World Enough and Time

Antarctica, the Arctic, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Japan, Italy, China, Israel, Egypt, Kenya – shall we continue? You would be hard pressed to find a country that Drs. Jayanta and Namita Roy-Chowdhury haven’t been to. Many, they have visited several times. In fact, they have set foot on all seven continents and journeyed enough miles to circle the globe 30 times.

Their wanderlust started early. For Jayanta it stretches back to 1960 when he was a first-year medical student in Calcutta. The Soviet Union had established a program where citizens of India could visit. His first stop was the city of Tashkent (part of Uzbekistan) and from there Moscow and Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). As a child, every winter, Namita’s father took her family on trips throughout India – the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Himalayas, Varanasi, Jaipur, Delhi – which awakened her interest in exploring the world.

In explaining their love of travel, the Roy-Chowdhurys say, “Reading about all the places in the world is not enough. You have to experience them.”

When his training took him to the U.S. and the U.K. for what he had thought would be only four years, Jayanta packed in as much travel as he could – crisscrossing the U.S. and trekking the globe. “Throughout my career, wherever I have been, it was important for me to see places outside of hospitals and conference rooms. When I attend medical conferences outside of New York, I always schedule a few days for exploring.

“To scientists, the world is one and not really separated into countries. Collaboration mostly rises above political differences. Traveling and meeting colleagues from around the world presents a different picture when viewed through a scientific lens. When there were political tensions with some countries, we continued to work and collaborate with its scientists.”

Jayanta’s self-described “addiction” to traveling was reinforced when he developed a love for photography, which spurred his interest in painting. Both Roy-Chowdhurys have taken stunning photos, some of which are hanging on the walls of the Forchheimer building and appear in books and magazines, including Environ and Einstein’s Ad Libitum art and literary magazine. Their work has also been showcased in many art exhibitions, including Ad Libitum’s annual literary and artistic night (known as “Art Night”).

“It’s a back-and-forth thing,” say the Roy-Chowdhurys. “When you go to various places, truly experience the culture, and take photos, you see things differently when you return home. You see the beauty of nature. The birds and coyotes seem different. You view everything with a new clarity and respect.”

When asked if there were any countries they had not traveled to, the Roy-Chowdhurys offered this: “The world is very big and even in the places that you think you have seen thoroughly, there are always new things to discover. We have been to Japan three times and each time we go we have completely new experiences. The same with India, where we were both raised, and where pre-COVID we visited every year.”

After speaking with the Roy-Chowdhurys, this quote by Ibn Battuta comes to mind: “Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” Through their art, the Roy-Chowdhurys have a lot of stories to tell.

Drs. Jayanta and Namita Roy-Chowdhury are both professors in the department of medicine (hepatology), and in the department of genetics. A focus of their work is studying the mechanisms and treatment of inherited metabolic liver diseases.

Related: Ever slept on a glacier? Jayanta and Namita Roy-Chowdhury have. Read about their Antarctic adventure in Einstein Magazine.