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Heritage9th August 1960: The Day IITK Started 5Prakash Khemani (BT/EE/60xxx)
Preserving Morals in Business 9Prof. Rajendra Prasad (Retired/HSS) and Arun Srivastava (BT/EE/67xxx)
The State of Electronics In India 12A discussion with Prof. K R Sarma (Retired/EE) and Advisor Samtel Centre For Display Technologies, and Prof. Deepak Gupta (BT/MSE/83xxx) and Professor Dept. of Material Science and Engineering.)
View from the Faculty BuildingDiscussions with Prof R. Prasad (Retired/HSS) and Prof. K R Sarma (Retired/EE)
Dr. P K Kelkar And The Library 14They Had Almost Missed A Course in B Tech 16Dr P K Kelkar’s Vision of A Pheonix 17My StoryDr M S Muthana Changed My Life 18Vinay Aditya (BT/CE/65xxx)
Short StoryA Cool Summer’s day 20Anoop Talwar (BT/ME/67xxx)
kuC yahaM vahaM kI 21Random Pages from a Dairy Ashok Gupta (BT/ME/67xxx)
Saama 22p`itEaut Udaya Chitranshi (BT/CE/66xxx)
tmaaSaa 23Amitabh Thakur (BT/ME/85xxx)
COLLABORATION for VOICES: Issue 1, January 2013
CoverPhoto: Dr. Siddharth Srivastava, (MSc Integrated/Math & Sc. Computing/95xxx)Design: Arun Srivastava (BT/EE/67xxx)
January 2013Issue 1
Intoxication 24Sanjay Kumar Shukla (MT/EE/Y5xxxxx)
Crossroads & Redemption 25Shreyasi Mukerji (RE/ME/IITK)
From Halls of ResidenceWhen Snigdha Lost Himmat 26Bal Krishna Gupta (BT/ME/67xxx)
Kingdom of God Entrance Examination 27Prof. G S Kainth (Retired/ME/IITK)
Art ExhibitionRecent Paintings and Some Historic Signatures of IIITK 28Ravi Gossain (BT/CHE/66xxx)
Photo ExhibitionWild Life Photographs 51Shyam Ghate (BT/CHE/67xxx)
Jugnu - An Experience of a Lifetime 62Shantanu Agarwal (BT-MT DUAL/ME/Y4xxx) and Chintalagiri Shashank (MSc5/PHY/Y5xxx)
rat zhrtI hO 67A Pause In The NightArun Srivastava (BT/EE/67xxx)
They Said it ... PAN IIT Kolkata 2012 68saMpadkIya 72Editorial 73Arun Srivastava (BT/EE/67xxx)
Note: 60xxx denotes a roll number with the first two digits being the year of entry in IITK
Issue 1 January 2013
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- Editor
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9th August 1960: The Day IITK Started
Introduction
The date of 9th August is very sacred for India because on this day in 1942, Mahatma Gandhi had launched “Quit India” movement from Mumbai’s famous Gowalia Tank maidan. However, this date is also very important for IIT Kanpur as this was also the date in 1960 when the first class of the institute was held.
Since the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK) started its Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2009, everyone is under an impression that the Institute started functioning in 1959. This is not the case. Even though IITK as an entity was formed in 1959 with the appointment of the Director and selection of Kanpur as the location in that year, the classes for IITK started only on 9th August 1960. As a member of that Pioneer Batch, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the group which attended the first lecture on that momentous day. My memories of that day are still fresh and vivid.
Selecting IITKAs was normal with all prospective engineers in Delhi, after completing Class XI (Higher Secondary or Prep Science), I had joined Delhi Polytechnic to do one year “Pre-engineering” course around mid-July 1960. I had received information about admission to IIT-Kharagpur but I did not consider this as an option as I did not want to go so far away for studies. My family was Delhi-based in those days. Around 2nd August 1960, I received two telegrams offering me admissions – one from a new engineering college called Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and the other from Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani. Both were starting a new 5-year Integrated Course in engineering as against the normal course till then i.e. 4 years after Pre-engineering or Intermediate Science examination. In consultation with my family members, I decided in favour of IITK mainly influenced by logistic reasons.
Reaching KanpurThe telegram from IITK had advised me to reach the Institute on 9th August 1960, when it was set to start. Since this was going to be the first time ever when I was going to travel all by myself, my parents were a bit apprehensive, therefore they gave me an address of a distant relative on my mother’s side. I was expected to contact him on
arrival in Kanpur. I traveled overnight by Delhi-Howrah Express and reached Kanpur Central Railway Station early in the morning around 6 AM. I immediately headed for the address in Gopal Talkies area (also known as P Road or Gandhi Nagar) which my parents had given me.
On reaching the place, I realized that the address given was that of a shop, which obviously was not open at that early hour. I had no choice but to wait for the relative to come and open the shop. The relative came around 8 AM and was surprised to see me as he was not expecting me. Anyway, after my informing him about the reason for my landing up there, the usual formalities and having a quick breakfast, I left my belongings (a steel trunk and a bed-roll, the standard luggage of those days) at the shop and immediately took a cycle rickshaw to Company Bagh campus, the local name of the famous UP Agricultural College (also called Patthar College because of its imposing stone building), where Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI) was also located. IITK started its working in the premises belonging to HBTI. A new wing was added to the existing structure to accommodate class rooms for IITK.
The office of IITK was located in a small single storey structure a little away from the main HBTI building where the Director, Dr. P.K. Kelkar,
and two employees – Assistant Registrar, Mr. P.N. Sharma and an Assistant, Mr. B.P. Agarwal worked from. Like many others who had come to join the “newly started college”, I completed the formalities of showing my original documents for verification and payment of fees. We were then told that the first lecture would start at the first floor corner room of the new wing of HBTI and all of us were directed to go there.
Prakash Khemani
Heritage
HBTI Kanpur
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The class assembled at around 11 AM as an apprehensive and a bit shaken group of about 60-70 young men (out of the 100 admitted) waited anxiously for the professor to come. Dr. M.S. Bhatnagar, who had been loaned to IITK by HBTI entered the class, introduced himself, and asked a question which put almost all of us into thinking mode. The question was: “When should one apply oil to hair – before bath or after bath?” If such a question was to be put to students of today, almost all would ask why it was necessary
to apply oil at all! Those were different days and India was not yet a consumers’ paradise it is today. Everyone, applied oil to their hair – it was supposed to invigorate brain and since almost all students who had assembled on that day were “brainy”, having got the highest marks in their respective Boards or Universities among those who had applied for admission, they all used oil; kachchi ghani mustard oil or the branded Gai Chhap Brahmi oil. So the question was not really out of context for the audience, but no one had given a thought to the fine difference of timing it between applying oil before or after bath – did it really matter?
After putting the question, Prof. Bhatnagar started asking every student, one by one, his opinion and why he thought so. While everyone could tell when, articulating his own practice, only a few ventured to explain why. The class opinion was divided into 3 distinct groups – one group, the largest one, felt that it made no difference, the second thought that applying oil before bath is better while the third felt that applying the oil after the bath would be more effective. After a lot of discussions, lasting over an hour, in which Prof. Bhatnagar involved everyone present, he asked whether anyone of the students present was aware of the underlying principle on which this question was based.
When no one responded, Prof. Bhatnagar
explained that the principle of surface tension of fluids was at play in this process. If you apply oil before bath, the surface tension of the oil will not allow water to touch your scalp whereby defeating the purpose of your bath to “clean” yourself, whereas putting oil after bath would result in the surface tension of water nor permitting oil to reach the scalp whereby the purpose of “invigorating your brain” will not be achieved. With these two explanations, the third option (“no difference”) was declared invalid.
Fifteen years ago, on the 35th anniversary of the starting of IITK, on 9th August 1995, I had recalled this incident on a then popular internet news group “India Abroad” (or was it “Indian Abroad”?) without mentioning the final explanation as above and asked the readers their opinion. Remember, that was the time the Internet had not yet come to India, there were no browsers or GUI e-mail clients and therefore, the e-mails and the internet were all in text mode. E-mails were read using DOS based Unix emulation Elm reader. I had access to the Internet through the German gateway of my employers, Siemens Ltd., and had joined the news group just for fun – I was very much in India only. Most of the other group members consisted of the US and Europe based “desis” and in those days, most of them were students or high level intellectuals who had gone abroad for higher studies and, in many cases, stayed on and settled there after studies or research. In reply to my posting, I received tremendous response ranging from the kinky to the bizarre. Some sent reply running into 100 lines or more but not one of them mentioned “surface tension”.
First Lecture by Dr. P.K. KelkarAfter an invigorating class of Prof. Bhatnagar, came Dr. P.K. Kelkar, the Director of IITK,
who had done all the ground work for almost a year to make possible the opening of the Institute on that day. He explained to us how the institute was started, what was planned and, most importantly, how the selection of the students from among those who had applied for admission was made. Our batch
had not undergone the now famous Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), which started from the next year. Selection was however
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made based on our marks in class XI (or XII), and seats being allotted to the top scorers on pro-rata basis using the number of applications received from a particular Board or University as the criteria. This method of selection resulted in two advantages: (a) we had representation from every state of the country – from Assam in the east to Gujarat in the west and from J&K in the north to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south, and (b) we had rank holders from almost every Board or University. He also told us about the IIT’s, in general, and what plans he had for IITK in particular. For most of us it did not mean much. In those days students were rarely if at all concerned with brand equity of their institute.
The pleasant, reassuring and paternal manner in which Dr. Kelkar spoke, gave a very good feeling of security to the entire bunch of apprehensive newcomers. This was the first of a series of mesmerizing interactions we had with Dr. Kelkar over the next five years and even beyond. His pet subject was Philosophy of Engineering and it is difficult to describe the way his lectures would transfix all present into some sort of trance where time passed without anyone realizing, and when it ended everyone wishing that the lecture would continue on and on.
Reaching Hostel on First DayAfter the above two sessions, we were told to go to our hostel. Like every other facility, hostel for us was also “borrowed” from other institutes, namely, Government Central Textile Institute (GCTI) and Central Leather Institute (CLI), which were then the leading institutes started by the Central Government considering that Kanpur in those days was famous for its textile industry and leather goods. Both the hostels were located in a locality called Souter Ganj and Gwaltoli near Elgin Mills. GCTI hostel consisted of 32
double-seated rooms while CLI hostel was more like dormitory type of accommodation. In fact, GCTI hostel had been newly constructed and we were its first occupants. Apart from the old GCTI hostels, the campus also had a large play ground in front of the hostel building stretching right up to the road on the other side of which was Elgin Mills. Leather institute was also on left side of
the ground, bang opposite the thermal power plant of Kanpur Electric Supply Agency (KESA).
At the hostel, an affable and gentle Dr. E. D. Daruwala, the Director of GCTI, who also doubled as our Hostel Warden, greeted us. After making introductions and making friends with others on a tentative basis, we settled down in our allotted rooms. Arrangements for food were not yet made. We used to get some sweet buns and butter from a vendor who came on a bicycle to old GCTI hostel at teatime, and had to go out to a “maharaj” joint, not far from the hostel, for dinner. Brought up in Delhi, where spicy thick gravies and dal are a norm, the thin watery, spice-less dishes provided by the maharaj were a shock to me. For the boys who came from the South and West India, the fare was simply not edible! This routine continued for a few days until a chap called Israni, who had started running a canteen at the HBTI location and supplied us lunch in the form of sandwiches and omelettes, also took up the contract to run hostel mess charging us just Rs. 33 per month. It covered early morning tea with biscuits, breakfast, evening tea with a snack, and dinner. How he managed all this for such a paltry amount is another story!
Ragging ExperienceConsidering that ours was the first batch of IITK, one would expect that we would not have been exposed to ragging as there were no seniors to do that. However, the residents of GCTI hostel filled this gap to an extent. Some of the students who had reached Kanpur earlier and stayed in the new hostel for a few days had already got “introduced” to the “seniors” at the GCTI and these boys were used to inform all new comers on 9th August 1960 evening to be present in their side of the hostel campus at night. Most of the new boys were hauled up in the night but once the “introductions” ended, the “seniors” realized that they were dealing with rather brainy boys therefore they were not very severe in their approach. Nevertheless, they did give us lessons on birds and bees (as they knew) and also taught us some really vulgar and obnoxious language to describe various human parts – both male and female – which most of us have not forgotten till today.
