Since the epoch of civilisation man has attempted to improve his standard of living. From being a food gatherer to being a farmer, food and security of well being has been the prime pursuit. In the modern times, economic growth is essential to meet these needs of food and personal security. To think of man going backwards, wherein he subjugates his quest for a better life, would be a myth. Natural resources need to be tapped to provide for artificial comforts and luxuries. And to run these items of luxury, we need energy. That conventional sources of energy are responsible for various types of pollution is unarguable.
But even when we consider the non-conventional sources of energy which are often favoured for environment friendly modes of energy generation, they have their limitations. The primary drawback lies in the cost of installation and the associated political will to implement the same. Any change requires a transition time. During this phase, people are required to forsake their self obsession and reach out of their comfort zone to support such endeavours. In a democratic set up, it would be a myth to expect a billion people to accept this.
In particular, when we consider tidal energy, the very attempt to optimise the production and meet economies of scale, much distortion will have to be done to the natural course of the site. The same holds true for geothermal energy. When we wish to tap these forms for mass consumption, special modifications will have to be made to the site which inevitably will have considerable negative impact on the environment. Even if were to use wind energy, it would mean blocking the natural speed of a certain current. Its intensity would reduce after it would have crossed the windmill. As a result, the pressure equilibrium that it was meant to bring about will be affected. Atmospheric pressure is directly related to the weather conditions and hence the environment, in total. Thus, the quest to bring about economic growth without causing any environmental damage whatsoever is simply a mirage—we can only pursue it, only to realise that we’re not going to get there!

Talent is the innate ability of a person to perform certain special activities with grace and ease. Talent in science enables humans to build or create new items which are aimed at improving the comfort of life. Innovations and patented products are manifestations of this scientific talent.
Any enterprise requires sufficient impetus to succeed. In India, the scientific community is heavily dependent on the government for funds and resources. Most of the scientific organisations lack the personal budget to carry out high quality research and testing. As a result, the products from these institutions rarely compare with those of their contemporaries in developed nations. Scientific developments and their consequences usually have far reaching impacts. But their short influence, as calibrated, barely compares with the future prospects. Consequently, the government is bound to overlook such efforts and demands for funds, and allocates bare minimum resources to the same. A five year term of the incumbent government in a democratic set up, which may or may not be voted back to power, further results in lack of long term planning. Innovations and patents are results of research conducted with an industrial/commercial perspective. They require time. But the shifts in power at the centre means that every new government wants to focus on a fresh project to stake its claim as being the brainchild behind the enterprise. In such a pursuit, the attempts started under the previous regime are shelved and barely reach fruition. At the same time, Indian multi-nationals are primarily on their pursuit towards exploring foreign markets and broadening their base, following the economic reforms of the 1990’s. Obviously, it would be highly optimistic of the state to expect such greenhorns of the international arena to pump in money toward research and development. In such a scenario, the talented Indians are forced to pursue their interests abroad and often succeed in their patronage, i.e. working with foreign organisations.

Clearly, the number is huge. So, its fall-out is also bound to be in some considerable proportion. But what is crucial for India is the age-group of these teeming millions and billions. A large number of this population belongs to the 21-35 years age group: all potential drivers of the Indian economy in the form of human dividend. The large number of graduates from various institutions, especially the technical and vocational qualification holders, is ready to participate in the industrialisation of a country that has been mostly dominated by agrarian activities in the past. Agreed that the quality of these graduates varies—but, therein lies the advantage. Who wants all IITians? Why should every graduate be as competent as his contemporary from another college? It is with this variation in skills that this burgeoning strength can be safely and adequately be fitted into the different cogs of the Indian economic wheel. As opposed to other nations which are grappling with an ageing population, India stands the chance to seize the markets. Not only are there enough people to produce the required goods and services, but also the required masses of consumers of the same. An economy that can sustain on its own based on the simple demand-supply rule. However, the impetus for such rapid progress is to be established through appropriate government policies. The IT revolution is here for all to see. Originating as indigenous software developing firms, Indian software companies and software professionals are now stamping their authority on a global scale. The same can be replicated across more sectors, especially those relating to services. Wherever greater human communication and intervention is involved, having a pool of qualified people automatically benefits the organisation. Besides meeting the needs of the firm, the individuals must demonstrate innovation and creativity in their performance. Healthy competition thus born is crucial to maintenance of standards in delivery of quality services and products. Earlier decades have seen our nation live out a truly agrarian lifestyle. This was possible in the pre-globalisation era. But the opening of markets to foreign goods and trade, Indians have expanded their base as consumers. As a result, it is imperative that we expand our base in terms of production too. And to meet such needs, a ready pool of the most crucial resource—humans, will go a long way.

