The COVID-19 pandemic that happened over two years ago was a very telling moment for me as an advanced degree holder. For the first time some of my village mates asked me to assist them. They were facing imminent death and they wanted a ‘doctor’ to find a cure of the disease. So, they asked me whether I could apply my doctorate credentials to find a cure for the COVID-19 disease. I explained to them that my doctorate degree was in Agricultural Engineering and that means I am not a health scientist as they had believed. But I was very happy that for the first time, people whom I care so much about despite their callous attitude to higher degrees had enquired about my academic background. And even though I have tried to get into vantage positions where I could more effectively use my skills and demonstrate their relevance in solving their endemic problem of food insecurity, the wielders of decision-making power have been very uncomfortable with the prospect of direct engagement with the citizenry by a scholar.