Of an hobby and two awards

In this age of advertisements and over advertisements it is not uncommon to come across pamphlets being distributed on the streets or being delivered to your snail-mail box, but one kind of pamphlets I thought only existed in India. That is, the pamphlets of Dr. Shukla and Dr. Tiwari (may be others are also there but I came across these two only) specializing in all forms of cure meant to alleviate your abilities to contribute to the already existing pool of 6.5 billion human beings on this planet. During my last couple of years in France I found that these pamphlets do exist here as well. They come in the form of Prof. Abdul, Prof. Keita, Prof. Kabila etc specializing in the same forms of cure as Dr. Shukla and Dr. Tiwari but in the African way (I am not sure what that means). On top of that they can also do voodoo, faith healing, telepathy to name a few. I can write on and on about their abilities but that is not what I want to tell. Now, imagine a person who has the hobby of collecting such pamphlets, laminate them and then put it up on a wall in his office. Most of us would say this imaginative person cannot exist but I would say he does exist. Recently I came across such a person more precisely a Frenchman. Since, he spoke little English and I very little French, I somehow formed a sentence and asked him why he collected all this. He said, it is quite a fun to collect all this. If your mood is really off and you read a few of the pamphlets they are no less than a nice joke. On the lighter side he said, look I happen to be an engineer of an advanced facility and suppose you come to me with a problem in an experiment I cannot solve may be you can find these people on the pamphlet interesting or if suppose your experiment is broken and you do not know what to do may be you can take one of these guys number. I did find this hobby quite interesting and thought may be I can also pick up a strange one like this. I did not have to wait for long to get the idea. The idea came to me in the form of a letter from International Biographical Center in Great Britain. They have nominated me to be "International Scientist of the year 2011" for doing God knows what. But the catch is if I want the award I must pay them, I write again, pay them a minimum amount of 350USD. This is not the first time I got such award. I have also been awarded "Albert Einstein Award of Excellence for 2011" by American Biographical Institute which will be given to me if I pay 495USD. It occurred to me this can also be a rare collection of all the awards I could have got in case I had agreed to pay. Nonetheless, I end here with the pictures of the letters I have collected so far.

Midnight in Paris

Well the title is exactly as it is for a recent Woody Allen movie which I happen to watch in a theater in France, but, here I would be writing a different story. To write a little about the movie, I must say I was lucky to watch it in English in France though they named it "Minuit à Paris", but still it was in "English". Anyway, since I said I am not talking about the movie, the question is, what I am talking about? I am going to talk about a real midnight I spent on the streets of Paris last weekend. This was my second time in Paris. Last time as well I did spend most of my midnight on the streets but this time it was magical. I had gone there to watch the 14th of July fireworks near Eiffel tower. Me and my friends reached near the tower almost two hours before the event started. We were lucky to get near the tower as the security allowed only a limited number of people near the tower. All the while we kept staring at the sky for the darkness to fall. Then darkness came around 11 in the evening and we were staring at the tower for the fireworks to begin. Suddenly the tower went dark and the fireworks began from the other side of the river opposite to the tower. Anyway realizing our first timers' mistake we turned towards the display and enjoyed every bit of the dancing fire. But wait, this is not the magical part because the midnight had yet to begin. The midnight started the moment the fireworks finished. Now, it was our turn to return to our hotel by boarding the Paris metro. Never in my short stay in Europe I had seen a crowd of this magnitude and density. Wherever you turn, you see only heads, millions of them and all heading for the metro. On any usual day we should have reached the entrance of the metro station in 10 mins but on this day or rather midnight it took us almost one hour to reach the gate only to be told that the station is too crowded and please walk to the next station towards the center of Paris. At this time we all did what we were told even though me and my friends had to go away from the center to reach our hotel. Why we did that, is pure mystery? May be the sight of million heads on the streets of Paris on a midnight had a captivating effect on us and we walked towards the next station. All the while watching the people in the pubs and restaurants enjoying their food and drinks. The road was also full of cars moving at snail's pace. On any ordinary day it is unthinkable to walk on anything other than the pavements but on this midnight we were walking between and with the cars on the street. If it was possible then the pavements would have put up a sign "house full" as seen outside many theaters playing good or over hyped movies on the first day first show. Nonetheless, the streets had plenty of place. We reached the next station and even before we could queue to enter the station we were told please walk to the next station. I don't remember the name of the station anymore because by this time I was hypnotized by the sheer madness on the streets of Paris and I almost accepted the fate that I will probably have to walk all the way to the hotel some 6-7 kms from where we were standing. Our last try was the next station where the crowd as smaller but equally discouraging for people hoping to take the metro. Anyway we queued up and the crowd moved forward much slower than one would expect. By this time we had already spent around one and half hours on the street after the fireworks ended. But the magical midnight had to end somewhere and it was at this station that it ended. After much waiting we got into the station and since we were taking a train away from the center it was less crowded. And within half an hour after changing one metro we were at the hotel. Once, in the hotel I realized though I would avoid the Paris fireworks for the rest of my life I would always remember that particular midnight on the streets of Paris. It was Mad, Chaotic and Magical at the same time. As an after thought I must add that this piece I am writing here will not give the full picture of what was happening. The best way to find the magic is to visit at least once the fireworks in Paris on 14th of July not just to enjoy the display of fire but to experience the magical midnight in Paris.

