Why I want to be ragged

Well, this probably comes as a surprise but I obviously cannot remain impervious to all what has been going on recently, so here goes:

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The Authorities,
Some College,
Some Country.

Dear Sir:

Re: Career Development and Personality Enhancement

Apropos the public debate in most of the media, I would like to say that I am strongly in favour of ragging and enumerate the reasons hereunder:

1. Interaction with Seniors: It is only due to ragging that we get acquainted with our seniors, and the friendship cemented during the ragging days last our lifetime. Besides, as possibly even the greatest dissenters of ragging will agree, it is the seniors who are of the greatest help during our college days. Good relations with them will only help us improve our performance and enhance our grades. Those who feel that the few days of ragging are a waste of time will probably have never thought about the incremental benefits of ragging. And ragging not only introduces us to our seniors, it also makes the relationship very informal and friendly. Usually, in school we are only friends with our seniors, mere acquaintances, and the friendship is limited to a hi. But in college, the relationship should be more relaxed, more free. And ragging helps to achieve that. I am amazed to think that I know more about my school seniors whom I knew for 12 years in school, in my 2 odd years of college life. I know them by more than names, I know them as real people, and I feel that my ragging period has a lot to do with that.
2. Knowing your batchmates: I am amazed to think how less I actually knew about my batchmates before I faced ragging along with them. Everyday, was a study in human psychology. I discovered something new about everybody well nigh everyday. Ultimately, I feel that today it is much easier to know my friends, their tastes, their hobbies, their feelings after my ragging experience.
3. Human Relationships: I feel that ragging has left me with an acute understanding of human relationships, when to press, where to withdraw, where to use sentiments, where to use strong words, when it is enough and when it is not. I feel that the gamut of human feelings I observed during my ragging days has left me a better person when it comes to my relationships with everybody. I have come to appreciate points of view, evaluate opinions, and reward diversity. I am a better judge of human character, as the multitude of people I have met has only sharpened my observation skills.
4. Networking: Since my ragging days, there has been an explosion of the network of my friends. I feel that I am better able to make new friends, and relate to different people much better. Apart from that, I am able to understand the priorities of others much better, and accommodate them, which results in more lasting friendships.
5. Extrovert: I feel that I am more of an extrovert now than I was before. I am able to approach people more easily, and am able to interact with them without feeling any kind of reservations.
6. Confidence: Perhaps, one of the greatest benefits of ragging is that it can give a great boost to your confidence levels, at least it did in my case. I can maintain my calm in difficult situations, I can control my emotions, I can hold my own against intimidating people, I can respect and be respected, I can approach strangers freely. I don't need to be chaperoned in every walk of life; instead can carve my own path, and this is only due to the diverse number of activities we had to participate in under the garb of ragging. I am more assertive now and more aware of my abilities.
7. Aware of Surroundings: During ragging, all sorts of things are asked by the seniors, from the number of tubelights in the common room, to the location of the nearest xerox shop. It seem a little inconsequential, but I feel it makes us more aware of our surroundings, and helps us to do better in crunch situations, as we feel more at home. Besides, it also develops a sense of belonging, which motivates us to compete harder at inter-hostel, and inter-college competitions.
   
8. Rediscovering Yourself: Last but not the least, you discover new facets of your own personality. We discover new hobbies, areas where we are good and where we can do better and the constant querying about ourselves, makes us introspect, and evaluate ourselves. It helps in focusing on our objectives, and defining our goals, so that we can work towards developing a strategy for achieving them. It helps in unraveling hidden faculties within ourselves, and makes us take up new and interesting work, which broadens our horizons. I feel I am more aware about myself, about my strengths and weaknesses, about my friends [and enemies], about my insecurities and victories, and this has helped me develop as an individual.

I feel that ragging is a small price to pay for all of the above improvements, and I strongly support it. However, it should be healthy, with both the senior and the junior enjoying it, which I surely did during my ragging days. I feel they were one of the best days of my life; and I surely am reaping a golden harvest and hope the others do as well.

Thus, I feel that an undue importance to ragging on the part of the authorities is not at all required. Yes, there should be a control, to prevent any untoward incident from happening. But I feel that the authorities and students alike should join hands in appreciating the benefits of ragging; and improve the interactions by organizing more competitions during this period. They should appreciate ragging in its spirit; in fact, advocate it, at the same time, keeping within their limits.

I hope better sense will prevail over all of us, and we will indulge in ragging in its true spirit and not just for the heck of it.

Thanking You,

Yours Sincerely,

Someone who has seen.
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Oops

Sorry, the link shd have read http://telegraphindia.com/1040729/asp/opinion/story_3552800.asp

Oops

Sorry, the link shd have read http://telegraphindia.com/1040729/asp/opinion/story_3552800.asp

Tata

Yesterday was a watershed in the history 0f Indian Business. It was the birthday of JRD Tata, whose surname is probably the most famous in the country.

