WHEN FATE BRINGS YOU HOME

CHAPTER 8

"Next up. Tara Menon, division of Neuroscience."

Professor Benjamin Harold announced from his seat. The meeting hall was really big, exactly opposite of what I had imagined. It was more like a theatre space with a stage and a really big screen for presenting. The seats were arranged in concentric hemi circles, concavely arranged towards the big fixed screen on the wall. There should be around 50 people here for the meeting including our team. Everything about this room was black. Black curtains, black soundproofed walls and black leathered seats behind one continuous curved black table in each row. The stage I was now standing was also black tiled and the screen, without my presentation running, was also black. It would be just perfect if I blacked out too. I am a bundle of nerves just taken out of the fridge. A ridiculous comparison but a true one. My hands and legs are so cold that it's freezing up my sweat. Not to mention that it is also an air conditioned space. 

I have always felt nervous about public speaking. My class teachers each year used to make me do the speech during assemblies. And I used to hate it. The preparing is fun, reading different articles, collecting information and writing it down in your own understanding. The memorizing part is easy because it's predictable, since I am the one who wrote it. But the standing in front of a huge crowd and executing it, not my fallout shelter. To boost up my confidence, Hera took me classy-meeting-outfit shopping to a mall. She chose a plain black chiffon shirt, grey wool twill trousers and a grey blazer that goes with the shade of my bottoms. I pair it up with my for-special-occasions-only pumps. The ones she recommended first were heels but I had no intention of falling over the stairs and fiddling with my footwear on my very first day. And as for confidence, I am more nervous on also needing to concentrate on justifying my outfit. Feminine and professional.                       

All the meeting heads, i.e., the jury occupied the front row so all I can see from where I'm standing in the middle of the stage is the jury members and among them the white shirt. I looked up to catch other familiar faces in the hall, Dr. David was smiling and Professor Czes gave a little wave. I smiled and waved back. I hand over the drive for my presentation to the operator and after a few seconds, the first slide of my presentation popped up on the screen. Thank god I didn't choose a black theme for my slides, or else this whole thing would have been just so dark to get through. The introductory slide included a studio clicked picture of mine with my biodata. The colleges I passed out from, courses I completed and projects I did over all these years. A copy of my report and thesis paper of completed projects, both funded and non funded, was already submitted as first thing today in the morning.  

Mom said to start with only a namaste, when she called today before I left for the university. She says it brings out our culture and traditions. But the real reason is that she hates good mornings and other English greetings. Pale as a ghost, I start with my presentation.

"Namaste. My name is Tara Menon, a predoctoral researcher under the division of Neuroscience. After my masters, for a year I was assisting Dr. David in his project on tumor cells in brain, when I was given a spot in the team. It's my pleasure, being here as a part of the research team from RCB Bangalore. And it's more of a joy when you get to see your thesis paper turning into a soon reality."

The hall is pretty silent, making me more nervous. I press the next button on the wireless presenter remote and the next slide appears on the screen.

"Alright. That's all about me you saw in the first slide. I will be using the two years in this university to study the 'why' of neurodegeneration. Everyone here knows how the nerve cells die slowly, weakening the nervous system of the body which is mainly seen in neurodegenerative diseases. It is simply one of the life processes of each cell, the apoptosis. The cells detach from their neighboring cells and go on a suicide mission. Many scientist have studied the ways apoptosis mainly occurs, their mechanisms. Also over the world, they are finding new therapies in clinical research and what more can be done to slow down the process of this degeneration. What I would like to focus on is the cause of the disease which is still unclear in the field."