Euro Trip IV (21.12.09): Zurich and towards Italy...

Zurich was added to our itinerary on my insistence. Had it been otherwise, we would have reached Italy a day earlier. Later we realized how the decision was a lucky one. Zurich is the largest city of Switzerland, and also its financial capital. Switzerland is known to have three lingual cultures. People speak French, German and Italian, depending on the region's proximity to the respective countries. In Zurich, German is used. We were not able to travel in Germany due to time shortage, and I believed that Zurich will, to some extent, make for our loss. Often mistaken as political capital (which is Berne), the grandeur associated with the very name of Zurich was enough to bring others on board too, as no one wanted to leave Switzerland, without touching Zurich.

Our experience in Zurich was actually a touch and go like. We were greeted by a great hustle bustle at the Zurich railway station, which was larger and more spectacular than some of the major Indian airports given that Zurich is central node of the extensive railway network of Europe. The Christmas celebration mood was of course apparent everywhere the main central hall was lit with colorful lights and floating decorative chandeliers and balloon structures.

We didn't have a lot of time to spend here, may be some 6-7 hours. We quickly grabbed a copy of free city map from a nearby information centre and set out. The temperature had grown uncomfortably cold since we set out from Toulouse, and a wave of cold breeze hit us as soon as we stepped out of the railway station. It was all white due to snow, but still pleasant and inviting. Due to paucity of time, we chalked out a circular path through the streets of Zurich covering as much as possible, and visiting the important churches and cathedrals and parks along our way, taking a turn from the banks of Lake Zurich and returning through the market along the river Limmat that connects the lake.

Zurich is the financial capital of Switzerland and one of the favorite places for all big shots of India to have bank accounts, given the tax haven nature of the country. Anyways the riches people here held were immediately visible all around. Right from the fashionable dresses people were donning, to the classy bikes and occasional Bentleys and Porsches, everything talked about the high standards of living of this city. No doubt Zurich is one of the costliest in world. We happened to see the posh brand hotels and the banks like UBS, Credit Swiss etc. after every few furlongs. We would take some time to stand, observe and absorb the glamour around only to be distracted by the passing by high frequency trams.  The overall energy of the city and its people was immense.

We caught the sight of an Apple store across the road and decided to adore the latest in the series of crisp gadgets. Here we also got access to free internet on the laptops on display and we checked our mails to match our plans with those of others we were to meet in Rome. Here I got to put my hands on Apple's Mac Book Air, a Wow thingy!

We took short breaks to pay our obeisance to Christ at Grossmünster, an Old Romanesque church; Fraumünster, an Old Gothic church; and St. Peter's Church. We also passed through a couple of snow covered parks, which being built on rather small raised hillock called Lindenhof provided a semi-panoramic view of the city below. Here we found oldies playing chess on large life-size chess boards made of concrete slabs. It reminded me of the chess Harry Potter and friends played during their quest for Sorcerer's Stone.

After a long walk we reached the lake Zurich, a calm and serene lake with flocks of birds flying over it. The lake is known for its clean water which is fed in the water supply after being duly purified. It was here another interesting event happened. I had wanted to buy some Swiss chocolates, and had come to know that they were sold cheap here at a factory outlet of Lindt, that was some 15 km away. I had almost accepted the inability to go there due to lack of time when I got to know that a bus flew up to the place from right where we stood. I talked about it with others. Isha had already bought her stock of chocolates, Rohit wanted to rather go around in the city. At that point of time we had around 2 hours more and a round journey up to Lindt outlet would take 30 min. I checked my watch, and in a split second decided to give it a try. A walk through the market would have been good, but a chocolaty relic from Switzerland for half the price was better. Pinak decided to accompany me and Telang, Rohit and Isha chose to stay back and meet us at the station.

