Me

I am an Indian and obtained a Ph.D degree in Physics from an Indian University. I came to Japan as an experimental Physics researcher way back in 1997. I thoroughly enjoy researching on the Physics and material aspect of semiconducting materials. I have worked in a University in the suburbs of Tokyo as well as in two research institutes in Tsukuba-the science city of Japan. Sure I enjoy research very much but with passage of time started feeling a bit lonely since working as a full-time researcher is a 24 hour job and there is absolutely no time for maintaining a relationship. I met my hubby, also a Ph.D in Physics, while working as a researcher in the University in Tokyo suburbs. However, it took me almost six years to come to a decision to get married. Guess, I was a bit worried as my hubby is Japanese and we are from very different cultural background. But marrying my hubby was probably one of the best decisions of my life!!

My hubby works in a company in Akita prefecture, and I was faced with the biggest decision of my life, i.e., to give up full time job and work as a part-time researcher. Prior to marriage I was so completely involved in my research that I could not even think about it!! I moved to Akita in April 2007 and travelled once a week by shinkansen (bullet train) to work in Tsukuba. However, such a long distance travel is too tiring and now I am thinking of quitting research activities completely, well, atleast for the time being, and concentrate on family life. Akita is an agriculture oriented prefecture and it is difficult to find a research institute here. Sometimes I am a bit apprehensive about my decision but very recently I started feeling that it does not really matter.

I am enjoying the family life to the fullest. I can get up at my own sweet time, read a lot of novels, write some science related articles, and recently do blogging! I am really thankful that last year one book shop named Junku opened in Akita that has English novels. I read any type of novel under the sun as reading has been my hobby since I was 14. Nowadays I am reading a lot of authors like Haruki Murakami (English versions), Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts, Meg Cabot, Robert Ludlum, Sandra Brown, Ruth Rendell, Raymond Chandler, Jeffery Deaver, Sophie Kinsella, Kim Edwards, Sidney Sheldon, Dean Koontz,.....My home started looking like a mini-library of novels!

Another thing that I realized very late in my life is my passion for cooking. I hardly got the mood or thought about cooking my own meals before marriage. Restaurant food is so tasty in Japan! But me being an Indian, I am now faced with a really big challenge to cook Japanese food. I myself prefer Japanese food. My hubby loves my version of Japanese cooking (atleast he says so!). I feel that a good experimental physicist should also be a good cook. Cooking good delicious food is also like optimizing the parameters of laboratory experiments to the best value!! But recently hubby and me have started putting on weight, so I guess I have to keep my passion for cooking under control!

I hope I will succeed in the second phase of my life.