Varanasi—A place which never ceases to amaze you!!

Right, you have cracked the mother of all examinations at the +2 level with a good rank and now have the choice of choosing the institute where you want to go. Mechanical at Bombay? or Electrical at Delhi? or CSE/Electrical at Varanasi? Chances are you would look at the third option with a low confidence level as its VARANASI and not some Indian metro/city.  Even the nosy aunty next door or the ignorant uncle (We encounter them a lot these days, right??) will tell you, “abhi Banaras jakar kya karoge? Mandir me pooja paath karna hai? Bombay Delhi jao bhale kuch bhi ho.. unka toh naam hai. Banaras me kya rakha hai.”  Some might amaze with their height of ignorance that Varanasi even has an engineering college??? Some of you might have subscribed to IIT Confessions already and would have seen posts like “am from 7 original/old IITs”. That is one of the most amusing starts I have encountered. Heck, we were more than 40 years old when the second IIT came up in this country with the quality of education that has always been second to none. The only thing that doesn’t work in our favour is supposedly our location. Trust me, you need to know better about this city than the stereotype that might have been fed into you all these years by people who despite being “educated” were ignorant themselves.

Varanasi is perhaps one of the most enigmatic cities that you can ever be in while staying in India. The city has the capability of amazing a wide variety of people and going by the sheer of non pilgrim tourists that I have met with in my 4 years, they all seemed delighted and amazed and did have intentions on coming back to this place again. Let me give an example:

Varanasi is a place to be for those who always had some interest in ancient Indian history and tradition. It is India’s oldest city having supported mankind for more than 5000 years as per available records. So this is the only city in the entire country where you can see lifestyles of people representing millennia. This diversity adds a flavour of its own among the people who have lived here. In fact, the legendary English writer Mark Twain said of Varanasi, “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” True, it’s so old that some of the places put you in a surprise as to how did it survive so long? The number and diversity of events that Varanasi has seen can invoke interest even in the hardest of History-phobic people.

For those who were touched by the heart wrenching stories of IIT Confessions involving social service and success stories like the Super 30, the demographic diversity in this city gives you ample scope to be involved in opportunities to touch the lives of those not-so-fortunate people. Will definitely help you in scoring some brownie points during your job interview as all companies now have a recent statutory requirement of Corporate Social Responsibility. Your interests will be seen as an asset to your profile and might help you bag that coveted job!!

Okay, now let me address the normal IIT student who is much more concerned about the life in Varanasi and opportunities for recreation. You will be surprised by the depths that it has to offer. True, Varanasi is not a very fast paced city, in fact its pleasingly chaotic with no major night life and more by-lanes than roads. In my experience, I called Varanasi a huge labyrinth of by-lanes!! However, the city has more great sights to see. Be it the mighty Ganges over a number of Ghats, the early sunrise or the famed evening Pooja at Sunset on these Ghats while sitting on a boat, each sight is a visual treat. The mall culture is fast catching up in this city so the diversity just increased by another level!! The people in Varanasi are extremely hospitable and caring in their own way. You will find such experiences during your 4/5 year stay here. The cost of living in this city is a fraction of those in other cities so your extra monthly pocket allowance can be spent on your interests rather than paying for necessities!

For self proclaimed foodies in your batch, the cuisine in Varanasi is something to gorge upon. From unofficially, the best hostel messes, among all IITs, to the famed Katchories, Chaat, Jalebi, Lassi and the famed Banarasi Paan that are available practically throughout the city. Add to that, the city has a number of decent restaurants even the most upscale ones in Varanasi see the IIT guys as their damaad/bahu and are generous enough to offer you special discounts that even the other faculties of the university didn’t enjoy in our time irrespective of the frequency of you landing up at their place.

Lastly, you might have heard some of the most preposterous comments that IIT (BHU) might not see placements of the scale of Bombay or Delhi. Placements, with regards to number of companies, will never be an issue as they operate all the broad mindset that all IITs are equal so all major companies visit our campus. Your placement will be the result of your individual efforts, the CPI and how you use the institute facilities for your development. You will all end up in Delhi/Bombay or any class A metro city at some point in your life. So more than anything else maybe, this is the only time when you can explore the depths of sleepy chaotic towns and hospitable people along with some serious academics and fun. Come to IITBHU and your life will never be the same.

Too many bandhs!..what needs to be done!

It is commonplace to see political parties stage bandhs totally paralysing normal life or try to pressurise theatre-owners into not screening movies due to personal and ego problems. Such unconstitutional acts are usually perpetrated by parties that cannot win elections but have enough clout to disrupt normal life for the law-abiding majority.

