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BITSAA Chennai, BITSAA Bangalore, BITSAA Pune, BITSAA Hyderabad, BITSAA Indore, BITSAA Kolkata,
BITSAA Mumbai, BITSAA Ahmedabad, BITSAA Jaipur, BITSAA Nagpur,
BITSAA Silicon Valley, BITSAA UK, BITSAA UAE, BITSAA Singapore, BITSAA Australia, BITSAA East Coast,
BITSAA Arizona, BITSAA Chicago and many other chapters world wide.
Host Chapter Supported By
Weve moved on: First jobs. Oce buddies. Arranged marriages. New friends. Foreign stints. MBAs. Children.
Paunches. Hair losses. But still, years after graduation we still crave and yearn if something related to BITS is
around. As our senses resonate with vibes and a ood of nostalgic memories reincarnate before our eyes, did we
really move on? Except the BITSian inside us hasnt! Understanding this sentiment was our eort in making this
book to tickle the taste buds of every BITSian reader.
It was Nov 21st 2010, a day after my birthday and I was trying hard to get my brains back into reality after the
overnight party. Tring! Tring! I was asked to join a conference call with folks dialing from Pilani, Delhi, Sydney,
London, Silicon Valley, College Station, Madison and last but most importantly Middletown. Inspiring quotes,
provoking examples and some cheesy talk I was bought in! Boy, little did I know what I was signing up for :)
Project: "BGM 2011 5ouvenir Handbook"
Tine to Market: 4 weeks
DeadIine: 25th Decenber 2010 (few days for printing before BGM 2011 kicks off)
5ize: ~270 pages
Before you bracingly start reading the contents inside and get opinionated about its quality What is this
book all about? Every BITSian has a different reading appetite. Batch, sex, relevance, personal interests, passion
VQYCTFU$+65CPFOCP[OQTGUJCRGKV+HCP[QHVJGHQNNQYKPIECVEJGU[QWTCVVGPVKQP+COEQPFGPVVJCV[QW
will have an amazing time reading this handbook!
You want to see Pilani with Dr Rajendra Prasad, Indira Gandhi, Sardar Patel?
Glance at the picturesque of new campuses (Dubai, Goa, Hyderabad)?
How did GD Birla setup the deal with MIT/Ford Foundation?
I heard that creative stuff is published in Sandpaper can I get a sneak peek?
How and why did BITSAA International start?
What is the genesis of BGM?
How did BITS visionaries boost the brand of BITS?
Where did the 42 BITSian get-togethers across the globe take place in 2010?
What is the latest that BITSAA Newsletter has for me?
30+ projects are pioneered under the BITSAA umbrella want a brief overview?
What are the next biggest BITSAA projects?
All publication brands and several teams of BITSAA International including Sandpaper, Newsletter, Annual
Report, Branding Team and Communications Team joined forces to make this mother of all publications at a
scale never done before. We pulled the best of all worlds to address the reading propensity of our BITSian
diaspora. I hope you will want to keep the copy permanently on your bookshelf, show it off to your non-BITSian
HTKGPFUCPFRWNNKVQWVFWTKPI$+65KCPJCPIQWVUCPFLWORKPVQCHCPVCU[YQTNFD[KEMKPIVJGRCIGU

Like any other BITSAA project, a virtual team with real people put this book together. I did not meet a single
BITSian in the entire Souvenir Team till date. We talked over 1000s of telephone calls & emails, shared everything
over the Internet truly symbolizing how the BITSian synergy can work wonders. I also made several friends while
working for BGM and this handbook that could even outstrip the number of jigiri BITSian friends I had earlier.
editors note
There could be no better stage to unveil this book than BGM 2011. To me, BGM has four pieces in it Networking,
Enrichment, Entertainment & Branding. Several BITSians are making diligent efforts to see it through and probably
make it the biggest success story ever. Beyond doubt, we have huge strength in our unity. As the curtains rise on
7th January 2011 and BGM comes to life, let us all participate (all four pieces) in an event that will go down forever
in the annals of BITS Pilani history.
As I write this editorial and inch towards the climax of BGM arrangements, there is a rumble in my belly with
profound feelings getting accumulated from the excitement that BGM is shaping well, curiosity that I will be
meeting 1000+ BITSians, anxiety about D-day proceedings, the
mere disappointment that I might not be working with such
a diverse/dispersed/virtual team soon!
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will we have another BGM? If so, which year? US or India or
Dubai? Will I be called again for its souvenir handbook?
Suspense. Sure, time passes as the sand in the hourglass
drifts to answer all thesefor now let us raise our
glasses and enjoy this episode of BGM.
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the page. There are better things waiting
to keep your eyes captivated if not
more. Hope you enjoy reading
the book as much as we
enjoyed making it. Peep in!
5igning off!
satp
Satish Polisetti (2002A4A3388)
satp@bitsaa.org {Feedback, rants on this id}
Editor-in-Chief
Contents
A From the Desk of ... 1
B BITSians behind BGM 2011 ... 23
a. BGM Organizing Team 24
b. BITSAA Chapters Leaders 32
c. BITSAA Leaders 38
C The Story of ... 43
a. The BITSAA International Story 44
b. The BGM Genesis Story 52
c. GD Birla 54
d. KK Birla 57
e. V Lakshminarayanan 58
f. CR Mitra 60
g. S Venkateswaran 61
h. TC Goel 64
i. Coming of Age 66
j. brand unique...brand BITS Pilani 68
D Rendezvous with BITSAA ... 69
a. Chapter Events 2010 70
b. Current Initiatives 80
c. BITSAA Success Stories 86
E Giving back to alma mater ... 105
a. BOAAD Intro 106
b. Faculty/ Student Enrichments 108
F BITSian quill ... 115
a. iRemember 116
b. Sandpaper 144
i. Sounds like a Synonym 145
ii. Leadership, Change and Us 147
iii. The Pursuit of Happiness 150
iv. Sailing through ... 153
v. BITS to Antarctica.. 161
vi. Lost! 164
vii. The Dream Killer 165
viii. The Death of a Mantis 170
ix. Demise of the Artist 172
x. Insane Reality vs Real Insanity 173
xi. The Suitcase 175
xii. Pilani to Perumalpura 178
xiii. What is Life! 180
xiv. At the Barber 181
xv. The Invisible Thread 182
xvi. Westernization is [not so] Bad 183
xvii. If everyone cared 185
xviii. Pre-Pearl 186
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xx. Football, bloody hell 188
xxi. The Death of Formal ... 190
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xxiii. Photography 194
xxiv. FineArts 195
xxv. The Admirals Game 197
G BGM 2011 - Content & Agenda 205
a. Sessions/Panels Description 208
b. Schedule 214
Acknowledgments 244
Editorial & Design Team 246
Prof. Bijendra Nath Jain
Vice Chancellor
MESSAGE
Over tbe last sl oecaoes, 8|TS Pllanl bas trans|ormeo ltsel| |rom a set o| tbree colleges lnto one o|
|nola's top ten sclence ano tecbnology lnstltutlons. |t bas proouceo some o| |nola's |lnest sclentlsts,
oeslgners, managers, ano entrepreneurs, tbe creolt |or wblcb must go to tbose wbo palnstaklngly ano
sel|lessly leo tbe lnstltutlon |or over sl oecaoes ano to tbe |aculty ano sta|| wbo bave contrlbuteo so
mucb o| tbelr lntellect ano energy to 8|TS' ploneerlng work ln o||erlng to stuoents ln lts |our cam-
puses a currlcula wltb mooern-oay teacblng/learnlng processes tbat ls coupleo wltb lnoustrlal tralnlng
tbrougb Practlce Scbools.
Golng |orwaro, 8|TS seeks to become tbe Number 1 cbolce o| potentlal |aculty, asplrlng stuoents
ano olscrlmlnatlng recrulters. Tbat wlll bappen only l| (a) we remaln commltteo to run eoucatlonal
programmes tbat proouce leaoers |or tbe knowleoge-baseo economles o| tbe 21st century, ano (b)
we |acllltate ano unoertake cuttlng-eoge researcb ano lnnovatlon. Ano, as we marcb |orwaro, we wlll
remaln commltteo to tbe loeals, tbe blgb etblcal stanoaros, ano tbe traoltlons establlsbeo by our |ouno-
ers, tbe Late Sbrl G. D. 8lrla ano tbe Late Sbrl K. K. 8lrla.
Movlng onto 8|TSAA Global Meet (8GM), | am so very bappy tbat 8|TS alumnl bave organlzeo tbls
global meet. To my mlno, tbe 8GM must, |lrst ano |oremost, be vleweo as a celebratlon o| tbe suc-
cesses o| our alumnl wbo, as everyone agrees, occupy posltlons o| leaoersblp ln every spbere o| ll|e, be
lt eoucatlon, lnoustry, or tbe government. Success ooes not come easy lt ls a consequence o| tbelr
preparatlon, perseverance, passlon, ano above all a commltment to ecel. Our alumnl bave sbown tbey
bave lt all.
Tbls brlngs me to my secono polnt: tbls event must also be vleweo as an event to sbowcase to all lts
stakeboloers, lncluolng tbe Government ano lnoustry, bow 8|TS bas contrlbuteo to your trans|orma-
tlon |rom a young stuoents lnto a skllleo, con|loent, carlng pro|esslonal wbo ls reaoy to let loose bls/
ber lntellect ano energles, but only ln posltlve ano etblcal ways.
Last, | bope you wlll also use tbls 8GM to reconnect wltb your alma mater ano |lno ways to support lt
ln varlous ways. Wblle most lnstltutlons pre|er to slmply tap tbe wallets o| tbelr alumnl, we are not tbe
ones to be content wltb just tbat. To our mlnos tbe most lmportant resources tbat you bave ls your
tlme, your energy, ano your talent. Help us engage wltb lnoustry, wltb tbe government, wltb potentlal
|aculty ano researcb stuoents ln oroer |or 8|TS to scale newer belgbts.
| wlsb tbe event a grano success, ano bope you wlll bave a wonoer|ul tlme ourlng tbese 3 oays. As you
oo tbat, oo tbank tbe people wbo bave put ln so mucb e||ort ln brlnglng tbls event allve.
Decenber 25, 2010 (Bijendra Nath lain)
BIRLA INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI
Pilani 333 031, Rajasthan, India, Phone (O): +91 1596 242090, 242497
Email: bnj@bits-pilani.ac.in / vc@bits-pilani.ac.in
website: www.bits-pilani.ac.in
MESSAGE
|t ls an absolute oellgbt tbat we are about to |ul|lll a goal tbat's been on all our mlnos ano bearts |or
many, many years. |t's a journey tbat our mates at 8|TSAA |nternatlonal ln tbe US lnltlateo ano un-
oertook over two years ago, ano one tbat our mates ln tbe 8|TSAA Delbl Cbapter took on to 'make
lt bappen' wltb tbe etreme 'Can Do Wlll Do' attltuoe tbat Delbl-ltes bave ln tbelr DNA. |t bas been
an up-ano-oown journey, but lt ls |lnally bappenlng! Let's glve a blg bano ano kuoos to tbe entlre global
team tbat wlll bave put lt togetber.
|t bas been a very |ul|llllng 18 montbs |or me partlclpatlng ln tbe vlslon 2020-Mlsslon 2012 Project tbat
8|TS bas embarkeo on ano ls lmplementlng. |t's been a 'comlng bome' o| sorts, a|ter belng away |or
over tbree ano a bal| oecaoes ln lnoustry: ano wbat a bomecomlng lt bas been! Wben our Cbancellor,
Mr. Kumar Mangalam 8lrla askeo me to partlclpate wltb 8|TS's leaoersblp ln oeveloplng ano lmple-
mentlng a 3-5 year roaomap |or 8|TS to prepare |or tbe net oecaoe's cballenges, | was apprebenslve.
Woulo | at all be able to contrlbute to tbe worlo o| acaoemla? Woulo | be able to earn tbe trust ano
con|loence o| baro-core, baro-bolleo acaoemlcs? |n tbe last 18 montbs o| worklng wltb 8|TS's leao-
ersblp, | bave |ouno tbelr openness, tbelr reslllence, tbelr lntellectual energy, ano tbelr mental aglllty
remarkable. |t bas been a pleasure ano a great eperlence. 8ut we'll bear more o| wbat tbe Project
ls all about at tbe 8GM.
Tbe tlmlng o| tbe 8GM oovetalls remarkably well wltb Project Mlsslon 2012. Alumnl Pelatlons ano
Alumnl A||alrs ls taggeo as a crltlcal 'must wln', ano tbe 8|TS Alumnl A||alrs Dlvlslon was set up early
tbls year. To provloe tbe energy ano leaoersblp tbat lt lnltlally requlres, Dlrector o| tbe Goa Campus,
Pro|. Paman, was nomlnateo tbe Cbalrman, as Pro|. Pavl Mlttal, tbe erstwblle Presloent o| 8|TSAA was
movlng to our Dubal Campus as Dlrector. | am sure tbat all alumnl bave now seen tbe Cbarter ano
oellverables o| tbe Alumnl A||alrs Dlvlslon.
Tbe relevance o| 8GM tbeme, Trans|ormlng Soclety, Lnterprlses, 8 Acaoemlcs Tbrougb |nnovatlon
cannot be overempbaslzeo. 8|TS ls on lts own journey to trans|orm ltsel| ano prepare ltsel| to be a
player ln a wloer arena. A|ter oecaoes o| unolsputeoly belng one o| tbe leaolng tecbnlcal Unlversltles
ln |nola, our new Cbancellor bas taskeo tbe 8|TS leaoersblp to be an Asla player ano tben a Global
player. |n tbls mlsslon, lt neeos us, lts Alumnl, as never be|ore. |t neeos us ln tbree tbrust areas: to
ensure 8|TS ls contlnually connecteo wltb tbe worlo o| commerce ano enterprlse: to ensure 8|TS ls
contlnually connecteo wltb emerglng loeas, realltles, opportunltles, cballenges, ano lssues o| tbe worlo,
ano lt neeos us partlclpate ln |unolng Cbalrs, Pesearcb, ano |n|rastructure projects. 8|TS ls preparlng
a US $ 200M lnvestment plan over tbe net 10 years, ano lt neeos us to partlclpate ln tbls growtb ano
mooernlzatlon lnltlatlve.
Let's wlsb eacb otber a great Meet, ano let's once agaln glve a resounolng bano to tbe team tbat wlll
bave maoe lt bappen!
Decenber 20, 2010 (Kris Ranachandran)
BIRLA INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI
Email: kris.ramachandran@adityabirla.com
website: www.bits-pilani.ac.in
Kris Ramachandran
Advisor to Chancellor
MESSAGE
| am personally elateo about tbe |lrst ever 8|TSAA Global Meet to be belo |rom [an 7-9 2011, ln New
Delbl. | woulo llke to eteno a warm lnvltatlon to all 8|TSlans ano tbelr |amllles to be a part o| tbls
joyous ano lntellectually stlmulatlng ano enrlcblng event. Tbls meet ls an lnltlatlve o| tbe 8|TSAA |nter-
natlonal Cbapter ano 8|TSAA Delbl Cbapter are tbe |lrst bost o| tbe global meet. All Cbapters across
|nola Cbennal, 8angalore, |noore, [alpur, Hyoerabao, Kolkata, Abmeoabao, Pune ano many more bave
put tbelr untlrlng e||orts wltbout wblcb tbe event woulo bave remalneo a oream.
Tbe tbeme o| tbe event, 'Trans|ormlng Soclety, Lnterprlses 8 Acaoemlcs tbrougb |nnovatlon', clearly
empbaslzes tbe role o| entrepreneursblp ano lnnovatlon ln all spberes o| ll|e, |or tbe oevelopment o|
our natlon. 8GM 2011 ls slateo to be an event belng organlzeo on a grano scale wltb Keynote Speecbes
ano Panel Dlscusslons by a galay o| emlnent leaoers |rom across tbe worlo representlng |noustry,
Acaoemla, Government ano Soclety.
Over tbe 60 years slnce tbe lnceptlon o| tbe |lrst Lnglneerlng College, 8|TS Pllanl bas been synony-
mous wltb tbe blgbest quallty o| tecbnlcal eoucatlon. 8|TSlans symbollze tbe maturlng o| |nolan abll-
lty ano tbe can-oo entrepreneurlal splrlt. |n tbls regaro, we recognlze ano appreclate tbe lncreolble
support sbown by tbe 8|TS alumnl, all over tbe globe, wbo bave taken great strloes ln oroer to spreao
tbe 8|TSlan splrlt tbrougbout tbe worlo. 8GM 2011 ls almeo to eactly |ocus on taklng oe|lnlte steps
to answer to crltlcal questlons tbat wlll oe|lne our country's progress as well as nurture our 8|TSlan
brano o| pro|esslonals.
Tbls ls tbe tlme wben tbe 8|TSlans across boroers neeo to collaborate to lnnovate at every lnstance
o| value aooltlon to tbe programmes tbat we wlll be lnauguratlng ln tbls meet ano support tbe break-
tbrougb lnnovatlons by 8|TSlans wltb approprlate mentorlng ano networklng. Tbls meet woulo bave a
long lastlng lmpact on tbe 8|TSlan communlty ano lt calls |or more partlclpatlon ano contrlbutlon |rom
all tbe alumnl across tbe globe.
Decenber 24, 2010 (Vinod Puri)
Vinod Puri
Chairman
BITSAA GlobalMeet 2011
vinodpuri@bitsaa.org
MESSAGE
Dear Fellow 8|TSlan,
| am eclteo to usber ln 2011 as we bullo on tbe Alumnl Assoclatlon's accompllsbments o| tbe past year.
A Grano 8eglnnlng 8|TS Global Meet.
2011 promlses to be an lmportant year ln tbe blstory o| 8|TS because |or tbe |lrst tlme - 8|TSlans |rom
over 5 oecaoes arouno tbe globe wlll gatber ln Delbl/Pllanl |or tbe 8|TSAA Global Meet 2011. Tbls wlll
be a memorable event ano lt wlll lay tbe |ounoatlon |or launcblng tbe tbe 8|TS Strateglc Plan - 8|TS
vlslon 2020.Tbe Global Meet ln [anuary 2011 ls belng organlzlzeo unoer tbe leaoersblp o| vlnoo Purl
('60), Prem [aln ('71), Pro|. Arya Kumar ('82), Suoeep [aln ('86) as Co-Cbalrs, ano my batcb-mate CS
Goel ('74) as lts CLO. My long-stanolng CTO Saratb Kolla ('93) ls tbe COO |or tbe Meet. Tbls ls an
lmpresslve group o| lnolvlouals wbo are commltteo to maklng tbe event a tremenoous success.
Have you reglstereo on 8|TSAA.org?
One o| 8|TSAA |nternatlonal's goals ls to belp you stay connecteo wltb otber alumnl ano wltb 8|TS
Pllanl. | am prouo tbat we bave 17,000 members ln tbe 8|TSAA Alumnl Dlrectory - an lncrement o|
almost 10,000 members ln tbe last year alone! | bope 8|TSAA |nternatlonal serves as a catalyst ln |ur-
tberlng your ll|elong learnlng, pro|esslonal oevelopment, personal enjoyment, ano your network.
8y way o| glvlng back to 8|TS, tbe alumnl assoclatlon wltb your support ls engageo ln a wloe range o|
actlvltles almeo towaros enbanclng tbe quallty o| 8|TS eoucatlon, lts |aculty, lts ln|rastructure, lts stu-
oent booy, a||oroablllty o| 8|TS eoucatlon to tbe economlcally olsaovantageo, ano ultlmately tbe 8|TS
Pllanl brano. Some o| tbe blgbllgbts o| tbls year lncluoe tbe roll-out o| tbe Krls Pamacbanoran Faculty
Lcellence Awaro, tbe secono 8|TSAA Leaoersblp Program wblcb brougbt ln 100 leaoers lnto servlng
tbe communlty, tbe |ormulatlon o| tbe 8GM team, a partnersblp wltb Pro|. LKM |ounoatlon, tbe launcb
o| a 8|TSAA creolt caro ln tbe US, |uno ralsers to support Mess worker DeepCbanojl, a unlque Hospl-
tallty-|or-Funoralslng orlve ln Australla, wblcb leo to contrlbutlons |or Atmanlrbbara. 8|TSAA Cbapters
ln tbe Slllcon valley, New Delbl, New [ersey, Pune, |noore, 8angalore, Mumbal, Dubal, New Lnglano,
Hyoerabao, Cbennal conoucteo gala get-togetbers ano annual meets tbrougb 2010. | bope bltsaa.org
ls your gateway to learnlng about 8|TS alumnl tbrougbout tbe worlo. Wltb tbe global oownturn, our
|unoralslng bas been less tban stellar, but we bope to turn tbe sltuatlon arouno wltb your engagement
lnto our port|ollo o| lnltlatlves.



(conto...)
Dr. S P Kothari
President & Chairman
Board of Trustees
BITSAA International Inc.
MESSAGE
2010 marks tbe arrlval o| a new new leaoersblp team at 8|TS-Pllanl.Welcome ano congratulatlons! |
bope to strengtben our relatlons wltb all o| 8|TS campuses tbrougb new lnltlatlves. Our new vlce
Cbancellor Pro|. [aln ls a respecteo acaoemlc ano Unlverslty Aomlnlstrator. | wlsb Pro|. G Pagburama,
Pro|. K L Paman, Pro|. v S Pao, Pro|. P K Mlttal tbe very best ln tbelr new roles. Wblle tbe new team
bas arrlveo at 8|TS, | woulo be remlss l| | olon't acknowleoge my prlvllege ln knowlng tbe outgolng
vlce-Cbancellor, Pro|. L K Mabesbwarl,ano bene|ltlng |rom bls wlsoom over tbe years. Hls oeolcateo
servlce over tbe ls an lnsplratlon to everyone. .
Our new Presloent-Llect 8 Cbalrman o| tbe 8oaro
|t's been 5 years slnce | took up tbe Presloency o| 8|TSAA |nternatlonal ano lt ls now tlme |or cbange.
| am oellgbteo tbat Paju Peooy('76) bas klnoly agreeo to serve as tbe net Presloent 8 Cbalrman o|
8|TSAA |nternatlonal, startlng [une 2011. Tbe organlzatlon neeos new vlslon, new energy (pre|erably,
green), ano new leaoersblp. Paju superbly embooles all o| tbese elements. Tbe alumnl look up to Paju
|or bls accompllsbments ano servlce to 8|TS ln partlcular ano tbe soclety ln general. | am con|loent
tbat Paju's leaoersblp wlll serve as a role mooel to tbe entlre alumnl communlty.
2010 bas also been a year o| transltlon ln tbe 8|TSAA Leaoersblp Team wltb Aalap Trlpatby as tbe
new C LO. | am contlnually surprlseo by tbe e||ort ano oeolcatlon o| many volunteers |rom across
tbe globe. Tbls large caore o| 8|TS alumnl oemonstrates tremenoous oevotlon to 8|TS ano lts alumnl
tbey wake up every Sunoay |or tbelr weekly con|erence calls, ano tben ourlng tbe week tbey make
many pbone calls, answer emalls, ano per|orm numerous tasks, |ollow up on actlon-ltems, recoro, mln-
utes, oevelop new agenoas |or tbe |ollowlng week! |t's truly lmpresslve. Tbe volunteer team represents
a con|luence o| 8|TSlans across vlntages ano tlme zones, ano contlnents. | am prouo tbat 8|TSAA bas
become a place to craole |or groomlng leaoers.
| bope to see all o| you at our |lrst 8|TSAA Global Meet ln New Delbl ln [anuary 2011. | bave slgneo
up |or tbe mega-event. Have you?
Decenber 12, 2010 (Dr. 5 P Kothari)
Dr. S P Kothari
President & Chairman
Board of Trustees
BITSAA International Inc.
Raju Reddy
Chairman Elect
Board of Trustees
BITSAA International Inc.
MESSAGE
Dear Fellow 8|TSlan,
| am tbrllleo to see tbe entbuslasm ano commltment |rom 8|TSlans across tbe worlo ln promotlng
8|TS Pllanl brano. Tbls oraws a lot o| alumnl to 8|TSAA lncluolng ones llke me. At tbe outset, | woulo
llke to tbank outgolng 8|TSAA Cbalrman SP Kotbarl ('74) ano |ormer CLO Asblsb Garg ('97) |or
bullolng up a truly lmpresslve global organlzatlon over tbe past several years. Tbls lncluslve umbrella
organlzatlon - 8|TSAA |nternatlonal bas been worklng to support ano nurture 8|TS Alumnl actlvltles
across tlme-zones, campuses ano alumnl vlntages.
2XU%,76$$*OREDO0HHW
2011 ls golng to be a trans|ormatlonal year |or 8|TSlans ano 8|TS Pllanl. 8|TSAA Global Meet wlll be
a tlme |or us to (1) sbowcase 8|TS accompllsbments over tbe last several oecaoes (2) olscuss 8|TS ln
2020: Aomlnlstratlon's vlew ano alumnl recommenoatlons ano (3) glve us an opportunlty to enbance
our bonos as alumnl ano set an agenoa |or us to glve back to 8|TS. | tbank tbe many 8|TSlans |rom
across several oecaoes ano tlme-zones wbo are worklng tlrelessly to make tbls meet a reallty. You wlll
|lno our |lrst-ever 8|TSAA Global Meet to be an opportunlty |or you to olscuss tbe net blg 8|TSAA
Projects ln tbe |orm o| varlous enrlcbment lnltlatlves, network wltb tbe wbo's-wbo ln our communlty,
celebrate tbe lnternatlonal brano tbat ls 8|TS tooay, rellve your 8|TSlan years ano be a 8|TSlan all over
agaln.
([FLWLQJ1HZ&KDQJHVDW%,76
Our new vlce Cbancellor Pro|. 8 N [aln ls a renowneo acaoemlc ano pro|lclent Unlverslty Aomlnlstra-
tor. | wlsb blm tbe very best ln bls new role ano look |orwaro to worklng wltb blm. My congratulatlons
are also oue to Pro|. G Pagburama, Pro|. K L Paman, Pro|. v S Pao, Pro|. P K Mlttal ln tbelr new roles
as Dlrectors o| our Pllanl, Goa, Hyoerabao ano Dubal Campuses. | woulo llke to tbank our |ormer
vlce-Cbancellor Pro|. L K Mabesbwarljl |or bls |our oecaoes o| servlce to 8|TSlans ano 8|TS Pllanl. We
bave all bene|ltteo |rom bls wlsoom ano bave seen new campuses emerge unoer bls leaoersblp. Tbe
Mlsslon 2010 | vlslon 2020 e||orts wblcb bave culmlnateo ln tbe creatlon o| tbe 8|TS Strateglc Plan are
testament to bls vlslonary leaoersblp o| tbe lnstltute. | look |orwaro to worklng wltb tbe new team to
make 8|TS Pllanl tbe |oremost lnstltutlon o| lts klno ln tbe worlo.
| am also oellgbteo to see new cbanges wltbln 8|TS wltb tbe establlsbment o| tbe new 8|TS Pllanl O|-
|lce o| Alumnl A||alrs ano Development (OAA) unoer tbe Cbalrmansblp o| Pro|. K L Paman. 8|TS Pllanl
bas grown many-|olo slnce most o| us graouateo. Tbls new O||lce wltb |ocus on brlnglng ln alumnl sup-
port to tbe contlnulng oevelopment o| tbe Unlverslty's acaoemlc, researcb, ano o||-campus programs,
epanslon ano renewal o| lts |acllltles bas great potentlal. | am very optlmlstlc tbat tbls wlll |oster
stronger connectlons between ano among alumnl ano tbe Unlverslty. | bope lt wlll create opportunltles
|or alumnl ano |rlenos o| tbe unlverslty to glve tbelr tlme, talent, ano treasure to enbance tbe vltallty
ano reputatlon o| 8|TS Pllanl.



(conto...)
Raju Reddy
Chairman Elect
Board of Trustees
BITSAA International Inc.
MESSAGE
New Aooltlons to tbe 8|TSAA 8oaro
| woulo llke to welcome vlggy Mokaralla ('76), Saratb Kolla ('93), Aalap Trlpatby ('04), Arun Aravlno
('97) ano Kausblk Subramanlan ('02) lnto tbe 8|TSAA 8oaro. Tbe 8|TSAA Lecutlve Team leo by Aalap
(CLO), Arun (COO) ano Kausblk (CFO) bas been oolng a pbenomenal job taklng tbe mlsslon o| 8|T-
SAA |orwaro. Tbls 8|TSAA Global Meet ls one sucb output o| tbelr palnstaklng enoeavors. | am very
bappy to see young leaoers emerge |rom wltbln 8|TSlan communlty wblcb ls testament to tbe unlque
value baseo 8|TS eoucatlon wblcb empbaslzes learnlng by oolng ano provloes several opportunltles |or
sel| lmprovement.
| look |orwaro to meetlng wltb all o| you at tbe 8|TSAA Global Meet.
Decenber 19, 2010 (Raju Reddy)
Pro|.LKMabesbwarl
FormervlceCbancellor
MESSAGE
| am etremely bappy to learn tbat a Souvenlr ls belng brougbt out on tbe eve o| tbe 8|TSAA
GLO8AL MLLT - 2010. Tbe Meet wblcb ls |lrst o| lts klno brlngs togetber 8|TSlans spreao all across
tbe globe at a common plat|orm. Tbe |nstltute ls prouo o| lts alumnl wbo bave maoe tremenoous
lmpact ln many walks o| ll|e. Not only bave tbey oone ecellently well ln tbelr respectlve pro|esslons,
many o| tbem bave playeo eemplary leaoersblp roles ln tbelr organlzatlons ano soclety at large.
My beartlest congratulatlons to one ano all on tbls very bappy occaslon. Tbe measurement o| tbe suc-
cess o| an lnstltutlon o| blgber learnlng ls a subject matter wblcb ls orawlng attentlon o| eoucatlon
leaoers ln tbe era o| globallzatlon. One o| tbe olmenslon o| evaluatlon ls learnlng outcome baseo evalu-
atlon. Tbe parameters relate to stuoents' abllltles ln areas sucb as analytlcal reasonlng, communlcatlon,
loeas generatlon, ano appllcatlon o| tbeory to practlce. || one evaluates 8|TS on tbls basls, | am sure tbe
score attalneo woulo be very blgb. Tbe creolt |or tbls goes to a great etent to many alumnl wbo bave
been belplng tbe |nstltute ln number o| ways ano also encouraglng ano supportlng tbe young genera-
tlon 8|TSlans ln all lts campuses. Tbe Global Meet ls an occaslon to ponoer over as to bow tbls bono
between alumnl ,tbe |nstltute ano also tbe present ano |uture generatlons o| 8|TSlans coulo be |urtber
strengtbeneo ano enlargeo ln scope.

Tbe creatlve sloe o| 8|TS alumnl ls evloent ln publlcatlons llke Sano Paper, tbe Lmbryo Lectures, ano
varlous otber lnltlatlves taken |rom tlme to tlme. | am bumbleo by tbe support glven to tbe Founoatlon
(Pro|essor L.K.Mabesbwarl Founoatlon) lnltlateo by me at 8|TS be|ore my retlrement |rom tbe posl-
tlon o| vlce Cbancellor o| 8|TS by alumnl wbo graouateo oecaoes back ano also wbo bave graouateo
ln recent years.
| bave great bopes o| tbe outcome o| tbls GLO8AL MLLT ano congratulate all tbe organlzers botb
wltbln |nola ano abroao.
May Goo bless tbe event wltb a grano success !
Decenber 24, 2010 (L K Maheshwari)
Pro|.KLPaman
Dlrector
GoaCampus
MESSAGE
|t bas always been a matter o| prloe ano prlvllege |or us ln 8|TS to be assoclateo wltb our alumnl. We
bave been recelvlng tbelr warmtb ano a||ectlon |or tbe last 16 years tbrougb tbe annual sllver jubllee
get togetber ano a |ew goloen jubllee get togetbers.
Tbe |lrst global meet ls golng to be a momentous occaslon |or alumnl o| all batcbes, all campuses ano
|aculty to sbare our vlslon on tbe growtb o| our country sbaplng up as a oevelopeo natlon ano tbe role
ano responslbllltles to be sbareo by our |nstltute. | oo bope tbls Meet comes up wltb vltal oeclslons ln
|orglng a contlnueo partnersblp between 8|TS ano lts alumnl ln tbls regaro.
On bebal| o| tbe o||lce o| 8|TS Alumnl A||alrs Dlvlslon, | wlsb 8|TSAA Global Meet a grano success.
Decenber 20, 2010 (K E Ranan)
Cbalrman - Alumnl A||alrs Dlvlslon
Dlrector - 8|TS Pllanl, K K 8lrla Goa Campus
BIRLA INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI
Zuarinagar 403 726, GOA, India, Phone (O): +91 832 2557033
Email: keraman@bits-goa.ac.in
website: www.bits-goa.ac.in
Pro|.PagburamaG
Dlrector
PllanlCampus
MESSAGE
8|TS alumnl bave maoe slgnlcant contrlbutlon to ol||erent walks o| ll|e, botb natlonal ano lnternatlonal,
tbereby brlnglng laurels to tbelr alma mater. Lvery 8|TS alumnus prouoly recalls ber/bls |ormatlve years
attbe8|TScampus.Tberelsagreatattacbmentanoaomlratlon|or8|TSamongltsalumnl.Weare
tbank|ul to all tbose 8|TS Alumnl wbo bave entbuslastlcally contrlbuteo to growtb o| 8|TS ln several
|orms. Tbe ol||erent 8|TSAA cbapters, ln |nola ano Abroao, bave lnltlateo actlvltles wblcb | epect to
grow ln leaps ano bounos ln tbe near |uture. | speclally mentlon tbe 8|TSAA |nternatlonal wblcb, ln
recent years, bas lnltlateo several lauoable actlvltles to support tbe alumnl, stuoents ano tbe sta|| o| tbe
|nstltute.8|TSlsprouoo|tbeacblevementso|8|TSlansallovertbeworlo.
| unoerstano 8|TSAA cbapters ln |nola ano abroao bave workeo ceaselessly |or organlslng tbls rst
Global meet. Wblle tbls meet wlll be an occaslon |or Alumnl, stuoents ano |aculty o| 8|TS to ecbange
loeas ano bralnstorm on relevant lssues, lt wlll lnsplre tbe present stuoents to oream blgber ano acbleve
more. | look |orwaro to a blgbly success|ul meet ano bope to see a number o| slgnlcant outcomes to
ralse tbe level o| engagement o| alumnl ln tbe growtb o| 8|TS. Tbls meet wlll posslbly be remembereo
as tbe beglnnlng o| a new era ln tbe engagement o| 8|TS wltb lts alumnl.
8|TS bas launcbeo several lnltlatlves unoer lts 'vlslon 2020 : Mlsslon 2012' strateglc plan to become
oneo|tbeleaolngunlversltleslntbeworlo.Tbepartlclpatlonanosupporto|ltsalumnllscruclalln
tbese e||orts. 8|TSAA Global Meet 2011 wlll glve a great lmpetus to sucb e||orts.
Let us work togetber to reallse our oreams. | wlsb tbe programme all success.
December 22, 2010 (Raghurama G)
BIRLA INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI
Pilani 333 031, Rajasthan, India, Phone (O): +91 1596 242090, 242497
Email: graghu@bits-pilani.ac.in
website: www.bits-pilani.ac.in
Pro|.vSPao
Dlrector
Hyoerabao Campus
MESSAGE
|t ls a matter o| prloe ano pleasure to be a part o| tbe |lrst 8|TSAA Global Meet (8GM), belng belo
ln Delbl |rom 7tb to 9tb o| [anuary, 2011. Tbe gatberlng o| 8|TSlans |rom all walks o| ll|e - polltlclans,
pollcy makers, lnoustrlallsts, eoucatlonlsts, entrepreneurs, senlor eecutlves ano so on wlll, | am
sure, make tbe event memorable ano eemplarlly meanlng|ul, leavlng |ootprlnts to be travelleo by tbe
buoolng 8|TSlans. | am sure every 8|TSlan wlll bave bls/ber own vlslble contrlbutlons partaklng ln tbe
event wblcb wlll come out wltb souno actlon plans to be |urtbereo by 8|TSAA ano well-wlsbers.
|noeeo many 8|TSlans, ln tbe past, bave contrlbuteo greatly |or tbe growtb o| tbe |nstltute ln several
ways ano presently wben 8|TS ls strlvlng to become one o| tbe best globally, tbls |orum wlll provloe
tbe necessary lmpetus to every 8|TSlan to per|orm bls/ber role towaros tbls objectlve. 8esloes, lt
wlll be an opportunlty |or tbe |aculty ano Alumnl to re|resb tbe gooo olo memorles ano recast tbelr
relatlonsblps wblcb no 8|TSlan can a||oro to mlss.
As an alumnus lt ls a great bonour |or me to be a part o| tbls blstorlcal event, ano | wlsb tbat 8|TSAA
be able to success|ully meet all lts objectlves sucb tbat all 8|TSlans |eel prouo o| tbemselves, contlnue
to malntaln tbelr oevoteo networklng among |aculty, co-8|TSlans ano tbelr alma mater, provlolng
opportunlty |or tbls large tblnk tank to envlously contrlbute to tbe wel|are o| every member o|
8|TSAA ano 8|TS.
| also wlsb 8|TSAA Global Meet 2011 a great success |or lt to come out wltb plans ano proposals
to be e||ectlvely |olloweo by every slmllar succeeolng event ano be a |orum envlsaglng greater ano
responslble socletal commltments.
Decenber 25, 2010 (V 5 Rao)
BIRLA INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI
Hyderabad - 500078, A.P., India, Phone (O): +91 040 66303999
Email: vsr@bits-hyderabad.ac.in
website: www.bits-hyderabad.ac.in
Pro|.PKMlttal
Dlrector
Dubal Campus
MESSAGE
Future belongs to tbose wbo belleve ln tbelr oreams ano |or 8|TSlans wbo bave an obsesslon |or e-
cellence, alma mater ls lnoeeo close to tbelr beart. |t ls a matter o| prloe ano prlvllege tbat 8|TSAA ls
organlzlng tbe rst ever global meet at Delbl ourlng [anuary 7-9, 2011. Havlng been an lntegral part o|
8|TS Pllanl |or over last |our oecaoes ln varlous capacltles wblcb lncluoe Presloent 8|TSAA |rom lts
lnceptlon, | am tbe prouoest person to see tbe mlcro seeo sown wltb less tban 100 members enrolleo
ln 1989 becomlng a gargantuan banyan tree. Tbls 8|TSAA Global Meet ls tbe proo| o| tbe 8|TSAA suc-
cess story.
| must acknowleoge tbat tbls Global Meet ls golng to be a glowlng sparkler ln tbe crown o| 8|TS alumnl
movement. Tbe graouatlng stuoents tea partles, tbe sllver jubllee, goloen jubllee ano otber reunlons,
alums vlsltlng campuses - lnolvloually ano ln groups - to glve talks, partlclpate ln con|erences ano work-
sbops as well as |or re|resblng tbe memorles o| gooo oloen oays or |or sbowlng arouno 8|TS to spouse
or granocblloren: ano tbe regular get togetber o| varlous cbapters across globe, even settlng a Llmca
Pecoro, bave beyono ooubt proveo tbat wben lt comes to alma mater, 8|TS alumnl are way abeao o|
otberlnstltutlons.
Tbe way tbe alumnl rallleo across tbe globe |or tbe '8|TS Connect Project' ano AcYut - tbe rst |nolan
Humanolo project, wlll be a cbapter ln any book wrltten anywbere ln tbe worlo on alumnl lnltlatlves
|or alma mater. My commenoatlons to 8|TSAA Delbl Cbapter, wltb a blstory o| goloen jubllee celebra-
tlons, |or taklng up tbe leao ln organlzlng tbe 8|TSAA Global Meet. 8|TS Pllanl woulon't be wbat lt ls
tooay wltbout tbe support o| lts olversely talenteo Alumnl. As a prouo alumnus o| 8|TS Pllanl, | bave no
ooubt tbat 8|TSAA wlll contlnue to partake ln all posslble ways ln sbaplng tbe |uture o| tbe Alma Mater,
bullo an everlastlng legacy tbat wlll glorl|y tbe name o| 8|TS Pllanl ano strengtben lts global reputatlon.
8est wlsbes to all Prouo to be 8|TSlans |or maklng tbe oream o| 8|TSAA Global Meet come true.
December 23, 2010 (R K Mittal)
BIRLA INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI - DUBAI CAMPUS
Dubai, UAE, Phone (O): +9714 4200 700
Email: rkm@bitsdubai.com
website: www.bitsdubai.com
MESSAGE
| wlsb everyone a very bappy ano a prosperous New Year 2011.

| am etremely bappy ano tbrllleo to aooress you tbrougb tbls Souvenlr. | corolally welcome you to 8|T-
SAA Global Meet. Tbe seeos tbat were sown by tbe vlslonary GD 8lrla bave grown several |olos over
tbe years ano 8|TS bas become a bollstlc lnstltutlon tooay. Tbe alumnl o| tbe lnstltute bave ecelleo ln
tbelr pro|esslonal careers ano bave maoe tbe lnstltute ano |ellow 8|TSlans prouo. Tbe oreams o| tbe
veteran bave been |ul|llleo ano tbere ls no better way to pay trlbute to blm tban tbls event.
8GM ls an occaslon wben we embark on a new level o| Alumnl relatlons. |n tbls contet, | woulo llke to
sbare 3 tblngs. Flrstly, 8|TS Pllanl bas conslstently been rankeo among tbe top colleges o| |nola ano bas
everytblng to become tbe oe |acto cbolce |or tbe stuoents. We neeo to ensure tbls bappens by maklng
8|TS Pllanl brano, tbe =1. Seconoly, 8|TS alumnl bave been very passlonate about glvlng back to tbelr
Alma matter ano | am boplng tbat tbe passlon spreaos to more 8|TSlans ln oroer to create greater
lmpact. Tblroly, ln tbe past, 8|TSAA lnternatlonal ano 8|TS bave collaborateo ln a lot o| projects. | tblnk
we sboulo leverage |rom tbls eperlence ano take up more projects |or all campuses |or betterment o|
stuoents, |aculty, alumnl 8 communlty arouno tbe campuses. Opportunltles llke tbe 8GM pave tbe way
|or people to come togetber, network ano bralnstorm on ways to glve back to 8|TS.
At tbls juncture, | woulo llke to congratulate tbe organlzlng team on maklng tbe 8GM a roarlng success.
Tbe passlon wltb wblcb tbe alumnl bave tlrelessly workeo oesplte tbelr pro|esslonal commltments ls
commenoable. varlous cbapters all across tbe worlo bave belo events, get-togetbers to promote tbe
8GM bave also contrlbuteo to tbe success o| tbe meet. | am boplng tbat tbe same level o| entbuslasm
ano tbe passlon to glve back sustalns ln tbe years to come.
8GM ls lnoeeo a plat|orm to brlng tbe alums across bal| a century unoer one roo|. Tbe maloen event
ls just a beglnnlng ano bas set tbe stage |or more sucb meets. Tbe treno o| comlng togetber bas to
contlnue ano | bope tbat 8|TSlan global meets become tbe best o| lts klno among alumnl get-togetbers
ln tbe worlo. Let us work togetber ln maklng 'our' oream come true.
Decenber 25, 2010 (Pren lain)
Prem Jain
Co-Chairman
BITSAA GlobalMeet 2011
vinodpuri@bitsaa.org
MESSAGE
8|TSAA Global Meet ls a unlque lnltlatlve taken |or tbe rst tlme towaros strengtbenlng ano oeepen-
lng mutual bonoage o| 8|TS Alumnl spreao all over tbe globe towaros tbelr Alma Mater. |t wlll go a
long way ln lntegratlng all sucb lnltlatlves taken by 8|TS Alumnl so |ar ano provloe a common plat|orm
to tbem |or puttlng ln lnnovatlve, concentrateo ano |ocusseo e||orts to accelerate tbe pace o| tbe
|nstltutesmarcbtowarosattalnmento|ltsv|S|ONo|emerglngasapace-settero|Leaoersblptbrougb
Lcellence' ln Hlgber Loucatlon.
December 25, 2010 (Arya Kumar)
Faculty |n-Cbarge 8|TS Alumnl Cell
&Cble|LntrepreneursblpDevelopment&|PPUnlt
8|TS, Pllanl
Arya Kumar
Co-Chairman
BITSAA GlobalMeet 2011
MESSAGE
8|TS Pllanl bas always been rateo as amongst tbe top 5 englneerlng colleges ln |nola. 8ut as 8ltslans
we know tbat ls not true. We know lt ls THL 8LST. 8ut |or several reasons 8|TS Pllanl as an |nstltutlon
never marketeo ltsel|. On slmllar llnes we 8ltslans bave also never consclously networkeo. 8GM ls our
maloen attempt to strengtben our bonos ano leverage tbe power o| networklng tbe best bralns ln |nola
|or tbe betterment o| tbe soclety.

Lvery 8ltslan bas maoe an lmpact to tbe llves o| several people by way o| one's tecbnlcal or entrepre-
neurlal contrlbutlon. 8ut l| we come togetber on a slngle plat|orm, oellberate bow eacb o| us coulo
synerglse, | am conoent tbe lmpact to tbe soclety woulo be pbenomenal. Wbat starteo as a spontane-
ous gesture by bal| a oozen 8ltslans ln Cbennal to belp Tsunaml vlctlms ln tbelr lnolvloual capacltles
coulo become a $1 mllllon project wben tbose |ew 8ltslans jolneo banos ano Noateo 8ltsunaml Trust.
|n |act 8|TSAA ltsel| ls a result o| |ew 8ltslans oeclolng to provloe a plat|orm |or 8ltslans to network
ano stay ln toucb.

Lacb alumnus always bas a outy to contrlbute back to one's alma mater. Ano | bave no ooubts every 8lt-
slan woulo love to contrlbute back to 8|TS, l| only tbere ls a common plat|orm ano some reaoymaoe
optlons. 8|TSAA ourlng tbls 8GM wlll strlve to provloe a |ew sucb reaoymaoe projects on stuoent ano
|aculty enrlcbment ano | am sure most 8ltslans woulo contrlbute to lt wbole bearteoly.

8GM wlll also be an opportunlty |or all o| us to bear olrectly |rom Dr Kumar Manglam 8lrla on bls
vlslonary plans to lnvolve alumnl ln taklng 8|TS Pllanl to tbe net league, l.e. to make lt THL 8LST tecb-
nlcal unlverslty ln tbe worlo.

Let us celebrate tbe splrlt o| belng true 8ltslans.


