November 10, 2006
Volume 3, Issue 4
Page 1 of 8 www.scholarsavenue.org
IIT Kharagpur
The Scholars’fortnightly Avenue yours, forthrightly yours. In Focus: Better Student Life Deputy Director meets the Hall Council Members The Scholars' Avenue gives you the lowdown on the steps taken to improve student life.
A meeting of all Hall Wardens and Hall Council Members was held on November 1st. It was chaired by the Deputy Director Prof. M. Chakravorty. Also present were the Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. H. R. Tewari and Chairman, HMC Prof. H. N. Mishra Several topics related to the quality of student life in the halls of residence were put up for discussion with students being allowed to freely voice their concerns. Prof. Chakravorty assured the students that the administration is looking forward to improve the quality of student life and there would be steady work in this direction. He further stated that these changes would take time and would require more co-operation from the student community. The Mess mess: Prof. Mishra while outlining the problems in the mess system, asked the students to be more vigilant in handling mess affairs. “You should ensure that the raw food material supplied to your hall is of good quality. Our food quality is bad since the raw material is bad.” He however maintained that the number of mess workers in each hall was sufficient and well trained and that students should shoulder the responsibility of making them work efficiently. Prof. Mishra announced that the long awaited new kitchen equipment would arrive and be installed in all the halls very soon. Revamping the halls: While the proposal for setting up Nescafe kiosks in all halls, initiated by Deepak Rathee,
(VP, TSG) has been accepted (we should expect this to materialize by the end of January next year), the installation of coolers and washing machines in all halls is still under debate. The authorities and students differ in
...setting up of Nescafe kiosks in all halls expected to materialize by the end of January next year their viewpoints in that the students want washing machines in every wing/floor which would be operated by students themselves whereas the authorities are looking to install all machines allotted to a hall in one location and introduce the 'coin/token system'. Insecure about Security? Security was another issue to be discussed in the meeting. The authorities declared that there would be strict enforcement of the ban on bikes inside the campus and steps would be
taken to restrict students from going out of the campus at odd hours. The issue of accommodation was also discussed keeping the rise in number of seats in mind, but there did not seem to be any solution to this problem rather than bearing with it till there is enough space for everyone. Question Hour: Several interesting questions were raised by the students during the meeting. One of them pointed out that there was no safety equipment in the halls of residence – not even a fire extinguisher. Others pointed out discrepancies in the mess system of different halls, stressing upon the fact that a mess card system (similar to that in RP Hall) would be fair to both students as well as authorities. Also, students demanded complete information on how the money we pay to the institute is actually spent. All halls had also prepared a combined list of problems faced in the halls and submitted it to Prof Mishra, who assured them that the HMC would be looking into the problems one by one. It was suggested by the authorities that the students needed to be more proactive and to this end, it was decided that a task force would be formed in each hall which would supervise the maintenance and revamping of the halls. The result of the meeting therefore was to put more responsibility on the students. We just hope that the decisions reached upon in this meeting actually translate into action. We would urge the students not to be appeased by the meeting alone, rather to ensure that the authorities stick to their word and help us in addressing these issues at the earliest.
Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera... Technology Travels to Villages Rickety rickshaws, mud-plaster hamlets, cloth less urchins with swollen stomachs and wicket legs – Swim past all of these and you don't have a clue somewhere very close lies India's first temple for modern education. All of a sudden a giant light tower beams at you from above the treetops and you know you're headed for the right place. Economies today are very complex, but it still escapes simple logic how the institution that is responsible for the technological development of the entire nation, something it has done with great success, could achieve so little in its immediate vicinity. It's not that
the institute has not taken steps to disseminate its huge cache of technological knowledge for the betterment of life in rural India. Tangible steps have been taken, the first among them being the setting up of the Rural Development Centre (RDC) in 1975. Among the more recent proposals is Prof. G S Sanyal's "Technology Travels to Villages" initiative. Prof. Sanyal is also actively involved with the Red Cross Society, an arm of the Rural Development Centre (RDC) here at IIT Kharagpur. Also at the helm of this venture is Prof. Mahapatra of the RDC and his wife. Mirajur Rahman, the PG student
representative, Social & Cultural, TSG, spoke to Scholar's Avenue about how students, apart from the faculty, have also been involved in working for people around the campus. He said that there had been collaborations with the RPF on working to this end, and students from various halls, especially Azad and Nehru had been active volunteers in the work.Students from Vidyasagar (VS) Hall had contributed around 4500 rupees and 50-60 beds. VS Hall also organized a drawing competition for school going children in and around the campus, presided over by the (...continued on page 3)
Page 2 Editor’s Choice
Page 5 Here & There
Page 7 Bhaat Avenue
Yehi hai right choice baby!
The Gymkhana Roundups
Your regular dose of Masala Mix
Page 4 The SA & SF ‘07 Survey
Page 6 Civil Services
Page 8 And there is a lot more happening around you...
INSIDE
Largest ever survey of its kind!
The Myths and Realities
Page 2 of 8
November 10, 2006
The Scholars’ Avenue Editors’ Avenue
Towards a more ‘Illu’minated future Aravind RS on the great Illu debate Few things have divided Kgpians as deeply as what we can only call the Great Illu Debate. The positions are entrenched, and each year we hear the same old arguments, rephrased in countless ways, and we make no progress towards reconciling the very real issues that both sides raise.
have a stake in illumination being held. They should acknowledge this stake by contributing a significant part of each hall's budget for illumination. This could ideally be a constant amount for all the halls, made available on the condition that a hall must create an adequate illumination.
