Slam bam

Recently Union Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh slammed the faculty and research quality of IITs and IIMs. He said that the excellence of these institutes is because of their students and not the teaching staff. (See the article here.)

Any MBA student will tell you of their grueling work schedule. I had a fair share of the experience during M.Sc. Chemistry at IIT Bombay long ago in 2001-2003. Every semester we gave two sets of exams - one in the middle and the other at the end. Interspersed between these would be quizzes and written assignments for every subject. In the senior year in preparation for the research life ahead the professors as part of their courses had us looking through literature in journals, write reports on the findings and even make presentations.

Clearly then along with the students, the faculty also have their work cut out and need to do more than simply using the chalk and blackboard in order to maintain standards. Doing good research requires you to keep abreast with the latest developments in your field, to be quick enough to ride on the tide and to build a solid niche for your work amidst that.

Maintaining a balance between being a good teacher and a quality researcher becomes a matter of being passionate about what you do and managing it well. Discussing new findings appearing in journals with students and colleagues enables to identify the possibilities therein for you. Engaging the senior students in mentoring the younger lot can help in taking some of the load off.

We now have a total of 16 IITs and in addition there are six IISERs. Until a year back some of the professors from University of Pune and scientists from NCL were roped in for taking classes at IISER, Pune besides performing their regular duties. Due to shortage of competent faculty the existing staff has to perhaps bite more than they can chew. There is a need to bring in more hands for the job.

Science in India still suffers at the behest of brain drain. Out of the 20 M.Sc. Chemistry students in my class 18 went to either US or Germany to do their Ph.D. and then continued to stay on longer for pursuing a post-doc. I know of only one of them to have returned recently to IIT Bombay as an Assistant Professor.

I feel the general perception that doing science and making money do not go together should be changed. Eyebrows should not be raised when professors call for higher pay scales. Giving encouragement, incentives and rewards wherever due would make the demanding job lucrative and go a long way in luring back more and more lost talent.

DPS Mathura Road where I schooled which had started off in tents eventually became one of the largest schools in Delhi where you had classes from Nursery to XII and each class having 6-9 sections. This was possible only because the architects were able to envision the great future despite the humble beginnings. The huge Angstrom Laboratory where I am currently working is relatively new and first opened its doors a few years back only. Similarly our newer universities and institutes should be built while keeping the imminent progress in mind. The older ones should be timely upgraded and an improvement in the working conditions should be brought about.

As much as world class students deserve world class professors, the world class professors need world class facilities to motivate them to do better still.

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PS: What is your take? Are our professors as bad as the Minister thinks?

NCL, Pune has a new Director

My Ph.D. supervisor, Dr. Sourav Pal has been appointed as the next Director of National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. On 1 December, 2010 he assumed duties that this new post brings. This was a day that we, his students, and I am sure his peers as well as colleagues knew was in the coming. It is a moment of pride not only for him but even for those of us who have had the oppourtunity to work with him.

Dr. Pal is well reknowned in the area of theoretical and computational chemistry. Amongst the many honours that he has won are the prestigious INSA and CSIR Young Scientist awards in 1987 and 1989 respectively, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 2000 and J. C. Bose National Fellowship of DST in 2008.

Unlike many research groups, students in Dr. Pal's lab are involved both in development and applications of computational programs. Unlike many scientists he hasn't been afraid from branching out into territories which were not his core subject to begin with but have now become his strong points.

What I liked about Sir as a guide is that he is not a heavy duty hands-on boss. He gives his students a lot of freedom to carry on research in their individualistic ways. At the same time he continues to remain aware of their progress, provide that nudge on those much needed occasions and contribute to their work through valuable suggestions. Dr. Pal once told us that in his view good students need space to excel. A diligent student will really strive and thrive in the absence of a strict daily morning to evening monitoring system. It is with the hope that he is able to help nurture at least one such student that he gives everyone so much independence.

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You can find learn more about the new Director through the following links:
http://www.ncl-india.org/nclnews/news.jsp?mid=15#
http://www.ncl.res.in/tcs/estg/spalhomepage.html
http://www.ncl-india.org/aboutncl/showfilein.jsp?mid=2&sid=66&ssid=83
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourav_Pal

Daylight saving time

Many countries in the world follow the practice of Daylight Saving Time (DST). In summer they shift the time ahead by an hour and in the winters bring it back to its actual setting. The idea is to take an hour of light from the day and add it to the evening. Thus, between March and November the sun effectively sets 60 minutes later than the usual.

