Soon, our campus will see a addition of a huge number of students.
And, to accomodate them, the previous mess halls of Narmada, Saraswati and Alakananda hostels will be demolished and 64 rooms will be built in its place. Also, an extra third floor will be added with an additional 64 rooms. Which means that soon these hostels will be able to accomodate 360 students from the previous 232 students. A increase of over 50% is not insignificant.
The same small quadrangle and other sporting facilities in the hostel will now be shared by so many people. The mess hall cannot be converted into an Indoor Sports Complex now. The FoosBall table (or/and the Table Tennis Table) will now be crammed into the music room. The thought of living in a densely populated hostel and having to share resources seems awkward and very discomforting.
The only benefit I see right now is that we will gain in various inter-hostel Lit-Soc, Tech-Soc and Schroeter events. Stronger teams and better participation. Although it will take another year for the new rooms to be built and then occupied, our mess roof top is gone which is pretty sad for our wing.
Reservations. Creation of new IITs. I had thought I would be largely unaffected by these insensible Governmental measures before I've passed out of this college. I know it's a bit ego-centric and selfish but today I feel really infuriated.
If the creation of so many new IITs was not enough, the government is now increasing the number of seats in the IITs. If the government has to reform our country's educational system, it should work on basic problems like improving primary education by creating better schooling infastructure, training teachers, making teaching a lucrative job, reducing the dropout rate from schools and revising the curriculum regularly. It should encourage private-public partnership in education. These are just some of the measures that one can think of in a hurry. Its easier to take decisions without enough consulations or groundwork and form committees than to actually work with dedication on ground towards improving the education system. Creating new IITs or increasing the number of seats drastically is only going to reduce their standards. If you increase the number of students, you've got to increase the number of well trained faculty and improve the infrastructure as well. It's neither rocket science, nor complex mathematics. It's common sense, which our government seems to be lacking.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
An attempt at sensationalism: Z and J
Disclaimer: It's a filthy work of fiction filled with fabrication of facts. I have all due respect for both the protagonists. Any resemblance of the alphabets Z and J to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Mr. Z called up Ms. J yesterday. The former is the President of one of our neighbouring countries while the latter is one of hottest female stars in Hollywood. Of course, there is nothing going on between the two. But let us allow our imagination to run amok for a bit. Could it be a Imran-Jemima or Sarkozy-Bruni kind of an affair in the making?
Mr. Z became a widower last year after the assassination of his wife. And Ms. J, despite being in a live-in relationship with a top Hollywood actor for many years, seems to be bizarrely disinterested towards marriage. Both of them are charismatic, successful, single and apparently interested. Here's how.
From what our sources tell us, Ms. J seems to have made the first move. She has donated $1M (about Rs. 5 crore) to Mr. Z's country. Now, how much of this money actually reaches the people is anybody's guess. It seems to be a gift for Mr. Z under the wraps of humanitarian aid.
Compared to what other countries and individuals have donated, $1 million is a minuscule amount. He could have even avoided calling up Ms. J, or he should have called up both Ms. J and her boyfriend because the donation was made by the them jointly through their J-P foundation.
Not only this, during the long call that Mr. Z made yesterday to her. he has also invited Ms. J to visit Pakistan sometime so that he can reciprocate her gesture. A little birdie tells us that Mr. Z first met Ms. J during his last trip to the US. He was apparently very pleased after the visited and had even said that the friendship with US has been a blessing.
Apparently, the two of them had kept their relationship under wraps for long and its only now that they've started fuelling speculation.
Surely, something's fishy.
Mr. Z called up Ms. J yesterday. The former is the President of one of our neighbouring countries while the latter is one of hottest female stars in Hollywood. Of course, there is nothing going on between the two. But let us allow our imagination to run amok for a bit. Could it be a Imran-Jemima or Sarkozy-Bruni kind of an affair in the making?
Mr. Z became a widower last year after the assassination of his wife. And Ms. J, despite being in a live-in relationship with a top Hollywood actor for many years, seems to be bizarrely disinterested towards marriage. Both of them are charismatic, successful, single and apparently interested. Here's how.