December 25, 2010 (Sudeep Jain IAS)
CommlsslonerPuralDevelopment(Tralnlng)
Speclal O|cer Lntrepreneursblp Development |nstltute
Cbennal(TN)
Sudeep Jain IAS
Co-Chairman
BITSAA GlobalMeet 2011
sudeep.ias@bitsaa.org
MESSAGE
8|TSAA Global Meet ls prone to make every alumnus |eel younger at beart ano ls reaoy to take tbem
on one o| tbe most ecltlng rloes o| tbelr ll|etlme. For tbose wbo want to remlnlsce on bow 8|TS
trans|ormeo tbem lnto wbat tbey are tooay, 8GM woulo be bllss. Tbe 8|TSlan bonolng bas always been
a matter o| prloe ano an element o| support. Tbe per|ect bleno o| lnstltute ano lnoustry mooel o|
tecbnlcal eoucatlon bas plckeo tremenoous growtb pace slnce lts lnceptlon.
8|TS bas come a long way ln nurturlng young talent ano trans|ormlng tbem lnto power|ul, entrepre-
neurlal ano responslble lnolvlouals. Tbe network bas penetrateo every sector o| |nolan lnoustry ano
also bas a |ar reacblng e||ect ln otber economles o| tbe worlo. Tooay, wltb |our campuses, 8|TS ls oe-
nltely oolng a |antastlc job provlolng quallty eoucatlon ano groomlng young leaoers.
Tbe cbanges tbat occurreo rlgbt |rom tbe epanslon o| tbe Unlverslty to ln|rastructure on every cam-
pus are commenoable. Tbe recent years not only wltnesseo an alarmlng upsurge o| tecbnlcal aovance-
ment, but also wltnesseo great entrepreneurlal splrlt. | am very glao tbat tbls 8GM ls golng to be tbe
occaslon to celebrate tbe success o| our legacy.
As tbe CLO o| 8GM 2011, | take tbls opportunlty to lnvlte every 8|TSlan to aoo splenoour to tbe oc-
caslon. Tbls rst ever global meet woulo be a jewel ln tbe crown o| 8|TSAA.
December 24, 2010 (Chander Shekhar Goel)
Chander Shekhar Goel
CEO
BITSAA GlobalMeet 2011
csgoel@bitsaa.org
MESSAGE
Organlzlng tbe 1st ever 8|TSAA Global Meet wltb tbe support o| 150+ vlrtually locateo 8|TSlans bas
been tbe tougbest, most cballenglng ano blggest 8|TSAA project tbat all team members lnvolveo woulo
bave taken up. At tbe same tlme lt bas been most enrlcblng talklng to ano trylng to reengage ano brlng
back 30,000+ 8|TSlans lnto common olscusslons ano unoer one vlrtual roo|. Tbere are many rsts
(mllestones) tbat tbe 8GM 2011 team bas prouoly crosseo ano eceeoeo epectatlons many a tlme.
| wlsb tbe very best ano tremenoous success to tbe 1st ever 8GM team - most lmportantly 8|TSAA
Delbl Cbapter (bost o| tbe event |or tbelr relentless baro-work oesplte tbe baro tlmes many otbers
bave glven tbem) ano all otber 8|TSlans (|aculty, alumnl, stuoents) across all tbe over tbe worlo - wbo
are maklng tbe oream outllneo by |ew ploneers come true.
We bave acbleveo many goals tbrougb tbls mammotb networklng, PP ano event management eerclse
ano bave uneartbeo neeo to aooress many more goals ln |uture 8GMs. Tbe entlre 8GM 2011 team wlll
be avallable to support ano ensure tbere ls smootb ano ln-oeptb learnlng transltlon to tbe net team
ano belp tbem reacb even greater belgbts. We apologlze |or any sllps by tbe 8GM team ourlng tbe
organlzatlon o| tbls event (pre-event, ourlng tbe event ano post-event) especlally wltb |aclng tougb
cballenges o| worklng wltb a 100 vlrtual volunteer team o| 150+ people ano learnlng wblcb processes
work e||ectlvely ano e|clently ano wblcb oo not |or our communlty. We wlll be sure to pass on our
learnlng ano we bope you wlll contlnue to look |orwaro to tbe |uture 8GM events ano spreao tbe
woro o| 8|TSAA to 8|TSlans all over tbe worlo.
We wlsb everyone attenolng 8GM 2011 to bave a tremenoous jolly tlme ano sweet nostalglc memo-
rles to take back |rom 8GM 2011. Please oo partlclpate ln one way or otber by belng part o| tbe net-
work, glvlng back ln-klno ano/or vla monetary contrlbutlons to ensure 8|TS Pllanl brano ls propelleo
to #1 ln |nola ano lt becomes a Worlo Class Unlverslty mucb allke M|T, Harvaro, Stan|oro, CalTecb ano
many otber worlo renowneo unlversltles.
December 24, 2010 (Sarath Kolla)
Sarath Kolla
COO
BITSAA GlobalMeet 2011
sarath@bitsaa.org
25 Organizing Board 25
vlnoo Purl ('60), Cbalrman
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Presloent - 8|TSAA Delbl Cbapter
Presloent - vlpko Lnglneers
Prem [aln ('68), Co-Cbalrman
Locatlon: Slllcon valley, Unlteo States
Senlor vP - Clsco's Server Access ano vlrtuallzatlon 8uslness Unlt
Member - Aovlsory 8oaro, Computer Sclence Department at U.C. Davls
Arya Kumar ('82), Co-Cbalrman
Locatlon: Pllanl, |nola
Pro|essor - Lconomlcs & Flnance Group, 8|TS Pllanl
Cble|-LntrepreneursblpDevelopment&|PPUnlt
Faculty |n-cbarge - Alumnl Cell, 8|TS Pllanl, Pllanl Campus
Suoeep [aln ('86), Co-Cbalrman
Locatlon: Cbennal, |nola
|AS O|cer
Cbanoer Sbekbar Goel ('74), CLO
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Presloent-GoelLnglneers
vlcePresloent-Feoeratlono||nolanMlcroanoSmall&MeolumLnterprlses(F|SML)
Secretary - 8|TSAA Delbl Cbapter
Saratb Kolla ('93), COO
Locatlon: Mlooletown, CT, Unlteo States
Founoer - Yug Consultlng
Organizing Board
Abblsbeak |yer ('02), Presloent
Locatlon: Maolson, W|, Unlteo States
So|tware Developer - Lplc Systems
Satlsb Pollsettl ('02), vlce Presloent
Locatlon: Call|ornla, Unlteo States
Pursulng Masters - UC 8erkeley
Nakul [amaoagnl ('05), vlce Presloent
Locatlon: Mumbal, |nola
Founoer-vlta8eansNeuralSolutlons
vljay Sbarma ('06), vlce Presloent
Locatlon: Mumbal, |nola
Natlonal Lntrepreneursblp Network
27
Praoeep Setbl ('72), Lecutlve Heao - Contents & Agenoa
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
CLO&ManaglngDlrector-Corporate|nslgbt
vlvek Hemmaoy ('82), Lecutlve Heao - Souvenlr
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Cble| Manager - vatecb Wabag Llmlteo
Harelsb Gur ('94), Lecutlve Heao - Outreacb & Marketlng
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
vlcePresloent-NewgenSo|twareTecbnologlesLto
Aman [aln ('91), Lecutlve Heao - Loglstlcs
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
HeaoSLPG-Heaostrong|nolaLto
Manoj vasuoevan ('02), Lecutlve Heao - Sponsorsblp
Locatlon: Mumbal, |nola
Founoer&CLO-SourcePllanl
Organizing Board
Atul 8bargava ('81), Lecutlve Heao - Loglstlcs
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Cble| Tecbnology O|cer - OPG Group
Tarun 8ansal ('01), Lecutlve Heao - Pllanl Loglstlcs
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Dlrector-SagaclousPesearcb
Asbok Sureka ('64), Lecutlve Heao - Loglstlcs
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Plsbabb Kaul ('06), Dlrector - Content & Agenoa
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Unoergraouate Stuoent - 8|TS Pllanl, Pllanl Campus
Cbanorasekar ('06), Dlrector - Outreacb & Marketlng
Locatlon: Hyoerabao, |nola
Locatlon: Hyoerabao, |nola
29
Kausblk ('06), Dlrector - Outreacb & Marketlng
Locatlon: 8angalore, |nola
Flnanclal Analyst - Lon Mobll
Amlt Sbarma ('05), Dlrector - Loglstlcs
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Lmplrlcal Pesearcber - Natlonal Councll o| Applleo Pesearcb - Center |or
Macro Consumer Pesearcb (NCALP - CMCP)
valbbav Sonl ('05), Dlrector - Sponsorsblp
Locatlon: 8angalore, |nola
8uslness Analyst - Lon Mobll
Mayank Matbur ('06), Dlrector - Souvenlr Team
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Flnanclal Analyst - Ujjlvan Flnanclal Servlces
Aoltya Sbarma ('06), Dlrector - Tecbnology
Locatlon: Gbazlabao, |nola
Unoergraouate Stuoent - 8|TS Pllanl, Pllanl Campus
Organizing Board
Team
Organizing
SwetansuMobapatra
Arplt Srlvastav
vlvek Krlsbnan
Sujoy Cbauobary
Mayank Tlwarl
Sbravanlvattl
Sartbak Praoban
Yogesb Hoooa
GarvltSbarma
Govlnoam Yaoav
Saurabb Sacboeva
Sujlt Panlgrabl
SbwetbaKallasb
Slnobura Mallreooy
Alok Sonl
[ayesb Mbatre
Cbanora Prakasb [etbanl
Pratlk Mabesbwarl
Maobukar 8anurl
Gokulavasan Gunasekaran
NlveobltbaSwamlnatban
Manojb Anantbakrlsbnan
Laveena Punjabl
Ananya Das
Neebarlka Palaka
Laksbml Pao
Pamya Kumar
Aoltya Pao
Pevantb Pajamanuru
Core Member
Core Member
Core Member
Core Member
Core Member
Team Member
Team Member
Team Member
Manager
Dlrector, 8GM Pllanl Team
TeamLeaoer
Manager
Manager
TeamLeaoer
TeamLeaoer
TeamLeaoer
TeamLeaoer
TeamLeaoer
TeamLeaoer
Core Member
Core Member
Core Member
Core Member
Core Member
Team Member
Team Member
Team Member
Team Member
2007 - 12
2009 - 13
2005 - 10
2009 - 13
2006-10
2008 - 12
2006-11
2005 - 10
2008 - 12 Manager
2006-10
2008 - 13
1990 - 94
2004 - 08
2006-11
2007 - 12
2007 - 12
2002-06
2006-10
2003 - 07
2005 - 09
2003 - 07
2003 - 07
2008 - 12
2008 - 13
2008 - 12
2008 - 12
2005 - 09
2005 - 09
Content & Agenoa
HumanPesource
Loglstlcs
Outreacb & Marketlng
Tbanks |or all 8atcb reps, Peglonal reps, volunteers |or tbe 8GM outreacb
8|TSAA Cbapters across tbe worlo serve
asaslnglepolnto|contact|or8|TSlansln
tbat area Tbe cbapters bave been actlve
over tbe years conouctlng annual events,
|amlly get-togetber, ln|ormal latcba sesslon,
meetups, |unoralslng , comlng togetber |or
varlouscausesetc.Tbepasslon|ortbealma
matter bas been tbe keeplng tbe cbapters
actlve ano reao on to no out more about
tbepeopleattbebelmo|tbesecbapters.
33
Pamaswamy Nagarajan ('61), 8|TSAA Australla Cbapter
Locatlon: Syoney, Australla
Presloent - 8|TSAA Australla
Dr. KPv Subramanlan ('74), 8|TSAA 8angalore Cbapter
Locatlon: 8angalore, |nola
CLO - Paol Learnlng
Presloent - 8|TSAA 8angalore Cbapter
Sunll Nanoa ('75), 8|TSAA 8angalore Cbapter
Locatlon: 8angalore, |nola
Secretary - 8|TSAA 8angalore Cbapter
8busban Lakbe ('84), 8|TSAA Cblcago Cbapter
Locatlon: Cblcago, Unlteo States
Presloent - 8|TSAA Cblcago Cbapter
Srlkantb Krlsbnamurtby ('88), 8|TSAA Cbennal Cbapter
Locatlon: Cbennal, |nola
Cbalrman - ALFA Pubber & Sprlng (P) Lto
Presloent - 8|TSAA Cbennal Cbapter
vlce-Cbalrman - A|LMA Tecbnology Centre
Chapter Leaders
vlnoo Purl ('60), 8|TSAA Delbl Cbapter
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Presloent - 8|TSAA Delbl Cbapter
Presloent - 8|TSAA Delbl Cbapter
Presloent - vlpko Lnglneers
C S Goel ('74), 8|TSAA Delbl Cbapter
Locatlon: New Delbl, |nola
Presloent-GoelLnglneers
vlcePresloent-Feoeratlono||nolanMlcroanoSmall&
MeolumLnterprlses(F|SML)
Secretary - 8|TSAA Delbl Cbapter
Sanjay Kbenory ('82), 8|TSAA Hyoerabao Cbapter
Locatlon: Hyoerabao, |nola
vlce-Presloent - Slerra Atlantlc
Secretary - 8|TSAA Hyoerabao Cbapter
Akbllesb [aln ('75), 8|TSAA |noore Cbapter
Locatlon: Hyoerabao, |nola
Presloent - 8|TSAA |noore Cbapter
Consultant ano Suppller o| Lnergy e|clent |noustrlal Llgbtlng
vlnoo Kalanl ('72), 8|TSAA [alpur Cbapter
Locatlon: [alpur, |nola
ManaglngDlrector-CrlsPbarma(|nola)Llmlteo
Managlng Dlrector - [alpur Pbarmaceutlcal Works
Presloent - 8|TSAA [alpur Cbapter
35
Dlwakar Plngle ('88), 8|TSAA Mumbal Cbapter
Locatlon:Mumbal. |nola
Heao-Cbrlstensen|nola
Presloent - 8|TSAA Mumbal Cbapter
Pamlnoer Slngb vlrol ('69), 8|TSAA Pune Cbapter
Locatlon: Pune, |nola
Presloent - 8|TSAA Pune Cbapter
8ala G Pamprasao Toratl ('96), 8|TSAA UK Cbapter
Locatlon: Lonoon, UK
Tecbnlcal Arcbltect - SunGaro
Presloent - 8|TSAA UK Cbapter
Cbanora 8bople ('74), 8|TSAA Slllcon valley Cbapter
Locatlon: Slllcon valley, Unlteo States
Dlrector, 8uslness Development - Osellus |nc
Presloent - 8|TSAA Sv Cbapter
Ajay Sara| ('74), 8|TSAA Nagpur
Locatlon: Nagpur, |nola
Chapter Leaders
Srloeeptl ('03), 8|TSAA Slngapore Cbapter
Locatlon: Nagpur, |nola
Secretary - 8|TSAA Slngapore Cbapter
Supply Cbaln Lnglneer - Scblumberger
vlkrant 8baskarwar ('01), 8|TSAA Last Coast Cbapter
Locatlon: New York, NY, Unlteo States
Derlvatlves Prlclng Analyst - Marklt Group
Nlranjan 8ose ('92), 8|TSAA Seattle Cbapter
Locatlon: Seattle, Unlteo States
Program O|cer - 8lll & Mellnoa Gates Founoatlon's Global Healtb
Presloent - 8|TSAA Seattle Cbapter
Arjun Alok Goyle ('04), 8|TSAA UAL Cbapter
Locatlon: Dubal, UAL
Presloent - 8|TSAA UAL Cbapter
Deslgn&DevelopmentLnglneer-|nvoluteToollngCorporatlon
Suman Puvvalaoasu ('96), 8|TSAA Arlzona Cbapter
Locatlon: Arlzona, Unlteo States
HvM(blgb-volume-m|g)Leao-|ntelCorp
Presloent - 8|TSAA Arlzona Cbapter
37
vlvek Laoba ('78), 8|TSAA Goa Cbapter
Locatlon:Goa.|nola
Cbanoan Sengupta ('75), 8|TSAA Kolkata Cbapter
Locatlon: Kolkata, |nola
Uttam C Mebta, 8|TSAA Abmeoabao Cbapter
Locatlon: Abmeoabao, |nola
Chapter Leaders
- 200+ strong ery team
- Members o| olverse group
- Conslsts o| botb alumnl
anostuoents
- volunteers |rom as 1960s
to tooay
- Lveyone sbare a common
passlonBITS Pilani
8|TSAA Leaoers ls a worlowloe team o| commltteo 8|TSlan
volunteers |rom as early as 1960s to tooay. Wbat began as a bolo
eperlment ln 2008 by cobbllng togetber a vlrtual organlzatlon as a
Yaboogroup wltb 30 8|TSlans trylng to rellve tbe gooo olo oays" bas
grown lnto a 200+ strong ery team! Tbls group orlves tbe oay-oay
actlvltles o| tbe Nagsblp 8|TSAA organlzatlon. Altbougb members
o|tblsolversegroupbaveneverallmeteacbotber|aceto|aceano
conslst o| stuoents, alumnl separateo by tlme zones, vlntages, locatlons
wltb oramatlcally olverse personal ano pro|esslonal lnterests, |ace
oally cballenges ln communlcatlng e||ectlvely but all o| tbem sbare a
commonlnterest:Do something for BITS Pilani.
Tbey bave belo |ort by contlnuously meetlng every Sunoay |or a Con|erence Call |or a no-bolos barreo"
olscusslon on How can we oo lt?" ano sbarlng 20,000 emalls a plece on average ln tbe process. Tbls group ls
run as a Corporatlon |ollowlng an establlsbeo cbarter, governance rules, ownersblp, accountablllty, goals, annual
revlews, olsclosures etc. Group members eltber are or bave slnce moveo on to Global 8-Scbools wltb valuable
lessons learnt ln leaoersblp ano teamwork unoer tbe actlve mentorsblp ano watcb|ul eyes o| tbe 8|TSlan Wbo's-
wbo. Wbat began as a serles o| beateo oebates among tbese 8|TSlan Stars", two years ago, bas now culmlnateo
a|ter several revlslons lnto tbe 8|TSAA Global Meet Organlzlng Team. 8|TSAA Leaoers" as tbey cboose to
cbrlsten tbemselves collectlvely contlnue to be tbe backbone o| tbese e||orts.
Have you always wanteo to glve back to your Alma mater? Have you ever wonoereo bow lt woulo be to be
worklng wltb your |ellow 8|TSlans once agaln? Are you looklng to bone your leaoersblp skllls? Are you lnteresteo
ln worklng wltb a Global Organlzatlon ln cross-|unctlonal teams across ol||erent tlme zones? Are you passlonate
about creatlng lmpact among tbe 8|TSlan communlty? Sboot a mall bumanresources@bltsaa.org ano joln tbe
8|TSAA Leaoers Groups tooay!
39 BITSAA Leaders
9
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Though recent in origin, BITS
Alumni Association (BITSAA)
has emerged as one of the
strongest alumni networks of
any university. It is interesting
to know how 9/11 attacks
played a role in the birth of
BITSAA. In a candid
conversation with three
founders Anupendra Sharma
(Eco Instru 87), Venu
Palaparthi (Eco CS 87) and
Sandeep Arora (MMS 87), we
explore how four waves have
created and transformed
BITSAA into an enduring,
relevant organization.
The story goes back to 2001 in NewYork City, when Anupendra
sent an email to the Eco 87 batch about raising a scholarship for
Pilani students in the memory of his batchmate SS Seshadri (Eco
Civil), who had passed away a few years ago.
They remembered walking down
50 floors, watching people jump to
their deaths. We didnt talk about
that day. In fact, it would be
months before both of them were
able to discuss that morning with
each other.
With Ground Zero burning, the three founders decided
that it was only fitting to create a scholarship in memory of
Vamsi Pendyalas . Vamsis wife and classmates were
instantly supportive, and the organizing team grew rapidly.
Unfortunately, overcome by grief, Vamsis wife took her
own life a week later. It was a sad day for the entire BITS
family.
9/11 forced us to rethink about the fragility of our
relationships,Venu told Rediff later.
In Vamsi, we saw ourselves. It
could have been any of us.
Vamsis death brought a lot of attention to the New Jersey
fundraiser being planned. "We owe our entire organization
toVamsi,"Venu says, "In dying, he created an organization."
In anticipation, Anupendra met Kevin Dyer, a New York
lawyer at his Park Avenue office. Kevin, inspired by the
fundraising efforts, and the story ofVamsi and Sesha, halved
his fees and filed all the papers to create a not for profit
organization.
The Eco87 batch was instantly responsive. But to fully
endow the scholarship, Venu Palaparthi, who lived
across the river in New Jersey, suggested doing a
fundraiser music night instead of simply collecting
money. Venu risked a $10,000 deposit to book a place
for the show. Thats when Sandeep Arora (MMS 87)
surfaced. Sandeep was a popular guitarist and music
club member at BITS saysVenu. He agreed to pull the
music night together.
Anupendra,Venu and Sandeep were working towards
the big night, finding BITSians, and sending out
invitations for the event. A date was set. October 13,
2001.
Then, two planes went into theWorldTrade Center.
A BITSian,Vamsi Pendyala (88), was a passenger on
the flight from Boston which crashed into theWorld
Trade Center.
Venu said,It gave us a massive jolt. I was in NYCand I
received hundreds of emails. BITSians asking about
other BITSians. The phones had gone silent. But
people were on emails forwarding across batches -
seeking info and reassurance that their mates were
safe.
Anupendra remembers When we finally got to the
fundraiser, I found out that two BITSian classmates
were in the towers when the planes hit.
47 47
Sandeep remembers the year that BITS started
to recognize BITSAA. In BITSAAs 3rd year
(2003), our dear Director, Prof.Venkateshwaran
came to the United States as he had been doing
for years. This visit turned out to be very
different than the past, since BITSAA started to
organize meetings everywhere.
The Diro was surprised and amazed by the large
crowds of people he met everywhere he went.
Inspired by the newnetwork, in his final stop with the
SiliconValley Chapter, he left BITSAA with a mission
he called BITSConnect to wire the BITS Pilani
campuses.
It was a second call to arms, and one that was to unite
the entire BITSAAglobal community.
The BITSConnect movement was led by SiliconValley
BITSians Jayan Ramankutty, Prem Jain and Karthik
Krishna in NewYork galvanized the globe into its first
major joint action.Venu saysSandeepArora managed
the new complexity of hundreds of donors, pledge
cards and messages from around the world. Being
Treasurer of BITSAAsuddenly became a big job.
Venu is proud of what we achieved. When
BITSConnect succeeded, over $1 million of
equipment and services were installed on the
campus.Anupendra adds,
The Sandpaper 2.0 team
rejoiced in its success by
creating a cover of hot air
balloons taking off. BITSians on
our campuses were now free to
connect with the rest of the
world. It was an empowering
moment
48
When we started to pull together lists of
BITSians, we were astonished at how many
successful entrepreneurs were BITSians. Yet
there was no knowledge of entrepreneurship
on campus or for alums to figure out
entrepreneurship. So Ashish and I decided to
do something about it.
-Anupendra
In 2003, Anupendra Sharma and Ashish Bhinde (EEE 89)
pulled a 5-member team on campus led by Aditi Pany (Eco
EEE 00), and supported by Professor VS Rao, created the
Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL). When the
Wadhwani Foundation announced that it was seeking
applications from Centers a couple of months later,
Anupendra andAshish pulled together a business plan with
the help of Satish Gupta in Silicon Valley. CEL was named
one of India's top 5 centers by theWadhwani Foundation,
and received a grant of $1 million. Simultaneously, CEL
started to hold talks by famous BITS alumni such as Rajesh
Hukku, so that others would get a chance to get mentored.
After the success of BITSConnect, BITSAAs energies
waned.The big project was over, the initial bout of nostalgia
done. BITSAAneeded a newmission, a newpurpose. It had
to be more than just about the University. It had to be
about the alumni. Anupendra expressed this view toVenu
often. Yet neither had an idea of where to take the
organization next.
Then inAugust 2004, an email came around from
some BITSians announcing the idea of
BITS2BSchool.Anupendra says It was a eureka
moment. This made perfect sense to me. We
needed to help BITSians with their careers.This is
what would build the brand Anupendra joined
the BITS2BSchool team and started to create
databases of BITSians with top-tier MBAs.These
BITSians joined the yahoogroup. Alums who
hadnt given money, or participated in events, now
started to see the relevance of the organization.
Simultaneously, Anupendra also started
BITS2MSPhD, and handed the reins to two highly
competent BITSians who were already in the US
including Sanketh Shetty (EEE 00). This was the
first movement aimed at helping and supporting
BITSians technically for their future ambitions
and it was a super hit, with enrollment growing at
the same rate as BITS2BSchool. The impact was
significant. Fromapproximately 15 MBAadmits in
2004, the numbers jumped to 70 annually over
four years.
49 49
With so many more BITSians also applying to top tier
engineering schools, the impact on the brand will be
seen in the years to come. Thanks to the new CTO,
Sarath Kolla, databases were created, and metrics
tracked and shared with BITSians.
One of the most interesting things that happened in
the following year was the creation of the BITSAA
Global 30 under 30Awards. Envisioned byAnupendra
Sharma, and executed by three BITSians; Ashok Roy,
In October 2004, Venu called Anupendra about a
BITSian who had slipped into a coma after his car was
hit by a truck on the highway. He had no insurance,
was out of a job,and his family was in India.That night, a
simple email resulted in 90 BITSians on a conference
call to figure out what was to be done. Within 48
hours, the American Embassy in India had been
opened, visas issued for parents, and tickets paid for.
Uzma Hussain and AnanthVyas, the inaugural awards
went to outstanding BITSians under the age of 30 in 7
categories. BITSian judges included Prof. SP Kothari
and Prof. LK Maheshwari.When the awards were
announced, and the bios circulated worldwide, the
awards captured BITSian imagination because they
have revealed the achievements of young BITSians,
and sent a message about achievement to others.
These were followed by the Mantra Leadership
Awards given to four outstanding BITSians on
campuses.
His mother and sister were on a plane to the US.
When they landed, BITSians had already organized
along with other Indians from various associations.
BITSAA tied up with a local organization, and raised
$40,000 in a short time.When Sai came out of a coma,
thanks to a miracle and the tireless dedication of his
mother, he was able to go home, financially safe for his
rehabilitation.
50
This was the first major cause where BITSians came
together to help someone in need. After this, there
were several more causes that BITSians readily came
forward to support. BITSunami was a role model
effort where BITSians took over two villages inTamil
Nadu, rebuilt schools, bought boats, and put families
back to work and children back into schools. When
AnithaAshokan (Instru 04) who was diagnosed with a
rare case of multiple sclerosis, BITSians came
together to raise funding to support the family. The
1994 Gold Medalist of BITS Pilani has an
extraordinary story. Seema Sood, crippled and
confined to a bed due to debilitating rheumatoid
arthritis, pleaded to the President of India to be able
to end her life.When the media, and the alumni found
out, they rapidly rallied around, finding surgeons,
getting her surgery paid for, and raising enough money
to provide for rehabilitation afterwards.
BITSAA has now raised $ 1.5 million for many causes
and the network continues to have a major impact on
BITSians lives across the globe. Over the past few
years, BITSAA has grown both in size and the work it
does. It tracks over 8000 alumni through its directory.
Membership is free all one has to do is join the
website.
BITSAAis thriving.There are now49 chapters around
the world under BITSAA and 20 initiatives running
that serve 30,000 BITSians. Every day, 150 BITSAA
alums come together to make the organization
continue its work.This is no accident either. When
they first started out, it was decreed that anyone with
a BITS degree was a BITSian irrespective of which
campus it came from, and included all the distance
learning graduates.The credit for turning BITSAAinto
a well-run corporation goes to the next wave that
they brought on board. When the founders stepped
down from the Board, Ashish Garg was named the
first CEO of BITSAA. He first met Anupendra five
years after having worked with him on BITSAA, and
they talked about creating a sustainable model to find
and groom leaders for BITSAA. The credit for
executing that vision of creating a sustainable model
goes to Ashish and his management team, as they
created a whole leadership programat BITSAA.Those
who volunteer their time at BITSAAcan rise rapidly in
this meritocracy, starting as a Manager, and being
promoted to Director, Vice President, CXO and
Board Member of the organization over a four year
timeframe. The leadership skills they acquire in this
process are invaluable. In this way, the journey of being
a BITSian continues after school.
Anupendra,Venu and Sandeep are extremely pleased
with the way in which their initial vision has been
taken up by the community.While the three of them
have stepped down from active roles at BITS after
nearly ten years, yet they remain involved in local or
global strategic efforts from time to time.Anupendra
says BITSAA is like Hotel California You can get in
any time you want, but you can never leave.
Heres to all those people who have seen this through.
To all the BITSians.To BITS.
The true value of BITSAA is that
if you're ever in trouble, 30,000
alums are there to help. This is
worth more than anything else
this organization can give you.
- Sandeep
51 51
The BITSAA Global Meet is now a reality. Tickets
have long been booked, getting in touch with friends
to find out which of the old buddies is going to be
there- all that is behind us.What lies ahead is a Global
level alumni meet, first of its kind and with a raging
fire to bring together BITSians from across the world.
No other eligibility required!
The inception of the idea for BGM took place almost
3 years ago at the BITSAA-SiliconValley Chapter. At a
SVC board meeting we were brainstorming how
BITSAA could take the next step in its evolution.
Prem Jain remarked that the time has come to do
something at a Global scale, Ashish, then Secretary of
SVC recalls.
In 2009 BITSAA International included the idea of a
meet like BGM was included as part of the Annual
Goals. Then on, there was no looking back.
Goa seemed like a brilliant venue with the new
auditorium within the BITS premises, amazing
support from the BITS Goa juniors etc. BITSAA Intl
conducted virtual roadshows with India Chapters to
come forward and take ownership. All the Chapter
leaders across India Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune,
Mumbai etc met at the Goa campus in May 2010.And
thus began the dreams convertinginto reality. But
there was still scepticismin the air!
BGM was almost pushed to 2012, but Aalap stuck to
the dates in 2011. SaysAalap,
He
quickly adds We BITSians have have experiences of
conducting world class tech-fests in less than a few
months and have a good strength of people who have
been able to pull things off.Things clicked well at the
right time.
According to him, the Eureka moment came when
distinguished and respected alum CS Goel from the
Delhi Chapter finally said for BGM -'Give us the
chance(to host) and we will make it happen'.That was
when the gravity shifted to Delhi.
A solid executive team was put in place by Aug 2010
with CEO (Chander Shekhar Goel), COO (Sarath
Kolla), President (Abhisheak Iyer), Vice Presidents
(Satish Polisetti, Vijay Sharma, Nakul Jamadagni),
Vertical Heads(Pradeep Sethi, Vivek Hemmady,
Hareish Gur, Manoj Vasudevan, Aman Jain, Atul
Bhargava, Tarun Bansal) and Directors (Rishab,
Chandrasekar,Vaibhav,Aditya, Kaushik,
If you dont have a target
to get something done, its not going to happen.
Putting a realistic deadline was very important.
Mayank) and many more. It is this team of 100+
BITSian volunteers ranging in age from 18 to 68 come
together to bring about the BGM Revolutionthat we
see today.
Creating a global movement was next. Local meets
happened everywhere and for the very first time in
some major cities of the world. From London to
Hyderabad to US West Coast, they were re-unions
happening everyday. The Buzz of the BGM caught up
and hit the BITS Fraternity around the world.
Today there are some great initiatives like BITS
Marathon and get-together that have enabled
BITSians to connect locally in the global space. BGM
will evolve with the time and greater ideas will unfold
in the coming years.
In 2014, we will have the 50th anniversary of
establishment of BITS Pilani University - when the first
ever batch joined in 1964. So all the Alma mater
should probably look out for BGM2.0 in 2014? May be
the BGMwill indeed infuse in us, the bug to always ask
for more of the BITSian spirit in our lives.Till then, lets
toast for BITSAAGlobal meet 2011.
We havent even met the people
in Delhi where the event is
taking place who we work with
virtually and yet, being BITSians,
we have been able to bond so
well irrespective of ages and
batch differences. This has been
such an exhilarating experience
to be working across two
opposite corners of the world
53 53
Every great leader has had a vision, a vision
that penetrated the cloaks of invisibility; a
vision that could nurture dreams and turns
them into reality. Shri. Ghanshyam Das Birla,
or G.D. Birla to us, was one such leader.
Born into the influential Birla family, G.D. Birla quickly
went about setting up industrial and educational
institutions that would soon grow into some of the
most renowned institutions in independent India.
Starting with a jute mill in Bengal, G.D. Birla
successfully staved off oppressive British rules to set a
precedent for the fledgling beginnings of the Indian
industry.
After jute came sugar and paper mills, and the
diversification continued with the establishment of
the Hindustan Motors and the UCO Bank. The Birla
name soon became one that every household could
identify itself with and a brand that symbolized the
coming of age of the Indian entrepreneur.
Inclusive growth these days is an oft repeated
theme, but back then G.D. Birla quite clearly
understood the need for infrastructural development
and better educational facilities in his hometown. He
realized that the future of India depended on the
development of science and engineering and with this
in mind he did something that endeared him to all of
us present here. In 1929, he established an
intermediate college at Pilani!
Just like his previous establishments, this institution
also flourished and was converted into the Birla
Engineering College in 1946 with degree programs in
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. By 1964, it gave
way to the Birla Institute of Technology and Science
(our BITS!) and it combined the Birla Colleges ofArts,
Commerce, Engineering, Pharmacy and Science.
However, G.D. Birla did not want to establish just
another engineering college. He had much bigger
dreams for something that would be his final legacy.
He wanted an institution that could kindle
entrepreneurial dreams in its students and help them
become pioneers in the Indian industry. He wanted his
institute to disseminate high-quality engineering
education which, in his mind, was not quite the ultra-
modern, hi gh-sophi sti cated space-ori ented
engineering prevalent in the United States at that
time. According to Stuart Leslie and Robert Kargon,
both from the John Hopkins University,
To this end, G.D. Birla, through his perseverance,
managed to get into a partnership with the Ford
Foundation and the MIT to do everything from
developing a curriculum to setting up of equipments,
libraries and also train the BITS faculty.
he sought to
establish an all-India Institute of Technology modeled
on the MIT that would eventually produce field and
plant and application engineers who could get work
done in the Indian scene with Indian materials and
workmen.
Birla wrote directly and
repeatedly to James Killian,
chairman of MITs board of
trustees, until he got an
answer.
Birla also did a personal visit to
Cambridge when he dropped off
his grandson as a freshman at
MIT.
- Stuart Leslie
55 55
In the events leading up the creation of BITS, a number
of people were unconvinced about its viability.
Throughout this struggle, the one thing that stood out
was G.D. Birlas passion for the creation of engineers
who had the know-how to produce knowledge
pertinent to India. Things soon came to a head with
the introduction of Dr. C.R. Mitra. BITS signature
Practice School program which allowed the students
to get a real-world experience was soon established
and the numbers began to speak for themselves.
BITSians were found to be more likely to accept offers
from Indian companies than IITians. About 16 of the
20 faculty members who went to the United States
for advanced training returned back to BITS to
resume their academic careers and they had a
profound impact on the quality of education imparted
to the students. Ford Foundation evaluators observed
with great delight that although the Indian
government did not directly support it, it looked to
BITS to provide a model for future development in
education in engineering and science in India.
Thus, by creating a highly regarded institute G.D. Birla
realized his dream of building a leading technological
university that would produce engineers who would
build industries in India context.Thus, it is with great
pleasure that we pay tribute to the person who has
brought us all here today, Shri G.D. Birla, an
industrialist, a visionary, a great leader of men and our
founder!
Is it really clear that a company
owned school isolated from the
world within a company village
can develop the freedom and
spirit to lead Indian education?
- Louis Smullin, a member of the MIT-IIT
Kanpur advisory team
Even the man who was eventually responsible for
obtaining the approval for the Ford Foundation grants,
Dean Gordon Brown of the MIT, had his own doubts.
These comments really give us a perspective of the
massive struggle that Shri. G.D. Birla had to undergo
before his dreambecame a reality.
Soon enough, Shri. G.D. Birlas determined efforts and
excellent persuasive skills convinced Brown that BITS
was indeed a viable institution and he conceded that
the Birla and the Ford Foundation, in good faith, were
committed to a program that was well conceived and
would make things better.
The problem seems to boil
down to this: There are two
institutions in India that have
now declared their desires to be
developed along the lines of
M.I.T. But there is only one
M.I.T.
- Dean Gordon Brown, MIT
56
Dr. Krishna Kumar Birla was born in Pilani as the second
son of the illustrious Shri. G.D. Birla on November 11, 1918.
As he grew up, it became increasingly apparent that he had
not just inherited the Birla name but he had also inherited
that rare Birla quality of creating and fostering wealth. Just
like his father before him, he had an eye for spotting
opportunities and the courage to follow his dreams with
the kind of single-minded dedication that symbolized the
Birla family. He encouraged entrepreneurship and a spirit of
inquiry while placing a great deal of importance on moral
values.
Dr. K.K. Birla not only ably filled the large shoes of his
preeminent father, but carried forward the Birla name
with great aplomb. Under his able stewardship, each of
the many businesses continued to sustain their
excellence while many others reached new heights.
He presided with distinction over a wide spectrum of
industries that spanned multiple sectors including
sugar, paper, fertilizers, chemicals, heavy engineering
and textiles among others. The Hindustan Times,
under his leadership, became one of the most widely
read newspapers in India.
Dr. K.K. Birla served as a member of the Rajya Sabha
for three successive terms from1984 to 2002 and was
one of the few industrialists who shared Prime
Minister Manmohan Singhs
vision of introducing economic reforms in India in
1991. He was an ardent supporter of literature,
especially Hindi, and in 1991, he set up the K.K. Birla
Foundation in order to promote arts, education,
literature and social work. In recognition of his unique
contribution to education, industry and society, Dr.
Birla was conferred the degree of Doctor of Letters
(Honoris Causa) by Pondicherry University in 1997.
For his part, Dr. KK Birla believed that education was
the single most important factor in achieving rapid
economic development and technological progress
and in creating a social order founded on the values of
freedom, social justice and equal opportunity.
57 57
He always believed in education playing a role in the
overall development of the individual as opposed to
merely imparting theoretical knowledge. He saw
education as a means to forge bonds of common
citizenship and harness their energy towards the
ultimate goal of the development.
To this end, Dr. K.K. Birla was deeply involved with the
running of BITS.As one of the founding members, Dr.
K.K. Birla,along with his father, was closely associated
with the functioning of both the earlier Birla Colleges
and later, BITS. He understood the unique intricacies
of BITS and in his tenure as the Chairman of BITS from
1983 to 2003, he ensured that the institution went
fromstrength to strength.
He realized that proficient engineers would play a key
role in fostering the nations development and he
decided to embark upon a policy of expansion. This
included everything from university infrastructureto
faculty and student body. Under his patronage, BITS
increased its student capacity from 2500 to 4000 and
three new campuses, one each in Dubai, Goa and
Hyderabad were established. The Dubai campus
opened in 2000 making BITS the first Indian university
with an international campus!
An unassuming personality with a profound mind, this
dynamic leader took BITS to new heights that were
hitherto unseen.
Shri G.D. Birla had a dream. He also had the
resources to make it a reality. However, he
needed a man who had the sagacity to
nurture his dream and put it on path to
prosperity. It was with this context that came
Dr.V Lakshminarayanan, the first Director of
BITS, Pilani, tasked with the creation of the
brand, BITS, Pilani.
Born in 1906, Prof V Lakshminarayanan came
to Pilani in 1946 to serve as theVice
Principal of the Birla Engineering College.
He knew that Shri. G.D. Birla wanted to create an
institution of international repute that could cater to
the Indian industry but he also knew that in Shri. G.D.
Birla he had a patron who had a clear understanding of
the Indian industry. Still, to aimto succeed in creating a
world-class technical institution in Pilani, a tiny oasis in
the vast desert, about 125 miles west of Delhiwas no
mean task.
When Prof Lakshminarayanan started his work in
1946, the only infrastructure available to him at that
time was a workshop building that doubled up as the
main administrative office of the college, a gymnasium,
a dispensary, a few houses for the staff, some barracks
(the campus had been a military base during the
second world war) to be used as class rooms, a guest
houseand couple of basic hostel buildings for the
boys.
Wi t h t h e s e h u mb l e b e g i n n i n g s , P r of
Lakshminarayanan began to move steadily forward.
His technical competence, energy and determination
and human relation skills came to the fore as he
patiently developed and nurtured the Birla
Engineering College. Soon he was promoted to the
position of Principal and the college made rapid
strides forward with the introductionof degree
programs in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. A
Master's program in Electronics was also started in
1955. Degree programs in Civil and Chemical
Engineering were added a little while later.
In 1964, Prof Lakshminarayanan played a stellar role in
integrating the erstwhile Birla College of Science,
Commerce and Pharmacy, Birla College of Arts and
Birla College of Engineering under the single banner
of the Birla Institute ofTechnology and Science, Pilani.
During the early years of its inception, a period from
1964 to 1970, the Institute with the help of Ford
Foundation Grant and in collaboration with the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
adopted a semester system, a modular structure of
courses, continuous and internal evaluation and letter
grades.
Alongwith Shri G.D. Birla, Prof. Lakshminarayanan was
responsible for establishing BITS as a center of
excellence.
His legacy lives on with most of his policies still being
followed and indeed are looked at some of BITS
biggest strengths.
59 59
The broad based integrated educational system with
strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approach at BITS
Pilani was the result of his vision. He is generally
credited with taking the institute to the same league
as the Indian Institutes ofTechnology. The educational
reforms Dr Mitra carried out at BITS Pilani from1969
to 1989 in terms of admissions, examination reforms,
the dual degree concept, cafeteria approach to
choosing electives, industry-university collaborations
and many more are well known in the educational
macrocosm.
To address the human resource development needs
of the industry and simultaneously
address the challenge of running higher degree
programs at BITS Pilani, in the year 1979, Dr Mitra
introduced the M.E.(Collaborative) degrees which
has today resulted in work integrated learning
programs having an enrollment of about 17,000 and
two thirds revenue for the Institute.
The Practice School concept analogous to an
apprentice program of medical graduates kick started
during his period. It put the entire industrial map of
India as the Practice School station map of the
Institute.
Dr. Mitra studied at Allahabad University and the
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, before heading
for the U.S. to do a master's program in the
Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology.
Dr Chittaranjan Mitra (also referred as dynamo
diro) was a pioneering educationalist and
administrator who headed BITS, Pilani from 1969
to 1989, steering it through the bulk of its
transformation from a fledgling institute to a
universally renowned powerhouse.
Sri G.D. Birla invited Dr. Mitra in 1969 to provide
leadership to BITS in an effort to transform an
archaic institution into one that is internationally
renowned. From an educational administration
perspective, making BITS financially self-sufficient
was one of Dr Mitra's major achievements. His
leadership helped in building of a sizable
endowment for BITS Pilani.
60
He went on to acquire a doctorate in Engineering
Science fromColumbia University, NewYork.
Returning to India in the 1960s, Dr. Mitra was
Industrial Adviser to the Government of Uttar
Pradesh. He later became the first director of the
Harcourt ButlerTechnology Institute (HBTI), Kanpur.
After retiring from BITS, Pilani in 1989, Dr. Mitra
started an educational consultancy, C.R. Mitra &
Associates
Educational Consultants Private Limited and served
as an adviser to the International Institute of
Educational Planning, Paris, France. He joined NIIT,
New Delhi as its EducationAdviser and this time built
a novel profit-making, non-university organization.
Dr Mitra was twice the President of theAssociation of
Indian Universities (AIU) and he was the first Asian to
become the Presi dent of Associ ati on of
Commonwealth Universities (ACU).
To quote DrVijay Mandke, former Deputy Director at
BITS Pilani, Never a conformist and always a rebel
with a cause, Dr Mitra made invaluable contributions
to Indian Higher Education not just in terms of
thoughts and ideas but more importantly in terms of
deeds and outcomes. It is time the nation took notice
of the value that this gentle genius added to Indian
Higher Education.
The Dynamo Diro breathed his last after a brief illness
on Wednesday August 27, 2008 at Delhi. He was 82
years old. Dr CR Mitra is undoubtedly one of the
greats in shaping higher education in India and his
insights; his clarity of mind and his wisdom guided his
colleagues and students all through. He will always be
known for leaving behind a rich legacy his
progressive thinking that shaped not just the
institute's successful programs but also still shapes
every student's spirit.
Dr. S.Venkateswaran joined BITS on Jan 30, 1974 as
a faculty member and later served in various
capacities as Dean, Deputy Director, Director,
Vice Chancellor and Adviser till Dec 31, 2009. His
deep vision was instrumental in laying the
foundation to expand BITS brand to new campuses
both within India (Goa, Hyderabad) and abroad
(Dubai).The genesis of Distance Learning and
BITSAT were seeded under his supervision.
61 61
He is known for his sound administrative acumen and
efficient resource optimization which resulted in a
BITS global brand that many of us cherish today. He
was an excellent human being known for witty yet
deep responses. He was highly revered by faculty, staff,
students and alumni of BITS and many other
educational bodies.
It is no big deal to get going when you are strong but
its a bigger deal to get going when all odds are against.
DrVenkateswaran steered BITS Pilani through stormy
waters by pulling the online BITSAT trump at a time
when the politicians, bureaucrats and the courts were
throttling the Institute to join X or Y system for
admissions. Prof. G. Raghurama has strong memories
of Dr Venkateswaran's efforts to prevent BITS from
being inducted intoAIEEE. Having the nations largest and
efficient backbone
infrastructure will enhance BITS
distance teaching program
division, to offer media rich
content to over 7500 students.
Now we can look forward to a
successful expansion of the
virtual university concept
allowing students, faculty,
research and organizations to
collaborate with no
geographical and time zone
constraints
- Dr. S. Venkateswaran, Vice Chancellor,
BITS Pilani, as featured in Economic Times,
Jan 19, 2004 issue
After completing his undergraduate studies in
Madurai, DrVenkateswaran wanted to pursue a Ph. D.
and landed in the United State of America with
nothing more than 20 dollars in hand. He never
divulged his intent to move back to India. Dr. S.
Venkateswaran gave up a lucrative job offer in the US
and returned to India to join BITS, Pilani for a meager
starting salary of Rs. 200.
You are holding a gun to my
head. I and my colleagues have
built this Institute with our
sweat, sacrificing our personal
lives. I will do all that is required
to see that our autonomy is not
lost.
- Dr. S. Venkateswaran, to a goverment
official before walking out of the meeting
This one masterstroke called BITSAT won him
admiration from the entire nation.This also reiterates
the fact that winds and waves are always on the side of
the ablest navigator.
His sons who were BITSians themselves speak of the
stories as to how he connected with all the students
he came across and how he was The Diro who
cared for what the students needed. He was known
for his captivating talks to the students and parents.
His orientation welcome speeches to students were
heartwarming, genuine and humorous enough to
relieve any apprehensions that a new student and
their anxious parents might have had.
62
It is well known that Diro used to patronize and love
all forms of art. While at BITS, he was a staunch
supporter of all the student clubs such as ArtNDee,
Dance Club, Music Club, Ragamalika, etc. Every time,
when ArtNDee would build the Oasis structure on
the D lawns, he would monitor their progress from
his office windowand periodically take pictures of the
construction. He would make it a point to walk down
and chat with the students while they would work on
the structure. Dr. SV was an avid photographer and
had his own dark roomfor developing pictures.
The sun set on the life of our legendary Former Vice
Chancellor as he breathed last on May 14, 2010. It was
a dark day in the history of BITS as students, alumni
and staff lamented the demise of a great leader.
Though he is no longer physically with us, he left a trail
embedded with immortal virtues, values and
principles that are folklore for many generations to
follow.Diro was a father-figure to many, a guide to a
few, but for sure a great human being.
Students loved to call him Diro
but not many people know that
he was so fond of it himself that
the only personal email ids that
he has are dirobits@gmail.com
and dirobits@yahoo.com. That is
a name that he used to
personally cherish.
"Prof Venkateswaran has built
the brand name of BITS. More
importantly he built people. He
will be remembered for his
innovative educational
administration. BITS follows a
few processes that many
institutions might take close to
20 years to mimic."
- Prof. Sanjay Pohekar
63 63
Hailing from a small village near Ghaziabad, Dr. Goel
braved an acute lack of resources in his early years to
obtain his doctorate in Physics from IIT Delhi in 1969.
He continued his career in teaching and research until
2003 and he remained active in the scientific field
publishing as many as 210 research papers, several of
themin internationally reputed peer-reviewed
journals.
Dr. Goel began his tenure as Director of the Goa
campus in early May 2004. His task force included a
small group of faculty members, mostly drawn from
the Pilani campus. He was instrumental in generating
goodwill among the local government and
administration towards the Institute, and was
responsible for several important dignitaries visiting
and taking note of the new campus in its very first
years. His vast experience as an academic and an
administrator served himwell in this regard.
Those closest to him know this indefatigable man as
one with an never-say-die spirit, a perfect host, and an
excellent bridge player with a fondness for Urdu
poetry and a talent for oratory. His time was marked
by his desire to make the decisions and consultations
concerning the fledgling institution an inclusive
process his colleagues reminisce how he used to
insist: Let the people start working. Else how will they
learn?
BITSians from Goa talk of Dr. Goels constant
encouragement of student-related activities. His love
for promoting research was evident, when just a
month before his passing; he addressed a team of
visiting scientists reviewing ongoing projects at the
campus:
The work must go on. I would
like to see this work
accomplished whether I am here
or in heaven!
Building a top-class educational institution from
scratch is a tough task; to be its face, heart, and
soul every single day of its growth is another
level altogether; a challenge that few men can
stand up to, even fewer excel. Dr.T C Goel,
having overseen the meteoric rise of the Goa
campus of BITS Pilani, most certainly belongs to
the latter category.
64
Few students could recall his words - Go for it, I am
behind you, come with a solid plan though, was his
constant message to our calls to conduct our first
cultural and technical festival, first college magazine,
first sports-meet, first students union elections and
many more firsts.
Members of the faculty at the Goa campus recall his
enthusiastic response to their work being published in
research publications. Dr. Goels leadership was key to
the institute getting many funded research projects
fromnational and international agencies.
Perhaps nothing captures the essence of what Dr.
Goel meant to the BITS family as much as one of the
Urdu couplets he used to recite nowand then:
Indeed, death cannot silence how vociferously his
deeds still resonate in our imagination.If the 600
starry-eyed teenagers and 35 faculty and staff at a
spanking new BITS Pilani campus, Goa in 2004 had a
visionary fatherly figure, it was undoubtedly Prof.T C
Goel.
Aye maut aa ke humko
khamosh kar gayi toh, Sadiyon
dilon ke andar hum goonjte
rahenge.
65 65
A rich history has enabled BITS to be a driving force of positive change
Seth Shiv Narainji Birla starts a in Pilani with one teacher for
educating his grandsons, late Shri GD Birla and late Shri RD Birla.
Ghanshyam Das Birla meets (Mahatma spent his last 144 days
of his life at the Birla House now known as Gandhi Smriti)
The gathers strength, and evolves to become a High School and later
on an Intermediate College.
The Birla Education Trust was founded.The Intermediate College was
converted into a , and later on started post-graduate courses.
Higher level courses in make their way into the
Pilani campus.
was as an Institute
with Dr. G. D. Birla as Founder Chairman after combining the vision of Nehru
& Gandhi.
Benefiting from the Ford Foundation Grant, the University was developed in
association with .This led to
the adoption of many practices common amongst western colleges.
took over as Chairman of BITS and expanded the university
infrastructure, faculty and student body
Realizing a greater need for quality graduates in Engineering and Sciences, BITS
from 2500 to 4000.
'Patshala'
Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Mahatma Gandhi
'Patshala'
Degree college
Pharmacy, Arts and Commerce
incepted
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
Dr. KK Birla
increased its student capacity
1901
1916
1925 - 1929
1943 - 1947
1947 - 1952
1964
1964 - 1970
1983
1999
66
BITS open a brand in Dubai making it the
.
With the very best in facilities and infrastructure, opens its doors to the
student community.
Upon being invited by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, BITS added another
feather to its cap by starting a campus in Hyderabad.The
started its operations in 2008.
Overall Student Development, Outlook
first Indian university with an overseas
campus
BITS Goa
Hyderabad Campus
Rank #1
2000
2004
2008
2010
BITS clearly proved to be the model that enabled the development of education in India to
its contemporary standards.
Evolution of BITS
Certificate of Registration of BITS Pilani
as Deemed University
Extract from Hindustan Times Dated 2,
February 1963
67 67

