I am the Master of My Fate I am the Captain of My Soul ~Invictus~ The story which I will narrate here hopefully will

set a good example for all those who come from not-so-premier institutions. I interned at the Rarefied Gas Dynamics Lab at IIT Madras in June-July 2013 under the supervision of Prof Chakravarthy who happens to be the incharge of the National Centre for Combustion Science & Technology(NCCRD) which was constituted in 2010 by the Department of Science & Technology, very much on the lines of Sandia Labs in US, DLR in Germany, CNRS in France, to specifically look into the fundamental as well as the complex challenges which the field of combustion is now facing. How I bagged this internship dates back to February 2013. I dont know whether this habit of mine going to places to explore things all by myself is a boon or not but it certainly proved to be so in this regard. A National propulsion Conference was held at IIT Madras in Feb 2013 and out of my curiosity, I happened to be present during the entire event even though I didnt present any work there. All I wanted was to see the work being done in the combustion arena throughout the nation and most importantly, meet the people and interact with them. I met Prof Chakravarthy during the banquet dinner and he highlighted the various challenges which he and his research group are investigating in this vibrant yet challenging field. Since then, I kept contact with him by writing him almost once a week and discussing about anything and everything, ofcourse on the more technical lines. I applied in some of the prestigious internship programs throughout the country but to my dismay, I was not featured in the list of any them. Still to this day, I am not able to figure out what went wrong. I surmise this may have something to do with the reputation of the place I come from especially in research. What I wanted to achieve from my internship To see the latest challenges which the combustion community is addressing. To have a glimpse of the experimental facilities especially the laser diagnostics which is the first of its kind in India. To look into the prospect of further education in this domain. Most importantly, to meet new people and discuss with them how they are dealing with the issues. What I learntThe internship proved to be blessing in disguise for my profile. Since I worked with the experimental division of the Profs work, I got a nice exposure on how things work. Experiments are the essence of all theories and concepts. I used to have long discussion with the professor and students alike, lasting few hours and it was quite enlightening to share your perception with such eminent persons. A word of adviceAlways try to do what you believe in, in a little different way. In my case, I was totally buried to the ground when one after the other the results of the internship programs I had applied in, came out and I could not find my name in any of these. Sometimes you may have to go out of your comfort zone to do something you believe in. The following quote from Thoreau who happens to be one of my favourite writers, sums up the whole matter. I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.