Larger Scheme of Things

Global warming has been shrugged off, quite conveniently. Even if Kyoto was of some consequence; Copenhagen was a total disaster (except o'course the fact that world excepted global warming IS a problem).

95% of Brinjal production in India goes waste. Total agricultural waste is nearly 30% of the produce. Can you imagine the price difference if this had not been the case...

Nearly 1,00,000 farmers have committed suicide. Newspaper column size for murder/death/suicide of an IITian == that for 100 farmers.

Nearly 770 million Indians live below Rs. 20/- per day. 330 million of these people live below Rs 12/- per day.

China holds more than $2000 billion of foreign exchange reserves. India's GDP is nearly $1300 billion.

There is no freedom of press in China. Only bulletin published is that by the government...

Monsanto Seeds. Watch the documentary called 'The world according to Monsanto'. It will scare you to bones. A company which is literally ruining our already ruined farmers through its patented seeds and super-harmful herbicides...

Recently Right to Education bill was passed. Currently there is a shortage of about 20 lakh teachers in India. Education bill would be but a false promise if something is not done in this regard...

IITians are probably THE most educated of the Indians. Several IITians daily brush their teeth, shave their coarse hair, wash their faces etc...with the taps open at full force (I've seen this countless times). Didn't we all grew up watching the DD1 commercial about not wasting water? Plus don't we all believe that the solution to lack of civic sense in Indians is better education? Is there an irony?

This is just for the starters...someone with more knowledge can go on and on and on...there are o'course positives: Current Government is doing quite well, the new rashan policy, if implemented, will bring great relief to the common man and so on...

Sometimes it feels like India really needs us...sometimes it feels like that we have a sense of responsibility which we conveniently ignore; entangled in the myriads of our own personal life, feeling insecure at each and every moment - and getting cozy with our own state of affairs at other times.

Wasting even a tiny bit of anything should prick our conscience (including the wastage of time...). It doesn't...It should...Shouldn't it?

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PS: Check the figures. They are approx accurate.

PPS: This post in a summary of a late night discussion among Ankit, Kinari and I...

Crystal Priya: It's the time to Disco

Well, as it was just a few days to go before we all part our ways and waving each other, through misty eyes and shaking hands, say dosvidania; it was a great idea to have a batch treat, where people can come and dance together and with a final hug permanently cement their bonds of friendship for ever and ever.

There were discussions on batch treat from I-don't -remember-when but somehow something kept cropping up and the treat couldn't be finalized. Even the batch which proudly claimed itself to be the most united one couldn't come to agree on terms which were appealing to all.

I dared to say the 'most united' thing because I feel that somehow even with all our differences we respect each others opinion. Each batch has a google group, and each group goes through the same cycle of great chaos when some people post things which everyone else finds unsuitable for the purpose of the group or for that matter some people make it a habit to use the group as a medium to publicly malign and disparage people, institute and humanity in general. Our group too went through a similar cycle and at one point of time it had to be moderated, which aroused great sentiments and people united and fought against it - and for the right to say what they want to say. There was a great jubilation when the moderation was finally called off, but as according to me what followed this was something extraordinary: people started acting responsibly by self moderating the content they posted on the group, which according to me is an extremely difficult stage to reach for any given group of people...

But coming back to the point - the treat was in jeopardy and it is in such testing time that you need a champion who can galvanize people into action. I remember Director Sir once saying, "There is no cause without a champion - for every cause there has to be a champion". In our case it was was Shekhu who went from hostel to hostel - room to room; convincing people to come. And lo! they did come.

What followed was THE VERY BEST PARTY I've ever been to in my life. We danced for over 4 hours NON STOP. There is a great advantage in dancing with people who don't know how to dance but still have an enormous energy bubbling in their bodies, a shine in their eyes and an urge to dance their way through the night because then you feel a part of the group. You can dance even when someone is watching. The food at Crystal was great and I must recommend that place to anyone who would like to have a grand party. The Dj was super cool and the night ended with the song, "Yaroon, dostiiihiiiii badi hi haseen hai..." as we all sat down in a large circle, hands on each others shoulders,swaying with the music...

Listen to it one time; and as the DJ said, "feel the song..."

Click to hear music file

Or watch it here...

Visionary Nostalgia 1

"Life, usually, does not give me chance to say goodbyeBut now, when it has - I don't know how to say it..."