It was well past midnight when one of the most important days of our life ended!
GCTI Hostel, Souter Ganj Kanpur
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FULL LIST OF STUDENTS WHO JOINED THE PIONEER BATCHRoll No.
First NameSurname Roll No.
First NameSurname
60001 Abhay Bhushan 60051 Nemai Ghosh60002 Amar Nath Rai 60052 Prakash Chandra Rao60003 Arjun Israni 60053 Prabhat Kumar Rastogi60004 Arun Agrawal 60054 Pradeep Wig60005 Arun Kapur 60055 Prakash Chandra Sachan60006 Ashok Kumar Agarwal 60056 Prakash Khemani60007 Ashok Bhandari 60057 Pramod Prakash Bansal60008 Ashwani Chaddha 60058 Pratap Narain Misra60009 Atma Wadhwani 60059 Prem Bishnoi60010 Avadhesh Kumar Nigam 60060 Raj Singh Yadav60011 Avatar Singh Saran 60061 Rajagopalan Ranganathan60012 Awadh Pandey 60062 Rajan Hingoraney60013 Ayodhya Sah 60063 Rajendra Prasad Agarwal60014 Babu Ram Sachan 60064 Raj Prasad Maheshwari60015 Bhagwan Kotwal 60065 Rajendra Prasad Saxena60016 Bharat Bhargava 60066 Rajendra Saroop60017 Bhupendra C. Dhuldhoya 60067 Rajindar Mohindra60018 Brindaban B. Sinha 60068 Rajneesh Mahajan60019 Chandra Mohan Srivastava 60069 Rajnish Kumar60020 Daljit Singh Cheema 60070 Ram Jag Prasad60021 Deo Nandan Yadav 60071 Ram Manorath Yadav60022 Dilip Kumar Banerji 60072 Ram Singh60023 Dilip Kumar Seal 60073 Ram Surat Rai60024 Ehsan Ullah Khan 60074 Ramesh Lal Jhurani60025 Ganesh Prakash Gupta 60075 Ramesh Teoomal Bajaj60026 Gautam Chaudhuri 60076 Ranjit Singh60027 Girish Chandra 60077 Ravindra Dattatraya Kale60028 Gopal Tiwari 60078 SGK Gangoli60029 Gyan Prakash Pandey 60079 Samar Chatterjee60030 Gyaneshwar Prasad 60080 Sant Kumar Yadav(civil)60031 Harish Chander Sachdeva 60081 Shanker Sanyal60032 I. V. S. Raju 60082 Shiam Sundar Gupta60033 Ishwar Chandra Agarwal 60083 Shiv Dutta Khatri60034 Jagdish Prasad Agarwal 60084 Shivaji Prasad Gupta60035 Jai Ram Rai 60085 Shri Gopal Bali60036 Kameshwar Prasad 60086 Shrinath Singh60037 Karan Kumar Gupta 60087 Suresh Chandra Kacker60038 Khairati Lal Arya 60088 Suresh Pandey60039 Krishan Kumar Khanna 60089 Sushil Kumar Bansal60040 Krishna Kant Dave 60090 Vidya Sagar Narang60041 Lakshman Chandra Chandrasekaran 60091 Vinay Kumar Modi60042 Madan Mohan Dhingra 60092 Vinay Krishna Thakur60043 Mahendra Kumar Modi 60093 Virender Kumar Makker60044 Mohammad Saeed Ansari 60094 Yogeshwar Prasad Sharma60045 Mohit Kumar Pande 60095 Vinod Kumar Agarwal60046 Munishwar Nath Agnihotri 60096 Ivan Roy60047 Nahar Singh Mangat 60097 Surendra Nath Agarwal60048 Nand Kishore Bansal 60098 Arvind Mathur60049 N Sasikumara Kurup 60099 Parchuri Venkata Subba Rao60050 Naresh Chandra Birla 60100 Ahmad Zafar
Prakash Khemani (BT/EE/60xxx)and Founder President - IITK Alumni Association
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Preserving Morals in Business
The article was abridged from Varnadharma, Niskama Karma and Practical Morality: A Critical Essay on Applied Ethics, by Prof. Rajendra Prasad. Publisher: D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd.
Rajendra Prasad and Arun Srivastava
In Moksadharmaparva (of Santiparva) of the Mahabharata there occurs a dialogue between a saint named Jajali and a businessman named Tuladhara.
Tuladhara is a householder who runs a grocery shop. Jajali is a recluse who has acquired spiritual wisdom, leads a highly religious life and practices extremely difficult penances. Jubilating over and feeling proud of his achievements, Jajali declares ‘I have realised the dharma’. But to his utter dismay, immediately after his declaration, he hears a divine voice (akasavani), saying ‘In respect of morality (dharma) you, Jajali, come nowhere near Tuladhara, the reputed, wise, businessman of Varanasi. The kind of pride you feel has not been felt even by him’. Greatly humiliated and hurt, he travels to Varanasi to meet Tuladhara. The sum and substance of what Tuladhara says to him is as follows:
(a) He does his business to earn his livelihood. (b) In doing it he tries his best to avoid harming anybody’s interest, and when it is not possible to avoid that, he tries his best to reduce the harm to the minimum. (c) He and his family live in a small hut, which he has built out of material locally available and affordable by him. (d) He is satisfied with the kind of life his earning enables him to lead. He fulfils the obligations and ethics of his profession i.e. vanikdharma by,
(d1) Not selling things, like alcoholic drinks (madira), which are harmful to their users.(d2) Selling only things which are useful or beneficial to their buyers. (d3) Abstaining from using any kind of deceit in selling any commodity to anybody.(d4) Making no discrimination between one customer and another. (d5) His weighing balance is true. (d6) Not misusing, or being callous in the use of anything non-living or living, in any work connected with his business. For example, never overloading the
oxen driving the bullock-cart carrying the goods he brings to his shop for sale. Tuladhara says he fulfils well even his other duties, i.e., duties which fall outside the zone of his business ethics, for example, such duties as familial, neighbourly, and religious, etc. But Jajali too fulfils all of his duties. Besides, his practice of religious rituals and penances is obviously far superior to that of Tuladhara. The only morally relevant respect in which the latter excels him is that of fulfilling the (moral) obligations which his being a businessman enjoins him to fulfil and gives him opportunities to do that. On the other hand, Jajali, being a recluse, does not have any such obligation to anybody, and therefore does not get any opportunity to fulfil it. It seems, then, that it is Tuladhara’s business ethics, his moral uprightness in the conduct of his business, which makes his total moral score higher than Jajali’s, and that on account of it he is rated by the oracle as a higher, or better kind of human being than the latter.
Is it fair to give, as this anecdote does, such a high premium to business ethics, to make it more creditable than the performance of extremely difficult religious and spiritual practices? There may be a point in claiming that a moral consideration overrides any non-¬moral consideration. But rating Tuladhara as a higher kind of person than Jajali is not just making morality override religion, or spirituality; it is making a particular species, or zone of morality, namely business morality, do that.
One may accept that the Jajali-Tuladhara story exaggerates the importance of business ethics, but also add that there is a good reason for its doing that.
The practice of business provides ample opportunities which tempt the businessman to accumulate wealth and/or power by the use of immoral or morally not very upright means. He may not feel the temptation, or may not yield to it, even if it catches his eye, only
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(a) If he is a man of strong moral will.(b) If the law of his land is so expansive that it covers all of his business transactions and forbids all possible immoralities, and the land’s law-enforcing agencies are so prompt and effective that they do not let any law to be anytime infringed.
It is rare to find an individual satisfying (a), and rarer to find a land satisfying (b).
Let us take, for example, the concept of profit. It may be called an economic concept, but it is not a totally economic concept. It is also a moral concept quite central to business ethics. But, there is also a moral dimension to fixing the amount of profit.
When a law is enacted to the effect that the maximum selling price be printed on every saleable good, it registers the fact that business ethics, left to itself, lacks the conceptual resources to fix the bounds of the norm of profit-making, and the other fact that most of businessmen are not likely to properly fix bounds of profit-making. That a seller may still overcharge a needy customer only shows that a legal law can be transgressed. But it does not mean that the seller cannot sell it at a lesser price if he considers that the profit is sufficient. Conversion of the moral norm into a legal one removes the norm’s indefiniteness or vagueness, lays down in clear terms the conditions determining its satisfaction and violation, the nature of punishment consequent on its violation, the nature of the agency responsible for the enforcement of relevant law or laws, etc.
The way to solve a moral dispute is to have an open-minded talk about the bone of contention, or the point of dispute, between the disputants, without, or with, the help of some equally open-minded friends, or neutral persons. But this talk would help only if the disputing parties are willing to obey the moral norm or principle which is relevant and which one party accuses the other to have transgressed, and the norm concerned is well-bounded.
To give moral punishment is only to morally condemn the guilty, consider him a morally fallen person, to disassociate from him, not to involve him in social transactions, to socially boycott him, etc. We may morally punish him in one or more than one of these ways,
but it would pinch him only if he is morally sensitive.
In selling services what distinguishes a person from a property, or commodity, is that a person is, and the latter is not, a free agent. A commodity is a mere means to satisfy an interest of one, or of more than one, person. To treat a person as a commodity is, thus, to treat him as a mere means, which, in virtue of his personhood, i.e., his freedom, or free agency, he is not. It is to this feature of the concept of a person to which Kant draws our attention when he says that it is wrong for anyone to treat any person, including himself, as a mere means. The question of right or wrong in business, i.e., ethics may enter from anyone of the following sides of a business concern: its
(a) Owner(b) Customer (c) Managerial team (d) Community of other businessmen(e) Environment
The owner, the customer, and the owner’s manager (or managerial team or staff), have to be fair to each other. And, he also has to see that he does not do, in the conduct of his business, any damage to his environment, for example, the kind of damage which would be done by piling up rotten fruits and vegetables, on a footpath.The ethics of management is held by many to consist in promoting the interest of the owner. But if doing that involves doing something unethical, then it cannot be the manager’s duty. The owner generally wants one who would do all that would promote his interest. Several years ago a British association of chemical industrialists issued a statement about the kind of chemical engineers the chemical industries needed to man or manage them.
A famous British daily commented in its editorial that the society might not need the kind which the industries needed, and it was equally important to know the kind which the society needed. The daily’s thrust was that the society needed chemical engineers who were morally sensitive not only to protect the owner’s but also to protect the society’s interests which would include, in the terminology used in this essay, the interest of all concerned, i.e., of the owner, customer, management, other businessman, and the environment.
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The moral balance, or equilibrium, can be ensured only by the joint efforts of the community of owners, community of managing personnel, and the government with some sort of judicial supervision and control. However, the details of this suggestion cannot be worked out here.
Tuladhara says that he tries to avoid doing any harm or wrong to anybody, and when it is unavoidable, he minimises it. This sounds to be something like the theory of dirty hands. The difficulty with accepting this point of view is that the concept of thin dirt, i.e., that of a minor impropriety, is not only vague, but it is almost impossible to make it precise.
In some cases, particularly in big business, ignoring the principle of treating or respecting a person as a person, a wrong conception of happiness, a distorted, or disproportionately structured, picture of the good life, can be a promoter of immoralities. For example, if in one’s picture of the good life, happiness, or social
respectability cannot be had without combining success in business with political power, and political power cannot be had without making his hands dirty, some immoralities are bound to enter his deals. It may also be the case that the political or governmental ethos of his country is such that a businessman, who has no link with politicians in power, does not get the respect or consideration he deserves, or does not succeed in his business. Then, it is the politics, or government, of the country which carries the can for at least some of the immoralities in big businesses.
Political links do not matter much in small businesses. Perhaps this is the reason why Gandhi is against promoting big business houses and in favour of encouraging village centres of small businesses, or village industries. Behind his theory of village centres of business or his concept of svadesi (indigenous) lies his picture of the good life relevant to the practice of any business. His picture is very much like that of Tuladhara.
Prof. Prasad (left) with Mr. B L Joshi, the Governor of U.P. at the award ceremony.
