‘You may fail, but never lose hope’: What Dr Watson told students in Thiruvananthapuram 25 years ago

Thiruvananthapuram: Even after quarter of a century, Dr Tessy Thomas Maliakel vividly remembers that classroom scene. Before her stood the legendary scientist who had unraveled the mystery of human life itself.

In a brief 10-minute interaction, Dr James Watson shared with Tessy and 12 other students the secret of success: “We may fail, perhaps again and again. But we must never feel disheartened or lose hope. If we keep trying, success will eventually be ours. That has been my own research experience.”

These words of late Prof James D Watson, who passed away on Saturday, still echo in Tessy’s memory like a heartbeat.

Watson visited Kerala on January 10 and 11, 1999. His meeting with the 13 research students, including Tessy, took place at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Thiruvananthapuram.

According to Tessy, thanks to the persistent efforts of then RGCB Director Dr MR Das that the world-renowned scientist visited Kerala. Tessy had the honour of welcoming him with a bouquet when he arrived at the institute. During the 10-minute session, Watson spoke about the challenges and obstacles researchers often face and how to overcome them. He also shared how, despite many failures, his perseverance eventually led to the discovery that transformed the world.

Tessy, one of the students who attended that session, is now a scientist at the same institute. Another participant, Dr E Sreekumar, currently serves as Director of the Institute of Virology, Thonnakkal. Tessy recalled that after the discussion, Watson visited the laboratories and later delivered a lecture at the Sree Chitra Institute.

On Saturday, RGCB held a condolence meeting in memory of Dr Watson and his immense contributions. RGCB Director Dr TR Santhosh Kumar noted that the discovery of DNA’s structure laid the foundation for the biotechnology revolution that reshaped the late 20th century.