Chicken a la Whiskey

Today I made up a new recipe for chicken. If this already exists then that is purely coincidental. Anyway here I will describe how to make it. I will call it "Chicken a la Whiskey".

What you need.

Chicken: 2Kg

Onion: 500gms

Mushroom: 250gms

Garlic: 70gms

Ginger: 5-10 gms

Chili: to taste

Carom seeds: 2 tsp

Fennel seeds: 1 tsp

Turmeric powder: 2 tsp

Asafoetida: 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon: 1/2

Olive oil: 3 tbsp

Whiskey: 8 tbsp (I used single malt Glenfiddich 12, you can try replacing this with white vinegar or any other whiskey or may be red wine)

Green cardamom: 6-7

Cloves: 9-10

Coriander seeds: 2 tsp

Garam masala: 1 tsp

Cooking oil: 200ml

Curd: 125 gms

Salt: to taste

Now to start with, chop and clean your chicken and then marinate it for at least 1 hour in 4 tbsp whiskey, 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp of asafoetida. In the meantime chop up the onions, garlic, chili and ginger in small pieces. The garlic and ginger should not be too small. Also slice up the mushrooms in thin slices.

Heat the cooking oil in a large container(big enough to hold all the ingredients) and then put the carom seeds, fennel seeds, broken up cinnamon, green cardamom (both seeds and the skin after separating the two), cloves and chili in the oil. Fry in moderate heat till the spices become light brown and then put the ginger and garlic. Fry these as well till it becomes light brown. And then add finely chopped onions and 1 tsp of salt.

At this stage at the coriander seeds and fry till the onions become light brown. Now, add the sliced mushrooms along with 1 tsp of garam masala, 4 tbsp of whiskey and 125 gms of curd. Cook this mixture for 5-10 minutes.

Now it is time to add the chicken and do not throw away all the liquid that collects at the bottom of the vessel in which the chicken was being marinated. Put this liquid in the container as well. Mix the ingredients well and cover the container till the chicken is fully cooked. Add salt to taste and you are ready to serve "Chicken a la whiskey".

As an after thought you can also add cream instead of curd and use only olive oil and no cooking oil. I guess that will also taste good.

*tsp: tea spoon

*tbsp: table spoon

An experiment with HDR

Images taken from -3.0ev to +3ev

HDR without any enhancements

HDR with color enhancements

The Caterpillar Train

Both the videos contributed by Arpan

The Following

Saw this thing a few weeks back. The caterpillars forming a long chain and following the lead insect. Though in one case the leader got lost and they ended up jumbled.

A really long chain

The Fading Colors

A friend's suggestion..

Once upon a time....

Patience

For the past one month of my stay in India, I have found that this country offers numerous ways to develop your patience. Here I list a few which I encountered or I have heard from my friends.

