On 30 October 1981, a registered envelope arrived at our village. Inside was an interview card inviting me to Madras Medical College for admission to the MBBS course. The city was nearly 400 kilometers away. I had never traveled there, knew no one who could accompany me, and had neither the means nor the confidence to make the journey alone. I never attended the interview. At the time, it felt like the end of a dream. Looking back more than forty years later, after a career in medicine and cancer research in the United States, I realize it was not the end of the story—it was simply the first unexpected turn.
