New Delhi: For someone who struggled with basic concepts of physics even after completing his master’s degree, life has come full circle. M Ravichandran retired this week as Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, and is now set to return to academia as a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras.
Ravichandran, who left his post on May 29 after five years as Minister of Earth Sciences, intends to continue his association with ocean sciences at the premier institute after a career marked by determination and determination.
As Secretary, he directed the Indian Meteorological Department’s modernization program and was instrumental in pursuing the government’s ambitious deep-ocean mission.
Ravichandran holds a PhD in Physics from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune. He contributed significantly to the design and implementation of ocean observing systems during his tenure at the National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai, and the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services, Goa, and also led Indian research activities in Antarctica and the Arctic region.
Ravichandran, 61, hails from Bhadrakalipuram, a small village in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district, where a few students pursued their education beyond the fifth grade.
He said that as the first student from the village aspiring to further education, the entire community came together to help make his dream come true. In 1975, he went to high school in Dindigul, completed his matriculation and later graduated from a college in Madurai.
A combination of scholarships and community support enabled him to complete a master’s degree in physics from Alagappa University, Karaikudi, making him the first in his village to obtain a postgraduate degree.
However, reality soon hit him when poor communication skills prevented him from getting a government job. “I was good at cracking exams, studying by rote. But when it came to interviews, I was a complete disaster,” Ravichandran told PTI.
Tired of the taunts of villagers who once celebrated his achievements, Ravichandran moved to Chennai and took a job as a security guard at a chemical factory.
A few months later, some of his graduate classmates there discovered him and convinced him to enroll in classes sponsored by the Tamil Nadu government for civil service aspirants.
“The only thing that attracted me to join the program was the guarantee of three full meals a day and a place to stay in Chennai,” he recalls.
Ravichandran passed the entrance exam to join civil service preparatory classes with ease, but he realized the limits of rote learning.
“The basic concepts of physics were not clear to me even after I got my master’s degree,” he recalls.
Timely intervention by mentor R Swaminathan, a former professor at Presidency College, Chennai, changed his approach. Swaminathan encouraged him to revisit physics from sixth grade textbooks onwards to build a strong conceptual foundation.
Ravichandran passed the civil service examinations in 1988, but was not particularly interested in the customs service for which he was eligible.
Among the opportunities available to him was an offer from IMD to join IITM-Pune as a scientist.
“I joined IITM-Pune on December 23, 1988, and life took a different turn,” he recalls.
After a fruitful stint as Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences from October 2021 until his retirement, Ravichandran now plans to join the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at IIT-Madras as a faculty member and continue contributing to India’s ocean science missions.
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