In this chapter of Career Stories, we bring you the journey of Amogh Kulkarni who is currently a postdoctoral researcher. He is also a theater artist, director, and creator & host of the show series ‘PhD- The Philosophical Drama‘.
In this interactive session, he takes us through his professional journey, while speaking at length about his personal process of establishing a ‘work-life balance’, and talks about his passion of bringing about the amalgamation of arts and science.
Could you summarize your professional journey so far?
I was always inclined towards mathematics, social sciences, languages more than science per say. But, by the end of my schooling it was clear that it was better to move towards science because of the many different career prospects it had; and arts might not be the ideal ground where I can have a very good or stable career (which was the prevalent societal thought process at that time). Thus, I went on to pursue an education in basic sciences during my junior college, when I was also preparing for all the famous engineering entrances in India. I got through a few, but my overall inclination was towards organic chemistry at that time and it was not a very core part of the many engineering programmes. That made me look for options that would allow me to pursue organic chemistry predominantly. And I turned towards the Bachelor of Science (BSc) course at Fergusson College in Pune. During this time, I also applied for internships and programs that I could do along with my undergraduate studies.
It was during this time that I also got to know about IISER Pune which was relatively new at that time and just on a simple hunch, I applied for the integrated PhD program at IISER Pune. I had already been runner up in MIMAMSA which is a national level quiz of IISER Pune which in fact had introduced me to IISER. Eventually, I got selected into IISER and being a quite young institute, I was in the 2nd batch of that program. But the entire experience at IISER led me to look for what I wanted to pursue in research, by providing me with opportunities to find interesting labs, meeting people from different places around the world, and introducing me to young faculty with fresh and innovative ideas who wanted to establish their own careers as well. So that led to having a very enriching experience and it made me look forward to postdoctoral studies. Now I’m here in Switzerland to pursue my postdoctoral studies and it has been a wonderful journey so far.
Do you have any comments on the education or research ecosystem in India vs abroad when it comes to nurturing scientists?
To comment on the education system is difficult because I have only been into the research setup here outside India. I have never completed any formal education abroad. All my education is in the Indian setup.
However, on the research front there are many things that one can comment upon-
Funding– almost everyone in India knows that we have issues with funding in basic sciences, research, for example in terms of getting fellowships for students. It’s been a cry for years or decades that students/ research fellows don’t get their salary every month which is basic/minimal that one can expect which is shocking. This might not be the situation abroad.
Facilities – institutes like IISc, IISERs and IITs are very much advanced and can be compared to the international universities. We do have all facilities/instrumentations in some of these prestigious institutions.
Cultural difference– in terms of the mindset Indians like to work 6 days a week. Europeans work 5 days a week, and Americans 6-7 days a week (depending upon the location). So, the work hours and the work-life balance is quite different but that is their perspective on what feels necessary to take science forward.
How could you maintain your interest in arts while being in (science and) academia? Is there any process to ensure that you keep pursuing your hobbies while doing research?
I’m a firm believer that whatever you do in your life in terms of your job or education, you need to definitely have one hobby and it can be anything. For me it was theater arts since right from school, I have been doing theater in annual programs. I was and still consider myself lucky to meet people at different stages who were like minded who wanted to collaborate with me, because theater is not something you can do alone. Having a background in theatre and being from the city of Pune which is already a budding theater place, helped me hone my skills. I directed my 1st theatre skit at the age of 9 at school. So, it has been a part of my growing up years and has stayed with me.
IISER Pune in that sense was a budding place for all kinds of arts (music, dancing, acting, script writing etc.). And when you have such people around you, it motivates you as well.
In terms of finding time, when you really want to have that breathing space between your work, you make a concrete effort to find the time for your hobbies. That was the main driving factor behind continuing to pursue theater or any other art in that sense for me- to allow my mind to relax and to give it a bit of fresh air. Additionally, I like to take initiatives. Whenever I take initiatives, there are people who join and take it forward. That helped me hone my leadership qualities over the years and helped me streamline the work-life balance better.
Art and Science are often perceived as two very diverse and different fields. What is your perspective on this?
I always say this on various platforms, as well as to colleagues- science is an art in itself and all art has a concrete science behind it. They are very much interconnected. They cannot be separated from each other.
If you are a scientist, and if you have a scientific way of looking at things, you start looking at art in a very different way. Researchers with an interest in the arts look at it in a scientific way. You start looking at art from a research point of view. For example, when I am a director, I look at the psychology of the character from a very researcher perspective in order to understand their depth or while trying to put forth my point in my plays. It is also the same with music. I think people who play different instruments end up understanding the physics behind how the instrument works which is nothing but basic concepts from Class 12. Even if they may not learn it in the theoretical manner, they learn it from their gurus.
In a way, everything has a core scientific base with it and everything is interconnected. People who are good at science as well as arts will perform in a much more creative and articulated manner. The only difference is this- Art comes from within you, but science needs to be understood to perform it in the right way.
Can you describe your journey in creating the show “PhD – The Philosophical Drama”?
‘’PhD – The Philosophical Drama” was a theater skit that I presented at IISER Pune. It was a skit done for the annual function of the chemistry department. I had this idea of presenting the different aspects of a PhD to the graduate students (as a satire), since they will relate to it the most. Interestingly, there was no script written for it. It was developed on-the-go and the total time required from the first rehearsal to the final performance was 8 days! I realized that it could have been possible because everyone involved in the play were themselves PhD students and connected to the topic in their own way.