It was my recent change of residence to Uppsala, Sweden that brought DST to my attention. My question is that why is the clock shifted back at all in winters? Logically, it is in the fall season that I would actually prefer to have a longer duration of daylight. Shouldn't then the DST be implemented the other way round? :)

Omar Abdullah's Lok Sabha Speech

I was really lucky to have been there in front of the tv when Omar Abdullah of the J&K National Conference delivered his impassioned speech on the floor of the Lok Sabha during the trust the vote over the Nuclear Deal on 22 July, 2008. He spoke with a tremendous confidence and command which not only displayed his experience of having been around for 10 years but also gave us a peek into his emotions. It was a short two minutes speech but of such eloquence and feverishness that it will be remembered for years to come.

In stark contrast the PM's speech was barely audible. He appeared nervous and amidst loud outbursts from the Oppositions demanding his resignation he chose to submit it in writing to the Speaker.

My ardent wish is to hear an Indian Prime Minister and President to speak with the kind of flaming enthusiasm Omar Abdullah exhibited in the Lok Sabha.

So impressed was I in those two minutes that I am putting here the entire speech for you to read.

Sir,

I am a Muslim and I am an Indian and I don't see any distinction between the two.

I see no reason why I as a Muslim have to fear a deal between India and the United States of America. This is a deal between two countries... it is a deal between, we hope, two countries that in the future will be two equals.

Sir, the enemies of Indian Muslims are not the Americans... the enemies of the Indian Muslims are not deals like this... the enemies of Indian Muslims are the same enemies that all the poor people of India face- poverty, hunger, unemployment, lack of development and the absence of our voice. It is that we are against... the effort that is made to crush our voice!

Sir, I am not a member of the UPA. I do not aspire the membership of the UPA. I am extremely unhappy with the way in which my friends in the Left have taken on the self impose positon of being the certifiers of who is secular and who is not.

Sir, until a few years ago I was part of this NDA... I was a minister with them and these same Left people considered me as a political untouchable. They considered me as an outcaste because I was a part of the NDA. Today these same Left people are telling me that all secular parties must unite with the BJP to bring down this government!

Sir, I had made the mistake of standing with them once on the question of Gujarat... I did not resign when my conscience told me to. And my conscience has still not forgiven me. I will not make the same mistake again.

(On being interrupted during his speech over the Amarnath issue Omar Abdullah retaliated by saying in Hindi)

Aapne Amarnath ka aarop lagaaya... aap ek jagah dikhaaein jahan kisi Kashmiri ne yatra ke khilaf baat ki ho!! Aap ek jagah dikhaayein jahan kisi Kashmiri ne kaha ho ki humein yatri nahi chahiye!! Aap ek jagah dikhaaein jahan pe yatriyon ke upar humla hua ho!!

Woh hamari zameen ka muddha tha. Hum apni zameen ke liye ladhe. Aur hum marte dum tak apni zameen ke liye ladhenge!

Lekin hum aapki tarah firkaparast nahi hain... hum aapki tarah communal nahi hain. Hum masjid nahi girate... hum mandir bhi nahi girate. Ek sau saal se bhi zyaada Amarnath ki yatra chalti aa rahi hai. Aur jab tak Kashmir mein musalmaan hain, Srinagar aur Amarnath mein aapki yatra chalti rahegi!

Main yeh baat daave ke saath keh sakta hoon ki in logon ki tarah meri siyasat badalti nahi hai- aaj is taraf kal us taraf. Humne secular forces ke saath haath milaaya hai aur milaate rahenge.

Jammu and Kashmir National Conferece will vote to support the motion moved by the Prime Minister.

Board exams

During our entire schooling the two years when we sit for the CBSE exams in classes 10th and 12th are labeled as "crucial" years. I remember being reminded time and again how important the numbers on our mark sheets were, how our final percentages would completely shape our lives and how if we studied hard in these two years our future would be set. I can say for myself that I absolutely believed this. And it seems that people still hold this notion.