Politicians have their own agendas that sometimes subvert the national interest or affect the well-being of the very people that these party leaders claim they are serving. The irony is such that at times the leaders of the ruling parties have to call upon these goons and request them to stop it.

With fines and arrests not at all deterring these goons, it is time to think of alternatives.

To start with, parties that behave in unconstitutional ways should be banned from participating in elections at all levels — national , state or local; for a period of time whose length should be determined by the nature of the offence and by past behaviour. If it is a first offence, the ban could be for less than a year. However, if the party is repeatedly indulging in serious offences, the ban could extend to 10 years (or more) to ensure that the leaders of these outfits realise that there is a price to be paid for being incorrigible.

The law banning political parties should be drafted in a way to ensure that irresponsible leaders cannot contest elections merely by changing the name of the outfit. One way of doing this is by banning not just the party that behaves unconstitutionally but also all those who have been elected from that party at the national, state or local level. For obvious reasons, the ban on participation in elections should be decided not by a rival political party but by an impartial constitutional body like the Election Commission whose business is to conduct polls at the national, state and local levels

A ban on an outfit from contesting elections could have a salutary effect across the board and could guarantee that a few thousand or even a hundred party workers will think twice before disrupting the normal life of the people these outfits claim to serve.

Such a ban could even deter the leaders of these outfits from trying to fan their propaganda through the media. Once a leader is quoted on a TV news channel as saying that he will prevent the screening of a movie, the footage could be used as evidence to ban the party from participating in the electoral process that it obviously doesn’t believe in, going by its actions.

With the country’s highly inadequate ratio of policemen for every lakh of people, the posting of thousands of cops just to ensure that a movie can be screened comes at a cost that is not just financially wrong but is a threat to security.

What is happening right now only reflects how irresponsible the leaders of political parties can behave if they think they can get away with it. No politician, on his whim, has the right to stop people from going to work, from going to a movie of their choice or from anything that disrupts their life. After all, the country belongs to the people!

FIFA World Cup 2010 World 11(Dream Team)

-Anand Prakash

For the next one month, South Africa will be home to 32 teams all competing for the tag of being ‘world champions’! These teams will be relying on their star players- the big guns carrying big reputations, bigger salaries and most importantly the weight of their nation’s expectations.

Here we look at a team of such players by breaking the boundaries between the nations they belong to.

Goalkeeper:

The goalkeeper’s spot in most dream teams made in recent history has been occupied by Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon and there is absolutely no reason to discontinue the trend. The shot-stopper oozes pure class and has no match when it comes to making match winning saves. A big reason behind Italy’s world cup triumph four years ago, Buffon is like a bus parked in front of the goal.

Defenders:

At right back I have Germany skipper Philipp Lahm. Solid at the back and marauding in attack, Lahm pips Brazilian right backs Daniel Alves and Maicon to make it into the dream team on account of his versatility which comes from his ability to play on either flank.

At centre back, I have England’s John Terry and Brazil’s captain Lucio. Both are uncompromising to the core and any top striker’s nightmare. Both have been really successful at club level this year with Terry’s Chelsea winning two titles and Lucio’s Inter winning three.

At left back, France captain Patrice Evra pips England’s Ashley Cole on account of being more consistent at club level with Manchester United in the last year. Though a defender himself, Evra looks best when going past defenders on his typical zigzag pacy forward runs.

Midfielders:

At the critical position of defensive midfield I have Argentina’s captain Javier Mascherano. Mascherano is best at what his job is i.e. to protect the defense by being a shield in front of the back four. Not known for his attacking skills, this man is all about work-rate and hard tackling.

The dream pairing of Spain’s Xavi Hernandez and England skipper Steven Gerrard occupies central midfield in this team. Xavi’s orchestration and Gerrard’s dynamism mean that this duo would grace any dream team. The quality of these two is such that they would walk into the starting eleven of any football team in the world.

Forwards:

Going forward on the wings I have Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi. No amount of words can describe these two geniuses and I am not even going to try. Constantly competing with each other for the tag of being the best player on the planet, these two have left all others far behind by the sheer audacity of the magic they do on the pitch. They surely are the brightest stars in this galaxy (team). As I said again anything in praise of the two is an understatement.

Choosing a striker for this team was the toughest job. However, looking at the balance of the team and the presence of plenty of flair, I have gone for Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba. Drogba adds an extra dimension to this team. Lethal finish and brute force is what describes Didier Drogba. He won the golden boot in the recently concluded season of the English Premier League beating stiff competition from England’s Wayne Rooney. Well, he pips Rooney to this team too.

