Why THiNK………….

First think about your web-life. Has it not changed rapidly? You no longer mail friends…..you drop by scraps. Your photos are up for display to the world. You have suddenly started preferring random videos on YOUtube to chat shows with famous personalities. Where do you go looking for information, not Britannica but wikipedia. Firefox and Linux spreading like wildfire. And the biggest one of ‘em all……THE BLOG.

WHY?

Because, as Time magazine suggests, the spotlight has shifted to YOU. We don’t want to listen to the general on a news channel briefing us about the situation on the warfront when we have a soldier pouring his heart out on a blog.

We don’t want one professionally made movies anymore……some moron with a camera filming an average day in his dorm seems much more interesting.

We don’t want telephone calls or even e-mails when social networking rocks.

GLORIFYING MEDIOCRACY???

Are bloggers just a bunch of wannabe writers doling out crap about non-consequential things? Should a regular Joe be allowed to tamper with the baap of all information- the encyclopedia? What is so good about the amateurish video clips the world is going crazy about?

I SAY,NO

Because blogs, wikipedia, YOUtube and the gazillion social networks are not trampling upon the already existing ways of information interchange. They are carving a new space for themselves, an alternative. And like it or not everybody riding this wave( now officially called WEB 2.0….though nothing official about it!) is lovin’ it. We have lived linearly too long relying on a bunch of specialists to tell us what we know or do. Its time for a different perspective.

CHANGE

Maybe it’s time when the junta jumps up from the ‘ people’s poll’ corner of the newspaper and spreads to the pages.

BUT, WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

Because bitrip and now THiNK are both a part of this phenomenon. I might now recognize many of my fellow BITians on the road but I get a peek into what they think and do from their blogs. Calvin and Hobbes may tickle me a lot but it is an altogether different experience to read a comic strip about the life around me done by someone living in the adjacent hostel. A book on famous one-liners may be good but it cannot beat the nonsensicality of H4ism. News channels with hundreds of investigating teams blew up the death of a student here but Rhea’s simple observation and remembrance was closer to the truth.

So….START THiNKing but don’t forget to open the lid of your head when you do so that the world can peek in.

COME and be a part of the first THiNK forum/meeting/briefing/celebration on 24^th January……

BECAUSE it’s time ME AND YOU took over.

Questions Anyone?

Did the egg come first or the chicken? Did the tree come first or the seed? What is ‘God’? Why can’t we have the cake and eat it too? How did the universe originate? These questions which seem to bring all physical explanation to an end are the fundamental problems in metaphysics. It is a branch of philosophy that takes us into a world beyond our own world in a quest to understand the ultimate truth that governs the universe.

‘Meta’ in Greek means ‘Over’ and is understood in some contexts as beyond or after. Physics is, again, a Greek word meaning nature. Hence metaphysics is a study of something that’s beyond nature. The ball was set in this direction by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. In organizing his works, he placed the section on philosophy immediately after physics. Although he called it ‘First philosophy’, the early Aristotelian philosophers called it “ta meta ta physica biblia” which literally means “that which comes after the books on physics”. Co-incidentally, the name fits the subject very aptly since metaphysics attempts to answer questions that transcend the physical world.

Let us look at some basic problems of the subject. We see so many ‘things’ around us. Pens, books, chains, mirrors and so on. What is a thing made of? We could say everything is composed of atoms and molecules having certain properties. But the question remains as to what atoms or molecules are made of. Are they just a bundle of their properties? If a certain thing exists, how did it come there? Did the egg come first or the hen? These are questions of origin. Similar questions could be raised when a thing ceases to exist. After I have eaten a cake, the cake doesn’t exist any more. Where did it go? What happened to the properties it possessed? What happened to the sweet taste? When a person dies, he is no longer the person he used to be. His body is now a corpse, a thing. But when he was ‘alive’, he had a mind, a ‘consciousness’. Where does the mind go after death? What is consciousness? If the mind and the body are two different entities, how is it that the mind controls the body? Where do thoughts come into the mind from? …………..Another barrage of questions follows. Understanding the nature of the mind is perhaps the single most challenging problem faced by philosophers and scientists.

And then there is the question of space and time. What is space? Would space exist if all the objects were taken out of it? Did space exist before the origin of the universe? Or did it take birth with it? What is time? Why can’t we stop time? Why can’t we travel back and forth in time? Did time exist before the universe?

One question leads to another and question after question can be asked endlessly. What makes things difficult is that the theories in metaphysics are generally not testable or provable. Most conclusions drawn are based on one’s perception and experience. Nobody can force one to think like himself for there is no evidence to justify his beliefs. The more data one tries to find to corroborate his theories, the more theories he finds which falsify them. Yet another reason for obscurity is that all our thoughts are controlled by our mind. Firstly, we do not understand the working of the mind. Moreover our minds can only reason what we perceive within this world. We try to model what we do not know on the basis of what we do. We are like fish in an aquarium wondering what the world outside might be like while the truth is that we can’t even find the walls.

Metaphysics is a bottomless well of assorted questions. The deeper you sink, the more questions you unearth, and somewhere at the bottom of those questions is an answer. An answer to all the questions that one could ask. An answer that could be the solution to all problems. That is the answer that metaphysicians seek….

How deep is the well? How long and how deep should we dig before we find out? Nobody knows and the quest continues…….

Amal

THiNKing

Well, close to three months have elapsed since the first conception of THiNK.
a quarter of an year and people in the college know of it atleast. Given the just up and (barely) running LAN that works sometime in the day when im not using it, the junta has definitely changed. or seems to be headed that way. nevermind that. more on that later on bitrip. more importantly, a discussion forum seems to be on the cards. the discussion shall focus loosely on books (a reader's club) and a generic topic, which will be "Engineering Syllabus:Time for Change" most probably.
now, as someone pointed out earlier today, there isnt much to be achieved by sitting and discussing this. the point in case is similar to the reservation issue that rocked the awareness of every other youth in this country. im not saying that we do something of that sort, merely that we spaek among ourselves and have a voice, a point of view. that we THiNK together and give vent to our thoughts. peacefully. over coffee.

the tentative date for the meeting and the venue is too tentative for announcement yet, but it should be in the week starting 22nd January.

As they say Vox Populi, Vox Dei - the voice of people is the voice of god.
Well, let's get together and find our voice. maybe its just the cold getting to me. maybe its the rdb track playing in my earphones. maybe it's just me.

Oh Well, What the Hell.
See you around the campus next week.
till then,

THiNK

The Shape of Things to come

If you’d ask me what’s the single greatest challenge that we as individuals face in our lives today, I’d say: change. I believe that we are all susceptible to the uncertainty that permeates the world around us today. As a species, we have reached a stage where the pace of change is simply phenomenal. The only thing certain about the future is that it will be different. Don’t expect a status quo because you won’t find it. What is the norm today will be archaic tomorrow and what today are matters of science fiction will be part of our daily lives. Well, that’s what has been happening over the last century. We somehow seem to catch up with our imagination and create for ourselves a new and different world every day.

So if things are changing, it’s probably a given that you must change too. Now that’s difficult. It doesn’t take much to proclaim to the world that you are open to change, that you are flexible as an individual and are prepared for whatever the future has in store. In fact, there are countless such examples of individuals and organizations that do just that. The truth, however, is that we are always less prepared for change than we may have ourselves believe.