On one side are those who can still see what illu is really meant to be – a celebration of our spirit, an intense, passionate display of how a hall can transform three hundred strangers into one tightly knit family. he twenty or so minutes when you are hastily lighting diyas, perched on five layers of wobbly tables, oblivious to the danger, the heat and smoke in your face, the oil and wax dripping on your hands, and when you finally step back and take in the spectacular results of your labor – these are amongst the most cherished memories you will take away from Kharagpur. If we, as students of this institute, were to lose illu, we would have lost a part of our very identity.
“All this for a spectacle that lasts about fifteen minutes.” On the other side are those that remind us of the costs. There is the huge financial cost - we estimate that all the participating halls together spend 6 -7 lakhs each illu. Then there are the months of unimaginably hard work and sleepless nights that precede the illu, culminating in the almost certain third semester CGPA drop, not to mention the lost diwali on account of the skipped meals, dirty clothes, blackened, oily faces, and extremely dirty rooms. And instead of a day of universal celebration, it ends as a day of mourning for most – there is, after all, only one winner. All this for a spectacle that lasts about fifteen minutes. Those that call for change have a point too, don't they? Despite the strong views, an attempt must be made to reconcile the two positions – to mitigate the costs as far as possible while retaining all that is great about illu. Here are a few suggestions in this direction: Finances The institute authorities have shown that they
"special guests". Others aren't allowed in until half the diyas have gone out, and even then students of other halls are either too busy or too tired to make it. The most unfair part is that those students, whose labor created everything, have to hide themselves when normal decency would demand that that they should be centre stage, basking in their achievement – no matter how filthy they are. Current rules, which place imprudently large emphasis on guest reception and presentation, should be changed to set this right. Judging should be on the basis of artistic merit of the chatais and the message it carries – and not on presentation gimmicks or the artificial tranquility created by suppressing a couple of hundred joyous souls.
Reverse Technology Winning Illu Display of RP Hall
Scheduling The day of diwali has special significance for almost everyone – it may make sense for spectators to have illumination on the day of diwali, but the fiercely competitive nature of illu (would you toil for six weeks and not want to win?) and the fact that it must be held in the night, result in a lost diwali for most students. To avoid this, illumination and rangoli could be held the night before diwali, with a non-competitive fireworks event on diwali night. This would go a long way towards cheering up those in halls that didn't win.
Judging The current system of judging is very opaque as was demonstrated last year when the judges refused to present break-ups of the points they allotted to halls. A solution to this would be to greatly increase the number of judges, by recruiting all adults among the institute's "special guests" to judge. They could be ferried from hall to hall in buses, and those who visited all the halls can be invited to vote independently for the first, second and third halls of their choice. A public tally of votes could decide the winners.
Security The few precious minutes when all the diyas are burning are hogged by senior professors and their families – judges and the institute's
Although judges have to be allowed to enter the hall first, other visitors should be allowed to enter immediately afterwards, albeit in small batches to prevent overcrowding. It would be prudent to enforce a queue of the visitors as soon as people start gathering. Of course, these are just ideas, which may or may not be feasible or desirable. An intelligent discussion of this issue is, however, essential – one that explores new avenues in the quest for a better illu, and hopefully avoids hot tempers and empty slogans. We hope that these small ideas will serve to spark off such a debate.
“...what illu is really meant to be – an intense, passionate display of three hundred strangers in one tightly knit family.” To discuss this or any other issue concerning Kgpians, head to our website: www.scholarsavenue.org. We hope you have had a joyous diwali. The illumination and rangoli displays that halls put up never fail to amaze – and this year was no different. Kudos to all the people who put in the incredibly hard working that made it possible. Especially the second years – you have shown how resilient Kgp's culture is – this issue is dedicated to you guys.
The Scholars’ Avenue team. We had the pleasure of welcoming six very talented individuals to our team this week.
Executive Editors Chintan Thakkar Nitin Basant Sunny Somani Swati
Editors
Assistant Editors Reporters
Junior Repoters
Aneesh Jain Aravind R. S. Riti Mohapatra Rohit Shankar Saahil Bhanot Samya Mandal Shishir Dash Umang Jain
Aditya Marathe Anuj Dayal Arish Inam Sheekha Verma Sreeja Nag Suvrat Bafna
AVN Murthy Bharath Bhat Mayank Kedia Pallavi Jayannavar Siddharth Singh Suyash Bire
Anup Bishnoi Deepak Cherian J. S. Deepthi Mithun Madhusudan Pranesh Kumar Srinath Sinha Vinayak Pathak
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November 10, 2006
The Scholars’ Avenue
Page 3 of 8
Features Avenue
Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera A Social Initiative ... continued from page 1. emphasized that such procedures are of then Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. more than just therapeutic value for V.R.Kalvey. students and can be thought of as learning principles of management onSuch good intentions and hard work, on the-ground. Business schools worldwide the part of both the faculty and the reiterate this view, and show marked students, can bear better fruit if preferences for candidates with histories coordinated well. Something similar of associations with social organizations motivated Ankit Gandhi, a fourth and experience in field work. The FMCG year student of LLR hall, to start looking biggies, P&G, HLL and ITC have a clear for avenues through which he could bias for such candidates. These contribute to this larger effort. It wasn't long before the Scholars' Av e n u e t e a m heard and realized that this could be turned into a much w i d e r a n d encompassing program. Ankit and a Scholars' A v e n u e representative met up with Prof. P K Bhowmick and Prof. Mahapatra of the RDC to give shape to the venture. An imminent problem Prof. Bhowmick corporate giants have started taking stressed on was that any such proposal or tentative steps in the field of those already in practice would require shareholder philanthropy. While HLL has appreciable funds. A sketchy plan is now its flagship Project Shakti, ITC has the beginning to come into being. Forms for 'triple bottom line' along with the econtributions to the Red Cross fund chaupal initiative they launched a few months ago find the passion of your life in the work and end up working for Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation or may be even the UN. The reason schools and employers prefer socially inclined applicants is explained by Kaushik Malpani (5th yr, RK, Ex-HP), who did his 2nd and 3rd year summer internships with ITC. During the course of his training, he traveled southern India would be available with each hall extensively, through 73 villages and met president. It was agreed upon that the almost 200 farmers. Once one goes to a activities of students would soon be more farm, he says, one finds out what the involved and not just limited to monetary actual problems in farming are and the assistance. Prof. Mahapatra suggested experience stays with oneself for a involving second year students of the NSS lifetime Red Cross course in the program to Similar sentiments are shared by a lot of encourage initial impetus and also other people, people like Saket Kumar, ensure student input in the two health Ex- Vice President Gymkhana and Satwik camps the society plans to be organized Sarwade, who worked with RDC on a lot somewhere around mid January next of their initiatives and is now in the year. The details are yet to be worked process of setting up the Techspan KPO out. India office.