- Nishant, March 2010

A Trip to Chokhi Dhani

Speech # 3

I believe each one of you sitting here must have faced, on countless number of occasions, disagreements in group. Be it in your family - discussing on what to have for dinner, or with your team at work place - discussing how to go about a new initiative. And I believe you all being bright shining individuals are thoroughly aware on how to deal with disagreements in group. Therefore what I am going to tell you today is about the problem of agreements in groups. [Long Pause]. Yes, Yes I know - you all must be thinking - "The group is agreeing and this guy standing here is saying that there's a problem in that!"

Ok hear this story - Tejesh (my contemptory), Pooja (junior to me), Aniket (another junior), and I were sitting together playing the game of scrabble. We all were happy to be sitting there - playing the game of scrabble, when out of nowhere I casually suggested that we go to Chokhi Dhani for our lunch. After a brief silence Tejesh said mildly, "Ok". Aniket added, "If you 2 say so" and Pooja said, "Ok".

So we went to Chokhi Dhani. The way was long and filled with cloud of dust. The day was very hot and humid. It was suffocating inside the car and when we finally reached that place - the food turned out to be horrible. [on seeing an expression of disagreement on the face of audience] It is a sad truth that the food of Chokhi Dhani which used to be so good a few years ago had lost its taste. But anyways, as expected everyone was sulky and no one talked to each other on the way back. When we were back in the room - the emotions came out in the open. Fingers were pointed at each other and after a while all the fingers pointed at me. I merely shrugged off my shoulders saying that I had just suggested, I did not force you to go...

Whenever I recall this incident it makes me think - what made the people do this strange thing of suppressing their own voice and simply going along with what everyone else was saying? It seems like a paradox to me. For the time being let's call this the Chokhi Dhani paradox.

Now you must be thinking that how costly could this Chokhi Dhani paradox could be? At max it can cause another unsatisfactory afternoon meal. [Pause] But I can tell you that it has led to a debacle of atleast $1.6 billion [such wild expressions of surprise was something which I had totally not expected at this point to of time but I carried on...] , it caused the 4th largest IT industry of India to collapse endangering the employment of 53,000 employees. Yes people - I AM talking about Satyam.

Ramlinga Raju, the nizam of Satyam proposed that Satyam should buy 2 other companies run by his family members. Not only the price was stupidly overvalued but also these companies were in the field of real estate - something entirely different from what Satyam does. Such absurdity and no one raised finger! Board of Directors comprising ex-dean of IIT Delhi, dean of IIMB, professors from Harvard etc, all - ALL just AGREED!

Why? Why?

This thing - when people go against their own intuition and agree with what everyone else in the group is saying, is a classical management philosophy called The Abilene Paradox. Everyone in the group is vary that on disagreeing they would have to face the heat, would be given a cold shoulder, would be blamed for causing the deal to fall apart and thus they are reluctant to voice what they think is the minority opinion.

[on seeing that there was a person waiting outside to come in] Would you all agree that I should end my speech here and let the gentleman in? [Some people got confused - some people clasped their hands together in preparation for a speech ending clap...]. NO! You should not [Loud Laughs] - you should ask, "has this guy completed with his speech - has he told us everything we need to know" No. I have told you the paradox but haven't told you - how to resolve it!

And the answer is: question! Critically question whatever is being said to you. Critically question whatever you are being asked to agree upon. But questioning will not lead you anywhere coz if not done properly it can be seen as criticism or disagreement. Thus what becomes more important is communication. If our communication with our fellow mates are strong and open - we will not agree on seemingly stupid ideas just to please each other. And now I feel that I can hence leave you with this thought that better communication could save you $1.6 billion!

-----

Idea Courtesy:

The Professional, Subrato Bagchi
Abilene Paradox was Introduced by Prof. Jeery. B. Harvey. More on Wiki

Tom Alter Maulana Azad

Photo Courtesy: The Hindu

2 hours and 30 minutes. Can you imagine listening to a person for 2 hours and 30 minutes. 1 person. That too when he's not talking to you. Not only he's not talking to you - he was not even looking at you during the entire 2 hours and 30 minutes. And add to all this the fact that he's speaking in Urdu - on Indian History. How boring! How impossible to sit there for 2 hours and...

But hear this - Nearing the end I was sitting with my mouth open for atleast 15 minutes when the man was talking about Indian Partition. If there is one word I were to ascribe for this play it would rather be - spellbinding.