We all resist change. We hate uncertainty. That’s built into our systems. Some individuals fight this inner urge to resist change and succeed. Others wonder what hit them and why they weren’t prepared. Which category you fall into is entirely a matter of choice.

In the times to come, I believe we will witness change like no other generation before us has. We are at a historical inflection point of sorts; generations to follow may well see us as the people who stood in the eye of the storm. The world around us is rapidly changing in every realm: we may be at the cusp of an energy crisis that may trigger another war. We may have already strained our planet too much; our resources may just not be able to support the burgeoning billions of us. I’m not predicting doomsday. This may never happen. Again, if we prevent this from happening it will only mean that we would have effectively dealt with change.

We live in uncertain, albeit interesting times.

The Promise

Look at the moon shining, smiling saying HI,

Watching his stars giggling, playing in the garden of sky,

Feeling the pain of those one who left him alone,

Blackening his face,

Reminding him The Promise to mourn,

The promise which he inherits from his father,

Spreading lights in days or scolding the nature rather,

Looking at the horizon to meet his end,

Counting his days, humming prayers to touch the Almighty's hand,

Looking his children again,

Giggling, twinkling throwing the lights aloud,

But fretting about something when facing the cloud,

The promise, The promise suddenly flashes in his mind,

"Come here my dear, my love" asks the giant,

"The promise I say to you,

The promise you say to me,

You must hold the gleam,

You must make the passage clean,

For the sons of my sister,

For those who seek the ecstasy and fight the sinister,

Throw them your light of wisdom,

Make them as you are,

Show them the way to truth and give the breath of freedom,

Why you look so hazy?

Why you look so shy?

Stand with the glory,

Climb this nature, climb this sky,

Make the clouds to shame and to pass by,

Tell them that they are just the bunches of dusts,

Rubbing them will not even take us to sigh,

You are the one, you are my son,

Show everyone that

You'll carry The Promise,

You'll define the life what it is,

Say me The Promise,

Say me The Promise."

The father looks at the horizon,

It is The Promise reading his son.

- Manas Chhabra

The Fall of Heroes

Green Goblin: "...But the one thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying. In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually they will hate you. "

In general I do not like quotes nor speeches... most of them are of no use to me anyways... instead I am the kind of person who is driven by examples. But then there are a few quotes which set me thinking. Like the one above. Its very true. Everybody seems to wait for that one sign of weakness that the superman amongst them might possess. Although the person in question might not want to be acknowledged as a superman; it might very possibly be their own creation. In most cases it so happens that the person followed what he thought was right and to his liking. Then comes along another person who in retrospect thinks he also could have done it, but since he was not the person who had done it, starts to idolize the other. Thus starts a chain of followers which the hero doesn't want. Because by the time people have actually noticed his achievement he has moved onto things more meaningful to him or has progressed to the next stage.

So the person in question tries to live to the expectation of the others and forgets what he wants for himself. As if this is not enough, in sometime people start to question his motives and methods. Far as I think, that hero is not concerned in social service nor in charity. He is more involved with the concept of his ability to do things, to create, to bring unto fruition his wants and needs. And when the needy gets a part of the fruit of his labour, he has the audacity to question the methods of the hero.

In this context, I remember a passage from "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand, where Peter Keating goes to Howard Roark for the designs to the government housing project and around the end of the deal, Peter Keating says: "You are getting more than me." Oh! how true!

-Suchintya

Life is No Longer Straight

Can all of us really lead a life of merit and just merit? How fair is it to expect to get returns based on the fact that you are good and performing? Or is it wrong in itself to ask for returns? But then what do you do when your performance does not count to take you to the top? Stop participating! That would be a good thing to do but the nagging fear remains... if you do not do as the romans do when you are in Rome, you are sure to be left behind with a hungry stomach when you go to bed. Am I wrong? It would seem so atleast from my dad's viewpoint. Do what you like to do and what you morality tells you to do? Let's see... Had always thought that I am addicted to nothing... really thought that nothing could bind me except family ties... But it seems that I still harbour aspirations of adulation on stage... of showing that I am good... somehow that insecurity still lies within me that I still have got a lot to do... that I am still not started on the path to my destiny... let's see where I can go when I actually do start on such a journey... meanwhile all I can do is prepare. Experience is what will count later on. Being able to recall past

happenings and being able to draw inspiration from current defeats and wins is all that would count I guess. And this time I seriously will stop following others morality. Amen to that!

-Suchintya

I Am Scared

As I stand on the threshold of the door leading unto the real world I feel scared. The last 25 years of education I hope has not been able to subdue my intellectual curiosity. I hope that I can still challenge and change my views and notions built of "study" and mould them to real learning. I fear that now that the time for real learning has come, my education may prevent me from doing so. It was not all bad but what it did do was never allow me to ask questions and led me to only believe in what I was taught. Nobody would tell me the meaning of education. All anyone would say it will help you in leading a better life, which I think in all probability means a better lifestyle. But is that all there is to education: a better lifestyle. Will it ever help me to contribute in some way that only I can. Will it not help me to find who I am. I guess not. Such questions cannot be dealt with by formal education. When I see the kids these days carrying a bag full of books and learning by rote what they are taught, I feel like crying. Why is there no individuality found for them. Or do the teachers believe in "all are born equal". Yet they do not question why some are good at numbers and some are good with creative arts. The best that I have yet come across in literature dealing with this subject is Sherlock Holmes, when he says to Dr. Watson. "Now that I know that the earth goes around the sun, I will do my best to forget it." As he points out to Dr. Watson that this basic fact is of no use to him or his profession.
There's lots more to write on this subject. But I will today only put down this thought. I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I hope it is not a train rushing onto me. I hope it the light of knowledge and sunshine.