1. Getting a passport: Getting a passport in this country can really count as an accomplishment worthy of being cited in your CV. First hurdle is to submit your form which itself can take one full day. And in this total day you can encounter anybody from touts to rude passport officials. After this comes the guys for inquiry. The local police and the intelligence who will invariably require some tips for expensive tea and sweets. After this if you are lucky we will get the passport and when you get it it is already three to four months since you submitted the form. But wait, your chance to gain a little more training is not yet over. You can get a passport where your father's or mother's or both names can be of a person you have never heard of. So, you again go back and forth few times to get it corrected. At the end you are one frustrated, pissed off patient guy.

2. Get your Voter ID: A small piece of laminated paper needed to exercise your democratic rights. Well what to say? It is also a wonderful training opportunity. First you have to submit your form, the mandatory first step. So, you have to go to some center where they will collect your form. You queue up for your turn. The office will invariably open half an hour to one hour late. By this time the queue is a mile long and you are probably half a mile from the office gate. Generally if people don't jump queue your turn should come after an hour or so. But, this won't happen since every other person in this country is VIP. So, these VIPs will come with some VVIP and try to get their forms submitted out of queue. So your time needed get upscaled by a factor of two or three. Now, this process has to be repeated twice or thrice depending on your luck to get your ID. Twice or thrice I say since after your form is processed you have to submit your photograph and then still mysteriously if your card does not arrive you have to submit your photograph again. Lets move one to other methods now.

3. Sending a registered letter through Indian Postal Service: Over here the queue jumpers are less in number but still it does not deprive you of your chance to test your patience. Over here you will encounter many times people who are given a computer to speed up the process but they are so inefficient in handling the device that sometimes you might feel that the computer is a devil which you should not install in government departments. I don't want to elaborate here the real challenge since they are similar to the ones above this one.

4. Traveling in suburban trains during rush hour: Well this one is not only the test of your patience but also the test of your ability to squeeze yourself in a volume half the total volume of

your whole body. Believe me this is possible. And on top of that the time you will take to reach your destination will go up exponentially as you get closer to your destination. How this is possible, is still a very difficult question to answer for me.

5. Doing a PhD: This is probably one of the best patience training ground. People have written numerous treatise on this subject hence I am not able to add anything to this subject.

6. Having a Tata photon whiz in non metropolitan city: I am not able to comment on other service providers of wireless internet but this one is really amazing. In the advertisement of another similar product from the same company on TV they show the sign of infinity in the end meaning it is infinitely fast. But believe we should not miss the point its not infinitely faster but the opposite. INFINITELY SLOW. Infact it is so slow that probably I should put infinite "O" s in the word "SLOW" before I even think of putting the "W".

Of all the above you would see that except for the last one all others have to do something or the other with the Government. So, you want to improve your patience just deal with some government department. Here I end this post with due apologies to Indian Judiciary System.

Yes Professor....

To start with I started writing this piece long back and at that time I did not complete it which still is unfinished but still I post it here with an ending not intended at that time.

Well for the past few days I had been thinking how best to describe the day to day life of such a student who is doing a PhD and then again not doing it. I had started this business of doing PhD and not doing it a little earlier then my peers not quite understanding what to expect. I say a little earlier because I happened to take a wise decision of taking a package deal which gives you both masters and doctors bunched together in one. Well lets call this bunched together entity as moctors. If you stretch your imagination a little more you might chance upon the fact that moctors can be like mock + actors with k and ac missing for the two words. Oh! my my, first you are an actor and above that you are a mock actor. With my limited wisdom I can see the Khan's from Bollywood or the numerous names from Hollywood being real actors. But the moctors are the ones who do the acting in the mock but never get to play a part in the real movie. Now I am confused. If one is playing in the mock then why the hell is he not in the movie or what the real actor is doing when the mock is being played? My dear friend that pretty much sums up the thing I am doing for last few years. Now I leave this open to interpretation as to who is the mock and who is the actor when a moctor is concerned. By now I am pretty much confused as to what I am writing, well not to worry I don't even know why I am writing. When I took the deal I hadn't yet had the opportunity to chance upon the famous British TV series `yes minister'. Had it been the case I might have taken a second look to the package. Well its a very simple package only the rules of give and take apply. The beneficiary of the package or in other words the acceptor of the package, since it may not be quite true that the acceptor is always a beneficiary, has to commit or give few years of his life to the package regulators and the regulators in turn will take whatever is left of the acceptor. So you can see a simple give and take. Well, after this give and take business I started my journey to the end of a long tunnel which after few years I realized doesn't have an end. It does not mean that it does not have an end at all, its just that the end is created when the regulators wish to do so. So, its kind of like this, I am a trying to be a moctor for movie named "The Eternal walk" with Count Dracula being in the lead even in the mock. Now, you are confused, so am I...

