Ian McEwan in Jaipur? : Its Jaipur Literature Festival Season

Since 2005, JLF is one of the most significant events in India's literary calendar. More about the festival and this year's programme is here

India's biggest and best ever festival of literature. This year starring: Ian McEwen, Gore Vidal, Manil Suri, John Berendt, UR Ananthamurthy, Anoushka Shankar, Aamir Khan, William Dalrymple, Aparna Sen, Siddarth Dhanvant Shanghvi, Christopher Hampton, Paban Das Baul, Paul Zacharia, Indra Sinha, Susheela Raman, Dev Anand, Kamila Shamsie, Mamhood Farooqi, Jeet Thayil, Uday Prakash, Donna Tartt, Himanshu Joshi, Anita Nair, Namita Devidayal, Nayantara Sahgal, Chitra Mudgal and Tishani Doshi.

Special for MITSIANS

Arjun Deo Charan and Giriraj Kiradoo

Arjun Deo Charan explores Rajasthani poetry with Giriraj Kiradoo

THURS, 24th Dec. 2007 14:00 p.m.

Venue: Diggi Palace, SMS Hospital Rd, Jaipur

Siyahi's Translating Bharat : Language, Globalisation and the Right to be Read (Its in Jaipur!)

Note: Yours truly is aboard Siyahi as a Translator/Consultant. For detailed programme and other things visit Siyahi's website or write to mitakapur@siyahi.in/mita.kapur@gmail.com.



With India rising as an economic power, our diverse literary and cultural traditions are receiving the world's attention. Translations, as an act of literary preservation, are becoming increasingly significant in a globalized world. Indian languages and literatures are rapidly adapting to the critical cultural changes across the nation. There is an urgent need to cross-fertilize ideas, exchanges and translations between language groups, national and international. The oral, pictorial and scripted traditions, which constitute the rich history of Indian literature, need to be conserved and perpetuated with passion and professionalism.



Bharatiya Anuvad Parishad is a voluntary society formed in 1964 by Dr. Gargi Gupta. The parishad endeavors to master the art of translations by bridging the gap between English, Hindi and Bhasa languages, using Hindi as a bridge, and also caters to the growing need for an Indian linguistic identity apart from English. It has been able to do so by providing a platform for translators from different regional streams from all the major languages by being associated with universities, institutions and private organizations.



The conference, Translating Bharat : Language, Globalization and the Right to be Read, is an effort by Siyahi to provide an interactive space for creating synergies to help writers, translators and publishers to understand core issues and work towards creating bonds which will help them benefit from each other's experiences and understanding. The Indian economy is reaching out to the world. Translating Bharat is a small step in presenting the diversity of Indian literature by bringing together authors, poets, translators and publishers, from Bharat that is India

itizn't a nyoo year post; and itizn't an editorial as well

Freespeech enters its second calendar year; 2008 has indeed arrived- classes have resumed, campus is getting busier every minute and top-up coupons are easily available again.


Will it be yet another year, like the previous one(s)? The world doesn't change as indifferently as a digit or two in a year's citation. It remains very much the same; cold is as chillier, Mody is as isolated and far-off, studies as imposing and chances of an escape as rare as they always have been. Even, a New Year eve replays the last New Year’s Eve! The same way of going about and through it!

And Freespeech still doesn't get more than 2 visitors a day; and Amrita Sharma is still the only regular student contributor. Before you conclude that this party-spoiler sameness episode should be shown the way, let me wish some genuine newness for you and an epic readership for Freespeech in 2008.

MADE FOR EACH OTHER by Ruchi Singhal

Ruchi is an Engineer-in-making (E 7/III yr) but with a lot of other things on her mind. One such thing has taken form of this little 'love story'.

Getting up early is the hardest job for me, but as usual Johnny woke me up early this morning too. I don’t know what pleasure he gets in going for those mundane “morning walks”. Moreover the nefarious fellow always tricks me into accompanying him. He always says that there is a beauty in the nature, but oh! what beauty, the vicinity is the same everyday.

Today again we are here on the grounds of his beloved ‘exotic’ park. I was trying to keep myself from dozing off when all of a sudden a whiff of breeze with actual ‘exotic’ air stormed me. In order to find the source of that calling aroma, I turned around.