A nation is made of its people. Any evaluation of a country must include the condition of the people, either directly or indirectly. The achievements in business and economy of a nation are determined by the people’s participation in growth related activities. A happy people belong to a happily growing economy. Only when the commoners don’t have to struggle to achieve their basic economic needs, can they be expected to appreciate art and science. Revolutions in art or breakthroughs in science usually follow from a state of unrest or discontent among the people. The Renaissance, the industrial revolution and closer home, Liberalisation—they were all remedial measures which the people or the government were forced to adopt in order to fulfil the basic economic needs of the people. In such situations, men need to think out of the box and come up with novel ideas and expressions. On the other hand, periods of considerable economic satisfaction are rarely marked by upheavals in the artistic or scientific world. When there is no inertia or impulse behind a change, it won’t come about on its own. It is in the aftermath of this economic change that prosperity breeds flourishingly. Economic indicators to the same have been devised which incorporate various aspects of the people’s lifestyle and use them as indices to quantify the relative standing of the nation vis-a-vis other countries. Hence, the evaluation.

PS: following Abhishek Ahuja’s comment, the title has been kept in lower caps (mostly).

Perhaps the most powerful tool of the twenty-first century is the internet. And what makes it all the more relevant is its penetration across the depth and width of society. Willingly or otherwise, people all over the world have embraced the technology with minor reservations. Owing to these very apprehensions regarding security and reliability, e-banking has been sluggish in its influence. But with more information and personal details going online, website designers and application developers have succeeded in overcoming this hurdle of security and privacy. Facebook revolution is for there for everyone to see. People can safely upload their personal data without fear of being attacked with malicious motives.
The banking sector could benefit from using this technology too. Instead of maintaining physical accounts and using conventional items of barter to carry out trade and other exchanges, people could simply carry out transactions online. These electronic accounts would still require human intervention to maintain and update them. But the exercise would considerably reduce the overheads involved. Simplifying the whole experience of monetary dealings, the move would also prove to be environment friendly. Current practice consuming paper to print money, and felling trees in the process, would be eliminated. Security concerns of customers regarding the safety of their assets would also be eliminated.
Chiefly, it will assimilate the banking process with the rest of our lives. Internationally, most experiences have been transferred on to the world of internet housed in various electronic gadgets. The benefits range from portability to easy access. Moreover, data thus transferred online would increase transparency across nations thereby jeopardising corrupt practices like smuggling and tax evasion. This is especially crucial in the current times of economic downturn. Those with excess wealth, accumulated illegally, need to be clamped down upon. This will ease the pressure on the rest of the society.

To maintain high ethical standards, a company must strive to achieve complete transparency and honesty in its various dealings and procedures. All stakeholders’ benefit must be taken into consideration in formulating the broad framework of the policy in operation. At the same time, the commercial requirement of increasing profits generated demands cost reduction and high yield. The two aspects are divergent, from a commercial point of view. An effective strategy for the long term results could be to maintain high ethical standards therby compromising on the short-term benefits. A classic case in point would be Tata Steel Ltd. The company has established and maintained high standards of quality in its products and the various services it offers. As there is no concrete parameter to gauge ethical standards, an indirect review is provided through two simple parameters—customer satisfaction and employee growth index. Both these parties which are directly influenced by and involved in the services and products provided by the company tell the story of this 100-year old company. It has the distinction of not going into a lockout ever in its history; a true indicator of the employee satisfaction. Its clients have also had a more or less glitch free experience in their various business deals throughout the long history of the firm. Basic values of honesty and integrity are honoured and rewarded in the company.
Such results can be replicated across other sectors and brands. When a brand is forthright in its policies and execution, its clientele receives the full merit and benefit of doing business with it. As a result, the business grows. As growth enables the flow of capital and enterprise, better technology and work culture develops in the company. This inadvertently leads to stories of improved profit-making ventures.