With a constant stare on the watch, we ran towards the bus-stop. The bus flew every 15 min. As we sighted the bus arriving, we realized that unlike in France, where tickets could be purchased inside the bus, here we needed to take ticket from the vending machine at stop itself. But now, stopping to purchase the tickets meant missing this bus and wasting 15 minutes. We ventured to get inside with 5 Euros (fare) ready instead and behave innocent if asked for a ticket and produce the note. Luckily there was no checking and we enjoyed the 12 min ride for free. We literally ran on our heels from the “Lindt & Sprüngli" stop to the outlet, did our shopping in stipulated 10 min, indifferently picking the chocolate packets, paid the dues and ran back. The whole trip was hence completed in record 1 hour back to Lake Zurich with delicious chocolates and 1 hour to spare, enough to enjoy the marketplace along Limmat too. Chocolates were indeed so good, that they were praised by everyone who got to taste them back in India.

Darkness was taking over, so without venturing anything else, Pinak and I took the straightest path on our map back. The evening market was a great sight. We just glanced through the display windows of the showrooms in our way, displaying costly Swiss watches from Mondaine, Swatch and the all in one Swiss Army Knives from Vicotorinox and Wenger. We reached railway station well before time. Feeling hungry, I and Rohit decided to go to the Mc Donald's across the road and get some burgers, our feast for the day and also our evening meals.

At the station, there was a perceivable increase in rush, with thick jacketed people running all around. The electronic time table display was all in red showing that most of the trains we delayed and many cancelled. We knew something was wrong. But our train was on time, and we boarded it, taking our cozy seats and opening our packed meal with a sense of pride.

The last two months...

A month exactly has passed between the day I finished with my exams and this day. This month was one of the laziest months of my life, a long break at a stretch (though it was needed). It was a month full of mood swings, from high hopes to desperation, a few lame visits to relatives, long but often repetitive talks with my father,  flipping over TV channels with utter lack of interest, reading through a few books from papa's cupboard, relishing the dishes from mummy's kitchen, and wait for the stipulated time period to end. The phase of my life that I am going through is one of the most unpredictable.

Till September end, I had gone through the most strenuous four months ever, with pressure becoming unbearable, and I was longing to be at home, in love and affection of my parents. I landed home on 30 Sept, but the respite was limited to the 5 hours car journey from Delhi to Chandigarh, as was expected. As soon as I reached home, I was supposed to bury myself back in the heap of books. I knew somewhere in my heart that it would hardly be of any use. But this examination can be full of surprises, both pleasant and horrible, so who would take a chance. Fear and anxiety was already gripping me. I thought I was losing my confidence like sand slipping away from a clenched fist. Perhaps I felt that I was the least prepared of all candidates appearing in the exam. In the hind sight I know I was grossly wrong and I need to get over my idiosyncrasies next time and the world will be mine. But anyways, this time it was not my time. Insomnia was obvious in such conditions. Even the siestas after lunch, that I used to relish at a time, became nightmarish, with me getting up more tired and tense every time after one. Somehow I did gather myself before the fateful day of 5th October arrived.

I was ready for every extremity to happen. I had no expectations. And to some extent I was confident at least for this first exam. The day passed, Paper 1 and then Paper 2. Paper 2 had some moments of unease, but in the end I emerged out of the exam hall with a faint smile and a feeling that it didn't go so bad after all. I knew I could have done better, but nothing goes perfect, right?

The other two days had to be normal, English, Hindi and Essay. In fact I felt quite good after I wrote my essay, though the results shall reveal the truth. But the real cause of worry was waiting ahead.

"Lok Prashasan", better known as PubAd had never been my forte. I used to feel a bit comfortable with it, till the wretched results for the last year came and shattered the hopes of all those with PubAd optional. I hadn't researched a lot before opting for it two years ago, and hardly knew what marks it actually fetched usually. But I considered it to be essential and quintessential choice for the likes of me. But the trends seemed to be flipped after the May's result, when even the toppers seemed to be trailing behind the magic 50%. This caused an intense fear psychosis, and I repent today for not having surfed through the previous year results too, which could have helped to mitigate the fear by some extent. Over and above, that cursed test series that I joined did everything to take my confidence to the lowest ebb. Confidence is most prized resource in this endeavor, and interestingly I knew it forever, yet I am what I am. One thing that today I can hope and wish to serve me perhaps is that I never lost hope and continued to put in my best efforts. Anyways, the first paper was a disaster. Lack of writing practice and inability to complete the answers in given time took its toll. I was numb during lunch time. But a general feedback about the exam was that it was exceptionally tough. I quickly brainstormed for a new strategy to tackle the paper 2 which I considered to be relatively easier for me. The way I fared in the earlier three exams had put me on a safer ground and I tried to maintain my cool by thinking about the remaining ones and expecting to do better at least in them. By god's grace, the second one was relatively much easier and I performed to my satisfaction.