A life time achievement award was conferred on Prof. Prasad this year by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh under the auspices of The Indian Council of Philosophical Research on 30 Aug.2012 at Lucknow.
Prof. Rajendra Prasad retired in 1986 as a Sr. Professor of Philosophy, IITK.He can be reached at: S2/102, ELDECO, Eden Park, Kursi Road, Tedhi Pulia, LUCKNOW – 226022.
Prof. Rajendra Prasad (Retired/HSS)
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It takes some time to realize why India does not have any world class electronic-product company although it produces world class
talent in design which eventually goes out to look for suitable jobs abroad and proves its mettle there. Why have we failed to utilize these world class assets? Even the MNC’s have refrained from setting up their manufacturing base here. Take any top end electronic product and it is made for these MNC’s in some small country of the East Asia but none in India. None of the iconic names have a manufacturing base in India, save a few assembly lines where they put together parts imported from elsewhere. The puzzle was cracked by Professor Deepak Gupta in the most candid manner. “There is no eco system for electronics in India”, he said. To elaborate the point he mentioned an example of car industry. If somebody wants to set up a car manufacturing facility he does not have to worry about lights, odometer, wheels, steel making, upholstery, and battery etc. The ancillaries already exist, and they are able to produce goods to the required specifications so that one can concentrate on the main product. It is not so in the electronics industry in India. To develop a high class electronic product one has to do everything starting from a scratch. It does not work out since the scales of economy do not justify making everything under one roof.
Why this state exists here?
It is answered partly by the paradigm of doing business in India. No entrepreneur wants to put in his money into an industry having a short product lifecycle of about five, or even ten years.
By its very nature electronics requires out of the box thinking, very high speed of implementation and large investments. All the ingredients are in short supply here. An electronic product is commoditized in a very short time of its first emergence in the market. The moment there are large number of producers it loses its USP and ability to generate attractive profits. To generate more profits it requires innovation and R&D of high end variety to either upgrade the product, or bring out something new. If one invests the same amount of money in setting up a steel making plant, or a petrochemical plant, it can keep making the same product by using the same machinery for a very long time with reasonably good profits. In a nut shell it requires confidence with deep pockets and good commitment to R&D to run electronics industry.
How to break this logjam in the electronics industry?
It can be overcome by making India specific products which do not have large volume to attract the big players but have enough volume within the country to sustain the business.
One such story at IITK is about the development of Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED), which is yet to make a commercial breakout.
DEVELOPMENT OF PASSIVE MATRIX OLED AT IITK
A Nobel Prize was awarded in 2001 for conceptualization of Organic Electronics (OE). The name OE comes from the fact that it is
The State of Electronics In IndiaIt is not the same as that of the traditional industry in India
A discussion with Prof. K R Sarma (Retired/EE) and Advisor Samtel Centre for Display Technologies, and Prof. Deepak Gupta (BT/MSE/83xxx and Material Science and Engineering)
Prof. Deepak Gupta Prof. K R Sarma
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based on an organic molecule which behaves as a semiconductor. The whole world is attracted to the idea of having cheap electronics without Si or Ge, with a revolutionary zeal. The reasons are compelling. It is extremely cheap to manufacture. It consumes a fraction of power as compared to the currently available electronics, it is very light weight, and thin as a printed art work. The raw material is easily available, though expensive to import at present, and an OE based device should cost much less than its equivalent semiconductor based device. It does not generate electronic waste and is non-toxic.
At about the same time there was brainstorming going on in Samtel Centre For Display Technologies at IITK about the future of display devices under guidance of Prof. K R Sarma, who had retired from IITK, but he was still involved in this research through his association with Samtel, a group of companies based in Ghaziabad.
The research team evaluated the technologies available at that time for display devices using field emission and OE. Field emission was complex and expensive. Motorola in the US had already burnt its fingers after spending a quarter billion USD in it and yet failing to commercialize it. Therefore it was decided to invent a display using organic light emitting diodes (OLED).
No workable knowledge was available on OLED at that time. They would do their own research and meet weekly to share and evolve theoretical possibilities in OLED. Experts, mostly PhD’s in Chemistry, Physics, Materials, Electronics and many other fields had voluntarily associated with this project. After about two years they had gathered enough information to take it to the next level i.e., develop a prototype of about 1.5 inch display for a cell phone application.
It required a machine costing about Rupees eight crores to develop the prototype, and it was bought with the help of The Dept of Science and Technology (DST) in 2005. A prototype was produced in March 2007, and it took one more year to overcome initial problems and make a saleable product. The success in production of
an OLED display in IITK was achieved without any outside help soon after it was on the verge of getting commercialized world wide.
A TV screen of OLED should be about three mm thick, very light weight. It has a much higher resolution and far superior colour gamut than an LCD or LED display. Its viewing angle is also wider than these display devices.
The research is going on now to design OLED based lighting systems. With these lights a window pane can be used as a display device or a source of light combined in one device. Windows are natural source of light in day time, if they are used to illuminate the interiors they make the closest approximation to natural light even during dark time of day, with illumination and colour of light controlled just by a flick of a button. It has immense possibilities in design of lighting and display systems for home, advertising, and entertainment industry.
OE has diversified into photovoltaic electricity, in collaboration with Ministry of Non-conventional Energy and Moser Baer.
A few basic electronic circuits have already been demonstrated using organic transistors to establish the workability and efficacy of the organic molecule based electronics in IITK. A product can be designed as and when demand from industry comes.
DST has funded a project for developing active matrix instead of a passive matrix based OLED being used currently at IITK. An active matrix uses a transistor back plane at the point of display to offer very large screen size with greater resolution as compared to the passive matrix backplane which has a limitation in size of display (lines), and it cannot be bigger than that of cell phones without losing image resolution.
About a dozen PhD’s have been awarded in the Samtel Centre and 13 patents have been filed. About 80 M Tech theses have been awarded, and in B Tech also there is high enthusiasm to pursue a career in OE.
Any taker?
A Clean Lab in Samtel Centre for Display TechnologiesJanuary 2013
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January 2013
“Dr. Prasad, how is it that our library does not have The Mahabharat, by Sukhtankar?”
He had found that the book was not listed in the library, and Dr. Kelkar was asking Dr Rajendra Prasad about it on phone. “Let me check it, Sir”, he replied.
Dr Prasad went to the library and found that the book was already on order. An old edition was immediately available, but they were told by the publisher that a new edition was due for which they would have to wait a little. He informed the director about it.
“Yes, we can wait for the new edition, but send them full payment in advance so that they dispatch it the day it is released without waiting for any confirmation from us. Can a library be complete without Sukhtankar’s Mahabharat?”
The complete and most authentic Mahabharat in English with original verse in Devnagari was edited by V. S. Sukhtankar, S. K. Belvalkar, S. K. De, and Prof. Dr. R. N. Dandekar. It took several scholars about five decades to complete after consulting 1,259 manuscripts and 89,000 verses. Every serious researcher uses the book for a reference to the epic.
Dr. Kelkar was an electrical engineer by training but read almost every subject to widen his outlook and understanding of the world around him.
Originally the lib was getting books from Purdue University. They used to send one copy of every book bought by them
to IITK under the Kanpur Indo American Program.
Dr Kelkar wanted this to be the best lib in that part of the country. Every journal of significance was available there and some of them were bought starting from their first edition. Even if one professor needed he could get a journal of his choice; no questions asked. Someone remarked once that there were too many books. No one can read them all. His instantaneous reply was, “A library is judged by the number of books yet to be read, not by the number of books one can read.”____________________ ____________________Arun Srivastava:
A similar incident occurred in the University of Massachusetts at Amherst when I was visiting my son. He was about to complete his Ph D in Artificial Intelligence in the computer science department. The most imposing building on their campus was a 23 storey library, and he was telling about its great collection sans any book on engineering for which there was another building. I threw a challenge that I would consider it a great lib only if we could find there at least one book by Professor Rajendra Prasad. That was a long shot. It was about mid night but we darted off to the lib. And sure enough, it was there on the 20th Floor: Dharmakirti’s Theory of Inference: Revaluation and Reconstruction, by Dr Prasad.
The architect of buildings in IITK was Mr. Achyut Kanvinde, a Delhi-based architect. He had designed the lib with a lot of vacant space below it. His explanation was: This is space age which is represented by the
View from the Faculty Building
Dr. P K Kelkar And The Library
Discussions with Prof R. Prasad (Retired/HSS) and Prof. K R Sarma (Retired/EE)
P K Kelkar Library
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space below, and knowledge resides on a higher plane therefore it is raised so much above ground.
Much later, Prof. K R Sarma engaged the same architect when Samtel Centre
was conceived, and requested him that the building may be designed on the same philosophy. It is located on a naturally raised ground, and has earned the distinction of being called the most beautiful building on campus.
P K Kelkar Library
Samtel Centre for Display Technologies
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January 2013
It was in the early years of IITK. In a meeting about finalization of results for B Tech, it was discovered that the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering had
fallen short of curriculum in the last semester. They were one course short in HSS. The degree could not be awarded without students completing its full mandate.
“Can we make an exception this year? A course in HSS is not directly affecting their knowledge or career in engineering, although I admit that it was a lapse on our part to have overlooked the requirement of registration in the HSS courses as a part of the over all curriculum in the last semester.” “Well, in that case let us change the name of our institute to just a college of engineering. Why call it an institute of technology on the lines of the reputed institutions world over where equal importance is given to all disciplines.” Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first HOD of HSS Dept. objected, and silence followed for some time.
“What should be done?”
“Let this be one of case since the final year is already over and there is no time for correcting the error by holding them back to make up this shortfall. There will be a loss of another full semester and some jobs too.”
“I think that is fair, and we resolve to stick to rules from now on without any exception in future.”
The meeting ended, well almost; and HOD Mech Dept. felt relieved. As a matter of courtesy, he walked over to ask Dr Prasad how he felt. “I am abiding by the majority decision, but I am not happy about it.” he replied. The HOD Mech. almost ran to the door and called back everyone.
“The meeting is not over yet. Prasad is not happy about the decision, and we cannot have a colleague who remains unsatisfied with the outcome. Let us deliberate a little more.”
“What is the alternative? They will have to take just one course from July?”
“Offer a summer course. It will not result in loss of a semester, or jobs”, said Dr Prasad.
“Whom shall we approach with a request to teach in the summer of Kanpur? Everyone has a plan for their vacation.”
“I know someone who may do it.” Dr Prasad said.
“How do you know, are you God?” There were sarcastic smiles all around.
“I will do it.” Dr Prasad said. “I will offer a course in Critical Thinking. Register all students of your department for the summer course.”
Every one left smiling.
The course was a hit with the students who stayed back in summer, and had one last chance to enjoy life at IITK free from worries, as well as learn about critical thinking. Some of them came back to thank Dr Prasad saying they never realized what they would have missed without that course.
The camaraderie amongst faculty was of the highest order in the formative years of IITK. The respect they had for each other in a true sense is evident by this episode.
They Had Almost Missed A Course in B Tech
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The gentleman was very senior and he was referred by Dr Kelkar to me for assessment. Feeling embarrassed a little, I had no choice but to meet him since I had mentioned to the Director several times that a senior person or guidance was required sometimes. I felt the necessity as I had no experience in running an electrical department of the stature of IITK, where eminent professors were drawn in from all over the world.
Afterwards, Dr Kelkar asked my opinion of him with his characteristic smile. I was feeling confused because the gentleman had a lot of experience. He was already telling me how he would transform the system into a better one that existed at some of the places he had worked in.
With some hesitation I said, “Sir! He is good, but he may not fit into this open environment”.
“Exactly! That is what I wanted to hear from you. I can get senior professors dime a dozen but I don’t want to, because they will bring a system. I do not want those systems. I want you to evolve on your own and create something unparalleled. I know you will toil, you will struggle, and you will burn. But, a phoenix will rise from the ashes. That system will make this institute outstanding”.
Dr Kelkar was also an avid reader of all subjects. Once I gave him a book on communication titled “Symbols, Signal and Noise” by J R Pierce, a pioneer in microwave tubes, computer music, psychoacoustics etc. etc. Pierce gave the name to transistor after it was developed at Bell labs under his supervision. He was also jointly responsible for the concept of pulse code modulation (PCM). The book explained finer points on the subject of communication without complex maths. I was not sure what Dr Kelkar would say about it because he was a Power Engineer. On our next meeting he was all praise about the book. “Why were you so hesitant? It is a wonderful book which explains a complex subject lucidly without maths. Thank you!”