Business schools worldwide reiterate this view, and show marked preferences for candidates with histories of associations with social organizations and experience in field work.
An interesting perspective that emerges from the discourse is the clash of altruistic endeavors and the related personal benefits. Though we do not delve into them here, leaving the analysis for the more philosophically inclined amongst us, it is clear that working for a social cause, under constant constraints of resources and manpower does actually translate into better interpersonal skills and management abilities. Prof. Bhowmick
Working the grime seems to be helping people get jobs, set up entrepreneurships and, as in the case of the legendary Opal Mehta, get into their dream schools. If multitasking and globalization were the keywords of the last decade, then socially responsible corporate behaviour seems to the management mantra of this century. Humanity, after all, will never go out of fashion.
Prof. Sanyal needs no introduction in IIT Kharagpur. 85 years of age and still going strong, Prof. Sanyal has, in recent years, shifted his focus to active social service. He modestly calls himself 'just a medium of communication between IIT and its residents', but the zest and vigour that he shows towards lending more than just a helping hand to the rural pockets in and around Kharagpur could put Gen X to shame. The latest agenda on his diary is a series of lectures around all the halls in campus to spread the word. Scholars' Avenue met up with the grand old man in person after one of his talks, and he was overwhelmed to convey his ideas in print. “When the IITs were formed post-independence, among the series of activities that we introduced lest all work and no play made Jack a dull boy, one was the TSG and the other was NSS, then termed as the National Service Scheme. In those times, we had a host of renowned universities in India, but none wanted to delve into social work. Social service at our institute started in 1956 on with a high note, but as time went by, interest from both the authorities and the students slackened and the Emergency did not help either as it saw efforts grind to a halt. In 2002, when Prof. S. K. Dubey joined us as Director, he reiterated the importance and proposed a mission, on similar lines to the ones at Stanford and Harvard. “In what better way could we have started the mission than in our own backyard? In the 10 km radius around Kharagpur, we have scores of villages in which the economic setting of the residents is shocking, given their proximity to the technology giant that goes by the name of IIT. To begin, the students of the Civil Engineering department took up the initiative and constructed a 1 km long
? Scores of villages around the campus in
which the economic setting of the residents is shocking ? Students of Civil dept constructed a 1 km long stretch of road at a village ? On the western side of the campus, we have been providing medical service through the Indian Red Cross Society ? We need both Manpower & Money. stretch of road at a village 7 kms from the southern boundary of IIT a few years ago at a cost of 12 lakh. One might say that building roads is a job that the Government should be responsible for, but then how long can one wait for the state to respond, especially with wanting cases of threadbare infrastructure? Among the top priorities has been providing potable water to the residents and we have also lent them blankets during the winter and funded 27 cataract operations till date. “On the western side of the campus, we have been providing medical service through the Indian Red Cross Society and arranging for free consultancy by doctors. It has been a prerogative to train villagers about general health awareness and first aid. We also plan to adopt entire villages, found primary schools and organize free ambulance service. Micro-capital generation has been successful, through which 17 residents of Kgp were provided with auto-rickshaws. The hitherto struggling food and chai-stall owners at Prembazar have been the biggest gainers of this scheme. They have not only been repaying the sums in full, but have also tripled their profits to ensure a smooth sailing for their respective families on the food and education fronts. “We need both Manpower & Money. Our appeals for funding have gone down well with the alumni, who have not hesitated with their donations. The students, on their part, could start by contributing as little as Rs 15 a month to the IRSC. It should be kept in mind that the entire concept is purely voluntary and least of all, the students, would never be forced with any help. The young generation is the most creative with their ideas and innovations on this front and efforts on their part would definitely not go unnoticed. If 400 students come forward and help us with our plan to reach out to 400 odd villagers this year, I would believe that I have done my part. I accept that the road is long and the end is nowhere near, but we can always take small steps at a time”.
