Campus Hub

InsIghT (I): What were the reasons for setting up a new food outlet on campus?
Monty (M): Earlier, there were two separate outlets at the same location (Amul Ice Cream Parlor and Ganesh Juice Center) and the council felt that this space was underutilized. Along with this there was a need felt across campus to increase the number of dining options available. However, the authorities were not ready to provide extra space. So, it was decided to combine the 2 outlets and get a new vendor to set up a mini food court which also served juices, shakes and ice-creams.

I: What was the procedure adopted for selecting a vendor?
M: After posting the requirements on Hostel Affairs website, vendors apply to us with their catering profiles along with the tentative menu. After this a committee consisting of Dean SA, GSHA, 1 ISHA and 2 Hostel G.Secs (chosen according to the food outlet’s location) selected this vendor. Hygiene was given special importance amongst other criterion.

I: How long did it take for Campus Hub to be set up?
M: Vendors were selected by October. Licenses for Amul and GJC were ending by November, and the council decided not to renew it in September. After Amul and GJC left, we reconstructed the place and handed it over to the vendors by mid February. Since then, they took some time to settle down. Overall, the process could have taken 15-20 days less but there were some licensing issues which caused some unexpected  delay.

I: Are there any further developments expected at Campus Hub?
M: We expect South Indian cuisine to be introduced soon. The juice menu will be increased and more sophisticated forms of desserts, like sundaes, are expected to be introduced within a month.

I: Are we expecting any new outlets in the near future?
M: Outside H14, 2 new outlets are expected; one is a Coca-Cola Kiosk, and other is Mom’s Khana which is going to be a fast food joint.

Sunrise Dhaba

I: What was aim of setting up this place?
M: We wanted a proper dhaba style food outlet with focus on non-vegetarian dishes, since most of other places in campus are majorly vegetarian and there was no good outlet for ‘Indian-Non Vegetarian’ food. Its main attractions are chicken biryani and a few other non vegetarian dishes. A broad motto would be to have different cuisines available in IIT, and it fulfills that.

I: Do you believe that Sunrise Dhaba is under-performing in any fashion?
M: Sunrise Dhaba started off with revenue of Rs. 3000 per day. Brewberry, on the other hand, started off with almost Rs. 15000 per day. Eventually, it settled at about Rs. 8000. Even, Sunrise Dhaba has settled at around Rs. 8000. So, it is definitely not underperforming. Nevertheless, the location of a food outlet plays a huge role in boosting its performance. If Sunrise Dhaba would have been located near H5, it would have earned revenue over Rs. 12000.

I: Why is the menu limited to such few dishes?
M: Menu has been kept short intentionally. Though it has a bigger kitchen than hostel canteens, menu is very limited as compared to them. It is with the aim of serving better quality food.

TICKETS

PACKING (1)

PACKING (2)

TRAVELLING

FOOD

TRANSPORT

COMING BACK

Society for Promotion of Undergraduate Research (SPUR) is a brand new initiative of the General Secretary for Academic Affairs 2012 – 13. As SPUR’s first step, 29 students who have been awarded the Undergraduate Research Award (URA) were felicitated in the Students’ Gymkhana Award Ceremony held on 3rd April 2012. One of the awardees, G. Sreeta (3rd year Civil Engineering student) describes her URA experience.

The Undergraduate Research Award is an opportunity our institute offers to undergraduate students for earning research
exposure at the undergraduate level. The URA 01 is a non-credit project that can be undertaken before the fourth year, but which reflects on a student’s transcript.

Before I begin with the ‘how’ and ‘when’ of the procedure for applying for a URA, let me get one aspect straight- this is not a documentation of the procedure for a URA (you might try the academic brochure for that). This is an informal discussion on how I went about working for it.

I came to know about the URA opportunity only around the end of my 4th semester. The issue came up during a discussion with my Honors professor. Frankly speaking, I think I would have been better off starting off earlier, because the 4th semester is an ideal time for experimentation. Nevertheless, I began my hunt for information regarding the ‘how’ and ‘when’ of the proceedings with my pilgrimage to the Academic Office and came to know about the various formalities and requirements for the process. The entire process can be outlined into the following steps:

Find a Topic of your interest:

For this keep your eyes and ears open. One naive way to go about it is to visit the faculty page on the Department’s website. The research areas and interests of all the professors are mentioned there, but this can be a little vague. So, if something catches your eye, visit the professor’s personal webpage and see if the detailed description sustains your interest. If so, see what kinds of skills are required in that field and how well you can relate to the prescribed work. (Most research activities require good programming and mathematical skills) My current topic is – Mechanics of Cells and Differentiation. I came across this in my Honors class, when the professor spoke about the ‘larger’ scope of Civil Engineering. So, I followed the cue and went about to meet Professor Inamdar who specializes in this field.