The definition of a satisfying personal life is the key to the issue mentioned above. People view it subjectively and in a democracy, like ours, they rightly do so. For some, raising a healthy family would be a prime concern, while others might draw comfort out of providing luxuries to the lives of their loved ones. In today’s competitive world, any professional might be expected to walk the tight-rope between these two alternatives, in his/her pursuit of a successful profession. Truly speaking, it is less by deliberate intent and more by inherent nature that one ends up making choices that lead to either of the two situations while aiming greater heights in any profession. We all have the free will to make our choices; it is only inherent that people aim for a better life ahead. Some compromises in the present days may have to made to enjoy greater benefits in the long run. And since satisfaction in personal life cannot be measured or quantified, it is but human nature to overlook this aspect. On the other hand, progress in the professional front can be more explicitly depicted, quantified and rated. In most cases, successful professionals look toward the next goal ahead of them instead of sitting in judgement over their past choices. Today’s fast paced life rarely allows oneself to feed their soul with introspective inputs. As a result, the judgement in question usually eludes the professional’s mind until the end of his career. Or else, it is bystanders and onlookers who try to speculate the emotional quotient of happiness for a professional—which, easily is irrelevant to the individual concerned.

Shor in The City

This one hour-forty eight minute movie by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK might end up being the second last brilliant thing to happen to me during my stay here in Jamshedpur. It’s my own space here, so I am allowed to brag a little—I had secured a paid internship with the ‘grand’ Tata Steel Ltd. for the summer of 2011 (a company that claims itself to be more than 100 years ‘young’). Also, I must add that the background score is pretty impressive and I am already dying to download the mp3 for ‘Karma is a bitch’, as soon as I get back to Roorkee. There are strong performances by every actor. I know some of the names: Tushaar Kapoor (yes, that’s true), Mahie Gill, the two loafers with Tushaar, the struggling cricketer—Savi, his babe—Sejal, and also that foreign returned character with a mysterious history. I will try not to let out the plot as I go on, but I can’t promise.
Tushaar’s tryst with destiny opens up new insights into life for him, and consequently for his wife, Mahie. The girl is more qualified than him, yet is subjected to the anonymity of the four walls; while the less competent partner in the matrimonial alliance is responsible for winning the bread in the family. Typical patriarchal set up. Justified and digestible. His one good ‘karma’ toward the boy accidentally injured in the bomb explosion probably saves him in the end! And guess what, that was also mere destiny because the innocent looking brat was himself a cheap conster…
Our struggling batsman ends up laying his hands on the required sum to grease the palms of the bloody selector. But probably he used it with better sense (there was ‘Robin’ by his side during this whole bribing enterprise—is there any connotation?) and got back to his practice with the bat. His so-called uncle had used his idea to his convenience for looting the bank but to no success. And just as he was meant to be, he deserted his men in the hour of need. Remember what your grandma would have told you… it’s always the rats that flee a sinking ship! Obviously that pimp deserved to get back to his original status of licking some political fanatic’s ass and provide the ‘dharna pradarashan’. Well, it’s a democracy and anybody can hold the state machinery to ransom to meet their ends! Cheers to that.
Finally, to my favourite character. This suave dude sets up some kind of soft skill business in Mumbai. After initially being harassed by a couple of extortionists he eventually decides to give it to them in their own language. A taste of their own sweet medicine, you’d say. Sheer spine and pure intent. When the din rises to an absolute crescendo, it’s best to join in; otherwise, you’ll be left behind. The only way to catch some solace in a noisy city, while still remaining there, is to join the chorus. What did they say about dressing like the Romans whence you’re in Rome! Destroying the evil with evil means is perhaps the right thing to do. Unfortunately, I can’t think of an appropriate citation here, but we know it’s there somewhere in our scriptures, right!
This mullah was calling out the ‘aazan’ presently. But Mother called me and that saved me from getting distracted. So, back to the issue of ‘karma’. An acquaintance here, Prateek Mathur ,(who takes sheer delight and pride in being addressed merely as ‘Mathur’ and hails from NIT Nagpur) told me that the three stories in the movie weren’t linked at all. Well, I can understand how he missed the link, which in the first place wasn’t meant to be perceptible to those with a shallow pulse. He is one of those guys who go all gung-ho about organizing cultural festivals in college as they earn you the certificates and the chic-hangouts, specifically in that order. There was an opportunity for him to display his brilliant managerial and organizational skills during the cultural night of the internship here too. But he obviously chose to sit out because it wasn’t going to earn him any special certificate to that effect; and neither did it confirm the PPO chances because the HR guys aren’t very crucial in this matter, here. Yes, so what my smart friend missed in the movie was the underlying theme of ‘karma’. All the three protagonists were reeling under the influence of their individual karmas. Incidentally, all the events in the movie are inspired from true stories, as covered in some newspapers. Which brings me to my little story.
I’ve rehearsed it over and over again in my mind but very rarely have I let it out aloud. The reason being, my Mother tells me that whatever lucky charm I’ve been influenced with might just desert me if I talked about it. (‘Nazar lag jayegi’). Perhaps, she’s right; she usually is. But, of late, I’ve grown strength and confidence. And so, I choose to present it. (Obviously hoping that I don’t run out of the charm!)
After a dismal performance in IIT JEE 2008, I was ranked far below my expectations—at least, so I felt (and trust me, that’s the case with even 90% of the students who qualify the prestigious examination) and maybe, in some ways, below my worth too. However, there had been a divine intervention by the Supreme Court on about the 6th of April 2008, for which my mother had been praying and thanked Maa Kali from the bottom of her heart. Two years of ghissai and I had landed myself with Geo-Tech in Roorkee—the five year integrated masters course. Another year of non-strategic ghissai in first year and I ended up securing a branch change to Civil in 2nd year. I was DR2 in my previous course. Sometimes we curse ourselves for having met some people, and sometimes we’re thankful to destiny for making us associate with others. The latter was going through my mind during 3rd sem. It was about my senior from school and then also in college, Abhilash Narayan. I hit my first 9.000 sgpa for that sem. I had caught the then DR-1’s eye, and much to his distaste. He wasn’t subtle in making this evident: ‘No one can ever beat me! Not even you Baridhi’. The caricature on his desk also had a cartoon of me ‘doing study’ and it all going down to the bin, as he was sanguine of retaining his current status as DR-1. But then, we all know the meaning of Nemesis, don’t we? And in this case it was personified by me. This was the beginning of 4th sem, January 2010. Thanks to my more targeted ghissai, I hit a 9.630 in the 4th sem and topped my class for that sem. I aced my batch again in the 5th sem, with a slight difference—this time, it was a perfect 10.000. I believe I have aced again in 6th sem and with yet another decent grade, which might have secured my position in the class; I am not sure yet—will find out once the college reopens. Well, call it luck or ‘karma’?!!? It’s going to be your personal take.
Obviously, there have been other people who were in the same situation as me and perhaps were equally meticulous and hard working as me (or even better). I choose not to name them to avoid hurting their sentiments (yeah, I do give up that sadistic approach sometimes). But what separates me from them? I really don’t know. And yes, obviously enough, my family and some people whom I do still consider as friends (only a handful of them) and some still others have had their role to play; I am very grateful. But there’s one person who deserves a mention…a special one at that. Yet, I’d be doing the least possible good to him by saving him the triviality of being mentioned in this blog.
It’s begun to drizzle outside.
PS: this post was meant to be put up on 5th July, a day before I left Jamshedpur.