What I saw was beyond imagination. There stood before me the best creation of God. The words ‘glorious’ and ‘attractive’ seemed Lilliputian in front of her. Her fur coat & open curly hair made her look like an angel. Overwhelmed by her beauty I somehow gathered courage to go near her. Although speechless, I was somehow able to convey my words of appreciation to her. Seemingly glad she gave a million dollar smile.

Convinced by the Hindi saying ‘hansi to fasi’, I almost jumped with joy. I even started making plans of our marriage. There will be a huge list of guests, delicious food items and a lot of melodrama. And the title would read “Tommy weds laika”.

So what if dogs don’t marry. I really hope our puppies will be as exquisite as she is.

Comedy, Terror and the Beautiful: Amrita Sharma Responds to 'Life is Beautiful'

Roberto Benigni's 1998 classic 'Life is Beautiful' (La Vita E Bella) is one of the greatest comedies and (an even greater anti-war film) ever made. Set against Nazi holocaust , the movie is a father 's amazing heroics to convert the war and holocaust into a game for his son and by doing so he's able to keep him away from all the ugliness his little world is forced to acknowledge. Benigni got the Best Actor's Academy award for playing Guido the father, the film was adjudged the Best Foreign Language film and also won an Oscar for the Best Original Dramatic Score. Same year, it was the Grand Jury Prize winner at Cannes. This piece is inspired by a classroom screening during one of the PMEL sessions.

Rightly said, 'life does not cease to be funny when people die as much as it ceases to be serious ,when people laugh’.

If comedy could manage bring out laughter from people enveloped with terror, it could indisputably be the biggest weapon to fight terror.ifmiseries don’t seem to relent and one cant help getting out of aninevitably oppressive situation ,at least one can overwhelm the heartwith joy for a while by smiling and making others smile.Thanks to comedythat has helped to bring back the smile on innumerable faces throughages.’Life is beautiful’ is another piece of comedy that has raked upthis idea. It whizzed past in a couple of hours but didn’t fail leavingan indelible imprint in our minds unveiling the idea of fighting terrorusing a weapon which may be invaluable but paradoxically, even theleast fortunate with this treasure.the treasure of the ability to smileand making others smile.

The hero of the movie,(yes,even thoughhe didn’t come up with any stereotypical heroic stunt and was notextraordinary in any way,he definitely was a hero in my opinion.Havingnever giving in to the profusely oozing sweat of hardships that heunderwent in the Nazi conentration camp during the war of fascism) ajewish Italian named Guido ,never failed to make his son smile all thetime using his humourous imaginations even in the grim atmoshpherethat was prevalent in the death camp where destiny had brought them.There wasn’t a single misery that had not gripped him.Beit the catastrophe of war his nation was suffering.Be it the longingnessfor his beloved wife Dora who was separated from him in another jewishconcentration camp or be it the terror of the ultimate end that they allseemed to be heading towards along with his little son who had just embarked on the journey of his life.

All his wit told him thatthe only way to get over such horrific fear was to hold on and notforget to laugh it off.The miseries surely were not enough to engulf hisfaith in humour.He rather told his son who was intrigued in thebeginning that it was an all new game that they had come to play andthat they had to score the 1000 quickest points to win a Tank.This wasenough to fascinate the kiddo who also started taking the hardships as agame and enjoyed it.

Guido was shot to death by the germansoldiers but didn’t fail to make his son laugh even a minute before he died!

Isn’t that a lesson to be learned and realize thesignificance of comedy.Terror is never an invited guest.It graduallylooms over the horizon.But if one learns the art of comedy,it canfortify him to fight back a terror in the ugliest guise.Because laughterdoesn’t just makes life simpler and more worthwhile but mostimportantly,beautiful.

Indeed! Comedy is the biggest weapon to fightterror.And above all,Life is Beautiful!!

Rightly said,’life does not ceases to be funny when people die as much as it ceases to be serious ,when people laugh’

If comedy could manage to bring out laughter from people enveloped with terror,it could indisputably be the biggest weapon to fight terror. If miseries don’t seem to relent and one can't help getting out of an inevitably oppressive situation ,at least one can try filling the heart with joy for a while by smiling and making others smile. Thanks to comedy that has helped to bring back the smile on innumerable faces through ages.’Life is beautiful’ is another piece of comedy that has raked up this idea.