So the final team is:

Gianluigi Buffon (GK)

Philipp Lahm (LWB)

John Terry (CB)

Lucio (CB)

Patrice Evra (LWB)

Javier Mascherano (CDM)

Xavi Hernandez (LCM)

Steven Gerrard (RCM) (C)

Cristiano Ronaldo (RF)

Lionel Messi (LF)

Didier Drogba (ST)

Those who just missed out due to factors like recent injuries etc. despite being equally good have been included as substitutes. They are:

1) Iker Casillas (Spain)

2) Wayne Rooney (England)

3) Arjen Robben (Netherlands)

4) Fernando Torres (Spain)

5) Nemanja Vidic (Serbia)

6) Andres Iniesta (Spain)

7) Daniel Alves (Brazil)

The team would have Guus Hiddink as its coach, Steven Gerrard as its captain and would play in a 4-1-2-2-1(4-1-2-3) formation.

This is a pre world cup dream team. After the world cup I would make a world 11 comprising of players who dazzled the crowds at South Africa. You make yours too and lets see if we match up! I wonder if it was noticed that this team comprises of 11 players from 9 different nationalities. Does it make you wonder: What if there were no boundaries?

Why choose IIT-BHU over new IITs?

Another year, another IIT-JEE, another batch of IITians. The results for the combined Joint Entrance Exam of the Indian Institutes of Technology for the year 2011 will be out on the 25^th of May. Successful candidates are provided with their AIR (All India Rank) which will be used to get them their desired branch and/or institute. This is done using a process called ‘counselling’ which in this context is far from how simple it sounds!

Candidates higher up the merit list (AIR1-2000) have the luxury to choose their desired course at a desired IIT. IIT Bombay or IIT Kanpur or IIT Delhi? As you can see, life is not too bad. However for rank holders below AIR 2000 getting selected in IITJEE brings in a month full of feelings of anxiety and depression. The joy of cracking the supposedly toughest examination at its level is nowhere to be seen as these students and their parents are lost in the one big question:

COLLEGE or BRANCH?

Do I take up a ‘better’ IIT and any non-core branch? Do I join IIT-BHU with a core branch? Do I join the new IITs? Even after a month full of discussion with all sorts of people ranging from the newspaperwala to corporate heads, the answers are unclear as ever and the student remains clueless as to how to fill up that counselling sheet.

Now coming to the aim of my article. Anyone with an AIR below 2000 who is confused between joining IIT-BHU or new IITs should know better after reading below. I’ve tried my best to remove all doubts and apprehensions regarding IIT-BHU.

The campus of IIT-BHU is incomparable to new IITs which do not even have a campus of their own and are running on temporary buildings borrowed from other institutions. The campus of BHU is legendary. The main campus is spread over 1300 acres which is bigger than any IIT except IIT Kharagpur. The sports facilities are amazing as there is 1 cricket field, 2 soccer fields, and 1 hockey field apart from swimming pool, tennis, badminton, volleyball, squash, and basketball courts. There’s a separate complex devoted to athletics too. Now these totally belong to IT-BHU however there are several more sports and recreation facilities that belong to BHU and you can easily use them. In the new IITs you will have to rub shoulder with students of the institute which owns the campus and it has been heard that IIT students are ragged by these students which is shameful and surely something you don’t want to face.

The University has “within the same campus” three pioneering Institutes, viz. the Institute of Technology, the Institute of Medical Sciences and the Institute of Agricultural Sciences and fifteen Faculties. Only in IIT-BHU you will have the opportunity to interact with students (girls) of IMS (medical) and other faculties like law arts which are in the campus itself-you won’t get this in any other IIT.

IIT-BHU Hostels are old just like those of Kanpur, Kharagpur - so if you want a new beautiful hostel you should go and join private colleges like SRM, Manipal etc. Here each hostel has a common room equipped with two TT tables, A TV with TataSky connection. Each hostel has volleyball and badminton courts inside the hostel itself and you can use them round the clock. Apart from that there are LAN and internet facilities and you will just have to buy some wires to set them up. Internet usage has no download limit; though sites like Orkut, Facebook are 'officially' banned students access them through proxy servers. Yes, the rooms are small for two people but go to IIT Delhi hostels and you will find the same size rooms. IITs are not about the size of the rooms but about the quality of people who live in those rooms! The hostel life here and the hostel mates is something you will never forget and always cherish in your life.