Convince the professor:

I think this is the tricky and more difficult part. Professors can be quite reluctant to take students in owing to our poster image of ‘irresponsibility’. So, tell him why you find his work interesting, and what you can do in your capacity to contribute to his work. Tell the professor about your programming skills, your Minor course (if, that is of any relevance) and other courses and skills. My Physics Minor helped me in persuading my guide. Professors may give a little reading material to see how enthusiastic you actually are and this is where most of the students are sieved out. So, read that material and follow up with your professor on what you understood, your queries, etc.

Once the above two steps are done, you need to do a few formalities with the Academic Office. You need a hand-written application stating your work and your guide and this should be approved by your Guide, Faculty Advisor and DUGC (HoD). One important thing to note is that, if this application is submitted, then the PP/NP grade for the URA has to be submitted by your guide before the release of grades for the semester, otherwise your regular grades could be withheld. Also, if you have completed some project and think you have done significant work, you could ask your guide/Faculty Advisor to recommend you for a URA.

Regarding my project:

My project was based on modeling the mechanical interactions of cells using structural elements and coming up with a model that is consistent. I worked on this project during my 5th semester, at the end of which my professor found my work satisfactory and recommended me for a URA. This link will provide very good information and experience of others who have been awarded a URA: http://www.insightiitb.org/2011/ura-101-2/.

The number of working hours I have spent in this project wasn’t fixed. The biggest task at hand for me was to come up with a model. I spent unaccounted time in trial and error processes. The beginning was intense, but when I settled down with a project, my major work was coding and debugging (some days were lucky and some weren’t). The amount of time depends on the project and individual competence and varies over the stages of the project. My project did not involve lab work, but other projects might. I had immense pleasure working with my guide Prof. Mandar M. Inamdar. The field of work I undertook was of great interest to me and getting my URA 01 has been a very important learning and memorable experience!

Note: This article will feature in the upcoming issue of Civil Engineering Department’s magazine.

- Anshul Jain (Zen)

As far as direction is concerned, there were many things I wasn’t happy about. The first scene showing military operation at Golden Temple could have been much better. It could have been directed in a much powerful manner. Towards the end of the scene I could see people dying without any bullets. (Was it a heart attack? ) The effort to bring humour during the discussion of “Samosa” prices in Government canteen was futile and not required. There were certain parts where I felt that “Rajiv” was deviating from the character, primarily to bring some humour. The news reading scene just before “V. P Singh’s” press conference was too mundane.

There were some big issues with the prod team in terms of usage. The bar was not even inaugurated. The big structures made to cover up the main stage in the first scene, had some brilliant FA work and detailing but then I don’t know why they were there. Also the two looked completely disjoint. I liked the gypsy and the tank used in the first scene. Also the 3-D golden temple was good. The main stage prod was good but it looked weak and a little untidy. The paintings / portraits on the first floor were not even in a line. The left side prod where the interview was going on was also average. The “door-darshan” board looked like a last minute thing. There were glitches with the Prod as well. The upper left wall fell down. The “Congress Mukhyalaya” became “Congress Mukhya”, though it made sense as it was Rajiv Gandhi’s room . However, the secret room to monitor commando’s attack was good and was fairly well executed.

Dancing at IIT Bombay: Insti Blues by Anasuya Mandal

- IITB alumnus (Batch of  ’11), currently pursuing a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering at MIT

28th February is celebrated every year as the ‘National Science Day’. Yes, there is such a day. And there been one for some time. Reportedly, on this day in 1928, a 40 year old Tamil Brahmin called Chandrasekhar Venkar Raman sitting in Kolkata discovered certain phenomena regarding the scattering of light, which would come to be known as the ‘Raman Effect’. The Nobel Prize in Physics followed in 1930. His was the first one in science, where an Indian had done the research in India. It was also the last one. Under the prodding of the National Council of Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), the honourable government of the Union of India has designated February 28 as ‘National Science Day’, since 1987.