It whizzed past in a couple of hours but didn’t fail leaving an indelible imprint in our minds unveiling the idea of fighting terror using a weapon which may be invaluable but paradoxically, even  the least fortunate with this treasure. The treasure of the ability to smile and making others smile.

The hero of the movie,(yes,even though he didn’t come up with any stereotypical heroic stunt and was not extraordinary in any way,he definitely was a hero in my opinion. Having never giving in to the profusely oozing sweat of hardships that he underwent in the Nazi concentration camps during the war of fascism)an Italian Jew  named Guido ,never failed to make his son smile all the time using his humorous imagination  even  in the grim atmosphere that was prevalent in the death camp where destiny had brought them. There wasn’t a single misery that had not gripped him. Be
it the catastrophe of war his nation was suffering. Be it the longing for his beloved wife Dora who was separated from him in another concentration camp or be it the terror of the ultimate end that they all  seemed to be heading towards along with his little son who had just embarked on the journey of his life.

All his wit told him that the only way to get over such horrific fear was to hold on and not forget to laugh it off. The miseries surely were not enough to engulf his faith in humor. He rather told his son who was intrigued in the beginning that it was an all new game that they had come to play and that they had to score the 1000 quickest points to win a Tank. This was enough to fascinate the kiddo who also started taking the hardships as a game and enjoyed it.

Guido was shot to death by the German soldiers but didn’t fail to make his son laugh even a minute before he died!

Isn’t that a lesson to be learned and realize the significance of comedy. Terror is never an invited guest. It gradually looms over the horizon. But if one learns the art of comedy,it can fortify him to fight back a terror in the ugliest guise. Because laughter doesn’t just makes life simpler and more worthwhile but most
importantly,beautiful.

Indeed!Comedy is the biggest weapon to fight terror. And above all,Life is Beautiful!!

How Music Cures: An Introduction by Ankita Gupta

Ankita Gupta teaches Music and her proposed doctoral thesis is on the interface between music and technology. The piece was written originally in Hindi and has been translated by freesepeech.

1

With the world so proudly into the twenty first century and science scaling newer heights everyday….with medical science making a magical breakthrough every now and again, it might not sound very convincing that music, on its own, can cure many diseases. Yet, its true and you may trust me for saying so. Ironically the increasing popularity of music therapy in the west has made Indians curious though they were the ones who pioneered it.

2

Music is the most developed and refined form of phonology and is called ‘nada’ by the people in music, literature and spiritualism. ‘Nada Brahma’ has a supreme significance in our lives. In Vedic India, chanting aloud helped cure illnesses of physical and spiritual kinds.

3

Ayurveda believes that the brain controls the body. Diseases caused by physical reactions too have a connection with the sensation of the nerves. This sensation is effected by various melodies as per their characteristics. The sound of music brings about a comforting change in the functions of the body which subsequently leads to curing. Both Indian and western medical sciences are of the opinion that 90% diseases are caused by psychological factors. As music has an infinite power to charge, to slacken and to lyricize a person, by playing antagonist sounds or ragas formed of such antagonist sounds the emotions which originate a certain disease can be suppressed. That what music therapy is at its core value.

4

But it can not work without faith in music and its therapeutic powers. The concerned raga should be listened to three times a day. In case of transferable diseases, the frequency should be increased. While listening to, one should try to be free of tension and focused and the ragas should be played in soft, slow tones.

5

Diseases and RAGAS: Tune In

Fevers of all Kinds: Hindol, Makha, Pooriya, Bhairav and Asawari

High Fever: Malkons, Basant Bahar

Cough-related Diseases, Constipation: Bhairav and Asawari

Typhoid: Hindol, Marva, Pooriya

High Blood Pressure: Poorvi, Todi, Multani

Pains of All Kinds: Peelu, Malkons, Todi, Multani, Paraz, Sohani

Heart Problem: Darbari Kanhara

Cancer: Shree, Nayaki Kanhara, Sindhu Bhairavi

Migraine: Darbari Kanhara, Jai Jayawanti, Sohani

Diabetes: Jaunpuri, Jai Jayawanti

Mental Diseases: Lalit, Kedar

Fear: Sohani, Pooriya

Eyes: Kaunsi Kanhara, Multani

A Reading of Joyce Cary's Growing Up by First Year Students

Apoorva Srivastava, Chandani Jain, Apurva Agrawal and Devanshi Tiwari's presentation was the best classroom presentation (CS-AB). Here, we produce the full text and invite comments from all B.Tech students. To know more about Cary go to his son composer Tristram Cary's page http://users.senet.com.au/~trisc/JCBiog.html and

ww.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Cary.

