Eight Years in Paris

No visit to Amsterdam can be complete without visits to Royal Palace, Anne Frank House & Rembrandt Museum &they can be labelled as Major Tourist magnets!

Boat Ride in Amsterdam canals is a must do item for every visitor to this Metropolis, though the monotonous architectural style of the buildings lining the canals can be judged by some at least as Eye-Sore!

It was indeed painful to realize that the so-called beautiful city of Amsterdam and its people had to be victims of religious bigotry and had its share of being victims of egoes and lust for power of vested interests for hundreds of years!

Though  I  was  feeling excited  at the prospect of  seeing a new  country  in Europe  other than Paris & France, I had not  bargained for  the  totally unexpected  and un-welcoming  attitude  of  border  guards  and  immigration  controls viewing  indians as  unwelcome  guests!

The processing of visa papers  for Indian  students  during the period  between 1975  and  1983  were  not  without the  share of the  problems  and  vicissitudes  since having label of a  poor nation  was like an albtaross round the neck  for  indians  to  travel  to  countries of  t...

Summer months  can be  really rewarding  for  cash strapped  foreign students  and  opens  up job opportunities  albeit for  3  months! However  restrictions  of entry visas  and  exit visas for foreign  students  from  so-called  poor countries  was a harsh reminder  that  this  worl...

Though I  was  able to be one  of  the  Top Five  performers  in the  DEA or Master  Degree  Examination  of  Reproductive  Biology  Scheme of  Paris University, I  was disappointed or  dejected to  learn that  being a  foreigner  excluded me  from  the List of  Scholarship Award...

In the meet-ups  we  cried our  heart out to  address so  many  ills  of Indian society  and  concluded  that  unless we had a really transparent  and powerful democracy  without loop-holes, the country  could be  wrecked  by power-hungry selfish  and  loot-oriented and  corrupt   demagogues an...

The meet -ups of indian  students  in the cite  campus  was  really  an occasion that  most participants  seemed to  enjoy  greatly though most of the participants  were  certain  that such  discussions  or  debates  aimed  to  enlighten  and  educate  and  inform  the  mill...

It  did shock  me  tremendously  that  even an  atheist  Existentialist  Guru shared  some  private  thoughts  that 99.99 % followers or fans  will have  difficulty  to Digest!  

It  was  once in a life time  opportunity  to  have  a one to one chat with a  world famous  personality and  protagonist of  "Existentialism" Theory ,Mr Jean Paul Sartre , in the premises of the  French  Student  Hostel  in  Cite  Campus  and  his confidential confessions  really  shocked me greatl...

The  students  and residents  of  Cite  Campus  at Cite  Universitaire  can consider  themselves  to  be  blessed  since the  authorities  were  visionary  and  far sighted and professional to  take into account  all  the curricular  and  extra curricular  needs of the  resi...

I am not  sure whether  there is  any other  student  campus in the world  other than Paris  Cite Campus  that  offers such  varied  educational  and  cultural  and  personality  development  and sports  facilities  for  students  at  such a  bargain  price!

Life  in Cite  Campus  can  be  a  boon  for  residents   and  there  are  umpteen  avenues  for entertainment, outdoor activities  and extra curricular  activities  for  all  who  aspire  to  achieve  greater  heights  in life though one  should be  prepared...

Little  did  I  realize  that  there  can  be some  bad apples in  the  heap  of  apples  and that  some  indian  students  can act like  crabs  trying  to  bring down  those who try to escape from  the  bucket !  Yes  I learnt  that  success  and fame &n...

I am  not sure whether there is  any  Student  Campus in the world  that  offers such wonderful  opportunities  for  students  from all  over the world to  live a dream  life with all amenities  and  facilities  in  an organized  and  academic  environment. Hats off to the planners  and  m...

Though  Paris  is  known for  high valued fashion shops  and  highly priced  restaurants  and  eateries, it is also  a place where one can  have a   decent  living  with modest  income  too 

It  was  fatherly  affection  and  care  of  Professor Panigel  and  brotherly  support of  direct  research supervisor  Dr  Jean Claude Challier  that  solved  the  road-blocks  for  kicking off  the  training  in  human placental  perfusion  or  artificial  ...

I  was delighted to  see that  the  students  of  Paris University  were blessed to  have a  wonderful  study  and  research  environment  and  the fact  that  those  who excelled in their studies  and  research  were  duly  honored  and  rewarded  with  incentives...

Encounter  at  the Police Headquarters  in Paris with the  friend  from Cameroon  and  the heart-wrenching scenes  and struggles of  perhaps millions all over the world  exposed me to the  truth  that western world  is not free from virus of  racism and  discrimination  and  disdain for the poor and  helpless...

Though I had  expected  that  renewal of  residence permit  will be  hassle-free, the behaviour  of  the  personnel  at  the Prefecture and the un-welcoming or even  aggressive  ambience  of  prefecture  was  revolting  and smacked of  plain racism!

Except for  the  University  Regulation  of  all  certificates  and  testimonials  of  the applicant  to be in French Language,  the processing  of  my application as a Doctoral Research Student  at University of  Paris  VI  was  without  much  head-aches!

The free ride in company  of  Professor  Panigel  through the dream land  of Paris  was  an  unforgettable  experience  that cannot be  defined in words and the explanation  as to why Professor chose an Indian  student  as his research  disciple  took my breath away  If only there are such divine persons  as...

It  was  with enormous  glee that  I accepted the offer of  Professor  Panigel to  drop  me  in his car  at the  Cite  Campus  and  had a  rapid tour of  some of the  Vintage  Points  of  Paris Metropolis in company  of  a  distinguished  Professor  and  Scientist &nbsp...

It  was a totally  unexpected  and  frank  and  casual  and informal  interaction  with members of  Research Team of  Professor Maurice Panigel  at  the  University headquarters  in Jussieu and this  helped  me   in driving  away  all  butterflies in my stomach  and  assured me &...