-Suchintya
This is a post taken from his blog, dated Feb 19, 2006

QUANTUM MECHANICS vs. LORD KRISHNA

Or should it have been somebody like Ashoka, who spread the gospel of eastern philosophy of oneness of being like nobody before him did. Muddling thoughts all going through my brain... Just completed this book on quantum physics and reality "In Search of Schrodinger's Cat" by John Gribbin... Maybe I did miss the point that the author wanted to convey... but one proof that he gave of each particle being aware of every other particle in the universe at the quantum level and that means every other particle in the universe... mind boggling... the first thought that occured to me was - isn't it the same thing as "Aatma parmatma se hi janam leti hai aur usi mein leen ho jaati hai..." ( gotta better my roman hindi/english ? )... In essense what Lord Krishna told Arjun on the battlefield of Kurushetra - "Sab maya hai... apna kartavya karo". Same way the quantum particles do not bother to stop and think what we shall think of them... They go merrily about doing what they want to do; and they do quite a lot of amazing stuff. In the analogous Young's Double slit experiment performed with electron instead of photons, the electrons behave quite expectedly from previous experiments, giving the same results of interference patterns as in the case of photons. But experiments conducted to observe their travel make them bashful I should say from displaying their true capabilities. In the case of one electron being released from behind the two slits and no observing equipment or intelligent observer at any of the two slits, they give their normal interference pattern at the screen. BUt as soon as their is an observer at any of the slits, it decides to show itself up at any one of the slits and gives a pattern that would be expected of a matter particle in the classical sense. Its as if they come to know that somebody is poised to watch their quantum ( cosmic? ) dance... Then the author supporting his pet theory of many worlds existing at right angles to each other... which seems to be able to explain lots of everyday phenomenon, the most interesting being the time travel grandfather paradox. By this many worlds explanation, there is a different world that exists for each throw of the dice. So if you killed your grandfather you land up in a world where your grandfather does not exist and you are born because of other forces... Simply each choice in many probable choices exist, only that few of them might give rise to this (our) kind of intelligent beings... others choices that may be more highly probable might not even do so... All this means that we are part of a superspace... The book ends explaining various current thought processes going on the physics-philosophy world... One of them says that maybe we are part of some vacuum fluctuations and the universe is finally going to collapse into the vacuum again... something like the fire that comes out of the matchstick when you strike it and then collapses into nothingness. This kind of nothingness is something that I am not able to palate... that there is no world after this world... that what I do in this world has no meaning... that I am a mere puppet in the great show... frightening to say the least.......... that I am prebound to take the actions that I take and therefore something like being an emu, knowing that it is a bird but unable to take flight... don't know where I have veered off to... but the phrase in Geeta that frightens me the most goes "Manushya to nimit maatra hai..." Maybe someday I will be able to see this phrase in a new light... but now all that is signifies is I am free to do anything that I please simply because my actions are predestined. Ugh! Can I go and get drunk now ( 1:36 am ) and then maybe do something that would being grief to people near me... something like beat up people I don't like (?) and then give an excuse, "maine kuch nahi kiya sab uparwaale ka doshh hai". Sounds exciting? This is one philosophy that I never prescribe to and would not be doing so in future: When one does good it is by the grace of GOD and when that same person goes and pushes somebody into a well, that person has done bad and GOD does not feature... What kind of thought is this: GOD is good and we are bad? neways enuf of blabber.... Should go to sleep... although am sure it is going to be a long time in coming... ( I don't know how to count sheep!!! )

-Suchintya

Vedic Maths

Some tricks of vedic mathematics, essentially for elementary arithmetic.

To find the square of any number ending in 5, multiply the number obtained after deleting 5 from it with a number incremented by one for a number so obtained and place 25 after it. eg: 25^2 = 2*3 25 = 6 25 = 625; 75^2 = 7*8 25 = 56 25 = 5625; 115^2 = 11*12 25 = 132 25 = 13225

To multiply a number by 11, first put down the digit in the units place in the units place for the answer. Then add the digit in the units place with digit in the tens place for the, substitute the units place digit of the number so obtained the for the tens place digit of the answer, and treat the tens place digit as carry for the addition between tens place and hundreds place of the original number. eg: 23*11 = 2 (2+3) 3 = 253; 765*11 = (7+1) (7+6+1) (6+5) 5 = 8415; 29043*11 = (2+1) (2+9) (9+0) (0+4) (4+3) 3 = 319473.
Also taking analogy from above, to multiply a number by 22,33,44... first multiply the number by 11 and by 2,3,4...

To find the square of a number between 26 and 49, first subtract the difference of the number from 50, from itself. Then divide the number so obtained by 2. Now jot down the square of the difference of the number from 50 in the end of the result of division, allowing for only two places ( not more not less ) and treating the hundreds place digit as carry over, if any. eg: 46^2 = (46 - 4)/2 4^2 = 42/2 16 = 2116; 39^2 = (39 - 11)/2 11^2 = 28/2 121 = 1 (4+1) 21 = 1521.
Drawing analogy from above, to find the square of a number from 51 to 74, add the difference instead of subtracting. eg: 56^2 = (56 + 6)/2 6^2 = 62/2 36 = 3136; 70^2 = (70 + 20)/2 20^2 = 90/2 400 = 4 (5+4) 00 = 4900.

To multiply a number by 125, first add 3 zero's at the end of the number, then divide by 8. eg: 394*125 = 394 * (125*8) /8 = 394000/8 = 49250.

To know the remainder when a number is divided by 3 or 9, first add the digits of the number and then divide the sum by 3 or 9 as the case maybe and take the remainder of this division; it gives the same result. eg: to find remainder when 480275996 is divided by 3 - sum of digits = 50 / 3 = 16 2/3, so remainder is 2; for division by 9 : 50/9 = 5 5/9, so remainder is 5.

This above does not even cover the tip of the tip of the iceberg of knowledge that can be gleaned from Vedas.

Why Do Men Socialise ?

Leave alone those gatherings which take place to celebrate life and real friends. But the others in my opinion are held because men do not want to keep their mind idle. Most believe in the age old adage "Idle mind is the devil's playground". Hence most do not even think out the consequences of reasoning out this proverb. They fear that keeping away from such social gatherings will lead to them being alone. And it is a no brainer that when you are alone you are lead to introspect. You are lead to think and reason your actions, your motives, your philosophy in life. It is something that most would like to run from and hide. All realise that if they do not work nobody will earn for their food. It is he who is responsible for his own survival. And man not being a being which can hunt for his food each day of his life, he has to plan ahead. Even the gangster who loots from people at gunpoint has to work. And to work you need to think, to plan. Instead people would rather go for gossip where they get opinions for earning their own living from people who have the same purpose of coming to that gossip: to know how to earn their living. To use the fruits of somebody's else's thinking. Let such sit down for a few days and not socialise. Most would refuse outright. Some I believe would be led to drastic measures. But there will be a handful who will realise who they are and what are the consequences of their actions. To those few I say: please gather the courage and develop your philosophy in life.

-Suchintya

Was Wondering

if I really want to write consolidated ideas in my blog in the first place. Is it not meant to be a space where you can express yourself without having to oblige oneself to the audience. Which, I guess, is what I would be exactly doing my consolidating my ideas and writing a good piece of prose everytime.

In the meanwhile found a nice rejoinder to the quota policy... came as forward in the mail...

I completely support the PM and all the politicians for promoting Reservations. Let's start the reservation with our cricket team. We should have 10 percent reservation for Muslims. 30 percent for OBC, SC/ST like that. Cricket rules should be modified accordingly. The boundary circle should be reduced for an SC/ST player. The four hit by an OBC player should be considered as a six and a six hit by a OBC player should be counted as 8 runs. An OBC player scoring 60 runs should be declared as a century. We should influence ICC and make rules so that the pace bowlers like Shoaib Aktar should not bowl fast balls to our OBC player. Bowlers should bowl maximum speed of 80 kilometer per hour to an OBC player. Any delivery above this speed should be made illegal. Also we should have reservation in Olympics. In the 100 meters race, an OBC player should be given a gold medal if he runs 80 meters. There can be reservation in Government jobs also. Let's recruit SC/ST and OBC pilots for aircrafts which are carrying the ministers and politicians(that can really help the country.. )

Ensure that only SC/ST and OBC doctors do the operations for the ministers and other politicians. (Another way of saving the country..) Let's be creative and think of ways and means to guide INDIA forward. Let's show the world that INDIA is a GREAT country. Let's be proud of being an INDIAN..May the good breed of politicians like ARJUN SINGH long live.

As for my stand I firmly oppose quota in super-speciality streams in medicine. The rest I can take the burden, as I have been doing for the last 4 years, having come from a state studying in a college that has more than 50% seats reserved.

- Suchintya

This is a post taken from his blog, dated May 03, 2006

Never Say Die

"No battle is lost till the last boat is sunk."