This is a presentation on ‘Growing Up’ by Joyce Cary.

We are presenting the outlook of father, a preteen kid, a teenager and the decision maker- the society.

The situation is seen through their respective eyes.

TEENAGERS AT PRESENT by Apoorva Srivastava

Jenny and Kate have just entered the teen age. According to me, children can turn out wild only when they are not taken care of very well. Here is this family, the parents hardly gave any time to their children, mother remains busy handling the social responsibilities and father remains busy with office, he spends long time out of town. They hardly ever took out time to sit with their children to point out their mistakes and judge their development due to which they turned out to be complete freaks. They failed to teach their kids about discipline and cleanliness.

Now the girls are not so intimately involved with their father as they were earlier, they are into their own world. Maybe these are the changes involved when someone enters the teenage.

But they have grown up, they have become practical and are also worried if their father is hurt, at the same time arranging for his ointment. The two sisters are very much concerned about each other.

All this shows that they have crossed that age where family is the only world. Now they have grown up to realize that there is more than just a family.

Now have a look at the same kids two year back……

THE PRETEEN KIDS by Chandani Jain

The kids before two years adored their father and mother. They had no grudges against their father. They totally depended on them for everything. They expected an emotional support from them. For them, their parents were the world.

They used to plan surprises very enthusiastically. One fine day, when their father returned home after being away for a long time, they planned a welcome surprise for him but as their secret was discovered, they were disappointed and felt humiliated.

So we see there is a lot of transformations from preteen to teen. The contrast between their ages is quite clear.


THE FATHER’S VIEW by Apurva Agrawal

Mr. Robert Quick, the father of the little kids, Jenny and Kate, really loved his daughters. He is the sole bread earner of the family and thus stays busy with his work but he takes out time for his family, his children since they are his responsibility and he loves them. He wanted his children to grow up as independent and wise young individuals, therefore, he gave them full freedom. He greeted them cheerfully even when he was tired and so he expected the same from them. He cared for his daughters and loved their pet too.

He had been away from home because of work and during this time he had missed his family terribly. He was eager to be with his daughters again. But he notices that the scenario has changed, his daughters have changed. They used to be innocent but now they have become wild and ruthless. Seeing the behavior changed of his daughters, he gets sad and shocked. When his daughters call him names and their bitch bites him, he gets afraid of their actions. H e Is feeling like a stranger, as if, he has just started knowing them. He feels lonely since his wife stays busy socializing and is daughters have abandoned him. At last he decides to go for a pool game but again he is in for a surprise from Jenny who is worried for his injury. He learns he has to grow up and change with them as they have changed while growing up.

Conclusion by Devanshi Tiwari

SO here we heard the story of ‘Growing Up’ through a father’s heart full of love for his daughters but definitely jammed by confusions at behavior of growing teens. A teen’s frustration at the flowing hormones and hopeless elders. The decisive eye of society, commenting on girls.

Its quite vivid from condition of the garden that in the Quick’s household, children were the conquerors. It was designed rather groomed for their taste.

They have a devoted mom and a loving father. They too love their parents but situation becomes complicated as they grow into their teenage. They dislike being questioned or instructed and generally overreact to situations. They have swings in mood from loving child to aggressive heroines to responsible daughters.

The chapter simply teaches us that even parents need to grow up with their growing kids. They have to adjust to their growing needs and swinging moods.

It should not be true: In Memory of Anil J.B.

It was an unbearably sad morning; many of us walking into the campus had no idea what awaited us. And for many others, who knew since last evening itself, it was a morning they didn't want to unfold. As we waited at the main entrance, we still secretly hoped that he'd jump of what was just another bed and not the final one, and say, "bhai aap sab yahan kyon khade hain?" Instead, it was a confirmation. An undeniable confirmation that Assistant Professor Mr. Anil J.B. is no more, that we won't see him again, that never again will he fill our lives with the joy and wit that came so natural to him. He, along with two other persons, didn't survive a road accident when their motorbike was hit by a Bolero on Sikar Road, National Highway 11, very close to the campus he loved so intimately.


