The Uncertain Beginning

In the midway of this our mortal life,
I found me in a gloomy wood, astray
Gone from the path direct: and e'en to tell
It were no easy task, how savage wild
That forest, how robust and rough its growth,
Which to remember only, my dismay
Renews in bitterness not far from death
- Canto I, Inferno, Dante

As is, with every blog post, I begin this one with the aspiration of writing regularly which I have failed to do so. I shall, however, endeavour to be committed to posting content regularly. Perhaps, I should begin with explaining my journey from Mangalore to the moment I am typing out this post now. I had hopped, skipped and jumped out of Mangalore with memories of long drives, misty mountains, sun-kissed beaches, scintillating yakshagana performances, mouthwatering seafood and of course with a Masters degree as a footnote amongst the memories. I had moved west from Chennai and I decided to throw caution to the wind and refuse an MPhil offer from Anna University to traverse north to the dusty hinterlands of Haryana. I will not go into the mystery and fiasco of how I got into the Central University of Haryana and how I walked out unscathed. I shall reserve that caper for another post. The immediate plan was a PhD within the country, but with a fortuitous turn of events, I found myself standing outside Glasgow Airport entirely lost. Here I was at Glasgow to pursue my second Masters. A Masters in Victorian Literature at the University of Glasgow. Now I was not exactly the best student in the class. Not even the second best. I did not clear the degree with a merit or distinction. I do not know if the term mediocre would even be applicable. I should really thank my course convener Dr Matthew Creasy for his enormous patience with me. It took me the entire length of the course to actually understand what the course demanded. Yes, I have graduated. The graduation came with lessons. Lessons which I shall be taking forward into an uncertain beginning of my PhD.

Officially, today is the first day I begin my PhD at the University of Aberdeen. Just like the opening lines of Dante's Inferno, I am at this moment lost in the forest of life. The only certainty that I have at this moment is that there are no circles of Hell for me to face. There are only obstacles that I will need to overcome in the coming years. Hurdles large enough to break me. If Dante can make it through the nine circles of Hell, I believe that I can make it through three years of PhD. As Stan Lee famously quotes, 'Excelsior!', ever upwards it shall be. 
Cheers! 


Location: Aberdeen, UK

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