Dear Meena Ma’am,

I hope this email finds you well and in great spirits.

I’ve been meaning to write for a while now … I remembered you many times this year, at various milestones, and finally felt compelled to send you an update on my time here at IISc. I cannot believe it has been four years!

These years have brought their share of challenges : working hard to secure a high rank in JEE, earning my place at IISc, my dream college, but through all of it, I felt prepared to face whatever came my way, thanks to the constant support and belief you showed in me during my years at school.

One memory I keep returning to: in sixth grade, I was hesitant to sing a Hindi poem I had written, in front of the whole school. You were the one who urged me to go ahead. That meant a lot to me. Since then, I expressed myself at every opportunity school offered: on stage, across disciplines, mixing different domains… always knowing that you were standing behind me.

The confidence you gave me has stayed with me here as well. Just yesterday, I presented a talk on aesthetics in science to researchers across the institute. And last month came a moment I will not forget easily: Demis Hassabis ,Nobel Laureate and CEO of Google DeepMind, was visiting India for the India AI Summit, and IISc was his first stop, being India’s frontier AI research hub. The dean selected me to welcome him on behalf of the institute and anchor his talk. Standing before an audience of 1,400 people, meeting a figure who has shaped the field I care most about – it was nothing short of a thrill!

In all these moments, I found myself thinking of the many times I stepped onto the stage at Bianchi Hall. And even this time, before I took a deep breath to begin, I imagined your smiling face somewhere in the audience.

Academically, I am pursuing a BTech in Mathematics and Computing, and exploring computational and theoretical biology on the side: applying AI, ML, and physics to living systems, sitting right at the crossroads of pure science and engineering. It is exactly the kind of mixing-everything-I-love that school taught me was possible. My cricket, music, reading, trekking, and art are all still very much alive too. You all gave me something I am genuinely grateful for: the conviction that you can pursue everything you love, with real depth…you just have to find a way.

I wish I had written sooner. The past three years were consumed by competitive exams and then the business of settling into a new city and a new life. But I am well settled now, and very happy …my course is rigorous in all the right ways and very rewarding.

I hope you, and everyone at school, are doing wonderfully. I look forward to meeting you the next time I am in Mumbai.

Warm regards,

Durga