Both the above quotes are a variation of the same theme. Essentially do not give up. I just happened to remember a sunday evening, in which my group in the college fest was supposed to perform a skit on stage. We had not rehearsed even once. All the characters knew their parts. That was it. The appropriate background scores had not been found. Just before we were to go on stage, I lost all hope of putting up atleast a decent performance that would not earn any boos from the full packed audience. Stubborn in my belief that it was no use to get up on stage and then find everything screwed, I decided not to appear. Had this sunken feeling in my heart and total hopelessness. Then a few people around encouraged me. Somehow, I got up on stage and did the small part that I had. Then came the bomb. The pre-recorded voice over we had brought along did not work/stopped working. Even the audience had started loosing interest. But two guys handled the situation by providing real time background lipsync.

Anyways at the end of the skit when the audience burst into cheers, I was pretty relieved of having passed through a very trying circumstance. Haven't felt so low on confidence since then. If there was one thing that I realised that night, it was the fact that until you put in effort and pursue what you set out to do, you don't know if you will pass or fail. It the courage of conviction in my ability that I must carry with myself as my sole weapon against all opposition in life.

And then there is this good anecdote that I always quote:

A man enters a party, where there are among the guests 100 women. He knows that there is exactly one woman amongst them all that he will be able to take out that night. So his probability of success is 1/100 or 1%. That sounds pretty imposing. But we must see ahead. He goes upto one and proposes. She refuses. Now the probabillity of success increases to 1/99 or 1.01%. He goes up to a second and so on. Each time his probability increases 1.02%, 1.03%, 1.04%, 1.05%, ... So we see that he fails each time, he also keeps increasing his probability of success each time, until such time that he succeeds. Some might find the example a bit crass, but I find it much more potent in driving home the point of not giving up till the last, than most that do the rounds, especially by the so called management gurus.

Anyways for the sake of information the quote at the beginning of the essay (No battle is lost...)can found on the desk of the late Shri Pramod Mahajan. His loss is going to hurt the BJP a very good deal. Sometimes I do wonder if his death was really by a wronged younger brother, or was it a part of a larger political gameplay. Who knows...??

- Suchintya

A Brief History Of BIT Mesra

B.I.T. Mesra is a "Deemed University" under Sec. 3 of the U.G.C. act 1986. It functions under the overall supervision, direction and control of a high power Board of Governors, comprising representatives of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, the U.G.C., the State Government, The Chancellor, the A.I.C.T.E., The Hindustan Charity Trust and the Institute Faculty. Shri G.P. Birla is the Chairman of the Board of Governors. The Governor of the state of Jharkhand is the Chancellor of the Institute. The Technical Council decides the academic policy of the Institute.

The Birla Institute of Technology was established in the year 1955 at Mesra, Ranchi, by the Philanthropist- Industrialist Mr. B M Birla with a vision to be recognized as a world-class learning institution for engineering and technology by providing the highest-quality academic programmes that foster student development and connect knowledge, practice, and outstanding scholarly research.
Over the last fifty years, the Institute has not just kept pace with the times; it has often taken a lead in introduction of programs in emerging areas. The Institute today offers Under Graduate, Post Graduate as well as Doctoral level programmes in Engineering & Technology, Applied Sciences, Remote Sensing, Computer Applications, Information Science, Bio-Medical Instrumentation,Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Business Management & Hotel Management & Catering Technology. A rich heritage of academic excellence; a strong commitment towards creation and constant upgradation of academic infrastructure; an unremitting interaction with the industry; an unrelenting endeavour to develop effective teaching skills of its faculty and to provide an environment that promotes productive research and most of all a stringent intake of the best talent have placed BIT amongst the frontrunners in the domain of technical education and research. With students drawn from all the States of our Country, the Institution has endeavoured to maintain its all India character. BIT has graduated over 15,000 Degree holders in Engineering & Technology and over 2000 Post graduates. The active research programmes of the Institute have produced a number of Doctorates (PhD's) in various areas.

BIT was the very first Institute to establish a Department of Space Engineering & Rocketry in the year 1964. BIT also introduced the concept of Small Industries Entrepreneurs' Park and became the first and the only Institute in the country not just to provide 'nursery sheds' and central designing and workshop facilities to young entrepreneurs, but also to facilitate the initial project funding. BIT became the very first technical University to establish overseas extension centers in the year 2000. It is one of the few Universities to be accorded a Super Computer at the core of its ultramodern IT infrastructure.
The Institute has also been active in initiating as well as becoming a part of International ventures and tie-ups. It has collaborative arrangements with Universities in the USA, UK & Canada. It is an active member of the EAGER NETWIC Project of ASIA LINK programme of European Commission for establishing a world class academic network of Higher education in the rapidly growing field of Wireless and Mobile Communication between the five partner Universities.
BIT has been catering to the manpower needs of almost all the major sectors of the economy since the last five decades. BIT alumni have made the Institute proud of their achievements, many of whom are amongst the leaders of the Industry, both in India and abroad.
The Institute along with its extension centres at present has more than 7500 students enrolled for different Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programmes. It also has more than 150 registered students for the Ph.D. Programmes.

-Shabda Raaj

Programming Quotes

UNIX is simple. But It just needs a genius to understand its simplicity.

--Dennis Ritchie

Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.
--Fred Brooks

Theory is when you know something, but it doesn't work. Practice is when something works, but you don't know why it works. Programmers combine theory and practice: Nothing works and they don't know why.

It's hard enough to find an error in your code when you're looking for it; it's even harder when you've assumed your code is error-free.
-Steve McConnell Code Complete

If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilisation.
-Gerald Weinberg

*The Six Phases of a Project:
Enthusiasm
Disillusionment
Panic
Search for the Guilty
Punishment of the Innocent
Praise for non-participants*

Good code is its own best documentation. As you're about to add a comment, ask yourself, 'How can I improve the code so that this comment isn't needed?' Improve the code and then document it to make it even clearer.
--Steve McConnell Code Complete

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.
--Bertrand Russell

No matter how slick(efficient) the demo is in rehearsal, when you do it in front of a live audience the probability of a flawless presentation is inversely proportional to the number of people watching, raised to the power of the amount of money involved.

One of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that, lacking zero, they had no way to indicate successful termination of their C programs.
--Robert Firth

Fifty years of programming language research, and we end up with C++?
--Richard A. O'Keefe

C programmers never die. They are just cast into void.

If debugging is the process of removing bugs, then programming must be the process of putting them in.
--Edsger Dijkstra

You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time.
--(Bertrand Meyer)

There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third works.
--Alan J. Perlis

Measuring programming progress by lines of code is like measuring aircraft building progress by weight.
--Bill Gates

Before software can be reusable, it first has to be usable.
--Ralph Johnson

The first 90% of the code accounts for the first 90% of the development time. The remaining 10% of the code accounts for the other 90% of the development time.
--Tom Cargill

Programmers are in a race with the Universe to create bigger and better idiot-proof programs, while the Universe is trying to create bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning.
--Anon

As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought. Debugging had to be discovered. I can remember the exact instant when I realized that a large part of my life from then on was going to be spent in finding
mistakes in my own programs.
--Maurice Wilkes discovers debugging, 1949

I did say something along the lines of "C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot; C++ makes it harder, but when you do, it blows your whole leg off."
--Bjarne Stroustrup

It has been said that the great scientific disciplines are examples of giants standing on the shoulders of other giants. It has also been said that the software industry is an example of midgets standing on the toes of other midgets.
--Alan Cooper About Face

Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
--Pablo Picasso

If the code and the comments disagree, then both are probably wrong.
--attributed to Norm Schryer

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
--Will Rogers - THE BEST

Einstein argued that there must be simplified explanations of nature, because God is not capricious or arbitrary. No such faith comforts the software engineer.
--Fred Brooks, Jr.

