I just came back from lunch .

A lunch I had the honour of having with Dr Tim Hunt ...a Nobel Prize winner of 2001 in Physiology/Medicine. And as I look at his signed copy of the flyer I know I will treasure this for a long time .

There was nothing grand about him . And that is exactly what hit me . He also rolled up his sleeves and dug into his sub , and slurped on his coke just like all the 7 students seated with him on that table. He was so down to earth , as he talked about his days of graduate research and his "Nobel" experiment, the moment when he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he had discovered something new. He joked about the fact, that there are times when he has a hard time just getting the fact to sink in that he deserved the prize.

Although I appreciated the whole concept of recognising people who made a huge difference in the world by their work , I had'nt, up until today put a face on that person. The difficulties, the struggle, the triumph ...I could never associate with it. These Nobel laureates seemed to be some exceptional genuises or outer space aliens.

The whole experience was so refreshing, I sat and heard him talk, answer, and ponder about the possibilities of tomorrow. I could'nt agree more as he explained how sometimes its the simplest solutions that answer the most complex mysteries of the world.