Predicted by a palmist (fortune teller), who happened to be a friend, that there is no optimistic option for me to pursue my higher studies outside the geographical boundary of my home state called Orissa, situated in the eastern coast of India, which is one of the holiest place of pilgrimage as per Hindu Mythology. Derelicted by the fore-casting, but with a sense of optimism, I tried my luck. Sitting below the hanging sword, I made it a point to give my best.

Luck decided to smile after a long assessment; boundaries obliterated and the belief in blind-beliefs were demolished for ever. With hope and possibilities, I crossed all the boundaries and started my academic journey with determination.

Having not known what sociology is, I opted for it (by the suggestion from friends) as a subject during my two years training as a student in the Intermediate of Arts. Eventually, I liked the subject and topped the class in the Annual Exam. This spawned an ever enduring interest as to choose Sociology as an Honours subject during my three years Bachelor of Arts Programme under Utkal University, Orissa. Dreadful performance in the final coupled with my friend’s prediction clogged the doors of hope.

However, luck winked through a small hole when my name appeared at the end of the waiting list of MA Sociology programme at the University of Hyderabad. After a long process of selection and elimination, I finally managed to get a chance to pursue my MA in Hyderabad which later opened up possibilities. I went on to do M.Phil in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and PhD from the National University of Singapore. At the moment, I am teaching Sociology at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.