The academic pressure at IIT-BHU is far less compared to IITs. In IITs the professors are arrogant and really strict disciplinarians and you have to mug for hours if you want a decent grade. Here in IIT-BHU professors are lenient and the academic load is easy. So in the end you will get a good grade to show to the companies offering you jobs with a little effort only. Moreover, if you are serious about CAT/GRE preparations then you would have plenty of time to prepare for them while being in IIT-BHU.

The reduced academic load allows participation in Institute Gymkhana activities, mainly managed by the students, which encourage artistic and creative talents in dramatics, elocution, music and visual arts. Gymkhana has various active clubs, viz. HAM, Audio, Photography, Automobile and Aero-modelling, Cine, Computer, Astronomy, etc. Students actively take part in managing three national level events every year, viz. All India Cultural Festival “KASHI-YATRA”, All India Sports Competition “SPARDHA”, and All India Exhibition of Engineering and Technology Models “TECHNEX”.

Again placements of IIT-BHU are incomparable to new IITs. Placements are mainly dependant on the alumni which your college has. If some ex-student from your college is at a high post in Microsoft then there is a good chance that Microsoft will come to campus for recruitment. Since new IITs have NO alumni’s there placements won’t be as good as IIT-BHU. IIT-BHU is a really old college and there are plenty of its students currently at high posts in companies. The average package at IIT-BHU for electrical and electronics is around 7 lacs per annum while for computer science it is 9-10 lacs per annum. And it is obvious that everyone gets placed. Same goes for internships.

All in all the new IITs will never be able to provide you with the experience that IIT-BHU will.

While criticizing one IIT or another, the stark reality that people somehow tend to forget is that they did not do exceptionally well in IITJEE. So you have yourself to blame that you are not studying Computer Science at IIT Bombay or IIT Kanpur. The smart thing to do at this moment would be to accept this fact and realise that IIT-BHU is the best option this rank of yours. I hope I have made my case clear.

Clash of the titans: Apple v/s Google

On Jan 5, Google did a very Apple-like thing. In a presentation at the Googleplex in Mountain View, Calif., the 11-year-old search behemoth unveiled Nexus One- a stylish touchscreen smartphone that runs on the company’sAndroid operating system, is sold through a Google-operated retail Web site, and greets the market with an advertising tagline (“Web meets phone”) as simple and optimistic as the one Apple used in 2007 to introduce its iPhone (“The Internet in your pocket”).

On the same day, Apple did a very Google-like thing. Steve Jobs, the king of splashy product launches and in-house development, announced a strategic acquisition. For $275 million, Apple purchased Quattro Wireless, an upstart advertising company that excels at targeting ads to mobile-phone users based on their behavior.

When companies start to imitate one another, it’s usually either an extreme case of flattery, or war. In the case of Google and Apple, it’s both. Separated by a mere 10 miles in Silicon Valley, the two have been on famously good terms for almost a decade. Apple CEO Jobs and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, both 54, spent years in separate battles against Microsoft while Schmidt was at Sun Microsystems (JAVA) and Novell. Over time, they went from spiritual allies to strategic ones.

Tensions in Silicon Valley’s special relationship began to emerge in late 2007, when Google announced plans to develop Android for mobile phones. Apple had unveiled its iPhone in January of that year, and it was clear that the two companies would spar in the smartphone business. Still, both were niche players, with more formidable rivals in companies like Nokia, Samsung, and Research In Motion. Only after software developers began creating thousands of mobile apps, and it became clear that phones would become the computers of the future, did the conflicts begin to grow serious.

Now the companies have entered a new, more adversarial phase. With Nexus One, Google, which had been content to power multiple phonemakers’ devices with Android, enters the hardware game, becoming a direct threat to the iPhone. With its Quattro purchase, Apple aims to create completely new kinds of mobile ads, say three sources familiar with Apple’s thinking. The goal isn’t so much to compete with Google in search as to make search on mobile phones obsolete.

The tech industry has had its share of legendary rivalries: IBM vs Digital Equipment Corp, Microsoft vs Netscape, America Online vs. Yahoo! Apple vs Google could dwarf them all. Both companies are revered by consumers with a passion usually reserved for movie stars and pro athletes. They have multibillion-dollar war chests, visionary founders, and ambitions for smartphones, Web browsers, music, and tablet computers that set them on a collision course.

Some analysts believe the Apple-Google battle is likely to get much rougher in the months ahead. Apple may soon decide to dump Google as the default search engine on its devices, primarily to cut Google off from mobile data that could be used to improve its advertising and Android technology. Apple might cut a deal with—gasp!—Microsoft to make Bing Apple’s engine of choice, or even launch its own search engine.

