to go around to the  other places like Udaipur and Jaipur in Rajasthan. Ahmedabad is a good place to center on if you want to explore the western part of India. 

PRL was my gateway to the research world. A first hand experience on how things work in a research institution was a real eye opener. A year after, I cleared the PhD entrance test and joined as a student at PRL. I changed my subject to quantum optics and finished my PhD in 2016. Now I am a senior researcher at National university of Singapore.  This would have not been possible if PRL had not called me for the post of project fellow. Or if I had refused to quit my old job at Thiruvananthapuram fearing the HOD.  It is important to look back and see the choices you have made and its consequences.  Indeed, all cannot be the best ones. But his looking back can help you in the choices you make now. 

When I started writing this series 4 years ago, I was in Ahmedabad, full of content to write. But somehow I procrastinated the writing process and  now I  have forgotten most of it. Now the series name “remains of a city” has become more suitable since I am writing the incidents that stuck with me. The memories that remain are the ones probably  that matter. Let me finish this write-up for now. Thinking about the old times opens up the door of several memories. I guess I can give it a try for the series to move forward. The version may not be the real truth, it may be coated with my perception of it  while recalling it from the memory. But that is true for most of the story telling.   Its important to look back !