The play was called - Maulana Azad and a few things which made it spellbinding were:

Tom Alter

Remember a British man who used play all firang roles in the erstwhile TV shows? Remember Junoon?junoon
kisi ko mohabbat ka hai junoon
kisi ko chahat ka hai junooon
juoon junoon junoon

Anywhoo - what a fine actor he is. His voice - his actions - the voice modulation - the suavaness. I cannot but describe. And his sponties - When in the middle of the play the lights suddenly went out, he quipped

"यह भी जिन्नाह की ही कोई चाल होगी !"

"आज़ादी के बाद भी दिल्ली की बिजली का यह हाल है"
The great thing about these comments was they looked almost as a prepared part of play and totally in context thus leaving the audience all in laughs...

Urdu

What a language - so neat, so respectful, so beautiful. I had never appreciated this language as much as I do now after watching the play...

I admit I was not able to get a word of the purely urdu sentences, phrases and gazals. But I was able to note down a few mixed versions.

" गाँधी जी सियासत के मामलों को मज़हब की ऐनक पहनके नहीं देखते थे"

" आप भी गज़ब करते हैं हुमायूँ - दस्तान ए आज़ादी आज़ाद के मुहं ही लिखने बेठ गए"

Hindi

I had come to believe that I'd almost lost this language. When I was returning from the UK to India I decided to invest the 8-9 hours of flight time in writing a diary entry entirely in Hindi (I did and ended up teaching a little bit to the french girl sitting next to me too!). But again the play brought forward the fond memories of school when I used to enjoy reading the Hindi stories a lot. Just like every other language Hindi has some things, some thoughts, some emotions which could be best felt in Hindi only!

On Gandhi Ji's withdrawl of Non Cooperation movement"बस पूरी रफ़्तार से चली जा रही है और ड्राईवर ने आनन् फानन में ब्रेक लगा दिए"

" मेरे धुटने क्षल हो गए बैठे बैठे"

After criticizing Nehru in his book (Mulana Azad dedicated this book to Nehru!), he said that on reading this Nehru would say,

" किताब मुझे ही dedicate की और मेरे ही पराक्षय उड़ा डाले"

Humour

The humour was immaculate (as you can already see in the lines above). But there were more of such things:

"हुमायूँ आपकी अंग्रेजी में नेहरु वाली बात नज़र नहीं आती"

"कभी कभी तो ऐसा लगता है पूरी आज़ादी की लड़ाई २ दुबले पतले गुजरातियों के इर्द गिर्द घूमती है"

"में गाँधी जी का कट्टर मानने वाला हूँ - तो आज कल आनाज छोड़ रखा है; कबाब ही खिला दीजिए!"

Research and Practice

This was like the 100+ show of this play. It was first produced in 2002. The lighting, the movement, the dialogues - everything was perfect.

Well let me end by thanking the Dnd Club - IIT Delhi for organizing such an awesome thing. It brought back all those fond memories of my theater days. The good thing about this college is that you get to see such awesome things - just like that. I mean all you are required to do is to go there - sit and watch!

And this line"I simply loved the lines when he said,

“मौत को किस से रिश्तेदारी है; आज वह, तो कल हमारी है”

What bonds does death have with anyone, today it is his, and tomorrow it shall be mine "
Courtesy inagardencalledlife.blogspot.com

Another nice description of this play at Two Circles

The Hindu Feedback

Events in plenty - waste control not so dandy!

\m/ Beat This \m/
This weekend in IIT Delhi we've:
EDC E-SummitTons of awesome entrepreneurs pouring in Campus to give fundas; and several innovative events to raise enthu and give a chance to the budding Entrepreneurs
BSA SportechLargest Sports Fest of North India. 200 colleges - 2000 participants; from table tennis to basketball to volleyball - footie, LT, Cric and all those things...
BSP LiteratiIITD's Lit Fest!
EDLC International Parliamentary DebatePeople from all over India come to debate!
BRCA Spic MacayThis hardly needs introduction - Indian Classical Music and Dance comes under the roof of our sem hall - literally!
FAC SemblanceNow even Fine Arts Club have their own fest! Still...
Kumaon MelangeOur hostel fest - yes, I know *hostel* fest but after all it's KUMAON!
Technocracy WorkshopsFinally some flavor of technicality in a technical institution with workshops on MATLAB and Web Development

Now to leave you all in awe was not my purpose. The purpose was an observation - the observation on number of posters on the IITD walls! 10? 100? - Take a wilder guess; 1000 would be a little realistic number! Imagine the total cost of all the flexes (large and small) and A1, A2 and A3 sizes posters combined - my lower estimate is Rs. 100,000/-

*such a waste - such a waste* I thought.

