Follow Through

Spring Fest’s 50th Edition came to a (grand) conclusion at 2200 hrs on 25th January 09. I would not exactly describe it as grand – because the finishing of SF was a complete mess.

Aficionados of any sport would know the importance of a follow through in the perfect execution of a shot. If the follow through is not there – the shot is a mess. The SF organizers need to learn a lesson or two from the sporting domain. The 2nd & 3rd days saw the event at its peak with the like of KK and India Jazz Suites gracing the stage. By the final day, however, SF seemed to have run out of steam. All the enthusiasm and tempo had died down.

SF Team needs to sit down, look back and analyze the four days of the festival. Their job is not yet completed. Again the question of follow through. They need to ask themselves hard questions – why some things went wrong when they shouldn’t have. Why were events not conducted on time? Why were timings changed so frequently? Why did the crowd go out of control at times? Did they require 170 odd volunteers – could they have done a better job with smaller team of more dedicated volunteers – and given them something more than just a (worthless) certi(ficate)? Which events saw enthusiastic participation and which ones saw only scanty participation? Could they have had the events in a better order? They need to brainstorm now, ask their batchmates for suggestions and pass on not only what they already knew but also what they learned to the junior batch.

Let us not look at making SF bigger and bigger in numbers. Let us try to bring in some more quality into it – do the necessary trimming wherever required and look at making brand SF even bigger.

Looking forward to an even (bigger) better Spring Fest in 09.

Let the Spirit of Youth Triumph!!

Why no Mass Bunks?

One of the major differences that has come from changing my college is that I have had to attend more classes in IIT than I used to in DCE.

Have I become more sincere?
Or is it mere coincindence that I attend more classes in IIT.

I thought about it and concluded that the difference was due to the absence of mass bunks in Kgp.

Isn't that a good thing?

Good or bad - atleast I do not like the complete absence of mass bunks in Kgp. Although, one can always bunk classes as an individual, the fun factor goes away. Moreover one would lose his/her attendance for the class.

Probably I am being a bit nostalgic, but I really miss the mass bunks that we used to have in DCE. Mass bunks are a part and parcel of college life in Delhi University. You may consider it to be a subset of the jugad culture that exists there. The absence of such a culture as well as the stringent IIT system has made it almost impossible for mass bunks to happen. College Festivals would have been a reason for mass bunks in DCE. In IIT, the festivals have been made to coincide with weekends. Again, we would bunk when we disliked a particular professor. But here, almost all professors are so well qualified that a guilty feeling creeps whenever we think of mass bunking. Tutorials which we always bunked at Delhi are almost never bunked here in Kgp because we are marked during the Tutorial classes. Plus the over-competitive environment has made it very difficult for the students to work as a team towards a common goal.

Oh! how I wish, the IIT system would be a little considerate of the students! Or the students who wish to attend classes a little considerate of their fellow students! However, kintu, parantu, all hope is not lost. I appeal to all Kgpians to join hands in reviving (if it was ever there) or atleast bringing some hint of a mass bunk culture in the IIT system. Some human element in the very stringent IIT system!!

Virtual Reality Kgp

I must confess that time and again I am and will be regressing back to IIT, Kgp, JEE and related topics. This is because these have formed a major part of my life in the past 3 years and continue to be so.

So what is it that I call 'Virtual Reality Kgp'?

Or to be more precise, why do I use the adjectives 'Virtual' & 'Reality' to describe Kgp?

What is 'Virtual' in Kharagpur?
Kharagpur does exist, doesn't it?

Well, Kharagpur does exist. More specifically, an IIT exists in Kharagpur. But in the eyes of the Kgpians, the world does not exist.

Nonsense??

I do not know. Whatever little I have been able to gather from my little experience in Kharagpur, what I have realise is this - Kharagpur does not (want to) know the real world outside. They have created a virtual world governed by tempo, fundas and tradition. They seem to be unaware of the fact the the government is spending crores on IITs which could well have been used for the welfare of the poor & backward.

Kya Bakwas kar raha hai?

You might feel that I am a pessimist, a sceptic, but the truth is IITians not just in Kgp are wasting away the resources that they have at their disposal. A large chunk of IITians are ending up in non-technical professions because hamne tho classes attend ki nahi thi. Hamein tho apna CV banana hai. Even if I am a 6 pointer, I will end up in a good job because 5 point someone says so.

My dear IITian, I don't think any software giant is going to recruit you because you are a good dramatist or a guitarist. Or for that matter an electronics recruiter is going to take you because you were an inter-IIT participant

No, no, no - you are getting it all wrong. I will be my own boss. I will have a start up of my own and earn crores. Very well then. How are you going to have a product without any technical skills?

I do not know why but (most) IITians have a very narrow outlook. That is why you rarely find an IITian reaching the levels that many engineers abroad do. And a big culprit here is the JEE.

Scrap the JEE

What? Why? How? Isn't it a time tested means of getting the best analytical brains in the country? Moreover, how else do you select good candidates?

Rubbish.

All JEE has done is churn out JEE problem solvers who cannot think in a straightforward and simple manner. My suggestion would be to bring in the time-tested and good old Board Exams to select the candidates. You will get more complete individuals with less people precipitating into drug addicts and alchoholics. But they won't have those analytical skills that a JEE cracker has, would they? Ask a 9 ptr or a 10 ptr in IIT what analytical skills has he used to get his grades? Hard work and smart work. Those two skills even a 95%er possesses. Moreover, the problem of the skewed gender ratio would be solved to a great extent.

Radical views?

I do not know. Most successful engineers in India are non-IITians.

Why is it so?

Because the IITs and the IITians are in a dream world of their own which I would call 'Virtual Reality'

Touch Typing

What is touch typing?

Typewriting in which the fingers are trained to hit particular keys. Typist can read and type at the same time. (S)He need not look at the keyboard. A touch typist knows the location of the keys through muscle memory.

Why should you touch type?

• It is ergonomically better. Fingers are not strained while typing
  
• You can concentrate more on your work than on the keys while touch typing
• Maximum use is made of your 10 fingers. Hence typing is very fast
  

How to touch type?

Touch typing involves placing eight fingers in a horizontal row along the middle of the keyboard(the home row) and having to reach out for other keys. Most computer keyboards have a raised dot or bar so that the typist can feel them when his fingers are on the home row.

It is recommended that you download a software such as SeSType or Typing Master and follow the instructions given there. SeSType is a freeware and focuses on accuracy whereas Typing Master focuses more on rhythm. It usually takes 1 to 3 months to learn touch typing depending on the effort put in & the grasping capability of the individual.

Typewriter vs Computer Keyboard

You could also join some typing classes in your neighbourhood where they might teach you on a typewriter. Typewriter has the advantage of having the different rows of keys at different heights. So it is easier to feel and type on a typewriter for the beginner. One might graduate to the computer keyboard after some time and then finally to the laptop. Laptop keyboard offers the best speed because of the proximity of the keys. However, it is upto the individual to decide what sort of keyboard to choose depending on his/her comfort level.

Accuracy vs Rhythm & Speed

Again it is upto the individual whether (s)he wishes to go in for accuracy or rhythm & speed. Both have their advantages & disadvantages. One point to be kept in mind though is that the more inaccurate you are the more backspaces you have to press and as a result your speed goes down. Again, accuracy comes when your rhythm is good. So both the aspects are more or less inter-related. A balance is what is required