The most the common man knows about proteins is that lentils and fish contain amazing amounts. Though, this trend is changing, thanks to the health-consciousness spreading like wildfire in today’s time and age. And rightfully so. In The Secret of the Red Crystals, an autobiographical account of author Sujata Sharma also talks about her quest for an antimicrobial protein called lactoferrin. In this candid interview, Sujata Sharma gives us an insight into what she faced while on this very quest. As a woman scientist, the journey, she reveals, is only uphill.
The whole point of being a writer is turning that simmering passion within into words. While the world goes on at a frantic pace, there is nothing compared to what goes on inside the mind and heart of a writer. Intermingling with daily life and the chaos within, a writer finds peace only after putting their thoughts to paper. And Sujata Sharma is one of them. “Though I am a professor of Biophysics at AIIMS, in my heart, I am still a student eager to learn about the unknown. I am also a woman, who has gone through all the challenges that await women, especially when they wish to balance a satisfying career with family life. The kaleidoscope of my experiences and my response to them has made me a thinker. As I think, I need to express my thoughts, and there is no better medium than writing to do so. I feel deep satisfaction as I think, analyze and put words to my thoughts. I like to connect the dots at every step of my life, and then stand back and look at the bigger picture with awe. Somewhere, I had a desire to put a message in a bottle and throw the bottle in a sea, hoping it would reach someone, who was seeking the same answers from the universe that I was. That’s when I decided to start writing a book. Once I made up my mind, there was no stopping me. I would chalk out some hours every day, which I would dedicate to my book. In those hours, I would switch off my phone, and be unavailable for any personal interaction. I would set a target of writing 500 words every day. Sometimes I would write just about 200, but on days when my creative juices flowed, I would even manage 1000. Nothing seemed more enticing than writing my book and I would decline social engagements.”
“My book “The secret of the red crystals” is purely autobiographical, and covers about 20 years of my life from the early student days at AIIMS, New Delhi. The book traces my journey as a scientist in search of the structure of an antimicrobial, red colored protein, lactoferrin. Though it is a story of a scientist, it can be the story of anyone who dares to dream, and makes up one’s mind to achieve the dream at any cost.”
Every book, every story has a journey. But when you take a look at as big a picture as an autobiographical account of a woman scientist, it fills you with awe. Because as much as you want to deny it, the journey can’t have been easy, though adventurous. Sujata Sharma tells us about it all. “The journey is fraught with various trials and tribulations as not only the work is challenging but as a woman scientist, the journey is uphill. This journey began and ended at exactly the same place, spatially. However, it followed a tortuous, haphazard, eventful route, emotionally. On the onset of this journey, I was an ordinary person who wanted nothing more than the simple definitions of success. Throughout this journey, I felt possessed by a strange power seemed to be communicating with me in a mystical language. I did not even realize when I let the forces of nature and science inside my sub consciousness. My prophetic dreams became the medium of communication between nature and me.”
If you ever embark on a spiritual journey, you will discover that there will be people who will assist you on your quest. Without their help, you would probably end up halfway before giving up or being unable to go on. Sujata Sharma tells us about such people in her life and the book: “It is believed that whenever someone embarks on a spiritual journey on earth, one encounters certain people who appear at exactly the right time and place and disappear when the purpose is completed. The people who have been mentioned in this book all had a role to play for the completion of this journey.”
“My advice to aspiring authors would be to know the exact time when they are ready to write. Sometimes it is too early, and the story still needs time and patience. Wait till the story crystallizes in your mind. At that moment, you will not have to push yourself. The story will find you, and guide you along. It will have a purpose of its own and you will just be the medium through which it is born. Everyone has a story inside them. Once you decide to give the story a form, do not wait a second longer. Make sure that the world reads it. Once the book has been written and published, do everything you can to reach the book to readers. Who knows, someone maybe waiting for your story to awaken the dreamer in them. Maybe that someone is walking along the beach, looking at the waves, for that bottle that gets washed ashore with a message inside. That message is your book, and you need to scatter your message in the universe like a fragrance of the Gods.”
Dr. Sujata Sharma is a Professor in the Department of Biophysics at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. She has been deeply passionate about Molecular Medicine as well as women’s rights all her life. Intensely involved in research and teaching, she believes that unless we do not come out with complete honesty about our own flaws and imperfections, we cannot expect to be good role models for the youth. Contact the author through mail: sujatasharma.aiims@gmail.com | Facebook
Author(s): Sujata Sharma
Publisher: Notion Press
Release: October, 2017
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