Page 4 of 8
November 10, 2006
The Scholars’ Avenue Features Avenue
The True Spirit of Youth The Scholars’ Avenue-Spring Fest Survey With SpringFest fast approaching, the Scholars' Avenue & SF teams joined hands and conducted a survey to gauge the true spirit of youth. More than 1500 students from various halls of residence were polled. Here's what they had to say. Although there was large variation in opinion, it is safe to conclude that the number of people who like SF far exceeds the number that don't. When asked if a Kgpian’s life is incomplete without SF, seventy percent concurred. There were some who chose not to reply, while some others claimed they didn’t really know. One went out of his way to ask, "life?" The question "How many girls have you PATAOED" during SF?" received several interesting answers. Those who answered, generally marked ‘none’. There were many who chose instead to make interesting comments (including ‘tried with one’) on the sheet. One student was overtly exasperated with the question and replied, "The most
pathetic question ever... Please grow up for The difference of opinion between seniors and heaven's sake!". first years is also noteworthy. Among the freshers, 492 wanted to be a part of the SF Results show that around half the number of family with only 92 choosing otherwise. This voters (among seniors) have never was in stark contrast to the seniors’ opinion participated in an SF event. Taking this into 339 for, and 457 against being a part of the SF account and looking at the large number of family. Of course it is harder to remain people who could not or did not "PATAO" any completely neutral as a senior. girl, it definitely leaves the question of why seventy percent believe that Kgp life is Also, when asked about their expectations for incomplete without SF, unanswered. This SF '07, 50% felt ‘good’, 32 ‘average’ and 18 suggests that there is much more to SF than ‘poor’, whereas among the freshers, the just the good looking crowd and competitions. corresponding figures were 86%, 8%, and 6%. This is probably where star nights and similar The ‘first time’ charm is probably a big factor attractions come into play. accounting for the above incongruence. No
Another interesting trend that has emerged is that most people believe today's youth icons are CEOs, as opposed to page 3 personalities, politicians and sportsmen. There was a person though, who felt very strongly that Brad Pitt is smarter than a CEO, and another less modest person who believed himself to be a youth icon.
Do you think a Kgpians life is incomplete without SF? Have you ever done ‘word of mouth’ publicity of SF
The Scholars’ Avenue Team would like to thank everyone for taking time out and answering the questions. We wish the SF Team the very best of luck, and hope the feedback helps them in their endeavors. Please send in your views & opinions to editor@scholarsavenue.org.
Yes
No
Yes
No
amongst friends? How many girls did you ‘patao’-ed during SF 2006?
None
Was ‘Hasya Kavi Sammelan’ good enough to give Fashion Show a miss?
Yes
In how many events did you participate in SF 2006?
One
More
No
None
One
Two
More
Politician
Youth Icon of today? Page 3 personality Which event do you participate in SF? Would you like to be a part of SF family? What are your expectations with Sf2007?
Sports star
Inquizitive
Finer Arts Witcraft
Yes
No
Good
Average
Fun
Rocknites Workshops
Yes
No
Politician Page 3 Personality
Sports star
Would you like to be a part of SF family?
Yes
What are your expectations with Sf2007?
Good
CEO
No
Average Poor
Lit n Quizzes Fun
Cartoon Avenue
Rocknites
Facchas speak
Do you think a Kgpians life is incomplete without SF?
Yeh Dil Maange MORE...
Poor
Lit n Quizzes
Yeh Dil Maange MORE...
Youth Icon of today?
CEO
Symphony
November 10, 2006
Page 5 of 8
The Scholars’ Avenue News Avenue
Dancing away to Glory
Championship
Vortex 2006
the name is General Championship
Freshers had a ball of a time on Nov. 3rd with LLR Hall of Residence organizing the annual inter hall dance competition Vortex in Netaji Auditorium. The turnout was exemplary both with respect to participation and audience with Netaji being packed to the hilt. As the event progressed it turned into one big dance floor. The spirited participation, with four teams representing MMM and one each from LLR, AZ, NH, SN, VS and MS would have surely assured the organizers that their efforts would not go in vain.
… but going by the turbulent start, it could be rechristened General Chaos-ship. In the Inter-Hall English Elocution, Anant Singh, NH, who shared the individual gold with Patel’s Sandipan Chowdhury, was later disqualified on account of not being registered in this semester. In the Inter-Hall Bengali Elocution, Nikhil Agarwal, TSG Literary Secretary forgot to press the buzzer as one of the participants crossed the stipulated time. However, the judges' discretion was given the thumbs-up and they ruled against the participant. Inter-Hall Dumb Charades: As if the 'chaoses' thus far were not enough, the judges changed rules and introduced power-play which meant swapping of a guesser and the actor in one of the rounds and proved to be the undoing of quite a few halls. There were major chaoses with regard to the choice of quizmaster in the Inter-Hall Quiz and the judge in Inter Hall Eastern Vocals. However, both events proceeded without any problems.