As for being famous, I read a great article in the Telegraph Editorial yesterday. It talked of the Page 3 Gliteratti who are famous for the sake of being famous. Their only claim to fame is that somehow the press seems for be writing about them for no discernible reasons. Read the article at: http://telegraphindia.com/1040729/asp/opinion/story_3552800.asp. A typical example is Suhel Seth. I used to think that he ran an advertizement agency, but he was introduced in an article in HT as one who was a well-known media columnist. Besides, he is called for election analysis, for reviewing movies, for all conceivable things, of which he is obviously not an authority.

The Other 'IT'

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
It's the taxman.
Taxman who?
The seed of all your tensions

Indian Income Tax department is not something to be proud of, and we all know that. But now the tax authorities have decided to get under the skin of the taxpayers even more. From this financial year, with a retrospective effect, the government has decided that citizens will have to detail every penny they spend on a spreadsheet or another computer readable format, and provide it to the IT department. All the talk of simplyfying the tax filing process, the saral form, was all an eyewash. This will make life hell for citizens, as the notorious IT professionals will leave no stone unturned to fill their personal coffers.

Perhaps this is a new scheme devised by the government to bridge the humongous fiscal deficit. By recording the expenses of the rich and the famous, the government wants to build a directory and compete with banks in selling it to marketing companies. More offers will reach them[read: unsolicited mail], and will lead to more of such purchases.

Chain Reaction!!!

See the India Today report at http://www.indiatoday.com/itoday/20040802/business.shtml

Great Opportunities require greater Maturity

IIT = Institute of Infinite Tensions

It probably is correct. But guess what, I love it that way!!! Most people will think I must be crazy to like all this tension, but I feel it extracts the best out of me. When I am at home, and when there are no tensions, I just waste my time. And here, I get to do so many things, meet so many people, try new stuff, and also enjoy like hell.

And it is the same with most people. Ask any IITian and he will vouch that his IIT days are the best time of his life. Most of us are having a ball. We are free to do what we want. We can get down to the great depths of the oceans, or to the infinite resolutions of genes, atoms and molecules, or even to the binary world of computers to satiate our yearning for knowledge. And if one happens to be of the alternate bent of mind, (s)he could dabble in dramatics, mesmerise in music, dominate in debates, paint like Picasso, or do so many innumerable things, I could probably not count before coming here. Even for those gifted with a special ability in sports, this place is Athens, with possibly every sport in the world being played, and opportunities galore.

Yes, IIT is the land of a thousand and one opportunities, and you can develop yourself the way you want. Most of us dont realize this, but somehow swim with the flow to reach our destination. On the way, we pick up all sorts of abilities, maturity, and character that can stand us in good stead in our careers later. If we want to join the academia, there are all sorts of instruments we can play with, a huge library where we can learn, state-of-the-art labs to apply the theory, and a guaranteed future. If we want to join managements, we can hone our skills in the various clubs and societies, not to include the gymkhana, the umbrella over all of them. If we want to work, the system will ready us for the real world outside.

It is sadly not utopian. But I prefer it this way. After all, after passing out of here we will not be taking a one way ticket to heaven, where everything is great, people work together, you are clearly told what to do, and rewarded when you do it. The world outside is an epitome of chaos, where things never happen correctly, where you never get what you paid for. Then if we find that IIT is not exactly what we expected, what is the harm. You are only preparing for the future, where your colleague is praised for your successes, and you are punished for others faults. Where everybody is trying to kick the ass of everybody else, rise up another rung in the ladder, reach the top, and then throw away the ladder. Hell, What did you expect???

I do understand that the system is not perfect, but then nothing is, and I believe that over the years that system has really tried to move in a particular direction, and that is what is important. People say that it is a rat race in here, with everybody after marks, and nobody after knowledge. But tell me one thing, how else to test the knowledge you have acquired. How else to judge between two people. And what did you did in school, was it not based on marks alone? Here at least people get recognition for what they do outside the classroom. In school, it was marks and marks alone. The interface between the teacher and student was the examination paper. Probably the reason was that we did not have much of a choice in terms of the subjects. Here we have a choice, and you can see the outcome. Actually, you can not complain. This is human nature. When you tell a person to do a thing, he will do it. When you give him a choice, he will drive you crazy about how the system is not right.

I think before condemning the IIT system, we should compare the life o a normal IITian with his counterpart in another college. The guy in a city college will probably do class in the morning, then attend tutions, and then waste his evening watching television. His friend in another engineering college will be no better. He will have the free time, but where are the opportunities? Compare that with an IITian. He goes to class for about 6 hours in the day, and the rest of the day is for him to use [or waste]. How he makes use of his time is entirely upto him. He can spend time poring over books, or debating with his friends, or in the sports field. You should not crib after so much freedom.