Image credit: Paul Aitchison

In states where the provincial education boards and councils are still dominant, this ‘day’ is largely unknown. Mostly celebrated in schools with ‘national’ syllabi, central government offices, especially educational and research institutions, the events often bring in sarkari chief guests – from the dubious to the infamous to the occasional savant, lamps are lit, speeches are made, marigolds are worn and hung, a lot of tea and coffee is drunk, some samosas are consumed. And then they all go home. Some more things happen on this day. Awards are given for excellence is popularizing science and innovative science education. The prime-minister, the minister of science and technology, the minister of state for the same (when there is one) light up the faces of some newspaper owners by providing full page ads exhibiting their gleaming faces and a one paragraph message to the nation. This is how we, the citizens of India, get our annual peg of the scientific spirit. In some schools there will be competitions and prizes. There will be energetic kids whose mirth will invariably be suppressed by the bureaucratic approach that many organizers will approach the event with. It will be made into one of that long set of state sponsored farces that a school year in this country is peppered with. A Raman, a Saha, a Bose, will meet an untimely death among those dreamy kids. Once more, some functionaries and bureaucrats will breathe lightly at the end of this day – as if their niece just got married. Some decorators, caterers and suppliers will do a little business, some will get small kickbacks. Such is the fate of us petty people.

What more can we expect from such an unimaginative, top-down exercise so divorced from people and society? The idea is – this would create among the populace an appreciation of science, among youngsters a dream to unravel the mysteries of this world, this universe, this human condition. On the question of decreasing popularity of classical music in Pakistan, Professor Arifa Sayeda Zohra of the National College of Arts, Lahore had said that the contemporary ears that are tuned to the ka-ching sound of coins are blunt to the intricacies of khayal. A population whose idea of success is defined by 50 lakh salaries of the IIM-types, whose best mathematicians-physicists-engineers end up being number crunchers for finance market speculators, has a rather poor appreciation of basic scientific research. In the absence of this appreciation, there is no social audit of science in India – hence many professors gleefully plagiarize, publish 3rd grade research work in 4th grade, mostly Indian journals which are read by few and cited by fewer. Some of them often pass of as experts, serving in sub-committees, exuding a cynical notion of time-serving. Looking at these creatures, many youngsters are turned off from pursuing science.

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman

There are necessary pre-conditions to create a culture of science – they include freedom of speech and expression, an audacity to be loyal only to truth, an environment that supports iconoclasm in the world of ideas, however towering the icon may be, however sacrilegious the idea may be. If that were so in India, many would have protested the hoodwinking of people that is done in the name of scientific achievement by showing swadeshi aerial bombers, tanks, missiles and other mass-murdering devices. Against this dystopian idea of what science and its fruits are have stood Indian scientists like MV Ramanna, S Ramasubramanian, T R Govindarajan, Ashok Sen and others -scientists worth their salt, the Dandi variety. In 2012, the focal theme of the ‘National Science Day’ was ‘Clean Energy Options and Nuclear Safety’. When the government is actively trying to reduce the liability to suppliers in case of a nuclear disaster, the tom-tomming of the Nuclear Safety slogan only shows how cynically the state can convert public awareness programs into theatres of propaganda. But all propaganda can be exposed. It will take time. Critical enquiry, a spirit of questioning dogma and culture of social communication of these values – in science and beyond – let these be our arsenal. Lets us not worship science. Like pujas where chant-words have lost meaning to those who offer it, soon as the rot sets in, it become meaningless to the priests themselves. The gods of science have left for other spaces – where there is dance, mirth, inquiry, freedom of speech and thought, freedom to make love to science, the chance to be loved back, the opportunity to share the love of science, in the family, in the neighbourhood, among colleagues. Let’s stop the invocation and start questioning. Let’s occupy ‘National Science Day’.

Adapted from an article in the Himal Southasian

For another version of the article: http://hajarduari.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/occupy-national-science-day/

It is rare that I go somewhere and leave inspired but the Taj Mahal left me awestruck. Even after sitting in front of it for a few hours I just didn’t want to leave. Besides its pure beauty, detail, and grandness, the history of its construction for love is hard to believe.