Not that I am against publicizing events; but putting 100 poster in 10m2 of space does not serve any purpose! My belief is that people are intelligent beings and all you need to do is to tell them 'what will they get from such and such event' and they will decide for themselves - and for the lazy ones just put up a single poster which details out all the events!

However having an opinion without acting on it is another waste - so we at Technocracy thought it would be nice to go completely paper free (even otherwise we put only around 100 posters in an year! - seems like such a large no. Right? Wrong, it's the smallest!). And thus we are trying to have everyone on a google group where we would post the relevant Technocracy announcements... let's see if it works!

If you are from IIT Delhi - Join http://groups.google.co.in/group/technocracyiitd

For every1 else out there - Join us

Let's hope that we're able to do that

 

God has Funny Ways

We tend to get so caught up in things that many-a-time it looks like there is no way out. We see ourselves spiraling into an infinite myriad of nothingness - and however hard may we try - we cannot see even a faint beacon ray of light...

My Maternal grandmother is nearly 96 years in age. 96 years is, as you all would agree - pretty old! She's seen 5 generations before her eyes. To put in context she's seen her great great grand children! And the hard truth remains that people come and go in this world. The truth is hard because we tend to get attached to people who we love, who we live with; and thus when they go - it becomes hard to come to terms with the truth of life. With her being 96 years of age - she's seen many people go. She's seen many of her loved ones go. But any other day you see her - she's normal. She's lonely - she can hardly move. She is fortunate to have a devoted son and his wife - but still the fact remains that she's alone - there's no one she can talk to, share her feelings with; and there are just too many loved ones who have gone. Then how is that she remains normal?

"Oh well, the answer is simple", said my aunt, "she doesn't remember. She tends to forget all the things which have happened in the last few decades, until she asks for something and has to reminded of it, which is when she turns sad, but then again she forgets - and becomes normal!"

As I kept down my phone, I thought - God sure has His funny ways to make things work!

Foundation Day Speech - II

I has the honor to deliver this speech before the faculty and students on 27th Jan 2010, the 51st Foundation Day of IIT Delhi.This speech was published in institute magazine here and in Alumni magazine here

Other person who spoke on the day alongside me was Siddharth who too have penned down his speech here (he writes well!)

I also had the honor of giving a similar speech last year on the 50th Foundation day of IIT Delhi which too is available on request :)

Anyways, here's the complete version of this years speech:

--

Widening Horizons of IIT Delhi

Browsing the hostel notice board, I read the theme for the Foundation Day, “WIDENING HORIZONS of IIT Delhi” and then turned to think a little about it. I turned back to read it once again, but this time it appeared to me as “WIDENING the horizons of IIT Delhi”.

I am Nishant Ranka, a final year student of Electrical Engineering. I welcome you all geniuses and all geniuses who make geniuses to a very warm evening. In the next few minutes, I’ll talk about both the things, i.e. about how IITD is such a dynamic organization – the way it has grown in last 4 years, from a student’s perspective and about how I believe that we can keep this growth fuelled while continually widening its scope.

It’s amazing to see the activities in my IIT – IIT Delhi at a new high. There is a revived enthusiasm in all the boards: for example - whenever there is a major educational event in Delhi – there is a BSW trip going to it, when it’s time for UG registration – AIC steps forward and takes the charge. Library and Reading Room have undergone a major makeover and so have the eating joints. I still remember the days of my first year when the net speed was so slow that seniors would click a link on their computers and talk to us in the meanwhile – compare the speed today! On my very recent visit to the Robotics club I was amazed to see the level of streamlined work – it was so different from my 1st year when the club was new. The club is now an inspiration for the student bodies, just like SPIC MACAY. It is a quintessential example of what we can do with sheer desire to do it. The important take home lesson for me was we can DO. In last one week, I met 4 great personalities – Nicholas Burns, Tom Wheeler, Charles M Vest and Peter Chan – all due to the fantastic initiatives like the Institute Lecture Series, the Bharti Lecture Series and those of our Entrepreneurship Development Cell.

We all invariably fall prey to criticism – don’t we? It’s so easy after all. It’s so easy to criticize that we always forget the hard work done and the several positive changes that have been made. And when I see all these things I realize how much of hard work must have gone into every single thing.

