An Adventure Called CCMB : A Sci-Fi Encounter Of A Constructive Kind

Just before I joined the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in New Delhi as its Financial Adviser in 1983, I was working as Accountant-General, Rajkot in Gujarat State for a little less than a couple  of years.  For nearly ten years before that I had been doing some pioneering work at the Center, devising and developing an unprecedented culture of innovative audit investigations concerning the economic and commercial activities of the Government of India, mainly in the areas of exports and imports.  So I was afraid that the Rajkot spell -- which would be essentially routine-oriented -- was going to be hopelessly dull in comparison ;  but soon after taking over the new job I found that there were two vitally important morale-related problems which were crying out for urgent and effective solutions, requiring extremely resourceful initiatives and actions and promising a tough but exciting time ahead. 

One of these twin problems was an ambitious proposal to acquire ten acres of land from the State Government and build 300 apartments for the staff numbering about a thousand persons. The idea had turned out to be quite unrealistic and demoralizingly elusive -- with no reasonable prospects of any land-allotment by the State Government or of any effective engineering action by the zonal office of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) in Bombay, located in the neighboring State of Maharashtra.

This is not the place to tell the intriguing story of what all happened progressively  in the following months, so let me just say that in the second year of my posting I was able to lay the foundation stone for precisely 300 staff quarters -- on a spacious plot of land with a lovely brook rustling along its border on one side -- in the presence of a jubilant crowd of staff members, and also the Collector, Rajkot (the seniormost officer of the State Government in the district), and high-level officers from the CPWD in Bombay, which had set up a special task force in Rajkot for implementing the construction project.

Soon after that I was back in New Delhi as the Financial Adviser of CSIR, and found that there were many formidable problems troubling the organization for a long time and clamoring for effective solutions.  Moreover, there was a severe personal problem for the financial adviser :  this was the proverbial and intrinsically hostile collective attitude of the scientific community in Government-owned scientific institutions towards Finance -- both internally towards the FA, and externally towards the Finance Ministry, represented in the case of CSIR by a high-ranking officer as the Member (Finance) of the Governing Body.

Languishing lab

CSIR had about 40 constituent laboratories and Institutes scattered all over India, grouped according to major branches of science like physics, chemistry, biology, engineering and information.  Going through their annual reports and other relevant records during the first few weeks of my new assignment, I took stock of the progress and constraints of the organization as a whole and also those of some important laboratories and institutes. 

One of the intriguing impressions I obtained was that the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), which was headed by a very distinguished scientist, had no building of its own but was functioning in very inadequate space provided within the  Regional Research Laboratory in Hyderabad.  An ambitious building project had come to a standstill at an early stage for want of adequate resources, which was naturally holding up the healthy growth of the infant laboratory in terms of manpower as well as equipment and essential facilities. I was told by scientist-colleagues in the Planning Division that the project had run into serious trouble because the Director of the lab, Dr. P.M. Bhargava, who had wide international connections, was having extremely unrealistic ideas about creating sophisticated infrastructure comparable with the very best in the world.  "He wants to build a five-star hotel!", they said derisively.

And there I was, fresh from the successful launching of the building project in Rajkot, which had also dragged on for several years and had actually been given up as an unrealistic idea, till I revived it :  and I felt a strong urge to see if I could somehow breathe new life into the languishing scientific venture.  Of course, in terms of dimensions and specific features there was a tremendous gulf between building a few hundred staff quarters on conventional lines and a state-of-the-art laboratory in a frontier zone of science.  But in terms of principles and strategies -- effectively overcoming all resistance and constraints, and gainfully influencing external factors governing the generation of funds and facilities -- the two scenarios did have a certain resemblance ;  and given my status as CSIR's financial adviser, I could imagine playing a key role in the whole drama, if only as a supporting actor.  

Frustration and fury

But first of all I had to find out whether the laboratory and its apparently controversial head really deserved my earnest support and deep involvement, which would be absolutely necessary if one had to secure adequate resources for a very expensive scientific venture.  So I went down South to Hyderabad, expecting to spend a couple of days there taking a close look at CCMB's mission and assessing its significance in a national and global perspective.

As I entered Dr. Bhargava's chamber on the first morning, I found him in a morose mood.  What was bothering him specifically that day was the serious trouble he was having in acquiring a couple of indispensable (and expensive) instruments, which was holding up some vitally important research.  He expressed the hope that having just taken over as CSIR's financial adviser, I would take an unprejudiced view and authorize the expenditure.  I said I'd certainly like to do so, but first I would like to know what his credentials were for making extremely heavy demands for funds.

Of course, that was a rather blunt way of putting it, though I had meant no offense and was only trying to open up a frank and useful conversation.  But I must have set light to a sensitive fuse, since Dr. Bhargava seemed to be nursing a long-drawn-out and frustrating grievance against conservative colleagues in CSIR's Headquarters.  Anyway, he just blew up in an explosive rage, and refused to give me an answer.  "And I'd like to know what your own credentials are for asking me that question!" he fumed.  "May I know your qualification in science?  Do you have a science degree?  What do you know about microbiology?"

"None -- no -- nothing!"  I said.  "Economics was my subject in college.  My knowledge about microbiology is almost zero."