V.S Hall Of Residence took everyone by surprise with their exquisite fusion of Eastern and Western styles that bagged them the first position. In second place was the MMM Hall team of Dipesh and c o m p a n y w h o w a r m e d everyone's hearts with their amazing display of dancing prowess. MS Hall was particularly successful with their team bagging the third position and their star performer, Gaurav Dwivedi, winning the 'Best Fresher Dancer' award for his jaw dropping performance on the hit number "Khaike Paan Banaras wala". The 'Best Solo Performer' prize Final Results: Inter-Hall English Elocution: was awarded to Dhawal Nanda of MMM Hall and the 'Best Solo Dance' Inter-Hall Bengali Elocution: award went to Amit Maheshwari of JCB. Gagandeep Singh Gujral of Inter-Hall Dumb Charades: MMM Hall had everybody in splits with his stellar display of slapstick Hindi Elocution: comedy that quite easily won him the 'Best Filler' award. Eastern Vocals: The batch of 2001 residents (now alumni) of the BaGaWat (B Ground Hindi Creative Writing: West) wing in LLR, thanks to their generous donation was the main Sketching: sponsor for the event. All in all, one can scarcely see next year's Cartooning: edition eclipsing this one. Hats off to LLR for organizing such a fine Quiz: event. Eastern Instrumentals:
1st RK, 2nd PH, 3rd AZ 1st NH, 2nd RK, 3rd AZ 1st NH, 2nd RK, 3rd RP 1st RK, 2nd AZ and SN 1st RK, 2nd NH, 3rd SN 1st LLR, 2nd MMM, 3rd NH 1st PH, 2nd AZ, 3rd SN 1st SN, 2nd AZ, 3rd LLR 1st AZ, 2nd RK, 3rd LLR 1st LLR, 2nd RK, 3rd RP
Results of Bengali and English Creative Writing are awaited while a host of other soc-n-cult events are lined up in the next semester. Watch this space for more …
We love Rock n Roll The annual WTMS production takes KGP by storm. Come 31st October and an air of expectation lingered about the campus. The highly anticipated WTMS Production was at last all set to roll. KC's excellent rendition of Judas Priest's classic 'Electric Eye' set the pace for the evening. Highly acrobatic performances by Kumaresh during the Aerosmith and Bon Jovi songs had the crowd swooning, though his voice did get a bit raspy at times. Debutant vocalist Deepthi's performance in the Avril Lavigne number received warm applause.
The Design for Victory Nehru wins Pi takes the lead in Tech G.C.
The Lacuna Coil song saw the lead female vocalist, first year Neharika, get her mike cut off, taking more or less the entire song down with it. Not a very pleasant debut to have, but she handled the situation with aplomb. Kanwa was the undisputed star of the show. His solos in 'No More Lies', 'Judgement Day', and 'Fade to Black' had the head-banging crowd screaming for more. Veteran g u i t a r i s t D e v, reaffirmed his position of being the fastest guitarist around with an amazing performance on t h e S a t c h masterpiece 'War'. The v o c a l i s t s a s t o u n d e d e v e r y b o d y present with a m a z i n g performances by Kaushik in 'Rock and Roll', Vinod in 'No More Lies' and 'The Trooper' and Ay a n i n ' H i g h Hopes' and 'Fade to Black'. KC showed his penchant for the higher octaves with incredible vocal performances in 'Queen of the Reich', Van Halen's 'Panama' and 'Electric Eye'.
The product design competition is unique in a sense that it is the only event that is transmitted live across KGP. This year it was held on the 5th of November and the results were a repeat of the 2004 fixture. Nehru bagged the gold and for the third time in a row RP and Patel finished second and third respectively. Nehru's product was “Unicon”, a product that facilitates the universal convergence of various wireless protocols. While RP presented "Hermes" the integrated road construction equipment which they claimed will reduce the cost of road construction drastically, Patel came up with BM-10:30X a va ri a b l e foc a l l e n g th op ti c a l a i d u sa b l e i n a d u a l (Binocular/Microscope) mode. All the teams faced some really incisive questions from the panel of judges. Doubts were raised about the originality of several products Among the few misses were the Ozzy Osbourne, Angra and the Dream and it did add some spice to the event. A unique formula was used to Theater songs which weren't exactly a hit with the spectators. However, normalize the points. Marks given by the judge to the teams was in 'le grande finale' of the evening, Pink Floyd's 'High Hopes', Apro left divided by the median of the all the marks that the particular judge everyone speechless with his utter defiance of the limits presented by had awarded. Apart from some controversy about RK not submitting a the fretboard on his guitar. And as the division bell faded away, the copy of the presentation on time, the event went through without any spectators reluctantly poured out of Netaji, nursing their protesting hiccups. After the event Nehru leads the G.C. with 100 points necks Visit www.scholarsavenue.org toand make your harboring thevoice highestheard. hopes for the turbulent days ahead. followed by RP on 97.5 and RK on 75.
