3 Idiots. Engineering. More.

3 Idiots was a good movie. I'm not saying excellent, because the ending was very predictable that "Rancho" would be "Wangdo". Despite the film-makers claims, most of the movie was based on Chetan Bhagat's work, and when people went to watch the movie, they actually went to watch 5 point someone.

Some scenes are too superficial or exaggerated. Anyway, thats how you "bollywoodise" a book.

Anybody who has ever lived in a hostel would know that you cant escape ragging by pulling up a stunt to electrocute your senior. It will only result in more ragging!

"ViruS" is depicted as a prof who only knows theory and doesn't know how to apply. This is not true, particularly of IIT profs. They are GODs in their field in the true sense of the word and their consultancy is most sought after by industry.

Apart from such minor inconsistencies with reality, the movie does a good job depicting the typical engineering college reality.

My college, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, is one of the good engineering colleges in India, consistently ranking in top 25 of the country. And as much as I am proud of the institute, I have reservations about its functioning.

Apart from a few exceptions, this is how a typical theory course goes on:

1. Teachers spend first 33% lecs (start- sessional 1) teaching math and other tools.

2. Next 33% time (sessional 1- sessional 2) teaching 33% of course- usually the easy part.

3. After sessional 2 gets over, everybody is in full swing to complete course. All of them want extra lecs, give assignment, class test, journal completion and blah blah blah.

Since very less time is left, the important and concluding parts of any course are either truncated or left for self study!

Examinations involve evaluating a lot of integrals and other calculations and those who do it perfectly get better grades than those who don't. As long as one gets good grades, one doesn't bother about engineering at all!

I'm really unsure nowadays whether I enrolled in the college to become an engineer or a mathematician. We attend a course titled Electromagnetic Fields, in which all they have taught so far is coordinate systems and vector algebra. Digital Communication classes are all about random variables and correlation. The Control systems papers were all about calculations involving Laplace transform and inverse.

We did math as a separate subject for four semesters, and still we do it separately in every subject. What was computer invented for? Why was Mathematica developed for?

And even if you try your best not loosing interest in electronics, finally you get placed in Infosys or Tata Consultancy! There are no "Core" jobs. Why even bother studying something you have no application later for! The result is that about 50 out of 80 fellow students, (including toppers- the apples of all teacher's eyes) in my class are preparing to bell the CAT.. (And rest are, like me, not sure about what to do with their lives!)

HUssshhh

i havent written anything here for such a long time.. there were times when i had inspiration to write a lot, but didnt have time, or paper-pen or internet connection and later i simply forgot what i was thinking. this happens with me a lot and im also getting kinda strange deja-vu feeling for completely unknown reasons. its as if long back i saw in my dreams where i was heading in future and what i will be thinking, the exact thoughts!

Anyway, i Cant believe that i was once a carefree second yr student with nothing else on my mind but to watch and finish 10 seasons of friends, 8 of scrubs, 5 of HIMYM, 3 of heroes, coupling and every new movie on LAN.. in 3rd semester i also managed to score my lowest SPI @8.55

gone are those days.. now there is hardly any time to call home (cant do it at 1300hrs, can i?), even to write this post. but somehow due to the peace and serenity(?) of the new accomodation i hope i can focuss better and get more. (i dont like anything more than achieving high efficiency.. nothing! its my crazy psycho thing kinda..)

for those who didnt know, newsflash! i became the junior prefect of hostel block 8. this move was a gamble, a calculated risk, a new experience and lots more. there might have been some behind-the-back ridicule but my ex-roomies with whom i shared hostel room for more than 2 yrs were very supportive (and only thing others were short of doing was to give me a send-off!). Now the initial workload of prefect-giri (Read: helping new entrants with stupidest of things, maintaining the fundae and 'sanctity' of first yr hostel and acting to be real pissed of and screaming at the top of my voice when the sacrosanct 'rules' are broken. anyways.. that topic deserves a separate post. later sometime when i'm more free...) of being a prefect is slowly wearing off. this job, coupled with the multiple responsibilities of being the tour coordinator of IEEE student chapter for which i was unanimously (Read: forcefully) elected, Online events manager of Axis'09 (did u just say "What?". its the "Biggest science and technology festival of "Central India".." or whatever the publicity guys call it nowadays) makes me beg for free time. my next 3 weeks are actually scheduled day-wise for one job or other to do.

i go to the gym thrice a week.. after entering the trainer gives me a stare and says "aao abhijit.. bahot din ke baad aye? aaj kya karoge? back and biceps?" .. then i realise "damn! im being irregular here!"

