Hunt for Post-Doctoral Fellowship - I
It was in May / June 1975 when I started exploring the possibilities of getting a Post-Doc Fellowship. I had submitted my Ph.D thesis just then. I must have written to about a dozen Professors in USA / UK for a Post-Doc position. Those days, there was no E-mail and I had to send my covering letter + CV + 2/3 Reprints of some of my important papers by Airmail. The postal charges for Airmail were very expensive (depending upon weight). We used to wait eagerly for the Postman. Postman was like a GOD to students awaiting response from abroad for Fellowships or Interview Letters / Job offers. It was easy to get a Post-Doc in Life Sciences because there were a large number of labs and a large number of academicians were actively working. But not in Engineering. It is true even today.
After waiting for a month or so, I used to get the standard reply 'Your CV is very impressive. Unfortunately, at present there is no opening due to severe finance crunch. I have no doubt that with your impressive CV and track record, you will have no difficulty in finding a position elsewhere.' Time lost was about a month or more. However, one reply was very encouraging. It was from Professor Peter P Benham from The Queen's University of Belfast. He was Dean of Engineering. He replied 'At present there is no opening but in October 1978 Leverhulme Trust will be providing QUB funds to select a fellow for Unilever Fellowship. The fellowship will be approximately £300 per month + To and Fro Airfare. If you are interested, please write to me again in March / April 1978. I will recommend you'. Still there was no guarantee. Anyway, there was a ray of hope. In the mean time, I was also trying for Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship. AvH Fellowship is one of the most prestigious Post-Doc Fellowships generally awarded to young promising researchers below the age of 35. But I needed a Professor from West-Germany(in those days Germany was still divided) to agree to provide me a place to work and recommend my application to Humboldt Foundation. Professor Walter Schnell from Technische Hochschule, Darmstadt was kind enough to recommend my application.
To cut the story short, I wrote to Professor Benham again and reminded him of his previous letter. Within a fortnight, I received his reply and the letter offering Leverhulme American/ Commonwealth Fellowship. I had to go to Madras (Chennai) to get the Work Permit. Getting a Passport in those days was next to impossible unless you know some MP/MLA or IAS officer. My friend and I went to Vidhan Soudha(Legislate Building in Karnataka) and met an IAS officer and requested his help. When he came to know that we are from IISc, Bangalore, he said 'When smugglers and corrupt are getting Passport, why not you people?' He readily agreed to sign on our Passport Application without knowing our family background, etc. Unfortunately, I don't remember his name but will always remain grateful to him.
