Monday, September 17, 2007

First Two Themes: Prof. D.Mukhopadhyay's Inaugural Address at E-Fiesta and The Farewell thats Around the Corner

We introduce the first two themes on this site:


(i) E-Fiesta seemed to have a huge audience but only on the 'cultural day'. When Prof. D. Mukhopadhyay from Jadavpur University, Kolkata made his 'inaugural', 'non-technical' speech on the Saturday morning there were not more than twenty students. And those who were not there missed something. In his witty, provocative manner, he 'gossiped' on the most existential of all questions: "Who is an Engineer?" and replied," An engineer is someone who makes money, and more money and even more money." He went on to talk about how engineers, best of them included i.e. IITians, are all consumed by this solitary target of making money and have somewhere lost their 'self-definition' which, he thought, included producing original knowledge and 'solving problems'. Our theme is : as engineers-in-making, how do you define yourself? What are your targets? How do you see yourself as a would-be engineer? How do you see/plan your future? Write the prototype of an engineer that you have in mind and write what is your future-self in your imaginations.
(ii) The IVth year MITSians are 'leaving' and one can already sense the feeling of valediction in the air. How do they look back on their life/lives in MITS? We make their farewell and looking back the second theme and invite write-ups, photo-essays, memoirs, messages from all of them - the IVth year travellers.

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