O
ne international campus +
3 national campuses

Merit only based admission

SAT
like computerized exam
taken by 120,000 students annually

1.5 %
admit rate

Most women than any other engineering university in India

Industry linkages to
brand name companies

38+
Linkages to
foreign academic institutions

Flexibility in Education (courses, timings, professors, attendance)

Pioneered the concept of practice school in India enabling business


infused education

Stuoents work on research projects during undergraduate years

India's biggest cultural &


technical festivals
W
inners of major global competitions

Amazing social ventures

International PS stations &


recruiters

Alumni spread over 80 countries in 7 continents

100+
students attend the worlds top business schools annually

200+
students attend the worlds top engineering &
science schools
every year

200+
startups are NYSL, NASDAQ
, NSL and 8SL listed companies

CXO
s of world-impacting companies

Alums are professors at universities and leading business schools

Influential in the media industry (animators, authors, movie stars,


directors, musicians, space programs)
W
orking on W
all Street, Consulting,Venture Capital ano Private Equity

Serving as Government O
ttlcer, Policy Makers ano Politicians

8|TSAA
is India's best organized, single alumni network

8|TSAA
is the world's largest alumni run alumni association
(200+
volunteers across 20+
countries)
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BITSAA Chapter Events
BITSAA
The following pages feature many of the celebrations
and activities that got BITSians together all around
the world in 2010. From Bangalore to Boston, from
Golf to Housie, from Sunday Picnics to Girls Day Out,
from Music nite Lachha to Brainstorming & Fund
raising sessions, hundreds of alumni took part in
around 50 BITSAA Chapter events worldwide. Special
mention Coming together of the 81 Batch at the
Silver Jubilee Celebrations.
An attempt to showcase the camaraderie and
everything that BITSAA Intl stands for. Heres to one
of the most well-spread alumni networks and to a
future of innumerable and exciting chapter events.
EVENTS
CHAPTER
BITSAA Chapter Events
BITSAA
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
BITSAA UK Coffee Meet
19th March 2010
Caff Nero
Mr. Ramaswamy Nagarajan organized a meeting for BITS women
graduates (with their families) at his place. 8 out of 17 women attended
the event. The women had a stimulating discussion touching upon
challenges such as multi-cultural environments, job hunting and work-
life balance to further studies, parenting and mentoring. It was decided
to forma BITSianWomen council with a goal to stay connected socially
and professionally, and provide guidance to BITSian women new to
Australia.With more and more BITSian ladies joining BITSAAIntl, let us
look forward to bigger and better events than this one.
BITSAA SVCAnnual Reunion
10th April 2010
Hilton Santa Clara
BITSAAAustralia BITSianWomen in Australia
11th April 2010
Dundas New SouthWales
One of the best attended networking events, this hour long
networking session (sponsored by Cypress Semiconductors), was
attended by around 150 BITSians fromacross the batches who met old
friends, made new friends, and engaged in "lachcha" as they used to in
their college days. The theme revolved around BITSians in non
engineering fields andYoung BITSian entrepreneurs. Speakers included
host BhargavAddala ('02), BadhriVaranasi ('99) and Praveen Joginipally
('02). There were recorded interviews from Sarath Babu ('97) and
Phanindra Sama ('98). Jayan Ramankutty ('75) (founding president of BITSAA Silicon Valley Chapter, and a successful
entrepreneur) interviewed SamirArora ('84 - Ernst andYoung Entrepreneur of theYear for Northern California in 2009).
The group also honoredAtul Bhatnagar ('73) - a truly pioneering leader today as he runs one of the leading companies in
converged IP testing as CEO of Ixia.The day ended with a sumptuous Indian dinner buffet and some BITSian style dance
and music.A dance troupe comprising of BITSians, their family and friends rocked the staged, which was followed by an
open dance floor jig.
It was a wonderful BITSian evening in London, where the gamut of
discussions ranged from anti-ragging rules to prices of Shikanji at SKY
Lawns in the latest times.This Coffee meet led to a whole tradition of
Coffee Meets every 3rd Friday of the month in UK.
The evening started with Coffee at Caffe Nero on The Cut in
Southwark, Followed by a long walk along the bank (reminiscent of
walk from insti to Connaught), Dinner at Wagamama and sweet
Goodbyes at theWaterloo Station (nostalgic of the 11pmgoodbyes we
always had at Meera Bhavan).
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BITSAA New England Meet
8th May 2010
MysoreVeggie
The first of several planned BITSAA get-togethers to revive a comatose
Bangalore Chapter was, not uncharacteristically, a music and lachaa
session. The music itself had a kal aaj aur kal motif with musicians
representing the past, the present and the future generations of
BITSians. There was Agam the band (with Bitsians Harish Vodka
Sivaramakrishnan, GaneshGNR Nagarajan and PraveenTPK Kumar
class of 02), followed by a BITS Pilani music club band led by Ashish
Jain(06) and Anirudh Wadhwa (06).The program was rounded out by
the NYOTH (Not Yet Over the Hill) quartet of Sunil Nanda, Vijay
Athreye, PradeepViswanathan and PhilipThomas, all Bitsians of the70s vintage and guest singersVVRamanan (of the class
of 71) and Ram Gulwady (class of 78). Prof VL Swaminathan (ME 67), Prof TLS Rao (Prof. of Mech Engg who left BITS in
73) represented the old timers (at least one 57 grad was expected but unfortunately could not make it) and hordes of 10
graduates who put off their trips home after PS so they could attend.
BITS, Pilani Dubai Grand Reunion
3rd June 2010
BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus
BITSAA Bangalore Get Together
19th June 2010
Unnati Centre
This was the first BITSAA event in the New England Area (Which is
filled with close to 150-200 BITSians) in close to 4-5 years.Atotal of 54
alumni attended the event. Some delicious food was followed by a
series of entertaining stories by BITSians recounting tales from1976 to
2008.There were memories shared about meeting their better halves,
to being caught by the chief warden for their shenanigans, to
strikes/fasts to OASIS, G.Su, Apogee, Chimpoo and the list just kept
growing.The meet ended with couple of raffles distribution of gifts.
With months of preparation and mass invitations, the event was
organized by the current students for their "super-seniors". The event
commemorated the 10 years of the institution with a month long picture
exhibition bringing to life the past highs of the institute.With over 150
alumni members from all over the Middle East and India, senior faculty
members and current students. The event also served as a befitting
tribute to our out-going Director, Dr. M.Ramachandran, whose dream
was to have the re-union on the stand alone campus of BITS Dubai.
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BITSAA SVC Dinner with Prof V S Rao
22nd June 2010
SiliconValley
We all remember the fun, the passion, the sportsmanship during BOSM
on campus, here was an opportunity to showoff all those skills years after
Pilani - at the first of its kind BITSAA Sports Meet.The event was kicked
off with a competitive tennis tournament organized by Easwar
Ramaswamy ('99) and after couple of days of booming serves and exciting
doubles play we had our winners -Tarun Desikan ('96) andAjay Navaratna
('78). Everyone then headed to the cricket ground for an unforgettable
day in BITS style cricket. Organized by Sandeep Kancharla ('00) there were 9 teams raring to go and 60+alumni cheering
for them.
BITSAA UK Summer Barbecue
26th June 2010
BITSAA SVC Sports Meet
15th August 2010
SiliconValley
Our ever-active SiliconValey Chapter organizes get-togethers for BITS
professors visiting the valley, where local alumni get an opportunity to
reconnect with the campuses. It is also a great way to keep updated on
the latest Campus buzz. On similar grounds, a dinner with Prof.V S Rao
was hosted by the chapter on 22nd June 2010. ProfV S Rao updated the
alumni on various details of the Hyderabad Campus and welcomed the
alumni to the campus to connect with the students. He also discussed
theVision 2020 and Mission 2012 plan and gathered feedback regarding
the implementation.
Another one of the many annual BITSAA UK events held every summer. An
enthused bunch of BITSians get together to chit-chat over some grilled chicken
and barbecue sauce.
BITSAA SVC SEVATHON
18th July 2010
Sunnyvale
The Silicon Valley Chapter participated in the 5k/10k/half marathon
Sevathon, a way for non-profits to spread awareness about their
projects and raise some funds as well. Alumni from the 76 batch and
other batches walked the marathon and even set up a booth to propagate
Atmanirbhara a resource centre launched by BITSAA for rural
education and employability.
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BITSAA Australia BITSNite 10
28th August 2010
Sydney
In line with the nationwide campaign for spreading the word on BITSAA
Global Meet in Jan'11, the BITSAA Mumbai Chapter organized a get
together after 6 long years. It received an audience of approx 200 BITS
alumni from various batches (1967-2007). Mr. Dilip D'Souza('76) started
the event with an opening speech, followed by a short pitch by the BGM
teamon the progress so far.Asmall and peppy quiz on some facts on BITS
followed. Signed copies of Dilips newbook - Roadrunner, were given away to the winners. Ex-music clubbers put up a great
performance making junta tap to some brilliant music.The excitement amongst BITSians on meeting their batch mates
after long and the anticipation about BITSAAGlobal Meet were some of the Kodak moments for the day.
BITSAA San Diego
24th September 2010
San Diego
BITSAA Mumbai Time of your Life 10
25th September 2010
Jade Garden,Worli
InAustralia, a core teamof a dozenAlumni fromacross the batches 61
Pilani down to 04 Goa batch came together to organize a BITS-style
Cultural Event.The initiative was led by Mr. Ramaswamy Nagarajan from
the 1961 batch. It was not just a get together but aimed at creating
history by coming together for a supreme cause raise funds for the
Atma Nirbhara Project Resource Centre building in the Pilani Campus.
The BitsNite2010 received a tremendous response with around 250 people, including 90 BITSians not only from Sydney
but alsoAdelaide, Canberra and Melbourne.The chapter was able to aggregate funds worthAU$10,000 (Rs. 4,28,071) for
the noble cause.The funds have already been wired toAtmanirbhara and construction work started.This just goes to show
that BITSians anywhere in the world can come together for a good cause and give back to the society.
The agenda of this get together, attended by around 30 people was to
share experiences regarding BITSAAactivities in Sydney,Australia (talked
about by Special Guest - Mr. Ramaswamy) which has brought theAussie-
BITSian community closer over the years and to build the same model in
San Diego leading to similar results. Mr Ramaswamy also talked about the
BITSNite'10 - a charity event conducted in Sydney that saw around 275
attendees. It ended with Sarath Kolla using the opportunity to talk about
BGM.
Intense competition, heartbreak and joy followed and after some hard fought battles we had our winners. Everyone went
back with some wonderful trophies, memories to cherish and a promise to come roaring back for another sports meet
next year.
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BITSAA SVC Talk by Dilip DSouza
17th October 2010
India Community Centre
BITSAA East Coast chapter and BGM team members met at the
Dreamcricket Pavilion run by Venu Palaparthi (Founder, BITSAA
International) to discuss the transition of East Coast chapter to a brand new,
young and energetic team lead byVikrant Bhaskarwar consisting of 2000+
graduates. Upon receiving the wisdom and guidance of BITSAA East Coast
veterans like Venu Palaparthi, Sandeep Arora, Sandeep Nalgundwar and
others, the young team started planning for the upcoming BITSAA East
Coast Diwali Nite. BGM team members Sarath Kolla and Kris Inapurapu conveyed a quick message about BGM and
received lots of inputs about people and companies who should be invited to participate.The morning was topped off
with a fun round of wing cricket of 5 overs a side with the 1990 and older batches playing against the 1991 and younger
batches. Needless to say, the older batches put up a great fight but could not ward off the young blood's ravaging bowling
and smashing batting and the baton of chapter was truly transitioned to younger team.
BITSAA SVC Golf Tournament
17th October 2010
Fremont Park Golf Center
BITSAA East Coast Dream Cricket Pavilion
24th October 2010
New Jersey
The BITSAA Silicon Valley Chapter and India Community Centre,
California hosted Dilip D'Souza ('76) as a part of the ICC Forum series.
The Forum@ICC is an open to the public series hosting distinguished
speakers from different fields across the world.Through a conversation
with hostViggy Mokkarala ('76), Dilip spoke on his journey from being a
Computer Scientist to taking up his passion of writing for a living. Dilip
read out excerpts from his latest book "Roadrunner:An Indian Quest in
America" in which through stories large and small, he shows usAmerica as refracted through the eyes of an Indian who is
critical but not intolerant.The 80+ audience was invigorated with the passion and perception with which Dilip fielded
questions on his book, development, nationalism, science, poverty, as well as travel.
It was a chilly morning in October and BITSians in Silicon Valley dared
weather forecast of rain to attend biannual BITSAA SVC Golf event.The
event was organized by Nachiket Deshpande (97) and Bhargav Addala
(02). There was a good participation from our advanced, intermediate
and beginner BITsian golfers. The event began with snacks that have
become a ritual at this event: Chai, hot samosas and ras malai.There were
prizes for team with lowest scores, longest drive, closest to the pin and
even for the team with highest scores.The golfers must have some good karma since the rain gods co-operated and held
off the rain right until the prize distribution and the end of the event.
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BITSAAArizona Get together
22nd October 2010
India Gate Restaurant, Chandler
BITSAA Delhi Annual Get Together
23rd October 2010
Tivoli Gardens
BITSAA Seattle Fall Get Together
7th November 2010
It was a warmevening &the event started slowly with a fewrandomintros
and mellowtalks with a yet to free-up BITSian enthu and exuberant spirit.
The tandoori odors filled the air and as dinner was served, Suman (00)
spoke about BGM explaining various things in content/agenda page on
BGMwebsite and detailed on student/faculty enrichment projects &ideas.
The BGM talk and dinner ended at the same time after which followed a
round of formal intros ending with crazy experiences at BITS.
The event was a complete entertainment package where BITSian singers
from the yesteryears enthralled the listeners with their mellifluous singing
and at the same time BGMvolunteers were right on their toes to spread as
much awareness about the mega event as possible. It served as a perfect
event to cause excitement among the BITSians in the run-up to the BGM,
where a very strong pitch was also made by the Sponz Team for seeking
support from the alumni in every sense possible-both the participation and the monetary contribution. Kudos to the
BITSAADelhi Chapter for having led the initiative and also to be able to keep the BITSians in Dehi/NCRbonded together
for years now.
BITSAA Chennais Annual reunion saw the presence of Prof. KE Raman who welcomed the Chennai Junta to the event.
Sudip Jain gave an update on the BITSAAGlobal Meet.The BITSAAChennai Marathon winner KKB was also recognized.
Networking, music, oldest Bitsian, youngest Bitsian, and some evergreen BITSian memories were the topics of
conversation. Thanks to Mr. Diwakar Pingle (88) for conducting a stimulating quiz on BITS.
BITSAA Chennai Annual Meet
30th October 2010
Vadapalani
Agroup of 20 alumni in the pacific- northwestAmerican region got together
for what turned out to be an excellent overview of the planned BITSAA
Global Meet.The presentation not only generated a lot of ideas for the meet,
but also prompted alumni to brainstorm ways to contribute to the event.
Mr. Sunit Rikhi one of the prime BGM speakers was also present for the
event.
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I N T E R N A T I O N A L
BITSAA East Coast Get Together
13th November 2010
Rahway, New Jersey
About eighty BITSians and their families turned up at the venue for the event.
People present were from various batches but the 2006 batch topped the
list. The awesome performances by music and dance club kept the
environment lively. Junta was shouting and applauding for the performances,
which brought back the memories ofAudi, Oasis and all the fun times at BITS.
Mr. Sanjay Khendry (82) briefed everyone about the BITSAA global meet
followed by a presentation about Pearl by BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus
students.The BITSian connect was clearly in the air and everyone had a gala
time at the meet up.
BITSAA Singapore
14th November 2010
Suntec City
BITSAA Hyderabad Fall Get-together
20th November 2010
Hotel Minerva Grand
Approximately 120 BITSians and their family members attended this event.
A night to remember and cherish, the BITSAA East Coast get-together was
a roaring success.An Inspiring talk by Food King Sarath Babu, presentations
by BITSians (on initiatives such as BITS.AID, BITSAA Global Meet and BITS
75Trust), an enthralling dance performance by Kavya (03 batch), delightful
stand-up comedy by Mukund Ramachandran (93 batch), Games and
Quizzes among many other activities kept all engaged and entertained
throughout the night. Not to mention, the dance floor would have been rocking until the wee hours had it not been for the
time constraint. The event was sponsored by DreamCricket (Venu Palaprthi), Bridge-X Technologies (Sandeep
Nalgundwar), Radiant Systems Inc (Venu Myneni), Knack Systems (Sandeep Arora) and Wissen Inc (Vikram Datla, Jay
Sappidi and Satish Paul).Their support and encouragement provided the impetus and was definitely the driving force for
the get-together.
BITSAA Singapore Chapter serves as an excellent networking platformfor
the 100+ BITSians in Singapore and neighbouring countries.The first such
Singapore meet was attended by around 40 alumni, with the seniormost
being fromthe77 batch of Pilani; the youngest being fromthe03 Batch.The
group was springing with enthusiasm as a lot of people were meeting each
other after a long time. The unexpected heavy rain on the day drastically
affected the attendance.The intent of the first meet was to formalize the
structure of the group, layout the group activities and to get to know each
other. Many interesting ideas such as scholarships for BITSians, tuition camps and blood donation were discussed.
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BITSAA Pune Get together
14th August 2010
SYLHET, BEG Khadki
An unremarkable winter morning. A motley group of forty-
something men (and some women) arrived in a couple of
Volvo buses last night.Word at Connaught is they are here for
a journey back to the past.
High decibel sounds of hello and hi float around. Loud
back-slapping and squelching hugs accompanied by wider-
than-cheeks grins and impromptu songs. The air is full of
names being cried out lustily - Pine,Tan, Pappe, God,Vaili, Guja,
Sabs. A group of bewildered and amused wives looking on as
their seemingly respectable husbands turn into rambunctious
wild 18 year olds! Enough to bemuse any bystander and there
are a few.
Yes, this is the Batch of 81! Eighty nine BITSians came together to celebrate 25 years since they last walked the hallowed
portals of BITS Pilani.They were here to undertake the pilgrimage.To re-live the journey they made 29 years ago. They
came with spouses, with children, with significant others.They came fromsunny California,fromicy Moscow, fromorderly
Singapore, from Saudi and from many corners of Apna Bharat Mahan. They left their corporate corner offices, they
abandoned theirThanksgiving plans, and they left their children with grandparents.They boarded buses in Delhi and took
an unfamiliar shorter but longer route, no one complained because they were coming to Pilani.
Last night when the Batch descended on Pilani one more time, yelling and screaming as they did years back, the current
students welcomed the alumni and helped them to their rooms at VFAST, the agreeable new place on campus.Wolfing
down an evening snack of familiar samosa and green chutney - a fitting start to the dj vu. It was as if they belonged here,
as if they had never gone away. It felt the same - the roads, the smells, the friends. It was as if the intervening two and a half
decades never happened.
Some opted for a short meal and a quick stroll around the campus. Some walked that well-trodden path to Meera. Some
stopped for a more sumptuous meal at the newAll Night Canteen. Where was this when we were here?
The morning saw shutterbugs crawling through campus for memorable shots of the mandir, the clock tower and the
bhawans. The Museum and Sky Lab. The new Student Activity Center. Dressed in the batch sweatshirts for the
photograph,eighty nine BITSians in one frame 29 years after they first met.What a moment.And God bless PhotoShop for
the three that missed the group shot by minutes.
Then came the tour, most of it familiar with many additions.A Student Activity Center beside the Museum.ATelephone
Booth in the M Block. A new lecture hall complex near the C Block. A Supermarket on the Ashok CNot Road. Solar
heaters. Meera Bhavan with many new blocks and a Chowki who doesnt yell out names anymore, thanks to mobile
telephony. Grills protecting the ground floors of bhavans. No Redis - replaced by smart Kiosks near the messes.Avibrant
student population with many projects including the ones to build cars and robots.
Batch of 81- Silver Jubilee Reunion
19th November, 2010.
BITSAA PUNE Chapter got together on the eve of the Independence Day, providing the opportunity to
announce/introduce BGM to the alumni members. The response was overwhelming around 80 members attended,
from the50s to the 09 batch. R SVirdi () - the President of the chapter andAlok Garg (who flew all the way from Delhi)
talked about BGM activities and distributed BGM merchandise as well. Everyone showed great enthusiasm and over 25
members registered for the grand event.
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Then came the speeches. The Diro, Prof
Ragurama, and the VC, Dr. Jain laid out their
Vision 2020 - BITS in the list of the top 200
universities in the world. Prof. KER, now Diro
BITS Pilani, Goa Campus and head of theAlumni,
who taught this batch, made an emotional appeal
to theAlumni to actively participate in the vision
of BITS and to help strengthen the BITSPilani
brand. Took some getting used to because now
there are many BITS Pilani, of which Pilani is but
one.
Lunch at the RPA Mess. A combination of the
Saturday and Sunday lunches: finger chips, gobi
fry, mutter paneer, puri, alu parathas, finishing off with cassata.The forty somethings happily tucked it away. Instead of PPP,
the afternoon had more serious matters. The current students turned up in numbers to hear the Alumni share
experiences and perspectives.The sessions were exciting and animated. Discussions followed in the LHC and right back
to theVFAST.We are who we are because of that rare blend of independence and responsibility.Then tea with the faculty
at the cafeteria for informal discussions and sharing of thoughts between faculty and alumni.
People then took off to their favorite haunts. Strolls through Mandir lawns. Milk shakes at bluemoon. No modas or
samosa but the atmosphere still works.
That evening the alumni honoured members of the faculty back fromtheir time.Then Raj Munaimdelivered an address on
behalf of the batch.Vaishali,Virad, Sylvan, Rajanarayanan and Jayanto provided superb and entertaining music.The alumni
stayed on to hear the Music Club performat theirSenti Night.The bands were outstanding.
The alumni enjoyed dinner at the RPAMess where they were treated to special food that was usually dished out at Bhavan
Nites.Then they adjourned toVFAST for festivities. Singing andAnthakshri. Chatting with their friends. More trips to the
All Night Canteen. A well-respected tradition of- you know what- to get the spirits up. Largely cheerful conversations
interspersed with some grey talk about the dark clouds of changes. Curfews and H-wings.
The next morning saw the 81-ers breakfast hurriedly on Halwa-Murti. Rushed goodbyes while checking their
Blackberrys.The last sweet experience of the BITS in their bellies.A more quiet but satisfied ride back to Delhi and
back to where they came from. Until mother calls again.
BITSAA Indore Regular Get Togethers
The BITSAAIndore chapter has a glorious history of being active since
the last 30 years and boasts of a family of 200 members. There are
around 95 BITSians in Indore who meet as often as 6 times a year, go
for family vacations together and keep in touch constantly. Many of
their get-togethers are in the formof pool dinners, organized at one
of the member's residence where 80 - 100 persons can be
accommodated. Some 10-12 members bring home cooked food for
the rest.The utensils for serving are with the association (provided by
some friends).The BITSAAIndore executive body is selected/imposed
(not elected) and also consists of spouses to keep the families involved.
The privilege of finalizing the team is unanimously given tothe most dynamic member and the mentor of the group - Shri
Manohar Baheti (69) - the 'life' of BITSAAIndore.
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BITSAA
BITSAA Vision
BITSAA Mission
* aximize the potential of BITSians and BITS Pilani
* ake BITSAA the best and most well networked
alumni community in the world and positively
enhance your professional and personal lives
* Give back to BITS Pilani to strengthen the
infrastructure, student exposure and education
quality
I N I T I AT I V E S
BITSAA Chapter Events
BITSAA
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
BITSAA Initiatives
Intune with our mission and vision statements, BITSAAInternational gears its initiatives in the following spheres -
a) Students
b) Alumni
c) Community
d) Faculty
e) Brand
For Students
? BITS2MSPhd was formed in 2005 by a group of enthusiastic BITSians to demystify the MS/PhD
admission process and help BITSians make it to their dream Universities. In 2010 there were over 492 admission
offers that 150 students received and 44.7%of the students received some formof aid.
? > Found in 2004, BITS2Bschool focuses on helping alums in the process of making it into their
dream B schools. A directory of BITS MBA students and graduates since 1975 > has been published and covers a
majority of BITSians in influential roles in the corporate world. Last year, BITS Pilani graduates had more than 40
admissions to global business schools including HBS, INSEAD,Wharton etc.
? BITSAA currently awards eight scholarships to students at the BITS Pilani campuses.These
scholarships are funded out of the BITSAA Endowment Fund (BEF). For more details on these scholarships and the
recipients, please visit this link.
o - 50%Tuition fees for 2 students (1 male &1 female) in III year (need based).
o - Full tuition fee for a I year student (merit-cum-need), Hyderabad campus.
Endowed for 3 years.
o - Full tuition fee for a II year student (merit-cum-need), Pilani campus. Endowed
for 3 years.
3 > Partial sponsorship of faculty who are selected to present their research or
invited as guests to represent BITS at International conferences
3 > Award for the best project in the field of Analog Eloctronics at
APOGEE and a subsequent Fellowhip to pursue a project
o - Full tuition need-based scholarship awarded to a student from
Faizabad, UP district.
o -Award given to Best outgoing student of the Physics Group
o - The BITSAA graduate application scholarships encourage
students to apply at multiple institutions of higher learning for admission. Scholarship amount > #SD 500 to
1,000 .
o - a rolling trophy and cash prize of Rs. 5,000.The award is sure to provide an
encouragement to the winners of the badminton championships held during BOSMevery year.
BITS2MSPhd
BITS2BSCHOOL
BITSAA Scholarships
Bhushan Bhatia Scholarship
Ashok Agarwal Scholarship
Rakesh Chandra Scholarship
Faculty Travel Scholarship
Srikanth Analog Award and Fellowship
Hiralal Agarwal Memorial Scholarship
Best Physics Student
BITSAA Graduate Application Scholarships
Brij Bhushan BadmintonAward
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o - Needy BITSians who do not quality for any of the "regular'
BITSAA Scholarships can avail an interest free (yes - 0%APR!) loan from BITSAA International. Gaurav Singh
(8|TS-Pllanl Goa) became the first BITSian to avail of a $450 loan scholarship to attend ASME Student
Professional Development Conference at NanyangTechnological University. Gaurav Singh also became the first
BITSian to successfully "give back" the loan to BITSAA.
o - BITSAA Silicon Valley Miles Program is a very unique program that is funded by
donated airline miles to support international travel requirements of students and faculty of BITS .8|TSAA-Sv
MilesTeam is driving the efforts to raise donations and has already collected sufficient miles for funding at least 3
travel awards in this academic year.
By the stuoents, For the stuoents- .VVeeraVikramand JayantAhalawat (06 Pilani) have devoted their
first month's salaries to buy a rolling trophy for the winners of BOSMVolleyball.
-Travel grants are awarded for meritorious students to travel and present their lnnovatlon, represent
BITS in International conferences to present papers etc.
o - TeamAcyut andAutomized Minds became the tlrst-ever Indian teams to win medals at Robo games,
held at San Francisco.The teams brought back one silver and two bronze medals to Pilani.This success was made
possible by the unwavering support of BITS Alumni around the world who contributed more than $6952 for
teamACYUT.
o - Prashant Reddy, a final year Chemical Engineering student at Pilani
benefitted from the donation from RanvirTrehan( Batch of '61), with a travel grant of USD 1000 to continue his
ott-campus thesis at Georgia Institute ofTechnology.
o - Shaurya, BITS Pllanl, is an effort to develop an All-Terrain Fully Autonomous
GroundVehicle (AGV) with multiple advanced functionalities and BITSAAInternational initiatited the fundraiser
for the team Shaurya to participate in the national level DRDO Student Robot Competltlon, 2010, organized by
the Defence Research &Development Organization (DRDO, Ministry of Defence, Govt.of India).
BITSAA Internationals Loan Scholarships
BITSAA Miles Program
RollingTrophy
Travel Grants
ACYUT
Contribution fromtheTrehan Foundation
Fundraiser for Team Shaurya
ForAlumni
- By renting his spare apartment in Sydney as a vacation home in return for a contribution
to 8|TSAA, Mr. Ramaswamy Nagarajan (61 batch) fondly known as Nagl, has put into action a powerful idea on the
sustainability of social initiatives the ability to support itself. Like all powerful loeas, it is simple but multl-pronged.
Hospitality Funoralslng, as this initiative came to be calleo, aims to strengthen the alumni network through
interconnections. It also encourages more BITSians to become a part of the BITSAA network and contribute
meaningfully to a cause.
- Bits2Marathon is a group for fellow BITSians and alumni to help budding runners achieve their
dream of running a Marathon (42.195km).Two successful versions of the marathon were held in the last two years
With more than 150 BITSians fromacross the batches running in 2009, 2010 had over 500 BITSians running across 83
cities.
- Connect BITSians through an online alumni directory and web portal. Launched BITSAA
Global Alumni Directory 3,000 registered members in one month .The directory also hosts an exhaustive list of the
whos who of the BITSian fraternity the entrepreneurs, the acaoemlclans, the tecbnologlsts, the authors etc.
Hospitality for fundraiser
BITS2Marathon
BITSAAAlumni directory
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BITSAA Chapter Events
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I N T E R N A T I O N A L
- a mission to promote entrepreneurial thinking among the BITSian community and create future business
leaders. The team conducts lnto-sesslons, organizes events in the Pilani campuses and also has a unique program
called Summer in a Startup where students could get a flavor of the Startup life.With a theme of "Unveiling |nola,
CEL orgaizedTEDx Pilani , exposing the audience to amazing ideas that defined innovation in new-age India. Conquest
- CELs annual entrepreneurship conclave and business plan competition , Summer in a startup - an initiative to
provide internship opportunities in a startup, Epsilon - the lntra-8|TS business challenge, Stimulus - a simulation based
game are some of the activities that the CEL teamhas successfully executed over the years
- BITSAA International Newsletter is an attempt at keeping our fraternity all over the world informed
and enables BITSians stay abreast with the latest, riveting stories ranging fromachievements, awaros, and recognitions
to reunlons, events and many more.
- Sandpaper is the BITSAA edition is a biannual alumni magazine - a magazine for BITSians and alums
about 8|TS, BITSians and BITSAA.
|n-tune with the current soclal-meola boom, BITSAA sends out latest happenings on
Twitter, and FBfan pages etc to keep alumni informed
- Career Center is the "Placement Notice Board" that every BITSian would religiously
check - be it a curious first yearite, a nervous on-campus psentl-semlte, an accomplished alumnus looking for the next
career move,a BITSian entrepreneur or an established BITSian working in the corporate world.Career Center is
coming up with an online portal that is a one stop portal for all the job openings across the globe posted by BITSians.
Career Center is also working at at integrating all alumni job networks in the form of un-mooerateo Job-Yahoo
groups across the world .
- BITSAA L-store is the online memorabilia store with BITS t-sblrts, mugs, sweatshirts and more
thereby helping alumni across the world to buy BITS merchandize .BITSAAL-store gives alumni a wonderful platform
to relive the moments that made their BITSian lives fantastic, funny and memorable.
-This innovative initiative gives the BITSAlumni a chance to teach at the place where it all begun -
The BITS campuses. In the past we have had many distinguished alumni taking Sabbaticals at the Pilani and Goa
Campuses .Mr. Siva Cotipalli and Mr. Kedar Gavane are alumni who participated in the initiative in 2009 and are now
working with the BITS administration on the course structure plan .