As we said in the preface to the first edition, C "wears well as one's experience with it grows." With a decade more experience, we still feel that way.
--Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability
--Edsger W.Dijkstra

I've finally learned what "upward compatible" means. It means we get to keep all our old mistakes.
--Dennie van Tassel
(P.S: just like revision changes for hardware or new version release for software)

Rules of Optimization:
Rule 1: Don't do it.
Rule 2 (for experts only): Don't do it yet.

--M.A. Jackson

Most software today is very much like an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves.
--Alan Kay

Every program has (at least) two purposes: the one for which it was written, and another for which it wasn't.
--Alan J. Perlis

Technology is dominated by two types of people: Those who understand what they do not manage. Those who manage what they do not understand.
--Putt's Law

Copy and paste is a design error
--David Parnas

Any code of your own that you haven't looked at for six or more months might as well have been written by someone else.
--Eagleson's law

The primary duty of an exception handler is to get the error out of the lap of the programmer and into the surprised face of the user. Provided you keep this cardinal rule in mind, you can't go far wrong.
--Verity Stob

When Girls Change Tubelights

The problem was simple.

Panks wanted her tube light changed. So when she entered my room looking for someone who knew how to do it, I jumped at the opportunity. I call it an opportunity because I love changing tubelights and bulbs. Yeah, it looks strange for a hobby but I can’t help myself.

I removed the functional tube from Anu’s room (who had long ago moved out) and took out the dead one from Panks’. Now this presented a problem as the holder was a bit twisted and my position was hardly comfortable. The chair, which was in turn on top of Panks’ bed, was shaking. The simple solution would have been to fix the twisted holder with a pair of tweezers. However my enthusiasm for changing tubes is equaled by my fear of getting electrocuted. I cannot touch the damn thing even if the mains are switched off (strange combo!!!)

So there I was trying to get the thing in when Poo entered. I was so happy doing what I was doing and turned to tell her about it. I, however, forgot that the fan was on. Clang! The tube was split into half as if by a blow by Darth Wader himself. The three of us stared at the broken pieces now scattered all over the place. Shit!!

However the spirit of a tube light changer is not easily broken. While cleaning her room another idea struck!! Panks agreed.
At midnight we slipped into the guest room of our hostel, replaced the working tube there with our dead one and ran as if we had just looted Swiss bank. Half an hour of twisting and turning the holder the tube light finally fit. Both Panks and I were covered in sweat (the fan was OFF this time!). We prayed to god, blew the conch and flicked the switch on. Nothing!!! Like a madman I flicked it again and again!! No result after six hours of hard work and sweat can be depressing and with a glum and broken spirit we went to bed.
Two days later the electrician told us that it was the switch that was not working properly.


- Lioness

You've got to find what you love

You've got to find what you love(Text)

You've got to find what you love(Audio)

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

*********************

Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50
and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!


HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them "

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every o pportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

And if you don't send this to at least 8 people - who cares? But do share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming Whoo what a ride".

I Say Evolve

"You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else. We are all part of the same compost heap. We are the all singing, all dancing, crap of the world. You are not your bank account. You are not the clothes you wear. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not your bowel cancer. You are not your grande latte. You are not the car you drive. You are not your fucking khaki's.
You have to give up, you have to give up. You have to realize that someday you will die. Until you know that, you are useless. I say let me never be complete. I say may I never be content. I say deliver me from Swedish furniture. I say deliver me from clever arts. I say deliver me from clear skin and perfect teeth. I say you have to give up.

I say evolve, and let the chips fall where they may."

Courtesy Dust Brothers, The Fight Club

Wouldn't you hire me ?

EDUCATION /Qualification:
Stood first in BA (Hons), Economics, Punjab University, Chandigarh, 1952;
Stood first in MA (Economics), Punjab University, Chandigarh,1954;
Wright's Prize for distinguished performance at St John's College,Cambridge, 1955 and 1957;
Wrenbury scholar, University of Cambridge, 1957;
DPhil (Oxford), DLitt (Honoris Causa); PhD thesis on India's export competitiveness

OCCUPATION /Teaching Experience:

Professor (Senior lecturer, Economics, 1957-59;
Reader, Economics, 1959-63;
Professor, Economics, Punjab University, Chandigarh, 1963-65;
Professor,International Trade, Delhi School of Economics,DU,1969-71;
Honorary professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University,New Delhi,1976 and Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi,1996 and Civil Servant

Working Experience/ POSITIONS:

1971-72: Economic advisor, ministry of foreign trade
1972-76: Chief economic advisor, ministry of finance
1976-80: Director, Reserve Bank of India; Director, Industrial Development Bank of India; Alternate governor for India, Board of governors, Asian Development Bank; Alternate governor for India, Board of governors, IBRD
November 1976 - April 1980: Secretary, ministry of finance (Department of economic affairs); Member, finance, Atomic Energy Commission; Member,finance, Space Commission
April 1980 - September 15, 1982: Member-secretary, Planning Commission 1980-83: Chairman, India Committee of the Indo-Japan joint study committee September 16, 1982 - January 14, 1985: Governor, Reserve Bankof India
1982-85: Alternate Governor for India, Board of governors,International Monetary Fund
1983-84: Member, economic advisory council to the Prime Minister
1985: President, Indian Economic Association
January 15, 1985 - July 31, 1987: Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
August 1, 1987 - November 10, 1990: Secretary-general and commissioner,south commission, Geneva
December 10, 1990 - March 14, 1991: Advisor to the Prime Minister on
economic affairs
March 15, 1991 - June 20, 1991: Chairman, UGC
June 21, 1991 - May 15, 1996: Union finance minister
October 1991: Elected to Rajya Sabha from Assam on Congress ticket
June 1995: Re-elected to Rajya Sabha
1996 onwards: Member, Consultative Committee for the ministry of
finance
August 1, 1996 - December 4, 1997: Chairman, Parliamentary standing
committee on commerce
March 21, 1998 onwards: Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha
June 5, 1998 onwards: Member, committee on finance
August 13, 1998 onwards: Member, committee on rules
Aug 1998-2001: Member, committee of privileges 2000 onwards: Member,
executive committee, Indian parliamentary group
June 2001: Re-elected to Rajya Sabha
Aug 2001 onwards: Member, general purposes committee

BOOKS:

India's Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth -Clarendon Press, Oxford University, 1964; also published a large number of articles in various economic journals.

OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Adam Smith Prize, University of Cambridge, 1956
Padma Vibhushan, 1987
Euro money Award, Finance Minister of the Year, 1993;
Asia money Award, Finance Minister of the Year for Asia, 1993 and 1994

INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS:

1966: Economic Affairs Officer

1966-69: Chief, financing for trade section, UNCTAD

1972-74: Deputy for India in IMF Committee of Twenty on International
Monetary Reform

1977-79: Indian delegation to Aid-India Consortium Meetings
1980-82: Indo-Soviet joint planning group meeting
1982: Indo-Soviet monitoring group meeting
1993: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Cyprus 1993: Human
Rights World Conference, Vienna

RECREATION:

Gymkhana Club, New Delhi; Life Member, India International Centre, New Delhi

PERSONAL DETAILS

Name: Dr Manmohan Singh
DOB: September 26, 1932
Place of Birth: Gah (West Punjab)
Father: S. Gurmukh Singh
Mother: Mrs Amrit Kaur
Married on: September 14, 1958
Wife: Mrs Gursharan Kaur
Children: Three daughters

Late Sitting at work

Infosys Chairman - Mr.Narayana Murthy's Speech on Late sitting

I know people who work 12 hours a day, six days a week, or more. Some people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary.Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I don't know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office this long. Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to the workplace. Whatever the reason for putting in overtime, working long hours over the long term is harmful to the person and to the organization. There are things managers can do to change this for everyone's benefit.