"There you are!  And still you think you have the right to question my credentials as a scientist?  Am I answerable to you?"  Dr. Bhargava asked.  And his tone was so aggressive that it was my turn now to blow a fuse. 

"I am not questioning your credentials, Dr. Bhargava!"  I said.  "I am just asking you to make me clearly understand what they are, that's all!  But let me tell you something :  I will be asking you and your scientists a hundred other questions about CCMB as we go along, and will expect to get crystal-clear answers!  Just give me ten minutes, and I'll explain precisely how I think I can help you to build the lab you're dreaming about.  After that, we can continue this conversation if you think it will be useful -- otherwise you can ask your office to cancel my return flight tomorrow evening and get me a seat today, and just let me go back to my room and read some magazines!  Will that suit you?"

That outburst surprised even me, for I hadn't meant to be rude at all.  But the shock seemed to moderate the eminent scientist's furious and hostile response.  "All right, go ahead!  I am listening!" he said, desperately trying to regain his composure. 

My role visualized

Both of us were now in a feverish mood, and my short monologue which followed had a sharp focus, like a precis being written in an examination hall, and it crystallized all relevant ideas which had been floating around in my mind for several weeks.  Dr. Bhargava heard me out with intense concentration, which helped.  Paradoxically, what I had to say was quite elementary but also immensely significant :-  

Any important project in an externally funded organization would be largely governed by external factors.  In the case of CSIR, which was almost wholly funded by the Government of India, the external forces were the Finance Ministry, and the Secretary (Expenditure) who represented it in CSIR's Governing Body as the Member (Finance).  Apart from CCMB's overall budget allocations and staff sanctions, there would be many specific contexts calling for special dispensations and relaxation of normal rules, which would need the approval of the Member (Finance).

The concerned Government officials were not likely to be very familiar with specialized areas of science, though their general knowledge (like mine) did include a smattering of scientific information.  For them to be convinced about the justification for providing extraordinarily heavy funds for any project, certain important conditions must be fulfilled.  They had to have total and personal faith in the concerned scientists, as well as in the internal financial adviser who endorsed their demands.  And they had also to clearly understand the national and social significance and value of the venture -- in an overall sense as well as in terms of many specific aspects and items of expenditure -- although the standard scientific terminology might not make much sense to them.  

Both in building up their confidence in the concerned scientists' bona fides and in enhancing their comprehension of the issues involved, I could add value by reinforcing the scientists' arguments with convincing arguments of my own.  Obviously, my arguments could be convincing only if I had been convinced by them myself in the first place.

In addition to such external factors, moreover, there would be many contexts in which CSIR's Director-General could approve specific dispensations, with the concurrence of the financial adviser.  Here again, I would need to record convincing reasons for giving my consent.  

So far as I could see, the construction of the buildings and other basic infrastructure for CCMB had got bogged down because the Director's obsession for achieving excellence (and parity with the best standards in the Western world) was overflowing beyond the scientific field into peripheral areas like interior decoration and luxurious fittings and furnishings -- which, unfortunately, tended to undermine his credibility in purely scientific contexts as well.  But if he could convince me 100% about the scientific aspects and agree to moderate his approach wherever necessary, I might be able to create a credible image for him and try to get things moving soon. 

Well, those were my credentials for asking any questions I liked, no matter how elementary or ignorant they might sound.  If that would be a nuisance, I was perfectly willing to let things proceed in the normal course, wherever that might lead. 
Dr. Bhargava seemed to be spellbound by my machine-gun-like salvo, which clearly visualized the crucial role I could play in the given scenario.  When I had finished talking, he said simply :

"All right, Ramakrishna, let me just set the ball rolling by telling you why I need these two instruments so urgently!  Then we will have all the time in the world to talk about anything else, whenever you like, won't we?  And by the way, do call me Pushpa!" 

And that instantly converted the whole fiery episode into a Science-Finance encounter of the most constructive kind, and the prelude to a great adventure in Dr. Pushpa Bhargava's life and mine.

Unique testimonial 

Four years later, in 1987, CCMB was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in a spacious, state-of-the art campus, with scientific infrastructure comparable to the best in the world (and the whole ambiance not altogether lacking in beauty and elegance!).  The keynote address was delivered by Nobel Laureate Sir Francis Crick, and the event was reported in the world's leading scientific journals in glowing terms.  People in CSIR circles still liked to joke about the Hyderabad Hilton, but not without a trace of respect and admiration.

Precisely how this mission was accomplished is a saga which calls for a separate narrative.  But I must mention here that I couldn't have had any effective influence on the course of events if the Director and other senior scientists of CCMB (especially Deputy Director Dr. Bala, who had figured in the two preceding posts) hadn't taken extreme trouble to educate me sufficiently about many vital aspects of their ongoing and potential research. 

Let me also add that my role as supporting actor was even more formidable than I had imagined, for there were certain delicate contexts in which I had to take enormous personal risks and place my own neck on the chopping block by taking decisions far beyond my powers -- securing ex-post-facto approval of the competent authorities after the successful outcome -- because processing those intricate and speculative issues in the normal course would have carried still greater risks of deadlock and failure.

Pushpa knew it all well, of course.  He wrote a sincere letter thanking me in the context of the inauguration, which took place a few months before my association with CSIR came to an end (to be followed by a radically different kind of assignment in the realm of art and culture) :-