I am a DAAD PhD scholar at the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Botany (IZMB), University of Bonn, Germany. I had a slightly unconventional route towards my doctorate. After my master's, I worked for a year in the industry, tried my hands at science communication and then re-entered academia. Coming with some work experience, my perspective towards academia has shifted a lot, making this journey more challenging and rewarding at the same time. 
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As I enter the second year of my PhD, I thought, I should create some sort of a record of key events or happenings in my PhD journey, mainly as a history look up for my future self. But dear visitor/ reader/ friend, if at least a tiny part of this page strikes a chord within you, I would be happy as well.


Reminiscing my first year

I joined the Pucker lab in 2024 for my PhD. I already did my master thesis in the same group, so I was already familiar with the group and my supervisor, which made my start a bit easy. Nevertheless, I had my own challenges to overcome. Being a vegetarian who spent most of my life in the southern coastal city of Chennai, I was so used to comforting home food and moderate climate. But the thoughts of having to cook my own food and battle the harsh German winters, created pangs of uncertainty and fear as I boarded my flight from Chennai. Although I was happy to return back to my group, and work in a research area that excited me, I cannot describe how sad I felt at the thought of having to leave home and family for the duration of my PhD.  With thousands of questions and doubts, I landed in Germany and took my train to the small city of Braunschweig, where I completed the initial 6 months of my PhD. I experienced living in an airbnb for the first time during this period until I found a room to stay. I would always remain thankful to my hosts, who made me feel at home during my stay at their place. The next few days were filled with activity, I submitted my first manuscript on a bioinformatics tool to estimate genome sizes to a journal, and began working on the next significant part of my PhD project. This time I managed to put up with the cold winters and also improved my cooking skills. Now I can confidently cook a simple Indian meal for myself and a few others too! As Christmas neared, I got a news about a health emergency in the family. I flew back home and it was an unplanned trip. In the end, by God's grace everything came back to normal and I got back to work. I even managed to attend a conference and present my work as a poster. The conference was held at the scenic town of Hennef, Germany, and I travelled bravely surviving the -3 degree celsius temperatures. I must give a pat on my back for this. Personally, this was a huge achievement for me! I must also mention about having got a dear friend in Braunschweig, a fellow DAAD scholar from Nepal, who stood with me through all my struggles, especially when I felt lonely or stressed out. It was friends like her, my lab mates and my supervisor, who made my time away from home, comfortable and joyful.​After that, I had to deal with moving from Braunschweig to Bonn, as my group was moving to the University of Bonn. With a great deal of support from my colleagues and my supervisor, I moved to Bonn and got slowly adapted to the city. This was also a chaotic period filled with administrative stuff, navigating the city, submitting performance reports for my scholarship, and revising my manuscript to address reviewer comments. ​The next phase was a bit celebratory with my manuscript being accepted and my scholarship being granted further. Following that, until now, it has been quite uneventful on the research front. Most of the days go in rewiring and reworking on my codes and repeating the data analysis for the nth time. Although, I used to get disheartened when I do not get results, now my attitude towards failure and negative results has slightly improved. On the whole, during my first year there were mostly moments of self-doubt, delusion, mixed equally with moments of 'ah I get it now', 'it is fine, I will get it in the next try'. So, I want my future self and anyone else reading this, to see that this journey is mine, I have a unique story, I have a unique path. I must not compare myself with anyone else, and I must take things into my stride to walk further. As I end my random musing about my first year, I am eagerly waiting to see how this journey of mine will unfold in the future ...

My first poster presentation

I was super thrilled to present my poster on a Python-based tool for gene duplication analysis at the Molecular Biology of Plants conference 2025 held at Hennef in February, 2025. It was a memorable experience. It was challenging as well as fun to explain bioinformatics work to wet lab scientists. I was happy and received a lot of inputs and positive feedback! Ensconced amidst the green hilly pastures in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the conference also offered a perfect opportunity to unwind and connect with like-minded peers from various places. This conference is a bit special to me since this was my first time presenting a poster in a conference. Looking forward to do some good science and participate in some more nice conferences during my PhD!






















 What are you doing?

I was waiting for the regular evening bus I take back home. A German lady probably in her fifties approached me and asked me something about the bus. My German is poor, and more so, it gets awkward when the speaker speaks fast. But I managed to answer what she asked.Knowing that there was still some time for the bus to arrive, we started having a conversation, and this time in English! My German had forced her to switch to English :) She asked me 'What I was doing?' I told her I was a studying at the University of Bonn. She then asked me what I was studying. I told her, I was doing my PhD. Her expression became quizzical when she heard the word 'PhD'. She asked me to explain what a PhD is. I then tried to tell her that it was doctoral education, and so on. After listening to me, she looked triumphant. She declared, 'Ah now I understand! You are studying medicine to be a doctor. Right?'. I was at a loss for words. My explanation did not make the cut. I responded again telling that 'No, a doctorate is different from a medical doctor'. Then she asked, 'I can't really understand what you are doing. What are you going to become?'. That was the moment the bus came, and our short conversation ended, as we took different seats. I am recording this conversation here, as a funny reminder for my future self or anyone reading it to see that the world is teeming with different personalities. Each of us come with our own perspectives and understanding.