Being in the office long hours, over long periods of time, makes way for potential errors. My colleagues who are in the office long hours
frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue. Correcting these mistakes
requires their time as well as the time and energy of others. I have seen people work Tuesday through Friday to correct mistakes made after 5 PM on Monday.

Another problem is that people who are in the office for long hours are not pleasant company. They often complain about other people (who aren't working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other people avoid them. Such behaviour poses problems, where work goes much better when people work together instead of avoiding one another.


As Managers, there are things we can do to help people leave the office.
First and foremost is to set the example and go home ourselves. I work With a manager who chides people for working long hours. His words quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding group e-mails with a time-stamp of 2 AM, Sunday.



Second is to encourage people to put some balance in their lives. For instance, here is a guideline I find helpful:
1) Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.
2) Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.
3) Go home.
4) Read the comics, watch a funny movie, dig the dirt, play with your kids
etc..
5) Eat well and sleep well.
This is called recreating. Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2.
Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts. They are hard for some of us because that requires personal change. They are possible since we all have the power to choose to do them.

In considering
the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my eldest son. When he was a
toddler, If people were visiting the apartment, he would not fall asleep no matter how long the visit, and no matter what time of day it was.!

He would fight off sleep until the visitors left. It was as if he was afraid that he would miss something. Once our visitors' left, he would go to sleep. By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream through half the night with nightmares. He, my wife, and I, all paid the price for his fear of missing out. Perhaps some people put in such long hours because they don't want to miss anything when they leave the office. The trouble with this is that events will never stop happening. That is life !



Things happen 24 hours a day.
Allowing for little rest is not ultimately practical. So, take a nap.
Things will happen while you're asleep, but you will have the energy to catch up when you wake.

Hence "LOVE YOUR JOB AND FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY"

- Narayana Murthy

Nathu Ram Godse's Speech At The Trial

" On January 13, 1948, I learnt that Gandhiji had decided to go on fast unto death. The reason given was that he wanted an assurance of Hindu-Muslim Unity... But I and many others could easily see that the real motive... [was] to compel the Dominion Government to pay the sum of Rs 55 crores to Pakistan, the payment of which was emphatically refused by the Government.... But this decision of the people's Government was reversed to suit the tune of Gandhiji's fast. It was evident to my mind that the force of public opinion was nothing but a trifle when compared with the leanings of Gandhiji favourable to Pakistan.

....In 1946 or thereabout, Muslim atrocities perpetrated on Hindus under the Government patronage of Surhawardy in Noakhali made our blood boil. Our shame and indignation knew no bounds when we saw that Gandhiji had come forward to shield that very Surhawardy and began to style him as 'Shaheed Saheb' - a martyr - even in his prayer meetings...

....Gandhiji's influence in the Congress first increased and then became supreme. His activities for public awakening were phenomenal in their intensity and were reinforced by the slogans of truth and non-violence which he ostentatiously paraded before the country... I could never conceive that an armed resistance to the aggressor is unjust... Ram killed Ravan in a tumultuous fight... Krishna killed Kansa to end his wickedness... In condemning Shivaji, Rana Pratap and Guru Govind as 'misguided patriots,' Gandhiji has merely exposed his self-conceit... Gandhiji was, paradoxically, a violent pacifist who brought untold calamities on the country in the name of truth and nonviolence, while Rana Pratap, Shivaji and the Guru will remain enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen forever...

....By 1919, Gandhiji had become desperate in his endeavours to get the Muslims to trust him and went from one absurd promise to another... He backed the Khilafat movement in this country and was able to enlist the full support of the National Congress in that policy... very soon the Moplah Rebellion showed that the Muslims had not the slightest idea of national unity... There followed a huge slaughter of Hindus... The British Government, entirely unmoved by the rebellion, suppressed it in a few months and left to Gandhiji the joy of his Hindu-Muslim Unity... British Imperialism emerged stronger, the Muslims became more fanatical, and the consequences were visited on the Hindus...

The accumulating provocation of 32 years, culminating in his last pro-Muslim fast, at last goaded me to the conclusion that the existence of Gandhiji should be brought to an end immediately... he developed a subjective mentality under which he alone was the final judge of what was right or wrong... Either Congress had to surrender its will to him and play second fiddle to all his eccentricity, whimsicality... or it had to carry on without him... He was the master brain guiding the civil disobedience movement... The movement may succeed or fail; it may bring untold disasters and political reverses, but that could make no difference to the Mahatma's infallibility... These childish inanities and obstinacies, coupled with a most severe austerity of life, ceaseless work and lofty character, made Gandhiji formidable and irresistible... In a position of such absolute irresponsibility, Gandhiji was guilty of blunder after blunder...

....The Mahatma even supported the separation of Sindh from the Bombay Presidency and threw the Hindus of Sindh to the communal wolves. Numerous riots took place in Karachi, Sukkur, Shikarpur and other places in which the Hindus were the only sufferers...

....From August 1946 onwards, the private armies of the Muslim League began a massacre of the Hindus... Hindu blood began to flow from Bengal to Karachi with mild reactions in the Deccan... The Interim government formed in September was sabotaged by its Muslim League members, but the more they became disloyal and treasonable to the government of which they were a part, the greater was Gandhi's infatuation for them...

....The Congress, which had boasted of its nationalism and socialism, secretly accepted Pakistan and abjectly surrendered to Jinnah. India was vivisected and one-third of the Indian territory became foreign land to us... This is what Gandhiji had achieved after 30 years of undisputed dictatorship, and this is what Congress party calls 'freedom'...

....One of the conditions imposed by Gandhiji for his breaking of the fast unto death related to the mosques in Delhi occupied by Hindu refugees. But when Hindus in Pakistan were subjected to violent attacks he did not so much as utter a single word to protest and censure the Pakistan government...

Gandhi is being referred to as the Father of the Nation. But if that is so, he had failed his paternal duty inasmuch as he has acted very treacherously to the nation by his consenting to the partitioning of it... The people of this country were eager and vehement in their opposition to Pakistan. But Gandhiji played false with the people...

....I shall be totally ruined, and the only thing I could expect from the people would be nothing but hatred... if I were to kill Gandhiji. But at the same time, I felt that Indian politics in the absence of Gandhiji would surely be proved practical, able to retaliate, and be powerful with armed forces. No doubt, my own future would be totally ruined, but the nation would be saved from the inroads of Pakistan...

....I do say that my shots were fired at the person whose policy and action had brought rack and ruin and destruction to millions of Hindus... There was no legal machinery by which such an offender could be brought to book, and for this reason I fired those fatal shots...

....I do not desire any mercy to be shown to me... I did fire shots at Gandhiji in open daylight. I did not make any attempt to run away; in fact I never entertained any idea of running away. I did not try to shoot myself... for, it was my ardent desire to give vent to my thoughts in an open Court. My confidence about the moral side of my action has not been shaken even by the criticism levelled of against it on all sides. I have no doubt, honest writers of history will weigh my act and find the true value thereof some day in future. "

Who Am I ?