I now had a week and a day more before the final stride, Physics. I was good at it, and it was the last chance. I had high hopes from it. But the pressure to perform and the regret of the last exam was enough to screw this one too. There were a few topics that I was weak at. I did prepare them but not to my satisfaction, knowing that it was rare that a question would be asked out of them. Hydrogen atom problem was one of them. Even on the last day I wanted to revise it once, but I preferred to give time to other important topics. By the time the day before the exam ended, I had gone through everything I felt I needed to. I was rather happy and cool. But things were not supposed to go right. I switched of the lights and went to bed, but I couldn't sleep!  12 AM, 1 AM, 2 AM, 2:30 AM, no sign of slumber. Now the fear of exam was overcome by fear of not being able to sleep, which was the thing I needed most at that time. I sheepishly woke up my parents. My mother immediately got up, hugged me, tried to calm me, and sat beside me patting me to sleep. Mother's love is truly the most magical feeling ever created. I did finally close my eyes at about 3 am and got lost in dreams. But the damage had already been done. I got up in morning with a faint body ache and dizzy head. And when I was doing the morning chores, Split!!! I got a severe sprain in my back. Perhaps anyone else would have chosen to stay back and skip the exam at that very moment. But I somehow kept my spirit high. I went for the exam, wrote, the answers, paper 1 and then paper 2. No prizes for guessing, it was a disaster again. The worst dreams had come true. The topics I had left out considering being less important stared at me mischievously in form of weird questions. I freaked out, made all wrong choices of questions out of fear, and so it ended, in a grim.

I knew I had become a loser this time, having failed all hopes and aspirations of my folks. It wasn't lack of preparation, but lack of gusto in which I ought to take this venture. I tried to appear fine for the first two days after the exam, both outwardly and inwardly, as if that was how it was supposed to go as I wasn't prepared at my best. But sooner the reality started hitting me on my face. I had wasted this precious opportunity to make it this very time. I had let it go.

It was followed by a tumultuous war inside me. I knew what had passed was past, unchangeable. I had to look toward the future. There were lessons to be learnt from this experience. And these lessons shall become my shield in future. And moreover, as my father always tries to convince me, it was not a complete failure. It is true that the exam brings many surprises. May be there is one in store for me too. After all no one is able to do perfectly well, after all those who are competing are also like me.

With this good hope I have prepared myself in this last one month, for greater dedication, perseverance and relentless effort in the next one year. 'Do or die' won't suit me better anytime else. It’s time to move back to Delhi. It’s hard for me to leave home, not because of the comforts, but because it hurts to part from parents at time when even they need me. But there is no free lunch. And life is tough indeed.

(This post was written after writing mains examination in my first attempt (CSE 2012). I cleared mains but could not clear after the interview. My marks were as follows: GS1: 114, GS2: 115, Essay: 112, Physics1: 151, Physics2: 115, PubAd1: 52, PubAd2: 86, Interview: 165)

Euro-Trip III (20.12.09): In heart of Switzerland

To move on was the destiny. Due to extreme weather conditions, we hardly were able to follow the exact itinerary we had plotted. But one thing was planned well. The whole group had fixed it pretty well in advance that 18 of us were to meet in Vatican City on the Christmas Eve. We wanted to at least do some justice with our travelogues in Switzerland and then to see a bit of northern Italy before hitting the Colosseum. The day was 20^th December, 2009 and it was decided to spend two more days in the Swiss paradise. We hadn’t many choices on board, neither did we want to experiment anything unconventional, so we set our foot towards Lucerne.