Last week the day after the class 10th results were announced there were interviews of students who had topped and even those who nearly topped. A boy said that he was 50% happy and 50% disappointed with his marks because he missed coming first in his school by a mere 0.80%. Shouldn't a 0.8% difference have made him only 0.8% less happy? Instead of celebrating that he has come second amongst hundreds, he is brooding that he didn't come first!!

Of course the boy is yet to discover that his 10th class pass certificate will be come useful only as a proof of age. Nobody will ask him when he takes up a job how many marks he scored.

One's class 12th percentage perhaps make somewhat of a difference. Colleges admit students who have attained marks above or equal to a certain cut-off. But how many of us eventually continue in the same stream as our graduation subjects? And did all those who didn't receive "good marks" in school become utter failures later on? Clearly not.

Not only the students but their parents need to realize this as well. Sometimes it is the parents who generate the competitive heat from the very beginning. Once my sister's friend came second in her final exams when she was in class 6th. The mother of the boy who came first congratulated her jubilantly saying "Thanks for coming second!"

I guess what I am trying to say is this that its high time the myth around these so called crucial years was dispelled. It would surely bring down the stress levels for the youngsters. Always close on the heels of Board exam results being announced we come across news of kids committing suicide because they were disgruntled with their performance. Teachers and parents must help release the high voltage tension by making children realize that poor exam results are not life altering nor are they reflective of their capabilities or character. There is nothing wrong in wanting to become a winner as long as that doesn't become the be all and end all.

India questions

Today I saw a program India Questions on NDTV in which the studio audience was putting up questions to our ex-President APJ Kalam. Two points were raised which set me thinking.

First one was that whether making a bomb hampers world peace. My answer is it doesn't. What I feel is that today its all about protecting our country. India simply cannot remain emptyhanded while other nations go about arming themselves. We cannot act all naive and foolishly assume that we'll never be attacked. We have to be prepared for any eventuality. If and when the time comes we should be able to defend our country. We know from 100 years of experience how difficult regaining lost freedom is. If giving up weapons amounted to world peace then why haven't countries dissolved their armed forces as well?

Another question that was asked was if he believed in death sentence. Kalam said he didn't think that he had the right to take away someone's life and so was against it. But then what about other forms of punishment? In view of Kalam's philosophy what right does one human (a judge) have to put another human (a criminal) behind bars for 14 years? On the flip side wouldn't crime thrive and terror reign supreme if we didn't have any policing and judicial system? Like Daddy said, when I raised these points before him, these questions have always struck us men and women but in all these years we haven't been able to come up with conclusive answers to them.

News items!!

Heard some news stories lately which caught my attention and it looks line that only women are creating headlines these days!!

First one of them was about Shilpa Shetty being bestowed an honorary doctorate by the Metropolitan Leeds University for her outstanding contribution to cultural diversity. An honorary degree is conferred those who have put in years of efforts and created a mark for themselves in various fields be it theatre, art, literature or science. Shilpa Shetty however, has got this degree purely on the basis of her current wave of popularity. She did not even accept that she had faced racial discrimation on the Big Brother show. She even reverted from her very first reaction of "yeh kuch zyada ho gaya" to Richard Gere's action on stage. Since when has going for some functions in England, meeting Tony Blair at a gala event and getting a role in a musical constitute an outstanding contribution? If Universities will go on awarding doctorates to the undeserving then what regard will we continue to hold for a Ph.D.? Students have to put in years of hard work doing research as part of getting a doctorate. Why should Shilpa Shetty be handed this simply on a platter?


The other news item that took me by surprise was the release of Monica Bedi. What was worse was her being celeberated as a star in her village and hindi film directors saying that Monica's tryst with jail should not be the reason for not casting her in a movie. There are people with scripts ready to form queues outside her abode!! How come they didn't spot her talent earlier on?

Last week during one of our lab treats the discussion of Pratibha Patil was opened. This was before the Saturday election. India having a first woman president sounds really good. But shouldn't the honour have gone to someone having the same stature as Dr Radhakrishnan, the first male president of our country? I was watching her interview on Doordarshan that was telecast a day after the results were announced. Pratibha Patil was asked how she was feeling after becoming the President of India. She answered "bahut harsh ho raha hai" minus any emotion conveying the happiness and excitement. A recent Times of India editorial suggested that she could spend her time at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by gardening. I do agree that the President does not have a role in the governance of our country. But that does not mean that the man or woman occupying that post has no importance. In crunch time will Pratibha Patil be able to stand her own ground? I hope she ends up making more consequential decisions than a switch from dosas to uttapams in the breakfast menu.