Jokes that are not joke and the obvious that is not obvious

The first one that started this series was actually thought to be a joke which turned out otherwise. I am talking about some jokes that are not jokes as told by my joking friend.

1. A guy goes home in the evening and tells his wife that I have a very special letter for you which I will give you after dinner when we go to bed. So he gives the letter to his wife after dinner, as promised. His wife opens the letter and they both read it. (end of joke)

The second he started a little melodramatically. It was regarding getting money out of ATM. In most ATMs in France you are given money in multiples of ten starting from 20 euros. So, some guy says that once he tried taking out 17 euros but nothing came out except for a hand from where the money is dispensed and almost slapped him. So, then my friend chips in saying that he knows one funny incident with ATMs. That will be joke and not a joke number 2.

2. This guy goes up to the ATM and put his debit card in. The ATM beeps a few times and asks him for his passwword which he gives and then the ATM dispays the amount option. This guy at the ATM goes for 20 euros and guess what happened. He gets the twenty euros and goes away. (end of funny incident)

The above two jokes which are not jokes did have a profound effect on the surroundings. Few people like me were actually laughing and one in the audience was trying to throw something big at the joke teller for telling such extermely good jokes which are not jokes. Another effect it had on the joke teller is that whenever he tried to tell a real joke people would guess the obvious and try to finish his real jokes which most believed will not be a joke and in the process the joke teller would forget the joke he was trying to tell which in most cases would not be a joke. But then this joke teller would try to ask some questions with obvious answers which we were not able to answer because the obviousness of the answer was not so obvious to us due to the obvious reason of we being void of our obviousness in the midst of our day to day obvious life. For example he asks a guy "Do you know why Gandhi is still famous?". The other guy who did not have any obviousness tried many things before he was told the obvious answer "He was a freedom fighter".

Well these are I guess some new kind of jokes which are not jokes but under certain circumstances people might laugh or get hurt. Well, thats all for now. I do not remember any more of the jokes which are not jokes but may be in future if I find any joke which is not a joke and not at all obvious and it does not get lost in the obviousness of the surrounding I will write on this wall.

Update on Workers' Situation at IITK

This post is mainly for spreading the information on the efforts put by few diligent people for the upliftment of the neglected. Personally I have contributed nothing except for signing a few petitions here and there.

Dear Fellow Alumnus,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for signing the petition “STOP Violating Contract Workers’ Rights at IITK"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ contract_ worker_rights_ iitk/ and update you with the workers’ situation.

The petition with 1017 signatures was delivered to the Director on June 9, 2010. Same petition with 500 and 150 signatures was also delivered to him on March 14, 2010 and February 3, 2010. So far we have had no response from IITK Administration.

Here is what the update on workers’ situation:

1. A team from Regional Labor Commissioner of UP and Uttarakhand visited the campus on 30^th Nov, 2^nd Dec and 9^th Dec 2009 and interrogated workers engaged by 17 contractors. Serious violations of Labor laws were documented in the report submitted by the team to the Labor Commissioner. This visit transpired due to a complaint filed by 25 workers who were fired by a contractor when workers demanded that they be paid their full wages.

2. The Labor Commissioner himself visited campus on May 7, 2010. In spite of the orchestrated visit, he was able to see contract workers hiding in the bushes and fleeing the campus in open trucks. We do not know yet what action if any Labor Commissioner’s office will take against IITK.

3. On April 1, 2010, 16 contract workers from Visitors Hostel (VH) with 7 to 14 years of experience with clean records were arbitrarily fired by the new contractor. It was also discovered that the old contractor had been deducting Provident Fund (PF) from workers’ wages for the last several years but not depositing neither employee’s contribution nor employer’s contribution with the PF Commissioner. IITK had failed to monitor contractor’s activities with respect to PF deductions and deposits. The fired workers have now been re-instated due to pressure from various sections of IITK community. IITK Legal Cell has so far not resolved the PF issue.