His tragic departure leaves M.B.M. Engineering College, Jodhpur and MNIT, Jaipur in mourning from where he had graduated into a fine teacher and human being. In his address, Prof. SS Sarkar, Dean-FET, described him as 'a hardworking and brilliant' faculty'. Students, among whom he was immensely popular, are holding condolence offering from 1.30 p.m. in the quadrangle opposite library. The students' notice remembers him as 'our mentor and guide'.


Born on Oct. 10, 1972, he belonged to Jodhpur and came to join MITS in December, 2004. He is survived by his wife, a kid and parents.

We pray for the salvation of his departed soul and may God give his family the strength to survive this inconsolable grief and shock. Amen!

To pay tribute to him on this site, click 'comments' below.

Globalization and India's Poor: No Trickling Down by Amrita Sharma

True to what she wrote to us: 'I'm game for writing on any topic', Amrita Sharma is here again; this time on globalization and the poor in India, inspired by a classroom discussion.



Globalization is the new buzzword that has taken the people of thenation by storm lately. The nation has received unending applause forseeing unforeseen heights in international trade and economy. One cancertainly say that these are the heydays of Indian economy when internationaltrade is flourishing like never before. To top it off, the developingeconomy has fascinated the whole of world, and countries have began tosee India as a lucrative destination for setting up their overseastrade.

But while a part of the nation is busy bragging on thissuccess, there exists another chunk of population of India which isstill alienated to the term ‘globalization’. This chunk consists of thepoor living in the villages and even those living in the slums ofdifferent metropolitans and the so-called 'mini-metropolitans' of India. It’s not just the awareness of globalization that is lacking amongthe poor but matter-of-factly the effect of globalization also has nottouched the poor who are still striving to make both ends meet and arestarving for the very basic needs of life. Advocates of globalizationhave to say that economic growth of the country has increased thestandard of living of the people and the BPO industry has providedemployment for the middle class people who are now finding opportunitieseven in the global market place. Definitely, the middle class has shiftedto a better way of life but the poor is still sobbing.

Affordable healthcare facilities for children and women belonging to the lesserprivileged class is still a distant dream. The campaign taken up by thegovernment for setting up of at least one school in every village ofthe country which will also provide one meal a day, has still got a longway to go. Laws for checking child labor needs to get sterner. Agrarian policies that can help agriculture to look up in region with fertile land are craving for government's support. How can the government be so oblivious of the state of agriculture in India which is compelling farmers to commit suicide? Has globalization taken such a toll that the government needs to be reminded that a major part of the revenue of the nation still comes through agriculture?

The solution to this predicament does exist.

It’s high time the government got serious and took some giant strides for the uplifting of the poor while accentuating its economic development. The government can implement national development policies to reduce poverty while taking care of its international commitments and agreements. The middle class benefiting from globalization also has a role to play. By not being repulsive to protests for the rights of poor and (India being a democracy) by pressing upon the government for implementation of poverty reduction policies in tandem with economic growth policies ,the middle class can be pivotal in helping the poor to mollify and letting them benefit from the success of globalization.


The bottom line is: a nation cannot aim to prosper when a major chunk of its population is struggling for nothing more than a simple livelihood.

Rahul Soni Profiles Nobel Prize Winner in Literature

Poet and fiction writer Rahul Soni, 28, is the first guest author on Free Speech. Besides his research on Franz Kafka, he has published poems and short stories and has edited some online magazines. He came to live in India when Iraq invaded the country of his childhood in 1990. To read him more, visit www.phingerphood.wordpress.com.

Staving off stiff competition from Japan’s Haruki Murakami and, perennial contender, U.S.A.’s Philip Roth, Doris Lessing was declared the winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Literature. In the process she became only the 11th woman to win the prize and, at just a few days short of her 88th birthday, the oldest.

Doris Lessing, nee May Taylor, was born in Iran in 1919 and brought up in Zimbabwe, where her father owned a farm. In 1949, after two failed marriages, she left Africa and moved to London to try her hand at writing.

She is now widely regarded as one of the most important post-war writers in English. Her novels, short stories and essays have focused on a wide range of 20th century issues and concerns, from the politics of race that she confronted in her early novels set in Africa, to the politics of gender which lead to her adoption by the feminist movement, to the role of the family and the individual in society, explored in her space fiction of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

During a career extending more than half a century, she has published some 50 novels, short-story collections and memoirs, either under her own name or the pseudonym, Jane Somers.