It is that Rekindling time of the the year eternal again... debate
Rekindling the eternal debate
Page 6 of 8
November 10, 2006
The Scholars’ Avenue Features Avenue
Civil Services Myths and Realities. After a long time interval I met my dear friend and my first year wing-mate Sunny who was looking flummoxed by the proceedings of F 127. As asked by him to unravel the mysteries of Civil Services I am writing this article for Scholars Avenue. The article is more oriented towards ideological aspect of this profession than information about examination process. While talking to many people in our prestigious institute, I have deduced that the profession of civil service is often misconstrued as an alternative of inept species, the people for whom GRE and CAT are not made, who are having no attributes in them which can fetch them package of any Schlumberger and so they have no other option left than to rely on India Incorporation for raking on moolah with greasing their palms. Civil Services are enshrouded with myths of stagnancy, sense of undue complacency, interference of blockhead politicians etc. This biased view of people about civil services are due to their self framed obsessions and hearsay information. Generally nature of this profession propagates functional image of civil servant in the system. An image of a person who is complacent with his place in hierarchy is guided by some upper force. But this vox populi reveals that ulterior motives of aspirants are very different. Vivek and Dilip
who are final year students of Maths & Computing and Biotechnology respectively envision civil services as an option for trying their luck in this political mess of India while Rituraj sees it as a rostrum from where he can put forth his ethical socialism ideas with full vigour and large mass appeal. Rajat who has an under ten rank in the institute and recently underwent training in a prestigious UK company was disillusioned with his nature of job there without innovation and challenges. According to him if diagnosing an error of semicolon at line no. 234 of thousand line code is job of a top company then I would prefer to become apostate and embrace India Incorporation whose jobs are much more challenging and diversified than any other MNC. Satish who opted electrical engineering after JEE felt after sometime that with each insertion of wires and chips in breadboard he is burying his freedom of thought and will in this deterministic graveyard and he found CSE as a job which is much better than observing waveforms. I think the job of civil services is somewhat like management in undefined systems instead of job in companies where you are a part of hierarchy or you are a manager with well defined ranges and spans. Management in undefined systems helps in evolution of theories that are applied in well defined systems. It is evident that CSE qualifiers are holding some of the coveted posts throughout the country. Apart from having posts of Collectors and District Heads, which is a job requiring tremendous management skill and
diplomacy, a person may acquire the post of Ambassador, Diplomat, Secretary or Advisor to the Prime Minister and/or Cabinet Ministers. A person can himself become Cabinet minister with prestigious membership of the Parliament. These are the forces who work behind the scenes, form policies, 5 year plans, Industrial Policy, International relations, Oil Import etc. They can decide whether Schlumberger should be allowed to do business in India or not. Needless to say, the perks of the job are tremendous - in terms of housing, servants and allowances. Corruption does exist, but so do clean bureaucrats. So far as examination part is concerned the test is rigorous and hard nut to crack in real sense. With two optionals and three phases of examinations, it is also a test of perseverance and patience besides dedication. Phenomenal growth of knowledge, unprecedented levels of value addition and holistic viewpoints are gifts of this exercise. The prerequisite is that you should develop a different view about global and local happenings. So the preparation for CSE is an academic activity with fare share of extra academics in it. I think that my elucidation will surely help in developing different opinion about civil services. -This article has been contributed by Krishna Bajpai, 5th year student, Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Check up!! Towards better health care specialists – a cardiologist, an eye specialist, an orthopaedician, a dentist and a radiologist – who come twice a week.
Health care has always been a cause of concern on our campus. The condition of our BC Roy Technology Hospital is being closely monitored by us and we bring you the latest news on this front. · The Hospital Review Committee has, in its last two meetings, discussed the various aspects of the hospital that need improvement and work has already begun in that direction. Renovation of the hospital building is in the offing with special emphasis on sanitation. · A new super specialized hospital is going to come up soon which shall be manned by the students of SMST. · BC Roy Hospital now has Ultrasonography facility. · The hospital now counts a pediatrician and a psychiatrist among its visiting staff. There is news of recruiting a trauma specialist who would help students here with accident recovery. The hospital has, besides the regular doctors, the following visiting
Students have usually expressed concern regarding cases of w r o n g diagnoses in B C R o y Hospital. Dr. Seema Roy, Head of the Hospital, urged the students to co-operate with the doctors. Says Dr. Roy, “Sometimes, diseases share similar symptoms.” When questioned about the quality of healthcare in the hospital, she replied “We know our limitations. We shall not keep cases which we cannot handle. Student life is extremely precious.” Another important point to keep in mind is the use of the medical books issued to the students. “It is essential to keep them
carefully with proper photograph and the warden's signature as the documentation in the medical book would be required for any insurance related transaction. We are going to be very strict with this”, says Dr. Roy. And for those of you w ho have © Pediatrician, lost theirs, Psychiatrist added to you can visiting staff easily pick © Now has up a new Ultrasonography facility copy from the HMC © New super-speciality office. hospital going to come up Keeping in soon manned by SMST mind the students h u g e number of d e n g u e cases in West Bengal, we would request you to keep mosquitoes away. So far, no one has tested positive for dengue on campus. But the medical facility here is unprepared for such a situation and any case of dengue would have to be referred to Kolkata. We shall keep you updated with more information on healthcare. Stay healthy, stay aware.
November 10, 2006
BHAAT AVENUE
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Fine print: Although every effort has been made to be politically and factually incorrect, Team Bhaat makes no claim thereof and cannot be held liable for any loss or injury caused by taking us too seriously.
SKHOOL OF ROCK (Almost a Major Motion Picture) Are you one of those people who always shuffle around uncomfortably in your seat at a rock concert? Bhaat Ave shows you how to fit in. (?) Step 1. Hair is everything. Grow your hair. Step 2. The fingers. Practise extending your pinky and index fingers in a manner non-reminiscent of Rajnikanth.
Q: Hi. I'm a CAT aspirant. In the mock CATs I'm doing great in Verbal, and pretty well in DI - but the highest I've ever scored in quant was when I accidentally smudged that part of the sheet with my HB pencil. What should I do? A: Hi. Join the club. Our next meeting is at Harry's on Friday (17th) - we're making movie plans for the next Sunday morning. See you there!
Step 3. General Knowledge: Very important. Q: Dear Bhaat. After a long sabbatical, I have There's nothing more exciting for 'metalheads' than decided to go to my department again but I bouncing names of metal bands amongst have suddenly found myself having to hide themselves. When in doubt or at a loss from three different professors, because I for a name in such a conversation, pick can't quite figure out which one of them at least 2 words out of the following s eu is my BTech project guide. I'm sure you list: Linna Corpse(s), Moronic, Korkon, Marauding, Absolution, Cheddis, Glorketh, Balderdash, etc. It generally helps to know a few Scandinavian words as well. Oh... and do not forget to generously flash the two finger sign.
