11. 5. 71
Dear Maxine,
You will be so glad to know that our liquid substitutions[?] Counter (Nuclear Chicago) has amended and it is working satisfactorily.  We have also received a gas flow counting system (Nuclear Chicago).  Now our counting problems are solved.  We have also been able to detect the presence of Rnase III in the wash fluid (0.25M NHCl) of ribosomes.  By DEAE column Rnase III seems to be free from both Rnase I and Rnse II.  We went to purify it to carry out further studies.  But we are running out of Poly I. Poly C which we are using as substrate.  Miles won't send any till we pay.  That means, at least 6 months.  Will you [ . . . ] help us out?  Please send it packed nicely in weighing paper in an ordinary air mail envelope so that it reaches us in shortest possible time.  Otherwise the material will be lost due to [ . . . ] heat.
Now, about the most uncertain situation.  You must be mad with me for not telling you much about my visit.  I am writing this personal letter for clarifying the situation.  The only lectures of this Dept (whom you might remember sitting in front of Mahavani's[?] room) is determined to drive me out of this University.  His only qualifications is that he is a local man (how provincialism is at its peak!)  As you are aware, there is a Reader's Post in the Dept (next to mine) which Mahavani[?] applied for.  That chap was also an applicant but since his qualifications were not up to the mark he approached the Vice Chancellor with false complaints against me.  All those wine[?] eventually proved to be false.  The past has again been advertised (in our country there is a peculiar system of selection) and I am hoping against hope that the selection will be ours by early part of June.  If the selection is not
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over and I leave the country I have to hand over the charges to him (as he is the next senior man).  That means he will create lot of nuisance and I may find myself in a precarious situation after my return to the country.  I have spent untiring 6 1/2 years in building this Dept and now we are in a position to do some good work.  Naturally I do not want to do anything which will force me to hand this laboratory and the country.
Maxine, I hope, you will kindly understand the situation.  This selection was supposed to be ours by the end of last year but as is luck would have it everything was postponed.  Now the question of my trip and the time is so short that I don't know whether selection could be made by early part of June.  If I am lucky enough, then the trip will be as planned but other wise, I do not know what to do.  I hope, you will kindly excuse me for this uncertainty.  As you can understand, it is a life and death problem for me.  I love the laboratory to the depth of my heart, I want to do research which I really enjoy.  I sincerely hope everything will be O.K.
With kindest regards,
Yours  Debi