Pratibha Patil Who?

In today's (20th June, 2007) Indian Express Shobha De has written a column titled "Its not about her" talking about Pratibha Patil who is being fielded by the Congress as a contender for the post of the President of India. The article which begins with the tagline Can we please appraise Pratibha Patil without this stifling regional tokenism and gender symbolism is an interesting read. Shobha De's sarcasm is at its peak when she rubbishes the lady's claim to simplicity because of her khaadi saris.

I am putting here this article which I am sure you'll get hooked on to from the word go.


The presidential election is beginning to come out of my ears. Like a lot of people, I’ve reached a stage when I feel like screaming, “Just get on with it — but spare us the tamasha.” The latest embarrassment to derail the anointment of Pratibha Patil involves her comments on the purdah. If the lady doesn’t know her history, one wonders whether her knowledge of geography is stronger. Would she be able to defend our borders as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces? Someone aptly described her nomination as a ‘monumental joke’ being played on the nation by Sonia Gandhi. It’s likely to turn into a joke that backfires if the lady does in fact waltz into the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Though, going by the lack of enthusiasm even within Congress party ranks (and her purdah faux pas), she may just make it easier for the pro-Kalam or pro-Shekhawat lobby to rush past her in the final run-up.

The real tragedy in this debacle is not Pratibha Patil per se — poor thing, she is once again playing a familiar role of handmaiden to the Gandhis. It is the abject denigration of the post itself. From the sublime to the ridiculous, to the downright shabby, the pathetic wheeling and dealing, horse trading and lobbying that have scarred this election, this is nothing short of an insult to the high office. Kahan Radhakrishnan aur kahan Pratibhatai! Besides, nobody cares, nor is anyone convinced with the overnight ‘image makeover’ attempts to position and sell her as the ultimate Bharatiya Naari — a shining symbol of women’s empowerment. What a bogus claim. And as phony and suspect as the nomination itself.

Let’s face it, Pratibha Patil has been pulled out of her mothballed existence and shoved into the spotlight for one reason alone — she is the most accommodating and pliant of the uninspiring bunch that make up the list. She will ensure the safety of the seats of her political masters if it ever comes to that. Lacklustre? Of course. But loyal and obedient — prized attributes given the sensitivity (and fragility) of the numbers game. What if...? Yes, indeed, what if a situation does arise when a crucial presidential vote would decide the fate of the government? Will Pratibhtai have the credentials to take an independent, non-partisan stand? Will she dare to snub Sonia Gandhi and rise above party politics? Put the country first?

It is meaningless to argue the lady deserves a shot at it, or to be asked why we are writing her off without giving her a fair chance. My point is: can we afford such a luxury? If we are being asked to extend our generosity and “give her a chance”, why not be still more large-hearted and give Bhairon Singh Shekhawat the same chance?

Sorry, this isn’t about either petty nit-picking or witch-hunting. The truth is, most Indians don’t know who Pratibha Patil is. And what they have come to know, post-nomination, has left them cold. I wish I could get excited over a former table tennis champion or someone who organised kho-kho and kabbadi matches during her college days. There is nothing impressive or remarkable about any of her touted ‘achievements’. But the problem is, any voiced criticism against the lady is seen as a strike against women.

Come on, let’s leave phony sisterhood and solidarity out of this. It angers me each time a feminist angle is introduced into the debate. A true feminist will never endorse the wrong woman, for that itself goes against the tenets of empowerment. Unfortunately, gender has been superimposed in this case, and an attempt is being made to damn any woman who does not automatically sing hosannahs to Pratibhatai. I resent this sort of manipulation. Call me anti-women, if you wish, I feel like telling these newly-minted champions of stree shakti, but I will not join the chorus singing Tai’s praises.

Where was she all these years? Has anyone heard a peep out of her during numerous debates dealing with atrocities against women? What has she done that is pro-women? Has she raised her voice even once? Not that I know of. So, can we please leave gender out of this, for it communicates the wrong message. Patil’s accident of birth as a female is being flaunted as a badge of honour. God help us. By that definition, any and every woman of India qualifies for the prestigious post.

