The long and winding road of a Polymath

A journey of thousands of years starts with a small step......how I got involved with all the worlds I am experimenting with now is really fascinating. I never ever imagined when I started my journey, I would become a polymath one day! Neither did the people who laid the different paths for me and made me walk on them. And I am extremely happy I am one now. The success is beyond my imagination.
I started drawing from class one as drawing is one of the main subjects in our schools along with science, other art subjects and languages. We learn at least three languages from day one of our schooling. We learn 10 - 18 subjects in our schools. It lays foundation to our future and decides who gets interested in what subjects. Science is considered here as the best and only the students who get the highest marks in the school will get seats in science subjects. So parents and teachers here encourage us to go for sciences from an early age. I used to paint Nature in water colours in my childhood. I never thought then this interest in art would take me places in my future life. We pursued drawing from class one to post graduation where marks will be allotted to picture presentations of our observations, experiments etc. in Science subjects. So everything goes hand in hand and we don't consider science and art as separate subjects. As I got highest percentage of marks in all the subjects, art was never an option for me. My parents, teachers and I unanimously decided it would be science that suits me better! As I got  the top ranks  in the university, fellowships followed and Ph.D., post doctoral and scientific research carrier followed automatically. There was no thought of taking up of art courses anywhere in all this although my interest in it remained somewhere at the bottom of my mind although I got completely engrossed in science.
Here scientific researchers are allowed to pursue independent projects. We are islands in that sense and we will have to do much of our work on our own. Only occasional discussions with our heads and colleagues take place. That makes us think and work more on our own. I read recently that research suggests group work inhibits creativity and when people work in groups they lose their individual capacity to innovate and follow what others are following! Maybe because we work in isolation, our creativity and thought processes develop more sharply though it takes more time to do a unit of work individually. Reasoning power and rationale automatically develop as there won't be anybody to help and advise you. We have to bear our own cross and that makes us utilize our brain power to the maximum extent possible to survive. We will have to plan, execute and obtain and show results in the time frame prescribed for us. The system makes us tilt towards hard work that makes us exhausted. But if you love what you are doing that doesn't make you get bored. I love science so much that I eat, sleep, breathe and even paint science! Science influences me a lot and rational thinking that is a part of it is the only way for me in taking all the important decisions in my life.

My interest in painting made me take it up again in 2006. Science themes are my natural choice as I am from that field and science culture is a part of me.  I happened to be at the right time when science-art and science based art are becoming the hearts and souls of both art  and science fields. I started it as a hobby but the interest my work generated and the response I got from the people around the world made me take it up seriously.   So I ventured into other art forms like installations, video making etc. too. As soon as an art theme strikes my mind, a picture too takes form immediately and I never struggled to put it on canvas or in installation forms. Even while making the the videos, everything will be clear in my mind even before I start and the camera rolls on and follows the pictures in my mind! All my work is imaginative, I never use reference photos or models. The picture directly comes from my mind! When you use imaginative themes, finer details won't be very clear and again I use my imagination to construct details. I give importance to theme presentation than visual appeal. While presenting science themes in the art forms, the  themes are more important for people to understand. If we concentrate on visual aspects, people concentrate on aesthetics and forget about the message the picture carries. Somehow the world liked the way I presented my messages and it got bonded strongly with my work.

I am also interested in designing (fashion designing came from my mother) and I have made more than hundred pieces till now! Very soon I will take the pictures of my fashion works and exhibit them on line! When I started designing my jewelry, the jewelry shop owners here started liking and using my designs in manufacturing jewelry pieces!  I can also do landscaping and interiors. Then people in my science faculty started asking me to design the front page pictures of the booklets of science seminars, conferences etc. How can I refuse them?
My interest in literature has an interesting story. My English Lecturers used to deal with poetry and stories so sweetly that I followed them with great interest and put them as sweetly in exams. My lecturers used to give me 9 out of 10 marks and write "excellent" as the tenth mark at the bottom of my answer sheet! They told me I have the capacity to write rhythmically and poetically and encouraged me to write in English. "Don't neglect English literature though you are into science" were their last words during our farewell party in my college. I told them I wouldn't. So whenever, I get some time, I write stories inspired by social problems around me and started writing poetry based on my paintings and also on the things that inspire me. Some of my friends too encourage me to write more and more in English. But I have a drawback. English is not my first language, my third and my learning of French mixed it up a bit. Although I know I make mistakes and are well aware of them, multitasking makes it more difficult to identify them as my mind will always be somewhere else, thinking about something else while doing a task. So I advised my self, "get your priorities right". I correct my mistakes only if they count. In these forums it doesn't matter even if you make mistakes. So I don't correct them. I correct them only while publishing my works.

Then social activity came from my English lecturers and my grand father - he was a social reformer. How can I refuse the people I respect so much when they ask me to join them? Only time can limit my work.

 The idea of creating a network for the like minded people came automatically. I wanted to interact with artists more to balance my scientifically inclined mind in order to make my art works more acceptable to the art world.  My network is more like a journal now on science based art where you get all the information on the subject. I am very happy about it as people who are doing research on the subject are consulting me and the articles I wrote and posted there. The groups are temporarily closed as I am writing books (both fiction and non-fiction) on the subject now. We report everything that happens around the world in the science-art arena on my network. We added a directory part where we enter the names and websites of the people for their promotion who are working in the field and it is all free! Anybody who is interested in getting their names and websites added to the directory can contact me with their details and I will add them to it.

Communicating science , not only through art and literature , but also in the text form came when some of the people I interacted with told me about the difficulties they face while understanding the difficult  subject of science. They also feel journalists are not doing the job properly. So I became a science communicator too!

Polymaths always fascinated me. To push the limits of the boundaries of the mind to reach the maximum levels of working is a challenge and I want to accept it. But there are several drawbacks of multi-tasking. You will be surprised to hear this. I cannot count a bundle of hundred notes properly! I go to shops, buy things, pay  for the things I buy and forget to take change and keep losing money. I keep forgetting several things, including the names of people, places, and faces! I always keep drifting from one field to another mixing up things. I keep making silly mistakes even while performing ordinary tasks ( they don't count much in the bigger picture so I am not bothered). I am a bit slow in my reactions because I don't observe and notice my surroundings well . That is why I don't drive on the chaotic roads here. That is the price you pay for over burdening your brain. Not a very rosy picture. But well worth trying all the same!

I give full credit to my parents for giving me unlimited freedom and allowing me to fly in the way I wanted. I thank them for standing by me all through my life. They are  great pillars of strength to me.

By the way, when I took a test recently, to my pleasant surprise I have been told, both left and right parts of my brain work with equal efficiency 50% - 50% that makes it 100%! I am a whole brain person! Now am I person of science or art? I am happy to say I belong everywhere!!

You can read another article related to this topic here: http://kkartlab.in/group/some-science/forum/topics/how-the-brain-of...