Inspiring journey: Tribal boy from Gadchiroli becomes scientist in US

From struggling to get one square meal as a child in a remote village in Maharashtras Gadchiroli to becoming a senior scientist in the United States Bhaskar Halamis life is an example of what one can achieve with sheer hard work and determinationBrought up in a tribal community at Chirchadi village in Kurkheda tehsil Halami is now a senior scientist in the research and development section of Sirnaomics Inc a biopharmaceutical company in Maryland USAThe company conducts research in genetic medicines and Halami looks after RNA manufacturing and synthesisHalamis journey to become a successful scientist has been fraught with obstacles and he has had many firsts to his nameHe was the first science graduate from Chirchadi and first from the village to earn a Masters degree and PhDTalking to PTI Halami recalled that in the initial years of his childhood his family survived on very littleWe had to struggle so much to even get one square meal My parents till recently wondered how the family survived that phase when there was no food or work the 44yearold scientist saidSome months in the year especially monsoons were incredibly tough as there were no crops in the small farm that the family had and no work he saidWe cooked mahua flowers which were not easy to eat and digest We would collect parsod wild rice and cook rice flour in water ambil and drink it to fill our stomachs This was not just us but 90 per cent of the village had to survive this way Halami saidAlso Read Migratory houbara bustard from UAE rescued in coastal MaharashtraChirchadi is home to 400 to 500 families Halamis parents worked as househelps in the village as the produce from their small farm wasnt enough to feed the familyThings got better when Halamis father who had studied till Class 7 found out about a job opening at a school in Kasansur tehsil more than 100 km away and reached the place by taking every available means of transportMy mother had no way of knowing if my father had reached the place We only found out about him when he returned to our village three to four months later He had landed a job as a cook at the school in Kasansur where we later shifted Halami saidHalami did his early schooling from Classes 1 to 4 at an ashram school in Kasansur and after clearing a scholarship exam he studied at the Government Vidyaniketan Kelapur in Yavatmal till Class 10My father understood the value of education and ensured that my siblings and I completed our studies he saidAfter earning a Bachelor of Science degree from a college in Gadchiroli Halami got his Masters in chemistry degree from the Institute of Science in NagpurIn 2003 Halami was appointed as an assistant professor in the prestigious Laxminarayan Institute of Technology LIT in NagpurWhile he cleared the Maharashtra Public Service Commission MPSC examination Halamis focus remained on research and he went on to pursue a PhD in the United States and chose DNA and RNA for his research foreseeing a huge potential in itHalami earned his PhD from Michigan Technological UniversityThe top researcher now receives at least a couple of emails each week from recruiters scouting for talent in the field of DNARNAHalami gives the credit for his success to his parents who worked hard and contributed their meagre earnings towards his educationHalami has built a house for his family in Chirchadi where his parents wanted to live He lost his father a few years agoThe researcher was recently felicitated by additional commissioner of state tribal development Ravindra Thakre in GadchiroliThe tribal development department rolled out its A Tea with Tribal Celebrity programme with Halami as its first celebrityThakre also invited the scientist as a guest at a tribal hostel in Nagpur where the latter provided guidance to studentsDuring his trips to India Halami visits schools ashram schools colleges and even meets students at his house to counsel them about careers and ways to achieve their goalsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever