Vadodara:
The students of the Convent of Jesus & Mary in Vadodara treated their guest as if he were some sort of rock star. Scientists aren't often chased for autographs by teenagers, but a Nobel Prize can help.
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan spent a part of his childhood in class here. To a fascinated group of young teens, he said, "When some people take up professions like engineering, the urge to earn a handsome money is high up on the priority. Earning money is not bad, but after a point of time it becomes immaterial and you want to do what your heart wants you to do. So go out and do what you actually want to do."
In 2009, Mr Ramakrishnan won the Noble Prize for Chemistry for his work along with two other scientists: A breakdown of the ribosome genetic code that will help create more efficient antibiotics.
"Through his speech we have derived a positive energy and we feel proud of him," said a suitably impressed Dhruti Parmar, a Class XI student.
Dr. Ramakrishnan will spend the next two days at M S University, where his father headed the Biochemistry Department, and from where he graduated in 1971 with a degree in Physics.