4. Instead of improving the working condition of contract workers, Dr. Dhande, as an immediate response to the VH issue has issued a circular on June 15, 2010, giving full powers to contractors to hire and fire any worker they feel like. This is not only unlawful, it is also against his own Office Order of September 16, 2007 where he instructed contractors that the worker once hired can only be fired if: (a) the work is over as certified by IITK before the expected time period or (b) worker behaves in undesirable ways. In this case, the termination must be recommended by the Grievance Committee.

While you enjoy the Golden Jubilee celebrations, please keep these workers in your prayers. Please do not hesitate to pass on your suggestions on how we can encourage IITK to obey the laws of the land and grant these workers their legal rights who are forced to survive on about $2 per day – half of what they are entitled to!

Workers would greatly appreciate it if you could continue to apply pressure on IITK administration through your e-mails, phone calls or by asking questions on this issue when attending any IITK related events. Should you need contact information to reach key administrators at IITK, please let me know at gupta@ohio.edu.

Sincerely,

Ashok Gupta (BTech, IITK, 1972)

For more information you can visit these sites.

http://sites.google.com/site/iitkcitizensforum/  (For various reports in the above email.)

http://sanhati.com/excerpted/2379/   (A general article outlining the problems and the various solutions possible)

Jouez moi

I never imagined that I will come across anything like this. I had heard of many things public like the bus, the tram, the streets even the bicycle but a public piano is beyond my imagination. For me the piano mostly existed in movies. So, when for the first time I came across a piano on the streets of Toulouse I thought probably someone wanted to dispose of the piano. Though it was written in large bold letters in French "Jouez Moi" meaning "Play me" I did not take it seriously. It was only when I came across this gentleman in the park playing the piano with the same words written on it, it occurred to me that this city has public piano like many other public utilities. Playing it is free and even if you do not know how to play it you may give it a try completely at your own risk. So, if ever you visit Toulouse and you come across a piano on the street, just let your imagination fly.

Sambre et Meuse

Sambre et Meuse

This sculpture is known as "Sambre et Meuse". I tried looking for it everywhere but never found it on the net, hence this entry. This artwork is in front of the tourist office in Namur, Belgium. I went to Namur in February 2010 and clicked this picture. I did not care to note down the name of the statue at that time thinking I will find it on the net. But no, I could not. So, eventually I wrote to the tourism office in Namur and they told me this sculpture is called "Sambre et Meuse" and was created by Hungarian sculptors Sonogkyi and Keren. Interestingly Namur is also the confluence of rivers Sambre and Meuse.