Initiatives that reinforce our faith in the power of the BITSAA network time and agaln, the BITSian passion to a
difference in the life of fellowhumans
o - , Manish Bharadwajs fight against cancer drove BITSAAto launch Life for Manish an initiative
registering bone marrow donors for patients affected by Acute myeloid leukemia (AML).As on 18th November
2008, drives for bone marrow registration were conducted at 61 locations in US, UK, India andAustralia with a
total number of 4,751 donors.
o Seema a '85 batch Gold medalist was bedridden for 13 years with rheumatoid arthritis
and she wrote a letter to the President of |nola, appealing for mercy killing. Seemas news shook the BITSAA
community into action.BITSAA reached out to the community and raised in four days, twice as much as what
Seema requested. 235 alums donated.
CEL
Newsletter
Sandpaper
BITSAA on Social Media
BITSAA Career Center
BITSAA e-Store
Sabbatical at BITS
BITSAAHelpInitiatives
Life for Manish
Seema Sood Initiative
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BITSAA Chapter Events
BITSAA
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
o - Nagesh was the Andhra Board topper in 2009 and since he was from an
economically poor background, could not afford his education at BITS. BITSAA75-80 and Nirmaan together
helped Nagesh join BITS by contributing towards the admission fee as well as the first semester tuition fee.They
also connected Nagesh to the Lanco Foundation which has agreed to sponsor the rest of his education at BITS.
o Anitha Ashokan(04 Goa) was hospitalized with Balo a rare case of multiple
sclerosis. Rs 5lakhs was reached within 3 days to cover her treatment and medicine costs. Over 220 donors from
all over the world donated and an amount of $14721 (7 lakhs) was raised forAnitha.
o BITSAA Womens Council together with the support of BITSAA International
helped mess worker Deep Chandji to clear the debts he landed from his daughter-in-laws medical emergency.
With the support of the BITSian community, Rs 3 lakhs was raised towards this effort
o - In an effort to fulfil their social responsibility and give back to the alumni community,
the Class of 71 raised over Rs.10.3 Lakhs and from start to finish, the effort took less than 8 weeks. the BITS
Pilani AuditoriumAudio Systemgot a much-needed facelift thanks to the efforts of the Class of '71.
G was created with the objective to help the needy in whatever small way and to encourage every BITSian to
give back to the society. Its core group has also embarked upon additional projects in 2009 under themes such as
education, rural development, youth empowerment & sustainable environmental practices.The diverse core group
aims at bring BITSians across the globe together to make a better society, tackle various social and environmental
needs,establish newfrontiers for BITSians to connect to the global volunteering community thereby support socially
responsible endeavors.
G Atma Nirbhara is an organization aimed at building community resource centres for rural education
and employability. In Australia the a core team of a dozen Alumni led by Mr. Ramaswamy Nagarajan('61) came
together to organize a BITS-style Cultural which was not just a get together but aimed at creating history by coming
together for a supreme cause raise funds for the Atma Nirbhara Project Resource Centre building in the Pilani
Campus.The teamraisedAU$10,000, reiterating the BITSian strength in coming together for a noble cause .
G The Lets Promote BITS Pilani initiative aims at attracting the brightest minds to
BITS Pilani by generating awareness amongst high school students across India about the value of the BITS Pilani
experience.The team has successfully launched its first way of this brand building exercise: Info Sessions in all the 4
campuses
G BITSEmbryo is a BITSAAinitiative aimed at fostering strong collaboration between
students, faculty, alumni and friends of BITS, Pilani .Since its inception BITSEmbryo has facilitated more than 100
lectures delivered fromUSA, Europe andAsia Pacific, touching base on a wide variety of topics.
Board Topper gets into BITS
BITSians for Anitha Ashokan
Deepchandji Fundraiser
Class of 71 Fundraiser
BITS. aid
AtmaNirbhara
Lets Promote BITS Pilani ( LPBP)
BITS Embryo - BITS Embryo
For Community
ToPromote BrandBITS
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BITSAA Chapter Events
BITSAA
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
G Strategic Communication & Branding - The Strategic Communication & Branding team strives to promote BITSian
personalities, BITS and BITSAA activities through popular print and TV media. In the long-term the team aims to
establish strategic partnership with these platforms that would enable us to sustain and enrich the brand BITS.Two
partnerships with popular Indian Media houses have been finalized.
The faculty travel grants were instituted to enable students to get access to the best international professors fromacross
the globe. Dr. Martha Turner was the first Professor to be invited through the BITSAA Faculty Travel Grant to conduct
seminars on bioethics at the BITS Pilani campus.
A generous contribution by fellow alum, Kris Ramachandran (72) led to the creation of BITSAA Internationals first
award for Faculty at the BITS campuses.The award recognizes and encourages young faculty who have made significant
contributions to BITS through innovations in research and teaching and consists of a rolling plaque, certificate and a cash
award of Rs 1 Lakh. Dr Niti Nipun Sharma, Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department, was announced the winner
of the KRFEA2010.
For Faculty
FacultyTravel Grants
Kris Ramachandran Faculty ExcellenceAward
85
BITSAA Chapter Events
BITSAA
STORIES
SUCCESS
BITSC
Seema Sood
Anitha Ashokan
BIT
OLAB
onnect
Fundraiser
Fundraiser
Sunami
SHOWCASING BITSanity
BITSAA Chapter Events
BITSAA
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
he world is insane. It spares none fromits absurdity. Whether it's a natural disaster or a sudden disease, the insanity
has tendency to surprise one and all. Most of the time, the surprise comes as a shock and shatters all hope.What
would you say if you work around the clock for almost an year to participate in a conference, but finally find no
money to reach there! Absurd, isn't? Or after proving your worth academically and securing a gold medal, you are
confined to a bed with no possible physical movement, pleading for death. It is cruel. How about a wild sea-wave from
nowhere! or having a personal computer and studying in a premier institute, you spend hours outside IPCfor your turn to
complete assignment. It is insane.
With determination, a person can scale great mountains, but some tasks are beyond the reach of a single person.These
tasks require collective efforts, proper planning and efficient channels to utilize resources. In the absence of these
collective efforts, the insanity of the world ridicule humanity. Fortunately BITSAA has provided an apt platform to stage
these efforts with BITSian zeal and passion. Here are excerpts of some success stories fromthe past:
T
BITSConnect
It's little absurd to imagine no internet connectivity when 3G is entering India. Way back in 2000, it was just a dream.
Imagine extreme weather conditions at Pilani, and last date of project submission.You are waiting outside IPC to get a
chance to work on a PC(that's not your personal one), all thanks to project BITSConnect for rescuing BITSians fromthis
night-mare.This state-of-the-art project was completed in record time.
BITS Director, Dr.Venkateswaran, shared his vision of connecting BITS campus in September 2002 with 22 BITSian alums.
Prem Jain galvanized the team into action. Pulling in two BITSians at Cisco, Deepu Rathi and Mukul Chawla, the team
started brainstorming.
A dedicated team was formed by November. 2002. Prof. JP Misra of BITS scoped out the requirements. Mukul Chawala
spent two weeks in Pilani and at the Cisco offices, surveying the campus and putting together the network design.The
estimated cost was $1.5 million. With vendor subsidies and Pilanis savings, the alumni target was $750,000. And BITSAA
had 9 months to raise the money. By January 2003, the RFP process was launched. The entire network was finalized in
one 9-hour sitting by BITS professors,JP Misra and Rahul Banerjee, working withWipro and Cisco engineers.
BITSConnect fundraising teams were pulled together from all over the US. Fundraising shifted to overdrive as the top
100 BITSians were identified.The goal was to raise enough money to make the first payment within 30 days.The target was
easily reached and crossed, thanks to the superb efforts of the fund-raising team leaders, Roop Jain and Karthik Krishna.
Alumni pledges totaled $430,000 by the beginning of May. The Finance team of Jayan Ramankutty, Sandeep Arora and
AnitaAgarwal tightly monitored the budgets and the funds coming in.
BITSConnect marketing, led by Satish Gupta andVenu Palaparthi, kicked off a big PR campaign globally, and soon big media
started to pay attention.The fundraising focus shifted to the rest of the world, after raising around half the amount from
US.
Ajay Madhok and Rohit Sah (Delhi), Subodh Mittal andVikram Sah (Bangalore), Dinesh Mirchandani andAashish Bhinde
(Mumbai) andAshokAgarwal coordinated fund-raising efforts in India. Coordinators were pulled in for chapters around
the world. BITSConnect became a global agenda, by May 2003.
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BITSAA Chapter Events
BITSAA
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
BITSConnects first initiative, the gigabit Ethernet network calledNeuron, was launched by Dr. KK Birla in an impressive
ceremony on March 20, 2004, and thus the project was concluded. BITSConnect is one of the most successful projects
accomplished by any University Alumni association. This milestone proudly demonstrate power of BITS network and
excellent management qualities of BITSAAleaders.
TECHNICAL DETAILS:
1. Connects the Institute, hostel rooms, library, staff quarters and guest house
2. More than 20 kilometers of cables
3. 2-4 MbpsWANconnectivity
4. 4000 voice-grade 10/100 access
5. Points over a Gigabit backbone
6. Staff House connectivity through LRE (Long Range Ethernet) &Wireless
7. WirelessAccess (802.11b) at SKYand the Reference Library
8. NMS, Router &Hardware Firewall
9. VoIP Phones
10. Voice-management Software
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BITSAA Chapter Events
BITSAA
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
BITSConnect Facts:
FunTrivia:
1. Though BITSAA raised funding the mammoth project, it's Nagaar-Ji's constant supply of tea-and-coffee that actually
fueled the passion and kept it alive in marathon meeting/discussion sessions.
2. Along with other logistics issues, the BITSConnect team had to cope-up with the truckers strike. Fortunately, the
strike didn't last long.
3. Cisco, Wipro andAmp (Tyco) were finalized as the leading vendors.
4. The project team had to come up with ideas to deal with the intense Pilani heat that threatened to melt the
equipment and the dust which was quickly clogging the ports.
While digging the cables around the campus the following BITSian phenomena/captions were also buried for forever:
1. 'Couldn't get a computer at IPC': all time favorite excuse for delayed assignment submission
2. 'What's the similarity between IPCand Meera Bhawan?': both of themallowrestricted access to their 'property'.
3. 'Someone has deleted my assignment fromthe computer': another excuse for delayed assignment submission
4. 'Acomputer buff who spent most of his time in IPC': frequent line fromBITSYearbooks
5. 'I was summoned again for exceeding my 8 MBtelnet limit
6. 'Who changed my telnet password?' and 'Who changed my telnet password again?'
7. 'Save this computer for me, while I grab a quick bite at Redi'
8. 'Third computer in the second rowhas the best stuff ;)'
9. 'First yearites have hijacked the IPCfor CP-1 online test
Seema SoodFundRaiser
Consider the case of a fellow BITSian from 1985 batch. Seema Sood graduated
from BITS with flying colors and headed for a bright future. But rheumatoid
arthritis ruined her plans. She was bedridden for over thirteen years as her all
joints of body were affected with arthritis. Her keen hips, shoulders and elbow
were almost dead. Her wrist, fingers of hand and feet have no movement. During
those long frustrating years, her determination might have died several times. In
the middle of 2008, she gave up and pleaded for mercy killing. Seema's news
shook the entire nation and triggered BITSAAcommunity into action.
Bharti Balakrishnan ('00 Chem) and Aditi Pany ('00 Fin) drove from Delhi to meet Seema in person. Anu ('86 MMS)
searched for doctors and arranged counseling sessions. Punita (80 EEE) scheduled conference calls between alumni and
bedridden Seema.As press coverage increased, the Chief Minister of the State intervened.The government agreed to pay
for the surgery, but not critical post surgery rehabilitation. BITSAAreached out to the community and raised in four days,
twice as much as what Seema requested. 235 BITSians donated. After four surgeries including two hip replacements,
Seema's hope is revitalized. In the letter to Sood dated July 2008 President Pratibha Patil commended her for her
uncompromising courage and willpower.
She might have felt alone for many years, but now BITSAA stands by her.This is not just her triumph over a disease, but a
showcase of BITSAA's passion towards its members.
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BITSAA Chapter Events
BITSAA
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
AnithaAshokanFundRaiser
In another similar case, BITS community provided generous support to a BITSian's family.Anitha Ashokan graduated in
2008 with B.E (Hons.) in Electronics and Instrumentation from the Goa Campus. She was based in Chennai and was
working with Satyam Computers till May 2009, when she fell ill with a rare kind of brain disease. She was undergoing
critical care treatment, when the news of her illness was brought into the notice of BITSAA.
A dedicated team led by Shwetha Kailash ('04) was formed to provide support toAnitha's family. InAugust 2009, BITSAA
decided to help Anitha's family monetarily, by raising funds and non-monetarily, by getting discount on life-saving yet
expensive medicines.The target fundraising amount of 5Lakhs was reached within three days. Over 220 donors from all
over the world donated and an amount of around 7 Lakhs was raised for Anitha. The fund was used to settle her
outstanding medical bills.
Like Seema Sood's case, BITSAA's support gave strength to follow BITSian's family when it was required the most. Once
again, the community promptly demonstrated its concern towards its members.With its world-wide network, BITSAA
provide proper channels to make every contribution count.
BITSunami
In another such incident, where BITSians collectively contributed towards society,
was PS-II at BITSumani. While giant sea waves shattered hopes of numerous
people around Indian coastal areas, it gave determination to BITSAlumni to reach
for the goal that looked too tiny in front of the aftermath of Tsunami. A unique
approach was taken and professionalismof PS-2 was combined with benevolence
of NGOs.
PS II at BITSunami, was formed towards long term rehabilitation of the two
tsunami hit villages, Naluvedapathy and Pushpavanam. The major task was to
perform GIS based technical mapping of resources of the villages creating viable
sanitation plans for use in rural India.Other responsibilities included, desk
research, preliminary tours of the villages, interaction with villagers and the
women's self-help groups and scouring through huge records at government
offices. It was truly a remarkable experience for BITSians, selflessly contributing
towards enrichment of others life. Moreover, it was a fine example of human
passion to overcome effects of a natural disaster. While many surrender to the
insanity of the world, some, for instance BITSians, stand tall fighting for a cause,
bringing back sanity to the life.
In most of these situations, individual efforts seemed insufficient and chances of
success were very low. When the individual good intentions find an efficient
mechanism to direct singular efforts towards a bigger goal, the efforts are
multiplied many folds and wonders are achieved. These incidents are not just
success stories, but a fine showcase of BITSian benevolence and efficiency of
BITSAA mechanisms.These are the moments when sanity resurfaces and hopes
are revived. Maybe the world is not completely insane yet. May it never be!Amen!
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I N T E R N A T I O N A L
OLAB(Oyster Lab)
In another inspiring tale, BITSAA managed to raise
teaching and research standard at BITS, by establishing fully
equipped Oyster LAB, aka OLAB. The word Oyster
indicates the environment and various processes that go
into culturing pearls fromsand. On the same lines, BITSAA
had vision to refine students capabilities for rapidly
growing Silicon Industry.
The 1977 batch first visualized the idea in 2002-2003.After
initial rounds of talks and presentations, BITSAA
commissioned a $50 millionVLSI Lab initiative OLAB.The
project was successfully executed by Vinod Agarwal (68
EEE), founder & chairman of LogicVision, Rajendra Khare
(77 EEE), then managing director of Broadcom India.VLSI
engineers with a rich experience of many years in the field
include Nagesh Chatekar from Broadcom, Deepa J from Cypress, Sriram R fromTI, Karthik Kandaswamy fromWipro,
Anurup Mitra and Kallol Chatterjee from ST. Dr. Anand Bariya from Toshiba played a major role in helping with cell
libraries and other design needs.
The LAB is fully equipped with best-in-class tools and software.These Design Automation tools were purchased from
industry leaders in EDA - Mentor Graphics, CADENCE,Altera and Magma DesignAutomation.These tools support Full
Design Flow, RTL to GDSII, embedded design and board design. It also houses a powerful and scalable compute farm that
is accessible over the Neuron network.There are thirty-six Oracle-Sun Microsystem terminals fuelling research apatite
of BITSian faculty and students.
Since its inauguration, OLAB has facilitated cutting edge research environment at BITS. It is being utilized for courses like
Microelectronics, Analog Design, Analog and Digital VLSI Design (ADVD), Advanced Computer Organization as well as
higher degree courses likeAdvancedVLSI design,VLSI architecture andAnalog ICdesign.
An extension center is also planned to be set up in Bangalore, allowing BITSians to work closely with industry.This center
will become Indias leading training and research center forVLSI training for professionals in the industry. Partners in the
industry will include OpenSilicon, Magma and Broadcom. It will also be open to non-BITSians and utilized as a PS II center
as well.
The increase in research publication in the field, the higher number of IEEE workshops organized at OLAB and
recognition of BITSian projects at national and international conferences/workshops proudly tell success of OLAB.And it
would have been impossible without BITSAAs passionate efforts.
OLAB will usher in silicon technology research and a chip development revolution in India.This fresh
infrastructure will enable the BITS Distance Learning Programme Division (DLPD) to offer media-rich content to
over 7,500 students.We can now look forward to a successful expansion of the virtual university concept allowing
students, faculty and organizations to collaborate with no geographical and time-zone constraints
- Late Prof. S.Venketeswaran
91
BITS Pilani - Pilani Campus
BITS Pilani
Pilani Campus
Presloent o| |nola Dr Pajenora Prasao openlng
vloya vlbar Campus ano tbe maln bullolng
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105
106
Chaired by ProfK.ERanan, the Division of Alumni affairs as a nodal
division will replace the earlier BITS Pilani Alumni
Association (BITSAA) that has been functioning since
1989.. It will aim to foster connections between and
among alumni and the University and would involve
them with the development of the Institute. In
recognition of the growth of BITS into a multi-
campus university, the widening scope of Alumni
affairs, the increased opportunities for Alumni
engagement, and the need to implement new
processes, alumni related activities of the Institute
will be reorganized through the creation of
this Division.
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107
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tbemeamongstworlowloealumnl.8y
bullolng relatlonsblps, promotlng olverslty,
ano enbanclng 8|TS Pllanl traoltlons,
8OAADwlllworkwltb8|TSAA
|nternatlonaltooevelopservlcesano
benets, manage events, ano brlng news
abouttbeunlversltyanootberalumnl.|t
wlllcreateopportunltles|oralumnlano
|rlenos o| tbe unlverslty to glve tbelr tlme,
talent, ano treasure to enbance tbe vltallty
anoreputatlono|8|TSPllanl.
108
Enrichment
Initiatives
8rano 8|TS-Pllanl over tbe past bal|-century
bas been bullt on tbe backbone o| slgnlcant
acblevements by our emlnent |aculty, stuoents
ano alumnl, our enbanceo currlculum ano tbe
8|TSeoucatlonsystemwblcb|ostersleaoersblp
qualltles among stuoents. Tbe key objectlve
o| tbe 8|TSAA Global Meet 2011 ls to propel
8|TS-Pllanl to be #1 ln |nola |or potentlal |aculty,
asplrlngstuoentsanoprospectlverecrulters.
Wltb tbe |ormatlon o| tbe 8|TS O|ce o| Alumnl
A||alrs Dlvlslon, tbe 8|TS Aomlnlstratlon
bastakentbemucbneeoeostepo|actlvely
engaglng wltb Alumnl. 8GM 2011 ls belng
organlzeoattblsopportunemomenttobelpour
alma mater reallze tbe lo|ty Mlsslon 2012/vlslon
2020 goals, enable us as alumnl to engage ln
projects towaros enrlcblng ano empowerlng
stuoents, |aculty, alumnl ano tbe communlty.
Here ls a brle| overvlew o| some projects wblcb
bavegarnereoentbuslastlcalumnlsupport.
Ouralumnlbavebeenverylnvolveolnnotonlyglvlngbackto
tbeAlmaMaterbutalsolnbullolngtbesurrounolngcommunlty.
Atmanlrbbara ls one sucb project wbere tbe goal ls oevelop tbe
ruralcommunltylnanoarounoPllanlwltb|ocusoneoucatlon
ano employablllty. Tbe project ls alreaoy o|| tbe grouno wltb
tbeconstructlono|aPiIaniResourceCenter(PRC) just
outsloe tbe campus. PPC wlll bouse vocatlonal tralnlng center,
classrooms |or scbool cblloren, llbrary, Mlcro-Creolt ano Mlcro-
|nsurance
|acllltles, Women Sel| Help programs ano many otber
programs.
Atmanlrbbara
8|TSConnect 2.0
L8C
Scbolarsblps
m8|TS
Atmanlrbbara
108
109
Wltb tbe boomlng Moblle Computlng sector ano
tbe growtb o| cell pbone presents 8|TS-Pllanl wltb
ampleopportunltles|orresearcblntbls
elo. m8|TS (Moblle 8|TS) ls an lnltlatlve
|ocuseo on oeveloplng researcb projects
ln a Multl-Campus settlng to enrlcb tbe
ConputerNetworking,MobiIeand
DistributedConputinggroups.Tbe
almo|tblslnltlatlvetooellverlnnovatlve
proo|-o|-concept projects ln collaboratlon wltb
tbelnoustryanootberunlversltles.
Areasonabletargetwlll
be|orusasalumnllsto
bullotbecapacltyto
provloe50aloto40
stuoents:le.Ps.60Crover
tbenetseveralyears.Tbls
lsaslzeabletarget.Durlng
tbls 8GM, we want to
announce at-least 10 new
enooweoscbolarsblpsano
|acllltatemanyo|our|uture
alumnllntbelrpursulto|
ecellenceattbe8|TSPllanl
campuses.
8|TS-Pllanl bas proouceo many success|ul
entrepreneursovertbeyearsanotbeL8C
(Lntrepreneursblp8ootCamp)prlmarlly
|ocusesoncarrylng|orwarotbeknowleoge
galneobytbesegurustotbestuoentsano
recentalumnltbrougbanlntenslveano
lmmerslveentrepreneursblpprogram
|ocuslngonbullolnglnnovatlveanoscalable
enterprlses.Tbebootcampconslstso|
banos on worksbops, panels, key notes ano
wlllcovertoplcs|romldeaVaIidationtoBusiness
PIanandVentureCapitaIistConnunication.
Tblscamppresentstbestuoentstobementoreoby
renowneoLntrepreneursculmlnatlnglnlncubatlng
buslnesses.
n
B
l
T
5
8
o
o
t

C
a
m
p
Scbolarsblps
Lntrepreneursblp
50Aloto40stuoents
l.e.Ps60crore
8|TSAAScbolarsblpsbaveenableoanoencour-
ageotbepursulto|ecellence|or8|TSstuoents
ano |aculty. We woulo llke to ensure tbat no stu-
oent at 8|TS-Pllanl ls oenleo a bollstlc eoucatlonal
eperlenceanotbeopportunltytocompetewltb
tbebestouetoalacko||unos.Ouralumnlbave
oonateogenerouslyovertbeyearstocreate
moretban
10 enooweo scbolarsblps, several
tlme-llmlteo scbolarsblps, travel
awaros, 0 loan scbolarsblps, ano
graouateappllcatlonanospeclal
project scbolarsblps
|orstuoentsacrossalltbe8|TSPllanlcampuses.
Severalawarosbavebeensetupencouraglng
ecellence ln acaoemlcs, sports ano llberal arts.
Owlng to lnNatlonary pressures, over tbe net
2-3 years, we unoerstano tbat 8|TS may bave to
lncrease tultlon |ees (to Ps 2.5 3 lakbs p.a |rom
tbecurrentPs1lakb).8|TSwlsbestoensure
tbat su|clent scbolarsblps ano loans are avallable
to merltorlous stuoents, ano a||oroablllty ls not a
barrlertoaomlsslons.AssumlngaPs.3lakbsp.a
|ee |or 10,000 enrolleo stuoents, 8|TS Pllanl |ees
buogetlsepecteotoreacbPs300Crp.a.
110
8|TSConnect 2.0
Oneo|tbetrans|ormatlonalcbangesleoby8|TSPllanl
anoltsalumnltbrougb8|TSAAlntbepastoecaoebas
beentbe8|TSConnectlnltlatlvewberetbeAlumnlcame
togetbertoralse
$1.5Ml($750k|romalumnloonors)
anoprovloe8|TSwltbastateo|tbeartcampuswloe
network.8|TSbasslnceepanoeolnto3newcampuses
- tbe alumnl |eel a neeo to belp 8|TS
upgraoe |aculty ano assoclateo teacblng-learnlng
resources|or8|TSPllanlCampusesbylntroouclng
state-o|-tbe-art Telepresence |acllltles lnto tbe 8|TS
eoucatlonalsystem.Apro|essor|romanyoneo|tbe
campusescanteacbacourselnalltbe|ourcampusesln
paralleluslngtbeseworloclass
|acllltles.Tblswlllboostongolngprogramsllke
8|TSLmbryo (a Nagsblp 8|TSAA program wblcb bas
conoucteo 150 alumnl-orlven remote lectures
|or stuoents slnce 2005) ano tbe
8ack to 8|TS - Sabbatlcal" program. Tbls
|acllltywlllenablelnnovatlveteacblnganolearnlngano
|acllltate cuttlng-eoge researcb ano eposure to lnoustry
meolateobyalumnlano|rlenoso|8|TSPllanl.Tblswlll
alsosupportemlnentalumnlln
acaoemla ano lnoustry to seamlessly oellver semester-
longoroccaslonallnvlteolectures
tbereby brlnglng ln tbelr tlme, talent, eperlence ano
treasurelntotbe8|TSeoucatlonsystem.TbeDlstance
Learnlng stuoents are also bouno to
benet |rom tbls lnltlatlve. We are now evaluatlng
optlonstoprovloea
vloeo Con|erenclng Mecbanlsm
|oralltbe4campuseswltbsultable
lnoustrypartnersblps.
W
e are conoent tbat tbese lnltlatlves w
oulo m
ake slgnlcant lm
pact ln establlsblng 8|T
S as tbe #
1 brano ln |nola.
T
bls w
lll not be posslble w
ltbout tbe stauncb support o| A
lum
nl llke us. H
ence, w
e take tbls opportunlty to seek your
contlnueo support ano request you to contrlbute to tbese projects m
onetarlly, by volunteerlng tlm
e, by sbarlng your
epertlse or w
blcbever m
anner you seem
com
|ortable ano approprlate. W
e w
elcom
e all contrlbutlons w
ltb open
banosanobeartsanorequestyouopenyourstom
akeagenerouscontrlbutlontoyouralm
am
ateranopartlclpateln
tblsgrow
tblnanyw
ayyoucan.
117
Ll|e's all so sao!,all so sao!
| mlss tbe enoless nlgbt outs ano nocturnal ll|estyles,
mlss tbe anc, mlss tbe sac,
mlss tbe beautl|ul peacocks movlng about tbe lawns,
mlss tbe lnstl ano,
tbe mlsty mornlngs lleo wltb joy.
Mlssmy|rlenos|ortbeyaretbeoneswbomaoe
tbe place a beaven |or wbat lt was,
mlss tbe statues, mlss tbe games
mlss tbe oark eyeo gamers, ever present to answer your calls,
Amlss were tbe classes always ln pllanl,
ano |or wbat tbey were tbey'll always be mlsseo,
tbe very poor jokes, ano tbe wlero comments,
wlll tbere ever be a tlme wben l wont mlss tbem,
enolessuselessmovles
ano |orever contlnulng anlmes wlll tbere be ever a tlme,
wbenlcan|ollowtbemwltbsamelntenslty.
Wbat a beautl|ul eperlence lt really was!
| mlss ber,
|mlsstbemall!
|mlsstbemall!
- Vidya Sagar (VISA) 2005A2PS577
lPememberLverytblng!
8|TS Pllanl, tbe most lnoellble part o| a 8|TSlan's ll|e unarguably cannot be
substltuteo. [ust as a young cbllo bas bls own worlo o| |antasles, so too eacb 8|TSlan
basoneo|blsownwltbtwoworoso|lmaglnatlonanoreallty|alllngoutsloetbe
lntersectlon.Lacbtalerecalleolsastorytobeboloanoastorytbatcantrlckyou
lntonostalglao|yourown.|ntbenet|ewpagesyouwoulocomeacrosswbat8|TS
basbeen|ora|ew8|TSlansanowebopetbatwbllereaolngtbeseyougetlostlna
|antasyworloo|yourown.
118
iRemember the 50s....
Pagbuvlr Slngb Patbaur - 1958-62
| rst jolneo 8lrla Sclence College ln tbe year 1956
ano tben 8lrla Lnglneerlng College ln 1958. | was just
14 year olo wben | jolneo tbe college ano | stayeo ln
tbe Pajput Hostel |or tbe rst two years ano tben ln
tberegular8bawans.
Tberewereno girls in the Engineering Collegebut
onlylntbeArtsCollege.LnglneerlngCollegeolonot
leavemucbtlme|orotberactlvltles.8utwestlllmaoe
strong |rlenosblps ano tlme was spent ln olscusslng
glrls, lms, pro|essors, ano vlslts to Saraswatl temple,
Sblvganga ano sbops at canal. We bao tbe gooo
|ortune o| llstenlng to Dr Paobakrlsbnan, Pt. Nebru,
Dr Pajenora prasao, ano Sbrl GD 8lrla.
We also llsteneo to great artlsts llke vllayat Kban,
Dagar 8rotbers etc. |or |ull 3 oays wben Saraswatl
temple was lnaugurateo. Cultural ll|e was |ull ano
vlbrant. Speecbes by Swaml Panganatban ano o|
PamkrlsbnaMlsslonwereanannual|eatureanotbe
balluseotobe|ullanotbeatmospberewascbargeo
|ortbose|ewoays.
We learnt baro work, olsclpllne ano |orbearance
tbrougb managlng tbe monotonous bostel |ooo |or
sl years. Overall tbe lnstltutlon provloeo a sollo
|ounoatlononwblcbtobulloourcareers.
119
|oot oeep. Our wlse senlors bao also maoe my
task o| openlng tbe wlnoow ol|cult by puttlng
pleces o| stones, blocklng tbe wlnoow. Wblle |
was struggllng to open tbe ooor, tbere were our
senlors" enjoylng tbe pllgbt o| a 16 year olo to let
outtbewater.|was|urlousa|tertblslncloentbuttbls
lncloentalsogotmesomegooo|rlenoslnmysenlors.
| stlll remember tbe vlslt to Connaugbt to wltness
glrls marcblng ln slngle llne |or tbelr weekly outlng
|or sbopplng .Sunoay evenlngs also meant enjoylng
Masala Dosa with double fried eggs at Gupta jl's.
| bave NLvLP bearo o| or eaten tbls rare comblnatlon
o| Masala Dos & Frleo eggs
anywbere. Tbose were tbe
oays wben you coulo not
soclallzewltbglrls.Tberewas
aseparatesectlon|orglrlsln
tbe Ca|eterla/Llbrary.
Durlng our nal year, wblle
bavlngSamosawltbDablano
sauce outsloe PP 8bawan,
oneo|ourbatcbmateswblle
eatlng a 8anana polnteo lt
to some 2no year glrls wbo
were oolng a Survey near
tbe Gym. Tbls lncloent was
reporteo to tbe pro|essor
wbo ln|ormeo tbe waroen
ano all 5 o| us wbo were
near tbe Peol were bauleo
up. We survlveo tbls scare wltb a black mark. Tbe
electlons tben brougbt out tbe gbt between
tbe MUSTARDS (Hindi medium boys) and
iRemember the 60s....
Vijay Raina 1960-65
| went to Pllanl ln 1959 to joln tbe Pre Unlverslty
course at tbe 8lrla Sclence College. Tberea|ter,
| jolneo 8lrla College o| Lnglneerlng ln 1960 |or a
5-year oegree course ln Mecbanlcal 8rancb. Durlng
our nal year, 8lrla College o| Lnglneerlng was
converteo to 8lrla |nstltute o|Tecbnology& Sclence
ano we graouateo as tbe FIRST BATCH of BITS,
Pilani.
Golng |rom a clty to tbe rural envlronment o|
Pllanl was a SHOCKLP. | cannot |orget tbe rst
Holl wben our senlors put muo outsloe tbe ooor
ano lleo my room wltb water. Wben | got up ln
tbe mornlng, | was agbast to see my papers ano
Matka" Noatlng ln water, wblcb was almost a
120
the CASTORS (English Medium Boys). Ano |
never |orgot our Postman Mabesb, oollng out letters
to stuoents ano our Cbalwala, brlnglng Hot Tea &
Matbrlsatnlgbt.

Hira Kaul 63 - 68
|baolearnttbatanenglneerlngpro|esslonalbaoto
stuoy ano also be lntelllgent but somebow wltbout
tbelatter|olomanagetocompletetbeolsclpllneln
tbe 5 years at Pllanl, |rom 1963 to 1968. Tbose 5 years
were tbe most memorable |or
me ano | stlll cberlsb tbe tlme
spent at Pllanl ano tbe |rlenos |
maoealmostlmmeolately.|rlenos
| maoe almost lmmeolately.
Frlenos were |rom all parts o|
tbecountryanoarestlll|rlenos
tooay.Tbeenvlronmentwassucb
tbat you were tbrown ln |or 24
bours every oay wltb a group
you conoeo ln completely. Tbls
lsnotsometblng|orgotteneaslly
anomemorlesstlllllngeron.
Tbe otber major memory was
waltlng |or tbe DC-3 to Ny ln
to Pllanl on Frloays wltb Mr GD
8lrla ano / or Mr DP Manoella
so as to be able to go bome
to Delbl |or a weekeno |ree o|
cost.Ononeoccaslonwewere
a lot more boys tban wbat a
slngle Nlgbt coulo carry ano |
remember very clearly Mr GD
8lrla telllng tbe pllot tbat be
woulobavetomakemoretban
one trlp to |erry us to Delbl.
Tbat was Mr 8lrla |or us, always
accommooatlng.A|ewtlmeswe
also went to tbe 8lrla bouse ln
Delblanobealwaysbaotbetlme
to see Pllanl stuoents. Wben | reclte tbls to |rlenos
|rom otber unlversltles tbey are astonlsbeo as tbey
lackslmllareperlences.
Lohit Datta-Barua, Ph.D. (B.S. (Honors)
in Electronics Engineering, 1970
Pllanl a remote place tbat truly turneo lnto a global
vlllage - was a sweet bome at a olstant past |or me. |
bave set |oot ln all seven contlnents, cllmbeo to tbe
top o| Mount Klllmanjaro, ran many maratbons, went
121
skyolvlnganowatcbeotbevlew|romtbetopo|tbe
Syoney Harbor 8rloge. 8ut Pllanl stlll resloes ln a
cornero|mybeartasaclearstlllplcture.
Mount Klllmanjaro, ran many maratbons, went
skyolvlnganowatcbeotbevlew|romtbetopo|tbe
Syoney Harbor 8rloge. 8ut Pllanl stlll resloes ln a
cornero|mybeartasaclearstlllplcture.
|t was 1965. From an evergreen valley ln Assam
surrounoeo by blue bllls | bao completeo a journey
totbeoesertlntbewestrlolngastlllmonsteron
ralls ourlng [uly beat. A Harlyana (a state just carveo
out)Poaowaysbusbaotakenme|romDelblbya
serpentlne black roao wltb waves o| sano passlng
tbrougbPobtaktotbeoaslscalleoPllanl.Comlng
|rom a place wbere water was abunoant ano
Nooolng was common, | |ouno out suooenly tbat
waterwaspreclousllkegolobere.|twasaculture
sbocktbat|baonotevenlmaglneoas|baonever
travelleo so |ar be|ore. Tbls 1st encounter was
more sbocklng to me tban my lanolng lnAmerlca
someelgbtyearslater.
However, Pllanl bao embraceo me wltb ber open
arms. 8y belng bappy ano maklng lots o| |ono
memorles (ano some not so |ono), | became attacbeo
toPllanlanobecameaprouo8|TSlan.Startlngwltb
Sbankar 8bavan, llke otbers | stayeo at ol||erent
bouses ourlng tbose years maklng |rlenos. Wltb
tbem | slppeo Lspresso at volga, ate Keema-Matar
& Peoa |rom Dbabba just outsloe tbe campus wall,
rooe blcycle to see movle at Cblrawa, watcbeo
projectlonlst rewlno ano repeat a scene ln a movle
at tbe quaorangle at stuoents louo orownlng tbe
movle souno, celebrateo Holl (ano enjoyeo tbe
sweets olstrlbuteo by G.D. 8lrla) ln tbe open grouno,
partlclpateo at evenlng 8bajan at tlmes at tbe
122
gorgeous 8lrla temple (lt was
more crowoeo be|ore any
semester eams), watcbeo
electrl|ylng Stuoent Unlon
electlon. Creatlve ano |un
lovlng stuoents bao even
composeoaparooyo|amovle
song (Cbakke Pe Cbakka)
almlngatoneMlss8annaTlwarl
ln our llttle segregateo worlo.
Soon, | reallzeo tbat Pllanl
tbat was strange on tbat 1st
oay was my sweet bome away
|rom bome on tbe beautl|ul
Peo Plver. We bao |un, but |
also learneo (looklng back
probablyolonotglvemybest)
a lot about electronlcs, about
leaoersblp, about olverslty, ano about olsparlty
ln |nola. MIT Collaboration, Ford Foundation
Library, donated IBM 1100 computer, visiting
professors from MIT yet some o| us bao |alleo
tosbowsomebaslcoecency.
BEC had just become BITS collaboratlngwltbM|T.
Tbe Foro Founoatlon Llbrary alloweo us to borrow
books tbat we coulo not a||oro. Wltb tbe new wave
o| stuoents, olnlng balls were spllt lnto vegetarlan ano
non-vegetarlan to accommooate all. Wben tbe olnlng
ball sta|| went on strlke, we also bao to pack our bags
onceanogobomeunepecteoly.
Now, |orty years later Pllanl stlll llngers ln my mlno as
|baoseenbertbenano|bope|wlllmeetberagaln
Dr. (Mrs.) Chanchal
Sarin , 61 batch
|t bappeneo bal| a century
ago.Yes50yearsbavepasseo
slnce | ano my |rleno Paksba
reacbeo Pllanl. Paksbas oao
accompanleo us. We spent
tbe nlgbt ln 8lrla Guest
Houseanonetoaymornlng
completeo all tbe |ormalltles
o| aomlsslon. We got enrolleo
lnM.Sc.(8otany)course.Her
oao vlrtually oeposlteo us ln
123
Meera 8bawan, tbe glrls bostel,
anole|t|orDelbl.
Protecteo by tbe blgb walls
o| Meera 8bawan, be got
assureo tbat tbe glrls woulo
be very sa|e. However, we |elt
llke belng ln some sort o| [all
a|ter our rst encounter wltb
a stern Matron, Mrs. 8batla.
Meera 8bawan seemeo llke
a closeo bo to me ano | |elt
llke wrltlng on tbe blgb walls
Fraglle materlal lnsloe
Hanole wltb care. Tbe trees
outsloe lookeo llke scarlng
glants. Dust, beat ln plenty ano | tbougbt tbat | am
born to llve llke tbat. | became too sentlmental.
8otb o| us crleo, Paksba less, | more. Tbougb belng
eclteo about llvlng ln a bostel | |elt a vacuum
lnsloe-belng away |rom bome tbe rst tlme.
Stlll ln tbe last pbase o| belng teenagers, bubbllng wltb
ll|e, we trleo to overcome our negatlve |eellngs ano
starteo some posltlve tblnklng. Felt, we were over-
reactlng: we bao come tbere |or some mlsslon ano
bao to stano up, start ano get to tbe eno ourselves.
Yeh Kahan Aagaye Humsorto||eellngtook
tbebackseat.
Soon lt was luncb tlme, |elt bunger pangs ln tbe
stomacb ano walkeo towaros tbe mess. 8ajrang, tbe
boywboserveoustbe|oooannounceotbatwemust
brlng our own spoon. A|ter bavlng tbe meal, wasb tbe
spoon ano brlng lt back |or tbe net meal- a |unny
practlce we were supposeo to |ollow. We o|ten
|orgottotakebacktbespoonwblcblmplleotbatwe
enoeoupbuylngnewonesqulteo|ten.Asagalnsttbe
warnlngs glven to us about Hostel |ooo, we |ouno tbe
|oooqultegoooanosatls|ylng.
Net oay, we got reaoy |or tbe
college ano got sbockeo to
know tbat we coulo not wear
clotbes o| our cbolce as tbere
wasaprescrlbeooresscooe|or
tbe stuoents. We, tbe sclence
stuoents bao to wear a wblte
saree wltb a blue boroer, wblcb
olstlngulsbeo us |rom tbe arts
stuoents, wbo bao wblte saree
wltb reo boroer prescrlbeo
|or tbem. |t was a |unny scene
ano lookeo as l| clones o|
124
MotberTeresa walklng togetber on tbe roao.Years
later, wben lt was my oaugbter's rst oay ln ber Meolcal
college ln Delbl, sbe salo "Maa | wlll be wearlng my
best clotbes, sboulo | wear jeans or salwar kurta. |
toloberabouttbeunl|ormtbatwewerewearlngln
Pllanl. Sbe remarkeo very |unny! Are you joklng or lt
reallybappeneo?
A pleasant surprlse awalteo us wben we reacbeo
tbe college. Two o| our Delbl classmates Usba
ano Prabba were tbere. Tbey also bao enrolleo
tbemselves ln tbe same course as ours. We were
not cbums ln Delbl but nolng tbem ln Pllanl, we
|elt so bappy ano jubllant as l| we bao got a treasure.
Now lt maoe us a gang o| |our, |eellng better ano
|eellng more at bome. We all came back to tbe
bostel |or luncb ano met Pajranl, wbo bao come
|rom Meerut Unlverslty ano Leela, a local glrl. Tbey
botb were our course mates. We also met anotber
Delbl classmate Paoma wbo bao enrolleo bersel|
ln M.Sc. (Pbyslcs) course. All o| us became very
gooo |rlenos. Later | met Cbbanoa, a sweet 8engall
glrl, enrolleo ln M.Sc. (Statlstlcs) course. We two
became very tblck |rlenos ano cberlsbeo eacb
otber's company. Sbe, bowever, met me only once
slncewele|tPllanl.Sbeevensentmealetteranoa
greetlngcaropalnteobyberonmyweoolng.|stlll
possesstbecaroasoneo|myvaluablepossesslons.
| went abroao a year a|ter ano lost contact wltb
ber. Feel llke meetlng ber agaln. Cbbanoa, l| you
reaotblspleaseoocontact.|mlssyoualot.
Later we met some our otber classmates, |rom
soutb o| |nola- Dlvakaran, Matbews, Agnes, ano
[acob.Peglonalbounoarlessoonvanlsbeoanotbe
wbole class became just one group: very |rlenoly.
125
We laugbeo to getber, ate togetber, ano belpeo
eacb otber. |t was a total celebratlon |or two years,
ll|e was a real maglc. Tbls was tbe lnNuence o| tbe
Dbartlo|Pllanl.
From bostel to college ano back tbere was a eo
route we coulo travel to. Followlng otber routes
was problblteo |or glrls because boys bostels
were sltuateo on otber routes. We woulo o|ten
travel to college on a cycle rlcksbaw.Tbere was
one rlcksbaw wltb gbungroos attacbeo. | ano
Paj woulo o|ten |ancy travellng ln tbat partlcular
rlcksbaw ano woulo oroer tbe rlcksbaw puller
to take us tbrougb tbe |orblooen route. One o|
our senlors Panjlt Kumar Kar, woulo walt |or our
rlcksbawasltmaoegbungroomuslcanouseoto
sbout oaloabbal bere" oaloabbal bere", tbe name |
baoglventoblm.
Paksba was a person wbo was eploratlve ln
nature, wblcb sbe stlll ls tooay. Sbe suggesteo tbat
we may vlslt tbe market popularly calleo asTbe
Connaugbt.To our sbock we were tolo by tbe
Matron tbat girls could not go to the market
any time they wished to. Sunday morning was
[HG IRU DQ H[FOXVLYH YLVLW RI JLUOV Naturally
boys were not alloweo to be tbere ourlng tbat
tlme. Tbere useo to be some sort o| processlon,
all glrls beroeo togetber ln a group, wltb Matron
ln tbe leao, ano tbe cble| waroen (We calleo blm
8abajl) at tbe tall eno o| tbe group. Wben | narrate
tbls to my cblloren ano grano cblloren, tbey are
amazeo tbat sucb tblngs coulo bappen ano wbat
sorto|worlotbatwaswegrewupln.
Sunoayuseotobetbeoccaslon|orspeclalluncb
wblcbweeagerlylookeo|orwaroto.Ontbatoay
tbere was an early olnner o| purl-aaloo. Wbat a
treat tbat useo to be! On tbe Sunoay evenlng a
Hlnol movle was screeneo |or tbe stuoents ln
tbe open space o| tbe college. We o|ten packeo
purl-aaloo wltb us to be eaten wblle watcblng
tbe movle. Tbat purl-aaloo tasteo tbe best |ooo
ln tbe worlo. Movles were selecteo baseo on
tbelr eoucatlonal values. 8abajl woulo come to
us wltb a llst o| movles ano askeo us to select
tbeoneswblcbwemayllketowatcb.Hewoulo
tben ask senlor glrls wbetber tbe suggesteo
movles were wortb sbowlng to young boys ano
glrls. Sbasbl Sabarwal, an unoergraouate stuoent,
once suggesteoMugleAazam telllng blm tbat
tbe same was very Sblksbaprao (eoucatlve)
plcture.Hetbenaskeousanogotconvlnceo|rom
us also. We coulo watcb tbe movle tberea|ter.
Wblle watcblng tbe |llm, girls would sit on one
side and boys on the other side of the divider
line on which Babaji would sit. Llgbts o|| ano
movle starteo, absolute sllence ano one coulo
bear 8abajl suooenly sboutlng, Abbey bat, Kaban
kblsakta aa raba bal, larklyon kl tara| ". |t was all
bllarlous ano a great |un, more lnterestlng tban
watcblngtbeactual|llm.
Well, we soon starteo enjoylng tbe restrlctlons:
o|ten breaklng tbe rules, golng to tbe clty or tbe
placeswewerenotalloweotovlslt.Oncewewere
caugbt by tbe Matron ano bao a tougb tlme. Sbe
complalneo to tbe Prlnclpal Dr. Mltra. We were
serveo wltb TC (Trans|er certlcate) ano oroereo
to go back bome.Tbe wrltten apologles saveo us
lntbeeno.
We graoually got useo to tbe slmple ll|e o| Pllanl.
Pllanl became a part o| our ll|e. Gettlng oresseo
ln tbe mornlng, wearlng Motber Teresa sarees,
attenolng classes, comlng back to bostel |or luncb
ano tben back to laboratorles |or a|ternoon
practlcal classes. | ano Paj, lnvarlably, mlsslng
tbose a|ternoon trlps as we were |ono o| taklng
a|ternoon naps. Leeela ano Prabba o|ten enoeo up
ln preparlng our sbare o| mlcroscope slloes too.
126
|n tbe evenlngs we woulo slt on tbe stalrs o|
magnlcent Sarswatl temple, llstenlng to Meera
bajans" sung by [utblka Poy. |t was a very sootblng
anocom|ortlngmuslcwblcbweneverllkeotomlss
anyo|tbeevenlng.
Our llves were cblseleo, trans|ormeo ano mooleo.
We le|t tbe teenage years beblno. All o| us entereo
ln tbe 20tb year o| ll|e. We were mentally maturlng,
starteo serlous stuoles, ano became more
obeolent. How ano wben tbe llves took ol||erent
curve, we olo not reallze. |t just bappeneo ano
lt bappeneo ln Pllanl.Tbe ways o| Pllanl were to
become our ways o| ll|e. We became one wltb
Pllanl.Cananyone|orgetsucbtreasureotlmes?No
one, | suppose! Tbe most preclous part o| our ll|e
bappeneo ln Pllanl. We coulo prouoly say tbat we
were tbe prooucts o| Pllanl. We are lnoebteo to
tblstempleo|learnlnganowoulollketobowour
beaoslnreverencetotbesacreo|nstltuteo|Pllanl.
Altbougb we spent just only two years ln Pllanl but
we were ol||erent persons, tberea|ter. We all came
back bome completlng our post-graouatlons but
got separateo |rom one anotber wltb everybooy
pursulngtbelrowncareersanopatbslnll|e.
Tbank you all very mucb ano above all tbank you
Pllanl.
127
Comp Scl oepartment at Puroue Unlverslty ano ls
also an aovlsor on 8|TSAA |nternatlonal boaro).On
bls return, be o||ereo an evenlng course |or |teen
oays(|reeo|cost)toalltbosewbowerelnteresteo.
Tbe course ran |or 15 oays to packeo bouse ln L
block. Hls |amous book on tbe subject was baseo
ontbenotestbatbeclrculateotouslntbecourse.
Lven tooay tbls book ls blble on tbe subject. Most
remarkable was tbe loea o| bypotbetlcal processor
8|TS08, wbose lnstructlon set was constructeo as we
learneo tbe subject.
Tbe knowleoge galneo ln tbose sesslons stlll belps
us ln unoerstanolng new processors/ controllers ano
DSPs, altbougb lt was not ln tbe currlculum.
Viswanath Sarma - BPharm and MPharm
(Hons) 1973 79
| spent 6 years ln 8|TS Pllanl |rom 1973 to 1979, ln
completlngmygraouateanopostgraouatestuolesln
Pbarmacy. |t ls lmportant to state tbe years, as tbat
was tbe oecaoe o| tbe Unasslgneo Multl-olsclpllnary
acaoemlc system at tbe |nstltute. Tbat acaoemlc
structure, tbe stuoent oemograpblcs ano Pllanl's
oesert cllmate all bao a slgnlcant lnNuence on
sbaplng tbe Oulntessentlal Pllanlan o| tbe 70s or
slmply, OulP 70.
So wbat were tbe cbaracterlstlcs o| OulP70? Glven
|urtber ls a typlcal, but by no means ebaustlve, llst:
iRemember the 70s....
Shekhar Bhave - 73E06295
Pro|. Hanoa was one o| tbe most respecteo
pro|essors o| LLL ln 60-70's. |n a partlcular test, tbe
course average plumetteo to 3.5 out o| 20. He came
totbeclasswltbtears.Hewanteotoknowwberebe
bao|alleoasteacberanowbatsboulobeoosotbat
weunoerstoootbeconceptso|LnergyConverslon.
On anotber occaslon, a topper ln our class went blm
wltbcomplalnaboutzeromarksglven|oraproblem
about calculatlng olameter o| a motor. Our topper
bao come wltb an answer o| Dlameter = 25 meter,
amlstakeo|twooeclmals.Heargueotbattbeentlre
loglc/ |ormulae were correct, ecept tbe mlstake o|
oeclmalpolnts.
Pro|. Hanoa's response was an eye opener. He salo,
I have given you problem in engineering and
not in arithmetic. As an englneer, you sboulo bave
questloneo yoursel|, wbere wlll a motor wltb 25 Meter
olameter be ever useo. Glve me one appllcatlon, tbat
mayusesucbabugemotoranoyouget|ullmarks.
TbeTopper lost blsA garoe ln tbe course but was
wlser|orwbolell|e.
Chandrashekhar N Bhave 73E06295
|n tbe year 1975-76, Mlcroprocessors were just belng
lntroouceo byTeas |nstruments ano lt was not on
currlculumo|anyunlversltylntbeworloyet.Ayoung
lecturer o| Computer Sclence |rom 8|TS - Aoltya
Matbur, went to M|T |or bavlng a rstbano tralnlng
ln tbls new elo.(Dr. Matbur cur rently beaos tbe
128
In one of the early incarnations of Oasis in 1978, a souvenir in handmade oddly-cut paper was
launched and printed using the then primitive equipment on campus. A gPeom with ink graphics by
Tapan Desai (Tubby) - BITS 74 and the poem is a thought by Sanjay Dharwadkar.- BITS Class of 79
129
QuiP 70 was nearly 25 tlmes more llkely to be male
tban |emale. |n tbe unllkely event o| belng a young
laoy, sbe was lnvarlably acaoemlcally accompllsbeo,
owneo a blcycle wltb Nat tlres, ano bao at least 76
aroent male aomlrers. Lven more aomlrers l| sbe
bappeneotobegooolooklng.
QuiP 70 eltber spoke Lngllsb poorly ('Cbomoo'),
ano got stralgbt A graoes ln Calculus, Classlcal
MecbanlcsanoMooernPbyslcs:orspokeLngllsb
ln polysyllables, as tbougb be bao swalloweo a
Tbesaurus ('Castor'), ano stuolously lgnoreo
all classes scbeouleo be|ore 10 am or a|ter 3
pm. Tbe breeo was a blgbly competltlve buncb,
ano was bent on gettlng tbe best graoes, wltb
an unreal, mlsslonary zeal. 8ut tben agaln, tbere
were otbers wbose mlsslon was just to keep tbe
reolwallabs ano obabawallabs ln buslness, wblle
alsopatronlzlngvenoorso|varlousconsclousness
mool|lers. A quote |rom a genulnely brllllant
stuoent oe|lnes tbat care|ree era: | smoke, but
nottobacco
QuiP 70 was an accompllsbeo generallst. He coulo
bolo |ortb on Llstentlallsm just as easlly as on tbe
Lvlls o| Lmergency: solve tbe problems tbat beset
tbe worlo, wblle slmultaneously cracklng tbe Tlmes
cryptlc crossworo. 8ut tben tbere was tbe otber
OulP 70 to wbom Fourler Trans|orms maoe
sense, ano wbo coulo tell tbe ol||erence between a
tbeooollteanoapalro|blnoculars.
As ruggeo a buncb o| bumans as you coulo no
ln a oesert, tbe QuiP 70 tbrlveo ln tbe etremes
o| cllmate. Wltb tbe temperatures nuoglng tbe late
|ortles ln summer, buckets o| water were poureo
on tbe room Noors ourlng tbe oay. At nlgbt, tbe
woooen cots came out, ano tbey slept unoer tbe
oesert skles, wbere tbe stars sparkleo so mucb
brlgbter. Wltb a coarse woollen sbawl wrappeo
over tbelr sbouloers, tbelr lungs warmeo by
Cbarmlnar smoke, tbey wltbstooo tbe elements
ln tbe wlnter montbs, wben tbe mercury oroppeo
belowzero.8uteventbeQuip 70 baotokeepbls
moutb sbut, wben tbe sanostorms rageo.
All QuiP 70s sbareo a common love o| aloo
paratbas, Zeenat Aman oolng tbe raln oance, Cul
Fests, banana mllksbakes, table tennls, tennls-
ball crlcket, tbe songs o| Mukesb, Salgal, Slmon &
Gar|unkel ano tbe 8eatles.
Tbe boneyeo melooy ano poetlc woros o| tbat [agjlt
anoCbltraSlngbsongcometomlno:
Magar Mujhko Lauta Do Bachpan Ka
Sawan
Wo Kagaz Ki Kashti, Wo Barish Ka Pani
Pllanl may not bave been our cbllobooo (wblcb ls
wbat tbe song ls about), but lt was our youtb, ano a
veryolstantplace|romwberewearenow.
|stbereaneeotoeplalnouryearnlng?
Dilip DSouza 76-81
My |rleno Nltln8onoo Kbare got lt organlzeo.
Hemaoepecullarcapsouto|olscaroeocomputer
puncbcaros(goaskyourgranoparentswbattbose
are), slappeo togetber some placaros, lnslsteo
we wear tbe most unmatcbeo clotbes we coulo
no, coacbeo us ln some catcby (we tbougbt) slo
130
131
slogans -- ano we were reaoy. Ano boy, we blt tbe
roao runnlng: a straggly buncb, perbaps 40, wenolng
our boarse-volceo way tbrougb tbe streets o| 8|TS
Pllanl.
My electlon campalgn processlon. Certalnly we
bao more |un tban tbe otber processlons olo.
Peallty blt, as lt tenos to oo, at tbe ballot bo: |
collecteoagrand total of 17 -- a number | wlll
remember tlll tbe oay | ole -- votes. | mean, tblnk
o|tbls:notevenbal|mymateswbomarcbeo|or
mevoteo
Tbougbwbatolo|epect?|stlllbavesomewbere
my major electlon speecb ln teenageo longbano,
ano | stlll marvel tbat | gave lt tbat oay wltb a
stralgbt |ace. My |ellow 8|TSlans," | roareo lnto
tbe mlke, leno me your ears!" -- ano tben |
llsteo my electlon promlses.Among wblcb were
helipads in every hostel (for students who
want to reach home soon), synchronizing the
faces of the of the clock on the famous Pilani
tower (so well know the correct time from
wherever we are), ano lnvltlng only |ourtb-rate
colleges to tbe Oasls |estlval (so 8|TS can wln
everyevent).
Yes, ln 1979 | ran |or Presloent o| tbe 8|TS Stuoents'
Unlon. Humayun Kban ano Deepak Sbarma, gooo pals
o| mlne, were tbe two major canoloates. Kban won
a close vlctory, a tbousano-ano-sometblng votes to a
tbousano-ano-sometblng-less.
Ano|got17.
Clearly, my |ellow 8|TSlans baon't lent me tbelr ears
longenougbtotrulyappreclatemybellpaopromlse.
Ano tbe clock |aces -- well, look |or yoursel| wben
you net vlslt Pllanl. Ano o| course, at tbe net Oasls
8|TS olo not wln every event. Serves my |ellow
8|TSlansrlgbt.
132
Stlll, tbere remaln oellclous memorles.
One, tbe palr o| |resbers my pals ano | met a week
a|ter tbe electlons. Wbom olo you vote |or?" we
askeo.
Ob, some guy calleo D'Souza", tbey salo. No slgn
tbattbeyknew|wassaloDSouza.
Two, tbe meetlng | got summoneo to lnsloe tbe
balloweogateso|Meera8bavan.Tbeglrlspresent
bao just one concern ano tbey baogereo me about
lt:tbeconoltlono|tbelrsbowers.Tbeywanteoto
knowwbat|wouloooabouttbemascanoloateano
l||won.|oloquletlyconsloeraoolngasloganto
mycampalgntotbee||ecto|Meera8bavankebar
ek sbower/nabln cbalega, nabln cbalega", but better
sense prevalleo. A plty, l| you ask me.
Tbree, | ran lnto Humayun Kban at our sllver jubllee
reunlon ln Pllanl ln early 2007. "You remember,"
| askeo blm on a late nlgbt stroll, tbat | ran |or
Presloenttoo?
Hestoppeoanolookeoatmewltbtbetwlnklelnbls
eye | always llkeo blm |or. O| course | remember,"
besalo.|voteo|oryou.
So|nowknowtbeloentltleso||ouro|tbose17:
two obllvlous |resbers, Humayun ano me. |t's my
|ono bope tbat sometlme be|ore | ole, tbe otber
13wlllrevealtbelrnames.Maybesomeo|tbem
wlll be women. Clean women, wbo bave bao
sbowers.
133
134
iRemember the 80s....
Sangeeta Sharma Batch of 84
8orn ln Pllanl ln 1966, ano belng lntegral part
o| Pllanl ano 8|TS ls a colncloence. | remember
wben Pro| |.[. Nagaratb bao calleo me up |or tbe
lntervlew, be askeo two questlons- one was l| | was
lnteresteo to joln 8|TS ano tbe secono one was
l| | got marrleo woulo | leave 8|TS. Flrst one was
answereo ln a|rmatlon ano tbe secono one too
was answereo ln sby a|rmatlon. O| course tbe
answerproveotobewrong|ortbeseconoonebut
|bavenoremorse|ortbesame.Tooayl|someone
asks me to llve ll|e once more, | woulo pre|er
to llve tbe same ll|e agaln.To lntroouce mysel| |
am Pro| Sangeeta Sbarma, Assoclate Pro|essor,
Department o| Languages, ano Coorolnator |or
Centre |or Women's stuoles ano Pro|essor-ln-
cbarge|orNlrmaan.
| am |rom 84 batcb o| 8|TS Pllanl ano very keen to
sbareanlncloentwblcbwasgreatembarrassment
|or me ourlng
tbat tlme. | was a
sport |reak ano
my acblevement
o| Gliding Pilot
License makes
meprouo tosbare
tbat wltb you all.
| was also part o|
8|TS basket ball
team. My selectlon
to tbe rst ve
gave me a sense
o| |alse prloe.Tbe
oay wben | bao
my matcb wltb Mlrlnoa bouse, | tolo my slbllngs
to wltness tbe matcb. My brotber too woulo play
verygooobasketballsobewaslntroouclngmeto
bls |rlenos. |t was a cberlsblng moment |or blm.
Tbe game starteo wltb great zeal ano entbuslasm
anowewereatourbest.Slowlytbeenergystarteo
mltlgatlng. Suooenly tbe ball |ell ln my bano ano |
sbot |rom tbe bal| court. | was so sbockeo tbat
lt bao never bappeneo to be so accurate basket
be|ore. Tbere was cacopbonous eupborla ln tbe
crowo ano | reallzeo tbls was a great blunoer
as | bao put tbe basket on tbe otber sloe. | was
embarrasseo ano my brotber was nowbere ln
slgbt.Hetoovanlsbeollkeawbl||.People started
recognizing me as the girl who put the basket
on the other side.
Now so many years bave passeo but tbe memory
bas eraseo. | stlll jog ln tbe same Gym grouno ano
lookattbesamecourtanoamremlnoeoo|tbesame
lncloentpbew!Tbe tlme Nles.
135
iRemember the 90s....
Karthik Raman - 95 batch
Lvery semester ln Pllanl began wltb an energy-
sapplng 36-bour traln journey |rom Cbennal
to Delbl. | woulo get oown at tbe Delbl traln
statlon bungry ano tblrsty ano wantlng notblng
more tban to curl up ln my beo wltb a cup o|
bot co||ee ano a gooo book. O| course, knowlng
tbat tbe most talng ano nerve-jangllng part o|
tbe journey ls just abeao o| you ooes llttle to
cbeer you up. We woulo grab a blte, take an auto
to tbe Delbl bus stano ano bope to |lno a bus
to Lobaru (wblcb was a sbort jeep rloe away
|romPllanl)wltbenougbroomtoaccommooate
us ano our luggage. We woulo walt tbere wltb
bateo breatbs wblle tbe conouctor searcbeo
lnsloe |or a |ew empty seats. |t was lnberently
assumeo tbat tbere woulo be no space |or tbe
luggage, ano tbese woulo be tosseo on tbe roo|
o|tbebus.Tblswasoneo|tbe|ewmomentsln
ll|e | became rellglous, ano woulo utter a sllent
prayerboplngtblswouloensuretbatmysultcase
completeo tbe journey wltb me.
Lvery bus rloe was a tbrlll, slnce you olon't
know l| you were golng to get o|| allve. Well, a
long story sbort, we always manageo to reacb
our oestlnatlon.Tbere are a lot o| tblngs tbat
| remember ano recall wltb |ononess about my
oays ln 8|TS. Tbe Delbl to Pllanl bus journeys
alwaysseemto|lguresomewberelntbetopten.
| cannot eplaln wby tbat ls. Was lt tbe beautl|ul
scenery along tbe way, wltb mlles o| goloen corn
|lelos ano neatly ploweo lano? Was lt because
notblngbrougbtusclosertorural|nolaanolts
lnbabltants tban tbose 5 bours? Or was lt tbe
ecltement(?!)o|startlnganotbersemesterano
gettlng screweo all over agaln at our gooo olo
8|TS?|tcoulobeallo|tboseanoamllllonotber
reasons. Years later, wbenever |'m on a |llgbt tbat
runslntorougbweatberanopassengersarouno
me scream ano tbrow a |lt, |'m usually slttlng
tbere calmly reaolng a book. A|ter tbose tbrlll-
a-mlnute bus rloes, notblng can come close to
rattllngme.
Wben | was leavlng |or 8|TS, Pllanl, everyone
tolo me tbat | woulo only neeo Lngllsb to
survlvetbere.TbattbellttleHlnol|baolearneo
asatblrolanguageslnce5tbstanoarowoulobe
more tban enougb |or emergency purposes.
Un|ortunately, no one remembereo to tell tbls to
all tbe obobls, tbe raeolwalas, tbe mess workers,
rlcksbaw walas ano tbe restaurant owners ln
tbe qualnt llttle town ln tbe mloole o| nowbere,
otberwlse calleo Pllanl. Consequently, tbere
were qulte a |ew embarrasslng moments wben
my Hlnol olo not keep pace wltb my tbougbt
process. However, my only consolatlon was tbat,
bowever bao my Hlnol was, tbere were always
otberswbowoulobeatmebanosoownwbenlt
cametomaklngasseso|tbemselves.
So wben lt came to Hlnol bloopers, some o|
tbe stu|| we salo ano olo were legenoary. For
eample, let me take you to tbe 'camel mllk'
lncloent. A bottle o| camel mllk was belng
oellvereo outsloe a guy's bostel room everyoay,
even tbougb be bao never askeo |or lt. Wben
tbls routlne olo not stop |or a wblle, be oe
136
137
cloeo to oo sometblng about lt. So be kept
an alarm |or 5 o' clock, prompty woke up ano
walteo |or tbe mllkman. Wben be bearo tbe
bottle outsloe bls ooor, be went out ln a bu|| ano,
ln wbat be percelveo as Hlnol, tolo tbe mllkman
beolonotwantanymllk|romtbenon.Mlsslon
accompllsbeo, be came back ano bapplly crasbeo
|or tbe rest o| tbe oay. Unoerstanoably, be was
qulte prouo o| bls acblevement, ano strutteo
arouno tbe net oay tbrowlng some saalas
and arre yaars for good effect.Tblslasteoall
but one oay. Tbe net mornlng, be got up, came
outo|blsroomonlyto|lnotwobottleso|camel
mllk, lnsteao o| one.
Yet anotber lncloent: a |rleno went to tbe
coop buy a |ew notebooks. He neeoeo 15, but
coulo only count tlll 10 ln Hlnol. So, be tolo
tbe sbopkeeper be neeoeo ous notebooks jl"
ano patlently walteo |or tbem to arrlve. Wben
tbe sbopkeeper brougbt tbem to blm, be came
up wltb tbls master stroke - aur ek, aur ek,
aur ek, aur ek and aur ek. My LLL wlng was
not |ar beblno. Once, we went to grab a blte at
ANC(AllNlgbtCanteen)arounomlonlgbt.|bao
oroereo masala oosa wblle my |rlenomanoal
(blg beao bony booy) bao oroereo a plaln oosa.
Tbe walter, unoer tbe ln|luence o| a |ew bunoreo
|llterless beeols, mleo up tbe oroers. So manoal
wentuptoblmanolouolyanoclearlysalouska
dosa mera paas... mera dosa tera paas. We
stlllbaventletblm|orgettbat|ate|ulnlgbt.
Anotber tlme, a guy was trylng to negotlate wltb
tbe jeep wala. A|ter some |renetlc bano gestures
anosyllablestbatcoulobavecomestralgbtouto|
tbe Mayan clvlllzatlon, be tbougbt be bao struck
agreatoeal.Onlytobetolobybls|rlenoslater
tbat be bao manageo to negotlate 250 rupees |or
tbetrlpwbentbeorlverbaobeenper|ectlybappy
wltb 150. Turneo out be was a llttle con|useo
aboutoaeo anooaayl. |m stlll bope|ul tbat
someoay, tbe genetlc lnconslstency tbat ls solely
responslble|ortbeTamllanoHlnolaremutually
ecluslve synorome woulo be correcteo as a
result o| lnter-cultural marrlages ano more Hlnol
movles starrlng Pajnl Kantb.
iRemember the 2000s....
Murali Manohar S - 2000B4A4662
Wby was lt so lmportant a|ter all? Prloe? Greeo?
Lnvy? Or mere joy ano |un? Wbatever be lt, every
|resber (or at least 95 o| tbe |resbers) got lt
ano were crazy about lt. How olo tbey even get
sucb blgb on lt? Ob yeab!!! Tbe 2no yearltes tbe
SLN|OPS. |t was an unplanneo, unscrlpteo |eellng
passeo on |rom tbe senlors to tbe junlors. Over
a perloo o| tlme tbe obsesslon wltb lt became
so oolous.All bbawans starteo well abeao o| tbe
scbeoule.Oratleasttbatswbattberumorswere
all about. A sense o| mystery was malntalneo
wltbln tbe two OTs. No woro sneakeo out. No
olscusslons bappeneo outsloe. Not even at tbe
mess olnner tables as tbere were cbances tbat
otber bbawans stuoents coulo bear lt. Some o|
tbe|rlenosblpsbetweentwobbawanlteswereput
on bolo |earlng tbe casual conversatlon about lt
138
139
mlgbtleaotoaolsastrousbreaklntberelatlon.|twas
sopersonaltotbebbawan!Lvenglrlswereaparto|
tbls.A|terallaBhawans Nitelsapartybosteoby
tbe rst year stuoents to tbelr senlors (malnly tbe
2no yearltes).
Feb 2001: Secono semester |or 8atcb 2000
stuoents. Senlors bave starteo to |uel our splrlt
settlng blgb epectatlons. Tbe batcb as sucb
was consloereo tbe most talenteo.Tbere were
oancers, muslclans, creatlve artlsts, palnters
ano most o| all blgbly-entbuseo stuoents. Lvery
bbawan bao selecteo lts co-oro ano starteo
serlous rounos o| olscusslons on tbe nltes
oates ano tbe tbemes. Tbere were some loose-
moutbs wblcb leakeo sucb crltlcal ln|ormatlon.
8uttbecooewastbatwblcbeverbbawantbrew
tbe lnvltatlon poster |lrst gets tbe oate. So lt
wasoutanoalltbebbawansbavetbetbemeano
tbe oate |lnallzeo. Sbankar bbawan wlll start lt
ano Ganobl bbawan wlll |lnlsb lt a two week
Olymplc style competltlon. Tbe poster was just
a start. Lntrance oecoratlon, lnvltatlon caro
oeslgn, stage set up, backorops, olnner speclals,
mlme tbeme, oance numbers among many sucb
oetallswerekeptoamnsecret.
8elng a Ganobl-lte, | knew all tbat bappeneo |or
*DQGKL QLWH 1LKLO 8OWUD . ,QQLW\
ano all tbat bappeneo arouno us. We certalnly
bao our olstlnctlve |actors |or tbe nlgbt sucb as
cave entrance, re crackers ano tbree backorops
(lnsteao o| tbe usual one). Apart |rom tbese
surprlse elements we bao some quallty on-stage
per|ormances ln terms o| Muslcal jugal banobl,
lncreolble oance numbers, mlme per|ormance ano
unlque Fasblon sbow among many otbers. D-Day
arrlveo. Aprll 24, 2001. 8y now we bao wltnesseo
some o| tbe best Nltes |rom Sbankar 8bawan
ano vyas 8bawan. Auolence lanoeo on to tbe OT
|rom tbe cave entrance - scareo ano |eareo o|
tbe oarkness ano tbe eerlness tbey encountereo
lnsloe.Tbe sbow surprlseo everyone tbrougbout
tbe 3 bours nlgbt. Overall we aweo tbe auolence.
Tbougb tbere was no |ormal oeclaratlon o| tbe
wlnner, | can say wltb certalnty tbat we rockeo"
tbesbow.Tblswoulontbavebeenasuccessl|not
|or tbe entbuslasm |rom a group o| 1999 & 1998
batcb Ganobl bbawan senlors, 2000 batcb Ganobl
rst yearltes wbo oeolcateo tbe secono semester
CGPA |or Ganobl Nlte ano unolscloseo 5 gureo
tbousanos o| rupees pooleo ln |or sbeer |un ano
|rollc.Sucbnltesbrougbttbestuoentstogetberano
taugbt varlous ll|e-crltlcal lessons ln tbe maklng o|
aNlte.

