“How come my daughter has a PhD in Quantum, and I still know nothing about it?”

That was out of the blue. In my family, we do not exactly talk physics at the dinner table or over the phone. But my father meant it. And I knew why.

For as long as I can remember, any time I asked him a question, about anything at all, he would always answer. Sometimes with facts, but more often with stories he spun on the spot. Stories that helped me understand, made me laugh, and always nudged me to ask more questions. To this day, he remains the most spontaneous storyteller I know.

I think he felt it was time I returned the favor.
He wasn’t asking for a physics lecture. He genuinely wanted to know what I did. But without equations, without math, without jargon.

There was just one problem: I hadn’t written or told stories in years. And after a decade away from that part of myself, I wasn’t sure where to begin.

But stubbornness runs in the family. He asked, and I promised I would try. We agreed to start the following week.

What happened next? I wrote this: Why should you care for Schrödinger’s Cat? Let’s just say… it didn’t go quite as planned. He sent it back with screenshots and more than fifteen words marked in red. I had no idea I had used so much jargon in a single page! Things that felt obvious to me clearly weren’t.

Over the phone, I started to snap out of my science language bubble. I hadn’t even realized I was in it! The habit of falling back on textbook terms instead of everyday language. Those long conversations gradually turned into an idea. And that idea became our first series: Alice and Bob in Quantum Land.

If there’s one thing my years in science have taught me, it’s this: Most ideas aren’t too complicated. They’re just not imagined well enough. And too often, they’re communicated even worse.

Qoltov is our small way of sharing a glimpse of that world..  in the way we know best (thanks, Dad). It’s a space to celebrate curiosity, wonder, and the fantastic stories that science can tell. The name is part a tribute to my twin muses Quantum and Kolkata. 

Because science isn’t just for scientists. It has always been a story first, just  a way of imagining and understanding the world.

Let’s keep imagining, questioning, and exploring together. Fellow travellers, may the quriosity be with you. 🖖

P.S.: My non-science family now identifies with Alice, and they still routinely send underlined words from my stories! My father has even been known to bring up entanglement at his school reunions. My mother and my best friend Bhawana often suggest Qurious Quills science fiction ideas based on whatever happened at their homes that day.

If you have an idea too, send it to headQ@qoltov.com. I would love to see where the story goes.