Lucerne/Luzern is a beautiful small city in heart of Switzerland. With nothing especially spectacular, everything is spectacularly mesmerizing about the city. A fine blend of new and old, the city is full of energy in its main market place and is a treat for travelers looking for the real Switzerland. But there was something more memorable before we reached Lucerne. It is well known fact that Switzerland has one of the world’s best laid railway networks. The train journey from Interlaken to Lucerne was its proof enough. Apart from the engineering marvel of the high speed rails that take you in between the snow covered jagged mountains and along the stretched lakes, the beauty one witnesses from the large windows of trains is unparalleled. For most of the journey, all of us were simply awed with open mouths, taking our own time to assimilate the reality that we were seeing. There were vast stretches of grasslands covered with soft snow, with occasional cows feasting in meadows. The lakes were majestic and calm, reflecting the grey cloudy sky, with a few of the fluffy puffs kissing their yonder banks, and the fog giving beautiful hallucinations as if the train was floating in air. The mighty Swiss Alps covered with pine trees could be seen on the not so far horizon, sprayed with fresh snow that would fall with a slightest disturbance. Soon the sun rays started falling on the highest peaks, coloring them in gold, a prized sight indeed it was, and more precious than the yellow metal itself.

      

The city as I already said was small, but fun. To our fortune, the day started with bright sun. That did save us from hypothermia. But a layer of snow had already been laid all over, and now it was starting to melt, making the weather even more numbing. And such melting snow always finds its way through the seams of boots, giving your toes a very difficult time. We had our feet covered with a layer of stockings and polythene bags to save them from water but, amateurs we were, the mischief was done.

Rest of the day was spent roaming around in the streets of the city and along the river Reuss that flows through it. Ahh!! The word ‘roaming’ reminds me of an interesting event that happened around here, and I shall narrate a little later. We visited les eglises and other important landmarks marked in a radius of 5 km around where we stood on the map. Few of the sights were certainly remarkable. One was the river Reuss itself. I don’t know if it was the low temperature, or the smooth basin, but the river flowed in a very streamlined manned, defying all laws of turbulence, especially over one of the river gates (Inset). The 14^th century chapel bridge made of wood was a lovely walk. History has it that most of the bridge was burnt inadvertently by a discarded cigarette butt and had to be reconstructed. Sure enough the people around didn’t learn a lesson from history, and a lot of blown cigarettes could be seen in the cracks and crevices of the bridge. Across the bridge was a small fair where people were enjoying in a merry mood, and cultural dances were being performed on a makeshift stage. I chanced to have one of the best hot brewing soups of I-don’t-know-what there. The market was also a very traditional one, like any small town in India and people also looked very simple. What was not very simple was the price tag on each item displayed in the windows. Nevertheless Telang became our proud companion to actually shop a pair of boots, which he hoped would save from the seeping ice cold water.

After some time of wandering around, we spotted an Indian restaurant. The longing for Indian food was unbearable after about 110 days of leaving home. Yet we chose to control and rather stepped in a food store. This looked a real cheap place in an otherwise pocket burning market. We quickly bought some fruits, a large chocolate home baked cake, some bread and butter and juice and feasted upon it. Two ladies were selling world famous Swiss chocolates at the exit of the store. Knowing well we were not going to purchase any from here, we hesitantly picked one piece each that was being offered for tasting. But on realizing that the ladies were least bothered about whether we buy it or not, we picked a handful of then. Chocolates were very tasty, truly Swiss, and we were very greedy, truly Indian.