We were motivated like that by the best possible academician in India at that time, to evolve IITK into a premier institution. He was an excellent judge of people and gave a free hand to the able with outstanding results. It was his philosophy that the institute should have no barriers or boundaries, and it should be open from all sides. Knowledge should have no limits; least of all physical. That is the reason we had no walls or gates in the academic area in his time. One could enter and go out in any direction.
Dr P K Kelkar’s Vision of A Pheonix
Dr K R Sarma’s interaction with Dr P K Kelkar
Interesting Links
A documentary on IITKhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEO6EulyT6Y
NERD: A tech magazine of IITK managed by the students.
http://www.iitk.ac.in/nerd/index.html
अंतस्: A bi-annual hindi magazine published by IITK, and edited by Dr. V P Singh.
http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/iitk/newhtml/Antas/
SAMPARK: IIT Mentors India Newsletter.
http://www.iitmentors.org/india/Sampark-Issue_5.pdf
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January 2013
In the 3rd year at IITK it dawned upon me that engineering was not my cup of tea. I was in a wrong place. My CPI was nose diving and there was no way
it could be changed for better. My heart was beating to the music of distant stars, and not to engineering definitely. I was accumulating so many D’s that I ran the risk of being asked to repeat some courses. I hated the idea but there was no way out in the system which was too straight jacketed at that time (in the late 60’s).
As an outlet for my creative angst I turned to photography, and the facilities available in the institute got me so firmly hooked into it that I could hardly think of anything else. The dark room ignited my enthusiasm for life and I kept delving deeper and deeper into the art of taking and making photographs. Only black and white photography was in vogue then. The equipment and techniques were not so simple, yet at IITK they were of a very high caliber even in the hobby labs. I had also gained access to an air conditioned darkroom of the Geological Department through the grace of some technicians who had invited me to teach them how to operate their sophisticated rail mounted Linhoff.
I slogged for one more year, but the turning point came when in my fourth year I was required to clear the entire backlog of core years before I could take on the new courses of the professional years in view of my ‘grand’ grades. This was not acceptable to me and I decided to quit. I packed some of my stuff and off I went to the Kanpur railway station embarking on a new journey away from it all. Prior to it I had told my parents that I was not satisfied with my studies at IIT, and my father, empathizing with me, had replied that I could change the course of my life any time I liked; IIT was not necessarily the only place for a young man to build his career from.
I arrived back home in Delhi, and to make a career in photography joined a press photographer company as an apprentice. They used to supply news photographs to all the leading newspapers of that time. Life was not easy at all there, and earning respect from the old grouchy owner was even tougher. I did not have press accreditation; as a result I would not get the prime spot reserved for press whenever I would go to cover news
events in the city. Instead, I had to push my way in the crowd wherever possible and do my best to get some saleable stuff. My boss liked some unusual angles that the other press photographers would miss because of their reserved enclosures as a privilege of their accreditation. My quota of film was generally half a roll (12 shots to a roll in that era of standard size 120 film rolls), which made the job very challenging and frustrating at the same time. Later I realized that it was good to learn the discipline of economy.
After some time I told the owner of the company that I had many very good photos and excellent prints to my credit. He asked me to show him those prints. I thought I should take the opportunity to go back to Kanpur and get my remaining belongings; also, I had yet to vacate the room, and bid a final and formal goodbye to IITK. Back at IITK, it was a great opportunity for me to devote full time to photography, and I decided to spend a few more days making prints of my remaining ‘valuable work’. It was a summer vacation.
One day a batch mate who was a maggha type (read studious and a good grader) saw me and enquired about my sudden disappearance. I told him my story. He suggested and almost cajoled me to meet Dr Muthana, the Deputy Director, before leaving. I thought why approach the DD who had a reputation of enquiring ‘what
is your CPI’ before deciding how to handle a student. I was dithering but my friend had already fixed an appointment for me. I thought what did I have to lose by seeing the DD when I had already decided to quit, and was in great spirits after the reckless decision I had already given shape to.
Contrary to common belief of all students of his time, Dr Muthana, in the sweetest possible manner he could muster, told me that he would not let go of a ‘constructive boy’ like me from the institute. I wondered how the hell he graded me as the constructive boy in my first ever one on one meeting with him. Was it because I was the
My Story
Vinay Aditya
Dr M S Muthana Changed My Life
Vinay Aditya (BT/CE/65xxx)
Dr. M S Muthana
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editor of the student’s Hindi magazine Alok during those times? Anyway, he offered me a two year course in M. Sc Physics in recognition of the fact that I had after all passed the three year core courses worthy of a B Sc. He asked me to meet in this connection the Dean of Student Affairs Dr S K Singh. I went to him. He plainly said, “I don’t know of any such scheme about M Sc. being started at IITK.” I was back to the DD. And again he sent me back to Dr S K Singh saying that the scheme was going to be implemented soon. Dr S K Singh was not moved. What happened next was nothing short of the hand of Providence.
Dr G D Agarwal of the Civil Engineering department (now Swami Gyanswaroop Sanand of Save Ganga Movement) walked in as Dr Singh was getting angrier about the suggestion of Dr Muthana. GD, as we all lovingly called him, asked calmly what the issue was. After listening to my story he said, “You do not want to repeat the core year courses, and you want new courses, right?” He suggested to Dr Singh that he allow me to register for the new courses and that I would repeat the 3rd year courses later. Dr Singh agreed. My major concern was resolved and I wondered which angel to thank.
Thus my B.Tech degree was saved by the intervention of Dr Muthana in this highly improbable and bizarre manner. The cherry on the cake was that by the time I
completed the professional courses the stipulation of repeating the courses, whatever CPI one had passed with, was removed.
I never took up an engineering job. However, a B Tech from IITK has certainly helped me in my life in various other vocations or endeavors that I ventured into. I worked initially with The Tata Press at Bombay. Later I established my own design and printing unit in Delhi. Three courses in Fine Arts that I opted at IITK came to my rescue here. Now I cater to NGO’s work mainly; trying to justify the ‘constructive boy’ tag given by the DD!
During the last 20 years my creative juices have flown in the direction of teaching astrology at national and international forums. My story narrated above must have surely pushed me subconsciously to undertake astrology as a major passion in my life so as to understand ways the hand of Providence works.
I must say that my technical education has been of a great help in bringing scientific temper in dealing with a subject like astrology, though I have not pursued technology directly in my profession. About to flunk in the viva voce of Hydrology, I had made a solemn promise to my professor that I would never work in that field in my life. He gave me a D and let go. I have kept my promise.
Vinay Aditya (BT/CE/65xxx)
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January 2013
Short StoryA Cool Summer’s Day
Anoop Talwar
Neil had just returned from the park and felt great. His mother came and sat beside him and they chatted about how wonderful they felt in
the park. The trees with their thick foliage and branch-es were home to many birds and provided respite from the strong sun. Butterflies flitted from flower to flower. The constant chirping and twitter of birds was a delight for morning walkers. Neil always enjoyed his time in the park. So did Wendy! She would often come for her early morning strolls and she constantly eyed Neil. Neil was extra careful to keep his distance. He had been warned by his Mom to stay away from the likes of Wendy. And then there was also Katrina who sauntered along the walking track but made sure never to cross paths with Wendy. Katrina used to always give Neil the glad eye and often waited for him but to no avail.
Neil’s Dad Mr. Kanth joined in and sat alongside. He would always speak of the good old days when there were a lot of open spaces and a fresh breeze would soothe his frayed nerves, even on the hottest summer day. Neil’s Dad always spoke of those days of plenty. There was more space around, less traffic congestion, less noise & less pollution. Today he seemed quite disturbed. “What is the matter, you look worried” said Neil. Dad suddenly beckoned everyone to be quiet and began “Look, this time of the year is dangerous. A lot of people go mad. They do crazy things, which can harm all of us…..and could even be fatal, if you are not careful. Their behaviour just cannot be understood or explained”. Mr. Kanth had a strong hatred for all of mankind. “They have usurped everything one could conceive of in this world. They behave as if the whole universe and all its fruits, produce, resources, animals, are theirs for the taking. How greedy and presumptuous man is! He even pollutes the ponds and seas by immersing idols full of chemicals. …and then stupidly goes on to eat the fish which are polluted and poisoned with such chemicals. The amount of garbage mankind generates each day is unthinkable!” Neil was busy nibbling on a snack and paid no heed. He was used to Dad’s sermons.
The next day Neil went on a long journey and returned quite tired in the evening. As he was settling down to sleep in the night he noticed bright lights everywhere. They looked so beautiful, he thought. His reverie was suddenly, interrupted with a series of explosions! The sky lit up and small fires could be seen here and there! It was really frightening. He remembered the words of his father. “Some kind of celebrations - India wins a cricket match, someone getting married or something?” he thought. Young Wendy was on the street when the same sounds and fire broke out. The sudden explosions scared her to no end. The whole area was filled with smoke. One could hardly breathe! How could sane people do such a thing? Wendy started to run helter-skelter!
Meanwhile Neil was trying hard to sleep above the din of noise, but without success. Suddenly his thoughts turned to Wendy. He wondered how Wendy was coping with all the noise and smoke. He thought he would just bend over and peep out to see what was happening. Just when he leaned over to look outside Neil was struck by something hard and hot that flew in his face. He immediately fell down straight on the ground below and was totally still! All was quiet for Neil now! It was so peaceful! Mr. Kanth, realizing what had just happened, screamed and beat his chest. He was inconsolable and wept bitterly. There was little he could do.
The next morning everything was as usual. Wendy arrived for her morning walk and so did Katrina. Wendy saw something lying on the ground. It was none other than Neil! She put her mouth to Neil and cried “Woof “! Katrina heard Wendy, muttered a “Meow” and quickly jumped over the wall and disappeared under a car parked on the road. Dad flapped his wings dejectedly and cawed to the impassive skies, about the inhuman human race and what they call “Diwali!” He watched his dead son sadly and thought: ‘Neel-Kanth (Kingfisher), born 2 years ago was no more- he will never fish again!’. “When will mankind learn to have respect for others?”
Anoop Talwar (BT/ME/67xxx) [email protected]
January 2013
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kuC yahaM vahaM kI
baoTo ko naama
AkD, iksa baat kI baoTa yah ga,rUr kOsaa hOAaja jahaM tuma haokla hma BaI qao vahaMAaja jahaM hma hOM kla haogao tuma vahaM
na kao[- iSakvaa, na iSakayat, na kao[- ]mmaId[sailae nahIM ik tuma inakmmao hao yaa maOM ivaklphInaisaf,- [sailae ik maOMnao K,uSa rhnao ka nausK,a jaana ilayaa hOdu:K kI jaD,oM hmaarI ApnaI #,vaaihSaoM hI tao hOMkma kr rha hUM [nhoM QaIro QaIrona rhogaa baMasa na bajaogaI baMasaurIhma daonaaMo, samaanaantr roKaAaoM kI trhkBaI na imala sako tao kao[- baat nahIMek dUsaro ko vajaUd kao maanaoM, yahI bahut hOdUiryaaM GaT na sakoM tao kao[- baat nahIMbaZ, na paeM, yahI kuC kma tao nahIM Saayad #vaaihSaoM ABaI BaI K,%ma nahIM hu[M-MApoxaaAaoM ka isalaisalaa ABaI BaI jaarI hOABaI AaOr va@,t lagaogaa Saayad ABaI du:K AaOr Jaolanaa haogaa
Lost CultureSahagal, Lata, Mukesh, Talat, Rafi….. who….?
When I think of what has happened to my children who grew up in America, I feel that they have lost something important; at least something that I care about. There is nothing wrong in enjoying Bob Dylan or Beatles, or….. However, I think their lives would have been richer if they could also enjoy Sahagal, Talat, Lata, Mehndi Hasan, Mukesh, Rafi, …. I so much wish they had developed appreciation for Ghazals and Geet the way I developed appreciation for Jazz and Blues.
