A Question of Relative Motion

A very interesting discussion came up the other day while we were having a cup of tea in the canteen. The question in contention was:

If a traveller from India boarded a flight to US and then came back, would it take longer one way than the other?

Assumptions

Several simplifying assumptions were taken: no atmosphere which means no drag, no viscous force etc. etc. And of course, we are to do the correction for the time difference to arrive at the final figure.

Several arguments in favour and against it were put forth. To start off with, A argued that it is a simple case of relative motion. You go one way, your relative velocity is higher. You go the other, your relative velocity is lower. So, obviously, it would take different times. Simple enough.

Bump, an apple hit me! (That makes me Newton v2.0?)

“Do you mean to say that if I were to simply take a plane up in the air and hold it stationary there, I would reach USA after 12 hours?” B put forth. “Or if I throw an apple up in the air in a moving bus, it will come back and hit me”, said B consolidating his argument with an analogy.

Playing with Apples on a Bus Top (Nike?)

C pitched in A’s defence stating that the time period in consideration here was very less. What if I stood on top of the bus and threw an apple up in the air? The bus isn’t accelerating. Would the apple come back on me or would it fall behind?

“Of course, it would come back and drop on me”, said A. “Newton’s first law. A body continues to remain in its state of motion unless acted upon by an external force. The external force while throwing up is only in the vertical direction. So, it continues to move with the velocity of the bus while in air.”

My First love: To be a Space Scientist (Ending up in IIT was chance)

A continues , “How do you think a geo-stationary satellite works? It continues moving and remains above a specific country all the time even though the earth is rotating.” A had now switched sides.

Intimidated and discombobulated, C argued, “OK, but think of this. The plane works on the principle of jet propulsion. There is a horizontal force in action”. Silent upto now, D jumps on board the discussion. “That is not an external force. It works on the principle of conservation of momentum.”

Ricocheting Arguments!!

C put forth a last ditch effort to save his argument. “Fine, but how do you explain this? You board a plane at day time in India and after travelling 15 hours, it is still daytime when you land. That clearly means that your relative position with respect to the sun hasn’t changed much even after 15 hours of flight. Which was what B was saying. I take the plane up. Let it remain stationary with respect to the sun and lo behold! I reach USA. The plane expends all the energy only to remain stationary in space.”

Clearly, everybody was quiet frustrated and disoriented by now. All tea cups were empty. I for a fact decided that this wasn’t my cup of tea. Back in the room, I sat back, relaxed and started my first assignment from CAOS class: Fahrenheit 451.

Post Scripts

PS1: The flow of arguments may not be exactly the same as discussed. Some changes have been made to present all view points. In fact, there were more than four people.

PS2: I checked the flight timings. There seems to be a difference of 3 hours either way in most flights. Don’t ask me why that is.

PS3: If you didn’t read what was written above and directly skipped to the happy ending, to make a long story short: it is a question of relative motion.

Beggars to Entrepreneurs

Travelling in local trains is always a difficult experience. Sometimes it is enlightening too.

This weekend, for example I found that beggars can be entrepreneurs too. They aren’t as dumb as they are made out to be.

Here are some striking instances where the begging party applies itself to the situation at hand.

1. At the ticket counter: If you have ever told a beggar that you don’t have change to give him, beware. Enter the modern day street smart beggar. Standing at the ticket counter, waiting for you to give him the Re 1 change that you got from the counter. No excuses now.
2. Catch me game: This was a really smart lady who sent her small kid to go around to get something. On receiving the coin, the kid would throw the coin or roll it across to her mother as if it were a game he was playing. Not surprisingly, he was more successful than her mother at raising funds. The true virtuosity of the kid came to light when he got a packet of biscuits from a generous bystander and returned beaming to his mother holding it like a trophy.

A third instance, to whom I had referred in passing here, was the snake charming beggar.

Obviously, as impressed I was, so was I distressed. Why did these people not spend their energy on something more productive? Rather than spend their time begging (which did not come across as an easy profession to me), why not go out there and do something of value. Maybe sell some newspapers. Or start a roadside food stall. Or become a local tourist guide. Thousands of possibilities.

What drove them to beg is a mystery to me? Was it their attitude, the government or just chance. I have many questions but no answers.

The Search Ends

After some amount of procrastination, I finally decided to put some of my random thoughts into a structured blog post.

It has been a hectic semester searching for and finalizing internships. After quiet a bit of fight, I will have to settle with Finland. Casting away thoughts of posting a laconic A?! on Facebook as my status message, I think it would be more satisfying going through the whole process step by step and looking at some of the ups and downs I had.

