RESILIENCE

 I was in the first year of college, studying Microbiology as a major subject. My Professor ,Dr Wadia , introduced me to an experiment with a microbe , Klebsiella pneumoniae , a tiny organism, protecting itself with an outer mucilaginous layer . We placed a drop of the microbial suspension on seven sterile slides and covered each of them with a sterile coverslip . Every day for seven days in a row, we would pick up one slide and overlay it with nutrient medium and check for growth of the microbe . Excitedly, as soon as I would reach the lab, I would open the incubator to check for growth , and lo and behold ; I would actually see the growth . This continued for three to four days, though the growth diminished each day and was less luxuriant . However, on the sixth day, there was no growth seen . 

I was aghast and amazed at the same time . A single drop of suspension, looking dried up , still bounced back to life under good nutritional conditions! 

At home , dinner table was meant for family conversations, and each day I had something special to narrate about my little microbe friends . “ Baba, do you know, a microbe called Klebsiella pneumoniae can still survive the hard desiccation conditions we subject it to”! “ It causes pneumonia and it’s ability to resist drying is due to a mucilaginous covering it has”, I added some extra information, trying to act very knowledgeable about the subject . I saw my parents intrigued by the conversation, “ the mucilaginous covering helps it to reach the bronchial tissue by resisting the phagocytosis “. I tried becoming a little technical . 

“Interesting indeed “, was his reply . But Pedrickji ( that was his pet name for me), have you learnt anything from this little microbe friend ? I tried to draw parallels, which  didn’t quite hit the mark . 

A couple of weeks later, I was at the dinner table again with more stories about my microbe friends . This time it was about Bacillus subtilis, a sporulating organism . Another well designed experiment to show how the microbe can resist heat because of the spore . I still remember the joy I felt when I saw a heated culture of Bacillus subtilis grow on nutrient medium , even after holding it at sub boiling temperatures. “ You know, Bacillus can resist death by heating because when it is exposed to harsh environmental conditions, it produces Endospores , that can remain dormant till favourable conditions return “, I said , trying to sound very knowledgeable and intelligent. “ It can survive such hot environments for extended periods of time “, I excitedly told my parents . They participated in my excitement, but with a rider” What have you learnt from this”?

Again I was flummoxed and couldn’t hit the nail on the head . 

One day, while I was doing my PhD, I had a spate of failed experiments for over a month. No amount of brain storming, trouble shooting , problem solving helped . While, at home, being married,  I was dealing with the stress of being a new mother, managing in laws, home, husband and a baby and my funding for the project was getting over. It was a long never ending tight rope walk , on which I had lost my balancing rod . 

Tired and exhausted, I called my parents from an STD booth ( in those days there were no  mobiles and Straight Trunk Dialling , was the easiest way possible ) “ Baba”, I said in tears and amidst sobs,” I give up, I can’t get through with this “, I sobbed . “ I am leaving my PhD incomplete “. The person running the phone booth gave me a stool to sit and offered me a glass of water. Between sobs, I gave him the whole story.  “ Looks like you didn’t learn anything from your microbe friends “, he said to me . All along they were showing you how to be resilient and how to bounce back once favourable conditions returned. Did any of them ever give up ?”, he asked me, “ some even learnt and acquired the skills of developing resistance “. My parents let me sob my heart out . “ Get up, go back to your lab and look at your microbe friends, you will find inspiration, and call us again once you do so”. I slowly got up and trudged back to my lab, I kept sitting on my work stool staring at the petriplates on which my microbes failed to grow and give me the expected results. Several permutations and combinations of solutions played in my mind, till I found my eureka moment! 

My dear microbe friends taught me several lessons on life , short of becoming a life coach and slowly I learnt to imbibe these philosophical skills in my life . Till date , whenever I feel defeated , negative or down in the dumps , I recall my father’s words”what have you learnt from them “ and the answer comes to  mind so easily - Resilience !