The last sight for the day was The Lion Monument, a majestic sculpture of a dying lion carved on a wall of a small park. It commemorates hundreds of Swiss guards massacred during the French Revolution. The sculpture was an amazing one, very realistic, that can be mistook for a real one for a second. It reminded me of Aslan from Chronicles of Narnia. We found some time to play snow-fight for some time here, Pinak of course being the favorite target. Here I shall narrate the ‘Roaming’ incident. Pinak, who had proudly acquired a Matrix SIM card from India itself, had a penchant for talking to his near and dear ones (especially his girlfriend to keep her convinced about his commitment for her) back home in India. But he had failed to realize that we had crossed borders and his phone was now in roaming area. He had spent hours, chit chatting over phone till now, when someone reminded him of 3 Euro per minute call charges. He literally squealed over it. And then he told his father to call him back instead and spent another hour or so on phone. It was then someone broke the news to him, that incoming calls were rather charged at 4 Euro per minute. Haha!! He was inconsolable.

Well, finally bowing one last time for the dying lion, we headed back to the railway station. Stupid it may sound, but we were to go back to Interlaken for the night stay, for lodging in Lucerne was damn costly and we had travelling for free. Also it was time to bid good-byes again. Avinash and Swetabh were to part from us here for their escapades in Eastern Europe. We were to etch our path again early next morning, to our last stop in Switzerland. Zurich!!

Indomitable Spirit - APJ Abdul Kalam

The very thought of APJ Abdul Kalam's calm and serene, yet pensive face brings smiles to many faces, inspires a number of young hearts, adds passion to thoughts and spurs so many to action. ‘Indomitable Spirit’ is one masterpiece of a book that acquaints the reader to the beautiful thoughts Dr. Kalam nurtures for the future of India. The book describes in every sense what our country needs in this hour of trial when we our gripped with a  gamut of socio-economic issues, justifying the urgency for highly enlightened citizens, creative leaders, autonomous learners and truly indomitable spirits, to usher India into a realm envisaged as dream India-2020. The book describes the recipe of what a citizen of India ought to be. Full of stories, poems, quotes and anecdotes from the life of the author, the book covers a very wide ranging burning issues like poverty, education and women empowerment etc. and reflects upon subjects like creativity, values, science, spirituality and leadership. Indomitable Spirit is a gripping book, full of lessons for life, both philosophical and spiritual.

The very beginning of the book emphasizes on the role men play, be it at home, an organization, or a nation to drive it towards a better future. The way Dr. Kalam acknowledges the importance various people have held in shaping his life, reminds us how anyone and everyone has an impact on others, how we can get inspired from not only the most successful ones around us, but also the most humble ones. I personally feel that inspiration can be drawn not just from people, but also the inanimate objects and nature around as.

"The ignited minds of the young are the most powerful resource on the earth, above the earth and under the earth. Teachers have a great mission to ignite the minds of the young." Although anyone from whom one learns can be called a teacher, but the teachers at school and the parents are people a person begins to learn in his formative years. It is through their perspective that one starts seeing the world and beyond. One spends a significant amount oftime of his life in school, and this time is when children are most inquisitive and best learners. This puts a great responsibility on school teachers, who must not only be good at coaching children, but must be ready to answer their questions with great interest, so as to ignite the fire of learning, and slowly infuse in them power of logic and reasoning.

Teaching is no longer an easy job, and requires lifelong commitment and diligence on teachers' part to 'sharpen their axe'. It would not be an exaggeration to comment upon the dearth of teachers, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in India. To combat with this situation, it is important to realize the capacity of technology in this field. We need to increasingly enhance our IT infrastructure to make e-learning and interactive distance learning a reality in each and every village of the country. Who knows how many great learners are remaining unrevealed due to lack of good education.

“If one has integrity, nothing else matters, If one doesn’t have integrity, nothing else matters”. Today it is rare to find a person with impeccable honesty, integrity, truth and righteousness in thoughts and actions. The younger generation today feels gratified in insulting elders, bullying the weaker, disrespecting women and hence bringing disrepute to their near and dear ones. The rising cases of crime, corruption, rapes, financial embezzlements and increasing number of old-age homes, children rehabilitation homes etc. are living proofs of the corrosion of our souls. It pains me to see how parents are shown the doors, by their own children, in their needy years. There has undoubtedly been a serious lapse in integration of a solid value system in our education system. The government policy makers need to realize this now. But a greater realization is needed on part of parents who are the first guide of children. Values can’t be taught but learnt from the milieu. Children emulate their parents. Parents must become role models of their wards. Good habits learnt in childhood remain forever. At the same time, a more contextual and relevant coursework in subjects like humanities, social sciences and moral sciences must be included in academic curriculum at each stage of the education system.