Who am I? Where did I come from?
The philosophical quest continues...

(A beautiful verse from Rig Veda that tries to analyze creation so rationally and humbly that it doesn't contradict science even to this day.)

In the beginning
There was neither existence nor nonexistence,
Neither sky nor heaven beyond …

That One breathed, without breath,
By his own breathless power.

The first born was the Creative Will,
The primordial seed of the mind.
All else followed.
The sages, searching for the truth within themselves,
Discovered the eternal bond between the seen and unseen.
This bond was an endless line stretched across the heavens.
What was above?
What was below?
Primal seeds were sprouting, mighty forces were moving;
Pulsation from below, pure energy above.

Who here knows? Who can say for sure? …
When it began and from where it came-this creation?
The gods came afterwards
So who really knows?

From where this creation came,
By what means it was formed,
Only He who watches from the highest heaven knows
or perhaps even He does not know!

[quote(s) / poem(s) n° 3007: Rig Veda [presentation], most ancient of the Vedic collections of hymns, considered the Hindus most sacred scripture., Hinduism

Rig Veda, Book X, 129]

The Great One

I am not a star
There's no halo over my head
Fate doesnt like the colour of my eyes
Struggle and strive are old friend of mine
Who am i ?
I am guts. I am survival. I am pride.
For I have met fate
She can be pretty mean
When shes not in a mood
I will not take life as it comes
I will scratch and claw
I like odds.
Especially when they are stacked against me
Because there will come a time
when i will stare them in their eyes
and smile the smile of one who pulled it off
I am the guy who will have deep lines on his face someday
and it would make me look good when i laugh
Because that is the day-I will fear no fear
Success has no address-no landmark-no calling card
The path is steep; some will take the elevator
I will take the stairs
Some will get there faster but I will get there stonger
YES, Thats will be the day
When I stand at a bay window
And unclench my fist
For there will be no more odds to conquer
Not even in the mind
I like odds -They help me get even
Society has name for guys like me - STUBBORN


- Harbir Singh Rissam
(From MSVV to BIT and back to Life)

Strong Winds

They are everywhere, blowing with Might,
Whether it be a desert or a mountain sight.
Even in Canyons, plains or Valleys bright,
Or in busy cities and seaside at night.

They twist and blow round and round,
Taking whatever comes in the Way, they make sound.
Whether it be a free object or with a rope bound,
All go with it and fall to Ground.

Strong winds shake cities and nations wide,
Bringing power, glory and success to their side.
Who can stop a strong wind?
None! not even a strong body or strong mind.

-by P2

Peace

It is not joy nor sorrow,
But that which is between,
It is not nought nor morrow,
But that which joins them in.

It is sweet rest in music;
And pause in sacred art;
The silence between speaking;
Between two fits of passion --
It is the calm of heart.

Swami Vivekananda

More…

A beggar wishes a piece of Bread,
A homeless wishes a Roof over his Head.
An unemployed wishes a job, wiping his Brow,
And an Employed wishes his salary to grow.

Poor wants to become rich and better,
Rich wants to become still richer.
A king wants more power in his hands,
Countries want more Oil in desert Sands.

A wife would wish more jewellery from her honey,
The kids would wish a bigger pocket money.
A tenant wishes to have a house of his own,
Fixed-line users wish to have a cell phone.

Tata and Birla want more companies under their control,
And Ronaldo wants to score one more goal.
NASA wants to go farther into Space,
And Williams siblings want to score many more Ace.

You won’t find someone who wishes nothing More…
Even a Lion would like to have a louder roar.
I too wish something more from All,
Its more love a blessings to fulfil my goal.

-by P2

King

Often you have heard that debate,
Who is better for a State.
Is it a dictator unopposed,
Or a leader in an elected post.

Some say democracy is the Best,
Anyone can compete to be Ruler with the rest.
It brings out the best in the country,
And keeps a check on the ruler from giving People Worry.

Others say dictator is Better,
He can discharge his duties quicker.
He can curb corruption and bureaucracy,
He can make State a real fantasy.

But is democracy in true sense followed?
It is by fanatics and powerful men completely swallowed.
And what about the dictator so Great,
His Rule makes the Eyes of people wet.

A king should be one, so that all love him,
In his reign, in happiness the people Swim.
He takes care of his People like his sons and daughters.
And makes the state and the World better.

-by P2

It is not about the reservations.

Make no mistake about it. Its been executed with such finesse,it can put the state controlled pogrom in gujarat to shame-wonder if there is some training ground where they learn these dexterous skills. But then, one gets better, with practice. And its not just wine that gets better with age. To dismiss this as vote bank politics would be being courteous. To call this an exercise in futility would be well, churlish. To credit it as a master stroke,err, nothing would be further away from the truth. Truth is, this is a failure of imagination. Yeah, its a dismal failure of the senses because we take pride in having the largest written constitution on the face of this earth. It is a farce because we say that it took us many long years to sow the seeds of liberalization since we are a calibrate democracy, a vibrant democracy at that. It is a sham because we say that free speech and expression is the cornerstone of our egalitarian society. Yea,Like hell it is.

Let me then, enlighten you, Honorable Minsiter of HRD, Shri Arjun singh,that dissent is what distinguishes communist China from democratic India. A Hitler from a Nehru. A rigid fascist from a liberalist. A despot from a meritocrat. Hell, when George Bush-,the redoubtable foot in the mouth exponent- visited Great Britain, and tens of thousands of angry protestors assembled in front of the Buckingham Palace, to protest his presence in their country, all he could say was that he loves going to a country where there is freedom of speech; dissent. Affirmative action, dear sir, can be imported later. Learn the rulings of democracy first. Take away dissent, and we are as good as dead.

And I am not yet drawing myself into the debate of whether the government should or should not uphold the bill seeking the 49.5 reservation. For its not about the reservation at all. Reservations, beloved sir, are a manifestation of a form of anachronism, which was shameful even in a society which prevailed in your prime. And the anguish, the despair, the despondency, and the desolation are a function of this utterly shocking and reprehensible proposal . That fifty eight years into the life of a nation, we still haven’t imbibed the first imperative of democracy. I can almost hear the founding fathers quiver in their graveyards.

I was thrilled, delighted even that interns and medical students my age stood up for what they thought was right. For no cost is too high to stand up for what one thinks is right. Kids my age who have little to do with this imbroglio, many of them ,who will either join elite hospitals or head abroad, kids who have nothing to gain and everything to lose, risk their careers, their lives. For the uninitiated, a doctor cannot apply for a visa or practice, if she has a police statement against her name.

They voted with their feet and you lathi charged them?. They protested in a silent , non violent manner, and you thumped them with 3rd gear water cannons? They stood up for equality and you tear gassed them? Its quite some time since holi and quite some time left for diwali, but never mind. In more ways than one, you have invoked our collective consciousness. We knew our generation was up for it. You helped us prove it. And lest, you misunderstand us, this is no flash in the pan. When you flushed them out, they formed a huddle. When you canonized them, they held on to each other for their lives. When you detained them,they didn’t even so much as to raise a whimper. When their futures were being decided by god forsaken cops,they couldn’t think of influential names to bail them out. And sir, perhaps, what was the last nail in the coffin, was when you arrested 6 of them, an overwhelming 400 of them quoted mass arrest.