|tlsverysaotbattbeaomlnlstratlonscrappeosucba
wonoer|ulevent.
Rahul Misra 2000A2A7
As | wrlte tbls, tbe clock ls closlng ln on 2:00
am ln tbe sleepy town o| Pllanl, Pajastban. Ano
yet most o| tbe stuoents at 8|TS Pllanl are
awake. || you go out on a stroll, you'll notlce
tbat tbe alr blows a llttle cbllly now.You oont
complaln, lt ooesn't matter tbat tbe wlnter
ls orawlng near ano ln a llttle over a montb:
youll bave to step out o| your room almost
|rostbltten to wrlte eams. |t ooesnt matter
because you know tbat l| lt ooesnt get cbllly
at nlgbt, tbe 4 am co||ees at M-Lawns ourlng
tbe OAS|S nlgbt outs woulont be as sootblng.
Ano tbat matters more tban anytblng else.
140
Tbe OAS|S lnaug ls less tban 36 bours away, tbe
Prez has declared a holiday tomorrow and your
test has been postponed. 8|TS ls probably tbe
only lnstltutlon ln tbe worlo wbere tbe presloent
o| tbe stuoents unlon can oeclare a legltlmate
bolloay. O| course, even l| tbe test bao not been
postponeo, even l| bao been a Mecb Sol open book,
lts not llke youo bave been stuoylng. If theres
anything better than OASIS, its the couple of
days before OASIS!

You walk towaros tbe clock tower: a crackllng


souno reacbes your ears. Sometlmes you bear a
bammer strlklng lron ano Nasbes o| brlgbt llgbt
sblne tbrougb tbe tblck beoges.Tbese slgbts ano
sounos aren't new |or you, tbls bas been golng on
|or oays. From Nat grouno, to a mesb o| MS-roos
ano G|-wlre, to many layers o| smelly newspapers,
to coats o| palnt, to tbe seml-lncomplete structure
tbat stanos ln tbe mloole o| tbe D-Lawns. Art n'
Dee junta surrounos lt ano a couple o| guys are
bent over tbe welolng macblne. More Nasbes ano
youavertyoureyes.
Tbere's some actlvlty near tbe FD2 entrance as
well. You walk ln, almost stepplng on tbe large
palnteo sbeets spreao out on tbe Noor. 3 glrls are
aoolng nal toucbes to one o| tbe corners, one
otberglrllsgulolngtbem.Tbeywoulontnormally
beberetbankstotbenlgbtcur|ew|orglrlsat8|TS
but tbey bave late perm tooay. A buncb o| boys
ano glrls are slttlng on tbe stalrs puttlng lacbba.
A 2no yearlte |rom anotber oepartment walks up
besltantly, looklng |or two bottles o| reo palnt. You
smlle to yoursel| wonoerlng wby bls cooro bas
oecloeo to punlsb blm llke tbls.Two oays be|ore
tbe OAS|S lnaug, lt woulo take at least a core (3ro
yearlte)wltbcontlstogetpalnto||ArtnDee.As
epecteo, be gets sbooeo away.
You |ollow blm to tbe stalrs, louo blare o| muslc
welcomlng you up. Cbalrs ano tables bave been
pusbeo to tbe back o| tbe class ln most o| tbe
rooms.DanceClubberspractlcetbelrcompllcateo
steps ln 2204 ano a small group o| stuoents ls
watcblng tbem tbrougb tbe ooors ano wlnoows.
|n anotber classroom not |ar away, tbe Mlme Club
aoos tbe nal toucbes to lts per|ormance. Tbe llgbts
are on ln most o| tbe otber classrooms as well,
eacb lnbablteo by a ol||erent oepartment or club.
Storleso|prevlousOAS|Sarerecounteoagalnano
agaln.<RXUUVW2$6,6LV\RXUEHVW2$6,6every
volunteer bas bearo tbat at least a mllllon tlmes.
Tbelr epectatlons coulon't be blgber. Tbank|ully,
OAS|S ls an event tbat can actually meet tbose
epectatlons. Surpass tbem. Llke lt bas |or tbe past
40-ooo years.

You walk to SUB now, that other hub of pre-


OASIS activity.Tbestretcbo|roaobetweenANC
ano SU8 bas wltnesseo many gbts |or le|tover sams
over tbe past |ew oays. Club beaos are lobbylng
wltb tbe Gen Sec |or etra buogets, just to get a
oozen more sams, an etra Nask o| co||ee, a couple
more|rleomaggls.TbeollaploateoStuoentsUnlon
8lock smells a llttle, tbere's maloa ano newspaper
everywbere.Tbeeerlellgbtlng|urtberaoostotbe
amblence. For tbe past montb, many 8|TSlans bave
spent tbe better part o| tbelr oays bere. Wltbln a
week SU8 woulo be |orgotten, ooors lockeo ano
baroly ever openeo agaln tbls sem. Memorles o|
OAS|S lockeo ln, sbut o|| tlll tbey can be retrleveo
|resbagalnnetyear.
|t's close to 2:30 am now ano tbe oepartments
are wrapplng up |or tbe oay. Tbe volunteers (rst-
yearltes)bavebeenolspatcbeotoANClnaovance
toreserveseats|ortbelroepartment.|tsatestano
also practlce |or tbe lnaug, wbere seat reservatlon
141
ls a sklll tbat comes ln very banoy. Wltbln a |ew
mlnutes, every cbalr at ANC ls occupleo. Nlgbt
permenossoonanoeveryonelnvolveowltbOAS|S
lnanywaylsatSU8now.SomeDoSAsarearouno
as well, you oon't get to see glrls at ANC at 3 am
everyoay.Tbelastbatcbo||rleomagglslspoureo
outlntbelrplates.Tbevolunteersbavebeensent
|orwaro agaln, anotber rouno o| practlce |or tbe
lnaug. A core notlces tbat bls oepartment vols
bave been jostleo asloe ano steps ln to belp. A|ter
3 years o| |rleo maggl every nlgbt, tbe ANC sta||
knows blm well. He gets a |ew etra plates ano
walksbackwltbblsoepartmentmates.Tbeywlnk
ano a |ew tat macchas |ollow. Two years later,
tbe rst-yearltes woulo belp out tbelr volunteers
ln tbe same way. Twenty years later, all o| tbem
woulo stlll remember tbls lncloent. |t's calleo a pre-
OAS|Sbono.

Tbe clock strlkes 3 ano just llke tbat, tbe oay ls over.
Tbe glrls rusb back to tbelr bostels, waves ano waves
o|cyclesbeaotoM8.Tbewaroens|astasleepbynow
but tbe cbowkl bas bls notebook reaoy. No worrles,
tbere are psentl-semltes ln tbe group, tbey know bow
to banole blm. 8ack at ANC, tbe boys stlck arouno
|or a llttle more tlme, vocabulary that had been
carefully restricted till a few minutes ago is now
bared free.TbeANCsta||bastooragtbemoutas
tbey lock tbe gates, some o| tbe boys woulo now go
watcbamovle.Otberswouloretlretotbelrrooms
ano perbaps tbat ls wbat you oo as Otbers woulo
retlre to tbelr rooms ano perbaps tbat ls wbat you
oo as well. A|ter all, you oon't plan to sleep wben tbe
eventstarts.

Tomorrow ls anotber oay. Ano tben, tbere's OAS|S!


Arun Bhattacharya - 2008 batch
Wltb tbe eno o| tbe wbole saga o| competltlve
eams , tbe results-ano-rank oays, tbe counsellng-
ano- bao got aomlsslon lnto lt was 'our' campus.
Wbat's so speclal ln tbat?? !!), we coulo gure out
tbe bullolngs unoer constructlon, tbe bal|-maoe
roao, tbe LTC, bostels.yet to be palnteo. Golng
a step |urtber lnto tbose places we , bowever
|elt tbat tbere was sometblng more tban we bao
epecteo as we |ouno a |ull-Neogeo llbrary, great
bostel rooms, etc.
Okay! So tbe baslc tblngs were alreaoy tbere,
now | tblnk WL sboulo oo sometblng more |or
our campus!!" was wbat we useo to tblnk,
slttlng loly on tbose lawns or at tbe ca|eterla.
(Hub..OUP...Yes..| salo lt agaln! Tbls tlme, a llttle
blt o| speclal |eellng attacbeo to lt. Wby not?
A|ter all lt's WL wbo are golng to set tbe trenos
lntblscampus!!)
Tbus we...Tbe 2008 batch of BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus starteo our journey. |t
wasnt always a cakewalk tbougb! Tbere was a
lot to be oone!! We woulo slt, plan, olscuss, ano
olstrlbute tbe work loao.put |ortb loeas.agree,
sometlmes olsagree, argue.gbt...but at
tbe eno o| tbe oay lt was US !! Soon tbe campus
seemeo to be an ln|ant .Ano we all bao tbls urge
tooevelopltsucbtbatltcoulonotonlyllveupto
lts name but also eceeo lt. As we workeo, playeo,
142
talkeo, laugbeo, ano sang togetber ln tbe process
we olscovereo graoually tbat unknowlngly we too
bao trans|ormeo lnto klos, wbo were reolscoverlng
growtb ano maturlty along wltb tbe campus ltsel|!
Ano as lt bappens ourlng growtb, we kept olscoverlng
anolmprovlngourselvestoo.
Tbus we were growlng matureo wltb tbe college
ltsel|. Wltbln 2.5 years we were almost llke any
prouo young person wbo coulont belp aomlrlng
blmsel|/bersel| by looklng at tbe mlrror. Tbe only
ol||erence was, we saw our reNectlon ln our
CAMPUS.
(Ob...OUP agaln!! Well lt's obvlous. We ano Tbe
Campusarelnseparablenow).
Tooay, bavlng come lnto tbe last-but-one year o|
tbe college ll|e, we are stlll growlng but.wltb
more wlsoom, more plannlng, ano more bonolng.
8ecausenowwebavetberesponslbllltyo|pulllng
lnto tbe race even our GenNet ! Ano sbow tbem
bow amazlng lt ls to be one o| tbose rst tbree or
|ourluckybatcbes!
We are sure about one tblng. Tbe oay we'll graouate
|rom bere, we'll be |ully matureo, not a moment
be|ore tbat, because tbls campus bas always got
ano wlll bave tlll eno lots o| tblngs ln store |or
us to learn. 8ut we also know tbat wben we get
out o| bere, we'll be probably more matureo tban
many otbers, because lt's not only WL wbo bave
matureobutalsotbecampuswbomwebelpeoto
galnmaturlty.
So, be|ore we enter lnto tbat matureo stage o|
responslblllty, tbe no-nonsense part o| ll|e, | oream
o|gettlngascopetosbaretbestoryo|usanoour
campus ('OUP'. | oon't otbers, because lt's not
only WL wbo bave neeo any eplanatlon tbls tlme,
oo|?).Tberesnotblngllkesbarlngtbestorleswltb
tbe ones among wbom some bave probably been
ln tbe same sboes as ours, ano some bave seen
tbelrprevlousbatcbesbelnglntbosesamesboes!!
So tbe 8|TSAA Global Meet at Delbl was tbe rst
opportunlty | coulo actually try to grab. We also
know tbat we aren't per|ect. We are eager but
neeo to know more, bence are always on tbe run
togetanyposslbleguloanceanosuggestlons|rom
tbe eperlenceo. Flnolng 8|TSAA Global Meet to
be one sucb |orum |rom wbere we can truly get
wortbysuggestlons|romtbegreatalumnlallover
tbe worlo, we slmply coulo not a||oro not to alm
|orlt!
Aomlsslon to colleges ralses ln tbe mlno o| tbe
stuoents: new oreams . about tbe probable college
ll|e..tbe campus, tbat butterNy-ln-stomacb tblng ls |elt
by almost all o| tbem as tbey try to gure out eactly
bowtblssuooen|reeooma|terscboolll|elsgolngto
tastellke.
Tbe same mlgbt bave been |elt by all tbe present
8|TSlans too!!Tbe same |eellngs as above..Along
wltb a reasonable prloe |or jolnlng tbls premler
lnstltute. However |or us..Tbe 8|TSlans ln tbe
Hyoerabao campus o| tbe unlverslty, tbese were
mleo wltb some more |eellng--tbe |eellng, o|
uncertalnty: tbe |eellng, o| bow mucb ls tbere ano
bowmucblstobebrougbtln.Aswesteppeolnto
our campus (ob walt, olo | say OUP? Well..Yes..May
be just because we.
Pbew.but lt really |elt awesome to pour out all
tbeemotlonsaboutourcampuslnpastpresentano
|uture
143
...ano so beautl|ul ls our relatlonsblp, tbat | call
youmyalumnusanoyoucallmeyouralmamater.
So mucb bas cbangeo, yet so
llttlebascbangeo.
Sanopaper 2.0 was tbe rst najor annuaI pubIication of BlT5AA lnternationaI|orltsalumnl.|tls
releaseo twlce every year lleo wltb storles, narratlves, eperlences, ano poems |rom alumnl/stuoents to
satls|ytbereaolngappetlteo|every8|TSlan.
Lcerpt |rom tbe rst eoltorlal (Anupenora): |n management-speak, SanoP" bao unparalleleo brano
recognltlon. |t conjureo up lmages ano passlons |or many llke no otber name. | was reluctant to grab tbe
name |rom 8|TS, but my teammates were very convlnclng. So Sanopaper [2.0], or Sanopaper, tbe 8|TSAA
eoltlon, was born."
Pleasereacbusatsanopaper-team@bltsaa.org to sbare your storles, submlt artlcles you wlsb to sbare
wltb tbe 8|TSlan communlty. Tbe same mall |D sboulo be useo l| you want to joln tbe team or aovertlse ln
Sanopaper. Lastly, tbe magazlnes botb latest & past can be reao/oownloaoeo (Creolt Caros not requlreo!)
atbttp://sanopaper.bltsaa.org.
.enougb o| tbe borlng lntro let us take a oeep olve lnto wbat ls ln store |rom tbe latest collectlon.
T
h
i
n
k
P
a
d
145
Sounds like a Synonym
-LlllpLSouzu
Wrltlng tbese woros, |'m ln a spot ln tbe Kumaon bllls wbere lt ls posslble to |orget about tbe rest o|
|nola. From a llttle leoge, | look out at a near-180-oegree vlsta ln every sbaoe o| green. Down tbe slope
atmy|eetarepeacbtreeslnaterraceoorcbaro.Attbe|arenoo|oneterracelsareoplastlcmoloeo
cbalr, catcblng tbe eye because tbat blt o| reo ls so strlklng agalnst tbe green. Wbere tbe valley bottoms
out a tblck jungle beglns, carpetlng tbe blll tbat's across |rom me ano tbe blll tbat's beblno tbat one
ano tbe one beblno tbat one.To my rlgbt ano above are tbe only slgns, apart |rom tbe cbalr ano tbe
terraces, tbat bumans bave been bere: a manslon, lt looks llke, on tbe rloge.
|t's easy to |orget, bere, tbat elsewbere ln my |nola, | can no surglng crowos o| cars ano people, glltzy
malls ano Karbonn Kamaal Katcbes at tbe ongolng |PL tournament. |t's easy to |orget, too, tbat | can
no ln my |nola klos wbo stave o|| bunger by eatlng muo ano Maolst lnsurgents wbo, ln early Aprll, kllleo 74 CPPF
men. Lasy to |orget all tbat, bere. |t's wbat a vacatlon ln a secluoeo beautl|ul spot wlll oo. Tbougb wbat's our ecuse |
wonoer, wben we go about our oally llves? Wbat's our ecuse, tben, |or |orgettlng? |n partlcular, |'m re|errlng to klos
eatlngmuo:wbenolowe|orgettbat|nolaalsoo||erssucbscenes?Anolstbereaconnectlontotbe74oeaomen
tbatwesboulomake?
Only oays be|ore tbe CPPF trageoy bappeneo, tbe Hlnoustan Tlmes carrleo a |ront page report, part o| lts ongolng
serles on bunger across tbe lano. |t mentloneo a bungry cbllo on tbe eoge o| a constructlon slte ln Allababao,
completewltbapbotograpbo|tbeglrlgnawlngonalargelumpo|muo.Sbebaonotblngelsetoeat.