Then many people say that the system is very taxing because the professors assume you know the basics, and proceed with the details. This is obviously not correct. But as the most intelligent bunch of students, is it not our responsibility that we take some interest to do what we have come here to do? People say that once you get into IIT, your career is made, not because its a cakewalk after that, but because that professors will ensure that you learn to learn by yourself, and distinguish yourself from your friends in other colleges.

Some are not able to settle in the rural and rustic setting of the IITs. They find it too boring, to dull, too slow. Well, for their information, this is a village with a 10 Mbps link to the internet, probably the only one which is completely wired, with supercomputers, and a olympic size swimming pool, and a huge Open Air Theatre; I doubt if Delhi will be able to match the infrastructure to residents ratio, or even New York. And even then, if it was in a city, wouldn't the same people waste more of their time, and crib even more about how the IIT doesnot promote learning? Cummon, wake up!!!

Some one had once said, "With Great power comes great responsibility". I think I would add, "And great opportunities require greater maturity".

Institute Of Infinite Tensions

Take a deep breath…

Say IIT…

What comes to your mind?

For a parent, IIT stands for the dream they have seen for their child; for a school student, it stands for that ultimate destination; for a guy who couldn’t get through JEE, it’s the prized achievement that couldn’t be…

But what does an IIT mean to an IITian?

“Institute of Infinite Tensions!!”, screams the graphiti on the front row bench in the Bhatnagar Auditorium, IIT Kharagpur. To an outsider, an IIT seems like the Golden Apple. You work hard, get through the IIT-JEE, and that’s it. It’s said that once you get in, life takes care of you. “Feel good, you are an IITian!!”

Well, that’s what people who are in awe of an IIT think of it. Then why is it that the same students who worked hard for getting in, despise their own dream? What are the infinite tensions these students go through inside an IIT?

“Acads!!” exclaim a group of my friends from IIT Kharagpur. A 3rd Year EC student says, “Our lives here have boiled down to mugging up humongous stuff churned up by the profs and recreating the stuff on the answer sheets.” Chintan adds, “It’s the department rank that finally matters.. It decides what kind of treatment you get, be it summer training, job or applying to foreign universities.” Howeversome of my friends beg to differ and logically say, “Being an IITian brings with itself the assumption that we guys are smart and intelligent. As such, the professors skip the basics, assuming we know a lot. Also, we are taught more than the students at other institutes. The system here expects a lot from us and we students think that everything should be served to us on a platter. In this conflict, we students end up complaining and grudging.” Point Noted.

Let’s get to the root of these problems. Where does it all start? I ask these same IITians whether they were aware of this kind of academic system in IIT, before actually joining in. As expected, the answer is a resounding “NO”. They say that they came to an IIT because they had heard that it’s the best in the country. They just wanted to be here. They had seen some uncle or cousin or that smart guy in the colony and thought that if he could be in an IIT, why can’t they? And then there’s the money and fame factor. “I came here because I wanted a 10 lakh per annum job at the end of it!!” emphasizes another friend. Doesn’t it look awkward that these smarties never even try to know what all the system expects of them, before coming here? Also more than 60 % of the students here are droppers, or second or third attempters who had worked hard for 3-4 years for the JEE in places like Kota, Delhi & Hyderabad. After they get in, they shun all the hard work thinking that they will now enjoy the luxury for which they had toiled so much.

The other factor that leads to frustration has been the non-proximity to urban areas. Except IIT Delhi, all the other IITs are a bit aloof from urban areas. Most of the students come from cities and find themselves alienated in the IIT campus. They feel that the adventure is missing.

The professors here sing a different tune. “The IITs are institutes of great reputation. Our quality is represented by the engineers and scientists we make. But being a good engineer doesn’t mean that you should only have firm concepts of engineering. What the students fail to understand is that IIT doesn’t only stand for academics. The various gymkhana activities and facilities available on campus are there to help in the all-round development of the students.” However, some students here feel that its these extra-curricular activities that lead to more choices and they fail to decide upon what they need to do.. pursue their interests or cram up formulae and notes.

But then, aren’t IITians supposed to be good at anything that they do? There are various 'studs' amongst us too. It’s all about time management. We guys are in a place which always demands that we give our best. Also, being in the company of smart people helps. You get motivated to perform better than your batch mates. One’s attitude matters a lot in this case. The competition here can either boost your confidence or make you completely lose it. There are so many of us who come here & lose faith in ourselves. These guys give up all hope and instead waste their time in unproductive activities like movies, chatting, playing computer games. These are what we can call “Unknown IITians”, no identity, but forever complaining about the system.