Her 1950 debut, “The Grass is Singing” - which examines the relationship between a white farmer’s wife and her black servant - was an instant bestseller. The book broke new ground, both in terms of its outlining of an interracial relationship and in the sheer detail given to the characters’ internal lives.

This was followed by the “Children of Violence” series comprising “Martha Quest” (1952), “A Proper Marriage” (1954), “A Ripple from the Storm” (1958), “Landlocked” (1965) and “The Four-Gated City” (1969). It describes Martha Quest’s awakening to greater awareness on every level and was pioneering in its depiction of the mind and circumstances of the emancipated woman. The series, which is somewhat autobiographical, has been described as Lessing’s most substantial work. With these books Lessing created a modern equivalent of the bildungsroman of women writers of the 19th century.

Her real break-through, though, came with “The Golden Notebook” in 1962 (read excerpt here). The burgeoning feminist movement saw it as a pioneering work and it belongs to the handful of books that informed the 20th century view of the male-female relationship. It used a complex narrative technique to reveal how political and emotion conflicts are intertwined. Notably, Lessing herself does not agree with its status as a feminist classic. She would go on to write that its theme of mental breakdowns as a means of healing and freeing one’s self from illusions had been overlooked by critics. Lessing did not like the idea of being pigeon-holed as a feminist author. When asked why, she replied:

“I think a lot of romanticizing has gone on with the women’s movement... Whatever type of behavior women are coming up with, it’s claimed as a victory for feminism - doesn’t matter how bad it is. We don’t seem to go in very much for self-criticism...

“... What the feminists want of me is something they haven’t examined because it comes from religion. They want me to bear witness. What they would really like me to say is, ‘Ha, sisters, I stand with you side by side in your struggle toward the golden dawn where all those beastly men are no more.’ Do they really want people to make oversimplified statements about men and women? In fact, they do. I’ve come with great regret to this conclusion.”

When asked about which of her books she considers most important, Lessing chose the “Canopus in Argos” series. These books show, from many different perspectives, an advanced society’s efforts at forced evolution. The Canopus series is a blend of science-fiction and Sufi concepts.

Besides these books, she was short-listed for the Booker prize 3 times: in 1971 for “Briefing for a Descent into Hell”, in 1981 for “The Sirian Experiments” and in 1985 for “The Good Terrorist”.

In the citation for the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature, Lessing was described by the Swedish Academy as “that epicist of the female experience, who with skepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny”.

Nevertheless, her selection has not been without controversy. The American literary critic Harold Bloom called the academy’s decision “pure political correctness. Although Ms. Lessing at the beginning of her writing career had a few admirable qualities, I find her work for the past 15 years quite unreadable… fourth-rate science fiction.”

Her latest work, The Cleft, is a sci-fi novel which imagines what happens to a mythical all-female world when men are introduced.

The Newly "Wedded" Couple: Language and Mathematics?

Harvard scientists predict the future of the past tense

If you thought that languages and mathematics had nothing to offer to each other, its time for some very serious rethinking. A group of Harvard scientists has applied mathematics to explain the extinction cycle of irregular verbs in English. According to these mathematicians, 'who have invoked evolutionary principles to study our language over the past 1,200 years, from "Beowulf" to "Canterbury Tales" to "Harry Potter","verbs evolve and homogenize at a rate inversely proportional to their prevalence in the English language." Written by Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics's Erez Lieberman, Jean-Baptiste Michel, and colleagues, this paper has appeared in the journal Nature this week. To know more about this breakthrough, click http://www.sciencecodex.com/harvard_scientists_predict_the_future_of_the_past_tense

Placement Module in English Language (PMEL) Classes for III rd Yr. Commence from Oct 03!

As a major step towards meeting the placement goals, the PMEL classes for the III year students gets underway from Oct 03. These will be mandatory classes. Every batch of 30 will have four hours of interaction every week and it will involve interview-specific skills' training, discussions, talk shows and drama houses. A brand new study material is reportedly ready and will have texts from Shakespeare to Stephen Hawking in areas as diverse from poetry to science fiction. Time table could be found on the NBs and the important thing is: failing 80% attendance in these classes, one'll not be allowed to appear in the placement interviews.

The PMEL schedule for the IVth year students is likely to be out by the weekend. For further details contact the writer of this post or Ms. Alpana Gupata or Mr. S. Sinha, the TPO.