Dr. Kalam gives his mantra for developing an ideal education model for 21^st century comprising of five components: research and enquiry, creativity and innovation, capacity to use high-end technology, entrepreneurship, and moral leadership.

India today is second largest country of the world human-resource wise. We have some of the brightest brains in the world. Yet we are a major technology importer today. The graduates from our elite education institutions prefer to go to West to pursue their careers. We have enough scope to grow here in India. What is needed is creativity. An idea can change the life, it can make the impossible possible. But as Dr. Kalam recognizes, innovation needs courage. Thus all private sector, public sector and academia need to collaborate to create an environment that enhances risk taking capacity of people that encourages creativity and innovation.

 Greatest souls of all times have also been great thinkers and a good thought rises from the depths of a clean conscience. It is important to listen to our conscience whenever in dilemma. It is important to keep the conscience alive by constant introspection. In the words of Dr. Kalam, “A virtuous man alone can use the instrument of conscience.” The conscience can be elevated to divinity by art which “helps to bring out the beauty of life in its noblest forms, imparting meaning and depth to human existence, justifying and vindicating the purpose for which life was evolved.”

Dr. Kalam, himself one of the greatest scientists ventures into the subject of spirituality, wonderfully putting an end to any antagonism between science and spirituality, which he says both seek the same divine blessing for doing good for the people. Spirituality is often misconstrued, as something unworldly, and difficult to achieve. Often people consider science and religion as enemies. The book cautions us against such people. Spirituality is the end, science may be a means. Spirituality helps to achieve self realization, to know oneself, to decipher the objectives of life, to lead it in a better way, in service to nation and others. It deals with the eternal immaterial satisfaction that we all seek. Science stands for the same.

Dr. Kalam is known to have a special place for children in his heart. Children are truly a nation’s future and their high spirited enthusiasm and capacity for hard-work can become a key to transform the nation. But it needs to be complemented with correct knowledge. Even after 60 plus years of our liberation, equitable education for all still remains a distant dream and a great cause for concern. But till that goal is achieved, we must not stop children from dreaming, for “dreams transform into thoughts which result into action”. We must encourage children to dream for themselves, word hard and succeed.

I remember having read once that man and woman are the two wheels of cycle of a family. In case any one of them rusts, the cycle becomes dysfunctional. It is high time to realize that not just in a family, but women have great role to play in nation building also. Until the women are empowered, the stability of the society will continue to be in jeopardy. Women are as important human resource as men, and must be empowered with good health and education to make them self reliant and drivers of national prosperity. Every organization must cater to the subjective needs of women, by making its members more gender sensitive, in its policies and actions. It is ironical that where at one place we feel proud to call great women like Rani Lakshmibai, Sarojini Naidu and Kalpana Chawla Indians, at the same time we deny even the basic right to live to girl child.

Dr. Kalam’s vision of building a “Knowledge Society” is truly a captivating one. Today knowledge is emerging as the primary resource rather than capital or labor. The society needs to change from mere materialistic gains towards an all round development and empowerment of each of its member. This can be achieved by having a quality and value based self-learning education system, self-empowered and flexibly skilled workers, software drive non-programmed work structure managed more by delegation than direction. There must be an all encompassing endeavor in the fields of Information technology, biotechnology, space-technology, environment, nuclear-technology, telecommunication and information processing to generate more employment as well as better services to ensure constant amelioration of lives of people. The current projects taken up by government like, NPTEL, National Knowledge Grid, NEGP, JNNURM, PURA, Rural connectivity, Digital library mission, Health grid, Panchayat level computerization and e-kiosks etc. are commendable steps towards becoming a knowledge society.