I recently read the Toyota Way – and the book hit me hard. Someone asked me – what did you find so fascinating about the book? I said, “The Toyota Culture”. What makes Toyota the no. 1 manufacturing company, is in my opinion - its culture…And this is what I see happening today – seeding of the IIT Culture of the new decade, of the new century, of the new India. And my dear friends this is what we have to enrich – You and I.

Last month, I was talking with a UK based journalist, and invariably I showed her the microcontroller circuit I had built for my BTP. She looked at it intensely and told me that I could’ve soldered it in a better way. I said er, OK, but if I may ask how you know?” She told that she studied from Oxford where they had several such interest groups, like the embedded interest group where they used to meet up and discuss such things.

Consider for a second – wouldn’t it be great if we would have astronomy, electronics, car designing, aero modeling, high energy physics, Rubik’s Cube and other such clubs in IIT Delhi…so that when a student comes to IIT Delhi – he is not only stupefied by the amazing cultural activities of IIT Delhi, but also get a glimpse of its technical potential. Wouldn’t that be a good way to expand our boundaries?

There is always a great buzz about Jobs. The great Day 1 Job stories do round in every nook and cranny of each and every hostel, and to the least I’ve repeated MY Job story 100 times. But I have never heard any such buzz about the stories of brilliant people who go for their MS and PhDs. Isn’t there a need for some form of information which gives the profile of these several people who have gone for their post graduate education. Wouldn’t that give students a realistic picture from early on – just like we have about the best jobs? Wouldn’t that be a step forward?

These are just 2 ideas, but there are several others as well. However, the important question before us is that how do we make it happen? As you all know, ‘Great ideas which are not implemented are but a waste’...And that brings me back to the point of culture

The initiatives MUST come from the students, because after all…they are the group for which these activities are meant for. Let me go back to my school days – invariably my whole class used to love 2 subjects – History and English. Were these subjects any better than others – No. Then why? We passed the class – and got a new History teacher and slowly History again became boring. Students didn’t love the course – they loved the teacher. And students try to emulate teachers they love. Thus when we talk about the cultural change, I believe that it HAS to come from the students but those with the experience, authority, knowledge and with the bigger picture need to walk hand in hand with the students to change things until this ‘dream culture’ become a part of their DNA.

I would rather say that the mission in front of us is 2 faceted. While on one hand there is a great need to have dedicated teams with focused vision and mission to take the current activities to insurmountable heights, on the other hand we continuously need to be open minded and initiative taking to increase the width of our activities.

And thus there cannot be a better occasion for me to urge you all to continue trying indefatigably, just as you’re doing now – to bring about a lasting cultural change and to broaden the excellence of IIT Delhi in all directions.

A reflection on Life

Riding those green waves
So High:Touching the Blue sky

Shivering in those dark caves
So dark; black would shy

I love riding those waves;
but I want shore

I hate those black caves;
I want them no more

But they remain; as I do.- 2008

Horn OK Please

As I descended the stairs to eat my Dinner, I saw a dozen people going out together somewhere. "Where?" I asked out of curiosity. "Horn OK Please". "Oh, wait for me", and spontaneously - I too joined in.

Horn OK Please is a play which is written and directed by Shahrukh (Tarun Singhal, in case you want his real name!) and is being starred in LTG Theatre, Mandi House; on 6th and 7th Feb at 7:30 PM. The play is choreographed by Ashutosh Matela.

To know more about these two guys, I would direct you the 3 page Mint article here. Even though I do not agree with all what Tarun and Matela have to say, the article is interesting.

The play too was! I was amazed to see that Rj, Ruchira, Pandit, Shrutika are such good actors. It rather came as a shock. I see these people daily in my insti; and have seen them in insti plays too; but suddenly seeing them act so well in a pro play left me all in praise.

Danka, as usual rocked; Shahrukh was a little sketchy but probably writing and directing the play were more important responsibilities. I was not able to identify Matela till the very end - he was one of the best actors in the play! Sudeep Mathur was, just like the good old day, handling lights! Other actors were great too, but I do not know them personally.
Vyom was also there, handling backstage. Then I remembered that he was absent in today's morning exam: Intro to Lit. And then I saw our Intro to Lit teacher; Multani sitting and watching the play! Perfect plot!
The play had a lot of dance sequences, all choreographed by Matela. They were great. I liked them. I have not seen many Indian plays, but as I've heard that such sequences are never performed here- I saw them in London Theater though. Adds life to the play!
I believe that Desires Unlimited has a great future, provided they sail through the tough time they are facing at the start - shoestring budget, IITians as main audience, social pressure (with peers earning 20L p.a. you can but guess the magnitude!) and so on. Infact, I wonder how people like Nasruddin Shah, Irrfan Khan and others would have gone through in their theater days...No pain - No gain, I guess!

