Mysore/Mysuru: It is rare to see persons pursuing education after reaching highest echelons in fields of either politics or academics. However, here is a rare personality who is an academician-cum- politician-cum-home-maker of ‘Namma Mysuru.’

G. Roopa, a BJP Corporator from Ward No. 53 (Siddarthanagar), has made the city proud after being conferred Ph.D in Pharmaceutics by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), Bengaluru, at its 23rd Convocation held on Feb. 7, 2021.

She worked under the guidance of Dr. Roopa Karki, Professor of Pharmaceutics, Acharya B.M. Reddy College of Pharmacy, Bengaluru and Dr. C. Jayanthi, Professor of Pharmaceutics, Sarada Vilasa College of Pharmacy, Mysuru, for her thesis titled ‘Design and development of innovative oral micro and nano curcumin vectors of natural polymers for bioavailability enhancement.’

“I owe my success to my guides, my family members and more importantly, my voters of Ward No. 53, Dr. Hanumanthachar Joshi,  Principal, Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff, Sarada Vilas college, for their support to complete my Ph.D. This would not have been possible without the support of my husband, Yogesh, a social worker, and my in-laws who allowed me to spend more time reading in the last five years,” Roopa told SOM.

After serving as Associate Professor at Sarada Vilas College of Pharmacy for 14 years, Roopa decided to do Ph.D and enrolled as an external candidate in Bengaluru-based Pharmacy College. In the meantime, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) election was announced and her Ward was reserved for woman. Thinking it as a Godsend opportunity, she plunged into politics and got elected as Corporator, thanks to efforts of her family members and local BJP leaders. 

Once elected, she had three responsibilities — To study for Ph.D, to serve as Corporator and to manage home. “My thesis demanded a lot of lab work. You know how Pharma field plays an important role in the development of Medicine. It played a pivotal role in COVID-19 vaccine that has made the entire world to look at our country. I had to submit report on the progress of Ph.D to RGUHS once in six months. I used to study at least two hours daily. Sometimes, I regret as I did not give full attention to my daughter. But the only solace is that I and my daughter have studied together at home.”

To discharge her duty as Corporator, she created two WhatsApp groups — Siddarthanagar Helpline and Alanahalli Helpline —  and requested citizens to post their problems in the social media. 

After attending Ward citizens’ problems, she posted action taken report. This solved most of the problems. The nationwide ‘Janata Curfew’ last year came as a big boon as she found 15-20 days time to study hard. With no permission to step out of house in view of pandemic, she made good use of the available time to pursue her goal. 

“Time management is very important, especially for a person like me who has three tasks on hand. The office-staff of Krishnaraja MLA S.A. Ramdas helped me a lot briefing about the meeting notices and arranging permission for not attending meetings. Besides, Ramdas used to regularly ask about the progress of my Ph.D.”   

Asked whether she still misses taking classes, Roopa said the College authorities have requested her to continue as Visiting Professor but she is yet to decide. At the same time, there is pressure from my Ward citizens to contest in the next MCC election. “I haven’t decided anything. As a qualified guide, I have guided five M.Pharma students. I am also thinking of teaching for one or two hours at Sarada Vilas,” she noted.

Roopa did B.Pharma (Bachelor of Pharmacy) from Farooquia College of Pharmacy, Mysuru; D.Pharma (Diploma in Pharmacy) and M.Pharma (Master of Pharmacy) from JSS College of Pharmacy.