August-September ’10

Internship season begins. After the initial jitters, ITC finally comes to campus. I get my first experience of a real GD. Not to be remembered, I must admit. I had hardly learnt from experiences last year.

September-November ’10

I never thought getting internships could be this hard. ITC selected 8 from the whole batch. Deutsche Bank selected one from the 3rd years. Schlumberger was my best bet. Made it to the interview stage after a somewhat arbitrary GD (Topic was “Rolling & Stones”).

Interview was even more arbit. Here is a sample:

I: Do you drink?

Me: (Brief Pause) No.

I: Do you listen to rock music?

Me: Yes.

I: Which is your favourite band?

Me: Pink Floyd.

I: You don’t drink and listen to Pink Floyd?! Don’t fib! (Laughs)

Me: (Sheepish smile & an awkward silence)

Although everybody described their interviews as good. I knew the moment the interview ended that I had a very slim chance of making it through.

December-January ’10

Companies coming to the campus had started to dry up. Even those that came didn’t sound very attractive. I started to forget about the internship and concentrate on other things.

SF came and went. I made it to the final 6 teams on 2 occasions in a marked improvement over last year’s performance. Some of the keywords that stood out were Suppandi, The Tipping Point and Scrabble!! (That is an in-joke!)

February-March ’10

Finally, internship gets finalized in Finland. I was pretty excited but institute rules and regulations regarding foreign internships somewhat dampened the atmosphere. Couldn’t really define the exact moment when I got the internship. But, I guess I’m pretty satisfied about it. And more than anything else, the work there sounds quiet interesting.

Had my first taste of an inter-hall event in March when I got a bronze in Whats the Good Word. Keywords were Poltu and Farziaap. More about it in the next post. Cheers!!

PS: On a somewhat unrelated note, I love Asok, the intern

A Beginner’s Guide to Travelling On a Local Train

You’ll Need: One handkerchief (a must), 3 one rupee coins, one 10 rupee note, plenty of cash, headphones, empty purse

Step 1: Buy your ticket

If you have ever come across a joke like the one below and believe that this really works, you are in for trouble.

Engineers may be smarter than accountants. But Ticket Collectors are smarter still (in India!).

Step 2: Reserve thy seat

This is where your most precious item comes into play. Even before the train stops or the doors of the compartment open, drop in your kerchief on your favourite window seat. Now, not even Sheldon can move you from your seat!

Step 3a: Put on your headphones

Whether you wish to listen to Pink Floyd, Jagjit Singh or Enrique is your choice. But putting on headphones is a must. This will help you ignore all the low-profile scums and beggars that come along.

There will be surprises. Don’t panic. You cannot ignore little girls coming with harmless snakes in round boxes to be opened at the right moment (Pandora’s Box!?). Use your first lifeline. 1st one rupee coin. You have only 3 lifelines. So take utmost care while using them.

Step 3b: Take off your glasses

If you happen to be among the self-evident geeks with big spectacles on your nose, better take them off once seated. That way they cannot be kidnapped for ransom. In the worst possible case, use your 10 rupee note.

Step 3c: Know thy train

For more details, look up extension of joke above.

SPOILER (highlight to reveal): On another trip on a local train, the engineers buy 3 tickets and the accountants buy no ticket. Guess who is smarter?

Step 4: Follow the herd

Be ready before your station arrives. Once the train arrives, do not hesitate. Do not think. Just follow the herd.

Durga Puja @Kolkata: My 5

Shubho Bijoya/Happy Vijayadashami to all my esteemed readers. It may be a tad late but better late than never.

This Durga Puja was a special one for me as it was the first time I went Pandal hopping in the heart of the festival: in Kolkata. The list of Mandaps are endless and what I could cover is but a small fraction of the humongous number of Pandals in the city. My list is by no means comprehensive or the final word. However, it does offer a sneak peak into this wonderful festival.

The Third Eye

If there is one thing that Bollywood can learn from these Pujo Mandaps are how to not run out of ideas. From Mandaps made of Spoons, Gamchas (Towels!) to thatched roofed ones, the Mandaps had left no stone unturned. But this one according to me was the mother of all! The third eye representing knowledge encompassing everything else.

Writer’s Building

This is a Mandap with a mission. The catchphrase - ‘Dori Dhore Maro Taan/Raja Hobe Khaan Khaan’ is a clarion call to all the people of Bengal to bring in a change at the Writer’s building: the seat of power of the government. Looking at the enormous structure, one really wonders how much money was spent on this to gain the requisite political leverage!