The book constantly reminds the reader of the dream of India 2020 and his responsibility of contributing towards it. It ignites a strong feeling of patriotism that surmounts all individualistic or narrow communalistic feelings. We today hold an increasingly important place in the world order an integrated action shall certainly transform us to a developed nation soon. Dr. Kalam visualization of a competitive developed India is visionary, “A nation that brings smile to billion plus faces”.

Today we are facing a serious threat from theological fundamentalists that hinder the universal harmony by spreading hatred amongst men and using instruments of terrorism. Dr. Kalam has in his book, simply resolved the causes of terrorism into deprivation, that leads to frustration, alienations and often to destructive activism. The only way to counter is through an inclusive development via democratic deepening and through an enlightened citizenship.

In any project, it is not sufficient to just identify the necessary stages and components, but equally important is a leader who, through his wider perspective and meticulous planning, drives forward the project towards its goal. India also needs a young and creative leadership. Dr. Kalam recognizes fourteen traits a leader must have, i.e. honesty, optimism, determination, looking beyond, judgment, problem solving, courage, being concise, collaboration, stimulation, providing assistance, fervor, public speaking and organization. I would like to add another, i.e. compassion. His multitude of experience in ISRO and DRDO as gives ample insight into what it takes to make an organization successful.

The title of the book itself suggests that we have everything today we need to grow as a nation. All we need is an indomitable spirit, a spirit full of devotion for the goal, which cannot be deterred by minor or major obstacles. There is no path that does not offer obstacles. It is by sheer hard work, sweat and perseverance that we can conquer over these obstacles. A successful leader can never be defeated by problems, but he defeats the problems. In fact it is our perspective by which we may measure the dimensions of a problem. A person with courage, faith, ability and capability never sees any problem as big enough to stop him. There are innumerous persons, who despite of their social, economic and/or physical disabilities have left a mark on the world. And so do we all do create a page in the history. It is up to ourselves that what is written on that page, what we would like to be remembered for? This very inspiring thought sends my adrenaline rushing and I shall conclude with a strong determination that “As a young citizen of India…… ….. I will keep the lamp of knowledge burning to achieve the vision- Developed India”.

Inspiring a value system

Last week was a very important milestone in my life - the graduation day. Adorned with bright colored convocation robes, I was happy to finally get the fruit of years of toil, first to get into the prestigious IIT system and then to get through its rigorous curriculum, courses, projects and thesis work successfully. It was a day of joy indeed, all the more for it gave me a chance to be with my friends once again, a weekend spent well indeed. The following day, I was fortunate enough to meet Prof. GS Visweswaran of Electrical Engineering Department, a teacher I duly respect, more as a person, a friend, a guide. It was at that time I got a chance to retrospect, introspect and delve into the depths of past five years I spent in IIT campus, becoming a different person, more mature certainly, more knowledgeable, more qualified, yet not complete.

The incident was a call GSV sir received from one of his students who, he later explained to me, had been working on a project under him but had suddenly and irresponsibly vanished without completing his work or reporting to anyone anything about it, and had now called back to justify his disappearance and get some liberal extension for the project. I could immediately relate to the situation that was truly characterizing most of the students today sometime or the other, including (I must admit) myself.

In my friend circle, we have often discussed about the way something is wrong with the system and trends prevalent today in our system of education. IITs are acclaimed as world class premier institutions established to fire and forge the scientific and technical disposition amongst its students to make them lead others towards a common goal of national development. Certainly these institutions have over achieved on their goals. But here I am delving into a different aspect of human personality i.e. ethics. A knowledge economy can only be created with education that is value based. Knowledge reinforced with values is must for its sustainability and usefulness for the holder and those around him. But perhaps this component is conspicuously missing today in our education system.