Let’s be upfront about this. Pratibha Patil simply does not have what it takes to be the President of India. As for all that rubbish regarding her simplicity, spare me the baloney. As if a khadi sari is the ultimate or only description of simplicity! Khadi happens to be one of the most high maintenance fabrics in the country. Ladies who make khadi their big statement invest a lot of money in it. Sonia’s saris are homespun too. But are they cheap? Half the women in India wouldn’t be able to afford these designer khadi one-offs. So, let’s not delude ourselves. Forget about her lack of a Page 3 presence, that’s the least of her problems. Can she make it to Page 1, without most of her countrymen asking, “Who’s she?” It’s time we grew up and stopped playing immature games of tokenism, symbolism, etc. The important thing is to rise above any and every kind of ism, from feminism to regionalism. Just because I am a woman and a Maharashtrian, should I support Pratibhatai? No way.

If Pratibha Patil does make it to Rashtrapati Bhavan, how will it benefit the women of India? Will it lead to fewer thrashings, beatings, torture, murders? Give me a break. This 73-year-old lady deserves to spend her retirement years with more dignity than as a puppet of her long-term patrons. Zail Singh had his jhaddoo. What will Pratibhatai use? Her pallav?

Where will you be 10 years from now?

I read an article Secret Tips from Smart CEOs in Sunday 29th April's Times of India which had some women achievers talk about the challenges that they face and how they keep themselves going. These were women who are in their forties and fifties except for one, Sulajja Firodia Motwani, who is just 36 years old.

This set me thinking. I turned 26 this year. Where will I be after a decade? What would I be doing? What would I have managed to achieve by then?

At some point or the other in school we are asked by our friends, teachers and parents "what do you want to become on growing up?" This question has a wide range of answers from wanting to be an engineer, doctor, scientist or astronaut to an actor, vet, lawyer, engine driver or teacher.

Having grown up I've realised that its not just enough to become something. There should be the desire to make a mark, to stand out, to be the best, to do great things, to better oneself.

Its a dream of mine to start a research institute in India which will be on par with places like ICTP, Italy. I would like the focus to be on research using theoretical and computational tools be it in chemistry, physics, biology or medicine. In NCL we are a small Theoretical Chemistry Group. JNCASR, Bangalore opened only a year ago in April 2006 the Centre for Computational Materials Science. Its time an institute catering to theoretical research was set up with the best of facilities, students and teachers with the drive and excitment to use those facilities and finally people with a passion and vision to run it.

Am I aiming too high? One should always do that the reason being that gravity will bring it down anyway. I'd read this somewhere.

I am hoping that in ten years time I would have started working towards this dream. But what about you? Where will you be 10 years from now?

Why India played badly in World Cup? Part 2

Here are more theories on why Indian cricket team made an early exit from World Cup.

(A)

(B)

2 people responsible for India's WC exit are:

Indira Gandhi (for creating Bangladesh)

Hanuman ( for not Destroying Sri lanka fully)

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People have been coming up with a lot of jokes at the expense of the Indian cricket team. I laugh at them too because they are simply jokes. Its not funny at all however, when fans vent out their anger on the cricketers' families and homes. Tom Alter in his interview given to Express Newsline says that he is waiting for just one cricket star to apologize. But why?

Don't we all go through some periods in our careers when we aren't able to deliver? How many politicians have ever expressed regret for not having kept their promises? Movies of big stars turn out to be terrible and they never say sorry to the public!

Its not remorse but improvement that one should demand.

Shekhar Gupta has expressed my sentiments (in his article Mourning? Or Just Kidding) when he says "we should not behave as if this is the end of Indian cricket".

Drug captives

On Sunday 280 youngsters at a rave party organized at Sinhagad were arrested by the Pune police for when caught taking drugs. The drugs seized (as reported in TOI, 5th March) from the spot were phenylfine hydrochloride, marijuana and charas. Those arrested include students, IT professionals and air hostesses. Some of them claim that they had gone to the party because of their love for trance music which was to be played there. These are also the people who are pleading innocence on the pretext that they didn't know who was organizing the party. Why should they have gone there then?