Amrita Sharma Hits T20 Out ??

Amrita Sharma's back again and this time she hits hard the new avatar of entertainment-cricket T20. We post her write-up to initiate a new theme: Is T20 killing the 'game'? As always, the ideas expressed are writer's and the blog/editor's agreement or disagreement is not intended or implied. The author can be reached at sharamaamrita1986@sify.com.

Fast,Furious and Entertaining.The adjectives most aptly describe this new version of cricket.It reflects the dawn of an all or new era of the sport.Its not just cricket but spiced up cricket.With ingredients of glitz ,glamour and speed the T20 has grabbed eyeballs of millions or more fans world over,who initially used to find it dificult to remain glued to the couches for a day or even more.This new guise of cricket is also more suited to the temprament of the generation which is unaware of the word 'patience' and wants everything in an instant.And so why not instant cricket??

And then came the latest hit.The first ever T20world cup that sped past in some seemingly fleeting moments leaving the Indian fans rejunavated with the astounding victory of the Indian team.It gave the younger lot still more reasons to celebrate as the winning trophy was bagged by the Indian team which mostly consisted of younger battalions transcending all expectations.With such affirmitive evidences to its credentials how could the T20 not have been a grand success?

But even in the midst of such unrelenting jubiliations, can we dare to accept some hard facts.That the T20 is not simply impeccable in its present state with frivolous stunts like 'free hit'which no way is worth deciding a winner between two teams which isequipped with fortified sportsman.That it is less about playing cricketand more about winning a cricket match or it is more about professionalism and lucre than quintessential cricket.Moreover it also requires a different set of players with a different temprament(fast,furious kind).

The point to be brought home isthat the T20 cannot be a substitute to test cricket or an ODI and thatthe mainstream cricket will never lose its sheen even in front of thisflashy new incarnation.

But since the festivity is still on anddoes not seem to ebb too soon,we can certainly say that this buddingform of cricket has sure got a long way to go!!

The First Student Response: Lets Redefine Our Attitude by Amrita Sharma, E-7/IIIrd Yr.

This is the first student response that we are publishing. The ideas expressed are writer's and the blog/editor's agreement or disagreement is not intended or implied.




Engineer – a person who controls engines or machines....this is how, the dictionary defines an engineer. But for us, as engineers-in-making, its time for some introspection. The question is: do we fit well into this definition or has the sudden effect of globalization and economic boom changed the point of view of an engineer? Let’s be candid and reconcile to this fact. As budding engineers we can very well sense this change in attitude towards engineering. The first thing that flashes our imagination when we think of being successfully placed is that we are working for some MNC and holding a coveted managerial post. But to me, this isn't something it ought to be. Its not that I am thoughtlessly skeptical and am loath to go with the demanding flow. It’s because this trend somehow alarms me of a bleakly situation that can crop up sometime if not in the offing. There is no dearth of work to be done in the hard-core engineering sector, but there is a dearth of willingness to work as an 'engineer', to whom, nothing can be more fascinating than playing a pivotal role in enhancing and consolidating technology, leave aside making money. With the evolution in technology, there has been an immense demand of R&D, to keep pace with the competition world over. And so, the redefinition of engineering is truly not required. If at all something is required, it is redefining our attitude towards engineering!

Let’s not forget that we, as engineers, are makers and managers of technology and not money. The world isn't running short of people who will take care of the rest! Money is just the return we get for our work and contribution this is how we eke out our living. We really didn't believe when Prof. Mukhopadhyay said that 'an engineer is some one who makes money and more money and even more money’.

We will be 'the’ engineers.

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.

Welcome All

All students and fellow teachers are welcome to this webspace. Though primarily a project by the English people and intended at becoming 'a' way of learning the language, it invites posts and comments, literally on anything that interests those in academics professionally, and sometimes personally. Also intended to be a student-driven program and looking at the early response to the idea, we are all sure the students will soon take over the space. We intend to showcase outstanding write-ups (assignments and independent), creative outputs in form of writing, photography, painting, sculpting and designing of all kinds, and to host theme-based and random discussions, debates. Technical papers are also welcome! One of the constant themes will be the interface between technology/science and humanities. We feel there is a lot to be addressed in this field. We are also looking for volunteeer correspondents, sub-editors and columnists. Rush your CVs and responses to rajkiradoo@gmail.com.