Personal Narrative: A Day Poisonous In My Memory

6 th of February, 2012, is a day etched in my memory. There I was sitting in the class, in the

first week of college. It was a time of emotional turmoil for me because my father’s health

was deteriorating and repeated efforts were not yielding expected results. It was between

all this that in walked a lecturer and started explaining the concept of ‘clock’. As I listened to

the lecture, something captured my attention. I was amazed to learn that a clock which had

a tiny crystal at its core was responsible for determining the speed of the microcontroller.

That semester a course in VLSI was introduced to us. VLSI intrigued me right from the

beginning. Everything made sense when I was studying VLSI. It did not call for a plethora of

formulas to be memorised. All it needed was a logical approach and application of

As I began to explore these subjects further I was struck by the

simplicity of the subjects encapsulated in their complex abstract view. Even though my

personal life was going through a rough patch, my professional life started to take a new

direction.

My father, PRATAP.G, kindled my interest in Electronics. He was a Scientist/Engineer at the

Indian Space Research Organisation. On occasions like Independence Day, republic day and

other events, he would take prior permissions and make arrangements for me to visit the

laboratories and interact with scientists there who are considered to be among the brightest

minds in India. These interactions encouraged me to pursue electronics as a passion and