It is shocking to find parents not believing their children having done anything wrong inspite of all the evidence proving otherwise. TOI states that friends and family were found sending to those held inside the court. The seriousness of the incident hasn't even dawned on some of the captives who started singing, clapping and dancing once the judge left. What is still worse is seeing the young populace of Pune defending the offenders. On NDTV the reporters went around asking people what they thought of the incident. One boy who looked like he was still in college said that everyone does drugs at this age and so it is alright!! Then while a girl acknowledged that such parties are held in Pune, another one openly confessed to have consumed drugs!!

Everyday I get this impression that people are no longer bothered by the repercussions of their actions. When driving a car some are always in a hurry to overtake. When crossing the road they do exactly the opposite and literally walk in slow motion without looking to their left or right. Instead of wearing a helmet for protection they'd rather protest against it. Instead of enjoying holi the way it should with colours they prefer to go and get drunk and drugged.

This incident reminded me of a scene from the film Page 3 where a group of cops and journalists bust a similar party amidst a huge cry of complaints from kids who intoxicated are merrily revelling. It was such a different world from what I see every day. The Pune arrests have only confirmed its existence.

In a country where so many die of hunger it is sad to find those blessed with wealth wasting money on something which is only going to harm them. I pray that a few of these guys and girls if not all have a conscience pricking them to learn from this experience... to help keep drugs away from them forever.

Differently enabled

An article with the same title as above was printed in today's Times of India. I am quoting a part of the text here:

"The chief technology officer of Tata Steel, a person with multiple sclerosis who uses a wheelchair, has even the South American coal authorities turning to him for advice on the future of coke-making in Colombia. The advisory systems consultant of IBM Global Services India, who is visually impaired, is a member of a 4-member IBM world-wide team and the first blind IBMer to achieve IT specialist certification. The assistant director of filmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali is the "anchor on the sets" of his films.

People with disabilities are busy conquering new frontiers everyday. Every sphere they break into, they instantly win accolades and ardent supporters with their competance, professionalism and dedication, changing the way entire sectors look at people with disabilities."

Such people are living examples of the fact that how our life turns out depends up on what we make out of it.

In my class XIIth English textbook there was a story. It began with a blind beggar recounting to a rich businessman how he lost his eyesight when he was trampled in a stampede as someone from behind pulled him down in order to reach the exit first. The beggar was hoping that on hearing his account this rich man would take pity on him and give him some money so that he could survive another day. But what happened next was something unbelievable.

It turns out that this "rich businessman" was also visually impaired and the tale that the blind beggar had been narrarting in truth took place the other way round. It was the beggar who had pulled down the man in front of him and the man in front of him was none other than this businessman.

What makes this story extraordinary is that the stampede had occured in a mill where at that time both the beggar and the businessman were employed as labourers. Facing the same circumstances while one man chooses to use his disability as a means for generating sympathy for himself, another one chooses to succeed in life going on to prove that he is simply differently enabled.

Summing up... it really is on us to let a hurdle remain a hurdle or to jump over it and move ahead in life.

My take on IITs

Today on MTV's show Kya Baat the topic of discussion was "Are the IITs Overrated?". After watching the show I went into a flashback mode. I remembered that when I was in class 10th only two streams were considered as worthy to be taken up, namely, engineering and medicine. And for those who wanted to become engineers getting into IIT was their ultimate goal. Students literally burnt the midnight oil so that they could clear the JEE.

My route to IIT Bombay was different. I first did my graduation in Chemistry from St Stephens College and then joined IITB for pursuing MSc. Until then I had thought that students at IITs must be having their noses buried in books all the time. To my utter surprise I found among the IITians great sportspersons, managers, leaders, actors, voice over artistes, music composers, singers, costume designers and even some amazing set designers. I was left completely speechless when I saw this huge waterfall which the students had built at the OAT all by themselves for a play!!

Today many institutions offer degrees in engineering but IITs are one of the few places where one can do good research in pure sciences. All my MSc batchmates and even some of my friends from engineering departments are currently doing PhD as a result of their first brush with research here.

One of the points raised in the MTV show was that all IIT labs get good funding. This would be true if the comparison was with other Indian universities. But the picture would be very different if one were to size up the situation against the American and German univerisities.

So there is still a long road ahead that needs to be traversed. There are still many conquests to be made and many laurels to be won. In time the IITians will do all that and much more... this I am sure of.