I have delivered a speech on Astrobiology at an inter-college event, says Sulagno Samanta

By: Sulagno Samanta

I was able to find only foreign universities for the undergraduate course in Astronomy. I took the SAT exam but the score was not enough that I could get a scholarship to study abroad. I also looked for Universities in Kolkata for such a course but I hardly found any.

After 10th, I chose Science with Biology according to the options generally given at the Indian schools. I loved Physics and Biology during my school days and was interested in exploring them. I used to perform crazy Biology experiments with fruits. I used to take part in the various science exhibitions held at school. I was a communicator of a Physics project with a team. I appeared for the National Science Olympiad exam in the 9th grade and won a gold medal. I also have an interest in Cosmology. So keeping in mind the curiosity I had about understanding nature, I chose science in 11th and 12th.
After the senior year, I researched about pursuing Astronomy in college. I was able to find only foreign universities for the undergraduate course in Astronomy. I took the SAT exam but the score was not enough that I could get a scholarship to study abroad. I also looked for Universities in Kolkata for such a course but I hardly found any. I found that to do research in astronomy in India one has to study physics till masters. 
After much research, I found very few universities providing MSc in Astrophysics. Then I applied in several colleges in and around Kolkata, Hooghly and Howrah. Finally, I chose Bachelors in Physics with Mathematics and Electronics as General Papers at The Bhawanipur College. I wanted to take Biology instead of Electronics but was not able to choose it because of the prevalent system of choice. 
My dream of Astronomy did not fade away as I found that I could get into the MP Birla Institute of Fundamental Research/Planetarium for a one-year course in Astronomy.

I took the general entrance tests which are a trend in India i.e. JEE Main, WBJEE, NEET etc. But these were not required for pursuing Bachelors in Science. Basically, I applied to several colleges and got in 3 decent colleges under Calcutta University and West Bengal State University. I found The Bhawanipur Education Society College, Kolkata (Calcutta University) as an ideal college for me.

I attend all the classes being carried out by the professors regularly in the college except Sundays. I spend my time in the sports arena and turf playing basketball. I usually participate in all intra college events and plays. Recently, I have organized a few science events also as a part of the event team of the science department.
I like to attend the practical physics classes including python programming and the live experiments with spectrometers, pendulums etc. I also like to attend the communicative English and environmental science classes which relieve our stress of theoretical physics.
I have danced and acted in many intra college events. I have delivered a speech on Astrobiology at an inter-college Physics event in St. Xaviers’ College. Besides this, I have attended multiple seminars, symposium and webinars held at our college.
If given a chance I would like to participate in more inter-college fests like Bhawanipur Dance Championship, Xavotsav etc. I would like to organize more  Science events like astronomy talks, paper presentation, sky-watching camp and visits to astronomical observatories.
In these 2 years, I have realized that there are a lot of new things to explore in this course. I also feel lucky that I got fabulous friends with whom I can laugh, enjoy and be carefree.

I have changed a lot but I still feel I need to change a lot more to be the best. I am a person who wants to live each moment with excitement and thrill. I study not for the degree but to gain knowledge. Besides Astronomy, I also love films. I would like to unite the entertainment industry with the education sector to educate the students through entertainment.

About the Author:

Sulagno Samanta is pursuing Bachelor of Science in Physics from Bhawanipur Education Society College, Kolkata. His hobbies include star gazing, dancing, acting and researching about Astronomy. He is interested in films and innovative modes of education. He loves Street Dance.