Today it is rare to find a person who is always honest, truthful, and righteous in his thoughts and actions. Crime and Injustice are rampant. Cheating and Frauds have become a norm. There is an acute trust deficit in every institution, organization, public or private office, group, and even at home. I feel mocked at when I read about government making it a rallying point that their leader or our PM is a spotless and most honest leader of high integrity. I mean is it sufficient to have only one such leader in the government and rest can get away with impunity? But we all realize that there is a problem isn’t it? I don’t find a person who admires corruption; of government, of society, of conscience. We all detest it, all of us, yet it exists. Isn’t it ironical? It is a solution that we need now.

Ethics and values, I believe cannot be taught but learnt. India today is at an enviable stage in demographic history. We have a huge force of 540 million young people, with average age less than 29 years, it is all the more important to channel their energy positively and rightly. Developing best education system, ensuring good health, creating more jobs is necessary, but most important is to create a learning environment, where each person becomes a consistent and autonomous learner and become both capable and willing to contribute in national growth. Every lesson taught in the schools must be future oriented and value-laden. There must be a high amount of consciousness in every person, about his/her importance for the society, about his/her duties and responsibilities. We are backed by a strong history of traditions and culture, which must be transformed into a driving force towards a better and modern tomorrow.

Parents have an imperative role to play in this regard. Parents must not raise their children towards worldly and smaller ambitions like a good report card, high rank in examinations, or a high paying job. But they must inspire their children to be a good person, a good son, daughter, brother, sister, father, mother, a good human and a good citizen. They must themselves emulate a role model before their children, and teach them the value of honesty, integrity, truthfulness in life. It is important to do whatever one does with passion and interest, not for namesake. This will help create a stress free learning environment, with least of hypocrisy.

Teachers too hold a great responsibility. A child spends a great part of his time in his/her formative years in school. We observe, learn and enact everything from our friends, peers, teachers at school. There is a need of visionary teachers with strong instinct to instill best values in their students. I feel even a single such figure in each school would suffice. This puts a responsibility on me too, and I would urge my friends to take up the same responsibility, of teaching. That may not be taken as a full time career, but perhaps once in a while, we all must try to collaborate with schools in our vicinity, in our neighborhood, in villages, and go there to teach, to inspire the future of our country. I am sure such non curricular lectures can have a deep impact on minds of students, by getting to know more from people other than their usual teachers, or parents or elders. I know it’s not easy for most of us to spend even an hour out of our schedules, given the busy and a stressed lifestyle. So it stands true for me too currently. But I do hereby pledge to make it true sometime soon in future.

Learning is a constant process. Knowledge needs to be renewed constantly. I feel it usually happens in India, that as soon as we leave our schools to step into more professional courses, some subjects lose their relevance completely. For those taking up science after class X, subjects like History, Geography, Polity and Languages become a childish thing to learn. But I believe that there lies a great importance in social sciences in forming learned and enlightened citizen. It’s important to know our history, our society, our culture to understand the dynamics of country better, to contribute meaningfully towards it. A wide, though rudimentary it may be, knowledge in Indian economy, law and administration is must to participate in the country’s national and social events. In this regard I want to sound my concern for lack of more contextual courses in Humanities in our institutions of higher studies in engineering and medical professions. Once we learn of the problems prevalent in our villages - the sheer poverty by which more than 40% of our population is still inflicted with, lack of basic civic amenities, drinking water, sanitation, primary healthcare, education to a major part of our country - it is bound to make us more aware of what we owe to others, to spur us to action.

It is high time to realize that there is a high deal of urgency to bring about a sustainable and effective change. There is not a single moment when someone is not complaining, complaining of people, society, customs, government, teachers, friends, boss, colleagues, maids, parents, children, relatives, rich, poor, each and everyone. But that includes us too. Let us be the change we want to be. And for that, I put my faith foremost in a value laden life, in morality, in being just and righteous, to ourselves, to others around us, in each and every respect. We may not see the blemishes on our soul at first instant. That may require a serious contemplation, a non-assuming self-introspection, and then we shall find that there is a lot to change within before without. Let us give others a place to live that we dream of. Let us help others grow, win and succeed. That shall in turn, irrespective of any reciprocity from others, help us be a winner forever.