Mind the Gap:Reflections on the Art of Science

Scientific research in India has for too long been conducted at a distance from the public, within gated communities of select and chosen few. Fundamental research in basic science, which is the essential groundwork that eventuates in all of the advancements in technology and medicine as well as empowering economic development, goes uncommunicated outside the peer group and is often considered uncommunicable. The translations that approach the lay public also often continue at a distance and, consequently, the outreach that places the product in the public domain is restrained. This article attempts to explore many of the issues around the communication gap, questioning perceptions and convictions in the science-society landscape.