Career Launcher is going on well for CAT 2010, but my heart is still not giving a unanimous decision either in favour of MBA or MS.

I'm writing this post at a rapid pace, my fingers pouring the words out on keyboard in a free-flow style, just like the thoughts entering my mind.

Tomorrow 221B, Baker Street is scheduled to go online. Its the new generation online quiz we started this year (Read: old wine in new bottle). This is the theme

and this is the poster we put up in hostels for publicity..

both my creations. (there's still some hope for the marketing manager, huh?)

Don't know why, but after having dogded my batchmate's incessant company, given up all hopes for the department of electronics and communication, telling myself that i wont have an engineering career and having joined Career Launcher for MBA test prep, i'm getting signs that i'm meant to do something else. something thats more geeky n nerdy than above stuff.

that's why if u sneak in my room at night u will find me doing "hi-tech" prep for GRE. i sit with my laptop with headphones ON, reading Baron's word list side by side, occasionally checking out the pronounciations (British and American) in Cambridge talking dictionary and archaic words in the Oxford dictionary, and later listening to Baron's audio tracks to summarise what i recently mugged up!

seriously, by any standards, that should be the HEIGHT of being nerdy!

i have also started carrying around Flash-cards. they come in handy especially in lectures when u start feeling drowsy.

the confusion of my mind is reflected in the fact that i still have to study for the 'number systems' test, writing the control systems journal (speed and torque characteristics of 2 phase ac servo motor), device modelling codes, all i did was download and listen to the mp3 podcast "MS in financial engineering V/s MBA finance, which is better for you?" and lookup if some techfest had a paper presentation event either in biotechnology or in communication field. and.. there's "commquest" robot making to participate in and equip GK's BAJA racing car with electronic sensors..

my senior friends suffer most bcoz of this confusion when i pester them to give me some insight.

dad was so right when he said "When we get too close to any field, we feel a little bored (but we dont actually despise it)"

Soooo... time to ZZZzzz. lets see if i dream about what to do next.

8051 ISP

Finally it worked.. I soldered a 8051 in system programmer and after 3 trips to lamington road heavens took mercy upon me! 15 days I spent debugging a perfect circuit and it never occured to me that connecting wire was the problem.

In market a USB programmer costs above 2700 Rs.

By the way.. a tip here: DIY kit from vegakit costs 160 Rs which has a serial port and you can use a BAFO RS232-USB convertor (160 bucks) here and save a lot..

This business seems profitable.. Maybe I should give it a thought ;-)

Mood I!

I don't know why I go to IITB whenever I get a chance to.. Still wandering through the campus gives a majestic feel.

Guess MoodI rocked as always though couldn't see even half of it. Exhibitions were awesome.

In a way being there reminds me of my every shattered dream..

Dream IIT-"B"

Dream Powai

Dream bass guitar

and many other classified dreams ..

But it fulfilled atleast one dream- I actually touched a REAL F1 racing car engine! WOW! thanks Moodi! thanks force one india!

Revolutions start on AXIS!

Just finished designing a bot for AXIS

my team-mates parag ("pappa") arvindh (Sir) Iyer and nasery worked hard too..

hoping that it will function finely tomorrow...

"Your vision of India in 2025 and what you will do to make it a reality"

This is an essay I wrote for OPGEMS scholarship applcation. Maybe it's a bit irrelevant or politically incorrect. But I wrote whatI felt:


Regarding vision 2025:
Experts have already predicted that by 2020, India will have 13% growth rate, 80% literacy rate, and it will be the fourth largest manufacturing nation.
While all above predictions focus on technological and economical development, I think that India must retain its cultural features, appropriate traditions, spirituality and family values that prevail typically only in oriental countries. India wants to become 'tomorrow's America' but owing to lack of cultural values American nationals are themselves not contented with their lives.
Economical progress will occur on its own accord (driven by market needs and helped by some basic infrastructure) since India has largest number of English-literate, cheap, skilled and semi-skilled laborers compared to other nations. Multinational companies put profit above everything else, they will manufacture goods and use service sector in whichever country where it is available in plenty and cheapest. Fortunately we also have institutes like ISRO, TIFR, BARC, IISc to take care of research and development.
Let us first decide what is meant by "Development of India". I interpret this as a state in which all of Indian nationals have nearly equal rights to live comfortably and equal access to all means of self-development. India must also shine in world as a top well-developed country and leader of third-world nations, but that is not the only condition to call it progress. If 2% of people hold 99% of nation’s wealth and majority suffer from lack of education and unemployment, it will not be called progress.
Second basic question is Who to call Indian national? and do all Indians deserve democracy? Must I feel sympathy and affection towards someone only because he/she resides in Indian territory..?
Unfortunately in our beloved nation there exist
people who incite and engage in communal riots, people who freely accept and demand bribe, people who treat public places as garbage cans, participate in rasta-roko/rail-roko aandolans for whichever reason, and eve-tease every lady they come across in secluded corners of city. There are the leaders of so-called oppressed minorities who want student reservations in IITs and IIMs (in faculty as well). There are tribes that engage in violent acts to get the “Status” of backward caste.
There are educated criminals looking for easy money, and followers of associations such as SIMI. Then we have ‘sons of the soil’ who want all jobs for themselves and want all non-natives out of their state.
And worst of all categories, we have Separationists like some of the Kashmiris and north-east militants who don’t consider themselves Indians and wish to shatter India into pieces..
It will be incorrect to say that above mentioned people behave in said fashion because they are ignorant. They are so selfish, their souls are so corrupt that they give higher priority to their personal gains to the thinking that out comings of their deeds will hinder the nation’s growth in the long run.
I will not call them as Indians and I do not care whether they live or die.
To achieve all-rounder progress, activities of such anti-social elements must be kept under check, and even common Indians must learn to keep discipline in public life. Many people tend to show up late in (usually government) offices, leave early and demand for more holidays and increased salary for work they never finished. Even such seemingly harmless acts decrease the nation’s productivity. As a management guru has rightly said, “If you are not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem!”
Regarding the second part of essay:
It is difficult to describe exactly how India will be like 20 years from now since progress also depends on positive and negative factors like international treaties, prices of oil, wars, terrorism, technological development. Some of these factors are totally unpredictable while others are not exactly in total control.
I can not comment on what others will do for India till 2025, it is not in my hands.. Only thing I know is what I will do.
One can always give a math lesson or two to an underprivileged child or make a small donation to a social institute working for people affected by natural calamities. But then it is one’s responsibility, not one’s pastime. I will not be doing any favors to my countrymen in doing so, this is something I MUST do. Failing to do that will be a crime towards nation.
Beyond this, I honestly do not plan to undertake any large scale effort till 2025. There is little an engineering student or an employee of a multinational conglomerate can do for his country. Small-scale efforts can only give satisfaction of ‘having done something’ to one’s own mind but it will only be a very small step towards the final goal.
But when I retire from my job/business, I will retire a millionaire, and then I will set up a large institute providing vocational education and shelter to street children and weaker sections of society, regardless of their caste and religion and based only on their need. Concept behind this, is that minds can be molded best when they are young. They will be provided with the best possible education and facilities. The brighter ones, chosen solely on basis of talent will be awarded with scholarships for further education and even funds to setup their own business. If children are given lessons in patriotism right from their childhood, they can aspire to do big in life and share their wealth and resources to help their less lucky brothers and sisters. This way, efforts will grow exponentially.
This is my dream. (contributing to India’s progress, not retiring a millionaire)

Life BC ends, life AD begins!

BC: Before ComputerAD: After Dell

Only distinct phases in a VNITans life are 1) having a laptop with LAN cable in room and
2) not having so..
This clearcut distinction is in the sense that it totally changes a hostelier's life.Internet connection is provided through LAN only to access 'educational websites' and all social networking websites are blocked (or so they say!) .. but a VNITan knows his way out.. Afterall we are engireering students, aren't we?
The LAN has tera-bytes of movies, music, games, TV serials, comics, pRon etc etc and DC++ is a solid boon if you want some entertainment freely delivered at your room. You name it, you get it. Never challenge a hostelier for a multiplayer round of counter-strike or FIFA- probably it is the only thing he does with whole heart, and after four years he truely emerges as a 'professional'.Jobless final years ("Jobless" as in they haven't got many things to do having got placement in the semester before) do a great favour to their junior community by downloading loads of stuff and sharing it. It is about time that they have watched all the famous movies and pRon.. and having left nothing else to watch they download episodes of Tom and Jerry, Tintin, Jetsons etc(Though i'm not a final year student,) I can't help but helplessly count how many movies I watched (when I was supposed to be studying)
Surrender to the temptation! Surrender to the grandeur of the grand LAN!