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From : Peter Principle:
"Percussive Sublimation":
Def: When someone is kicked upstairs to get him out of the road and unblock other promotions.
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From the day I joined the Physics Dept at IIT KGP to the day I retired forty years later, I was a fixture in our 4th year lab. The reason was simple: "that" lab was an Electronics Lab, and Electronics was my Special Paper in my MSc, and I had hands-on experience in electronics over the two lazy years I spent in Waltair thereafter. So I took to it like a duckling takes to water.
But I was never made its Lab-in-Charge since "that" post was the preserve of experimental researchers while I turned out to be a theoretical researcher.
No problem...I was always happy...
Then Prof M became HoD. And he didn't know much except that he wanted perhaps to prove that a theoretical physicist is no good at lab.
So he made me its Lab-in-Charge.
"That" was the opportunity I was waiting for...
Within a semester, with the valuable help of Dr B, I replaced soldering irons with breadboards, single beam oscilloscopes with dual-beam ones, transistors with chips, analog frequency meters with digital ones, old interferometers with new ones, laser diffraction etc etc.
The lab became popular, and Prof M fell in love with me since the credit goes to the HoD who alone represents the Dept in meetings with the Director.
Fine, no problem, since I was already a Professor by virtue of my donkey seniority if nothing else.
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Then Prof M wanted one of my own earlier students Dr S to be promoted as a Professor.
Dr S was the one who wrote this about me in my late lamented sixtieth year Tribute:
"A hundred moons may be born
A thousand suns may blaze
In this intense brilliance
Without my teacher, There is pitch darkness"
Dr S
Dept of Physics, IIT KGP"
http://gpsastry.blogspot.com/2011/09/sweet-sixty.html
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"Hey! Sastry! I want Dr S to be promoted as Professor. Can I please make him the 4th year Lab-in-Charge since it will be a prime extra qualification?"
"Sure, why not? He is an experimental physicist, and most suited and I love him"
"But I want YOU to stay in that Lab"
"Sure I will stay and work under him"
"No...no...You are much senior and I will be criticized if I make you work under him. I thought of creating a new position called "Guide & Advisor" for you as a special case. Will that be ok with you?"
"Wonderful! Wonderful!!Wonderful!!!"
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Twenty years later, here is the e-mail I got from Prof M:
Dear Sastry,
It is more than a decade we had met last in IIT. Your writings in the souvenir are the excellent ones. Perhaps you don't know that I happen to be one of your admirers because of your caliber, simplicity, aloofness and helpful attitude towards all. I understand that you are now staying at Hyderabad.
How are your wife and your son? Regards and best wishes for all of you,
Yours sincerely,
Prof M
Please respond. I like to keep contact with you.....
😊
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చదివితి సంతసించితిని చప్పున స్పందన నిట్లు తెల్పితిన్!
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