KOr‚ kuC Kaonaa‚ kuC panaa calata rhta hO. ijatnaa imalaa‚ vahI bahut hO. kBaI iksaI kao maukmmala jaha^M kha^M imalata hOÆ
bakaOla inada faja,laI:
kBaI iksaI kao maukmmala jaha^M nahIM imalatakhIM ja,maIna‚ khIM Aasmaa^M nahIM imalata.
What We Are Capable Of Doing….Cruising on the Chhao Praya River in Bangkok and see-ing boat-people, living in dirty waters next to high-rise multi-story, multi-million dollar apartment complexes with Mercedes, BMW, and Volvos in their parking lots, I thought: how much injustice a human being is capable of perpetrating on another? I couldn’t swallow my ice cream. Do some of these boat-people ever think how it would be to live in those apartments that they had built with their own sweat and blood?
But then, the poor do not even have a right to such thoughts. They should thank the builders who gave them jobs ignoring the minimum wage laws and safety standards. Thank God! For the rich, the poor are ready to get exploited rather than remain hungry.
What choice do they have? Isn’t that wonderful that there are so many poor ready to serve the rich for a pit-tance? Why would the rich want to eradicate poverty? Perhaps, donating to charity is not only ego-boosting; it is so much more convenient to do so than to have re-spect for legal system, and human rights!
Is distributing some ointment for them to put on their wounds better than stop inflicting the pain in the first place?
Random Pages from a DairyAshok Gupta
Ashok Gupta (BT/ME/67xxx) President, Alumni Association, IITK.
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January 2013
Saama
klaSahr sao Aato va@,trasto maoM imala ga[- SaamakuC ]dasa saImaOnaoM doKa hO]sao A@,sarsaD,k ko iksaI maaoD prdovadar ko pICo Avaak\AaOrkBaI laana prek AQaUrI saI jaana phcaana hO kla ]dasa saI qaI vahA@,sar ]dasa rhtI hO,ParmaOnaoM ]sao hMsato BaI doKa hOAaOrApnaI hI SaaooiK,yaaoM sao Sarmaato BaIgaulamaaohr saI haM kla ]dasa qaI vahidla kI gahra[yaaoM maoM ]trtI]sakI ]dasakajala lagaI AaMKaoM naomauJao BaI ]dasa kr idyaa tBaI nae dUba pr camaktI Aaosa kI baUMd saImaasaUma ek baccaIAaMKaoM maoM Acarja Bar krdoKtI rhI mauJao kuC dorifr “AMkla Gar BaUla gae, , AMkla Gar BaUla gae,” kh krmauJasao ilapTbaotrh iKlaiKlaa ]zI
p`itEaut
jaanata hUM]WogaaoM kao jaInao AaOr ]nhoM nakarnao ko AMtiva-raoQa maoMivakRt , KMiDtmaora vyai>vaAba [sa yaaogya nahIM ik tuma Apnaa sakao ,Parntu maora kRit<va tao mat nakarao@yaaoMik vah tao pirBaaiYat hO]nhIM AakaMxaaAaoM , vaasanaaAaoM AaOr kunzaAaoM sao ,]saI pirvaoSa saojaao tumhara Apnaa hI hO .
[email protected] of Civil Engg, IIT Roorkee
Udaya Chitranshi (BT/CE/66xxx)
]dya ica~aMSaI
January 2013
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tmaaSaa
[email protected], I P S (U.P.)
@yaaoM banaat hao yah tmaaSaajajbaat ka ivaSvaasa ka,krto hao baokar saI kaoiSaSaimalaanao kIAlaga Alaga caT\TanaaoM kao@yaa baura hO jaao KD,o hOMvao ek dUsaro sao dUrkma sao kma Tkra tao nahIM rhobanaa rKI hO ApnaI ApnaI duinayaasapnao hOM Kud kotmannaa jauda jauda@yaa caahto hao tumaApnaI saaMsa BaI na lao sakoMimala jaaeMgao yah daonaaoMhr gaaMva maoM Sahr maoMyah @yaaoM nahIM samaJatovao @yaaoM nahIM svaIkarto
tmaama AMtr hOM buainayaadIjaIvana pd/Qait dRiYTkaoNamaanyataeM sandB-aek pUrba kao pUjataek piScama kao navaaj,ataek kaAllaah hOtao ek ka hO ramatuma @yaoMa Gausao jaa rho baIca maoM]namaoM tumhara Balaa @yaa kamaek krnao ko naama prbaZ rho hOM f,asalaosaaJaI saMskRit ko naama prna yah bacao na vah bacaomaana laao svaIkar kr laaoivaSvaasa hO [naka jaudakuC caIja,oM haotIM eosaI ikjaao ek hao nahIM pato
My Quotes, My Way !
Know when to be silent. SILENCE does not always mean you are WRONG.****
Don’t feed yourself by winning the SQUABBLES. Prepare yourself for BATTLES.****
To know what TO DO in your life is as much important as to know what NOT TO DOin your life.
****Don’t get satisfied with anything less than your potential. Your every cell should be
devoted to achieve your ultimate GOAL.
Manish Kumar Sharma (MT/NET/Y9xxxxxx)
Amitabh Thakur (BT/ME/85xxx)
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January 2013
IntoxicationSanjay Kumar Shukla
I am intoxicated and so is the worldIntoxication is in the airElse who plays the game of life as if it were a musical chair?When was last, you ferried through the muddy trek?To sail paper boat or fish tad poles in that stinking wreckCount yourself the days when you counted the starsCan you still feel the smell, when rain soaks the arid yard?Do you have enough time?To see the rain, weave her jewel crown after seizing hearts on ground.
I am intoxicated and so is the worldIntoxication is in the airI could have survived with my due ration, but luxury beckoned me so farGifts were all free but trapping them cost me huge INRRain drops trickles down the glass of speeding car, while my thoughts speed across workIt scampers with light while my mind ignorantly plays with bits and bytesIntoxication is in the air else who wants to work for a dime
I am intoxicated and so is the worldIntoxication is in the air
We sanctify, monetize and putrefy our GodsWe have divided the humanity and led us all to chaosI hear a wailing siren as it brought in its belly, brethrens muted in death and agonySomeone avenged misdoings, waging jihad against the restI hear crowd ousting their brethrens on ones behestWho intoxicated with power forgot the ration of six feet land for his chest
I am intoxicated and so is the worldIntoxication is in the airWe tickle our taste buds when someone stinks with the leftIs this the wisdom or was it when we were fed on the breastCan’t we search a haven?Where love rules and every human is a chosenI want to get back as a childCarefree and careless where there was no jealousy and no hatredI want to take deep breath leaving nothing that tomor-row I can regret
I am intoxicated and so is the worldIntoxication is in the air
Sanjay hails from Pantnagar, a reputed university town in the state of Uttarakhand. After his post-graduation from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 2007, Sanjay spent four years with General Electric - Aviation. At present he is with Aeronautical Development Agency, Ministry of Defense.
Between the chores of corporate life and his personal commitments, he has completed his first novel titled ‘Nobody Dies a Virgin’. He composes poems occasionally and apart from writing, he takes time out to pursue his interests in dance, swimming, and gliding.
Sanjay Kumar Shukla (MT/EE/Y5xxxxx)
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CrossroadsThrough the tainted window of my eyesI see in wait a hundred epic storiesStanding at the same corner of their lives,All with the amity of their own quandaries,Watching the movement of hurdles upon hurdlesAwaiting a sign to cross the road.
Often misinterpreted as merely the general massesSeeking a sort of desperate conformity,Each one endures the weight of matchless burdensSecreted behind the smiles and colloquity;They yearn to rid of the gratuitous anguishBut it is a secondary purpose to seek.
A change of signal encourages movementAnd a pulse of hope propels the multitude forwardAs they move on, despite their accompanying torment,Toward their own primary destinations anchored
To their personal, exclusive characterizations
Redemption A riven heart, a crippled wing,The touch of a caring soulAnd redemption is attained.We dare venture not past the precincts of sanity.But mustn’t this be assumed natural?Why, then, are our lives stainedWith crimes against humanity?
It truly is a pity;More than once have we viewed glimpses,Through portals of crude reality,Of apathy beyond perception.So often the heart wincesAt the perverted proceedings of the rabidAnd mourns the system’s imperfection.
Yet we must all dream of an unblemished world,Of relishing a unanimous reception,Of the credence of contrariety,And, someday, perhaps of redemption.
[email protected] - Cornell (Mech), B Tech - North Carolina State University
Research: IITK. Special interest : Nano Structures
Shreyasi Mukerji
Shreyasi Mukerji (RE/ME/IITK)
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It is interesting to go down the memory lane… especially so if the lane is decades long. Way back in
1972, we had entered 4th year of our B. Tech. and moved over from Hall Of Residence III to Hall I. It did stretch your creative faculties to create moments of mirth and laughter. The evening and late night bull sessions did provide for some relief from the mugga mindset. It was unfair that fair sex to male ratio tended towards zero and lack of romantic interest was missed by all the males.
Those days there used to be pen friend columns in some youth mags and guys did write to gals whose names or hobbies were found interesting and whose dates of birth less than 20 years old. I thought of doing reverse engineering. I sent a fake request for pen pals in the name of Snigdha Garg, age 18, hobbies: friendship with hunks.
Soon after its publication in Youth Times, the youth mag of TOI Group (It wound up some years later!), I started getting “responses”. Firstly, there used to be a few missives each day. But within a week the trickle turned into a torrent. The entire wing used to read them collectively and that too chatkhare le lekar. I had become a centre of all this excitement in their dull lives.
The letters came from the length and breadth of the country with a sundry few from abroad too. While some used to be simple expression of interest in friendship, others gave full narcissistic details of the writers’ physical assets. Some abjectly professed utter lack of feminine contact and went further to admit that this was their first letter to a girl. It was a sociological survey of those times that boys were living in privation for want of female contact.
Soon the letters started circulating to the other wings of Hall I. Many found the contents more funny and readable that the Travelers Series books. In consultation with friends, we also started writing back to certain respondents to heighten the fun. We used to get replies within days with more fervent requests for favours from Ms Snigdha. All was going well till one day I received this letter from one Himmat Yadav from Etawah. He
said that he was dying to meet me (read Snigdha) after my response to his first letter and would be reaching Kanpur at 5 pm on the following Sunday. In his original letter, he had mentioned that he was a district champion in wrestling and was an avid body builder and that I wouldn’t help admiring his strong chiseled physique.
Now, now the problem was very acute. From where do we produce this Snigdha gal? What if he creates a scene after not finding her and finds out the truth? I consulted my flock, all of whom advised me that in the first place, I shouldn’t have played this prank. Now they were unable to do much in the matter and I had to face the fury of the visiting pehalwan all by myself.
However, on my repeated pleadings they promised to be around when the Yadav came. The D day came and the opportune time also came. I remembered all my Gods, Goddesses, recited the Hanuman Chaleesa internally a number of times. The clock ticked 5.00. Nobody was around. I was finding it difficult to breathe evenly. Allah-allah karte it was 5.30 but there was no sign of the visitor. Then, at 5.45, there was a loud knock of a lathi on my door. I held my breath but did not open the door. Soon the second knock followed. Then there was gruffy and loud call, “Snigdha rani darwajja to kholo.” I was at the loss of my wits. But I was s**t scared to do the needful. Fortunately for me a friend called Baalkee intervened. “Open the door he doesn’t understand English. We will manage everything.”
Darte, darte… I opened the door, but that Pehalwan was not to be seen. I took a sigh of relief, but I was unable to comprehend the situation. Just then a flock of 15-20 guys came out of Dinesh Joshi’s room and shouted, “Baalkee ka bakra banaya? Sale! dusron ko bakra bana kar maje le rahe they! Aaj khud ki bari aye to kyun p****t rahi hai?” and let out a resounding hearty laugh which soon turned into a thahaka which lasted for more than a few minutes.
Needless to add, some guys had managed to draft and send a fake letter to me after creating the imaginary character of Himmat Yadav.
Bal Krishna Gupta
From Halls of ResidenceWhen Snigdha Lost Himmat
[email protected] Krishna Gupta (BT/ME/67xxx)
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Take Home QuizEach question carries ½ mark.