A laugh to remember!

I moved to this beautiful city of Bonn a few months back, and have started enjoying my bus rides to my lab. The different kinds of people I get to observe during this short ride, have started to have big impacts on me.One such acquaintance who left a lasting impression on me was a tiny toddler! It was a sunny morning, and my little friend boarded the bus with his father. They settled on a seat in front of me. The little boy stood up on the seat, turned back and keenly observed all of us. Then he stared outside with a broad smile on his lips. He was enjoying the breeze and the soft sun light hitting his cheeks. He then turned back to us people sitting at the back, and started giggling and jumping. His laughter was so loud that each of us who were buried into our cell phones until then, started watching him with great interest. The laughter wave he was spreading out was so contagious that, almost all of us at the back started laughing along with him for no reason. Just a few minutes before that, I was deeply worried about my error-prone code, not so good results, and an impending presentation. But this tiny chap brought me out of my reverie, and gave me a free laughter therapy. I got down from the bus feeling happy.My entire day was great. Wait, I still had troubles with my code, nor were my results of any great value. Despite this, I had a great day because my little friend in the bus shared a great trick. Our daily life is like this short bus ride. The only way to enjoy it and reach our destination is, to put up a broad smile, and take things into our stride :) I want my future self or anyone else reading this, to just laugh without a reason and march on ... 
 
 A talk to cherish . . .

In the mid of this year, I received a wonderful opportunity to present my research work in the form of a talk at the DAAD scholarship holders meeting held in Bonn. It was a surreal experience to talk about the science I do with students from different backgrounds from around the globe. Moreover, lecturing in the cool university lecture halls with a professional audio set-up was awesome! Well I got some great questions from the enthusiastic audience and it made my day. A huge shout out to the DAAD for funding my PhD and also for giving an excellent platform to put forth my work!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





A fun-filled training experience

The Pucker lab recently conducted a de.NBI training course focussed on plant genomics and functional annotation. Thoroughly enjoyed the course as one of the trainers. Was amazed by the curiosity and enthusiasm of the participants. Icing on the cake was the chance to present my tool DupyliCate during one of the training sessions. Made some nice friends during the course as well :)








 
 
 
 
It is Christmas time!

A visit to the christmas market is a must at this time of the year. More so, it was fun going there with the amazing folks from the Pucker lab. Well take a look at the amazing scientists in our lab having fun amidst the sparkling xmas lights. It was our first christmas market visit in Bonn!


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And it is a golden duck :)
 
I took part in a fun post-it competition organized by the international office at Uni Bonn for PhD students. We were invited to write or draw fun stuff about our PhD on colourful post-its. The post-it with the maximum number of votes was chosen as the winner with a cute tiny golden duck as the prize. Look who took the cute duck home!
















When the Bhagavad Gita comes in search of you

​I had a very memorable encounter this winter of 2025. I am specifically recording it for the near perfection and timing of the events that unfolded around this experience. I had suddenly planned to complete my weekly shopping early and took the bus to the central square on a busy week day evening. I don't usually prefer doing so during the weekdays, but somehow I had made up my mind to go for shopping that day. Everything was as usual and I came to the last leg of my shopping. I had to pay just around 3 EUR for a product in a store and thought I could use cash instead of card. When I started searching my purse, I realized that I was 10 cents short of 3 EUR and just had one 2 EUR coin. So I completed my purchase with the card and came out. The evening was windy and cold, and I was desperate for the bus to come. I was keenly looking at the bus arrival times, just when I heard a couple of girls besides me speaking something in German with another lady who had just arrived  on the scene with some books in her hand. From the conversation, I was able to make out that she was trying to give them some books and they did not want it. I had already made up my mind to refuse even before she reached me. Just when she came to me, she asked if I was Indian and spoke English, I was reluctant to answer her and slightly nodded. She introduced herself as coming from Cologne and asked if I wanted the Bhagavad Gita book in English. I was puzzled and there were just 2 mins remaining for my bus to come. I just stood there, and told her that my bus was about to come. She immediately ran to her bag, pulled out the English version of the Bhagavad Gita book and put it in my bag. Everything happened so fast, that I realized that I had to pay for it. When I asked, she said there is no price for devotion or bhakti. If I wanted and only if I had money I could give her whatever I had. I just had the 2 EUR coin with me and gave it to her. She took it graciously, gave me a hug and said 'Hare Krishna. Be happy. That is how we should live this life.' Just then my bus came, and I boarded it. Sitting inside the bus I started wondering about the remarkable timing of the events that had just unfolded and the reason behind every small action including me falling short of cash at the store and giving that same money as donation just few minutes later, although I know what I have received in return is something invaluable and divine in its essence. I want anyone else or my future self reading this to know that everything that happens in our lives happens under the watch and protection of a higher power or divinity in my understanding. Every minute detail of our life is a part of the intricate fabric of destiny being shaped by us as well as by the divinity that guides us. So, if something in the present hurts you or you think that it is unnecessary or if you feel that you are suffering, please remember that whatever happens happens for the good and everything will end well! Maybe like how I received the Bhagavad Gita as a surprise gift, everyone will encounter or experience what is needed for their growth and fulfillment at the right place and time. All that we need to do is live in the present and stay cheerful ...