Whatever happens, it’s clear that Apple and Google are headed for more conflict. Android is a threat to an iPhone business that has quickly come to represent more than 30% of Apple’s sales. Meanwhile, nearly all the growth in search is expected to come from mobile devices. That sets the stage for a new main event in the tech sector. This rivalry is going to accelerate innovation. Apple goes pretty fast, but having someone chasing you always makes you go faster. This is going to be good for consumers.

Still, in a battle over the future of computing, friendship will almost surely be a casualty of progress.

'The' Indian Cricket Fan

Ye India ka cricket hai beedu jeete toh thaat hai par haare...toh waat hai!!

It is often said that India is a cricket crazy country. This is meant as a reference to the passion towards cricket present in the layman of this country. However if one tries to separate himself for a moment from the crowd and take in an unbiased view of the pandemonium, one realises that the word ‘crazy’ in this context deserves to be taken literally! We Indians take cricket as much more than just a sport and the resulting madness often leaves a bad taste in the mouth of every right thinking person.

It is obvious that for someone to win, someone else has to lose at the same time. The law of averages also makes it obvious that any team or individual will not win all their competitions. After all, we have all heard the cliché ‘to err is human’. The thinking of the Indian cricket fan transcends such obvious reasoning. For him watching his team win is a birthright and anyone who is responsible for the denial of this birthright will meet his ire and how!

The recent ugly episode in this context has been the brawl in a westindian bar where Indian cricketers were assaulted by angry cricket fans due to their failure to qualify for the semis of the T20 world cup. One does not need to go long back into history to know that this wasn’t a one-off incident with memories of fans attacking the house of skipper MS Dhoni after the 2007 world cup flashing through the mind. Burning of effigies of cricketers on the road after a big defeat is another common practice.

Fickle-mindedness is another attribute that characterises the Indian cricket fan. Players are turned from idols to villains in no time at all. Sensational victories are forgotten due to recent defeats and then defeats are again forgotten due to victories. Sachin Tendulkar might be the GOD of cricket for them today but only a couple of years ago he was booed off the field by his very own Mumbai crowd in the Wankhede stadium! Needless to say he might be booed again and forced to retire soon if he doesn’t keep up his godly performances. During discussions, several attributes found in a player after a commendable performance disappear instantly after a rough patch and are replaced by talks of flawed technique and questions over commitment and attitude. Talks of Sehwag’s awesome hand-eye coordination when he scores a swashbuckling ton give way to his lack of foot movement the moment he gets caught behind early in the next match. One can’t help but remember the famous add in which Sehwag says-“Ye India ka cricket hai beedu jeete toh thaat hai par haare...toh waat hai!!” So true indeed!

Even though their knowledge of cricket is totally limited to what they see and hear on TV, the fans consider themselves no less experts than professional cricketers and coaches! The enthusiasm while making suggestions is such that it seems the fans themselves would take India singlehandedly to victory if allowed to play for the team. From how Sehwag should play his cover-drive to how Zaheer should grip the ball to who Dhoni should select in the team-these fans know it all! Well, at least they believe they know it all and could teach a thing or two to the national team players and coaches.

Only a true fan realises that his passion for the sport and for his country should be directed towards supporting the team through its rough patches. The role of fans becomes more important when the team is not doing well than when it is on song. For it is then that these players need the support and backing of their countrymen to get back their lost confidence. Instead of this, isn’t it shameful that we assault them and attack their houses? What we need to realise is that people who play for the national team have worked hard to get there. That hard work has been born out of a desire to represent ones country and they take immense pride in it. Hence the commitment of a player while he is representing his country should never be questioned, for nothing hurts these players more than this. We, the fans also need to realise the fact that these cricketers and coaches are professionals and experts in their field. Their knowledge of the technical and strategical aspects of cricket is incomparable to ours and thus we need to be patient and have faith in their decisions instead of going haywire with our own solutions in a distasteful manner like seen in the media these days.

Like all of us cricketers are human beings and thus bound to make mistakes. Turning them into villains and burning their effigies on roads is shameful and shows a basic lack of civic sense among the citizens of this country. Indians are also guilty of portraying a godlike image of a few cricketers. This is harmful in the longer run because at some point of time the cricketer will fail to live upto this image by the virtue of being human. This initially created hype is the reason behind the adverse reaction that one sees after a poor performance.

By the basic nature of being a fan it is important to have expectations from your team, but it is more important to learn to be calm in the case these expectations are not met. I request all Indian cricket fans to learn to take defeat in their stride with their dignity intact and be a ‘real’ pillar of strength behind their team!

PS: Im hoping to start a debate here. So please comment :p