Answer Yes or No. No negative marking.You may consult an encyclopedia / take the help of your spouse to improve your grade
1. Have you ever given solace to bereaved?Have you ever fed someone in dire need?Have you ever shown the way to a blind?Have you ever been forgiving and kind?
2. Have you lifted any baby from the wild?Have you ever helped to educate a child?
Have you picked any child from the street?Have you enabled him to make both ends meet?
3. Have you ever looked at an invalid’s plight?Have you helped him to stand and fight?Have you seen any sleeper on foot path?
Have you provided him with shelter and breakfast?
4. Have you ever stopped to see an injured on road?Have you ever driven him to a doctor’s door?
Have you ever saved any drowning being?Have you ever helped him cross the stream?
5. Have you ever provided a home to an orphan?Have you ever empowered a poor woman?Have you seen God in his infinite creation?
Have you seen the miserable as a way to salvation?
Kingdom of God Entrance Examination
Prof. G S Kainth
Prof. G S Kainth (Retired/ME/IITK)
Ravi Gossain had his first one man show in the library of IITK in 1969, inaugurated by
Dr. M S Muthana. These are historic signatures - arun
Mrs. Krishna Kelkar
Prof S K Saraf
Prof Ranganathan, Chemistry
Aneja twins
Prof M V George, Chemistry
Dr M S Muthana
Art Exhibition Recent Paintings and Some Historic Signatures of IITK
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GallerY RaginiPresents
Birds Butterflies and Henry Moorecurrent series of paintings by
Ravi Gossain
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‘Birds, Butterflies and Henry Moore’, engages an inspiring mystery across architectural space to capture the
freedom of a spirited butterfly or the contemplative brooding bird as a mere observer. The bird, as nature is
a constant observer figure in these series. The bird runs through time all the way from the present modern-
world to the age of the Upanishad as the mythic – observer- the seer, the soul and witness of time. at the
same time there is also the ‘alter’ motif of the Butterfly as the Karma- ego, the ephemerality in history. The
tension between time and space is thus allegorized by Gossain through these two figures.
For Gossain- abstraction was always a vocabulary he instantly could relate to, from the mathematical
abstractions of a scientific educational background to the similarly yet somewhat opposed intuitive
reverberations of the creative mind. The rendition of his creative expressions on a clean white canvas that
eventually evolves into a different time- space through his brush-work is what he sees as the material
analogue of the infinitely nuanced, spontaneous, yet necessarily meaningful circuits of his ‘mind-field’. The
idea of his canvases is to explore the boundaries, tensions which lie between consciousness and what
transcends it.
Moore’s abstract- figurative style becomes more than a mere template for Gossain as he modulates further
derivatives of it. Form therefore becomes central to his works due to which his canvases are designed on
a large scale, enabling each nascent form and idea to develop effectively into its potential other meanings.
Each of the work reveals a powerful tension between the fullness and luminosity of color and a stillness of
form, and control over the object. in various compositions the bird is stoically perched and the calmness
and strength of this balance is complimented by a certain fluidity of the background which begins with
textural brush strokes and then fades into softer shades. in ‘Butterflies and Henry Moore’, the viewer is
again confronted with this intense force between the static and the kinetic energy of the composition.
While the butterfly is exquisitely free floating, the geometrical form in the centre defies its boundaries, as
it were, and flows into other fluid shapes. it is precisely this exquisite treatment of balance in space and
color that lends Gossain’s works an irresistible vitality that can seldom fail to draw the viewer into a deep
reflective mode.
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sunflower & Henry Moore | oil on canvas | 80” x 90”
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Untitled | oil on canvas | 80” x 90”
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Untitled | oil on canvas | 80” x 80”
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Butterflies & Henry Moore | oil on canvas | 66” x 80”
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space station Butterflies | oil on canvas | 66” x 80”
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Composition | oil on canvas | 80” x 94”
Butterflies & Henry Moore oil on canvas | 7ft x 16ft
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Butterflies & Henry Moore | oil on canvas | 55” x 65”
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Composition | oil on canvas | 60” x 50”
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Birds & spaces | oil on canvas | 60” x 60”
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Birds & spaces | oil on canvas | 60” x 80”
stretch of Time | oil on canvas | 60” x 80”
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stretch of Time | oil on canvas | 60” x 80”
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Composition | oil on canvas | 60” x 60”
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Composition | oil on canvas | 60” x 60”
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Composition | oil on canvas | 60” x 60”
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Blue Bird | oil on canvas | 60” x 100”
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Composition | oil on canvas | 50” x 50”
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The Bodh Tree | oil on canvas | 60” x 72”
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Ravi GossainBorn in 1950, shimla, india. Gossain graduated with B.tech in chemical engineering from iiT Kanpur. His passionate pursuit of art and painting made him a keen student of the medium and he held his first solo show during 1970-71 at the Kanpur iiT campus. For the next 25 years Gossain travelled, worked and visited more than 35 countries, where he became business consultant with several corporate companies. He returned to painting with three consecutive solo shows during 2002-2004 at the visual art gallery, india Habitat Centre, Delhi with a series titled ‘sunflower and space’. He has travelled with his yearly shows ‘Celebrating space’ 2006-2007 to Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore. Gossain’s recent solo show ‘The Big Leap’ was held at Gallery Ragini, Delhi 2010. Lately, he has been working on his series “Birds, Butterflies & Henry Moore” for the last 3 years at his studio in Gurgaon. The artist lives and works in Delhi.
artist with ‘Drawing in oil’. 75” x 125”
Ravi Gossain (BT/CHE/66xxx)
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Photo ExhibitionWild Life Photographs
Andaman Emeral Gecko : Shyam Ghate
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Shyam Ghate
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Shyam Ghate
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Shyam Ghate
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Shyam Ghate
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Shyam was awarded a prize by SANCTUARY ASIA for this photo of elephants.For this image titled ‘Elephantine Restraint’ that encapsulates the theme - ‘ The call of the wild’This magical image captures elephant life in Corbett National Park more effectively than the proverbial ‘thousand words’ ever could.The dust, the lighting, the adrenaline, all combined to win this image the prize.For his technical skill, timing, patience and his incredible eye, we honour him.- SANCTUARY ASIAhttp://www.sanctuaryasia.com/photography/gallery?option=com_rsgallery2&page=inline&Itemid=347&gid=311&limitstart=2
Shyam Ghate
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Shyam Ghate
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Shyam Ghate
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Shyam Ghate
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Shyam Ghate
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Shyam Ghate (BT/CHE/67xxx)
Shyam Ghate
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Jugnu is an educational satellite, designed and built by a team of students in IIT Kanpur, to demonstrate an indigenous
nano-satellite platform for future Low Earth Orbit space missions. The principle benefit of these nano-satellite platforms is to test recent developments in the fields of electronics, materials, and systems engineering in orbital conditions at lower risk and price points than is otherwise possible. In future, scientific experiments can be realized on these small platforms. Technology and principles utilized here can also make their way into large scale satellites to help miniaturize them.
Since its launch over a year ago, on the 12th of October, 2011, Jugnu has been functioning in orbit, and it has sent satellite health data of its subsystems, which will be used in the development of future satellites.
Dr Madhavan Nair, the then Chairman of ISRO and Dr. S.G. Dhande, Director of IIT Kanpur at that time sowed the seeds for design and development of a nano-satellite at IITK during a visit of Dr. Nair’s to the Institute.
The project started with a thorough study of the previous nano-satellite missions around the world. At that time, there had been around 87 different pico and nano-satellite missions in various stages. Some projects were completed successfully, some still in development, while the others had failed.
It was towards the end of 2007 when the small, newly formed team attended a meeting of ISRO-IITK Space Technology Cell (which has been in existence at IIT Kanpur for more than a decade; meant for promoting space research), in which the idea of building a satellite was formalized.
The project started with just two students. The initial discussions with ISRO took more than one year, An MoU between IITK and ISRO was finally signed in January 2009, aiming at design, development and launch of a 3 Kg satellite. By this time, the students’ team had grown to a size of 20. There were 8-10 professors involved in the project, for
mentoring and guiding the student team. While the project was a student project, and the team was essentially a student team, its execution was unlike any other such project we had witnessed. A high level of professionalism was maintained, which proved essential for managing the full complexity of the project as we slowly began to understand the scope of the work involved. Within the next six months, the team grew to around 50. From conception to launch of Jugnu, it had around 200 students drawn from the Y3 to Y10 batches, from various departments and programmes; faculty members from various disciplines, project associates and institute staff had contributed in accomplishing this mission.
We learned and evolved the skills necessary for this task throughout the project. Some of our initial satellite mechanical integration schemes were not in CAD software but in Word Art. Many of these sketches were as elaborate - if not more so, given the kind of annotations that were possible - than any CAD model, and were used in every discussion and report till the very end.
The most exciting moment during the entire journey was its launch, on the 12thof October, 2011 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (also known as SHAR, in Sriharokata, Andhra Pradesh) by ISRO’s PSLV C-18 rocket.
Our core student team was able to witness the launch from various locations at SHAR. We watched with awe as the thundering roar of the PSLV set the stage for the first glimpse of the rocket as it cleared the tree line, lifting with surprising grace into the blue sky. When launch control announced the successful injection of Jugnu into its orbit, everyone watching, both at SHAR and at IIT Kanpur, erupted with joy.
Approximately two hours after the launch, the first reports of beacon were received from a HAM operator in Israel. Subsequent reports followed quickly from HAMs across the world, including India, France, Australia, Japan, and the United States.
Jugnu - An Experience of a LifetimeShantanu Agarwal and Chintalagiri Shashank
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It was not an easy task because such a project was never attempted in the past and the necessary technical expertise and protocols of making a complete nano-satellite were not available at IIT Kanpur. Even ISRO was relatively inexperienced with spacecraft of this scale, and we found that many of their solutions would not work for us.
Social pressures or financial issues faced by some students made it very difficult for them to stay back at IITK after their graduation to complete the mission, but they did.
Some of the unique moments and interaction with faculty at IIT Kanpur which all Jugnu team members will surely miss now were grand treats at Prof. Vyas’s house, homemade chats and snacks being brought by Mrs. Anjali Kulkarni, satellite debugging with Dr. V. Raghuram, review trips to Bangalore, running integrated satellite sequence at SHAR (Sriharikota) over Remote Desktop prior to its assembly with the launch vehicle, beach and backwater trips with Prof. S. Kamle in Trivandrum, working on antennas at noon on roof top in the summer of Kanpur, and sometimes even at midnight while tracking Jugnu.
Prof. A. R. Harish used to say that Jugnu would not wait for him but his other activities could wait. We can never forget the short, sweet, and ultimately critical discussions we had with Prof. H. Hablani. In the final stages of testing and integration at ISAC, scientists worked with us till late hours. We got to learn things from them which we are unlikely to have learned anywhere else, perhaps even if we had joined ISRO as employees. Over this period, many of us got a chance to visit the major centres of ISRO at Bangalore, Trivandrum, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow.
In terms of technology, Jugnu is at least as complex as any nano, micro, or pico-satellite that we had studied. Described below are some of the principle features of the Jugnu nano-satellite platform.
These features arose from a careful analysis of Jugnu’s mission requirements. In general, they are at the source of Jugnu’s ability to function adequately in the harsh environment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with the fall back safe
mode option in case of any possible damage to the satellite over time.
Three-axis stabilization Typically, nano-satellites use very minimal Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS). A number of very successful nano-satellite missions have used just a permanent magnet to maintain the satellite orientation in space. A few others are spin stabilized. There are a handful of nano-satellites which use only magnetorquors to provide some degree of control. While this is preferable for some specific kinds of missions, most useful payloads require a greater degree of attitude control to be effective. Remote Sensing and Astronomy satellites usually have the greatest attitude control requirements. Jugnu is the only nano-satellite we came across which uses quadruple reaction wheels for achieving a full three axis stabilized flight profile. Our simulations put our ADCS capability at about 1 degree pointing accuracy, and less than 0.1 degree per second angular rate. The maximum angular rate achievable under normal circumstances is 0.16 degrees per second per axis.