But there was a great peer support too. People realize that there is atleast one person who is doing what he loves to do! Everyone was there - KGP, Abhiroop, Harry, Ujjawal, JJ, Bidhu and scores of other seniors and contemporaries.

Well, anyways - it was nice to watch a play after a long time. It brought back all the fond memories of watching London Theater, and acting in 5 plays in my 1st year. Shahrukh, Lallan, Danka, Mittal and others were my seniors who introduced me to theater; but unlike them I did not find it as my passion, and I am still searching for one!

PS: Watch the videos by Desires Unlimited here. I simply love Jigar Machis and Chintu Candy! Do watch them, pakka...

Tom Wheeler - Lonely Planet

Could Tom have been possibly born with an apter surname. Wheeler, people, Wheeler. The man who traveled the world, and made a business out of it: A £50m plus turnover (well, the equations have changed a little after BBC acquired 75% share and economic crisis sprung up, but anyways...)

He was here, in an EDC event and it was fun listening to him. The presentation he gave was the best I have seen till date: It had only photos, and as you've guessed - breathtaking photos...Some Quotes:

"Language isn't always necessary: when you're in a restaurant you want to eat and someone makes sure that you eat. I've never came out of a restaurant hungry in last 40 years of traveling"

"I love walking - you see the world at the pace god intended us to see"

After the talk was over; I went up and talked to his better half: the women behind the scene - Maureen Wheeler. It was she who wrote all the books while they traveled.

NR: "Why is that you don't put virgin places, the hidden getaways in your book - for e.g. the hidden treks of the Himalayas and so on"

MW: "We cannot. If we write about a place which is not yet fully developed, and 1000s of people reach there after reading it: it would be chaos!"I was enlightened: Lonely Planet Books (and for that matter, Rough Guides etc) literally control the place where the world travels!Of all things - I was fascinated by the idea that there was a Lonely Planet book on Antartica! I so want to go to this place - anybody willin' ?


Their Story: The FoundersMore history: FAQs
Charity: Wheeler Foundation
Trekking in India: Himalayas (courtesy Jatin)

Best of all - their autobiography: 'Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story"

PS: Just for you info - remember the Lonely Planet show we all grew up watching on the Discovery Channel, by Ian Write if you remember the man - The show started with Ian drawing a circle with a stick on beach sands...good old days!

Five Whys of IIT

Making presentation for the UG curriculum review workshop; I asked 5 Whys to find the root cause of a problem.

Aim of IITs: The IITs were created to train scientists and engineers, with the aim of developing a skilled workforce to support the economic and social development of India after independence in 1947.

PS: Has the Aim of IITs changed after 60 years of independence

Students don't go for higher education/technical jobs

Why?

They don't have a great experience; or find a field which they are interested in during their B.tech/dual degree

Why?

They don't get to do great projects here

Why?

They are not interested in doing great projects because they require hard work and technical knowledge

Why?

They are not motivated to learn the 'technical' stuff

Why?

During their initial 1-2 years, the courses and labs do not motivate them to do something of their own; after which due to increasing pressure of interns/jobs etc; they shift their focus to other activities.

PS: They continue to score good grades, but they are not 'interested' in the courses/their dep: but scoring good grades is prereq for good interns/job/other things....

What's your opinion?

Charles M Vest at IIT Delhi

Another fantastic person, and another fantastic experience.

Charles M Vest was the President of MIT for over a decade, director of IBM for over a decade and director of DuPont for over a decade, and has led several committees during the Clinton and Bush government.

The topic of his talk: Engineering Education in 21st Century.

China is currently the world's largest producer of Engineering Graduates; India does not come even in the 1st 7. (You can find several such indicators here) However, the good news is, that India is the largest producer of finance graduates; throughput: approx 350,000 per year. Infact, the other day one of our deans jokingly said, "We should rename IITs as the Indian Institute of Banking Technology."