Tbe report brougbt HT a Nooo o| letters |rom olsmayeo reaoers, trylng to comprebeno tbe patbetlc state o| a cbllo
wbo woulo eat muo. |t maoe me go back to my baro olsk, ano somewbere ln lts recesses | |ouno wbat | was looklng
|or, an artlcle a ooctor | know wrote ln 1997. At tbe tlme, sbe bao no computer at tbe rural bealtb cllnlc sbe workeo
ln Orlssa, so | typeo lt on mlne. |t ls an account o| tbe struggles o| a |amlly sbe bao met, mlgrant laborers |rom
8olanglr olstrlct ln tbat state. Husbano ano wl|e contracteo wltb tbe owner o| a brlck klln ln 8erbampur. Tbelr take-
bome Ps 40 & 10 kg o| rlce a week. Wltb a |amlly o| sl to |eeo," wrote tbls ooctor, tbat payment ooes not stretcb
|ar." Tbe busbano was o|ten |orceo to take a loan mlo-week. Once tbe loan was re|useo ano tbe |amlly went bungry
[Tbelr ln|ant son] Paoman crleo wltb bunger, ate some o| tbe muo plentl|ully avallable arouno tbelr but ano bao a
severeattacko|olarrboea.
1997 to 2010: Tblrteen years tbat |nola bas cbangeo ln a myrlao ways, nurtureo a boom economy, bougbt ltsel|
mllllons o| cars, bullt sea llnks ano Nyovers ano malls. Yet tblrteen years later, some bungry |nolan klos stlll eat muo.
How olo we |orget? |n Marcb, | travelleo to wbere tbat same ooctor now works, a cllnlc ln central Cbbattlsgarb. Tbe
stategovernmentrunsaprogramme|orltspoorerresloentsunoerwblcbtbeycanbuyupto35kgo|rlceamontb
at Ps 2 per kllogram. Compare to wbat | speno to buy rlce ln 8ombay: nearly always over Ps 30 per kg, Ps 80 or
more l| | want basmatl |or a speclal occaslon. Tbat Ps 2, tben, ls a measure o| poverty ln Cbbattlsgarb
(anoln|actlnotberstatestbatbaveslmllarprogrammes).
Yettbetruemeasureo|povertylnCbbattlsgarbmlgbtbesometblng|sawwbenwevlslteo
some vlllages ln tbe area wbere tbe cllnlc ooes outreacb work. Wblle tbe ooctors met
patlents, | wanoereo about ano spoke to tbe resloents. Almost every bouse ln tbese vlllages
-- certalnly more tban 80 per cent o| tbe many oozen bouses tbat | must bave strolleo by --
basareonotlcepalnteobesloelts|rontooor.
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|t conrms tbat tbls |amlly ls ellglble |or rlce at Ps 1 per kg
Tbat ls, tbese are |amllles too poor to a||oro rlce at even tbe Ps 2 prlce. Ano ln my ranoom sample ln a
ranoom pocket o| Cbbattlsgarb, easlly 4 o| every 5 |amllles are tbat poor. Tbat's tbe scale o|, tbe klno o|
povertytbatstooeasllyseenln|nola.
Howolowe|orget?
Tbere's more. (Tbere always ls). Speaklng to patlents at tbe cllnlc, | |ouno some bao come |rom up to
250 km away: tbls ls tbe only reasonable bealtb care |or tbat klno o| olstance. Tbe OPD operates on
Monoays, Weonesoays ano Frloays. We |ouno some people wbo bao come on Monoay but, because
o| tbe sbeer number o| patlents to be seen, woulo not get a cbance to meet a ooctor tlll Frloay. Tbe
ooctors work baro, but tbat's bow beavy tbelr loao ls. |t's as l| |, slttlng ln 8ombay wltb an earacbe, bao
to travel bal|way to Goa ano tben walt |our oays, just |or a ooctor to peer ln my ear.
Ano as a tbougbt eperlment, consloer tbat 250 km as tbe raolus o| a clrcle centereo on tbls rural cllnlc.
Slmple scbool arltbmetlc wlll tell you tbat clrcle's area: sometblng llke 200,000 square km, or gettlng
close to a tentb o| |nola's area. Now o| course, not everyone ln tbat vast epanse comes to tbls cllnlc to
seektreatment.Yetwbatooesltsayaboutbealtbcarelntbesepartstbattberearepeoplewbobaveno
optlon but to travel tbat olstance? Wbat ooes lt say about |nola tbat tbls ls just one cllnlc ln one part o| tbe country?
How many otber sucb 250 km-raolus clrcles woulo we no, l| we starteo looklng?
How olo we |orget tbls, too?
Nobooy sboulo get away wltb massacrlng 74 |nolan securlty personnel, ano so | bope tbose beblno tbls egreglous
atrocltywlllbe|ounoanopunlsbeo.8utletstrytoremembertbeclrcumstancestoomanypeoplelnourcountry
llve ln, every oay. As lt |orms tbe contet ln wblcb tbe massacre bappeneo. Wben we |all to provloe bealtbcare,
eoucatlon, justlce ano slmple governance to large stretcbes o| tbls country, we prepare |ertlle grouno |or tbe |olks
wbo peoole tbe seouctlve message o| overtbrowlng tbe state ano brlnglng about some new utopla. Wben all tbey
are really lnteresteo ln ls power ano control, our contlnulng |orget|ulness glve tbem legltlmacy ano tbe aura o| belng
savlors.
Plenty o| comment a|ter tbe massacre bas mentloneo war", wonoerlng l| tbat's wbat we are seelng ln Cbbattlsgarb.
|t remlnos me tbat ln oescrlblng wbat tbe people tbey work among must llve wltb |rom cbronlc bunger to
nonelstent bealtbcare -- tbls same ooctor ano ber colleagues o|ten use tbe pbrase structural vlolence."
Sounos llke a synonym |or war. Let's not |orget, any more: lt bas been golng on |or 62 years.
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Leadership, Change and Us
-Mudhukur8unurl
[zooAPSoo]
| oo not remember tbe last tlme | wore a Cbe t-sblrt, llstenlng to Morrlson ano rlolng my Lnelo calllng
mysel| an epltome o| a super-cltleo-juvenlle buman. |t took me some tlme, ano o| course ln a baro
way to reallze tbat ll|e ls just not about lt. Tbat's wben | was termeo as tbe 'rebelllous'. Pebelllous ls
not barm|ul, but oo we really bave to be a reslstance ln all |orms? Do we really bave to carry so mucb
o|olscontent?Aquestlontbat|askeomysel|everytlme|seesometblngnotbappenlngtbewaylt
sboulo bave bappeneo. 8elng rebelllous |or me, was not even close to belng a solutlon to tbe glnormous
atrocltles tbat we wltness rlgbt |rom tbe tlme we wake up to tbe tlme we blt tbe sack. Wbere ooes tbe
solutlon come |rom? Wby sboulo we tbe youtb be a part o| tbe solutlon?
Margaret Meao salo 'Never ooubt tbat a small group o| tbougbt|ul, commltteo, cltlzens can cbange tbe
worlo. |noeeo, lt ls tbe only tblng tbat ever bas.' |nola neeos cbange: ln lts systems, ln lts processes. |nola ls a country,
perbaps one o| tbe |ew countrles wbere we no several cballenges alongsloe several opportunltles 8ut one tblng ls
true, |nola ooes not neeo rebelllous youtb, lt neeos responslble youtb. Tbe power o| lnNuence ano courage ls tbe only
tblngtbatol||erentlatesbotb.
|seeatroubleo|nolanyoutb.|seeasectlono|tbemwbosell|elsanamalgamatlono|obllgatlonsano
conservatlveness.|seeotberswboarelntolcateowltbabllnoposslbllltyo|maklngtblngsbappen.|seeotberswbo
oo not want to seek cballenges lylng ln a pool o| constralnts, lgnorant o| tbe lmmense power tbey carry wltb tbem.
52 o| |nolan populatlon ls youtb. 8 o| worlo populatlon ls |nolan youtb. Lven wltb less tban 1 trylng to brlng out
tbe cbange tbat tbey seek, |nola ls oolng well. | am botbereo about tbls enormous power tbat we are unable to tap.
|maglne tbe scale o| lmplngement tbat tbe buge percent o| populatlon can create. Tremenoous. Long-lastlng. Sel|-
sustalnlng. 8ut | oon't see tbat bappenlng. Wbat ooes lt take |or tbe youtb to brlng out tbe cbange? Wbat ooes lt
take |or tbe youtb to seek cballenges? Wbat ooes lt take |or tbe youtb to speno sometlme o| tbelr ll|e towaros tbelr
country?
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As a munlclpal teacber, lt olsbeartens me wben | see my graoe tbree klo not able to reao a tbree
letterworo.|tolsbeartensmewbenmykloooesntknowwbyllvlngorganlsmsgrow.|tolsbeartens
mewbenmyklosaysbebasnotbearoaboutmultlpllcatlon.|tolsbeartensmetoseemyklosuslnga
slngle notebook to scrlbble notes |or bal|-a-oozen subjects. |t olsbeartens me to see my klos not able
toconcentratelntbeclassbecauseo|astomacbpalnwblcbtbeycoulonotresolvewltbtbeooctor
because o| lack o| money. Wbat oo | oo? Do | |eel oejecteo or oo | seek tbem as cballenges? Do | sbeo
away|romreallty?
Lverymornlng|wakeuptoreallty.Arealltysetbysweetranoomnesslnebrlateowltbasenseo|
posslblllty. Tbere ls tbls lnsane mystlc aura tbat surrounos me, everyoay, ano | just cannot get out o| lt.
To be true to mysel|, | oon't want to. | cbose lt to be llke tbat. From a proouct manager ln a MNC to a
munlclpal scbool teacber, ll|e bas cbangeo, ratber oramatlcally. Wben | rst steppeo out to oecloe tbat
|amgolngtoteacbunoerprlvllegeoklosanospenomytlmeworklnglncommunltles|ortbenettwo
years o| ll|e, 'You are mao!' was tbe only tblng | bearo |rom many o| my |rlenos ano |amlly.
Ouestlons arlse. Wbat l| you cannot? Wbat l| you reallze mlo-way tbat lt ls not your cup o| tea? Wbat l|
tbe movement retaros? Wbat a|ter two years? Wbat wlll be tbe benet? Tben | tbougbt to mysel|, are all
tbetblngsyouoolnll|eareonly|orgaln?No:notalways.
Youootblngsbecauseyouwanttoseekcballenges.
Youootblngsbecauseyouwanttomakeacbange.
Youootblngsbecauseyouwanttooolt.
For me | wanteo to be a teacber, because | wanteo to be a leaoer. A leaoer wbo wants to brlng about tbe cbange
at tbe very grassroots level ln a classroom, a leaoer wbo wants to unlearn ano tben learn tblngs ano a leaoer wbo
wants to spreao tbe |act tbat 'Teacblng ls Leaoersblp'. |t ls baro to reallze.
Howooesonereallzelttbougb?
At certaln polnt ln our llves, our tbougbts teno to agree wltb tbe lnner reNectlon o| our soul, ano tbe oay you reallze
tbat, eacb ano every oream you bave oreamt ls not |ar away. You pursue tbose oreams to relnstate tbat greatest
bapplnesscomes|rom|earlessness.Tbatswbenyoustartllvlngyouroream.Tbatswbenyouseekcballenges.Tbats
wben you want to make an lmpact. Tbat's wben you be tbe cbange. Tbat's wben you are calleo mao! A|ter all, worlo
alsobastocreatemaopeople!
A|ter reaolng a blt o| leaoersblp llterature ln my ll|e ano my eperlences wltb gooo leaoers, | o|ten wonoereo, wbat's
tbe best oenltlon o| leaoersblp? | tbougbt a lot. 8ut eacb tlme, | resenteo wltb an unreacbeo lmpresslon. |ts tben
tbat ln Teacb For |nola, | met Sbabeen Mlstrl wbo's every stlnt ano moves ln tbe most convlnclng way, pampereo wltb
respect ano bumlllty taugbt me wbat leaoersblp ls. Leaoersblp ls tbrougb servlce. You be an englneer or a ooctor,
a travel guloe or a buslnessman, a matbematlclan or a muslclan, l| you tblnk o| eacb ano every pro|esslon ln tbe
paraolgm o| servlce, as a tbank|ul way o| glvlng back to tbe part we owe to our elstence ln tbls worlo, we woulo be
a better place ano Leaoersblp wlll be unto you.
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Tbe lnltlal part o| my ll|e was passeo learnlng wbat cbange means to me. Tben a major part o| my ll|e
wasspenttblnklng|wasntcapableo|belngtbecbange.Anotbelaterportlonwaswasteolntblnklng
wbetbertbecbange|wastrylngtomakewas8lgenougb.Sonearlyaquartero|myll|ewasteoontbat
eperlment, | now belleve tbat you can't connect tbe oots looklng |orwaro: you can only connect tbem
looklng backwaros. Ano llke Steve [obs says,
Youbavetotrusttbattbeootswlllsomebowconnectlnyour|uture.Youbavetotrustlnsometblng
your gut, oestlny, ll|e, karma, wbatever".
Atcertalnpolnttbebotberlng|act|oreacboneo|uslstbemagnltuoeo|e||ortweareputtlnglnan
act. | tblnk tbe slze o| tbe enoeavor ooesn't matter as mucb as bow meanlng|ul lt means to you. You just
cantcompareprovlolngecellenteoucatlonto400mlllloncbllorenlnyourcountrytoputtlngupaman
ln tbe moon. Ano tbat's tbe beauty o| tbe tbeory o| cbange. Lverytblng counts. Notblng ls lrrelevant,
notblngsmall.Lverytblngconnectsbacktosometblngblgger.
Mucbo|mynotebasquestlonstbat|tblnkonesbouloasksel|.|cannotglvetbeanswerstotbem.As|
say, reNectlon ln truest means ls tbe only way you can evolve. Mabatma salo 'We rst seek cbange wltbln
our sel|, to cbange tbe worlo'. For some cbange ls a neeo. For some lt ls to prove sometblng. For otbers
cbange ls bapplness. For me, cbange ls ll|e.
As an englneer-turneo-munlclpal-teacber, | oon't see mysel| as a beamlng bope o| tbe country. | see mysel| as a person
wbowlsbestobeaparto|tbemlnutecbange|alwayswanteotosee.|seemysel|asaparto|tbatmovementwblcb
etrapolates tbese mlnutest cbanges lnto a sustalnable blgb-lmpact revolutlon. | leave you wltb tbese per|ect llnes,
Ouroeepest|earlsnottbatwearelnaoequate.Ouroeepest|earlstbatwearepower|ulbeyonomeasure.|tls
our llgbt, not our oarkness, tbat most |rlgbtens us. We ask ourselves wbo am | to be brllllant, talenteo, |abulous?
Actually, wbo are you not to be? You are a cbllo o| Goo. Your playlng small ooes not serve tbe worlo. Tbere's notblng
enllgbteneo about sbrlnklng so tbat otber people won't |eel lnsecure arouno you. We are all meant to sblne, as
cblloren oo. We were born to make manl|est tbe glory o| Goo tbat ls wltbln us. |t's not just ln some o| us: lt's ln
everyone. Ano as we let our own llgbt sblne, we unconsclously glve otber people permlsslon to oo tbe same. As we're
llberateo |rom our own |ear, our presence automatlcally llberates otbers"
Do we really tblnk, as a cbllo o| goo, oolng or llvlng small really serves tbe worlo? A|ter all we are bere |or sometblng.
Peallzetbat.Seekcballenges.8etbecbangetbattbeworloneeosyoutobe.
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The Pursuit of Happiness
TbepbraseTbePursulto|Happlnesslsperbapsoneo|tbemostmlsunoerstooopbllosopbleslnour
llves. || you look at superclally, lt means tbat bapplness can never be acbleveo. 8ut tben tbere can be
several lnterpretatlons. Tbe way | look at lt ls tbat bapplness lles ln pursulng. |t's tbe journey, tbe patb
tbatyoutravelwblcbmakesalltbeol||erence.|amnotberetotellyouataleo|bowglorycanbe
acbleveol|youtaketberoaolesstraveleo.|tsabouttbereasonwby|cbosetotaketberoaoless
traveleo. A|ter graouatlng wltb a Mecbanlcal Lnglneerlng oegree |rom 8|TS ln 2007 ano an 18 montb
stlnt ln Satyam, | am now a lm crltlc. |n a way, | am stlll ln pursult o| bapplness ano maybe | alreaoy
know tbat | can never acbleve lt or reacb a oestlnatlon, l| tbere ls any!
|t all began ln tbe summer o| 2003. |, was one among tbe 800 ooo number o| stuoents wbo were
selecteo to stuoy ln 8|TS-Pllanl. Tbe great legacy wblcb tbe erstwblle stuoents o| 8|TS-Pllanl bao le|t beblno was
overwbelmlng. Tbe oay | reacbeo college, my parents bao a qulck glance tbrougb tbe Golo ano Sllver meoallsts |rom
tbeprevlousbatcbes.|knewlnstantlytbattbeybaogreatepectatlons|rommeano|promlseotbemtbat|wont
olsappolnt tbem. 8ut tben, lt wasn't too late be|ore | reallzeo tbe ol||erence between reallty ano asplratlons. Wltbln a
year, | knew tbat | can never oream o| a career as a Mecbanlcal Lnglneer Not tbat, | bave anytblng agalnst Mecbanlcal
Lnglneerlng: somebow tbe macblnes scareo me. Tlll tbls oay, | baven't unoerstooo even tbe baslc college. | bao no loea
wby sboulo | learn sometblng wblcb | may never ever lmplement ln my ll|e. 8ut tben, lt's all ln tbe game ano you are
epecteo to compete agalnst your peers. At tbe eno o| secono year, | sort o| gave up on stuoles ano almost sklppeo
most o| my classes ln tblro year as well. Maybe tbe poor graoes tbrougbout my stlnt ln 8|TS woulo reNect wbat | bao
beentbrougb.
Tblngs starteo rolllng smootbly. | bao set my blologlcal clock wltb respect to tbe moon. Llke many otbers, | bao
become a vamplre, a nlgbt owl ano woulo sneak out o| tbe campus ln tbe wee bours |or a 'latcba' sesslon ln Nutan.
| woulo sleep a|ter sunrlse ano begln my oay, ratber a|ternoon, wltb a lm on my computer. | bao no loea tbat | bao
slowly got aoolcteo to lms. O| course, almost everyone useo to watcb lms, but wben you talk, olscuss, wrlte, sbare
ln|ormatlon about lms most o| tbe tlme tben you know bow ol||erent lt ls |rom just watcblng lms. Tbanks to a
course nameo 'Crltlcal Analysls o| Llterature ano Clnema', | reallzeo bow llttle | knew about lms wblcb began my
lnterest ln lm stuoles. Tbe autbors o| my CDC tet books, names wblcb | can't even recollect, were replaceo by
names llke Woooy Allen, |ngmar 8ergman, Stanely Kubrlck ano |ew otber lm makers. Lventually | starteo blogglng
about lms. Wbat began as an occaslonal urge to wrlte turneo lnto an obsesslon. Tbe lengtb o| my blogs bao
lncreaseo ano | useo to no lt amazlng bow mucb | coulo artlculate. On tbe Nlpsloe, | useo to remaln sllent most o|
tbetlmesevenourlngbolsterousolscusslons.
-HemunLhKumurCP
[zooAiPSz6o]
every SMILE......
a new beginning.....
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At tlmes, tbe gullt o| bavlng neglecteo my stuoles bao consumeo me to astronomlcal proportlons. A|ter
all, tbats wby l was ln college. Some call tbls Ouarter ll|e Crlses, wbere you bave no clue about wbats
bappenlngwltbyourll|eanoltseemeotbat|waslagglngbeblnolnalmosteverycoursetbatlwas
enrolleoln.ltwasarounotblstlmetbatavloeo|eaturlngSteve[obswasmaklngrounosontbelnternet.
He was aooresslng a gatberlng o| stuoents at Stan|oro Unlverslty. To call tbat |teen mlnutes speecb
lnsplrlngwoulobeunoerstatement.LveryworowblcbSteve[obsbaosalolntbatspeecbbltmellkea
bolto|llgbtenlng.Heurgeotbestuoentstbatl|youbavent|ounowbatyouarepasslonateabouttben
keeplooklng.Somecalltblseerclsesoulsearcblngbuttbatwoulobeaneaggeratlon.|tsallabout
unoerstanolng your personallty, wbat oenes you, wbat makes you bappy. Perbaps, tbat's wbat lnterest
ano passlon ls about. Wben your lnterest ano passlon merge, lt becomes an obsesslon. At tbe eno o| |our
years o| my ll|e ln 8|TS, all | reallzeo was tbat | was obsesseo wltb lms. No otber area o| stuoy, let alone
pro|esslon arouseo my lnterest as mucb as lms olo.
did i get into a shell ??
......... perhaps YES !!!!!
8ut tben, lt's ol|cult |or a 20 sometblng to break |ree |rom tbe sbackles ano norms wblcb are set by tbe soclety. As
a result, | enoeo up worklng |or Satyam Computers as a so|tware englneer.
|n 2007, wben | jolneo Satyam, lt was one o| most prosperous years |or tbe rm. Contracts ano projects were
abunoant. We bao won |T projects |rom Coca Cola, Arcelor Mlttal ano F|FA botb |or 2010 ano 2014. Tbe company
bao recrulteo too many stuoents |rom all over tbe country ano allocatlng resources to varlous projects bao become
a major lssue.
A lot o| us were put on 'bencb', a sugar coateo lnoustry slang wbere you get palo |or oolng notblng. O| course,
you are epecteo to enrlcb your knowleoge ln varlous |T core areas, latest programmlng languages ano tools. My
reluctance to learn tbese tblngs was a blesslng ln olsgulse. A|ter |ew montbs | olscovereo tbat Goo lnoeeo elsts ano
Hls name ls Poger Lbert, a noteo lm crltlc ln USA wbo wrltes |or Cblcago Sun Tlmes. | useo to reao eacb ano every
lm revlew be wrote ano unoerstano bow to lnterpret lms. | bao alreaoy starteo blogglng actlvely @ bemantbology.
woropress.com, malnly about Lngllsb ano Hlnol Clnema. Wltb tbe belp o| Poger Lbert's lnslgbt on lms, | starteo
wrltlng more ln-oeptb lm revlews wblcb turneo out to be mucb better tban wbat | bao wrltten earller. On [anuary
7tb, 2009, Mr.Pamallnga Paju reslgneo |rom Satyam Computers ano aomltteo tbat be was lnvolveo ln a buge nanclal
|rauo. |t came as a ruoe sbock to a lot o| us. 8ut by tben, | bao reallzeo tbat lt was all |or my own gooo. Now, | bao
tbe |reeoom to pursue a career ln lm crltlclsm. | starteo wrltlng about Telugu Clnema ano tbe blog especlally my
Telugu movle revlews were slowly reacblng out to more people. Tbe rm sent me on a sabbatlcal |or sl montbs ano
later | reslgneo |rom tbe rm ln December, 2009. Meanwblle, ln September 2009, | got a call |rom a movle webslte
123telugu.com to wrlte |or tbem ano ln February, 2010 | got an o||er |rom 'Soutbscope' magazlne to work |or
tbem. At present, | |reelance |or botb tbe rms as a lm crltlc |or 23telugu.com ano a web eoltor |or Soutbscope
magazlneswebslte.
|t's ol|cult to polnt out wbat motlvates me to contlnue ln tbls llne o| work. |t ooes souno llke a glamourous job but
bas lts sbare o| lssues wblcb bave to be oealt wltb care|ully. Wben you are wrltlng about reglonal clnema, Telugu ano
Tamll ln partlcular, eacb actor commanos buge |an base wbo take revlews too personally. Strlklng tbe rlgbt balance
between belng bonest ano polltlcally correct ls perbaps tbe blggest lssue. Moreover, | always bave tbls constant |ear
o| mlsjuoglng a lm. || you get carrleo away wltb your vlews tban wbat's acceptable, tben tbe reaoers woulo rutbless
sbuooer you to pleces, qulte metapborlcally. Leavlng all tbls asloe, tbe otber blg lssue ls convlnclng your parents about
wbat's so gooo about tbe new llne o| work. | no lt baro to eplaln to tbem wby | want to contlnue as a lm crltlc.
Lvery tlme | walk lnto tbat clnema ball or watcb a lm, | |eel allve. Tbere's so mucb to learn about people, soclety,
oeclslons ano tbelr consequences. |t's an eperlence wblcb ls ol|cult to convey ln woros. At tbe eno o| tbe oay, l|
someone asks me, bow mucb ls my work wortb? | oon't bave an answer to tbat.
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Sometlmes, wben | try to reason l| | bave maoe tbe rlgbt cbolce, lt remlnos me o| a quote wblcb | useo
to tell mysel| ln college '|t's always better to be tbe best ln wbat you are gooo at'. | oon't tblnk | am
aoept at wrltlng about lms wltb absolute convlctlon at tbls moment, but tben tbere's no otber tblng
wblcb | want to pursue relentlessly. Well, ecept maybe |or travelllng. |t's qulte posslble tbat my ll|e
woulo bave been totally ol||erent bao | serlously concentrateo on my stuoles ln college, contlnueo to
worklnaSo|tware|noustryormaybeooanM8Allkeeveryoneelse.|amsurealoto|youarelnlove
wltb wbat you are oolng. So am |! Ano | oon't bave a reason wby | sboulo qult wbat | am oolng. A|terall,
| am bappy wltb my ll|e, my work ano tbls alone glves me tbe strengtb to travel oown tbls patb. More
tban anytblng else, my blggest acblevement so |ar bas been tbe trans|ormatlon |rom a 2007 8|TSlan
grao to Hemantb Kumar C P, tbe guy wbo wrltes about lms. |t's an bonour to be recognlzeo |or tbe
workyouooratbertbantbebranosyouwereaparto|.|wlllalwaysbegrate|ulto8|TS|orwbatltbas
oonetome.|valuetbe|reeoomwblcb8|TSgavemetomakeacbolceanoltbastrans|ormeome|rom
a boy wltb a reo bag to tbe one wbo's mao about lms. Tbank you |or glvlng me tbe courage to rloe an
|kran.
I can now dream of riding
the Torak someday in future...
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|ntroouctlon
Tbe lnternet boom o| tbe 90s, tbe Nattenlng o| tbe worlo, globallzatlon ano tbe recent economlc turmoll bas
accelerateoll|estylesatalllevelsacrossallreglonso|tbeworlo.Tbelevelo|cbangebasbeenunpreceoenteoano
ls causlng 'structural' cbanges ln tbe soclety. Work ll|e balances are gettlng skeweo (better |or some ano worse
|orotbers) worklng parents are ln tbe ever evolvlng ano contlnuous act o| juggllng work, |amlly, bealtb passlons ano
bobbles ano stlll bave only 24 brs ln a oay! || tbe |ollowlng scenes resonate blgbly wltb you tben PLAD ON ano
tblsartlclemaybeo|somebelptoyou.
06.00 a.m. (busbano) LMLA Con|erence call present eecutlve plan
06.15 a.m. Daugbter wakes up (Wl|e) glves bottle o| mllk wblle ano takes a sbower
06.45 a.m. (Wl|e) Presentlng new strateglc marketlng plan on con| call wltb UK ano US
07.00 a.m. Daugbter starts crylng (Lltber wl|e or busbano goes on MUTL to 'manage' tbe sltuatlon
Tbank GOD |or early mornlng cartoons on tbe tube!)
08.15 a.m. Drlvlng out o| tbe bouse orop klo to oay care, plck up necessary grocerles on tbe way to work ano
get ln by 9.30a.m. |or a meetlng
05.00 p.m. Leave o|ce, plck up klo, orlve bome
06.00 p.m. Lltber Husbano or wl|e prepares olnner..
11.00 p.m. Wrap up olsbes, slt oown to nlsb a report ano catcb up on Tv news, sports..
Mlonlgbt |all asleep alarm set |or 5a.m. net oay- Tbe 'Cycle' contlnues.
Sailing through the stormy seas of stress
- Deepak Sharma (1991A1PS205) Dad & Management Consultant
Karuna Mukherjea DD
Nyla Mukherjea Sharma THE KID & Future
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Tbetlmetablebecamearoutlneanocontlnueowltbus|orawblleanoatsomepolntwestarteo
|eellngmorellkemacblnestbanbuman.Pealltybltusbarolntbe|aceontbeoayouralmosttwoyear
olo oaugbter lnterjecteo a 'splrlteo' olscusslon between us ano salo, Mommy! Daooy! Don't worry
you oo your calls | can get Cbeerlos ano turn on Tv mysel| | wlll not trouble you ourlng tbe call!"
We took tbe net two oays o|| |rom work ano re-tbougbt our ll|estyle Me belng a true consultant
ano my wl|e belng a true marketer, we bao to loentl|y ano oene tbe lssues, oevelop a |ramework ano
put togetber an actlon plan. Tbe result was a consultant's |avorlte 22 |ramework tbat bas belpeo
us manage tbe stress levels ln our ll|e over tbe last one year. |t bas oenltely brougbt a lot o| sense,
calmness ano bapplness lnto our llves. We present lt ln tbls artlcle ln oroer to sbare ano to sollclt
|eeoback ano loeas on bow to enbance tbls. We bope tbat tbrougb collaboratlon we can all oevelop
betterbalanceanoleaoevenmoreenrlcblngllveslntbe|uture.
Denlng Stress:
Dlctlonary.com bas over 14 ol||erent meanlngs |or tbe woro stress For our purposes we are oncerneo
wltb only one: Pbyslology - A speclc response by tbe booy to a stlmulus, as |ear or paln tbat olsturbs or
lnter|eres wltb tbe normal pbyslologlcal equlllbrlum o| an organlsm or ln slmple woros - Pbyslcal, mental,
oremotlonalstralnortenslon.
Unoerstanolngtbetypeso|stress:
We belleve tbat stress relateo lssues can be put ln one o| two buckets:
5trategic5tress:Tbls ls oeneo as lssues tbat are botb long term ano constant worry beaos |or us. Lamples
lncluoes retlrement plannlng, nanclal securlty, bealtb, cblloren's eoucatlon, bouse mortgages, |amlly matters etc. For
tbose wltb a nance bent o| mlno, tbls bas parallels to an organlzatlon's lncome statement |t ls over a certaln
perloo o| tlme, varles perloolcally, ls lnNuenceo by several lnternal/eternal |actors ano tbe sbort term results bave to
be ln llne wltb tbe long term objectlves.
TacticaI5tress:Tbls ls oeneo as lssues tbat are momentary splkes tbey cause a lot o| anlety at tbat tlme but
bave a nlte eno tlme. Lamples lncluoe runnlng late |or a meetlng oue to a slck cbllo, juggllng con|erence calls,
bouse repalr cbores, launory ano cbllo |eeolng at tbe same tlme, rusblng |rom work to get bome ln tlme |or a |amlly
event etc. Agaln |or tbose wltb a nance bent o| mlno, tbls bas parallels to an organlzatlon's balance sbeet lt glves
a snapsbot o| your sltuatlon at a certaln polnt ln tlme (ano remember, a rosy plcture ooes not always tell tbe |ull
story!) Wblle lt woulo seem tbat tbe two types are pretty olstlnct, tbey are ln |act beavlly entwlneo wltb eacb otber
ano one neeos to malntaln eacb at a bealtby level. Contlnulng tbe nance parallellsms, you neeo botb your balance
sbeetanolncomestatementtobelngooobealtb|orgooosborttermresultsanoepecteolongtermgrowtbo|tbe
organlzatlon.Asaneampleveryblgblevelso|tactlcalstresswllleventuallyleaotobealtb.
STRESS ?!#@&
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problemstbatwllllncreaseyourstrateglcstresslevel.
Pleasenotetberewlllbeabugevarlancelnlnolvlouallssuestbatleaotostressbutlneacbcasetbe
lssueswltbablgberlevelo|permanencyarounotbemwlllbelntbestrateglcstressbucketwblleotbers
wlll|alllntotbetactlcalstressbucket.
TbeStressMap:A|rameworktoevaluatestressanosbapearesponse
Tbe rest o| tbls artlcle provloes a very slmple 22 |ramework tbat wlll belp you unoerstano your current stress
sltuatlon, |acllltate olscusslons ano provloe lnslgbt tbat can leao to actlonable trans|ormatlon plans. (|| tbls sounos
stralgbt out o| a consultant's banobook lt ls! Ano a|ter worklng wltb over oozens o| cllents ln varlous sltuatlons
| am convlnceo o| lts slmpllclty but power|ul e|cacy ln proouclng posltlve results!). Tbe |ramework ls structureo
along tbe two types o| stress oescrlbeo above, resultlng ln |our olstlnct proles. Lacb prole bas certaln unlque
cbaracterlstlcs(lnolvlouallssueswlllstlllbeol||erent)wltbapproprlateapproacbestotrans|ormtowarostbeloeal
prole on tbe stress map. Tbe |unoamental premlse o| tbe |ramework ls tbat stress wlll never go away but can be
manageo better. |t ls about aojustlng tbe salls o| your ll|e. Tbe goal ls to reouce tbe percelveo stress ln your ll|e to
acblevelnnerbapplnessanotobeatlnnerpeacewltbonesel|anotbeenvlronmentarounoyou.
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Denlng Stress Proles
@Constant Downpour
|| tbls ls your prole lt requlres lmmeolate actlon. Tbls ls akln to belng caugbt ln a per|ect storm.
Tbe|ollowlng3stepapproacbcanbelp|ormulatearesponseactlonplantbatenables
trans|ormatlon to a more manageable prole on tbe stress map.
5tep1:Dene your pbllosopblcal prlorltles ln ll|e: Wbat ls more lmportant ano ln wbat oroer
Pemember not to bave less tban tbree ano more tban ve. For eample tbey coulo be
bealtb, |amlly, ano work ln tbat oroer.
5tep2:|oentl|y ano oocument all your strateglc ano tactlcal stress |actors/lssues
5tep3:|oentl|y tbe stress |actors/lssues wbose removal or reouctlon woulo belp you malntaln
yourpbllosopblcalprlorltleslnll|e.Dropallotber|actors.
Nowgobackanoreootbeeerclsetoplaceyoursel|ontbestressmap.Pepeattblsanocontlnueto
cballenge
yoursel| on tbe llst tlll you are able to be eltber ln tbe Treaomlller or Fretter prole.
Fretters
You are leaolng a gooo ll|e work, job, |amlly, soclal actlvltles 8UT constantly tense on tbe lnsloe. You may be
laugblng at a joke tolo by someone at a soclal olnner but your mlno ls raclng about your oaugbter's college |uno!
We call tbls tbe lmploslon o| worry beaos ano too many Wbat l| " scenarlos ln your beao. Tbere ls a tbree part
approacb to belp trans|orm towaros belng @lnner peace.
Part A: Tine-shift your worry beads
Makea|ullllsto|allyourworrybeaosanoplacetbemonatlmellne.Tberearemanytblngsweallneeototake
care o| ano worry ln our ll|e but not all bave to be ln our mlno tooay. For eample My klo ls only 3 years olo
rlgbt now ano lt ls not o| mucb use to ecesslvely worry about bls/ber college eoucatlon. | can open up a college
|uno but perbaps | sboulo actlvely |ocus on lt wben my klo turns 8 years olo. Tbls way you oon't abanoon your
worry beao but at tbe same tlme you are able to |ree up some o| your mental space |or tbe net ve years!
Part B: Enjoy the present & appreciate the sinpIe things
Look at wbat you bave loentl|y all tbe gooo |ortune you bave ln your ll|e tooay job, bealtb, tlme to pursue
your bobbles/passlon, gooo |rlenos, |amlly.
|n conjunctlon wltb all tbe gooo |ortune, make an e||ort to start appreclatlng tbe small tblngs ln ll|e Tbe cable
guy sboweo up on tlme, tbe cleaners took care o| tbe |ooo staln on your |avorlte sblrt, you got parklng ln a
crowoeo area ln less tban one mlnute..
Notblnglstoomunoane
to be bappy about.
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Makeaveryconsclouse||ortnottocomplalntoyournearanooearones.Complalnlngonlypropagates
negatlveenergy.
PartC:Reachout
Talk to close |rlenos ano |amlly about your worry beaos. Learn |rom tbelr approacbes ano eperlences |or same or
slmllar lssues. Tbe age olo cllcb applles bere -- 'Stop ano smell tbe roses'
Treadmillers
You |eel llke you are runnlng a maratbon wltb no tlme to breatbe |orget about strateglc tblngs ln your ll|e!
Meetlngs, soclal engagements, bobbles, work oeaollnes, |amlly reunlons, volunteerlng, klo actlvltles. tbe llst goes
on. You want to but just oon't know bow to get o|| tbe treaomlll wltbout |alllng Nat on your |ace. Tbls ls really a
prlorltlzatlon ano ratlonallzatlon eerclse. Slmple to say ol|cult to eecute. Tbere are many tbeorles, artlcles ano
even books on bow to prlorltlze ano ratlonallze your ll|e we wlll not go lnto oetalls bere.You can use tbe approacb/
metbootbatworksbest|oryouanolscom|ortable|oryou.Asanlllustratlveeampletbe|ollowlng4Papproacb
(borroweo|roma|orgottenH8Partlcle)coulobeapplleoe||ectlvely.Makeallsto|allyouractlvltlesanotben|orce
one o| tbe 4P actlons agalnst tbem Goal sboulo be to bave an actlon agalnst at least 80 o| your llst.
The 4Rs:
a) Pemove Wby are you oolng tbls actlvlty? Wby not remove lt completely |or your plate? L.g. blre bouse
cleaners maybe you reouce your epenses ln some otber category to pay |or tbls but lt |rees
up 2 bours o| your tlme every week!
b) Peplace Can you cbange tbat actlvlty or comblne lt wltb sometblng to make lt ol||erent? L.g. move |rom
bookstoauolotapesanollstenlnonyourorlvetowork
c) Peouce Do less o| e.g. oo you neeo to go to tbe baseball game ano tbe bockey game wltb |rlenos ln
tbesameweek?Areyoureallyneeoeotobeontbe5a.m.call?
o) Peoeslgn || you can't reouce or remove perbaps you oo lt ol||erently e.g. Comblne your klos play oates
wltbasleepoveranoapokernlgbt|ortbeaoults.
Tbeenogoalberelstoslowoownanocreateenougbmentalspaceto|eelmorelncontrolanoperbapseven
re-look at your worry beaos to ensure tblngs are on track!
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@lnnerPeace
|| you are bere, tben you just wasteo preclous tlme reaolng tbls artlcle Pela ano please sbare your
secreto|successwltbtbeworlo!
Lacb prole wlll bave a unlque set o| lnolvloual cballenges but tbe actlons to oene a trans|ormatlon
roaomap towaros lnner peace are well oeneo. A summary ls provloeo below
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Howtoplaceyoursel|ontbeStressMap?
Followtbeseslmplestepstoplaceyoursel|lntbeStressMap.
Step 1: |oentl|y all your stress |actors ano categorlze tbem lnto two categorles tactlcal ano strateglc.
Step 2: Allocate tbe tlme you speno eltber tblnklng about tbe stress |actor or worklng to remove lt
Step 3: |oentl|y your top 10 personal goals ln ll|e. Tbese coulo range |rom nanclal, pro|esslonal, bealtb,
|amllyetc
Step4:Allocatetbetlmeyouspenoperoaytblnklngaboutorworklngtowarosyourpersonalgoal
Step5:Analyzel|yourstrateglcstress|actorsallgnwltbyourpersonalgoals
Basic Guidelines
Constant Downpour: Focuslngallyourtlmeonyourstresswltbnoe||ortbelngplaceoonyour
personal goals or enjoyment o| ll|e. You coulo also be ln a state wbere you are nolng lt ol|cult to
artlculateyourgoals.Youbaveyourstrateglcstressbutwltblacko|olrectlonanoblgblevelo|tactlcal
stress, you are not able to |ocus on lt. You are ln a state wbere you oo not even know tbe correct
startlngpolnt.
Fretters: Focuslng most o| your tlme (arouno 75) on your strateglc stress ano about 25 on tactlcal stress.
Youarelnastatewbereyouareunawareo|wbatyoualreaoybave
Treaomlllers: Youaretrylngtoacbleveltall.Youmaybeworklnganotblnklngequallyaboutbotbyourtactlcal
anostrateglcstress|actors.Youwoulollketobetterallgnyourpersonalgoalstoyourstrateglcstress|actorsano
puttogetberagameplan.Youclearlybaveablgbernumbero|tactlcalstress|actors.Youarelnoangero|aburn
anocrasbsltuatlon.
|nner Peace: Notblng to oo Otbers woulo love to emulate wbat you bave alreaoy acbleveo!!!
An iIIustrative exanpIe:
TacticaItotaI: 30
5trategictotaI: 70
HlgbAllgnmento|personalgoalswltbStrateglcstress|actors
Tblslsgooo!
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Concluslon
|n summary, we woulo llke to relterate tbat our goal ls to sbare tbe |ramework ano sollclt |eeoback/
lnputs |rom tbe reaoers. |s tbls a oenltlve |ramework or an establlsbeo meolcal autborlty on bow
to manage stress ln your ll|e? NO. Tbls ls sometblng tbat ls stlll work ln progress ano bas provloeo
e||ectlve results ln our ll|e. We bave attempteo to wrlte lt oown ln slmple language ano wltb easy steps
|or anyone to unoerstano, try, eperlment ano see l| lt works |or tbem. We belleve passlonately tbat
tbestresslevelsareontbelrwayup(tbegeneratlonbeblnouswlllprobably|aceevenmorepressures
tban us) ano we all (lrrespectlve o| our ll|estyle, country, age, rellglon, se or any otber |actor) neeo to
constantly.
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8lurb:Antarctlca!Haventwealloreamto|stepplngontbewbltelcesomeoay?
A8|TSlantellsusbowberoreamcametrue...
Most people oream to go to Parls, New York or Lonoon. My oream was sllgbtly ol||erent. Ano lt all starteo wben |
was stlll a stuoent at 8|TS. | baon't epecteo lt to come true so soon ln ll|e, but tben a part o| my oream ls yet to
be |ullleo. For to complete my oream, | wlll bave to go back wbere lt starteo to tbe lano o| my Alma Mater, 8|TS
Pllanl. Ano only tben, wlll my oream wlll be |ullleo.
TbeStarto|aDream
|t was ln 2006, wblle | was stuoylng 3ro year (CDC's) at Pllanl tbat | attenoeo a Guest lecture by one o| tbe alumnl
wbobaoreturneotocampusasaparto|tbe8|TSAASllver[ublleereunlon|ortbatyear.|vlvlolyrememberreaolng
abouttbelecturenotlceontbeMeera8bavanmessnotlceboarotbatmornlnganooeclolnglnstantlytogototbe
lecture.
|t was a presentatlon on 'An Lpeoltlon to Antarctlca', tbe last Contlnent, tbe Lano o| Ltremes! | lnstantly knew
| bao to atteno lt. Ano so | |ouno mysel| spenolng tbat Saturoay a|ternoon slttlng ln our very own FD5 Lecture
TbeatreComplellstenlngtoblsaoventureso|tbeplacetbatlstrulytbeLtremeeogeo|tbeworloHewasan
employee o| 8HLL ano was selecteo on an Lpeoltlon to carry out researcb at tbe |nolan Polar Statlon ln Antarctlca.
Hls story ba|Neo me. Tbe lmages o| bls work statlon lntrlgueo me. Tbe beauty wltbln tbe lmages, tbe pengulns, seals,
klllerwbalesanotbesbeerwbltenesso|tbelanoscapecaptureomylmaglnatlonanogaveblrtbtomyoreamo|golng
to a place llke Antarctlca. Tbat very moment | oecloeo tbat wbenever | came back to Pllanl a|ter graouatlon, | woulo
wanttobeabletosbareastoryllketbat.Tosaytotbeworlotbat8|TSopeneotbatwlnoowo|opportunltytome.
Tosaytbat|amProuotobe8|TSlan.
Gettlng Closer
|n Marcb 2009, | came across tbe webslte 2041.com ano lts mlsslon to save Antarctlca. At tbat polnt o| tlme, as an
|YCN (|nolan Youtb |or Cllmate Cbange Network) actlvlst ln Hyoerabao, cllmate cbange was tbe blggest lssue on
my mlno. | bao campalgneo |or ano supporteo Lartb Hour 2009, blogglng ano wrltlng about lt |or Tbe Hlnou, wbere
||reelance.PeaolngabouttbegreateplorerPobertSwansll|emaoemereallsebowlmportantltwastonurture
a oream. He lmmeolately became my role mooel ano | applleo to tbe |NTLPNAT|ONAL ANTAPCT|C TPLATY
LXPLD|T|ON to meet tbls Great man, ano o| course, go to Antarctlca!
So|tAll8egan:)
Tbus began a serles o| actlvltles tbat leo me closer to my oream. |t was because o| Pobert Swan, |YCN ano Lartb
Hourtbat|reallseomylnteresttostuoyCllmateCbangeanoworktowaros8uslnessSustalnabllltyuslngCleaner
ano Greener Tecbnologles.
BITS To Antarctica
A Dream Of A Lifetime
-LlvvuNuwule
[zooAiPSzo,]
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| applleo to my present course MA ln |nternatlonal Pelatlons on tbe very last oay o| appllcatlons ano
woulon't bave been able to come to Lonoon l| lt wasn't |or my 'Worlo Leaoer' Scbolarsblp. Tblngs |ell
lnplace!Myll|e|ounoltsolrectlon.8utattblspolnt|wasunawaretbatll|ebaoevenbetteranogreater
plansabeao.
StruggleanoSerenolplty
Tbls part o| my ll|e ls calleo 'Struggle'. Tbe start ano eno bowever were beautl|ul. Wben | recelveo
an emall |rom Dlana, tbe Lpeoltlon Coorolnator tbat | bao been accepteo |or a slot on tbe
|NTLPNAT|ONAL ANTAPCT|C TPLATY LXPLD|T|ON |or Nov-Dec 2009, my oream bao starteo to
take |orm. My blogs, actlvlsm ano my passlonate wrltlngs wblcb | sent to Dlana maoe us connect on a
pro|esslonalanopersonallevel.|waselateo.8utslnce|wastravelllngtoArgentlnatotaketbecrulse
to Antarctlca, | neeoeo a vlsa. Tbe Argentlnlan Lmbassy ln Lonoon bowever bao no appolntment oates
avallable |or tbe net 2 montbs. A|ter umpteen number o| vlslts to tbe Lmbassy, ano almost 5 oays
be|ore tbe Lpeoltlon began (wben | bao lost all bope), | gate crasbeo tbe Lmbassy gates once agaln
maklngalastattempt.|tturneoouttobeacaseo|serenolplty!Tbeybaoanappolntmentslotwblcbwas
cancelleobysomeonecomlnglntbatoay.|ronlcallytbeybaomalleoDlanaaboutltanonotme!|twas
moment joy wben | nally bao my vlsa lntervlew ano got tbe vlsa ln my banos. Tbe unlverse bao been
consplrlng!
8|TSAAanotbeTravel
Wblle my vlsa struggle was stlll on, | bao approacbeo Mr. vlggy Mokarala, a olstlngulsbeo ano amazlngly graclous 8|TS
Alumnl |rom tbe 8|TSAA Slllcon valley Cbapter, wbo | bao lnteracteo wltb prevlously on varlous occaslons. He put
|orwaro my request to tbe SvC members wbo tben lntervleweo me ano accepteo my request |or Travel Scbolarsblp.
|twasanotbergreatmoment|ormewben|reallseotbat8|TSano8|TSAAwerenowbelplngmeputmyoream
togetber.Alltbe8|TSAAmembersbelpeomeeverymomentanomotlvateometomakeetravlsltstotbeembassy.
|twoulobavebeenalmostlmposslbletocovermytravelwltbouttbesupporto|8|TSAA.Lspeclallybecause|bookeo
my Nlgbt tlckets at tbe last mlnute, less tban 24 brs be|ore leavlng Lonoon!
TbeAntarctlcDream
Ano lt came true! From llvlng ln a oesert calleo Pllanl, | was now stanolng ln tbe coloest, orlest ano wlnolest Desert
ln tbe worlo calleo Antarctlca. At 23 years olo, | became tbe youngest ano tbe rst |emale 8|TSlan to step onto tbe
7tb Contlnent. As a part o| tbe Lpeoltlon, we went to varlous Polar statlons trylng to unoerstano tbe lmportance
o| Polar Pesearcb, tbe use o| renewable sources o| energy ln a place llke Antarctlca, ano carrleo out sclentlc
Lperlments provlng Glacler Petreat ano otber e||ects o| Cllmate Cbange on tbe blo-olverslty, actlng as a blnorance
to tbe entlre reglon wblcb ls truly lnoeeo tbe 'Last Greatest wlloerness on Lartb'.
| nally met tbe blggest lnsplratlon o| my ll|e - Pobert Swan O8L wbo treateo me ano tbe otber stuoents llke
bls own cblloren ourlng tbe |ATL. We bao sclentlsts, polar eplorers, pollcy makers ano lnternatlonal law eperts,
teacbers, buslness beaos ano stuoents |rom 25 ol||erent natlons, llvlng on a Pusslan |ce-breaker sblp ano travelllng
to 11 ol||erent lslanos wltbln 2 weeks. As a part o| tbe con|erence, we bao tbe opportunlty to learn ano sbare
knowleoge |or sustalnablllty metboos, cllmate cbange aoaptatlon ano mltlgatlon strategles ano to make our actlons
stronger by commlttlng to save Antarctlca. As Pobert Swan's quote says lt- 'To save Antarctlca, we neeo to cbange
tberesto|tbeworloanotblsbasbeentbemessageweallcarrleoback|romourLpeoltlon.
8|TSano8|TSAA
|| lt wasn't |or 8|TS, | woulo never bave tbougbt o| bavlng acbleveo wbat | bave been able to. | woulo llke to salute
8|TS ano 8|TSAA |or belng tbe most lmportant cbannel ano meolum ln my ll|e, wblcb bas belpeo me unoerstano
wbat | want to acbleve ano also guloeo me towaros lt. Tooay, | am wbat | am because o| 8|TS ano 8|TSAA! | am
Prouotobea8|TSlan.|bopetobeabletocompletemyoreamsoonanoreturntoPllanltosbaremyAntarctlcstory
(wltblotso|plctureso|Pengulnsanolcebergs)anotryanolnsplreotber8|TSlanstoalsosaveAntarctlca.8ecauseto
save Antarctlca, you neeo to save tbe rest o| tbe worlo, ano vlce-versa.
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Lost!
-AnurudhuCupLu
[o86A6PSio]
This October in Delhi, on my way to Faridabad
Looking for directions in the dark,
I who had progressed from buses to cars with drivers at that
We knew we were lost!
I didnt know how badly I was too,
And learnt that at a terrible cost
As the driver halted abruptly,
A cyclist behind us bumped the car and fell off,
He was obviously badly hurt,
In a split second.
1RJKWLQJQRWKUHDWHQLQJMXVWGXVWHGDZD\WKHGLUW
Just picked up his cycle and rode away-