And perhaps, we don’t have much to lose. Let me correct myself then. How many of you in the government would want your grand children to be delivered by mediocre doctors? How many of you would want to come under the knives of surgeons who got through on reservation grounds. Terra Firma. How many of you would want your intestines and kidneys removed by well, at best, ordinary doctors?

We learn from history that we learn nothing from history. And if history repeats itself and yet what happens catches us off guard, how incapable are we of learning from our mistakes. Our best doctors- Naresh Trehan, Pratap Reddy- and the like are all great men not because they hail from a Tulu or an Iyer background, but inspite of it.

Even as I type this, a rather buoyant news reporter claims a probe has been ordered and I quote NDTV here. “The Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra has ordered a probe after police use batons to disperse anti-reservation activists.”

A Probe? Prime time televison disemminates live pictures of students being attacked, battered and bruised. And you order for a probe? You don’t trust your eyes! Ahh…fitting, aint it?. Or else I would have been forced to believe that human beings can commit such heinous,atrocious fallacies. Yet again, this is not an effort to stem the rot. This is a charade. A farce. A bloody travesty.

And Sir, if you still can’t hear us, let me assure you that the screech is going to get shriller. Today we ve got to the streets; Tomorrow we are going to be in the south and the north blocks. We will fight with every last inch of determination left in our souls, every last drop of blood left in our bodies.

Thanks to people like you, we have arisen from what is seemingly a long , long siesta. Thank You sir for leaving us with no choice but to take the future of this nation in our collective hands. It’s thanks to you that we are potentially at the cusp of what is seemingly an awakening of a generation. Indeed, thank you sir for making us realize our strength of character. Yea,finally, We ve stopped existing. We ve started living.


This sums up the mood really- ( quoted by a friend who was a part of the protests)
"chadha do gaddi....kya farak padta hai....seat to le hi lee hai....ab jaan bhi le lo.

Now you know why Rang de Basanti was as big a phenomenon as it turned out to be. You don’t play with our self respect Mr.Singh. I understand you successfully implemented a 49.5% reservation in Madhya Pradesh a couple of decades back. Lightning strikes just once. And yeah, what goes around comes around. Except that, its your turn to be hit by the collective thunder.

In conclusion, all I would state is, even after having said what I have, I would still want you to have a peaceful twilight of your life. So heed the call of a generation.A generation which will not let merit become a victim of whimsical eccentricity.A generation which will be celebrated for its resurgence and tenacity. A generation which will not take things lying down. A generation,clearly, whose time has come.

Else, kindly keep off from the morning walks. Like I said, Rang de Basanti is cult. And to us, defence minister ho, ya human resource, kuch farak nahi padta.

Amen.


Anon.

Gone are the days

Gone are the days...........
When the school reopened in June,
And we settled in our new desks and benches.
When we queued up in book depot,
And got our new books and notes.
When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays,
yet Managed to line up daily for the morning prayers.
We learnt writing with slates and pencils,
antiperspiranted To fountain pens and ball pens and then micro tips.
We began drawing with crayons
and evolved to Color pencils and finally sketch pens.
We started calculating first with tables
and then with Log tables and advanced to calculators and computers.
When we chased one another in the corridors inIntervals,
and returned to the classrooms drenched in sweat.
When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors,Playgrounds,
under the trees and even in cycle shed.
When all the colors in the world,
Decorated the campus on the Second Saturdays.
When a single P.T. period in the week's Time Table,
Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons.
When cricket was played with writing pads as bats,
And Neckties and socks rolled into balls.
When few played "kabadi" and "Kho-Kho" in scorching sun,
While others simply played "book cricket" in the confines of classroom.
Of fights but no conspiracies,
Of Competitions but seldom jealousy.
When we used to watch Live Cricket telecast,
In the opposite house in Intervals and Lunch breaks.
When few rushed at 1:45 to "Conquer" window seats in our School bus.
While few others had "Big Fun", "Chock-o-bar","kulfi ice" and "Pepsi"at2:00 Clock.
Gone are the days Of Sports Day,
and the annual School Day,
And the one-month long preparations for them.
Gone are the days Of the stressful Quarterly,Half Yearly and Annual Exams,
And the most enjoyed holidays after them.
Of tenth and twelfth standards,
when we Spent almost the whole yearwritingrevision tests.
We learnt, we enjoyed, we played, we won, we lost,
We laughed, we cried, we fought, we thought.
With so much fun in them, so many friends,
So much experience, all this and more.
Gone are the days when we used to talk for hours with our friends.
Now we don't have time to say a HI.
Gone are the days when we played games on the road.
Now we code on the road with laptops.
Gone are the days when we saw stars shining at night.
Now we see stars when our code doesn't work.
Gone are the days when we sat to chat with friends on grounds.
Now we chat in chat rooms.....
Gone are the days where we studied just to pass.
Now we study to save our job
Gone are the days where we had no money in our pockets and fun filled on our hearts
Now we have the ATM as well as credit card but with an empty heart
Gone are the days where we shouted on the road.
Now we don t shout even at home
Gone are the days where we got lectures from all.
Now we give lectures to all... like the one I'm doing now....
Gone are the days
But not the memories,
which will be Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever
and Ever and ever and Ever.....


NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE,
DON'T FORGET TO LIVE THE LIFE THAT STILL EXISTS.
IT WONT BE THERE FOR EVER



Anon.

Faith

Time is passing like Meteors in Sky,
I am eager for the final Time to pass by.
Will it bring me Glory,
Or Will it make me Sorry?

I rely you, for the Answer,
Will you fulfil my Great Desire?
Can you send me a notice ahead,
May be when I am sleeping in my bed.


Everything rests on you The Mightiest,
I reiterate my Faith a continue My Quest.

- by P2

Desires of the heart

5'6" jiski height ho,
Jeans jiski tight ho,
Chehara jiska bright ho,
Weight mein thodi light Ho,
Umar me difference slight ho,
Thodi see wo quiet ho,
Aise apni Wife ho...
Sadak per sab kahe kya cute ho,
Bhid me sab kahe side ho, side ho...
India ki paidaish ho,
Sas ki seva jiski khwahish ho
Aisi apni Wife ho...
Padosi jab baat kare to haath me knife ho,
Dinner candle light ho,
Dono me na kabhi fight ho,
Milne ke baad dil delight ho,
Hey prabhu teri archana uski life ho.
Yeh kavita padke sab kahe "Guru, tum right ho",
Aisi apni Wife ho...
Kaash yeh concept 0.0001 percent bhi right ho
Agar aisi apni wife hoto kya hasin life ho
Har kisi ki yahi farmaish ho
kudrat ki bhi aajmaish ho
Khudah ke software mein bhi bug ki na gunjaish ho
Ay kaash, kahin to ek aisi paidaish ho
aisi apni wife ho, aisi apni wife ho....

-Anon.

Farewell

The end is so near,

And deep down inside,

Are you sure you’re not afraid,

Of what may happen,

After the last good-byes.

Doesn’t your heart palpitate with emotion,

As you think of the loneliness that follows so close,

And soon you’ll be…

One of the crowds,

Doesn’t anxiety reach its peak,

Thinking about the future,

That may or May not be.

The finishing line draws near,

So let me cease to say Farewell,

Telling you that you’ll be remembered and loved,

For what you were, are and will be,

Wishing you the best,

In whatever you seek and venture,

And hoping,

That there will be no end to your success.

- Harbir Singh Rissam