Gone Bad
guys have come across similar stories, so could you tell me how I can figure out who my guide is?*
A: Dear dude, there are many behavioral traits that set aside project guides from other department professors, but the most reliable for the task at hand would be the trans-portal sub-expectancy factor. Simply put, the professor who is least likely to expect you to knock on his door is certain to be your project guide. Based on this information, you can design a simple experiment comprising knocking-and-entering followed by careful measurements of looks-of-surprise, from which you can easily work out who your project guide is. Good luck! S e n d y o u r q u e s t i o n s bhaat@scholarsavenue.org
t o
*Last week’s winner : Vishesh Karwa
om : At Bhaat, we know you need to spend your last few precious pre-CAT days in diligent kingd i fung preparation, like you're doing now. we have always endeavored to make this column m u i g conta ctious) more practically useful to the intellectually inclined, and Step 4. Very essential metalhead gear: infe ighly in this issue we believe that the best way to do this would be through a practice h ( s u f a. Proverbial Black T-Shirt with name and or m: m n Mock CAT question (free of charge) for our loyal readers. Best of motif of any band, preferably using Step phylu cta (pain i ro p luck. o ) t d 3. n n e ehi the b e pe r e l s ( - The Bhaat Desk. b. Cigarette lighter to wave around, and ulum cubic ss) for any other use you may come up with. class: cla Which word best describes the tone of the passage 'The Lonely Cow' below? itio Mobile phones, though an effective s infin finita efina alternative, are highly 'uncool'. n i : r a) dysphemistic b) discombobulated c) puerile d) mawkish orde ly: nona d ittle c. Spike bands, gym gloves, and a fami dio (l i r i v Send your answers to bhaat@scholarsavenue.org. Marking outside the puto carefully cultivated thatch of hair s: lili green) u n bubbles is strongly encouraged. One lucky person will win a Parker! e g & beneath the lip. Having followed the ordia : bast y it ???) s e i steps so far, you should be looking like a c spe e sa e ed w 'metalhead' or something remotely close. ell...n w ( You're all set!!! You may also want to head banging: a. Up-and-Down: Simplest of all. n o n c h a l a n t l y m a k e Shake your head violently up and down in a frenzy. Step 5. On your way to, and during the statements like: "Well I hear that John concert, stick your tongue out and make the b. Circular/Helicopter: Rotate your head clockwise Fretucci used an XZY-7Q model procesor at mark two finger sign of Step 2 all the way, preferably or counter-clockwise, fast. Reverse direction 15:10 minute for a solo in the Phrygian scale in a 22/7 time aimed at other 'metalheads' , so as not to be frequently to prevent your head from spinning.
confused with a rabid dog.
Step 6. The concept of the air-guitar. An air guitar is the guitar you 'play' during the concert along with the band. Don't worry about losing it; you can always conjure one out of thin air! This can be extended to all instruments on stage.
that only two other people in this universe know how to play".
Step 7. The 'Elegant' Art of Head Banging. Head Banging (when not done against a wall) is a highly safe and satisfying way of enjoying yourself. There are 3 primary styles of
c. Drunk: This comes automatically when in the mentioned state. But, if not quite inebriated, we suggest you follow a fly around the place. All the Best!
t season of an this placemen .In the middle ch a good idea su be t no blunted horns ht ound ig d, ar e m l t ts Al in en h. pa g u em No . aims to life tho ademic achiev ound its neck cl ac ar ll no ur ttle, e be yo ca d o t a g n m , in ou in az ed one it was domesticat talking only ab served for gr This oval, the . It seemed un Da Ali on why the motion re w it. n e i co e a sid s ic e a b tw w ee or ay tr e ar highw ing onc shadeless of this particul n, its head dipp t one. A lifeless, Along the side llow midday su hing he had fel lds it was all al ha s fie e g th in h en at rip ne n years of teac e n, to e b s ee e te le gr er six zz s th of pu d hi e r ns oo an fo expa . It still st complex hum his class how barren ground d. il lu si on s ofessor telling cted a few of those random di pr a Of the tree was y. a ha or had expe caped mem . It was not no fodder to be fascin hich barely es than most, he or internships but there was in the week w ormous uss projects atical subject sc er en i em di rl th h i t ea w at no t d m e d en e n at id a or en this inc up to him his being tre Teaching a m There had be ents to come ant babble of his students. . w of his stud with every inf dead wall for fe ld have been hard a a t or s ut w u ed b s i m s ct a th ed w pe to ch ex he t reason atta ass. He had ife. Coming in l cl an p u is fic h n ngs they had ni w to so ro sig in g a to s p cree id had to have knew, listening but one with hi sa e b, ne h jo g yo s in er hi th ev ry om gs ment fr here eve king thin nsformation w together thin ation, the tra all of men huddled ps ou gr e er w rove that not or was there to p outcome of. , in the corrid it p e i k th tr in h e w t e I th . r kn ny te f ey pa A s th or food or com playing game tree for shade heard before, the e sid e b as w e cow I don't think th ng. to have meani actions need
w The lonely Co
All the best for the CAT!