When I had first heard of it, I had begun to consider it more as a phenomenon. Remember, what Sourav Ganguly had said about the Wall’s consistent performances? So that was the scenario until 31st December, 2010. However, on this day I learnt that I too had gate-crashed into the hallowed circle(s) of first, nine-pointers of the institute and secondly, scored a perfect ten in my 5th sem. The fact that it came in a semester in the department would dampen the value of it to some. But that would be the onlookers, strictly. To me, it was the victory nonetheless. And to top it all, I had secured an intern with Tata Steel for the summers of 2011. Quite a semester, it had been.
Fortunately, the contagion called GRE and CAT have no effect on me. I am perhaps immune to these conditions (maybe in lieu of some other crucial limitations). Consequently, this semester sees a similar tone on my face and intent, as the previous one.
9th march, 2011 was the Bhawan Day for us inmates (?) of Govind Bhawan. As usual there was some hullabaloo regarding arranging passes for friends and Kshitij people to be invited over from other hostels. R-land faces terrible times at the mess; so the spring semester with these special days is more than a relief to many taste buds. And once again, I was sure of dining out. I had submitted my passes with Ayush who probably took good care of them…and was to head off for Pandit. Only, I had to wait until collecting my award. Yes, for being the ‘Best student of the Bhawan’, a distinction for which I had qualified owing to my ten point 5th sem performance. Reportedly, I had dubiously superseded some more deserving candidates in the forms of Anurag Paul and some more. But, it was J-batch poly that got me in, and left the others fuming(?).
At about 9:15 pm, my name was announced by the honourable PSR Akhilesh for the honourable award. I went up on the stage to receive it from the honourable director of the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. ‘Chalo Badhiya hai.’ These honourable words escaped from his mouth to grace the honourable occasion. This time I waited long enough for the photographer to click a decent picture. (I don’t know where to collect a copy of it from). And then climbed down the stairs. The memento reads ‘…for his contributions to Govind Bhawan services’ and the certificate mentions my name, ‘best student’ and the all important ‘ten pointer’, but only in brackets! Thereafter, I proceeded for Pandit Bhojanalay with a certain Changu.

