Abhijit Sir’s teaching, along with his motivational lectures, are the sole reason why I am, what I am today. Of course, success is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. In fact, if you listen to his lectures carefully, trust me, you wouldn’t have to study at home, and not even have to solve the 10 years question bank on your own.
I would begin by thanking my respected teacher, elder brother, guide and friend for allowing me to express myself and to reach the prospective Undergrads. I promise to be blunt honest in this testimonial.
Back in 2012, I hated Physical Chemistry from the core of my heart. Not that I didn’t like doing maths or something like that. I used to get lost in conventions, thus I dreaded thermodynamics. Differential equations scared me out of Chemical Kinetics. I had never heard of Spectroscopy. Quantum Mechanics? Don’t even say that name before me!
Now let’s roll forward to 2017, I am a Ph.D. graduate student at the Cornell University, NY, which is ranked 14th in the list of top colleges in the world. Cornell is an Ivy League institution and stands along with Harvard, Princeton, Columbia and 3 more universities. Guess what? I am doing my Ph.D. in Physical chemistry. Want to guess further? I specialize in spectroscopy and my work involves the use of laser probes!
The essence of life lies in the fact that it is unpredictable. So how did I move from hating physical chemistry to loving it? The answer lies in one name: ABBHIJIT ROY. Yes, Abbhijit Sir, is the culprit responsible for my fruitful association with Physical Chemistry. I would say, he is not a teacher, in fact he is more of a coach, a motivator, a guide.
When I look back to 2012, I remember quite well, that I was in search of a teacher for Physical Chemistry. Abbhijit Sir, was relatively new to the field of teaching, but I decided to join his classes, since his class timings suited my schedule and based on the reviews I received from Mr. Supratim Halder, one of them being “Abbhijit Sir is a nice human being who is not strict”. Although I hated Physical Chemistry, that doesn’t mean I didn’t wish to learn and develop my love towards the subject. I used to sit right under his foot and pay careful attention to whatever he said. Trust me, when I say that he is one of those teachers, who can stoop down to a student’s level of understanding and explain even the most complicated concept using the simplest and the most common place example.
The best thing about Abbhijit Sir is his voice. There is so much calm and serenity in it, that you automatically get attracted to what he his teaching. Unlike most teachers, he doesn’t get lost in comprehension. A good teacher is one, who knows when to stop. He is so aware of a student’s psychology, that his classes are never long. He is so comfortable teaching, that he knows how to control his pace and always completes his syllabus on time.
One of the reason I got addicted to his classes is because often he would drift away from studies and tell us so many different but relevant stories. If you ever find yourself lacking in motivation, just go and have a word with him! He is just AWESOME. He will definitely boost your confidence. I still live by his tips. I will share a few of them with you:
- Just imagine if Sachin Tendulkar has played 21 years of cricket, just think of the number of years he spent practicing and learning.
- If you ever feel tired of studying, try listening to music in some different language, since your brain cannot comprehend the language, it automatically stops working and starts relaxing, this will help you continue studying.
- If you go to South City to watch a movie today, by the end of the 3rd year, you will be watching a movie in ChobiGhor. But if you go to ChobiGhor today, after the end of the 3rd year you will be sitting in Insignia.
- Before sitting for an exam, just look at the colour of pen, the person sitting before and after you are using, use a pen colour which is different from theirs. This will draw the examiner’s attention towards your copy.
- If you decide your field of specialization in your B.Sc. itself, trust me, you won’t get to do that in your M.Sc.
Sir’s teaching, along with his motivational lectures, are the sole reason why I am, what I am today. Of course, success is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. In fact, if you listen to his lectures carefully, trust me, you wouldn’t have to study at home, and not even have to solve the 10 years question bank on your own. He doesn’t teach, he is a story teller. Abbhijit Sir, is like a mother, he spoon-feeds his students, he solves all possible problems from each chapter before proceeding to the next and that is really hard work on his part. He allows his examinations to be set in such a way that it craters to all categories of students. There are problems which require you to be very sharp in order to solve them on the spot. Thus simulating actual exam conditions. I used to sit for all his examinations at all centres. He is always willing to help.
I in fact scored the highest in Physical Chemistry in my B.Sc. Part 1 and Part2 examinations, scoring 44/50 and 41/50. So the subject in which I provided the least effort, got me the highest marks, this was a reason for me to take up Physical Chemistry. I totally dedicate my success to Abbhijit Sir.
Even today I text with him, whenever I have any doubt anywhere and he is always ready to advise me. I am indebted to him for everything! He is the only person in the world who knows my deepest desire. He is my elder brother.
I am still a student insecure about my life, just like you. So don’t panic at all. We are all walking towards the same goal. Just remember two things do not try to decide you field of specialization yet, love the subject and enjoy it and never lose faith in yourself.
You all have something to prove to someone who did not trust you, you all have some unfulfilled desires and you also have these three years, I do not know what will happen after this, but if each of you, is able to put in his/her best now, even God will not be able to steal these three years from you! So Go ahead and give your best shot!
My email id is: uditkumarchakraborty@gmail.com
Find me and ask me as many questions as you have, I will try my best to guide you. But remember to faithfully follow Sir’s advice.
Previous Universities:
1) University of Calcutta (Maulana Azad College), B.Sc.
2) Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, M.Sc.
3) University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, Research Internship
Current designation:
Cornell University, Ithaca-New York, United States of America, Ph.D.
Year of study under Abhijit Sir: 2012-2015
Major academic achievements:
Received Graduate School admits out of 8 submitted applications for Ph.D. in the USA
1) Cornell University. (Ivy League)
2) U Colorado Boulder.
3) U Rochester.
4) Arizona State U.
5) State U of New York- Buffalo.
6) Iowa State University.
Received the most number of offers in our M.Sc. Batch at IIT Bombay.
GRE Score: 318/340(Verbal: 154/170; Quantitative: 164/170; Analytical writing: 4/6)
TOEFL Score: 114/120(Reading: 29/30; Listening: 30/30; Writing: 27/30; Speaking: 28/30)
GRE Chemistry: 84%
Ranked 6th (FIRST CLASS), UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA, B.Sc. HONOURS EXAMINATION 2015
Secured ALL INDIA RANK 14TH (LECTURESHIP) in the NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY TEST, DEC 2015
Secured ALL INDIA RANK 10THin HYDERABAD SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY, 2015
Secured ALL INDIA RANK 36THin IIT JAM, 2015
Secured ALL INDIA RANK 51STin BHU PET (BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY), 2015
Selected for Integrated Ph.D. subsequent to the qualification in the interview at IISER-K (INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH KOLKATA), ALL INDIA RANK 4TH 2015
Received interview letters for Ph.D.from the NATIONAL CENTRE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES (NCBS) after qualification in GS 2015 entrance (TATA INSTITUTE OF FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH) TIFR MUMBAI
B.Sc.: 76.6%
M.Sc.: 8.90 (10-point scale)
Non-academic achievements:
- Received “Academic Award for excellence in studies” 2014, (MAULANA AZAD COLLEGE)
- Successfully Completed the German 1 and A1.2 level language courses in association with DAAD, India. (2016)
- Getting to know a Guide named: Abbhijit Roy.