Para Pujo

With the theme of Para (locality) Pujo, this Mandap was wonderfully decorated. Visiting it during the evening added to the charm. The lighting and the props used for the Mandap were amazing. All the buildings around the Mandaps had been decorated. It wasn’t just the Durga idol but the overall atmosphere that in itself was electrifying (literally! they used electric diyas instead of traditional oil diyas!).

The 10 Hands!

This one was a little hatke. The asura (demon) was in the center with 10 hands attacking it from all directions. Although there was a regular Murti as well at the same place, this was the cynosure of all eyes.

Didi’s Creation

How could I leave this one? Conceptualized by the highly evolved mind of Mamata Banerjee, this was a Mandap with a message. What message? God knows! The Mandap itself in the form of an igloo/planetarium was an outlier. So why did it make it to my list? Because it was an outlier.

Others That Almost Made It

PS: There were many others: Mudiyali Club, College Square, Shib Mandir etc. etc. The big crowd didn’t permit stable photos (with all the pushing and stuff!) of those Pandals. My legs really hurt with all the walking. But it was a good experience!

Movie Review: Dabangg

Dabangg is not one of the regular lovey-dovey romantic type movies that are churned out every now and then by the Indian film industry in Bollywood. High on style quotient and in every manner of word, Dabangg: fearless, this is definitely one of those movies that you must add on top of your must-watch list.

To start with, I was tempted to draw parallels of the movie with The Matrix (dodging stuff!) and Sherlock Holmes (look at the final fighting scene in the trailer: ditto Sherlock Holmes), but after getting warmed up to the movie, one realizes that this movie is much above all that. This movie is going to have a cult following in its own right.

Some of the dialogues in the movie for instance are hilarious (हम तुममे इतने छेद कर देंगे कि पता नहीं चलेगा कि साँस कहाँ से ले और पादे कहाँ से) and really gives you the feel of a देसी "Made in India" (not one of those imported ones that you can find if you walk into any cinema hall these days) movie. Salman Khan embraces the character of Chulbul Pandey aka "Robin Hood" Pandey with ease what with the narrow moustache and the sunglasses which he puts behind his neck जिससे आगे भी और पीछे भी नज़र रहे. 

The accelerated/decelerated camera frames, the panning of the camera and the the background music playing whenever Salman Khan is in a scene that demands some amount of studappa really adds to the zing in the movie. And how can one forget the dance scenes with some amazing lighting (Diwali style? notice the expanding hearts on Salman Khan’s glasses!) and refreshingly unorthodox dance moves (How they move their belts?!) that are unlike any other Bollywood movie in recent memory.

One is so enraptured by the antiques of Chulbul that one really doesn’t seem to notice much of the plot. One does find surprises along the way, not many of course but a few small ones for sure (the death of Chulbul’s mother for instance or the Mango box which very innocuously seemed nothing but a box full of mangoes!). 

Content-wise it wouldn’t possibly add up to much, but it is a movie with some class and some Masala. This isn’t a movie for the film critique to analyse an intricately woven plot. But a movie for the masses that is fun-packed, low on Funda but surely full of clean, pure entertainment! Go, watch it!

OP a la Control Systems

Disclaimer: This isn’t meant to be a technically sound post. Any similarity with electrical devices either existent or non-existent is purely coincidental. The author of this post is not to be held responsible for any content that is either a result of frustrating lab sessions or somnolent lectures.

 

Actuators: I remember the first time I was in the common room. The GSecs introduced themselves. The Warden was there. And then it all started. Everything was set into motion. Who are the actuators? We all know!

 

Motors: I always wondered why second years always did the brunt work. Whether it was making the diyas for Illu, winning the GC or shifting rooms, everything was done by the 2nd years. Then I realized it is all part of a system: a control system.

 

Feedback: Now this is where things get interesting. The unique thing about OP in Nehru Hall is that it is a closed loop system. Not an open loop like in many other halls. If things got bad, OP stopped for a day or two and then the 2nd years themselves went and pleaded their seniors to start things again. Perfect mechanism!

 

Reference: We had 3 common room meetings every week which ran for a duration of 3 hours each. This is the minimum expected of you to become a Nehruite!

 

(Pressure) Sensors: “Was it too much or anything? This is for your own good.” “No sir, peace. Only xyz seemed to be under some amount of load. (Resistive, capacitive & inductive behaviour all taken into account) ”

 

System Output: Nehruite!

 

Note: If some things didn’t make sense, consider it like a 2 port network. All you are concerned about is the input (a non-Nehruite), the output (a Nehruite) and the transfer function (tempo).