Footprints on the sands of time

Just a few days back I turned thirty. It is true nothing much changed in my life but I somehow got the inspiration to drop by the pages of my own history and revisit the times I once lived. I remember some instances from early childhood. Take for example the day when I broke my feeding bottle and my mother decided I had enough of the bottle. And then started the era of drinking out of a glass which had various forms of liquid till date starting from simple liquid like water. Then I fast forward myself to my first day at school which for most kids is painful but for me it was a big party with some glitches which I would skip here. After that we moved a few places and finally landed up at a place where my parents spent the next 23 years. There I had my whole school life. There are a lot of instances which I remember quite clearly but I would mention only a few here. First being the moment when I got my first cycle. It was a BSA champ. May be I should say that it was my first bicycle because before that I had a tricycle. The part of the memory where the cycle enters my life is quite hazy but somehow it became a integral part of my existence. The best part was, it had side supports which made it easy for me to drive and stop as I pleased. Another incident that I remember quite well is the time when we got our refrigerator. It was in the year 1985 and the fridge is still part of our household though the working parts may have gone through complete replacement. My mother was particularly delighted to have it. I remember it for the wonderful food it always had and the ease with which I could steal them. Then I remember my leg operation in 1987, the same year my grandfather died. Well that was kind of a very painful memory for me but the doctor told my father the operation probably saved my leg. In the same year my father got his scooter. That became a permanent sitting place for me when ever I had free time and the scooter was parked on our ground floor balcony. The years passed and came 1989 when we had our first television. At that time only channel available was DD1 and sometimes if the weather was good we could get DD2. I remember the first day the TV was installed. I watched every program that was being aired that day. Through that little idiot box I came in contact with the world outside our little residential campus. My favorite at that time being "The world this week". I still remember keeping a note of all major personalities. The 90s came and suddenly the world changed around me. The Gulf war happened, Margaret Thatcher resigned as the prime minister of Britain after a series of riots, Manmohan Singh opened up the Indian markets, the babri masjid fell, the cable TV invaded our homes and overnight the famous TV antennas disappeared from our skylines. Well, the cable TV was a very interesting thing. Initially it did not enter the Indian market with all the censorships of the 2000s. I particularly remember my friends telling me about the unedited version of late night movies on Star TV, which, I could never watch while being at home, since late night TV was strict no-no in our house. Then I got busy with my testing years. It was the years I was taking my 10th, 12th school year exams and my college admission exams. Then I had a difficult choice, my father wanted me to become doctor, so that I could serve humanity and my mother wanted me to become an engineer, so that I could fix her food processor or the refrigerator if it broke down some day. I became non. To be frank I tried hard to be an engineer but somehow I did not make it. Instead I went to study the intricate details of the world around us, that is, physics. College was a different world for me. By this time the larger things in world like Gulf war, or the London riots, or the break up of Soviet Union got lost in the midst of my struggle for survival. College gave me, apart from my degree, some of my best friends. The most memorable moments in college being the illogical class bunking, the cold coffee at the campus temple, the numerous hours spent only chatting with friends, the numerous rounds of the card game called 29 to name a few. The college years are still vivid and it seems like it was only yesterday that I traveled to Benares for my admission. I graduated in 2001. The world was changing quite fast. I went to Kanpur for my higher studies and that same year I had my first computer. At that time my computer was one of the few in the whole hostel. By the time I got my PhD in Physics every room in the hostel had a computer and in some cases even two, a desktop and a laptop. It was at Kanpur that I had my baptism with fire, that is, I encountered the real world with all its odds and evens. I saw the last of Kanpur in 2009. In the eight years I was associated with Kanpur I saw the place change at a pace unthinkable in the 90s. By this time my father had retired and he had moved back to the place where he spent his childhood and I had moved to France for my post doctoral research. Well, the reader might say, the history really lacks the presence of any feminine character except for my mother. Well, to be frank a few beautiful people from the feminine community do figure in my history. Mostly, because of my friends who missed a beat the first time they came across the beautiful people. Well thats a story for another time. Here I am writing my own history of sorts. Coming back to Kanpur, it has a special place in our family history as well. It was the place where my father started his professional career back in 1967 and so did I. I think I will stop here. Someday, somewhere at the evening of my life may be I can add many more beautiful things to this post.

What came to my mind

Its a long time since order has left my life and chaos has set in. Whether, order was at all there is again a matter to debate. But, I thought it was there. This chaos has also set in a sense of helplessness in me. I know it is there but am unable to do anything to remove it. It feels like one of those dreams where your hands and legs are bound and nothing moves. Take for example this small piece I am writing. I have many things in my mind to write but I keep writing about the chaos and its effects. I do not know how to phrase into words what I am thinking. may be its a good idea that I come back later and write something of what is there in my mind.