Flexible Power Distribution During the design of Jugnu, care was taken to ensure that the means to disable any individual system were available. This allows us fine grained control over our power consumption, and circumvents damage that may be caused due to any individual system. In addition, various devices draw power from one of the two separate Electrical Power System (EPS) boards and their battery packs, each of which supplies power at 3 different voltages. This separation using current regulated switches allows immediate deactivation of damaged systems without causing catastrophic failure.
Distributed Processing A reduction in overall design complexity was achieved by distributing processing power to the nodes that actually require it. This allowed system operation without putting any high frequency clocks on the main satellite bus itself, and helped in minimizing satellite bus traffic. It also provided the possibility of disabling some sections which could be shut down for a short time to save processing power. This is, in some sense, against the recommendations of ISRO for miniaturization.
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They suggest using a single processor to reduce the number of cards. In general, the approach taken by nano-satellites in this regard is varied, with examples from both ends of the spectrum.
Partial Redundancy Jugnu has two separate sections of the system, so that in the event of failure in one section, the other will still be able to perform some minimal functions. Each section contains an On-Board Computer, a Power System, some form of RF transmission capability, and some form of ADCS actuator control. Neither section can perform all of its functions alone, however. Full redundancy has so far not been possible in such a small platform. One notable exception, a PicPot, was lost in the tragic Dnepr launch failure in 2005. While PicPot was an impressive design, we have some doubts as to the capability of its power plant to generate sufficient power to keep it alive. In any case, in terms of flexibility for payloads and mission requirements, Jugnu outclasses that particular satellite.
Software, Triple Memory Redundancy (TMR) Traditional space and military grade systems used TMR in hardware. ICs that contain TMR capability are orders of magnitude more expensive than their commercial grade counterparts. Further, any attempt to implement TMR in hardware using commercial grade hardware results in an excessive reduction in space available for payloads. In order to overcome these problems, we were able to implement near complete TMR in software using an approach that we’ve never seen documented in the wild before. This reduces our footprint of vulnerability to
radiation induced memory corruption to a small fraction of what it would otherwise be at minimal additional hardware cost. Field Re-programmability Most of the cards in Jugnu with controllers on them were designed to be re-programmable. In terms of hardware, Jugnu has everything necessary to update the software even in flight, at least in theory. We did not implement it in software
due to the low bandwidth of the uplink, which made the update unfeasible and/or risky, combined with a lack of sufficient manpower. We have not seen any nano-satellites which have this capability. Even larger, traditional satellites usually have all the possible operations written into the software, which can be activated by changing parameters by a tele-command. This is probably due to the typically low bandwidth of the uplink and the risk associated with reprogramming in flight. It may not be feasible to implement this even in future missions, unless the payloads themselves require a high-bandwidth uplink. In such case, the required effort and
resources can be directed towards the necessary RF system enhancements.
Full Duplex The Jugnu communication protocol is a modified sliding window protocol with cumulative acknowledgement tailored to our application. It is optimized for a low bandwidth uplink and a high bandwidth downlink, with a worst case Bit Error Rate (BER) of 10E- 3 in both directions. Jugnu has motivated several universities across the country for starting their own satellite programs. Private sector companies are also now exploring the commercial benefits of small satellites. There is a good possibility that IIT Kanpur will take this forward with a next small satellite with applications of better commercial viability and social interests.
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Core Team Responsibilities1. Camera (Payload)Kshitij Deo : Y5 Batch (Dual), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Incubated a company Buffer Labs, working on Embedded and Wireless Systems. Hari Om Agarwal: Y8 Batch, M. Tech Department of Electrical Engineering. Working in a startup in NCR region in the field of Signal Processing.
2. GPS (Payload)Arnab Dhabal : Y7 Batch, Department of PhysicsPursuing his PhD at University of Maryland, Department of Astronomy.Siddharth Paliwal : Y7 Batch, Department of Chemical EngineeringPresently working as a Management Trainee in Galaxy Surfactants Ltd., Mumbai
3. Inertial Measurement Unit (Payload)Soumya Jain : Y8 Batch, Department of Electrical Engineering, final year student.
4. Attitude Determination & Control SystemAmrit Sagar : Y5 Batch (Dual), Department of Mechanical EngineeringPursuing his PhD at Tufts UniversityMedford, MA.ParulSingh : Y7 Batch (Dual), Department of Aerospace EngineeringWorking as a Associate Engineer at Airbus Engineering Centre India.
5. Communication SystemAnkesh Garg: Y5 Batch (Dual), Department of Electrical Engineering Working at SAC Ahmedabad, ISRO.Anubhav Singla : Y7 Batch (B. Tech), Department of Electrical EngineeringPursuing his Masters from Stanford Univ.
6. On Board SystemArpit Mathur :Y6 Batch, Department of Electrical Engineering, Working as a Design Engineer II, Applied Micro Circuits Pvt. Ltd, Pune.Anant Goel :Y9 Batch (Dual), Department of Aerospace Engineering Pre-final year student.Shruti Mittal :Y8 Batch (Dual), Department of Aerospace Engineering, Final year student.Ankush Pankaj Desai : Y8 Batch (M. Tech), Department of Computer Science &
EngineeringWorking as an Assistant Researcher at Microsoft Research Labs Pvt. Ltd.
7. Power SystemSaket Saurav : Research Associate, Department of Mechanical EngineeringWorking as a Research Engineer at IIIT Jabalpur.Nitesh Katta : Y7 Batch (Dual), Department of Electrical EngineeringWorking as a Design Engineer at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd, Hsinchu.8. Structure Abhinav Jain : Y8 Batch (Dual), Department of Computer Science & Engineering. Final year student.
9. Thermal System: Kunwar Apoorva Singh : Y7 Batch (B.Tech) Department of Mechanical EngineeringWorking as a Management Trainee at Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
10. Ejection System and Antenna Deployment MechanismRohit Ranjan : Y7 Batch (Dual) Department of Mechanical EngineeringWorking as a Technical Manager, Passenger Car Unit at TATA Motors, Pune.Raghu Raj Dutt Mathur : Y3 Batch (B. Tech) Department of Mechanical EngineeringWorking as a Technical Manager at NBC Bearings, Jaipur.
11. Ground Station Kumar Devvrat : Y8 Batch (B.Tech), Department of Mechanical EngineeringWorking as a Software Specialist at Opera Solutions, Noida.
12.System Engineering Shashank Chintalagiri: Y5 Batch, Department of PhysicsPresently working at a Technology Startup on high-end scientific instrumentation, Quazar Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (http://www.quazartech.com)
Shantanu Agarwal:Y4 Batch (Dual), Department of Mechanical Engineering Incubated a company, Arnium Technologies Pvt Ltd. at SIDBI IIT Kanpur, working on development of a Smart City Platform. (www.arnium.com)
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Shantanu Agarwal (BT-MT DUAL/ME/Y4xxx) and Chintalagiri Shashank (MSc5/PHY/Y5xxx)
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rat zhrtI hO jabatuma Akolaojagato hao krvaToM badlatoAaOr sapnao ]Barto hOMjaao ]jaalao maoM saaota hO ]sao]zanao samaJaanao JakJaaornaoAaOr yaad idlaanaotumhara [ithasayaa sahI ga,lat ka ehsaasarat zhrtI hO jabatuma BaTkto haotMga AMQaoro gailayaaraoM maoMyaa }pr jaato jaatonaIcao ka rasta Kaota jaata hOpr ja,maIna pukartI hOigarnao sao Dro]trnao kao baotabatuma ]D,naa caahto haonaIcao ]trnao ko ilaeApnaI }Mcaa[\ sao proSaanaAkolao AaOr BayaBaItrat zhrtI hOAksar gau,ssao kao BaD,kanao]nako iK,laaf, ijanakIek AaMK baMd hO[Msaaf, ko naak,aibalamaSagaUla hOMApnaI ilayaak,t kI naumaa[Sa maoMiGaro hOM palatU gaurgaaoM saoijanhoM dularanaayaa ]nasao laD,naatumhoM nahIM Aatarat zhrtI hO jabaja#,ma yaad krto hOM yaaek na[- dastana ifr saopuranao saf,aoM prdstk, dotI hO AaOrek JaraoKa KoalatI hOgauj,aro hue baga,IcaaoM maoMvahI rMga vahI K,uSabaUspSa`- kI hrartvahI saaqa punaScadaohranao yaa Barmaanaorat zhrtI hOifr sao Sua$Aat krnao kaop`oirt krtI hOkr sakao taonahIM tao ifr kBaI sahIsaba kuC ifr saoprKnao ko ilaeek maaOka dotI hOidna inaklanao sao phlaojaganao ka,o badlanao kao
A$Na EaIvaastva
(Translation of : rat zhrtI hO) A pause in the nightWeighs heavyAs I twist and turnWith dreams and night mareA wake up call thatDithers me out of thoughtless slumberWading aimlesslyIn the dark alleys in tranceClimbing endless stairs withNo balustradesLeading no whereI look downLosing groundFearing a fallYearning to flyFor landing safelyOn my pastI wake upThere is a pause in the nightI am alone with my thoughtsI should reset if I couldHere’s a chance to restartMorning’s far awayI can be another meBefore dawnAnd sleep through these pausesIn the night in peaceA pause in the nightSurges up frontThe deepest angerAgainst one eyed despotsIndulging in self prideWith their parasitesDancing to the drums ofbelligerence, hired on purposeSmiles singe as IRefuse their deal or danceYet endure and go onWith hope for a pauseIn the night before dawnA pause often turnsSome leaves from the pastLike a window in presentAnd brings in familiarFragrance, warmth and joysWithin reach once againTo relive or get lostThe pause lends helpTo reflect and resolveTo wake up and startAll over once againBefore I walk Once more My same beaten path Arun Srivastava (BT/EE/67xxx)
rat zhrtI hO A Pause In The Night
Issue 1
68VOICES
January 2013
EVENTThey Said It
Notes from PAN IIT Kolkata 2012Arun Srivastava - Editor VOICES
Ms. Mamata Banerjee Chief Minister of West Bengal
Keynote address on 7 Dec. 2012
You are golden brains of the world.If you cannot do it don’t tell others to do it; that is our work culture.Only destructive work gets highlighted, constructive work is not highlighted.WB grew by 6.9 % and India by 5%, last year. Very soon there will be three film cities in WB. Swami Vivekanand said, “Strength is the medicine for all deceases”.Rabindra Nath prayed: Give me strength to never disown the poor. Please invest here and give us strength. West Bengal is small state but it is beautiful.Please don’t forget us.
She had brought a surprise gift for all the delegates and stayed back on the dais after her speech until every one in the auditorium had received it from her volunteers. The gift was a beautiful handmade jute bag containing a packet of a typical Bengal rice, Darjeeling tea, and a piece of Bengal handicraft.
We were asked to stay seated until the CM was escorted out of the auditorium, hearing this she came back from the door almost running and said, “Your life is more important than my life. I am a commoner; I don’t need any security. I don’t cause traffic jams, I just go”; and she went away at such a high pace that security were left behind.
Dr Partha Ghosh (IIT Kgp) Chairman and Chief Mentor - Boston Analytics
Be careful in using the terms “Excellence”, and “Center of Excellence”. Over usage is diluting the content of its mean-ing.
India lacks eco-system for collaboration.
There is a communication gap regarding need of invest-ment in IIT’s. Many alumni do not know what is happen-ing in the labs there and how well they can deliver. (Perhaps news letters are not sufficient and more detail is expected – Editor)
It is the base of the pyramid which makes a difference in every society but it is over looked here. When the base is energized the initiative to innovate does not remain con-fined to the highly educated population, and even drop-outs or not formally educated persons produce life chang-ing products. Edison, Faraday, Ford, Carnegie, Gates, and Jobs are possible in such an environment without IIT’s.
I do not consider my self educated if,I cannot talk to you honestly.I cannot observe that 9 O’ Clock is 9 O’clock whether it is Sunday, or Saturday, or Friday.I do not own the responsibility of my environment.
Don’t depend on foreign universities to improve Indian education, instead evolve Indian institutions like Nalanda and Taxila, (5th or 6 th century) which attracted foreign students thousand years ago.
M K NarayananGovernor – West Bengal
Threat from Pakistan is far less than it appears. More serious threat is from left extremism because of alienation of the marginalized classes, and asymmetric warfare from terror groups.