This experience stayed with me and made me realize that I like to talk about aspects other than research. Sadly, in Academia, work life balance is a mess. That part always stayed with me. And I knew from my experience that when mental wellbeing is not compromised, one gets the best of the work done by themselves and also from the juniors or employees. So, I took the initiative to approach a few colleagues during the Covid-19 lockdown and see if they would be willing to share their journey on our platform. We were a bit worried because not everybody wants to come up and speak- most academicians are shy people and hesitate to talk about their strengths, weaknesses, struggles etc. or any other aspect apart from their research. An average science student/researcher will hesitate to discuss non-science stuff, as it is easy to explain their work and project. This motivated me to start the show series of which the main motive was to dig deeper into the real-time situations of graduate students in Academia.
Thus, with the help of my friend Sukanya, we started the first season of PhD – The Philosophical Drama with our friends and it has been a successful run so far with three seasons already published online.
I call it a “Drama” because the entire journey of PhD itself is a complete drama package, it has the highs, lows, antagonists, protagonists, success, failure especially for me- from the perspective of a theater artist. There is a complete personality transition before and after PhD, recognizing different versions of yourself with character growth and the climax is different from what we expect.
(Watch all the episodes here)
Could you share some tough times during your PhD journey and what did you learn from them?
It is always that we have the toughest times where we have to balance career and hobby, given first choice to career. One such incident happened during my prime years in IISER as a graduate student where you are really stressed and looking for data all the time which most people agree to as a primary job of PhD student. Despite stress, the heart wants what it wants. So during my PhD, I would keep 9 to 8 as my lab hours, followed by dinner time and then rehearsal. This happened for 4 months in a stretch with 1 or 2 days off from rehearsal but not the lab. I chose Sunday’s to be my optional off day for lab work for my own mental health. That phase was challenging for me. When I look back to that time, I feel a bit exhausted but also proud that I did it. I was also having a role in the same play which I was directing. I had huge dark circles at the end of 4months where my makeup artist struggled to cover them up as my character does not demand that. At this point, I realized that I pushed myself to the extreme extent.
Another incident was towards the end of my PhD where I was working with the script of the great Padmashri Sharad Joshi ji and with the greatest production unit of IISER. It’s a big thing in itself that working with such a great script and trying to put it into a play. At the same time, I was writing my research paper which had 90% of my PhD work and also writing my thesis simultaneously. I was also taking a German language course in the evenings. I was also hit by personal issues as well. It was the worst phase to do everything. The production partner wasn’t competent enough. So I had to take up that responsibility as well for 2 months. It was a huge production unit with 80 people in the team performing shows outside IISER for the first time. I pulled one of my juniors with me for help and at the end of everything, he commented that he was surprised to see me managing all the stuff without failures like a literal mad person. It was then that I realized I took up so many jobs. If I had acknowledged everything beforehand, I wouldn’t have taken it on my plate.
It was my choice to do it. Nobody forced me to do so. It was sanity within me to help myself accomplish everything, go through that phase, push myself and succeed in my tasks. It was one of the powerful lessons that I learned in my life. If I were asked to do the same again, probably I may not take the risk but I would say that it helped to survive through the toughest phase of my research life.
Similar situations were faced by fellow artists who were also in their PhD struggles. But we knew that we had to do things with a dedicated time window for each task. This practice helped us to improve our efficiency.
What suggestions would you give prospective PhD students?
Don’t do PhD for a Dr. label. Do it if you really love the topic and are willing to face the struggle and hardship. My love for organic chemistry was the reason that I did a PhD. Just like some people pursue theater because all they see is the limelight, but don’t realize that most of the hard work is done by the people backstage. In the same way, understand the difficulties that you may encounter and decide accordingly if you are really interested in the research part or you just chose it as there was no other option or for getting the doctorate tag. Thankfully, I was not one of the latter two as I have not gone with labels to that extent ever with my choices. And I hope nobody ever does that because a PhD will change your life. It is the prime 5-6 years of your life from early 20s to sometimes 30s. It is a big commitment and investment that you are making. So, don’t do it without understanding what you are getting into. All my efforts are now trying to convey to people what they might see in a PhD. There won’t be any template on the journey of PhD to design it as a ‘course’, since every PhD is unique, but I will feel good if my experience can help at least a few prospective students make an informed decision.
What would be your suggestions for youngsters who hesitate to take a step forward in pursuing their specific interests through a fear of ‘lagging behind’ in the competitive world of academia?
Our choices/decisions affect everyone who is close to us- I was also someone who felt the gravity of this reality at one point in my life. It’s difficult to give a blanket suggestion as each person comes from a different background- someone may not be financially stable to pursue their interests and someone might be. But when one chooses a career which is not their first preference, they should pursue something other than their job to make them feel alive. One has to put in extra efforts for it and it should come from the heart. You might not succeed or accomplish great things on your first try, but that shouldn’t discourage you from trying again. Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. I have been in such situations and learnt from it – there are failed scripts that have not come out, and it takes a lot of effort to shelf them. But you have to do it. No one takes care of your personal space and your mental health like you do. If you give that charge to someone else, they are also going to be in charge of your life. So just find time and take the effort to pursue your own interests amidst anything that you do.
What is your vision in life?
It kept on changing over the last few years and I think that’s the part of growing up. But, at the fundamental level I’m always going to be someone who will try to have the amalgamation of science and art. I don’t see myself as a person who does anything specifically. That’s going to be a collaboration of my scientific expertise and artistic abilities and if I can get platforms to do both of these together, then that would be great. One such would be science documentaries which are developing in a good way these days on OTT platforms that reach out to a wide range of audience, while providing with decent financial remuneration as well.