I could have helped him, apprised him of his rights
But fear for my child and myself made me hesitate
It sure was dark-
And he didnt wait,
He who was also somebodys child.
0\KHVLWDWLRQOHIWPHIHHOLQJVKDOORZDQGGHOHG
Anger I would have understood, I carry so much of it myself,
But
The mute acceptance of a spirit that had died
The driver said, Shall we proceed, looked through the rear view mirror
Questioningly at the wreck who sat in the chauffeur driven car and cried
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The DreamKiller
-MeenukshlChuLLer|ee
[zooo8A,z]
Paj slammeo tbe ooor ano le|t.
|stooowbere|baobeenstanolng|ortbepasttwobours.Astbenolseo|tbeslammlngooor
olslntegrateo lnto tbe alr, | breatbeo a slgb. | reallzeo | was oralneo. | lookeo arouno |or support.
|baotosltoown.
| loveo Paj. We bao been marrleo |or tbree years. |t was a love marrlage. | bao gotten |our years to know
blm ano be bao gotten tbose |our years to reaoy blmsel| to blo gooobye to bls bacbelorbooo. 8elng a glrl,
| never unoerstooo wby lt was so ol|cult to let go o| a ll|estyle tbat wasn't even proouctlve ano move
ontotbenetone.|neverunoerstooowby|baotowalt|ouryears|orblmtomarryme.
8ut|walteo.
We were botb people o| lnoepenoent tblnklng. Lqually qualleo ano success|ul ln our pro|esslonal llves lt was
a matcb o| equallty. Our love was enrlcblng |or us.Paj bao been a oreamer, just llke me. 8ut unllke me, be was
actlve ano oetermlneo to acbleve bls oreams. My oreams |ougbt |or space wltbln my obllgatlons as a oaugbter, wl|e,
pro|esslonal, ano an asplrlng motber. Lven tbougb we were equally matcbeo, tbe bome ano tbe beartb were entlrely
my responslblllty. Slnce | gave my personal ll|e prlorlty, my oreams sat on tbe back burner eltber to be plckeo up
twenty years later or to ole an un-nurtureo oeatb.
Paj escapeo tbls ennul. Lven tbougb be was marrleo, bls ll|e unoerwent very llttle cbange. To make bls transltlon as
smootb as posslble, | maoe mlne as rougb as lt got. | oecloeo to sbouloer all tbe responslbllltles ano tben some so
tbat Paj bao no complalnts about bls marltal sltuatlon.
Wltb tbe tlme be got, be pursueo bls oreams. He loveo movles. Pentlng, buylng, borrowlng be bao seen almost all o|
tbe great movles o| tbe past tblrty years. Tbe more be saw, tbe more be appreclateo tbe art o| entertalnment vlsual
arts became bls passlon. Soon, be became obsesseo wltb tbe loea o| knowlng more about movles. | lnoulgeo blm
as an overworkeo wl|e woulo. | enjoyeo lt wben be tolo me storles ano scenes tbat were blstorlc even more so
because lt llt up bls eyes, Nusbeo bls |ace, ano maoe blm etremely bappy.
| was pleasantly surprlseo wben be |ouno llke-mlnoeo people wbo were alreaoy maklng movles on llttle or no buoget.
Paj began to joln tbem ln tbelr eplolts wbetber to olscuss, oebate, bralnstorm, or sboot. He came back lnvlgorateo
ano lleo wltb storles |rom bls sboots.Tbe more be talkeo about blmsel|, tbe less be askeo about me. | sat tbere
llstenlng, waltlng |or an opportunlty wben be woulo take a break, actually look at me lnsteao o| starlng lnto tbe alr,
ano really ask me wbat | bao been up to. My oays weren't as glorlous as bls. Work, grocerles, bome, ano beartb tbey
were very orolnary ano etremely common oays... Hls was llgbts, camera ano actlon. Mlne |alleo mlserably wben
presenteoagalnstbls.8utmyoaystlllwanteoltsel|tobebearo.|tstlllcraveo|oranauolence.
Paj never askeo. Hls storles were so lnterestlng |or blm tbat be coulon't nlsb tbem ourlng olnner or ourlng beo
tlmeconversatlons.Soonltwastlme|ormetosleep.Tbenetmonotonousoayawalteome.|baotogetupearlyto
embracelt.|letltgo.|wanteotosbowmysupportbytaklngcareo|tblngstbatwereblsresponslbllltyasabusbano.
|nevernaggeoblmwltbcommonoutleso|tbebousebolo.Tbe|acttbatbebaonocborestoooatbomeanoyet
bls bousebolo ran smootbly escapeo bls notlce. He starteo taklng bls ll|e |or granteo. Wbat was worse was tbat be
mlsunoerstooomytlreonessasalacko|support.
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8y tbe tlme be returneo wltb bls storles ano bls loeas, | was reaoy to ooze o||. Hls movle |rlenos bao
lnslolouslytakenupmoreanomoreo|blstlme.Tbeybaograouallymanageotokeepblmaoolcteoto
tbelr company |or longer ano longer bours. | was at bome, borlng ano oull. My company wasn't oeslrable.
| pauseo sometlmes, mlo-work, suooenly reallzlng tbe sollo sllence tbat surrounoeo me. | reallzeo tbat
tbemanwbosebome|wascleanlngwasneverarouno.Tberewasaoeepvoloanoltwasgrowlng.8e|ore
my mlno coulo contlnue to go on entwlnlng ltsel| ln lts tbougbts, an alarm sounoeo. My cake was reaoy.
Housebolocboresalwaysnumbeomytbougbts.
|starteoloslngmyentbuslasmanomybubblyzeal.|stoppeosbowlngmyeagernesstoknowmore|rom
Paj about bls eplolts. Wben be tolo me o| bls new loea to become an asplrlng actor, | salo wbat came
naturallytome.|toloblmo|tbebrokenbomestbatgobanolnbanowltbanactorsll|e.|toloblmo|all
tbe orugs tbey get aoolcteo to ln oroer to malntaln tbelr blgb-pressure jobs.
O| course Paj olon't want to bear tbat. Hls well-wlsblng movle |rlenos bao alreaoy tolo blm wbat an amazlng t be
woulo be |or tbe protagonlst's part. Wbat an amazlng pbyslque ano looks be bao. Tbey bao alreaoy glven blm tbelr
unanlmousvoteo|support.
A naysayer llke me wasn't welcome. Tbat was tbe rst tlme be calleo me a oream klller". Tbe woro stung.
Tlreo, unloveo ano unacknowleogeo, | stooo tbere tbat oay looklng at blm. | saw tbe |rustratlon ano tbe wratb. Hls
un|orglvlng eyes eplalneo tbe woro to me. Dream klller | was. Paj kept talklng.
| bao never supporteo blm, | always brougbt out tbe negatlves, wby ob wby woulon't | be more llke bls |rlenos,
supportlng ano encouraglng bls brllllance ano bls asplratlons? Wby oo | always remaln passlve ano lnert wben be ls
brlmmlng wltb entbuslasm about bls new loeas? 8elng bls wl|e, lt was my outy to support blm ln bls ventures- no
questlons askeo. Wbat reason olo be bave to be wltb me wben bls movle-|rlenos were an lnnltely better cbolce? At
leasttbeyloveoblmanoallblsambltlons.
As|llsteneotoblm|reallzeotbeproblem.Hlsasplratlonsbaotakenblm|araway|romme.Hebao|alleotoseetbat
blswl|ewasaloneanomlserablyoverworkeo.Hebao|alleotoseetbatblswl|ewascompletelystarveo|orlove.
Memorleso|tbose|ouryearso|courtsblpbaorunouto|powertokeepmecontent.Myworkbaonumbeomy
paln.|baolosttbemotlvatlontocomplalnaboutmypllgbt.|baolettbewrongsagalnstmegouncballengeo.Now
wben | wanteo to put a stop to blm belng carrleo away |urtber on tbe sbouloers o| bls |rlenos, | coulon't stop blm by
saylng 'no'. My 'no' bao no meanlng |or blm. My |ears o| blm belng an actor sounoeo superclal to blm. My concerns
weren't well-meanlng: tbey were klllers to blm. My protectlve nature branoeo me as an un-supportlve wl|e. Lven
tbougb | reallzeo tbat tbere elsteo a cbasm, | lackeo tbe tools to brloge lt.
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As Paj's eyes tbreateneo to melt me ln tbelr anger, | |elt belpless. Notblng | salo woulo make any
sense. Wben be was angry, be was bllno. Lven tbougb | knew tbat bls emotlons woulo let blm oown
lntblsbuslnesso|movlesanotbatbeneeoeotobecomeamorebalanceopersonbe|orebeoecloeo
to enter actlng, | coulon't communlcate my tbougbts to blm.
Hlsangercarrleoblmouto|ourbouseanotbeooorslammeosbutonmy|ace.|remalneostanolng.
Movles became a manla. Paj bao |ouno a olrector be loveo, a screen play tbat was to become tbe
net best-seller ano a counterpart actress wbo bao acteo ln several sbort movles ln tbe past. |t was
tbebestlauncbpaoapersonwboasplreotobecomeastarwltboutanymoneycouloget.Tbe
sbootlngstarteolnamontb.Travelswerelnvolveo.|llsteneomutely.
Paj's ecltement was unbounoeo. He packeo bls bags two oays early ano reaoleo blmsel| to leave.
Hetolomeanlnnumerablenumbero|tlmeswbatawonoer|ulopportunltyltwas|orblmto
become an actor ln tbls movle. He tolo me | was golng to be |amous as well, belng bls lovlng wl|e.
Hetolometbereocarpetawalteous.Tbenbele|t.
My ll|e bao |ouno an lnterestlng turn. | bao |ouno an olo story tbat | bao wrltten several years ago, wblle
cleanlng
ano | bao submltteo lt to tbe local club |or a competltlon. My story bao not only got accepteo, but lt bao also come
tblro among tbe bunoreo ooo storles tbat bao been juogeo! |t bao maoe my montb. | bao |ouno sometblng more to
my ll|e. | also began to reallze tbat perbaps | bao mlsjuogeo Paj. Tbat perbaps tbe passlon | suooenly |elt towaros
mywrltlngwasslmllartowbatbe|elt|orblsmovles.Maybetbecbasmbetweenuswaslmaglnary.Maybewewere
lnoeeosooeeplyattacbeotoourpasslonstbatwe|alleotounoerstanoeacbotberlnourslmllarquest.
8ut Paj bao le|t tbe same montb tbat my story got publlsbeo ln tbe small corner o| tbe local magazlne. Telllng blm
overtbepbonewasntmyloeao|sbarlngtblssplenolonews.|oecloeotowalt.
Paj returneo. | smelt alcobol ln bls breatb. Tbe sbootlng bao gone eceeolngly well. Hls olrector ano camera man
bao been blown away by bls stupenoous per|ormance. Desplte bavlng no |ormal tralnlng ln actlng, Paj bao
surpasseoallepectatlons.Tbe|ootagetbeybaosbotbaobeensowellrecelveotbatblsolrectorbaogarnereo
popularlty ano prooucers. Tblngs bao bappeneo very qulckly. Staroom was rlgbt arouno tbe corner. Paj bao to
celebrate. Not just blm, all bls |rlenos. Partles relgneo supreme.
| unoerstooo. Sucb early success calleo |or celebratlons. | congratulateo Paj wben be sobereo up. | was bappy |or
blsbapplness.|baomlsglvlngsanoconcernsbuttbatolontstopme|romreallzlngblspotentlal.|bao|ounomy
passlon ano tbat was uppermost on my mlno. || Paj wanteo to become an establlsbeo actor, be coulo. | bao my
plansonbecomlnganestabllsbeowrlter.
Wltb my unoerstanolng came a sense o| oetacbment. Wltb my acceptance came a |eellng o| lettlng go. | bao been
gbtlng |or tbe rst two years o| my marrlage trylng to bolo tbe bome togetber, trylng to bolo my busbano close to
me ano | bao |alleo mlserably. For Paj, notblng came close to bls passlon. Tbe more | trleo to bolo blm, tbe more
be escapeo. Tbe more | wanteo blm |or mysel|, tbe more be wanteo tbe worlo to blmsel|.
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Now | bao tbe power to let go. | |elt peace|ul. | coulo calmly pralse blm |or bls acblevements, mlloly worry
|orblsoeveloplngalcobollsmbutstlllconcealmyurgetostopblm.Unllketbepasttlmeswben|beloup
tbe negatlves o| wbat be was oolng on tbe |ore|ront, | now stoppeo sbowlng any o| my concerns |or blm.
|setblm|ree.
Paj was bappy. He notlceo tbe cbange wltbout reallzlng tbe oetacbment. |ronlcally be |elt tbat be bao
nally gotten my support, wbere ln |act, be bao just lost my love.
My sbort story at tbe corner o| local magazlne remalneo tbere. Paj never got to reao lt. Days passeo lnto
montbs. My ll|e was unoer my control. | manageo to nlsb twelve storles |or tbe local magazlne. Tbey bao
epresseolnterestlnmytalentanooecloeotoglvemeacbancetobetbelrnetwrltero|tbeyear.|
olontknowwbetberlocalmagazlnebaoeventwelveoeolcateoreaoersbutltolonotmatter.|tbaobeen
years slnce | bao someone sbow |altb ln me, montbs slnce someone pralseo me | was bungerlng |or
acknowleogement.
Lvery evenlng a|ter work, | oeolcateo two bours. | bao two montbs to come up wltb tbe storles ano | was
oetermlneo not to let tbe magazlne oown. Storles erupteo. Some were sao, some were grlpplng ano some
weretrulysbocklng.|surprlseomysel|wltbmyloeas.Outo|tbemonotoneo|ll|esprungtbesbootso|
brllllance.Foreveryllttlee||ort|putln|rewaroeomysel|wltbpralse.|lauoeomyowne||orts|talkeoto
my reNectlon ln tbe mlrror ano let ber know bow prouo | |elt o| ber. | was my greatest lnsplratlon.
Paj came ano went llke a lea| caugbt ln a wlno. Our bome was a place be returneo to wben bls close |rlenos bao
alreaoy maoe plans ano le|t blm out. He was always preoccupleo. Hls pbone calls, bls partles, bls premlers be was
a popular actor now. Ll|e lost lts slmpllclty. | never saw blm ln bls pajamas. | never saw blm wltb a newspaper ano a
co||eemugonourcoucb.Ano|barolysawblmonourbeo.
Wben tbougbts o| lnoellty crawleo about on tbe sur|ace o| my mlno, | accepteo tbe tbougbts. | was starveo |or love
mysel|, but my goals kept me loyal. My storles ano my bome were prlorltles tbat | coulon't compromlse.
Paj may bave |ouno love ln tbe arms o| prettler younger women. He may alreaoy bave bao an a||alr. 8ut | knew blm
well.|knewtbatbewasnevergoooatmalntalnlngrelatlonsblps.Hecoulontbeoeolcateoevenl|bewasbavlngan
a||alr. He was llke tbat bee tbat never settleo on a brlgbt Nower |or more tban ve seconos. He woulo move on. No
relatlonsblpcanoeveloplnspasmso|tlme.Tbe|ouryearstbatbebaoglvenmewasunooubteolytbelongestbebao
everglveno|blmsel|toawoman.
Wltb a montb's etenslon my storles were completeo. Flve o| tbem were oeemeo brllllant, ve were satls|actory ano
two o| tbem un-publlsbable. Ten o| tbem saw tbe prlntlng press. Tbe magazlne was oeolcateo to me. | was tbe autbor
o| tbe year. | sbareo my joys wltb my alllng motber ano my olstant slster. Paj was not arouno. Not bavlng cblloren gave
me a lot o| tlme. House work wasn't as tlrlng. Tbe steaoy lncome |rom my oay job ano my savlngs belpeo me buy
someo|tbemacblnestbatmaoemybomerunsmootbly.
Paj always trans|erreo some money to our jolnt account. Or maybe bls agent took care o| lt. Glvlng a eo amount
o|moneywasblswayo|absolvlngblmsel|o|allo|blsoutles.|nevertoucbeoblsoollars.|neltberbaotbeneeonor
tbe beart to use lt. Paj was oolng very well |or blmsel|. | reao ln tbe papers tbat be bao ve new movles slateo |or
releaselntbecomlngyear.Hebaomaoeanlcbe|orblmsel|lntbeoocumentaryworlo.Crltlcswerelmpresseowltb
blsactlnganoblslooks.Hebaobeensougbta|ter|oracommerclalmovle|ortbe|ollowlngyear.Hebaosomebao
publlclty |rom bls wllo partles, but tben agaln, wblcb actor olo not? He bao been caugbt |or orunk orlvlng, but bls
celebrlty status bao set blm |ree ln a jl||y.
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Tbrougboutallo|tbls|wasnevermentloneo.Hlsmarrleoll|eanoblsborlngwl|ewereunknown.No
one careo to know. How coulo sucb a banosome person as Paj bave a plaln ugly partner?
Sometlmes|wonoereotoo.
Two years bao passeo. | bao completeo a bunoreo sbort storles ano bao just |ouno a small publlsblng
bouse, reaoy to glve me a cbance. Tbey bao eolteo my work rutblessly. Some o| my storles bao lost tbe
toucb|lntenoeo|ortbem.8ut|knewtbatl||baotogetatleastonebookpubllsbeo|baotobeless
attacbeotomywork.Mytolerancewasworklng.|namontbmybookwasscbeouleotoblttbestanos.|
was scbeouleo to go on two book tours ln Los Angeles ano New York. Tbls was tbe rst tlme slnce my
boneymoontbat|wasgolngtogetouto|myclty.|suooenlyreallzeobowcoopeoupanosu||ocateo|bao
become. | coulon't walt to get away. | wonoereo wbetber Paj bao |elt tbe same way wben be was packlng
bls sultcase |or bls rst sboot. | remembereo bls ecltement.
Nowbeneverreturneobome.|baobearobebaobougbtalavlsbvlllauptown.|baobearotbatbellveo
aloneanopartleoo|ten.|neversawblm.Lverytlme|gotmymall|epecteoawblteplalnenvelope
wltbanotlce|orolvorce.|tneverarrlveo.|olontknowwbetber|wanteoaolvorcemysel|.|treallyolo
notmatter.Alegaloocumentwoulontcbangemymarltalstatus.|baobeenmentallyolvorceo|romtbe
seconobeslammeotbeoooronme.
My rst two books bao been a tremenoous success. Crltlcs bao calleo lt a |resb look at tbe munoane elstence o|
ll|e". New York Post calleo lt a Subllmlnal reao". Los Angeles Tlmes oeemeo lt tbe awaro wlnnlng book o| tbe year".
Myseconobookbaobeensogrlpplngtbat|baobeenapproacbeobya|amousproouctlonbouse|ormovlerlgbts.|
was overwbelmeo. | knew tbat, altbougb lt |elt tremenoously satls|ylng, lt was very translent. | knew tbe moment my
netbook|alleo|woulobe|orgottenaseasllyas|baobeenrecognlzeo.8ut|ortbemoment|oecloeotobasklnmy
ownglory.
Tbemovlerlgbtsweresoloataneorbltantprlce.Mycapableagentbaobeenagreatnegotlator.Tbeprooucer
wanteometobelntrlnslcallylnvolveolntbeenvlslonlngo|tbemovle.Hewanteotobeas|altb|ultotbewrlters
lmaglnatlon as be coulo. | was Nattereo. |t was tbe rst tlme | woulo be part o| tbe movle maklng worlo.
Wben Paj useo to go |or sboots be woulo never lnvlte me. He woulo never want me tbere. |t was bls tlme away |rom
me to bask ln tbe glory o| bls new |ouno |rlenos. | was a buroen, ano an ugly one at tbat. |t was better to leave sucb
baggageattbecountertbancarryltonvacatlon.|onlybearostorles|romblm:nevergettlngacbancetoseetbese
storleslnactlon.Nowmytlmebaocome.|wasgolngtoseemyownstorygetenacteobe|oreo|myeyes.
Tbe cast was belng oecloeo |or tbe movle. Paj's name was tbrown up |or tbe role o| tbe leao cbaracter. Tbe olrector
askeo me |or my oplnlon. | pauseo |or a brle| secono.Paj bao glven me a monlker several years ago wltbout reallzlng
bowpower|ulltwas.Hebaoabanooneome|orblsnew|ouno|rlenosbecause|wasaoreamklller|orblm.Nowlt
wasmytlmetoproveblsworostoblm.
| tolo tbe olrector tbat Paj was not a gooo cbolce. Desplte bls gooo looks ano great actlng, be wasn't tbe bero | bao
lnmlnowben|penneomystory.|convlnceotbecrewtopassonblmln|avoro|anewer|ace.
|t was my rst step ln becomlng
aoreamklller.
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The Death of a Mantis
-SoumvuSen
[zooA8PSz6]
[osbuawentouttotbebalcony|orasmoke.Heneeoeosometlmetotblnkovertbeentlrematter.Marlebao
reallzeo tbat too, ano so a|ter oolng tbe olsbes sbe retlreo to ber beoroom quletly. We can't go on llke tbls, | can't
take lt anymore. You must cboose now," sbe bao tolo blm earller at olnner. Sbe olon't want to say lt, but lt just
bappeneo. Perbaps lt bao to bappen someoay, ano sbe knew lt all along. Durlng tbe last ve years o| tbelr courtsblp,
only tbe |ear o| loslng [osbua bao somebow preventeo ber |rom saylng lt out louo. 8ut tooay, an lnnocuous joke bao
trlggereo ber outburst. Her concealeo anger ano |rustratlon bao suooenly |ouno a vent, ano poureo out wltb |ull
vengeance, boplng to burt ano olsgrace [osbua, l| not make blm repent.
Joshua, I dont think you ever really understood me. To you, I am simply an escape from the daily squabbles of your unhappy
married life. You behave as if you have every right to turn to me for comfort, but I should not expect anything from you in
return, not even love. I am tired of being your healer, of being your mistress. I want you to leave your past behind. Forget that
dysfunctional family of yours and stay with me forever. You must choose now, or else I must talk to your wife and settle this
once and for all.
Marle's woros seemeo to bave taken [osbua by surprlse. 8ut no, tbat coulon't be surprlse. He wasn't tbat naive: be
surelyknewwbatMarlewanteo.Sbebaowalteoalltbeseyearswltbtbevalnbopetbat[osbuawouloleavebls|amlly
ano come over to ber. 8ut tbat never bappeneo. Yes, [osbua coulo glaoly breakup wltb bls wl|e but be coulon't llve
wltbout tbe two klos be bao wltb ber. How coulo Marle even tblnk tbat | woulo ever leave tbe klos?", wonoereo
[osbua as be llt bls clgarette. Wasn't lt clear to ber tbat tbls relatlonsblp coulo never be anytblng more tban wbat lt
bao always been? - A relatlonsblp wbose very elstence oepenoeo on tbe complete lack o| epectatlon o| lt evolvlng
lntoanytblngblgger.[osbuabaoassumeotbattbeybotbknewlt|romtbebeglnnlng.PerbapstbewomanlnMarle
knewlttoobutbaoneverbeenabletoqulteacceptlt.
[osbuawenttotbebeoroom.Marlewaslylngunoertbeso|twbltesbeetsanowatcblngaoocumentaryonAnlmal
Planetaboutseualcannlballsmlntbelnsectworlo.[osbuasnuggleouptober.Sbeseemeotobavecooleooown.He
caresseoberbanoanoklsseoberbalr.Hereacbeoout|ortberemotecontrolanolncreaseotbevolume..
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Watcb bow tbe male praylng mantls slowly cllmbs up on tbe |emale's back ano tben proceeos to mate.
Tbematlngcancontlnue|orseveralbourslnsomespecles.
Marle's slgbs were barely auolble. Tbey were tbe slgbs o| botb pleasure ano paln, ano wltb tbem tbe beo
rockeo gently. Tbe rocklng beo remlnoeo Marle o| tbe boat rloes tbat sbe took along tbe coast o| La Llnea
oe la Concepclon ln tbe bot Anoaluslan summer a|ternoons o| ber aoolescence. Wblle tbe procreatlon
ls stlll ln progress, tbe |emale attacks lts male partner ano oevours lts beao. Greenlsb Nulo euoes |rom
tbeopenlngle|tbytbemalesbeao.Pesearcbersbellevetbatslncematlngmovementslntbemantlsare
controlleo by tbe gangllon ln tbe aboomen, tbe matlng contlnues even a|ter tbe male bas lost bls beao.
[osbua wasn't looklng at Marle anymore: be wasn't eltber paylng any attentlon to ber klsses, wblspers,
ano ber pleas. He was watcblng tbe bloeous orama un|ololng on tbe televlslon screen. Wltbout a warnlng
tbe|emalemantlslasbeoouttooevourltspartner.Tbebeaolessmalemantlsstlllremalneoontopo|lts
|emale. Caugbt between tbe raptorlal legs o| tbe |emale, tbe male bao llttle cbance to escape.
Wben tbe matlng ls complete, tbe beaoless male mantls may try to escape but tbe |emale grasps lt rmly.
So mucb llke bumans," tbougbt [osbua. He |elt llgbt-beaoeo ano weary. Llke tbe beaoless mantls, be
toowastrylngtosetblmsel||ree|romMarlesembrace.Tbevlolenceun|ololngontbescreenwastbe
one tbat bao always elsteo ano woulo contlnue to elst ln tbe anlmal klngoom. |t ls tbe |eroclty o| orgasm, o|
conceptlon, o| blrtb, o| oomlnatlon ano o| oeatb - tbe vlolence tbat ls necessary |or tbe very elstence o| ll|e. |t ls tbe
lntensltyneeoeotoensuretbeperpetultyo|speclesano|orsecurlngabetter|uture|ortbeprogeny.
Tbougbts crowoeo ln [osbua's beao. Can a |atber oesert bls cblloren |or bls mlstress?" No. |s vlolence justleo to
protectones|amllyanocblloren?Yes.
A male mantls ls oestlneo to be tbe |emale's meal. Wltb tbe speeo o| a |emale mantls lunglng |or lts mate, [osbua
plckeo up tbe plllow ano belo lt tlgbtly over Marle's |ace. Sbe |ougbt back, scratcbeo blm ano wrlggleo unoer bls
welgbt.8utltwasalloververysoon.[osbuasbooko||Marlesll|elessarmsanolegs|romblsback.Hebaobeenable
to oo wbat a male mantls coulon't: be bao just |reeo blmsel|.
Post coltal cannlballsm ls |ouno ln otber lnsects as well. |n some specles one partner actually sacrlces lts ll|e. For
eample, tbe black wloow sploer too oevours lts male partner, but tbelr courtsblp rltual ls even more elaborate tban
tbepraylngmantls.
[osbua |elt olzzy ano con|useo: be got out o| tbe beo ano stooo be|ore tbe mlrror. From tbere, be watcbeo Marle ylng
unoer tbe ru|Neo wblte sbeets: ber sllver necklace wltb tbe llttle cross penoant lay on top o| lt. Sbe appeareo to be
peace|ully asleep. 8ut [osbua wlsbeo tbat sbe woulo open ber eyes ano rlse up, tben call blm near ano |orglve blm |or
allblsslns.Perbapssbealreaoybao.
Tbe Tv set oroneo on so|tly: ln lt a black wloow was busy lmpallng lts mate. Tbe clock on tbe wall announceo tbe
passlngo|anbouranotbearrlvalo|anewone.8ut|or[osbuatlmeseemeotobavestoppeotlcklng|ornotblng
couloeverbetbesameanymore.|twasasl|blsworlobaobeensllentlyturneoarouno.[osbuaneeoeosometlmeto
tblnkovertbeentlrematter.Hewentouttotbebalcony|orasmoke.
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Demise of the Artist
-8odhlsuLwuSudhu
[zooAPSo,]
More and more the mind
Seeks solace within the head.
,WGRHVQRW\HDUQWR\DJDLQ
:LWKWKHRFNRIVWRUNVRYHUIRJJ\HOGV
Or to hop with monsoon frogs,
From leaf to leaf, across lily ponds.
Quite mysteriously, it has silently succeeded
In forgetting all those pleasures.
Instead, it now remains obsessed
With a corner within the cranium,
Where it has housed itself
,QGHQLWHO\
Crouched in that dungeon,
Chained down by time,
It sits and works,
Like clockwork.
3HUKDSVLWLVWRRVFDUHGWRRDWRXW
Some unknown fear engulfs it now,
And it seeks comfort in cages.
It now longs for the assurance
Of meaning, over existence,
For a certitude
In the social orderliness.
Alas, it has got diseased
With this perfect sanity,
And there is nothing
I am able to do about it.
-NusrHusuml
[zooAPS6o]
[ Nasr oescrlbes bls sky-olvlng aoventures ln enjoyable rbyme, wltb sprlnkllngs o| tbe pbllosopblcal
reallzatlons tbls gusb o| aorenallne brlngs wltb lt.]
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Insane Reality
vs
Real Insanity
I look down upon the expansive earth
I see a dumb cloud in all its worth
Imposing mountains waft around
In my head, not a single sound
Time entangles in a horrendous lump
I hear a fatal sound... Jump
My fragile heart heavily pounds.
The freakin airplane has my feet bound
Caught in the web of insane and real
How real can insanity be?
Adrenalin and a bloody cold down my spine
How insane can reality be?
No one to hold onto,
Moist air, my only glue.
I let go of my trepid soul
To gravitate in a depleted hole
,JKWIRUH[LVWHQFH
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At the speed of thought
Amid breezy silence,
I give all I got
A split second into the amazing fall
,QVDQLW\5HDOLW\DPLGVWDOO
I suddenly am numb and feather light
No more afraid of hallucinating height
What I thought is excruciating hell
Looking down in fact is heavenly shell
As pure as a childs heart
3HUVSHFWLYHVXUHLVDQXQJORULHGDUW
Even before I can breathe and boast
Touches ground and stands tall
Rips me apart and hurts me the most
The last half inch of my 13,000 feet fall
I yell with all my subdued might
Triumphed like a winners kite
,QVDQLW\LVVXSHUUHDODQG
Reality is fearfully insane
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The Suitcase
-AnurudhuCupLu
[o86A6PSio]
We were elgbt naugbty couslns wbo vlslteo our Maternal Granomotber ourlng tbe summer |or about
amontb.OurMomswouloleaveuslntbelrmotberscareanoo|tenenoupabsconolngtotakeawell
oeserveo break |rom tbelr klos. We bao some o| our best tlmes ln tbat bouse ano all my memorles o|
8arlMummyareaboutstrengtbanocourageo|convlctlon.
8arl Mummy (8lg Motber) as sbe was calleo was |rom Kasbmlr, ano ber busbano, my Grano|atber
(Nanajl), was an Lnglneer wbo stuoleo ln Sbe|elo ln Lnglano. He was a very pollsbeo gentleman
|rom pre-partltlon Paklstan tbat was part o| Punjab. He was marrleo to a lovely, sopblstlcateo laoy wbom be
loveo oearly ano bao tbree cblloren wben bls wl|e passeo away. As was customary ln tbose oays, bls late wl|e's
relatlve
my granomotber, marrleo blm so tbat sbe coulo look a|ter tbe cblloren ano be neeo not leao a lonely wloower's ll|e.
8utsbewaspltl|ullyyoungtben.[usttwelveyearsolo.Sbewouloplaywltbberstepcbllorenwbowereaboutber
age.Tbeywerealwaystblckastbleves.Sbebao|ourcblloreno|berownlna|ewyears:oneo|tbemlsmyMotber.
Sbe was baroly eoucateo because sbe got marrleo tbat early, olon't know a woro o| Lngllsb ano trleo baro to please
my Nanajl wbom sbe seemeo to be ln awe o|. | o|ten wonoereo about tbe nature o| tbelr relatlonsblp over tbe years,
especlallyslncesbortlya|tertbelrmarrlagetbeywerecaugbtlnavorteo|eternalbappenlngstbattbrewtbelrll|e
lntocbaos.Tbeseweretbetlmeso||nolaslmpenolnglnoepenoencetbatwoulosplltberlntotwonatlonsanowbat
tbatwouloentall.
Nanajl was ln 8angalore on an asslgnment wben |nola became lnoepenoent ano two natlons, Paklstan ano |nola,
were |ormeo, one galnlng lts lnoepenoence be|ore mlonlgbt on 14tb August, 1947 ano tbe otber on 15tb. Tbere was
unpreceoenteo vlolence ano Musllms Neo to Paklstan ano Hlnous to |nola. Tralns carrylng oeao booles arrlveo to botb
natlons. Mob |ury was lgnlteo by senseless polltlcs, lootlng, rape, muroers, ano a llne on tbe map rulneo tbe llves o|
mllllons. Pe|ugee camps coulo not cater to lost, oestltute people ano cblloren. Terror was unleasbeo ln a lano tbat
won lts lnoepenoence tbrougb non-vlolence.
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Mygrano|atbersent|orbls|amlly.HlsMusllm|rlenosbelpeotbemescapelnatruck|romaroutetbrougb
tbeKasbmlrbllls.Mygranomotberrecalleostorleso|berbousebelngburntoown.Tbeybaotoleave
most o| tbelr belonglngs beblno. Sbe woulo recall bow ber youngest cbllo, stlll a toooler was le|t beblno
ano one o| ber step klos braveo tbe terrl|ylng mob, ran away wltbout permlsslon, ano manageo to get ber.
My motber stlll remembers blolng ln tbe caves wltb people wblsperlng, 8e qulet, l| we're olscovereo, we'll
all be kllleo." Sbe stlll goes colo at tbe memory. 8ut tbere was no psycbologlcal counsellng |or tbem, no
recognltlono|tbelmpactltbao.
Tbey manageo to reacb 8angalore sa|ely but my Grano|atber was oevastateo by tbe loss o| everytblng be
baobulltoverall|etlmeanosoonoevelopeoanulcer.Heresurrecteoblscareeranotbeymoveo|rom
cltytocltyanoMummysklppeomanygraoes.8arlMummykepttbe|amllytogetber:sbewassospunky
tbat tbey were |alrly lnsulateo |rom lnsecurlty. Nanajl oleo soon tbere-a|ter, o| tbe ulcer ano beartbreak |
suspect. Mummy was 8 years olo ano 8arl Mummy was just 29.
Wltb ve cblloren ln tow (|or tbe oloest two step klos were alreaoy marrleo) ano lots o| relatlves, 8arl
Mummy was le|t to rebullo ber ll|e ln Delbl wblcb was Nanajl's last stlnt be|ore be passeo away. Tbey
stayeo ln a jolnt |amlly |or awblle ano 8arl Mummy took to praylng |ervently to get ber strengtb back.
Menbaotbeoptlontoremarrybutwbataboutwomentboseoays?Tbeybaonocbolcebuttollvetbelr
llves alone. Ano so 8arl Mummy bao ve klos to settle wltb tbe prospect o| ber wbole ll|e stretcblng be|ore ber.
Tbey lnvesteo tbelr savlngs ln a bouse ln Patel Nagar wblcb was |alrly blg. For starters, tbey llveo o|| tbe rent |rom
tbe grouno Noor wblle staylng on tbe rst Noor wblcb bao a sprawllng terrace. 8arl Mummy blreo teacbers ano ran
aprescbooltoo|orsometlme.8utsbeeventuallygavetbatupa|tersbelearntagoooamounto|Lngllsbbersel|asa
bonus!Sbewastbatresource|ul!
Herownklosstuoleoanogotsettleo:tbeoloerstepkloscblppeoln.MyMomolober8.Lo.be|oresbegotmarrleo.
Flnally, wben lt was tbe turn o| tbe youngest to get marrleo, tbe pauclty o| |unos bao really blt 8arl Mummy. Tbls was
myMomsbrotberwbowaslntbeArmy.8arlMummyalwaysconsloereoltmlraculousbowsbemanageoto|uno
ber sbare ln bls weoolng. Sbe sat praylng ln ber room ln Patel Nagar ano loly openeo ber tln sultcase, one o| tbe |ew
possesslonssbebaocarrleoln|romPaklstantbrougbtberaglngstormo|partltlon:nobooywasalloweotoventure
near lt. Apparently, sbe came upon some sbares tbat Nanajl bao le|t ln ber name wblcb sbe manageo to sell ano maoe
enougbmoney|ortbeweoolnganoa|ter!
8arl Mummy's slgnature was tbe nesse wltb
wblcbsbeoresseowltbprettypatternso|
tbecustomarywblteanolovelyboroersln
berstarcbeooupattas!|baverarelyseen
anybooyso|ullo|ll|e.
Yeara|teryearwewoulogoto8arl
Mummysbouseanoleavewltbtbe|onoest
memorlesano|ablestbatsberelateo.
Sbewoulovlsltberklosnowanotben
butalwayspre|erreotostayalone.Anoo|
course, sbe knew tbe way to our bearts
wastbrougbourtummyanowasa|abulous
cook.Tbeysaysbeknewwbatklnoo|
paratba(breao)eacbklolntbatplacellkeo
sotbatsbecoulomakelt|ortbem!
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Ano tbus tbe years New past. As sbe grew oloer, sbe bullt a bouse net to my youngest Aunt's abooe ln
Farloabao ano solo tbe olo manslon. Tbe bouse ln Farloabao o| course cost lesser. Apparently, sbe jokeo
ratberastutelytbatsbewouloolvloetbeol||erence(a|tersbekeptsome|orbersel|)amongstberklos
wbllesbewasstlllllvlng:wbywalttogettbelmportancea|tersbewasoeao!
Sbebaotbreebeartattacksbutwasstronganokeptgolngtlllbreastcancergottbebettero|berattbe
age o| 86. 8arl Mummy's klos bao tbe sao task o| sortlng tbrougb ber tblngs a|ter ber |uneral. Lverytblng
was ln neatly arrangeo ln lts place, tbere was no mess to settle. Tbe year sbe oleo, sbe bao as usual
wasbeoanolroneoberclotbes|ortbenetsummer.
8utwlntersawberbreatbeberlast.
|n tbe swelterlng sun ln Farloabao, one o| tbe klos spotteo tbe tln sultcase 8arl Mummy bao brougbt over
|romPaklstanwbentbeybesltantlylookeoateacbotber.|tbaoalwaysbeenamysterytotbem.
Sbebaobeensoattacbeotolt.
Tbeoloestslsteropeneotbesultcasetentatlvelyanoalmostreverently.Asltcreakeoopentbeybelotbelrcollectlve
breatbs ano gaspeo. 8arl Mummy's weoolng sarl, complete wltb goloen embroloery, beavy, beautl|ul, gorgeous, tbe rellc
o|abygoneeralaytbere.|tlookeoasgoooasnew.|tolonotlookllkeltwasmoretbanseventyyearsolo.Across
boroers, tbe tenaclty o| ll|e, love ano celebratlon bao survlveo.
Outsloe tbe bouse, ll|e went on as usual, street venoors, sounos o| tra|c, cblloren playlng. |nsloe tbe bouse tlme bao
stoppeo.
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Pilani to Perumalpura
-PudmlnlSrlnlvusun
[o,SXXX6o]
2500 kiIoneters as crows wouId y
AIas! They never wouId give ne a ride.
8usToDelbl:
8|TSlans, a brlmmlng bus loao,
makemerryontbeoesertroao.
8anolnls, a color-color re|raln,
llgbt oots on ousty, brown terraln.
Abeavybeatbutltcantcorrooe
mlnos just |reeo |rom eam straln.
8arrellng on as an |nolan bus coulo,
past trees baloeo |or rewooo.
Sunset |alls so|tly-so|tly,
Lacbstunnerbappens|ar|romso|tly.
Tlme, lt seems bas by tbe sloe stooo
wblleNaturepreensHerpanoply!
8blwanl, Pobtak, stops we see.
SlbourspanltlstoDelbl.
Or+6l|abreakoownbalts
|or a Nat or say an englne |ault.
Tben try oo try to |eel |ree,
astlmescomewltbablto|salt.
Slpplng sweet 'bara gbanta' cbal,
ln camel mllk breweo, bal bal"!
Cburu, [ul, sucb small towns,
blgbeartstbougbabltrunoown.
Sometlmes we'o no rasmalal.
So cbeap, can eat a secono rouno!
Delbl:
Arrlveoustyneeotorecoup.
Flll on noooles ano bot-bot soup.
Serveo at tbe olo Tlbetan obaba,
someeattwlcebe|oresaylngAba!
Slttlngcozyneartbe|rontstoop.
Happy!Dontevenmlnotbenala.
A |un vlslt wltb PKP couslns,
eatoosalsclosetobal|oozen!
Nlgbttlme, reacb tbe rallway statlon.
O|| to tbe soutb-soutb o| our natlon.
Flno tbe bogey wltbout mucb |uslon,
plckupblts|oralatesnackratlon.
A|amlly|earlng|amoeao
sbakestbeoreams|rommybeao.
For 12 bours |'o been asleep,
|or rest | bao a tblrst oeep-oeep.
Lntlceo|rommyupperbertbbeo
wltbmanygoooles|ormetoeat.
Grate|ul | was to accept tbelr |ooo.
8ut wben | salo lolls gooo-gooo.
Tbey serveo me Goo!
Pepent |or be ls Loro!".
Seelng clear wbat's unoer tbelr booo,
mleo my beart, ll|e can be a blt ooo.
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Fortralnmatesonce|wasblesseo
wltba|amllyo|kloscountless.
HarrleoPopkepttots|romtbelrplao
but eacb crleo panl pllao-pllao!"
Mercllesstbelrgleeattbemess
wbensleeplngDaoaklcklagaoeo.
Carrleoalongonceaplanttosoutb.
Appasowanteotblscreepylout.
|tsbamboopot|packeolnacase.
Tbenbytbewlnoowtoalrlts|ace.
A sweet cbllo, smlles cbaslng ber moutb
salo water-water tbe plant" always.
|tsbotsobotltsbarotobreatbe.
Tbesunstblckbeatlntblswesteep.
Wet towels, curtalns |or tbe |ace.
Stlll, a breeze, blows a oamp baze.
Tbescorcbersapsuso||our|eet.
Tlllcowllcktlmeoazeowelaze.
DaylnMaoras:
CentraltoLgmoreabus|take.
Tbe cloakroom, ln lt, luggage | place.
O|| to see an aunt, uncle or two,
Atouskruntocatcbtbetraln|oo.
As lt starts lts meter-gauge pace,
ease back, my beart goes coo-coo.
T'lrunelvell/Kanykumarl Lpress:
Dark |aces bronzeo wltb manjal.
8lg eyes brlgbteneo wltb kajal.
Plbbons, tblck-tblck curls bouno.
Moonanostarsln|aces|ouno.
Sllpso|tlylntoaoreamtbatsswell
asNlgbtsglltterlngcbunarlsurrounos.
Dayllgbt stops, so breatbtaklng.
Dlnolgul malapazbam, 100 |or notblng!
KaoambUr boll, SAtur velarlplnjl,
KOvllpattl mlttAl wltb kaoalal or lnjl.
Maoural pAlu-pAlu" wortb orlnklng.
Tbank Goo my olet wasn't tben stlngy!
Manlyacbl, a |ast break|ast junctlon.
SprlnttoCbanoravlllas.Sucbgumptlon!
8elng a woman tbey serve me rst.
Fortblsblesslng|oonotcurse.
`|oll-vaoal-kaapl', gooo |or a |unctlon,
toserveaklngormewltbasmallpurse
Tbazbayutbu, tbe statlon one be|ore.
|ts|actorlesspewasbanogrlttotbe|ore.
Tboseonestbatmakecement.
8uttometblsonlymeant
just a sbort-sbort step to our |ront ooor,
closetomy|amllyslaolesanogents.
PeturntoPllanl:
O|tbereturn|retalnnoclues
but|ortbeemergencymalaooos.
My Granoma maoe, |or sbe knew!
Atnlgbtonecoulouseo|tbesea|ew.
Wben eye-tlngles warn o| boo boos,
A|ewwoulobappllycbangetbetune.
2500 kllometres as crows woulo Ny
|mglaotbeyneverologlvemearloe.
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What is Life?
-AnkurKumur
[zoo68A,i6zC]
Ll|e ls a journey
|tbeglnswltbblrtb...
Ll|e ls a matter o| luck
|tbullos|ortune...
Ll|e ls a battleelo
|tmakespeoplestruggle...
Ll|e ls multlpllcatlve
|tglveswaytonewllves...
Ll|e ls waverlng
|tcbangeseverymoment...
Ll|e ls a mystery
|tcannotbeunravelleo...
Ll|e ls beautl|ul
Dontmakeltugly...
Ll|e ls power|ul
Peallseltslmportancelntlme...
Ll|e bas an oroer
Some|ollowsomeolsobeylt...
Ll|e bas a Destlny
Donttrypreolctlnglt...
Ll|e ls juolclous
|t ooes justlce be|ore one oles...
Ll|e ls a boon
|tsboulonotgowaste...
Ll|e ls llmlteo
Llve ll|e wlsely...!!
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At the Barber
Tbe autbor goes to a place well-known to blm: wltb bopes really blgber tban last tlme ano agaln
reaoy to lose sometblng(s) |or a better cause calleo 'Look'. 8ut to bls oespalr, be nos blmsel|
leavlngtbatplacelntotalolsmaltbougbboplngoeepwltblntbattbetblng(s)belostgrowsqulcker
tbanever|oraanotbertrlal!
Wben | wrlte C|A, NSA, F8|, C8|, MOSSAD.. all tbese secretlve ano oeaoly organlzatlons are
well known. 8ut llttle ls known about tbe 8arber Organlzatlon. Tbls well-known organlzatlon bas
just one alm- tbe ruln o| one bespectacleo 20 year olo - Me! Ano lt ooes so wltb sucb brllllance ano
elegance. Lven a|ter bavlng tumbleo lnnumerable tlmes, | stlll eno up gettlng caugbt ln tbelr plans. Tbe
Storylstbesameeveryslngletlme.
| walk lnto tbe brlgbtly llt room wblcb lt ls cooler lnsloe. As | slt tbere on tbe cbalr, tbe barber morbloly wraps
arounomeawblteclotbanoasksmewbat|woulowanttobave.Dutl|ully|woulorecreateanartlstlcbalrstyle|or
mysel|anoeplalnblmeacbtlmewbat|woulowanttobave.Funnlly|bavenevercometoseemysel|lntbat
balrstyle. Sleek ano sblny, long |rom tbere, sbort |rom bere, polnteo |rom up, no curves oown, eacb woro ls
artlstlcally ano ornately moloeo to |orm a work o| per|ect poetry. As | majestlcally complete my oescrlptlon, tbe
barber looks at me open-moutbeo ano poky eyeo. Mlstrust clouos my beart ano | almost turn back wben be rasps
ltIIbedone.
So wltb courage ln my beart ano a prayer on my llps | banoover my spectacles, sbut my eyes, my source o| llgbt
anowlsoomanobeartbosesteaoycllckso|tbesclssors.Tblslstbeperlooo|oarknesswbereln|bavenoloea
wbat be's oolng over my beao .My state ano style, my personallty ano lntegrlty ls ln tbe banos o| tbls man bere,
wbo ls lntently tugglng away. | llsten to tbe worlo, somebooy sbouts, |ew otbers snorts wblle tbe raolo blurs.
Flnally a long tlme later | no mysel| belng removeo o|| tbe wblte clotb ano | am alloweo to cbeck mysel| ln tbe
mlrror.Tbebanotremblesasltreacbesout|ortbeglasses.Tbebarbergrlnssbeeplsbly.Astbeglassesreacbtbelr
oestlnatlon, | open my eyes ano prepare |or tbe oroeal. A crlsp epletlve ejaculates |rom tbe moutb ano a sense o|
oespalr rlses ln tbe beart, as | accept tbe worse ano move out o| tbe bullolng.
Lverytlmemybeartlnltsstrangewaystrlestoconsoleltsel|...SHOPT|S|N
-CouCumpusSLudenL
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The Invisible Thread
-AdlLvu[CouCumpusSLudenL]
Tbe tbreao tbat llnks,
Tbe tbreao tbat captures ano retalns,
Tbe tbreao tbat replays memorles,
Tbe tbreao tbat just won't snap
Notuntllyouvemaoeeverye||orttomoveon
Tbattbreaolsyourpast.
O| course, tbey say ll|e ls a cbolce,
Youalwaysbaveacbolce.
8utl|tbatcbolcelstobanglntbebalance
Anonottomoveon?
Wbat l| lt's to replay tbe sao tunes
Anonottbebappyrbytbms?
Argb, bebe wby oo | always bave to
Get stuck ln tbe rbetorlc?
|tswelrocos|batelttbat
|bavealltbeanswers.
|amalwayscaugbtlntberealmso|lronles.
|knoweactlywbat|neeotooo
So|canteven|elgnlgnorance.
Doesltmakeltbetteror
Worse to know tbe answers?
Sometlmesyoucannevertell.
8utwbatlsworst?
Ab, | know tbat |or sure.
Nomatterbow|getout
Orbowmucb|urtber|goaway
Fromtblspreolcamento|not
Wantlng to let go
Long a|ter tbey've let go o| me
|keeprevlsltlngtblsspace.
Wltb a ol||erent clrcumstance every tlme
||tbatsaconsolatlon.
|ollketovacatetblsplaceo|wlll|ul
Sel|oestructlononceano|orall.
8ecause|knowtblseperlence
Saps me o| my energy, sklll ano bravery.
|tpusbesmebacklntlme
Fromwbereltlstbatmucbbaroer
Formetocatcbup|romwbere|le|to||.
Maybeltsll|eswayo|
Gettlng me skllleo ln
Tbearto|lettlnggo.
|mustsay|bavea|ewtrlcks
Upmysleevenow.
|amlearnlng
8utnobooysalolearnlngobe|un
Ano boy, lt lsn't!
| bave a long way to go, yes.
| am a senslble ano practlcal person, yes.
Too mucb sel| respect |or my own gooo, yes.
So move on, | wlll.
|onlybopetblslstbelasttlme
Ll|e |orces me to move on.
|slncerelypraytbattbe
Nettlmewlllbetbetlme
|canbavewbat|want|orkeeps.
|bope|neverbavetoletgoo|wbat|loveagaln.
bmmm, wby oo | bave a nagglng susplclon
|masklng|ortoomucb?
Hebe, brlng lt on ll|e
|wlll|aceyou.
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Westernization is [not so] Bad
-Suvru|voLlChuLLer|ee
[zoo,A,PSC]
All bumans are not born equal but | am sure, no one ls lnberently better tban tbe otber, eltber (at
leastnotonanabsolutescale).||tberearesltuatlonslnwblcbanlnolvloualper|ormsbettertban
anotber, tben tbere are oenltely sltuatlons ln wblcb be/sbe ls worse o||. Tbe same argument bolos
true |or groups o| people llke teams, companles, organlzatlons etc. |n |act tbe argument can be
etrapolateotocountrlesasawbole.
Marc, a US baseo web oeveloper wbo consloers blmsel| to be a progresslve Amerlcan llberal, vlslts
|nola every year |or a couple o| montbs. However, lnsteao o| staylng ln 8angalore (|nola's Slllcon valley) be
spenosmosto|blstlmelnaremotevlllagelnUttarakbano.Hekeepscomlngbackeveryyearnotbecauseo|
|nola's aovancements ln |T elo or |or tbat matter any otber elo, but because be ls entlceo by |nola's cultural
autbentlcltyanoolverslty.However|nolascurrentstanceonoevelopmentworrlesblm.
He ls not tbe only one tbougb, many |nolans ano |orelgners llke Marc wbo worry" about |nola are also concerneo
tbat |nola ls |ast loslng lts balloweo traoltlons ano cultural loentlty to westernlzatlon.Globallzatlon |orceo |nola to
openupltsmarkettotberesto|tbeworloanocompetewltbtbeoevelopeonatlonslna|reeanoopenmarket
economy. Tbls ls slmllar to asklng bome grown local |armers to compete beao to beao wltb Wal-Mart.
Tbeoutcomelsprettyobvlous.
|| you can't beat 'em, joln 'em"-Tbls seems to be tbe motto o| most o| tbe oeveloplng countrles llke |nola,
leaolng to tbe westernlzatlon o| tbese countrles, ano tbls ln turn, ls olsturblng a olsturblngly large number o|
peoplearounotbeglobe.
8ut, oo tbe oeveloplng countrles really bave a cbolce?
Tbe current sltuatlon ln tbe worlo |avours tbe oevelopeo countrles, ano lt ls per|ectly reasonable |or a oeveloplng
country to want tbe same amount o| |acllltles ano resources |or lts own people tbat an average Westerner
recelves.Tbeglobalcapltallstmarketprovloesnootberoptlon:l|tbeoeveloplngcountrlesscreentbemselves|rom
tbese capltallst trenos completely, tbey woulo surely be renoereo obsolete, ano tbat ls sometblng wblcb no country
cana||orolntooaysworlowbereworlopeaceltsel|lleslntbeoellcatebanoso|MAD(MutuallyAssureoDestruct