IITians have put India on the map of the world.
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Nandan Nilekani (IITB)Chairman – Unique Identification Authority of India
(UIDAI)UIDAI, the world’s largest inclusion project, has the po-tential to remove corruption at retail point by empowering a holder of this ID to use the public distribution system or a public service from any source and not get confined to a particular shop or a service provider. Any agency can interact with the holder directly without another interme-diary or interference from anyone else.
It is the first online ID facility having a target data base of about 1.2 billion with 10 finger prints and iris scan. 220 million ID’s have been issued already. The next largest DB any where is about 120 million.
It generates a 12 digit random number for each ID, making it extremely safe, and its authentication online takes just a few seconds. It has open architecture which means it can be used with any other application. Its other major advan-tage lies in de-duplication of an ID. It is impossible for one person to have more than one ID by any chance, and that is why it is truly unique.
It is the most sophisticated technology for the most basic need of the public.
Yogesh Chander Deveshwar (IITKgp)Chairman - ITC Ltd.
We have 1.2 billion aspirations to tackle.
Think of brands a person uses from childhood to adult-hood in milk, baby food, soap, shampoo, juices, pizza, noodle, razor, cosmetics, toothpaste, etc., and you find a foreign name at the top.
We need to focus on R&D to move up the value chain, and develop Indian intellectual capital to build Indian brands to address Indian needs, and then make them internation-al.
Incentives are required for scientists to do R&D.
In public sector 97% money goes to salaries and 3% to ac-tual R&D.
Change the rules of capitalism from (ecologically) disas-trous growth to sustainable livelihood.
A country is as good as its companies.
(Baron) Sushant Kumar Bhattacharyya, CBE (IITKgp)House of Lords, UK
We lost those who missed IIT’s in JEE because of the limit on number of seats and not because they were less capable.
Public sector wastes money with poor delivery.
Deliverables are required to be identified to attract private investment in R&D at IIT’s.
Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parikkar (IITB)Chief Minister of Goa
The essence of Gandhi’s thought: Knowledge without character and politics without principles lead to disaster.
Nancy Jo PowellAmbassador of USA
Community colleges bridge the skill gaps in job markets.
Each IITian should develop an app for transformation of governance or an app for literacy.
Look beyond technology for development and business.Ajit Singh (IITKgp)
Minister of Civil Aviation
More IITians are needed in politics.
We have 1.2 billion minds; do not consider them just mouths to feed. We have the biggest intellectual work force.
Innovation should be sustainable and scalable.
Peter Drucker said, “Knowledge needs to be challenged”. Ajit believes he is right.
IIT’s provide power to do good, transform, and excel.
We need a portal on skill development.
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70VOICES
January 2013
Mustan Tambawala (IITB)Retired from the corporate world
The anger resulting from terror attacks on Mumbai jolted me and a few other like minded persons. We decided to improve the system by active participation in the administration, but we lost miserably in the municipal elections of Mumbai even though we had the best of intentions.
We realized that politics sans principles and having support of muscle power, money power and divisive policies is not easy to defeat. Instead of being a service to the nation it is looked upon as a game of corruption and deceit.
There is no other way to succeed in this environment and change peoples’ mood of anger and bitterness against politicians and politics, except by joining politics and purging it of its malaise from within.
We have to demand performance from the Govt., and it cannot be done effectively from outside the legislature. That is why I am in politics.
Arun Srivastava (IITK)Retired
(My response from audience to the calls for innovation)
Regret to inform that TA 102 has been dropped long back from B Tech at IITK. I urge that it should be re-introduced without delay. That course fired our imagination even before we had learned engineering, and that is the true spirit of creativity. Perhaps 80-90 projects per 300 students were made every year during the 60’s.
Tinkerers’ lab at IITK is high class, it is optional, and it cannot substitute TA 102 with a teacher like Dr C S Murthy.
If IITK fails to re-introduce it, perhaps the Alumni can fund a few awards, but who will teach the content? Any one who might have preserved the course content please come forward in the effort to revive that beautiful course.
PS: Stanford still runs a similar course in the first year of Bachelor degree, it is loved by all, and there is a good reward for the best project. Sad that IITK dropped it.
Why They Are In Politics?
Padma Bhushan Balasubramanian Muthuraman (IITM), Vice Chairman Tata Steel
Opening of minds is most important in an education sys-tem. The goal of education should be imparting knowledge, inspiring thinking/imagination, and promoting creativity.
Knowledge and fundamentals should be 1/3 of the process but it is over emphasized at the cost of the other two in the present system, therefore students lack imagination and creative thinking on job. There should be scope for action, reflection and introspection for the spirit of innovation to take roots.
Imparting of innovative skills was there in the Gurukul but it is lost now. More work needs to be done at the school level in that direction, because need for innovation cannot be fulfilled by just having more IIT’s and other institutions of higher learning.
Somnath Bharti (IITD)Lawyer and President IIT Delhi Alumni Association
A law under which anyone making an embarrassing/annoying statement can be arrested was passed in a bunch of 17 laws in 15 minutes. Such is the wisdom of our leaders in parliament. Administration is so powerful now that they can do almost anything to you and you remain helpless with little legal recourse.
Courts do not record proceedings. After hours of argument the judge simply writes, “Heard, dismissed”. There is no court reporter or record of what happened and how the decision was reached. A PIL for removing this anomaly has been pending for years; it is neither dismissed nor heard. The present set of laws was made to rule over us from London. This must change. Present politicians will not deliver the change since they are enjoying absolute power laced with money without any fear of being punished.
Politics is not dirty; it is the intention which makes politics clean or dirty. Just think of the leaders during the freedom movement and compare them with the present flock and you know what politics should be.
We want to change the rules so that you and your offspring can proudly join public service in nation building. We have seen that activism can only do patch work and it is insufficient. That is why I am now in politics.
Dr Amit MitraEconomist and Finance Minister of West Bengal
Capitalism as a term is obsolete as markets have failed (us) every where.
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Arvind Kejriwal (IITKgp)Convenor Aam Aadmi Party
Aam Aadmi Zindabad!
We did not join politics by choice. It was thrust upon us by the circumstances prevailing here and the challenge thrown at us by the corrupt and inefficient leaders sitting in the parliament today. All we wanted was punishment for the guilty of corruption. We wrote letters, we met all of them, we pleaded, and we went on fast several times, but they deceived us every time. There is total despair and distrust in the public for politicians and politics. It does not help and it need not be so. We want to raise people’s voice effectively in the parliament.
Common man is not heard, but rich industrialists are heard promptly nowadays. This country is only for the rich and the VIP’s, and we want to change it so that a common man can also lead a normal life with dignity and without having to beg for his rights.
At present there is no possibility of the guilty (of corruption) being punished. The opposition parties are not doing their job. There is no way an honest person can survive in politics without accepting the status co and “their rules”. We want to change the rules of this game and the type of politics practiced here so that people like you do not feel discouraged or ashamed from the task of nation-building which is actually the prime objective of politics.
There are only five countries in the world where INITIATIVE (for proposing a new law by the public) and REFERENDUM (public opinion on a major issue) are not practiced. India is one of them.
We have until 2014 to do our job and if we fail this time it may take another 40 years to reach the level of awareness which was brought about by Anna’s movement against corruption.
Please join and collaborate in our effort of changing the scene with TAN (tna = Manpower support), MAN (mana = Intellectual support), and DHAN (Qana = Financial support).
Nisha SinghMBA London School of Business
(has worked with giant MNC s prior to quitting a job to become a Councillor from Ward 30
Municipal Corpn. Gurgaon)
Pot holed roads and hopeless traffic in Gurgaon made me take up politics, because that was the fastest way to achieve the change I wanted to make.
To win a municipal election you need at least six months to get connected with your electorate effectively.
Communication is the most important activity in an election. Digital media helped me and it was managed by people from across the country whom I have not met even now. They believed in my sincerity and came forward on their own to render help. In other elections the effort and time have to be scaled up to suit the modes of communication for all types of voters.
It is my experience that public is waiting for good people to join politics and change the system.
Links to PANIITVideo Gallery:http://www.paniit2012.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=206&Itemid=128
IITians in Nation Building: http://www.paniitalumni.org/nation-building/index.html
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72VOICES
January 2013
jaI ha^M huja,Ur maOM baat baaMTta hU^M]na baataoM maoM jaao iCpI hOMvaah saaOgaat baaMTta hU^M
baatoM inaklaIM baatoM ibaKrIMKao ga[-M khIM‚ baZ, ga[-M khIMAba baataoM maoM @yaa rKa hOnaa maora hO naa tora hOjaIvana ko jaao pla saaqa ijaebasa vahI K,ja,anaa haqa ilaedaonaaoM haqaaoM sao lauTa rhamaOM Apnao qaaoDo, sapnao AaOr saMsaarbaaMTta hU^MjaI ha^M huja,Ur maOM baat baaMTta hU^M
idla kI kao[- baat naa rh jaelaaO kao[- khIM naa bauJa paeicaMgaarI kao fusalaata hU^MBar fUMk ]sao BaD,kata hU^MkuC QauAaM ]zo AaOr AaMca AaeiKla pDo, hMsaI AaMsaU Aaehr jaIvana maoM jaao basaI hu[-vah Aaga baaMTta hU^MjaI ha^M huja,Ur maOM baat baaMTta hmauJasao kao[- @yaa lao laogaamauJakao kao[- @yaa do dogaayah baatoM ekdma CUMCI hOMbaatoM BaI kao[- pUMjaI hOM Æ
hz CaoD, mausaaif,r Saama hu[-hr baat khIM pr Aama hu[-dao caar idnaaoM ko maolao hOM
sauK du:K saBaI nao Jaolao hOMtaraoM ko JaurmauT maoM rh kr saUrja AaOr caa^Md Akolao hOMbasa qaaoD,I dUr saBaI cala laoMmaOM saaqa maaMgata hU^M‚ AaOrBaUlaI ibasarI kuC yaadaoM kaAnauraga baaMTta hUMjaI ha^M huja,Ur maOM baat baaMTta hU^M
A$Na EaIvaastva
saMpadkIya
Arun Srivastava (BT/EE/67xxx)
January 2013
73
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VOICES
A Voice
This is the begining of a moderated perpetual party/bull.
VOICES is an effort to bring together all of us who have shared the joys of living through the transformative years of IIT/K. It is for alumni covering several generations who have seen through the great changes in technology as well as in social relationships / networking. We started with slide rules in the nineteen sixties. The present generation starts with laptops/tablets and cloud. How do we address needs of all these generations? Each generation has its own way of thinking and behaving, but we need to remain connected.
VOICES has to act as a catalyst to keep our bonds strong irrespective of location and vocation. I urge you to use this platform to share and enjoy our heritage and happenings in IITK and beyond.
The results and achievements may differ individually; yet the spark of excellence etched in our minds by IITK never fails to light up at the slightest of stimulus. It can be seen in the spontaneous smile of affection that flashes on the moment we come across another person from the campus any time, which in my case is 40 years after graduation.
Time flies. It vanishes in fact, the moment you enter the campus. The aura is still familiar though it is easy to get lost now in the growth of IITK. It is heartening to witness the institute keeping up with times as we age.
At our last Reunion @ 40 what struck me most was the realization that most of us appeared older than the senior most professors but our sense of student - professor relationship remained intact. Our hearts were full with reverence and gratitude. VOICES will have it as one of its missions to keep that sense alive.
I am raising just a Voice, please add on. Some columns planned as of now are,
HERITAGE- On formation of the institute.LECTURE NOTES - Memorable moments in the academic life.HALL OF RESIDENCE - Events in hostel life.VIEW FROM FACULTY BUILDING - Articles by / on facultyTECHNOLOGYTOPPERS - Distinguished and outstanding alumniPHOTO EXHIBITIONART EXHIBITIONHINDI PAGESARCHIVES OF INSTITUTE MAGAZINESEVENTSCOMMENT - Excerpts from readers feedback.
We need to share memories and memorabilia in photos, drawings, paintings, words, wee tidbit, advanced concepts and ideas. Keep them coming. They will all fit in these pages and continue to inspire us to construct a better future.
Arun Srivastava (BT/EE/67xxx)Editor: [email protected]
December 2012.
Editorial
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