i hope i am able to get the formatting appropriate for this one. i know the previous one was badly spaced (the enter’s were missing).

start.

the Schlum GD was for 42 people split into 6 batches. Mine being the last slot had an open ended topic (at least that’s how i infer the increasing level of the GD topics). earlier, these 42 members had been shortlisted based on the online resumes submitted. here, i was lucky to have got away with a blunder of a lifetime!!! my resume read ‘currently an undergraduate student of METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS ENGG’ instead of the actual Civil engg. that’s why one needs to copy smartly…even for CV’s…!!!

anyway, the GD topic was ‘Crouching tiger hidden dragon’. Akanksha started speaking first and went on to explain the topic (which is technically a sound approach; only i was feeling as if time was running out and interrupted her first!) As I appealed to the group to quickly narrow down the open ended theme to a specific issue, in came the ‘most awesome’ speaker of IIT_R. Miss Molly Mehta (Meta III yr.) interpreted it as ‘AFSPA’ !!! and succeeded in extracting a ‘What!’ out of me. all this while, you must note that I was still blank about the topic despite having followed of subhro’s advice of looking onto the board immediately upon entering the room, as it had the topic on it. i had a few seconds extra, while the people were being arranged onto the seats, and still couldn’t start the discussion.
anyway, Baljeet Yadav came to our rescue and interpreted it as India v/s China, and everyone else started blabbering about the economy, only we weren’t fighting like the previous groups. in the middle i managed to slip in a valuable contribution of quality v/s quantity, and that saw me through. a vote for the same was taken up at the end of the GD. the moderators admitted that had we chosen any other line for the topic he would have rejected all of us right away. in the end, 3 people from this slot made it to the interviews, which was the maximum for any group. baljeet, akanksha and myself.

I was no. 10 for the interview and had to wait for hours. (the phenomenon was repeated for tata with me, only this time baljeet was the PR around, and not the interviewee after me.) it was quite a happening process with miss komalpreet requiring to collect her phone (perhaps something to do with her FB account), and others a certain lady constantly taking in live strategic inputs over her phone. I emulated that in december.

finally, i went into the room and replied as ‘tired’ to the first question asked, ‘how are you?’. quite a shot in the leg, you’d think. then, i was asked about my schedule as i mentioned that i liked to go to bed by 10:30 pm, and begin my day early. somehow, i failed to drive home the point that I too was tough in my routine and could match their standards of 4 days of work before 1 day of sleep!!! further, something about my hobbies. i had to name my favourite short story writers, and some characters from PG wodehouse. i hadn’t prepared these, and perhaps this was visible on my face. i did answer them, however. that there were 3 types of guitars—mexican, hawaiian and spanish, and i owned the 3rd kind, earned me raised eyebrows from the lady among the panel of three. the fat fellow thought i was some communist because i had named leo tolstoy as one of my faovurites. (i consider that a lame generalisation…but, i should admit i wasn’t prepared for this either). the youngster in the middle kept doubting my endurance levels. (???)
finally, they brought up the quality v/s quantity issue that i had raised at the GD, and I answered some rubbish.
finally, the middle-man closed the interview saying he wouldn’t hold me any longer from getting to bed. i said i would wait for the results, as i left the room. he probably missed that as he gave me an astonished look when they finally announced the results after 5 and a half hour long selection process. my name wasn’t there in the final 2 out of the 11.

after all this, i returned with the ‘schlum’ sticker with number 35 written on it. and quite like a bollywood film i pasted it on my almirah to remind me of a failure!!! now, i can remove it and with pleasure!!!

also, following that friday, i spent the weekend listening to these two songs that i had taken from tuxxi sir, on my floor. again, a cliched filmy response…the songs are: beetey lamhe and zindagi ne …, from ‘The Train’, by the serial kisser of B-town.

that’s all.
Stop.