Anywhoo, towards the end he mentioned his MIT learning, which in his opinion could be applied to IITs as well:

"Making universities and engineering schools exciting, creative, adventurous, rigorous, demanding and with empowering environment is more important than specifying the ciruculla details"

Hell yeah, I say :)

Also visit Rosseta@Home which is a new vista in science aiming at 'Brain Integration'! It's very interesting. Go find out for yourself...

A Childhood Dream - Fulfilled

Let me spoil the suspense - the dream was that of attending the Republic Day parade; at the India Gate; and boy it was finally fulfilled - today, on the 60th Republic Day celebrations of India...

I cherished the feeling of standing in attention, saluting my motherland and all those who lay their life defending it, and all those who devote their life in making our motherland more prosperous...

I did love everything else too - the 'showcase' of all the states, the air show, the stunt bikes, the marching bands, the military music bands, the NCC and the likes...but standing in attention, unmoved by the ear deafening noise of the artillery fire; the famous '21 topon ki salami' given to the Supreme Commander of the armed forces - the Indian President, is what I will cherish the most...

The fluttering flag, the foggy morning, the frosty winds and the sound of Jan Gan Man!

Jai Hind.

Peter Chan at IIT Delhi - Bonsai

Who is Peter Chan? B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kgp; batch - 1958-62. Yes, he is among the first, or as some might say - the purest IITian!

What does he do now? He is a Bonsai Expert! In his own words, 'When I started my bonsai business back in late 80's - I was no. 6th, but now I am no. 1'.This is one of the Bonsais he made, and believe it or not, this bonsai is worth over 30,000 pounds. Keep converting that to Rs, but at any rate you now know how rich he is!

On 19th January 2010, he came to IIT Delhi, and wanted to meet students. Pity, only a handful of our students turned up. However, I knew little of who all were there and who all weren't. I was busy listening and observing...

Picture yourself 72 years in age. How many smiles do you think you will be able to manage in a day? How much enthusiasm would you still carry to learn, to see? How much self satisfied would you be? Boy! You so should have met Peter Chan.

In his presentation (rather conversation) we talked at length about several things. Like, how back in his day there used to be an interview apart from the written test for getting into IITs. How his stint in the Margret Thatcher's government proved to be a vital value add in his life. How can the London Alumni Association help IITs and so on...

After the whole discussion, we went on a short IIT Delhi tour with him. Oh, he's a true IITian I would rather say. How friendly! Infact, he came visiting even our hostel rooms! After meeting him, I realized that there are some things which haven't changed even after 50 years. Like IITians differentiating b/w people who got in through JEE and those who didn't, our star studded language, the innate curiousness and inquisitiveness to see new things, cherish old things and learn more. Well, at the end of the tour, we waited atleast 10 minutes in the sem-hall for inter hostel GD competition to start. He wanted to see it. Alas!

Several people ask him, 'How Bonsai, after engineering?' And he answers, 'Engineering is the training of the mind. The inquisitive nature my IIT education developed in me helped me learn Bonsai all by myself and make my hobby, my business'

Check out: Heron's Bonsai

PS: Bonsai = Aesthetics

PPS: Stories about other people I met during this week to soon follow (Nicholas Burns, Tom Wheeler and Charles M Vest)

History of IIT Delhi

History of IITD

Recommended Read. Nice account of how IIT Delhi came into being, but I am still curious where did the writer find this all information from?

And just when you are there, you can explore the 'I Love you' too, an article which I wrote long long back...

I Love you

And then when you would have explored these 2 articles, do explore the others. They are great! Looks like BSP IIT Delhi should publicize this site of theirs more!

PS: The sad part is that results from this website are not indexed on Google!

Lock Unlock

So this is the 5th time when I locked my unlocked cycle when I actually wanted to unlock it. All these instances occurred when I was either talking to someone was lost too deep in thoughts to be consciously aware of things.

Trying to move your cycle believing that you have unlocked the cycle only to find it jammed, is a stupidly hilarious way to make your deep and serious stream of thoughts seem like a farse.

And on (the topic of) cycle - it is a super efficient way to save your time. Reach insti from Kumaon only in 3 minutes! On days, when you want to chat with your friend or just want to enjoy the weather - you can always walk with it. You can park it anywhere - no one will 'chain' it, no one will steal it, no one will fine you.

And just in case you happen to have a Hero Hawk you can bully other cycle fellows with your super fast speed. Go, buy one today!

Finding Frozenland: A trip to the Himalayas!

Inspired by Tejesh Kinariwala's Toast Master Speech.The post is mostly his views, paraphrased.