Last week my mother and brother came from the U.S. to visit me and do a bit of travelling around India. Travelling in India is an adventure in itself. In the U.S. everything is planned and arranged beforehand but in India I have learned to go with the flow. Our first flight from Mumbai to New Delhi was canceled and rescheduled three hours later for “unknown reasons,” later I learned that King Fisher was on strike. Also when we arrived in New Delhi, we thought we could get tourist quota tickets on the trains but little did we know that these tickets also filled up months in advance. Our whole trips transportation was based on taking sleeper trains to travel from one place to the next so we were a bit upset that our plans would be ruined. Since, we were so desperate to find a way to get to our destinations we went to the Indian Tourist Agency. It sounded like an honest business because the man gave us a package with a driver for two days, a train ride, and hotel accommodations. We were so excited that we could travel where we wanted so we took whatever he gave us. Later we learned that we were charged almost five times more than we should have been. I still have not learned how to bargain! Even though settling the logistics of the trip was a bit tough, after that we had an amazing time!

Taj Mahal

We started with Agra at the Taj Mahal and after seeing it, the other sites had a very hard act to follow. After Agra we headed off to Jaipur to catch a 2:30 AM train to Jodhpur.  We did not have much time in Jaipur so we went to the Raj Mandir cinema hall to see “Terre Nal Love Ho Gaya”. It was fun watching the film in Hindi because we were constantly trying to figure out what was happening and why the entire audience started laughing sometimes. I want to learn Hindi so I can understand the jokes and communicate more with people.

Our next destination was Jodhpur, the blue city. The city is overlooked by a commanding fort, Mehrangarh, on top a hill in the middle of the city. Walking in the fort there were twists and turns to keep elephants and invaders out and inside, there were grand rooms. My favorite part though was looking down on the city. All the buildings were blue and so close that you couldn’t even see rickshaws or people moving about. The streets were quite busy with lots of shops and people. All of the textiles, art, and jewelry were so unique that they were hard to resist. I don’t know how big Indian families are but it seemed like every time we bought something from one shop, the shopkeeper would bring us to his “brother’s” shop that sold something else. I think we bought everything from the same family so their strategy was effective. As I traveled around I have seen that tourists are just treated as a commodity. It seemed like even if someone was nice to us, their ultimate goal was get money out of us. I think traveling in a group of three exacerbated the situation but I would still just like to have a friendly conversation without ulterior intentions. At times it is frustrating but I realized that tourists are their livelihood and they have a family to support.

Jodhpur: The Blue City

After two days in Jodhpur, we headed to Udaipur the white/lake city. Udaipur was the most beautiful city we visited because there was one palace floating in the lake and another looking down on the city from above. We went to a traditional dance performance and saw women dancing with 8 buckets on their head, puppets juggling, and traditional music performances.  In the mornings we woke up early to do yoga on the rooftop of a guesthouse. I have done yoga a few times before in the US but yoga here was much more relaxed and focused on the breathing. The instructor looked completely at ease even when in the most demanding positions. My mom, brother, and I had a hard time restraining our laughter at times. My favorite part about Udaipur was that we took a cooking class at a woman’s home. Indian food is my favorite cuisine so when I return home, I want to recreate some of the amazing dishes I have had here. The class lasted for five hours and we left with full stomachs and a booklet of recipes. We cooked chai tea, pakoda, the basic masala sauce, paneer, veg pulav, naan, paratha, roti, sweet paratha, and more. Indian food really isn’t that difficult to cook so I know that I can do it back in the U.S.

Lastly, I toured with my mom around the campus and the city. She was very impressed by the campus because of its serenity and the kindness of people we talked to. In Mumbai, I have always wanted to go on a tour of the Dharavi slums so I took my mom to join me. While planning, I thought that the slum was a very dangerous area where homeless people settled illegally. After the visit, I had a much more positive impression of the slums because families just don’t live there, people pay rent, there are multiple industries within it, and it is like just another community. The slum portrayed in Slumdog Millionaire was nothing like what I saw. The movie influenced mine and many others impressions about India. It focused on the corruption, the terrible treatment of children, the poverty, and the hopeless lives of many. It creates an impression that this is the life for everyone except the few powerful elites. After visiting the slums, I expected to see the blind children begging and crying with no one to console them but instead I saw hope and hard work. There were smiles on children’s faces when you give them candy, the workers were determined to provide for their families, and there is a community culture to provide and protect.

I loved having the chance to travel with my family. Now when I talk to my parents over Skype, they have a little better understanding where I am and what I have been doing. My mom embraced India much better than expected and my brother enjoyed returning to places he had visited before. Coming back to classes has been a bit of a shock but good things always have to come to an end.

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of InsIghT, IIT Bombay. They are the personal views of the author.