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November 10, 2006
The Scholars’ Avenue News Avenue
Kshitij... Beyond Kgp
E-Summit
Stocks, shares and robots come together to enthrall Kolkatans
KGP's first Entrepreneur Summit
Never before had the bulls and bears shared the stage with so many manual and autonomous robots. Two diverse fields were brought together when the students of IIT Kharagpur presented before a crowded auditorium at G D Birla Sabhagar, a workshop on Robotics and Stock Markets on the afternoon of October 29.
explained the fundamentals of stocks and of investing in them. The workshop aimed at introducing the students to the various aspects of stock trading and the steps they must take to ensure a risk free, high return investment, thus dispelling the popular notion of stocks being a gamble. Wannabe Warren Buffets had a lot to gain and the stint also publicized the plethora of Students from schools and colleges in Kolkata Management events at Kshitij 2007. turned out in large numbers and the auditorium was packed to capacity. The audience was left spellbound with the videos of several prize winning robots, both mechanical and autonomous, at the ROBOTIX event over the years. The participants were also taught how to make an elementary robot with readily available B-Plan: The Business Plan Event is back, and it's back materials. The demonstration of some of the bigger than before. Stake your claim to the whopping robots made by the students of IIT-Kharagpur Rs. 12.3 lakhs was probably the high point at the event. The Deadline: 15th November, 2006 session ended with an interactive session with Marca de Fabrica: The Advertisement Campaign the audience voicing their queries. Abhishek with a flavor of patriotism. The prize: Rs. 16,000 Sasmal and Aamir Ahmad, heads of the ROBOTIX Deadline: 15 November, 2006 event at Kshitij, could not contain their satisfaction as they rounded off by saying, Eureka: The Technical Paper Presentation “Robot making is based on a few fundamental competition has in store Rs. 18,000 cash. principles. We're here to show that building a Deadline - 15 November,2006 robot is no rocket-science – everyone can do it!” Open Soft: New addition to Kshitij. At stake is Rs. 30,000, & get your code published in one of the
There was also a presentation on stocks and country's most read Tech magazines. stock markets. Nishant Sah, a stock market Deadline: 20th December, 2006 enthusiast and a student of IIT Kharagpur,
Communique IIT KGP has a fertile soil for societies, and of numerous varieties! Communique, working under the HSS Department, has been making its presence felt lately. The 13th and 14th of October, saw an enthusiastic participation in mock G.D. sessions organised by the society. It was followed by a critical analysis of the sessions by a panel of professors from HSS as well as other departments. A workshop on GRE and GMAT, in association with IMS, was also held on the 15th, where the students were counseled regarding the whole process of GRE/GMAT - namely, the test, the SOP and applying to universities. On November 4th, a Psychometric Test to analyze students' aptitude for careers of their choice was organized in association with Ma Foi Consultants (MFC) for the final year students. Future plans of the society include a workshop by MFC on November 11th, 12th, based upon the Psychometric Test, and a National Level Debate in January. Personal Interview sessions, similar to the G.D. sessions, and month-long Public Speaking sessions are also slotted. With the placement season more or less over, the next semester may see a shift in focus from the seniors to the first years.
Woodstock Tips
http://www.ktj.in
Stocks, also known as Equities, are shares in a company. It is the certificate of ownership of a corporation. In simple terms, when you invest in a company's stock or buy its shares, you own part of a company. Thus, as a stockholder, you share a portion of the profit the company may make, as well as a portion of the loss a company may take. As the company keeps doing better, your stocks will increase in value and yield higher dividends. A convenient way to compare companies is through Earnings per share (EPS). EPS represents the net profit divided by the number of outstanding shares of stock.When you compare the EPS of different companies, be sure to consider the following: o Companies with higher earnings are stronger than companies with lower earnings. o Companies that reinvest their earnings may pay low or no dividends but may be poised for growth. o Companies with lower earnings, and higher research and development costs, may be on the brink of either a breakthrough or a disaster, making them a risky proposition o Companies with higher earnings, lower costs and lower shareholder equity, might go in for a merger.
With scores of IITians going on to become successful entrepreneurs, one often wonders about the lack of serious events and promotional programs for such enterprises. The first ever Entrepreneur Summit, hosted on Nov 4th and 5th was an attempt to put all such questions to rest. Dr. Debes Das, the minister of Information Technology of West Bengal, who inaugurated the event, is at an initial level of talks with the authorities to set up an IT park here, which would have technical collaboration with IIT Kharagpur. According to Mr. Drubes Biswas, Chief Technology Officer IIT Kharagpur, E-Cell is planning to have some formal MoU's signed between IIT, Kharagpur and universities like MIT, University of Colorado, Boulder, Cornell University and Taiwan's National Chiao Tu n g U n i v e r s i t y t o p r o m o t e entrepreneurial activity. The first event of E-Summit was an interactive talk by Dr. Basudeb Sen, Exchairman UTI. He gave an insightful talk about entrepreneurship. This was followed by a talk by Dr. A. S. Rao on innovation and the government's support to encourage it. Later in the day was a case study competition which saw good participation, and the first day concluded with a workshop on “Intellectual Property Rights”, by Dr. Prabuddha Ganguly, CEO of Vision IPR. The events on the second day (Nov. 5th) included a “How to raise funds for your start-up” talk by Mr. Ajay Kapur (CEO, SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd), “My Story”, by Mr. Vivek Pawar (CEO, Sankalp Semiconductors), and Concipio finals. ”Robokit” by Rudra Pratap and team won the final round of Concipio and is going to receive incubation from the institute The summit, which saw low participation o f B . Te c h s t u d e n t s , h a d h u g e participation from students of VGSOM, RGSOIPL and professors. The workshop on intellectual Property Rights was a huge success although the video demonstration by Dr.A.S.Rao was more like a UGC programme. Scholars' Avenue wishes E-Cell a bigger and grander ESummit next year!
the best food on campus! Opp R.K. Hall, IIT Kharagpur Phone: (03222) 279624