We have to realize that we can’t have a Utopian system where everyone is happy and satisfied. The IIT system of teaching isn’t perfect, but it’s a time tested success. There are many issues that need revision like department changes, distribution of credits, continuous evaluation system, increase in the number of seats, etc. But then, instead of complaining and crying foul, it’s the students’ responsibility of seeing to it that the right changes are made.

Don’t care much about what the IIT teaches you………

Care more about what you learn from an IIT.

Mera Bharat Mahan

To get a background why this blog comes the way it does, please visit Siddharth's comment on my blog.

Yes, I truly agree. There are many among us, who just for the 'heck' of it, want to denigrate our country; they find it 'uncool'. Sitting during our national anthem is one sign. But my bet is that the punk Sid is referring to, can not even recite the national anthem. He does not realize what power fills the spaces between the words of 'Jana Gana Mana'. He does not realize that our anthem is a tribute to our independance; the scores of freedom fighters who gave their lives only to make ours better; the millions who gave up their youth only to see their children and grandchildren revel in their independance.

It seems to be a universal phenomenon. Pick any teenager today, and ask him to sing 'Vande Mataram', the song with which freedom fighters used to motivate themselves; the call of the war. Hell, we haven't seen any wars, you would say. What about Kargil; it was recent, and it was televised. We saw it during the few months, felt for the soldiers, empathized with the family of the ones who gave up their lives, and then enjoyed it in retrospect, with popcorn in our hand, in a multiplex near our home. Patriotic movies make for good movie-viewing - because that is perhaps the only time we feel for our country. For most of the other time, we are too busy scheming to get more money, to get one-up on our neighbours, to improve our social standing.

I remember, when I was in school, we used to say proudly:
Sau mein se nabbe beiman
Phir bhi Mera Bharat Mahan!!!
And most of us will grow up to be the same beimaan, the same crafty man who is willing to sell his soul and his country for a few nickels, a few dimes. It is we who make what India is; and when we have such low respect for India ourselves, how can we expect the world to respect us.

And who cares for a solution? Either we run away from the country, seeking greener pastures, better pay packets, a western lifestyle, kids who speak in umreecan. Or we earn money here, and actually start enjoying the system. Start milking the cow, the kamdhenu; what better place to enjoy your wealth than in India. It is here in India that weddings are the most ostentatious, that homes have to resemble palaces, that social standing is directly proportional to your bank balance, quarterly average. The system is really fine tuned, if you are rich.

There is no harm knowing about western history, and greek mythology. In fact, if one looks at it closely it all seems to diverge from the same point. Noah's ark and the story of Manu and Shatrupa, bear a start resemblance. Even the Trojan war seems to resemble Ramayana; in both the princes fight for their wives who were carried away by others. But in this world of Cartoon Network and Pogo, what we must not forget is that roots are roots. They are what bind us to the soil; they are what keep us on ground. You forget your roots, and you start flowing with every new tide, new fad; and there is nobody to provide you the anchor every ship needs.

The ones who proudly proclaim that they belong to the 'US of A' even before setting foot on that soil, don't understand all this. Probably they will; after they experience the racism existent there - after they order the two volumes of The Wonder That was India. We cry all the time about the caste-system in India, but color-based discrimination is equally bad in the US. We bhuras do not fall into either category; and have to face the wrath of both. The white feels we should be doing lowly work, and the black that we have come to take away their jobs. And the only reason Indians are successful there, or perhaps in any other part of the world, is because they work their asses off to send money to their ailing parents or their expecting wife, or only just to make a point, change the perception of the world towards India. But the guy who does not have any love for his/her country -- how will he understand all this.

Yes, we will not die for our country. Cummon, we are not that good; even if we go to the border, we will probably mess things up. But we can make a lot of difference. We can at least try and change the way the world thinks of India, in our own little way. And most of all we can try to make Indians proud of India

Why a new Blog

The purpose of this blog is to provide a platform where a cohesive group can discuss, deliberate, debate, disseminate and discover issues, views and opinions. It started on my own blog at kpowerinfinity, and where Sid started posting huge huge comments and so I thought it would be better as another blog where he could post directly :D

Anyway, it also follows an attempt at bringing some kgpians together in the first year in the communicate_kgp group, in our first year, which however, did not bear fruit as each one of us got busy in our own way. This is an attempt to reincarnate it as a blog.

The name of the blog has been kept sanchar, hindi for communicate or rather disseminate, and at the same time also reinstating our roots with the hindi.

Yadi bhagwan ne chaha to we will soon be discussing some good stuff on the blog, and inshallah, will also improve our understanding of India and the world. Amen

Anyway, the first post will follow soon.