Just a thought

You never know how high you can fly until and unless you try to reach the sky

A peaceful weekend at a Chalet

This was a new experience for me. Me and my friends decided to spend a weekend in a lonely place away from humanity. So, we booked a chalet. The chalet was at Lans en Vercors. It was called Ville Pleinevie. We reached friday evening with all the food and baggage needed to survive two days and two nights. The place was snow covered. The chalet was equiped with room heating and a very nice fire place. The first night started with a glass of whiskey and some hip shaking. After the hip got tired the leg started moving with the hands. The first night dinner was simply finished with khichdi when everything got tired. After dinner I went out with few of my friends for a round of night photography. The moon had come up and it revelaed to us the snow covered surrounding. But we had to wait till next morning to get a real view. The next morning started a bit late with cornflakes and milk. The morning sun gave us a first look around. The snow covered surrounding gave a feel of a valley draped in white sheet. We had our share of fun on the snow making snow man and all. The chalet also had a baby foot. Some of us got really busy playing the game. We could see all the excitment of a real football game without any people running around. The games continued till lunch. At lunch we had chicken Indian style with rice. After lunch some of us went for a walk in the snow covered mountains. I had the opportunity to click some nice snaps. The evening started with a small snack consisting of raclette cheese, boiled potato and salad. The snack was accompanied by beer. After the snack some of us got down preparing dinner. Rest of us got busy with vodka and some hip shaking. For dinner we had fried chicken. After dinner I went out for a long walk. We had only the moon to light our way. The silence around the place was complete which was broken only by the occassional vehicles on the highway. Next day sunday, started with a light breakfast. Frankly speaking, we had nothing to do accept have our lunch and go back to Grenoble in the evening. So some of us started preparing pizzas and pasta. Rest of us made ourselves comfortable and started chatting about things in general. In all this `in general topics' the most interesting was regrading the small animal `bat'. Wikipedia will give you loads of information regarding this nocturnal creature. But the point of discussion was whether it excretes from the mouth or not. Well I won't go into the sketchy details of the affair which continued for few following days on our return from the chalet. Coming back to our trip, we had lunch and then started cleaning up the place. In the evening the land-lady came and we cleared our dues and walked to our bus-stop for our bus to Grenoble. But the excitment did not stop here. In all this time of checking out and all, one of us left the baggage inside the chalet. By this time the land-lady was half a way to her home. Luckily, she agreed to come back for our baggage when we called her and we could retrive our baggage before the bus arrived. And thus ended our time away from the city.

The 'F' letter

When as an undergrad I came across the Feynman lecture series, it was an eye opener to me as a young guy trying to figure out his major options. I will not claim that I have become a master in physics, but, definitely that particular rendezvous with the series was one of the many incidents that motivated me to pursue the subject even though I terribly failed in capturing the intricate details of simple phenomena. That's a different picture all together. But the reason I write this, since today I am standing at a point in my life where very soon I will be facing the undergrad, that I was long-back, trying to figure out his or her options. But before going into anything else, let me go back few years to April 2005, when Matthew Sands wrote the story of the series in Physics Today. If you follow the link you will read that, this series is actually a compilation of lectures given by Feynman to undergrads at Caltech. There I remember reading a particular section where Feynman asked Sands, what was the class average for the final exams. Sands thought it was pretty good at 65%. Feynman's response was something completely different. He simply said the students should have done better and Feynman was a failure. The reason for pointing out this particular incident is that the overall performance of the class does not only reflect on the class or batch but on the teacher too. This simple fact is ignored by most teachers now a days when they face a difficult class.

I do not have a lot of teaching experience and the small amount of experience that I have, I am not sure if I failed or not. Anyway, coming to the 'F' letter in academics it stands for only one thing probably when come to classroom teaching that is fail or failed or failure. It can stick to both students or teachers. But in India, teachers are non-sticky like the famous special material coated non-stick cookware. Nothing sticks on them, whether they dole out the famous letter or force somebody by their action to leave this earthly abode. The main reason for writing this blog is not criticism but rather an insight into my own ideas about a feedback system that is needed for higher education in India. The system judges the students by taking exams and tests and accordingly rewards it in various ways. A similar evaluation and reward process should exist for teachers as well. As a student I felt that reward system does exist for teachers in the form of promotions, special chairs etc but I am not sure if as a teacher the person sees them as reward or his birth right. The more important thing is that, the student and teacher should be more of a friend, rather than being enemies out there to outsmart each other and in the end if the teacher is outsmarted he forcefully fails as many as he can. The learning process I believe is most effective if the environment is cordial. The effort to create such an atmosphere should come from both sides-the teacher and the student. The teacher being a very powerful entity in the Indian sense, with the special letter, the move to lighten the atmosphere should come from the teachers end and then the students have to reciprocate accordingly. I do remember some incidents from my undergrad days when friendly teachers were considered as meek. That, I feel was the problem of the system unable to control its components. But in a system, say like the premier institutes in India, where indiscipline is dealt swiftly and strictly, evolving a cordial system may not be completely impossible. I guess there is no pride in giving the 'F' letter. The more you give the more you yourself fail but care should be taken that one is not too lenient as well. After all a system is designed to fairly judge ones accomplishments. The line between a fair judge and an outsmarted teacher is very thin and that is where lies the distinction between those who nurture great minds and those who kill the society with a red pen and a simple letter.