To build large building high, bricks, cement, stone chips, blueprint, etc., everything is required Each of these materials will play an important role in determining the shape, size, and structure of the building. Just like that, we need biomolecules which are the building blocks of all living things.  The knowledge of these building blocks is encapsulated in the subject ‘Biochemistry’. It helps us to understand the operating system of living bio-machines. Thus it has a huge impact on every sector of life such as agriculture, medicine, diagnostics, nutrition, forensic, pharmaceuticals, and many more.  To many young minds who have chosen ‘Biochemistry’ to build their future career path, this is an interesting venture towards their dream. Let’s hear from the horse’s mouth about their feelings.

1. View of Ms. Samanwita Mondal (MSc 1^st year Student, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Science, and Biotechnology).

“No one knows where the dream begins and where the truth ends”, the meaning of the line from Lila Majumder’s ‘Halde Pakhir Palok’ had always made me think from childhood. When I realized the meaning, I never thought that it’s going to happen in my life. I always dreamed to be a doctor. But there is something else written in my destiny. The journey faced many ups and downs in between my dream and destiny, finally, destiny wins the battle. And my destiny becomes Biochemistry. There’s always a story behind a story, mine is not exceptional. When I failed to grab my dream after trying several times, the combat of mind began. That time, I just had to pursue any course to get a minimum degree, as I lost all power of thinking. It’s something like “struggle for existence” according to Charles Darwin in the biological term.

 My parents took me to Adamas University and enrolled in a Bachelor’s course in Biochemistry. That moment I didn’t know much about Biochemistry, according to me in medical studies there is a paper named Biochemistry, that’s it. I was a bit late when I joined university. After ten days of my joining, the first mid-term started and my condition was like drowning in water. The subject was entirely new to me, I didn’t even know what’s in the syllabus, what to read, and write in the exam. Another problem was my homesickness as for the first time I was staying in a hostel, far away from home. But, with all obstacles, I had managed to give the mid-term without any preparation and that only became possible due to encouragement from some of my teachers. I was scared when I got questions in my hand, but surprisingly the questions were not that much unknown to me! The medical preparation worked for me in that situation. Teachers were also surprised to see my exam copies. And from now on another story started to happen.

When I started to feel incompetent in all aspects after my failure, found little hope and confidence in the subject, ‘Biochemistry’. Later on, my path began to walk by holding the hand of Biochemistry. Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. Biochemical processes give rise to the complexity of life. Almost all areas of the life sciences are being uncovered and developed by biochemical methodology and research.

Slowly, I got to understand the chemistry inside the Biochemistry. I found my success from the subject. I got my lost confidence back, day by day by involving in the subject, the help of my friend-philosopher-guide like teachers. They are like my pillars, I know because of them I will never lose my way again in the dark. And yes, now I can proudly say that I have taken the subject into the core of my heart, that’s why I have dared to dream again.

My dream changes from doctor to be a successful Biochemist. Perhaps, that is how destiny meets with reality. Now, I truly believe that no poison can kill a positive thinker, and no medicine can save a negative thinker. With this positive energy, I want to make sense of the significance of the word “Adamas” in my future.

 (Writer has been selected for a short time project at National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan, 2020).

2. View of Ms. Manisha De ( BSc 3^rd year Student in Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Science and Biotechnology).

Hi! To all the people, who are reading this, you’ve found your way to the tiny corner of my world, where I have shared some regular basis about the things that excite and challenge me in Science, specifically in Biochemistry. There’s one important thing to know about me at the start: I am a huge nerd about the molecules and reactions. While many students break into a cold sweat at the mentioning of ‘reactions and the molecular structures’ involving them. Students generally find them to be a topic to mug-up, but it is just the reverse. The chemistry behind every molecular structure paves the way to easily make through the reactions which keep on taking place in every cell of every individual. It is highly fascinating to see the world through a lens of molecules and their interactions. I love thinking about the molecules that drive our lives and the environment around us. Starting from the necessity of the water molecule, repairing of the damaged DNA to the fighter in us to face the foreign world, every single protein involved in the above-mentioned phases has literally created a fascination towards Biochemistry.  Isn’t it very interesting to know that mundane things like the smell of the air after it rains or the way a hot iron straightens hair or even the bubble formed while washing clothes also have molecular explanations! There’s a hidden richness of molecular phenomena around us. Molecules shape the world.

When we look at the fields that study molecules of life, it doesn’t help that the names of many related disciplines are so damn confusing. Chemical Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biological Chemistry all mean roughly the same thing in the dictionary. However, those of us working in these fields know that they refer to different communities that have distinct organizational cultures, and that target different types of problems using different methods and technologies. To me, Biochemistry seeks to explain biology at the chemical scale. Starting with simple building blocks like carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, how can complex things as a tree, cat, or human emerge from these materials? Or even a single, replicating bacterial cell? There are biochemical questions to answer at every level of complexity.

On a serious note, it has encouraged me to look through the ingredients of every other strip of a tablet and supported me in narrating the physiological action of the well-known Paracetamol. The swelling of a region on an ant bite quickly reminds me of the inflammation pathway and makes me feel relieved when I remember that my own WBCs in the blood is there to heal the inflammation. As a whole, Biochemistry has been my pupil to observe the great challenges surrounding nature and rule a confident life over it.

 (Writer was awarded Best Speaker award for a project presentation on ‘Stereochemical Effects on Drugs’2019).

Student Contributors:

1. Samanwita Mondal (MSc 1^st year Student, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Science and Biotechnology).
2. Manisha De (BSc 3^rd year Student, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Science and Biotechnology).