lon). So we no ourselves ln a blt o| a spot, you can't bave westernlzatlon but you cannot oo wltbout lt eltber.
Tbls really ls a bopeless sltuatlon |or tbe oeveloplng countrles tbat are trappeo ln a rat race. Golng on wltb lt
woulo mean cultural sulcloe, ano comlng out o| lt woulo mean, well, sulcloe ln all otber respects.
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So, wbat sboulo we oo? Tblngs mlgbt not be as bleak |or tbe oeveloplng countrles as lt may seem.
People teno to tblnk ln black ano wblte ano argue enolessly over wblcb one o| tbe two ls rlgbt, but ln
reallty tbe answer ls a blt o| botb. Tblngs are not always plaln ano clear as wblte ano black, or 0's ano 1's,
moreo|tentbannottberlgbtanswerlstbecorrectblenoo|botb.
Slmllarly, many people oon't reallze tbat wben a country llke |nola wltb sucb a rlcb cultural blstory,
aoopts western trenos, tbe eno proouct mlgbt not be a sterlle, secular suburban wastelano o| rules ano
con|ormltyllkemosto|ltswesterncounterparts.
Wbat |nola ls tenolng towaros ls sometblng completely ol||erent: lt ls a |uslon o| western trenos wltb
|nolantraoltlons.
We are not loslng our cultural loentlty, we are merely mool|ylng lt, aoaptlng ourselves to t tbe current
neeoso|tbeworlowbllekeeplnglnmlnowboweareanowberewecome|rom.|tlspolntlesstobllnoly
boloontotraoltlonswltbouttestlngtbelrvalloltylntbemooerntlmes.Tberelsnotblngwrongwltb
cbange, ln |act cbange ls nature, cbange ls bappenlng constantly arouno us ano wltbln us: tbe oeclslons tbat
wenowtakewllloecloewbatwecbangelntotomorrow.
So let us bope tbat tbe cbange awaltlng us wlll cbange us |or tbe better, ano wltb tbe correct mlture o|
westernlzatlon ano our culture, we wlll trans|orm lnto a country |ree |rom poverty ano llllteracy ano rlcb wltb our
traoltlons.
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If everyone cared.....
-CouCumpusSLudenL
|maglne a new-born baby. He ls cute, cbubby ano aoorable. Hls motber ootes on blm. For ber, be ls tbe
most wonoer|ul creatlon ln tbe wbole worlo , ano |or tbe baby bls motber ls llterally bls ll|e . Tbe Motber
lsbappyanoprouo.Sbeslngsanooances|orblm.Sbeteacbesblmanoscolosblm.
One ne oay , tbe Motber tucks ber baby ln tbe cot . Sbe walks out to tbe local super-market . Sbe wants
to buy Nestl's CLPLLAC |or ber baby, |or be loves lt. Sbe slngs so|tly as sbe steps out o| ber car ano
ontotberoao.
Suooenly out o| nowbere , a bullet rlps lnto ber . For a spllt secono sbe tblnks o| ber baby but tben lts
oarkness.Sbelsoeao.
A |ew mlles away , a baby crles . He wants bls motber. 8ut sbe ls not comlng bome. Sao |'o say .8ut stlll, tbe baby wlll
survlve , albelt wltbout bls motber . Probably bls |atber woulo ralse blm , or one o| bls relatlves , but be woulo llve.
8UT Wbat l| | tell you tbat tbe baby wlll ole , Wbat l| | tell you tbat tbere ls nobooy |or blm , nobooy's comlng to
take care o| blm , ano tbat be ls golng to ole a slow paln|ul oeatb o| starvatlon !
Yes tbat ls tbe |ate o| T|GLPS . Tbe Magnlcent beast ls oylng. 8ut wbo cares?? | mean we bave graoes to get,
asslgnments to be submltteo , oeaollnes to be reacbeo , bllls to be palo . Wbo bas tbe tlme to actually even glve a
secono tbougbt to tbem? Let lt ole, lts just anotber specles lsn't lt ? So we bave one less o| tbose. So our |uture
generatlons wlll not see one .Well O.K .
NO ! Not O.K . We are not oolng somebooy a |avor by protectlng tbe Tlger. |t ls our outy. We bave absolutely no
rlgbt to be tbe supreme ruler o| tbls planet ano oecloe wbo llves or wbo oles . We sbare tbls planet wltb anlmals, we
ooNOTownlt.
| am not golng to wrlte wbat ls tbe present state o| Tlgers ano bow less tbey are tooay. We all know lt . | am but a
stuoent . Plgbt now | neltber bave tbe means nor tbe resources to tackle tbe problem beao-on. 8ut wbat | CAN oo
lswrlteaboutltanoso|amoolnglt.
Tbls ls wbat | want to appeal to one ano all .Sbow your support , sbow tbat YOU CAPL ! Wrlte to newspapers, wrlte
letters to tbe Prlme - Mlnlster o| |nola , talk to people , create awareness among your |rlenos ano |amlly , Twltter ,
Facebook , 8log about tbe Neeo to save Tlger .For once put your Gtalk status to SAvL THL T|GLP . Lvery llttle
blt belps, because lt sbows tbat YOU CAPL. Ano wben llke-mlnoeo people can no eacb otber, tben tbey can tblnk ,
olscussanoactuponlt.
Wllllam 8lake wrote :-
Tyger! Tyger! burnlng brlgbt,
|n tbe |orests o| tbe nlgbt,
Wbat lmmortal bano or eye
Coulo|rametby|ear|ulsymmetry?
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Pre-Pearl
-HvderubudCumpusSLudenL
PLAPL 2010-well to say about lt tbe concept was |ormulateo way be|ore ln 2009 wblcb resulteo ln
tbe |ormatlon o| mucb bypeo FO8, but tbe real pusb came a|ter tbe SU booy |ormatlon, graoually
tbeoepartmentscamelntoelstenceanocbannellzatlono|workstarteo.
A better overvlew can be seen l| we embark upon a tlme travel. Tbe rst stop o| tbe journey
sball be December 2009. PLAPL-09 bao bao no elstence ano |ocus was orawn towaros '10,
but at tbat polnt nobooy knew wbetber we sball come to know lt as pearl or not. A erce battle
took place between Oyster" ,"lgneous"& Pearl" but pearl loentl|ylng ltsel| wltb Hyoerabao nally
emergeo vlctorlous. Wbat's tbe tbeme??, tbls was tbe very rst questlon wblcb poppeo lnto everyone's
beaoano
Genesls" came to be a ttlng answer as lt slgnles tbe very blrtb o| our campus-our bome . Secono statlon sball
be tbe start o| 4tb semester, now tbe serlousness set ln ,oepartments were |ormeo, Unlon representatlves
appolnteo, D-Peps electeo, events nallzeo, ano we klck starteo wltb our projects ln bano, but tbere was one
buge constralnt-8UDGLT!!! . Wben tbe requlrements were nallzeo tbe cost went staggerlng blgb ,up to 25 lacs,
lmmeolatelyseverecostcuttlngmeasureswereaoopteoanoltwasbrougbtoownto17lacs.
Ourveblcleslowsoownagalnanotblstlmetoglveusanovervlewo|DOSMorSponzasltlscommonlyknownln
ano arouno. Tbe oepartment was olvloeo lnto varlous groups ano soon everybooy was seen runnlng arouno bere,
tbere & everywbere wltb one sole purpose- to meet tbe targets wltbln tbe specleo tlme. Tbls wbole eerclse
gave stuoents a peek lnto salarleo cum oeaollne controlleo cum resource|ul-ll|estyle" ano as lt bao been salo, ls
salo & golng to be salo- all's well tbat enos well, tbey not only met tbe targets but eceeoeo lt by a substantlal
amount ano bence provlolng relle| to one ano all allke just llke tbe rst sbower o| monsoon a|ter tbe scorcblng
montbso|summer.
Flnal stop- a week to pearl. |t sboweo us tbe true momentum wblcb ls galneo wben all work towaros
accompllsbmento|acommongoal.TbemucbawalteoSACopenlng|urtber|uelleouptbeentbuslasmano
stuoents oolng nlgbt-outs to nlsb work became a common slgbt.
One oay be|ore pearl, tbe Greek goos at our welcome gate stano wltness to our collectlve e||ort, never say ole
splrlt,plannlng ano organlzatlon, creatlvlty ano above all tbe TPUL 8|TS|AN SP|P|T lnsloe us.
8egln - to begln ls bal| tbe work, let bal| stlll remaln: agaln begln tbls, ano tbou wllt bave nlsbeo. Ausonlus
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Classification of BITSian junta
w.r.t. festivals
-HvderubudCumpussLudenL
Holl- An entlre paraolgm o| colors ano tbls oenltlon ls oenltely more pronounceo ln 8PHC not
onlylntermso|colorsbutalsoontbebebavloro|ltsresloents.Tbe|estlvallscelebrateolnabpbclan
|asblonwltbltssanctltyanoplousnesskeptlntact.Nowletus|ocusontbenotsotalkeobutevloent
pbenomenonwblcbbappensourlngtbe|estlvltles.
Durlngbolltbebltslanpopulacecanbeolvloeolntoseveralcategorles.
Tbe|ollowlngwrlteupprovloesamoreoetalleooescrlptlono|everycategory.
Category 1:
Tbese people bave only one tblng on tbelr mlnos, bow to run away as soon as tbe oawn breaks, ano tbey strlctly
aoberetotbelrlastnlgbtmaoeplansanobytbetlmeyougetaco||eecravlngtbeyarealreaoyoutlooklng|orasa|e
place ln ano arouno tbe clty, ano yeab tbey won't be back be|ore nlgbt|all. (| bave omltteo wbat bappens to tbem
wbentbeycomeback)
Category 2:
For no reason, tbese late rlsers sball rlse very early tbat partlcular oay, untloy tbemselves ano as tbey bave notblng
else to oo tbey sball bang every ooor tbat comes unoer tbelr span o| vlew. Our poor ooors, tbey always succumb to
tbe |ury o| tbese wake up calls but tbese people are slngle-banoeoly responslble |or klckstartlng tbe actlon,(reactlon
too!!)
Category 3:
Tbey are always on tbe grounos, ln tbe mlost o| tbe actlon, tbrowlng colors, water, clotbes, sanoals & eggs (anytblng
banoy)lnallolrectlonssotbattbereremalnsnocbance|ortbetbrongtomlsstbeprasao.Tblsprocesslslteratlve
anocontlnuestlllasentlnellsreacbeo.
Category 4:
Tbey walt |or boll as lt ls tbelr seasonal batb tlme, so you can no tbem always near to a tanker, plpe, |ountaln
orencblngtbemselvestotbecore.Tbeyaretbeonlycategorywblcbcomescleanera|terbollanotbeyvacatetbelr
spotsonlywbentberelsaseveretbreato|waterscarclty.
Tbls |estlval ln our tblnklng, ls tallor-maoe |or we college golng stuoents, lt lncluoes everytblng wblcb we love to oo
anoallowsustocelebrateatraoltlonal|estlvallnaol||erentstyleanotblslsoneo|tbosememorleswblcbweall
cberlsb|orever.
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Football, Bloody Hell....
Wben | rst got to college, lt was beyono allen. New place, new country, new people, tbe usual
tblngs tbat everyone coulo relate to. Tbere was also tbls new language. Hlnol. See, |'m a boy |rom
Soutbern |nola ano back tben, my commano over Hlnol was pretty mlserable. Tbere was tbls
HUGL language olvloe. People wbo spoke one language stuck togetber. |t was pretty sao. My rst
|ewweekslncollegewereterrlble.
So one oay, | was watcblng some Mancbester vloeos, wben tbe guy wbo llveo net ooor just
walkeo ln. Cbemuou, as we call blm, salo Hey, you watcb |ootball too?" 8e|ore | knew lt tbere a
buncb o| otber guys ln my room olscusslng |ootball ano tbere lt was: my rst group o| |rlenos, none o|
wbombaotbesamemotbertonguetbat|olo.
Are you a sports |an? Do you llve ano ole by your team? Do you buy mugs, t sblrts, ano watcbes etc. tbat glorl|y your
team?
HLLLO tben!
8elng a Sports |an ls an emotlonal roller-coaster rloe o| sorts. Pob Hawtborne put lt per|ectly as "the joy that
cones with a victory, the doon, gIoon and anger with a defeat." Ano sports belng sports, some taste more
o| tbe |ormer ano some more o| tbe latter. 8razlllan |ootball |ans, |or lnstance, belleve lt ls tbelr blrtbrlgbt to wln tbe
worlo cup, bavlng won lt ve tlmes. 8oston Peo So |ans bowever bave bao to walt 86 years |or a Worlo Serles wln!
Tbe mao wave o| bysterla tbat envelopeo tbe worlo ourlng tbls year's |ootball worlo cup, wbere clty rlvalrles were
|orgotten ano all |ans unlteo ln bope, praylng |or ano wllllng to move mountalns l| neeo be |or tbat one moment o|
pure unbrloleo joy. Us sports |ans are a welro klno. |t coulo be as eupborlc as |alllng ln love or as oepresslng as loslng
sometblng oear sometlmes. As a |ootball |an personally, 8lll Sbankly sums lt up so per|ectly - FootbaIIisnota
natterofIifeanddeath,itisMOREinportant.Crazy as lt may souno, lt ls bow ll|e works |or most |ootball
|ans, me lncluoeo.
Tbousanos o| non-sports |ans, a |ew qulte close to yours truly too, o|ten ask - 8ut wby oo you care about a buncb
o| men klcklng, tbrowlng, passlng a ball arouno?" || | weren't one, maybe |'o wonoer along tbe same llnes, | oon't know.
8ut seelng as |'m not, tbe only answer | can glve ls tbe sense o| belonglng tbat ls SO great - o| belng completely sure
tbat wbatever may come along, tbere's one place you can completely be yoursel| ano be at peace, ano knowlng tbat
tberearetbousanoso|otberswbo|eeltbesameway.
People cboose teams |or ol||erent reasons - locatlon, lnberlt tbe team |rom a |amlly member, some are just caugbt
ontotbewavewbllewatcblngLSPNanoasalwaystberearesomewbolatcbontotbemostsuccess|ulteam.
|n sportlng terms, |'m wbat you woulo call anarnchairfan. | oon't go to matcbes, bowever mucb |'o love to,
seelng as | llve tbousanos o| mlles away |rom Mancbester. 8UT tbere ls tbls connectlon | |eel to tbe team tbat | just
can't eplaln ano |'m sure tbere are tons o| people wbo |eel slmllarly. |t's just one o| tbose tblngs.
|t's pretty lmposslble |or me to llst oown 14 years' wortb o| memorles, so |'ll be conclse. An absolutely MAG|CAL
perloo |ull o| so many crazy moments tbat just seem to reln|orce even more tbe gooo ol' saylng - FootbaII,itsa
funny oId gane". Twlsts, turns, speclal goals, not so speclal ones, buge wlns, tbe scrappy ones, tbe surprlslng losses,
amazlng team e||orts, superb |ootball, everytblng, lt just bao LvLPYTH|NG! Tbe tbrasblng at tbe banos o| Mllan stlll
stanos out as tbe worst memory ano llstenlng to Cllve Tyloesley go |t's 8eckbam, lnto Sberlngbam ano
-KurLhlkPumesh
[zoo8A,PSz66U]
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Solskjaer bas won lt!" as Ole's lncreolbly speclal goal went ln, tbe best.
A|ter a lot o| bours o| watcblng |ootball ln tbe common room wltb about 50 people, | reallzeo sometblng.
Sport bao won agaln. |t took a buncb o| klos wbo bao very llttle ln common, ano brougbt tbem closer
tban tbey'o lmaglneo, oesplte all ol||erences. | grlnneo to mysel| as | askeo a |rleno, Arre, aaj kaunsa matcb
bal?" Tbank you, Mancbester Unlteo, |or tbe best set o| |rlenos | coulo bave got ln college
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The Death of Formal Introduction;
the End of an Era
|ntro?" booms a great volce, resounolng wltb tbe welgbt o| senlorlty, as a poor, cowerlng rst yearlte makes an
attempt to gatber bls wlts ano not blabber bopelessly unoer tbe bawk-llke scrutlny o| tbe |ear|ul senlors arouno
blm.
|seeLngllsbseemstobeaproblem|oryou...asarcastlcvolcequlps|romacorner.|stbereanyotberlanguage
ln wblcb 'we want your lntro' can be orlven lnto you?" A nervous smlle escapes tbe rst yearlte. Tbe moment lt
comes,
be trles baro to wlpe out lts elstence, but too late. Tbey've spotteo lt.
"Let's teach hin how to bury that sniIe, boys," Fade out...
Cut to a year later. Our ckle rst yearltes ln tbe above tale bave now grown up to be lanky, unsbaven men wltb
long balr ano ln unwasbeo T-sblrts. Tbey own tbe Lartb, tbey rule tbe sbow. Ano a|ter tbe lnolgnltles tbey've been
put tbrougb ln tbelr rst year, tbey |eel entltleo to a llttle poetlc justlce |rom tbe guy up tbere. So wblle wenolng
tbelr way back to tbe wlloerness amlo tbe cactus sbrubs, tbey oream o| a oay wben tbey too sball surrouno some
lnnocent |resble ano oemano ln raspy volces |ntro?" Notblng |ancy, you unoerstano, just tbe olo lntro ano maybe
a |ew questlons ano perbaps a llttle |un wltb a bucket ano Noor mops...
8ut be|ore tbe bappy lm over tbelr eyes bas tlme to olssolve, a ruoe sbock awakens tbem |rom tbelr reverle.
| --------- bearlng |D number-------- bereby pleoge tbat | sball neltber lnoulge ln nor abet any |orm o| ragglng as |
knowltto
beapunlsbableo||enceunoertbe|nolanpenalcooe...
Tbelr tbroats ory up, as tbose pleasant lmages o| recllnlng on a bean bag wltb two rst yearltes |annlng tbem ano a
tblro runnlng to oroer |ooo at Sky, suooenly olssolve lnto Tecbnlcolor plels be|ore
vanlsblng altogetber. Tbey gulp. Tbey slgn. Tbey leave, wltb broken splrlt ano broken
beart.
Once out o| tbe slgbt o| autborlty, bowever, tbe tbougbts come creeplng back
to tbem. Courage seems to return. Tbey bano togetber ano soon, raucous
cbeers are bearo. Tbls wlll not stano! Tbls bostlllty wlll not stano! We bave tbe
rlgbt to get to know our junlors!" Ano so tbe 8rotberbooo o| tbe 8rave ls |ormeo.
Flnolng a poor unsuspectlng junlor proves baroer tban ever because now, rst
yearltes are no longer alloweo to sbare meat, meao ano computers wltb senlors
ln tbe same bbavans. Tbey've lnsteao been sequestereo away ln Asbok 8bavan,
-8l1SPllunlCumpus1eum
Students at Pilani explore how ragging and the absence of it have changed the
FXOWXUDOFKHPLVWU\EHWZHHQVHQLRUVDQGIUHVKHUV7KH(UDKDGQDOO\FRPHWR
an end.
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"We'II show you the way, IittIe one,"tbeyassureblmastbeyusberblmalong.Tbelrgrlns
becomewloerastbeyapproacbtbegateso|8uobbbavan.
8utnosoonerootbeyattempttocrosstbeboroerwbentbeOLWWOHUVW\HDUstopsanoturns
arouno to |ace tbe nearest 8rotber. Tbls lsn't C'not. Let me go." be says so|tly. Tbe 8rotbers look at
eacb otber, grlnnlng mlscblevously at tbe nalve one. One 8rotber places a bano on tbe rst
yearlte's sbouloer ano says Tbat's not tbe way lt works, boy. You leave wben we say you leave."
| oon't tblnk so." Tbe rst yearlte wblps out bls pbone ano waves lt ln tbe alr, arrogance oozlng
|rom every pore. |'ve got tbe UGC botllne on speeo-olal number
1.Antlragglngcommltteeonspeeoolalnumber
2. Ano tbe rst year protectlon squao, number
3.Takeyourplck.
Tbe 8rotbers back away |rom tbe rst yearlte as men away |rom bot coal, con|useo, Llsten boy, rela. We baven't
even askeo you |or an lntro yet..." Yeab, put tbe pbone oown. We're |rom a oepartment: we just want to talk..."
A menaclng smlle spreaos across tbe rst yearlte's |ace, Well, | can't take tbat cbance. | oon't plan to be raggeo.
Now turn arouno ano walk away, | oon't want to see your |aces ever agaln."
Tbe 8rotbers step away bumlllateo ano saooeneo. As tbey slowly walk oown tbe roao towaros tbe reol, tbey are
jolneo by anotber group o| olsbearteneo senlors |rom Pam 8bavan. Tbey pat eacb otber on tbe back.
Drlnks are on me", someone sbouts. Tbey ralse tbelr sblkanjl glasses ln a toast, TothedeathofThe
FornaIlntroduction- To tbe eno o| an era."
We bave useo tbe llcense o| oramatlc eaggeratlon to a some etent ln tbls artlcle. However, lt ls baseo ln grouno
reallty. Tbe UGC regulatlons |or antl-ragglng are belng lmposeo ln colleges across tbe country. Tbls strategy ooes
comprlse o| a tbree tler support system |or rst yearltes- a stuoent level antl-ragglng squao, an lnstltute level stuoent
antl-ragglng commlttee ano an overseelng |aculty group.
Ano o| course, every |nolan ls well aware o| tbe natlon wloe ne |or 'ragglng'- |ty tbousano rupees.
|n aooltlon, waroens bave been on tbe prowl ln Pllanl, coverlng care|ul rounos, cbecklng every room tbat mlgbt bolo
senlors lnoulglng ln questlonable actlvltles". Tbey are oolng all tbey can to make sure tbat tbese junlors |eel at bome,
just stopplng sbort o| escortlng rst yearltes to tbelr rooms a|ter meals.
Ano ln tbe llgbt o| all tbese arrangements to make tbe junlors on campus |eel 'com|ortable', we are |aceo wltb certaln
questlons.Cannooneseeoveranobeyonotberagglngtoseetbegoooltbrlngs?|stblswbattbebonobetween
a senlor ano a junlor bas been reouceo to? Net year, bow close wlll tbe new batcb be to tbelr junlors on campus?
Tbe 8|TSlan traoltlons, unbearo o| ln otber colleges, o| knowlng senlors better tban your batcb mates, bavlng some
o| your best |rlenos ln senlor batcbes ano golng to senlors |or belp ls oylng. We can only bope tbat a balance ls struck
between tbese antlragglng measures ano 8|TSlan traoltlons, else tbe 8|TSlans o| tomorrow wlll oenltely be notblng
llke tbe 8|TSlans o| yesteroay, tbe bono wlll stano broken. A sao oay tbat wlll be |or Pllanl.
|araway|romtbepolsonousbreatbo|tbevllesenlors.Tberearerumors
o| a spot-ne o| 500 rupees l| a secono year beast ls |ouno molestlng tbe
vlrtue o| a rst yearlte by talklng to blm or ber.
8ut luck seems to |avour tbe brave lnoeeo |or all o| a suooen a rst
yearltepractlcallyoropslntotbelrbanos.Tbellttlelnnocentbelng
approacbestbemwltba|rlenolysmlleanowantstoknowtbewayto
Cnot.Aslowsmlleo|pleasurespreaosacrosstbe|aceo|tbe8rotbers.
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In Search of Infinity...
We meet our |rleno 10 years later as be ambleo tbrougb tbe clty streets, ever vlgllant. Tlme bao
proveotobealousybealeranotbepastoecaoebaontbeenklnototbeDoctor.Hlslean
appearance ano tbe jaoeo look ln bls eyes reNecteo a partlcularly rougb past couple o| montbs.
8ut tbe Doctor ls reslllent: be ls not a man wbo wlll glve up easlly, |or be knew tbat be bao youtb
on bls sloe. Hls comlcally eln ears maoe lt nearly lmposslble to tell tbat between tbose two ears
was lnnlte wlsoom, ano wben | say lnnlte wlsoom, | mean lnnlte ln tbe truest posslble sense o|
tbeworo:beolonotknowbowmucbbeknewanoneltberoloanybooyelse.Tbeproblemwltb
omnlsclence was tbat lnnlte wlsoom was not a superpower tbat woulo get blm bls bare
requlrements ano be o|ten wlst|ully recalleo tbe oay wben, ln a oevelopment balleo as a MooernDay
Genesls", all o| Lartb's lnbabltants bao been alloweo to cboose tbelr super powers.
Tbe Doctor wlsbeo tbat be bao tbougbt o| sometblng practlcal llke lmmortallty or lnvlslblllty or tbe ablllty to Ny. |n
tbe anarcby tbat resulteo a|ter tbe olstrlbutlon o| powers, all tbe le|t banoeo people o| tbe worlo bao been
oeemeolnaoequateanowerelnstantlykllleoanosoonanewworlooroerwasestabllsbeo.Heaoeobyaman
wbose cberublc |ace ano amlcable oemeanor concealeo tbe tyranny be woulo soon prove to be capable o|, tbls
oroer(orlacko|)brougbtoutmansprlmalnature.
A slzeable portlon o| Cblna (oeprlveo o| tbe le|t-banoers, o| course) le|t |or tbe moon, all o| tbem bavlng wlsely
askeo |or tbe ablllty to survlve ln space. Most 8razlllans, now equlppeo wltb gllls ano aqualungs beaoeo unoerwater
togalnmonopolyovertbeollresourceswberetbey|ougbttbeTblro8attleo|CaracaswltbtbeMelcanswbo
werebeatenbacktotbesballowsanobanksneartbecoast.Anastonlsblngnumbero|peoplewltbnolmaglnatlon
or|oreslgbtwlsbeo|ormunoanetblngsllketbeabllltytoslngorcookbetteranosucbpeoplellveoavery
enjoyable week tlll tbe otbers reallzeo just bow strong tbey really were ano starteo testlng tbelr superpowers. Tbe
sllgbtly more creatlve ones wasteo no tlme ln utterly oestroylng sucb people, ano tbat too just because tbey coulo.
-ShlvunlPulekur
[zoooAiPSz,iU]
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Tbe cberublc man, wbo bao rlsen to be tbe tyrant, tbougb cruel, brougbt some semblance to tbe
lano-owellers, wbo were constantly engageo ln battle, eggeo on by tbelr lust |or power. He ruleo
over tbe lano wltb a salntly smlle ano an lron st, sbarlng a love-bate relatlonsblp wltb lts oenlzens.
Tbus tbe anarcby tbat bao once relgneo supreme began to subsloe, promptlng tbe Doctor to
returntoclvlllzatlonanocontlnueblsquest.
Tbe Doctor cbeckeo bls straylng mlno as be strooe abeao. He bao come to tbe clty wltb a oenlte
purpose: to no tbe man wbo coulo quantl|y lnnlty, wbo coulo tell blm tbe eact amount o|
knowleoge be possesseo. Only l| be |ouno tbls man woulo be be able to know bow mucb be knew,
ano only tben coulo be justl|y tbe omnlsclence be bao wlsbeo upon blmsel|. |n a worlo |ull o|
superberoes, tbls woulo grant blm some relevance ano a semblance o| normalcy.
As be walkeo past an abanooneo rallroao, a suooen rustllng startleo tbe Doctor. Seconos later, a
sbape burst out |rom tbe sbaoows ano ln a Nasb tbe Doctor turneo lnto a cat, |or be bao useo tbe
last oecaoe well, lmblblng tbe anclent art o| transguratlon, among otber tblngs. Tbe sbape tbat
turneoouttobeoneo|tbeDoctorsrecentlyacqulreoenemles:amlssbapenbulko|amantrleo
to catcb bolo o| tbe cat but tbe Doctors |ellne reNees were too |ast as be leapt backwaros...
Un|ortunatelytbeDoctorslmpresslvemaneuverbrougbtblmstralgbtontotbepatbo|anoncomlng
traln, ano as a mlno-reaoer wbo was an eye wltness wlll tell you, tbe last tbougbt ln tbat cat's beao was tbat o| a
sunnysloeegg
wltbsausagesontbesloe...
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Life in a Village
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The Admirals Game
Set ln tbe backorop o| a |rlenoly naval eerclse between tbree countrles, |nola, Paklstan ano
USA, tbls captlvatlng story reveals a slnlster plan ln progress. An Aomlral wltb tbe |nolan Navy
unoertakesarlskyplanbutproceeoswltbtbecra|tlnesso|aneperlenceocbessplayerwbo
cancorrectlyguesstbelnnerworklngso|blsopponentsmlno.8utwbatlstblsoangerous
gametbattbeAomlrallsplaylng?
'Slr, we bave recelveo tbe PLCONSAT lmages lnolcatlng eploslons at tbe maln Gwaoar oryoock.' salo tbe
young aloe, crlsply.
TbeAomlralgrunteoasbescanneotbrougbtbereportsonblsoesk.
News|romourmanontbegrouno....?
'We recelveo a communlqu |rom |slamabao a |ew bours back. One o| our locals supplles llquor to tbe base.
Normally, be's able to get ln ano out as be pleases. On bls run yesteroay, be was stoppeo by tbese new guys
- reo berets - at tbe cbeckpolnt. Nearly got blmsel| sbot tlll tbe base commanoer voucbeo |or blm. Tbe place ls
sealeotlgbt.Noonelnsloetbebaselsbelngalloweoout.Noone|romoutlsbelngalloweoln.Tbeyretrylng
tobusbupsometblng.tbealoesalo.
He was ln awe o| tbe Aomlral. He remembereo tbe storles ln tbe mess. As a young Lt. Commanoer, tbe
Aomlral bao been ln cbarge o| a 4 man squao ourlng tbe attack on tbe LTTL naval base at [a||na. Wblle a
leao team went ln to oestroy tbe speeoboats, bls team bao to brlng out a LTTL General reaoy to swltcb. |t
was a slmple etractlon. On paper. Tbe mlsslon bao been compromlseo |rom tbe beglnnlng. 25 kms lnlano,
tbey were plnneo oown ln a vlclous regbt. 2 men were kllleo.
Wltb no evacuatlon posslble, tbe Lt. Commanoer bao carrleo a wounoeo sergeant 30 kms on bls back,
oooglng enemy patrols |or 5 oays tlll tbey maoe lt to |PKF llnes. He sboulo've gotten tbe Param vlr |or tbat.
8ut, tbey never banoeo tbose out wltbout a wltness. Tbe sergeant bao oleo ln bospltal.
TbeAomlralsmlleotblstlme.
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'Lvacuateo as per plan. Tbey sboulo be at tbe Wakban corrloor ln a couple o| bours. A squao o| our Paras
wereoroppeolnaweekback.Tbeareasporous.TbePaklsreallyoontseemtocareaboutwbowantsto
get lnto A|gbanlstan. One boroer outpost. Neutrallseo. Ano now unoer our control. A|ter tbat, a slmple
passage wltb Paras escort tbrougb tbe Wakban lnto Tajlklstan. Our boys at Farkbor bave a Hlp |uelleo ano
reaoytoplcktbemuponcetbeycrossover.
'Our sloe o| Operatlon Snatcb seems to bave workeo out as per plan. We've nearly gotten bls |amlly
out.TbeeerclseswltbourmutualAmerlcan|rlenosseemtobeproceeolngwelltbeAomlralgrlnneo
wolsbly as be remembereo wby tbe eerclses bao been approveo ln tbe rst place.
TbeAmerlcansbaobeentrylngtogetclosetotbe|nolanestabllsbmentslncetbebreakupo|tbeSovlet
Unlon. Numerous requests |or oe|ence oeals, strategicpartnershipsanomllltaryeerclsesbaobeen
turneo oown by tbe |nolans. Suooenly, last September, tbe |nolans o||ereo tbe Amerlcans a trl-partlte
navaleerclsenameo 'Exercise BIue Trident'. |t was to be belo o|| tbe coast o| Oman between |nola,
Paklstan ano USA. Naturally, tbe Paklstanls bao re|useo slnce tbe eerclse areas were too close to tbelr
coast. To sweeten tbe oeal, tbe |nolans bao o||ereo to brlng tbe newly retro-tteo |NS vlraat ano tbe
KA-33's lnto tbe eerclse. Tbe Amerlcans bao jumpeo at tbe cbance. Clalmlng a newpartnership, tbe
Paklstanls bao been beaten lnto acceptance. L||ectlvely, tbe bulk o| tbe Paklstan Naval Servlce was now
bottleouplnsomemeanlnglesseerclsetbatwasoeslgneototest'inter-service operabiIity'.
'Any conrmatlon |rom Captaln Kbursblo?' querleo tbe Aomlral as be rellveo tbe negotlatlons at tbe Pentagon.
'Slr, | tblnk we can assume be's maoe lt out wltb tbe Hamza.'
Tbe loe recollecteo tbe mlsslon brlen | on tbe PNS Hamza.
Tbe Hamza was one o| tbe new Agosta 908 boats tbat bao been
purcbaseo|romFrance.|twasanoceanlqueoleselwltbatop
speeo o| 21 knots. Wblle traoltlonal olesel subs bao to sur|ace to
recbarge tbe batterles wltb tbe englne, tbe Hamza was equlppeo
wltbtbenewMLSMAAlr|noepenoentPropulslonSystemtbat
alloweo lt to stay submergeo |or 3 tlmes longer, reouclng tbe
rlsko|oetectlon.8uttberealworry|or|nolannavalstrateglsts
bao been news tbat tbe PNS Hamza was secretly belng mooleo
to carry 15 Locet SM 39's. A slngle sea-sklmmlng Locet bao
sunk tbe HMS Sbe|elo ourlng tbe Falklanos. Wltb |nola's navy
preoomlnantly sur|ace-baseo ano tbe submarlne arm belng
conventlonal olesels, tbe Hamza was a clear ano present oanger
to |nolan blue-watercapabllltles.
'And this assunption is based on!'askeotbeAomlralasbe
ponoereoaboutbowtbeoperatlonbao|allenlntoplace.
Wltb panlc settlng ln as more submarlnes o| tbe class were
commlssloneo, tbe |nolan securlty apparatus bao been clutcblng at
straws. Wben Captaln Kbursblo bao calmly walkeo up to tbe |nolan
naval attacbe at a party ano tolo blmPNS Hamza |or you. Pe|uge
|or me ano my |amlly.' tbe opportunlty bao been too gooo to pass,
oesplte obvlous oangers o| lt belng a oouble-cross. Tbe operatlon bao taken 2 montbs to plan - loeally a reclpe |or
olsaster, but ln tbls case, tbe only sbot tbey bao to acqulre a brano new Agosta oceanlque. Sure, tbere woulo be
protestsaboutsteallngsoverelgnproperty.Tbe|nolanswouloclalmtbattbeybaonoprlorknowleogeo|tbelncloent.
Tbey woulo eamlne tbe submarlne. Strlp ber bare o| all ber secrets, plece by plece, blt by blt. Ano tben return ber.
Llke a woman wltbout tbe mystery o| ber cbarms.
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'Slr, |or one, our analysls o| tbe PLCONSAT pbotos lnolcates tbe use o| tbe torpeooes to smasb tbe
oock ooors. Seconoly, our HUM|NT report tbat all bases bave been placeo on a blgb alert. 8ut, most
lmportantly, all avallable unlts ano personnel bave been recalleo ano placeo on Cooe Peo Not one o| tbelr
Type 214's are ln tbelr oocks. Tbey bave 2 Atlantlques runnlng a bo sector sweep close to tbe Kutcb.
Aooltlonally, tbe Zulqar ano Sal| are runnlng a grlolock ' replleo tbe aloe as be banoeo over tbe maps ano
reportstotbeAomlral.
TbeAomlrallookeoattbemaps|oracoupleo|seconosanosmlleo.|twouloseemourPaklstanl|rlenos
wanttokeeptbelosso|tbelrlatesttoy|romtbeworlo.Tbeybaventrecalleoanyo|tbelr|orces|rom
tbe eerclse. Too mucb loss o| |ace - tbe loss o| an Agosta.' Tbe Aomlral coulo almost vlsuallze tbe scene
at Paklstan Naval HO - pulllng ln tbelr |orces |rom tbe eerclse woulo slgnl|y sometblng was wrong ano
yet tbe only way to get tbe submarlne back was to seno tbose |orces out. Wbatever |orces tbey bao, tbey
woulonow|ocustbemontbecorrloorruntotbebaseatMumbal.|twastbemostsenslbleanologlcal
tblng to oo. Tbe |astest ano easlest way to sa|ety. Also tbe most obvlous. Someone woulo nally gure lt
all out. 8ut by tben, lt woulo be too late.
'Slr, sboulo | seno out tbe slgnal |or a belgbteneo alert on our western coast?' replleo tbe Lleutenant.
'Tbat woulo be unnecessary. Wby oo we neeo to olsturb our boys? Courtesy olctates tbat we allow tbe
Paklstanlstosearcb|ortbelrsubmarlne.smlleotbeAomlral.
Tbealoewasnowtborougblycon|useo.
'Dlsmlsseo Lleutenant.' salo tbe Aomlral as be bent over tbe maps agaln.
Tbe Aomlral gazeo penslvely at tbe sea-lanes map as tbe Lleutenant le|t.
|n a couple o| bours, tbe Paklstanls woulo recall tbelr |orces to launcb a masslve bunt.
AclevercbapmlgbtveguesseotbatLerclse8lueTrloentwasmeanttoolvert|orcestbatcouloveblnoereotbe
Hamzasescape.
8ut, lt woulo take an utterly oevlous cbap to ln|er tbat tbe escape was tbe olverslon. Wblle tbe Paklstanls woulo beao
soutb to cut o|| tbe Hamza's supposeo route, tbe Hamza woulo calmly walt out all tbe ecltement up nortb ln tbe
Hormuz.|twoulotbenvectorsoutbtotbeeerclseareawberetbe|nolancontlngentwouloescortltbome.Tbe
Amerlcanswoulooonotblng.TbeyolsllkeotbeFrencbanyway.AnoacbancetolookattbelatestFrencbtecbnology
wasalwayswelcome.Tbosebaobeentbetermso|tbeoeal.
TbeAomlrallltaclgaranowonoereoaboutwbatwoulobavetobeoonewltbtbecrewo|tbeHamza.Tbeycoulobe
patrlots.Anotbatcouloprovetroublesome.Sometblngwoulobavetobeoonetomaketbemolsappear.
BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus
BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus
Estd. 2008
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Tbepanelolscusslonswlllbrlngsomeo|tbebestmlnos|rom|noustry,Acaoemla,tbeGov-
ernmentanotbeDevelopmentsectorstoajampackeoauoltorlumanobavetbempresent
tbelrvlewsontbetbreeplllarstbataresbowcaseolntbetbemeo|tbemeet.Tbepanels
wlllbost8|TSlanaswellasotberemlnentspeakerswbobaveawealtbo|eperlenceano
wlllolscusslssuesranglng|rombowentrepreneursblpbasevolveoovertbeages,wbatls
neeoeotorampupblgbereoucatlonln|nola,bowtocreatetbenetgeneratlono|ultra
skllleo work|orce as well bow tbe soclety at large can be beneteo |rom lnnovatlve actlons.
8|TSPllanlbasproouceoapletborao|blgblmpactentrepreneurswbobavecreateoaoent
lntbelnoustrytbeycbose.Tbeseentrepreneursbavecreateocbamplonenterprlseswblcb
bavecreateobunoreoso|tbousanoso|jobsanolmplementeolnnovatlvepractlceslntbelr
operatlons.
Sukumar, a 8|TSlan blmsel|, tbe Loltor o| M|NT, wlll be ln conversatlon wltb an electrlc
panelo|someo|tbeblggestnames|romvarlouslnoustrleslncluolng|n|ormatlonTecbnol-
ogy/|TeS,Heavy|noustryanoLlectronlcs.Tbestalwartswllltakeustbrougbtbelrentrepre-
neurlaljourneys,bowtbeyovercametbelrstrugglesanolnnovateoanowbatcan8|TSlans
epect|romtbemlntbecomlngyears.
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Trans|ormlngLnterprlses:TbeLvolutlon,TbeProgress&APeek
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Trans|ormlngSocletytbrougb|nnovatlveActlons
209
One look at tbe 8|TSAAWbosWbo llst ano lt glves you an loea bow many 8|TSlans eno up
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anopasslontowarosanloea.|ntbelastoecaoeorsowebavenotlceoqultea|ewstuoentsstartlng
tbelrenterprlseswbllestlllatcollege.Tberelsatremenoousopportunltybere.Unlversltleswltb
tbelr prolmlty to researcb |acllltles, pro|essors, collaboratlons ano network o| alumnl are at a
vantagepolnto|creatlngblgblmpactentrepreneursbeltstuoentsortbepro|essorstbemselves.
Tblspanelwlllaooressvarlousstepstbatmlgbtbavetobetakentostrengtbenourlnstltutesloeal
playgrounos|romwblcbgreatenterprlsescanemerge.
Oneo|tbeblggestcballenges|aclng|nolanunlversltleslsretalnlngtoptalent,anoprovlo-
lngtbemwltbbaroresourcessucbasaworloclassresearcbln|rastructure,grantsaswell
asso|tresourceslntermso|collaboratlon.Petalnlngtoptalentapart|romlmprovlngtbe
researcbtbattakesplaceoncampusesalsolmprovestbequalltyo|stuoentstbatltcburns
out.
Wbatsorto|lnvestmentlsneeoeoanowblcbstrateglescoulobecarveotonurturetbls
zeal|orlearnlngwblcbwlllbelptop|nolanunlversltlessucbas8|TSleap|roglntbelrre-
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8reaktbrougb|oeaslnLoucatlon:Cultlvatlng,Petalnlng&
NurturlngtbeZeal|orLearnlng
Crltlcalrequlrements|orourLoucatlonalSystemtoorlveHlgb-
GrowtbLntrepreneurs
210
Tecbnologlestbatwlllsbapetbe|uture
NurturlngtbeNet8ranoo|Pro|esslonals
Mlnoboggllng8|TSlanacblevements
Gone are tbe oays wben |nola was stereotypeo as a slow aoopter o| western tecbnology, bub
|or outsourclng ano menlal |T support arm o| global rms. |nola ls seelng a new tloe ln tbe rlse
o| entrepreneursblp, lnnovatlon, management consultlng ano sopblstlcateo P&D. 8|TS Pllanl ls
a vanguaro ln sbaplng stuoents wbo are steerlng a new breeo o| enterprlses ano prooucts o|
tecbnlcal&lntellectuallnnovatlontbatarelaylnga|ounoatlon|orabetter|uture.
Tblspanelbrlngseperts|romenergy,bealtb,|T,semlconouctor,meolaanomore.|tlsalmeoto
|ocusonolscusslonsaboutemerglngtecbnologlestbatwlllbelptoposltlontbe8|TS|raternltyat
tbe|ore|ronto|newloeas&oevelopments.Tbepanelwlllalsoanswercrltlcalquestlonstbatwlll
oene our country's progress as we step lnto tbe net oecaoe wltb tecbnologlcal revolutlon ln all
lnoustrles.
Tbejobstbatelsttooayarenotblngllkewbattbeprevlousgeneratlonbaolmaglneo.Tblspanel
wlllspeaktokeylnoustrypro|esslonals,8|TSPllanlaomlnlstratlonanoacaoemlclansaboutwbat
can8|TSootokeepupwltbtbecbanglnglnoustrylanoscape.Moreover,ltwlllalsoaooressbow
8|TSPllanlselstlngsystem(PractlceScboolProgram,T|Cprojectswberecompanlesoutsource
tbelrprojectsto8|TSlans)beleverageotocreatetbenetclasso|pro|esslonals.Ultlmatelyltwlll
alsoaooressbowalumnlcanevangellze8|TSwltblntbelrorganlzatlonstoensuretbattbetop
companlescometorecrultattbecampus.
|ntblspanelwepresenttoyoutalksby|ew8|TSlanswbobavegoneontoacbleveolnterestlng
mllestones be lt belng a Project Dlrector at tbe Smltbsonlan, or oeveloplng a novel |armlng
tecbnlque,orcreatlngastateo|tbeartnavlgatlonsystemanomucbmore.Catcbtbeseacblevers
lnblgblylmpact|ulsbortcrlsptalkstbatwlllentbralltbeauolence.
Un-sesslon
211
|nteractlveO&Asesslonwltbauolence|eaturlngAllCampus
Dlrectors
8|TSAA|nternatlonalco-|ounoerAnupenoraSbarmawlllleaoanopensesslonwltbtbeDlrectors
o|alltbe48|TSPllanlcampuses.[olnlngtbemwoulobetbevlceCbancelloro|8|TS,8N[aln&
KrlsPamacbanoran,AovlsortoAoltya8lrlaGroup.Tbesesslonwlllbeblgblylnteractlveanowlll
olscusstbepatbtbat8|TSPllanlwllltaketopropellttooneo|tbebestunlversltleso|tbeworlo
blgbllgbtlnglmportant|actorssucbastberoleo|alumnus,lnltlatlvestbatwlllenrlcbtbe|aculty
& stuoent eperlence at tbe campus, ramplng up elstlng programs ano lntroouclng newer
lnltlatlves.
The way of the world is meeting people through other people.
|noeeo,tblslswbatUn-sesslonwlllbeabout.Anln|ormalgatberlng-o||erlngyouacbance
tobroaoenyournetwork.Meetnewpeople-notjust8|TSlans|romyourbatcborotber
batcbes,butnon-8|TSlanattenoees,8GMsponsorsanootberstoo.
So,cbatupanoecbangevlews:gettoknoweacbotberbetteranokeeptbatstacko|
buslnesscarosreaoytoswap.Youmlgbtjustenoupmaklngsomeverymemorable
conversatlons,anoperbapsevenlastlng|rlenosblpsanopartnersblps,tbls8GM.
212
StuoentSpeak
Manya8|TSlangrowtearyeyeo,asweremlnlscetbebappyoayswespentatouralma-
mater long ago.Tbat tlme seems just yesteroay... 8ut oont we all wonoer wbat tbe
currentgeneratlono|8|TSlansareupto?Wellberesacbancetobeartbemoutlouo.
Stuoents |rom all |our campuses - Pllanl,Goa,Hyoerabao ano Dubal, sball take to tbe
poolum.
StuoentspeaklstbeperfectstagetohearthestoriesofyoungBlT5ians
currentlyontberollso|tbelnstltute.Tbesestorleswlllbesbort,blgbonlmpact
anorange|romtbeetremetotbelnsplratlonal.Tblseventwlllalsolettbealumnl
wltnesswbattbestuoentat8|TStooaylscapableo|.
MuslcalLtravaganza
8attleo|tbe8O8s
Tbe rst oay sball lncluoe a breatb taklng muslc esta by 8|TSlans wbo sball take tbe stage
anojamenolesslytotunes|orgottenanoremembereo.
In Terminus, Illic Est Uno reads the legend on the BOB trophy.
8O8lstbemostprestlglousqulzlntbe8|TSlancalenoar,anoltsvlctorsbavelongbeenberaloeo
asverltableberoesoncampus.Ano|orgoooreason.8O8lsalonewol|qulzwbereyouronly
teammatesareyourcommonsenseanoyournerves.Tbe8O8tropbylstbeultlmateprlze|or
tbeknowleogeablypreolsposeo-tbeHolyGrallasltwere.8GM,truetoltsgranoloslty,lsplaylng
bosttotblslegenoaryevent,wblcbwlllsee8O8s|romtbeannalso|blstory
come togetber on one plat|orm |or tbe rst tlme ever. Tbey wlll battle
ltout|ortbegreatesttltleln8|TSlanqulzzlng:tbe8O8o|AllTlme.
|ntermlnus,llllcesmultl.
Atlast,tberearemany.
MargDarsban
213
Glltteratl
ClrqueDu8|TS:MlmeLtraorolnalre
A person wlll never no true success, unless be ooes wbat bls beart yearns to oo. O| course, we all
knowtbatsuccessappearsbe|oreworkonlylnaolctlonary.8utwbenyourworklsyourpasslon,
ltseemsnoworkatall.
[oln us ln llstenlng to 8|TSlans wltb remarkable acblevements, narratlng tbelr encbantlng storles.
Heartbemelucloatetbelreperlences-goooanobao,tbelrstrugglesanotbelrsubsequentlaurels.A
wonoer|ulopportunltytolearnanogrow.
Tbemlmeclubbasalwaysbeenoneo|tbemostoeolcateoanolmpresslveclubsat8|TS.
Tbelrattentlontooetallaswellasalm|orper|ectlonanoenolesscreatlvltybasaweous
everyOaslsanoApogee.
Attbe8|TSAAGlobalMeet,wewlllbavetbeMlmeclub(wltbcurrentanopastmembers)
sbowcaslngtbetrans|ormatlono|8|TStaklngusbacktotbeoayswbenwewereoncampus.
The Business Mentorship Platform
Tbesplrlto|entrepreneursblplslnculcateolntotbe8|TSlanrlgbt|romblsoaysat8|TS.We
at8|TSAAappreclateanosalutetbosewbooecloeotomaketbelrownroaoanoarenow
runnlngtbelrownenterprlses.
|n sbowlng support to tbem, we are organlzlng a mentorsblp program |or 8|TSlan
entrepreneurs, wbere tbey wlll be maoe to lnteract wltb lnoustry eperts across varlous
vertlcals tbat coulo belp tbem solve speclc or general lssues about runnlng your own sbow.
8|TSAA Global MeetTeam ls prouo to partner wltb tbe NationaI Entrepreneurship
Network(NEN)|ortblslnltlatlve.TbeMargDarsban:8uslnessMentorlngProgramwoulo
berunlnassoclatlonwltbtbeNLNMentorlngPlat|orm.NLNwoulobebrlnglnglntbebest
Pesources |or mentorlng your ventures oepenolng upon your speclc neeos. Mentors woulo
beblgblyskllleo,tralneo&prepareopre-banoaboutyourventure.
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love
what you are doing, you will be successful.
Scbeoule
215 215
BITS Pilani
Dubai Campus
BITS Pilani - Dubai Campus
8PDlnauguratlonon
5Dec2007
8PDlnauguratlonon
5Dec2007
Dr.8lrlalnaugratlng8PD,
5tbDec2007
8PDStuoentsatPllanl-|or
Oasls2008
Estd. 2000
...where knowledge is power supreme.
ConvocatlonCeremony
8atcbo|2007
8PDMaln8ullolng
lntbenlgbt.
Dr.Pamacbanoran,Former
Dlrector,atGeteLblbltlon
LlbraryanoAtrlum
8PDconstructlonslte
clrca2006-07
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support|romseveral
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DeanNattu|orblsconnectlonsanospeeoyln|ormatlon,vlvekHemmaoy&Mayank
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Trlpatbywboweretbekeygrlpbetween8|TSAA|nternatlonalano8GMTeam.SukanyaS
v,SberlnKurlan&[ayenoran|ortbetlmelyanomucbrequlreosupport.|amsupersorry
l||bappeneoto|orgetanynamesmanybelpeobeblnotbescenesano|bowtoeacbo|
tbem.
||.Non-Humansllke
Skype (we mlsseo our oeaollne by 2 oays oue to Skype blackout on 23ro Dec)
Google Appllcatlons (mall, oocuments)
Dropbo
Teamvlewer
Pbotosbop
etc.
|||.Arto|SweetTalkllke
8ro.tbe oeslgn ls awesome, you just rock. Hmm, but you know wbat ..."
Amazlng artlcle. Take a bow! Can you take more tlme to tblnk about tbe Now .?"
Sorry, lt ls alreaoy late. Catcb some sleep, man. Can you uploao tbe les tbo'"
etc.
Tbe Souvenlr Team neeos a speclal mentlon. Pulllng a 150-page publlcatlon ln 4 weeks
wltb volunteers ls a recoro acblevement ln ltsel|. Aoltya Sbarma (Deslgn Leao) ano
blsteamwaveotbelrmaglcwanotoensuretbattbereaoerlspleaseowltbtbeway
ln|ormatlonlspresenteo.|wlsb|baotbecreatlvltyanoabanoo|Sampatb,Suobarsban,
Prateek, Lmaao, Cblrag or Dbaranlsb. Speclal tbanks to Meenaksbl |rom wbom | learnt
several lessons relateo to an 'eoltor's job' wblle worklng on Sanopaper. Kartblk, |or bls
tlmetoreaoseveraloocumentsanonarratetbestorleso|8|TSlegenoaryvlslonarles.
Maobukar, Anusba, Sbwetba, Mablma, Sukanya, Pletsb, Dlvya, Nlrman are tbe jewels wbo
maoe tbls bappen. | leave lt to tbe auolence to oecloe l| tbe team rockeo!
`satp
Satlsb Pollsettl (2002A4A3388)
Acknowledgements
Karthik
Loltor
Mahina
Loltor
Anusha
Loltor
RiteshNagpaI
Loltor
NirnanAgrawaI
Loltor
Madhukar
Loltor
DivyaNawaIe
Loltor
5hwethaKaiIash
Loltor
Meenakshi
Loltor
5ukanyaVijaykunar
Loltor
5atishPoIisetti
Loltor-|n-Cble|
Prateek Sbarma
SuoarsbanPanganatban
Cblrag Slngbal
Lmaao Abmeo Manzoor
Dbaranlsb
Sampatb
Aditya5harna
(Deslgn Leao)

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