Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research

You can find us over in Borivali East, in the Sudam Nagar area. We’re located in the Kashibai Patel Chawl in Kajupada. It’s a very local, busy part of Mumbai, nothing like the big, fancy research centers you see in magazines. This is where we have our base for this particular branch of the institute. It’s a humble space, squeezed into the tight streets of the city. We’ve got people coming and going all day, mostly researchers and staff who are used to the Mumbai hustle and bustle. The office itself is pretty basic. We’ve got desks, computers, and a lot of files stacked up. It can get quite loud outside with the local neighborhood life, kids playing, and bikes zooming past, but we’ve learned to tune it out and focus on our research work. We don't have a big grand entrance or any of that corporate stuff. You just walk through the lanes of Kajupada to get to us. It’s a real place for real people. We handle a lot of data and fundamental science questions right from here. It’s a bit of a squeeze sometimes when everyone is in at the same time, but we make it work. Most of us take the local train or the bus to get here, just like everyone else in the area. We’re just a part of the local fabric, doing our scientific work without making any big fuss about it.