 
We went on a trip. Traveling from Delhi to Haridwar to Rishikesh to Uttarkashi to SangamChatti to Agoda to Bewra to Manjhi to Dodital to Darwa Pass and back...

Forget about awesome mountains and frozen waterfalls, the mushy fields of snow and the crystal clear lakes, the rosy cheeked mountain girls and the breeze of fresh air; I wouldn't write a hyperbole about these things here - I want to tell something much more important.We were clueless about what was to happen, so before we started there was a great mayhem and confusion about what should we carry in our baggage? Will we be able to survive on bread jam, or do we need to take rice? Should we take stove or will firewood work out fine and so on...

Don't we face the same mayhem and confusion everyday in our lives? Don't we ask ourselves - 'what should I carry in my bag on this journey of life?' - We don't know the answer because we don't know what is to come...It was one of those times in my life, infact it was one of those times in everyone's life - when we pushed ourselves; and did what we wouldn't have otherwise done - like trekking 40 Kms in 2 days; or after spending a horrific night in -7 degs, pooling up enthu to go to -12 degs. Each one of us was highly motivated to do this. But everyone was wondering, 'what will help me travel that last furlong...'

Don't we always ask ourselves after we have put in loads of hard work and have come far, and when all that remains then is the last step - 'What will help me travel that last furlong...'

And during the trip I found an answer, simple one - friends. What should we carry in our baggage - friends. Why?

After camping in the freezing cold night we had to climb a steep and high mountain the next day and reach 4200m for the first time in our lives. The temperatures dipped as we moved and the air become thinner. With every step we bargained with our legs to take us just another step further. The more we climbed the more we felt that the peak still stood just as far...

 

But we HAD to do it. So we kept climbing. However, when we were just there, and could even see the peak - 3 among the 5 of us collapsed, sat down and proposed to call that very place as the 'Darwa Pass'. It was the remaining 2 who stood by and pushed them, before we all made it to the actual Darwa Pass...

Hence the answer is simple - friends. What should we carry in our baggage - friends. Why? - Because they help us travel that last furlong...

And hence the trip was actually -

Finding Friendsland

Hidden Lands of IIT

I Know, I must be half insane to write a blog at 4 in the morning, but folks - can't help it.

YOU GOTTA DO WHAT I JUST DID - walk from Bharti Building to Kumaon (or anywhere to anywhere in Insti or Delhi for that sake!) and feel being transformed to mystic lands of yonder valley - yes, just like the one you always saw in your dreams.

It was 3 AM, when I decided that I would rather sleep on my soft bed than on hard chairs of my lab. As I stepped outside the Bharti Building I was stunned, mesmerized and not to mention afraid to see that visibility was barely 3 meters in even well lit areas. As I slowly stepped forward I realized that I could only see in a radius of a hand's stretch around me in poorly lit areas.

It was like being in the forbidden forest of Hogwarts or being in some lost Valley of Ancient times - Since I was of those few 5-10 odd people out of total 10,000 at IIT Delhi out on streets; each step felt as if it was a fight for survival, as if I was in search of some hidden treasure.

My thoughts transcended when I heard a plane fly above me; and for the first time I saw upwards - only to realize that I could bloody see nothing - forget a hand's stretch. A little later, I heard a roar of engine go past me which told me that it was a truck, which looked to me as a mystic creature with light emitting eyes but a camouflaged body! The streetlights too looked the same - floating orange Sun's without a body of their own...

I was shuddering by the time I reached my hostel - half due to fear, half due to being in my fantasy land for 20 minutes at a stretch.

I will definitely carry a camera when I do this the next time, but the fantasies cannot be captured - you have to feel them, you have to see them!

A Soldier's Letter to Home

Well, not the perfect occasion for this kind of a post, but still couldn't hold it back after I somehow reached the homepage of Captain Vijyant Thapar (Gold Medalist of his time, in Water Polo at Indian Military Academy, Dehradun)

He was given The Vir Chakra, sadly though - posthumously. He died fighting at 16,000 feet - in the Kargil War at the age of 22 in 1999. His birth date is 26th December.

His 2 letters are what I wanted to show:

Letter1:


Letter 2:



Robin was his favorite child hero.

"War for all its glorification is an dirty business. Ultimately, it is business of death. The sooner it ends, the better for all of us"

- Editor in Chief, India Today, July12, 1999




Full article here
 
Further,
Visiting the place he had fought during Laddakh trip - here
Tribute by his Mother
Story in Sun