From what our sources tell us, Ms. J seems to have made the first move. She has donated $1M (about Rs. 5 crore) to Mr. Z's country. Now, how much of this money actually reaches the people is anybody's guess. It seems to be a gift for Mr. Z under the wraps of humanitarian aid.
Compared to what other countries and individuals have donated, $1 million is a minuscule amount. He could have even avoided calling up Ms. J, or he should have called up both Ms. J and her boyfriend because the donation was made by the them jointly through their J-P foundation.
Not only this, during the long call that Mr. Z made yesterday to her. he has also invited Ms. J to visit Pakistan sometime so that he can reciprocate her gesture. A little birdie tells us that Mr. Z first met Ms. J during his last trip to the US. He was apparently very pleased after the visited and had even said that the friendship with US has been a blessing.
Apparently, the two of them had kept their relationship under wraps for long and its only now that they've started fuelling speculation.
Surely, something's fishy.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Anecdotes from Train Journies: Please adjust
One has to adjust in life. And if one lives in a country like mine, one has to adjust a lot.
I got to know about the date of joining for my internship about a month before the date. That was too late for me to get any ticket in the General Quota. The only feasible option for me then was to book a ticket in the Tatkal Quota. I had to adjust.
Now, for the unawares, booking under Tatkal Quota begins five days before the date of journey at 8 am. The two ways to book a train ticket are through the internet or at the ticket counter at railways stations. The unavailability of internet connection during morning in our college ruled out the former and the ongoing end semester exams ruled out the latter. So, I had to ask one of my cousins to book a ticket for me through the internet. But, the site would develop problems immediately after 8 am and show some arbitrary errors. By the time it worked, all the tickets under the quota were over. I realised that there is a nexus between people at Railways and the agents who get tickets for you by charging some extra amount. The next day I had to get a ticket through a friend who knew someone at the Railways. I had to adjust.
I got a ticket in the Sleeper Class for the twenty-six hour long journey and that too during summers. But, that was better than nothing. I had to somehow reach there. I had to adjust.
Now, Sleeper coaches don't have a mobile charger point at the compartment. Some coaches do have one in each coach near the door. Mine had, but it did not work. My mobile was almost out of battery and I needed to charge it. So, I had to go and see if the charging point in the other coach worked, I went from S10 to S9 only to find that the condition here was even worse. There, someone had removed the whole socket and there were just three wires dangling out of a whole in the wall. I kept traveling from coach to coach and finally found a charging point that worked in S3.But somebody was charging his phone over there and there were two others in the queue. He told me that the charging point in S1 also works and I could go there. When I reached S1, there was just one person charging his phone. Thankfully, there was no queue. He told me that he would need just fifteen minutes more. After coming so far, I obviously did not mind waiting. But soon, the train came to a halt at a small station. He said he would be back in five minutes and if I could watch over his phone till then. I agreed. But, five minutes are never five minutes. In no time, the small area between the two doors and the toilets was packed by around ten-twelve men and women, mostly villagers. They sat down all around me on the floor and created the most densely populated area possible by humans. For the next fifteen minutes which seemed like an eternity, I was just standing at the door in the heat waiting for him to return. I had to adjust.
The train budged and he came, unplugged his phone, thanked me and went. Now, standing in what seemed like a pool of people I was only hoping to get out of that place as soon as possible. The sights, the smells and the sounds were very discomforting. If that wasn't enough, soon, a quarrel broke out between a woman sitting on the first side berth of the compartment and a ticketless traveler trying to occupy the small vacant space on her berth. Another person said something and the woman started shouting. A lot more people joined in and profanities were exchanged. For me, the quarrel had crossed the line of entertainment and entered into a domain of fright. Despite wanting to get out of that mess, I could not. I had to adjust.
Now, on the way back from Pune, I had fortunately managed to get a ticket in 3AC. We were a couple of hours away from Chennai. Mine was the side upper seat, which I had got by exchanging my original seat with a family who had asked me if I could adjust. As soon as the person who was occupying the seat below mine got down, I came down from the upper seat to sit by the window. I was reading a magazine when someone came and asked, "Can I sit here aaa?". My legs were folded and therefore half of the seat was still empty. I half mumbled something like, "But that would make me uncomfortable". But, he couldn't hear it. He repeated, "Should I come aaa?". I wanted to tell him that because of ticketless travellers like them, we have to pay more, but I nodded. I had to adjust.
Then, he called his wife and their small kid from somewhere and made them sit there. The kid was so cute that all my anger melted away. He kept playing with my bag for the next hour or so.
I got to know about the date of joining for my internship about a month before the date. That was too late for me to get any ticket in the General Quota. The only feasible option for me then was to book a ticket in the Tatkal Quota. I had to adjust.
Now, for the unawares, booking under Tatkal Quota begins five days before the date of journey at 8 am. The two ways to book a train ticket are through the internet or at the ticket counter at railways stations. The unavailability of internet connection during morning in our college ruled out the former and the ongoing end semester exams ruled out the latter. So, I had to ask one of my cousins to book a ticket for me through the internet. But, the site would develop problems immediately after 8 am and show some arbitrary errors. By the time it worked, all the tickets under the quota were over. I realised that there is a nexus between people at Railways and the agents who get tickets for you by charging some extra amount. The next day I had to get a ticket through a friend who knew someone at the Railways. I had to adjust.
I got a ticket in the Sleeper Class for the twenty-six hour long journey and that too during summers. But, that was better than nothing. I had to somehow reach there. I had to adjust.
Now, Sleeper coaches don't have a mobile charger point at the compartment. Some coaches do have one in each coach near the door. Mine had, but it did not work. My mobile was almost out of battery and I needed to charge it. So, I had to go and see if the charging point in the other coach worked, I went from S10 to S9 only to find that the condition here was even worse. There, someone had removed the whole socket and there were just three wires dangling out of a whole in the wall. I kept traveling from coach to coach and finally found a charging point that worked in S3.But somebody was charging his phone over there and there were two others in the queue. He told me that the charging point in S1 also works and I could go there. When I reached S1, there was just one person charging his phone. Thankfully, there was no queue. He told me that he would need just fifteen minutes more. After coming so far, I obviously did not mind waiting. But soon, the train came to a halt at a small station. He said he would be back in five minutes and if I could watch over his phone till then. I agreed. But, five minutes are never five minutes. In no time, the small area between the two doors and the toilets was packed by around ten-twelve men and women, mostly villagers. They sat down all around me on the floor and created the most densely populated area possible by humans. For the next fifteen minutes which seemed like an eternity, I was just standing at the door in the heat waiting for him to return. I had to adjust.
The train budged and he came, unplugged his phone, thanked me and went. Now, standing in what seemed like a pool of people I was only hoping to get out of that place as soon as possible. The sights, the smells and the sounds were very discomforting. If that wasn't enough, soon, a quarrel broke out between a woman sitting on the first side berth of the compartment and a ticketless traveler trying to occupy the small vacant space on her berth. Another person said something and the woman started shouting. A lot more people joined in and profanities were exchanged. For me, the quarrel had crossed the line of entertainment and entered into a domain of fright. Despite wanting to get out of that mess, I could not. I had to adjust.
Now, on the way back from Pune, I had fortunately managed to get a ticket in 3AC. We were a couple of hours away from Chennai. Mine was the side upper seat, which I had got by exchanging my original seat with a family who had asked me if I could adjust. As soon as the person who was occupying the seat below mine got down, I came down from the upper seat to sit by the window. I was reading a magazine when someone came and asked, "Can I sit here aaa?". My legs were folded and therefore half of the seat was still empty. I half mumbled something like, "But that would make me uncomfortable". But, he couldn't hear it. He repeated, "Should I come aaa?". I wanted to tell him that because of ticketless travellers like them, we have to pay more, but I nodded. I had to adjust.
Then, he called his wife and their small kid from somewhere and made them sit there. The kid was so cute that all my anger melted away. He kept playing with my bag for the next hour or so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
