Students’ Union 2008-09

Students’ Union 2008-09

Sitting (from left to right) Standing Second row (from left to right)
Hostel General Secretary P.K. Pradeep Film Club R. Vijay Sivanesan
Music Club R. Nandhakumar
Students’ Union Secretary M. Chellapriyadharshini
Karate Club M. Sivarajan
Administrative Officer Dr. S. Shanmugam
NCC R. Sankaranarayanan
Vice Principal Dr. V. Selladurai Ilamparavai Editor N. Purushothaman
Principal Dr. R. Prabhakar Muthamil Mandram R. Sudhakar
Students’ Union Staff Advisor Dr. N. Murugan Associate Editor Srishti V. Sylvester Pious
Students’ Union Chairperson A.S. Nirmaladevi Standing Third row (from left to right)
Chief Editor Srishti S. Vignesh Photography Club S. Sridhar
NSS R. Sathish
Standing First Row (from left to right) S. Vijayakumar
YRC S. Gowdhaman S.M. Dheeban
Chakkaravarthy
Literary Club Paul A. Emmanuel
Nature Club S. Vignesh
Quiz Club G. Chocklingam Sports Club S. Arunkumar
Dramatix Joint Secretary R. Aravindh NSS C. Deepa Sarojini
Dramatix Secretary R. Arvindh Girls’ Hostel General Secretary K. Saranya
Associate Editor Srishti R. Amshuman Members not in the photograph
Placement Secretary G. Aravind Space Club T. Ragland Navamani
Arts Club S. Anand YHAI G. Sakthivel
 Contents

44

A Taste of CIT
13 The best days of my life 92
46 A tribute to Prof. P.R. Ramakrishnan
74 From CIT to Townhall
98 Into the Night

Spinning the Yarn

26 God plays dice
28 It started with a Five star
86 The Girl inside the glass paperweight
99 Yet another beginning

Campus Walk 54
34 Association Activities
37 Placement Report
48 Interface and Technovation 2009

56 53
60
Quest ’09
Brahma ’09
61 Writer’s Workshop
69 Alumni Watch
 I think, therefore I am
18 Relics of Religion
22 The Girl, the Dog and the Umbrella
66 India shining
80 Caste based society
88 Freedom – My Perspective
94 Just in Time

The Golden Page

42 72 Why Atheism is not necessarily
a solution

10
Visual Treats
21 The Emerald Isles Poet’s Corner
24 Frames of Mind 12 The love of my dream
51 Painting 20 Way beyond the world
52 Pencil Sketching 84 Hall of Reckoning
92 Slipping Sand
Altitude of Attitude
10 A glimpse of Indian fashion
16 The Economic Cycle
30 One India
58 Media Matters
76 Team work
70 32 Chandni Chowk to China
62 Destiny (re)written
78 GenNext
Fun Time
25 Editorial’s choice
21
64 Crushed
70 Tarot Tarun
90 My Birthday Nightmare Book Review
96 White Tiger

Spotlights
42 Chandrayaan 72
44 Mumbai Attack
54 The Great Recession 2008
56 It’s a Black Day for America

Face to Face
40 Interview with V.B.Chandrasekhar
 MESSAGE

From the Correspondent

Srishti ‘09 is an excellent piece of publication that
demonstrates the literary, art, wit and imaginative skills of
our students. Congratulations to the entire team for
keeping the tradition high and raising the bar of
presentation skills.

Dr. S.R.K. Prasad

 MESSAGE

From the Principal

Srishti ‘09 is a wonderful blend of knowledge, information,
titbits, poems, literary work and graphics to make the issue
interesting and coveted. I congratulate the staff advisor and
the student editorial team of Srishti ‘09 for their brilliant
and original efforts.

(Dr. R. Prabhakar)
 MESSAGE

From the Vice-Principal

Srishti 2009 is an innovative piece, which showcases the hard
work put in by the editorial board. I congratulate the team and
the students who have contributed articles and helped in the
creation of the magazine. I wish them all success for their
future endeavor.

(Dr. V. Selladurai)
 MESSAGE

From the
Students’ Union Staff Advisor
I am glad to know that the Literary Club of CIT is bringing
out Srishti 2009 with enhanced quality. Our students’
creative capabilities and talents will be revealed through
this magazine and well recognized by all. I congratulate all
members of the organising committee of Srishti for their
untiring efforts to bring out a master piece in Srishti 2009. I
also congratulate all students who have contributed with
great care to incorporate even very minute details for
improving the overall quality of Srishti.

(Dr. N. Murugan)
 MESSAGE

From the
Staff Advisor
Srishti 2009 exhibits the magnificent artistic splendour of the
creative minds. The innovative ideas unleashed with chosen
words have made the literary articles fascinating. Each article
is an exquisite literary piece which perfectly blends eloquent
expressions and ideas. The aspirations, perspectives and
cherished ideas expressed in an elegant language bring to lime-
light the vision and expertise of the students. I extol the
tremendous work done by the editorial board which worked
with all zest and zeal, relentlessly to bring out this outstanding
literary magazine Srishti 2009.

(Mrs. P. Shanthi)
 MESSAGE
Message from the
Associate Editor
I cannot, in one line express the
effort and pain that has gone into
this magazine and thus my only
request to you is that you read
Srishti from start to the end and
justify the efforts.

(R. Amshuman)

Message from the Secretary

Srishti, is one of the best things that has happened to the Literary Club of
CIT. This year’s edition stands out to reveal those investigative journalists,
poets, creative writers and thinkers that CIT houses. The enthusiasm that
we received as soon as the announcements were made regarding the
submission of articles has been something that has kept us going
throughout. I can vouch that working towards bringing out this magazine
was a pleasure in every way. The editorial team has done a commendable
job in bringing out this year’s edition. Creativity would be too ordinary a word
to describe what Srishti ’09 is all about. To know more, ‘Read On!’

(Paul A. Emmanuel)

Message from the

Associate Editor
We have an abundance of information. It can be found in newspapers,
magazine, on the internet and in many more places. With each person
having different views and ideas, most of the information is more or
less biased. It is difficult to see through all this and get to the truth.
This magazine is one such collection of ideas and perspectives on
different issues. I hope your own research and opinions add value to
what you read in this year's Srishti. We had a great time putting
together this magazine. I would like to thank all those who made it
possible. Hope you too have a great time reading this magazine

(Sylvester Pious. V)
 Chandni Bhagtani
II year, ECE

A glimpse of
INDIAN
fash on
Fashion is a sort of in the north, the colorful turbans of Rajasthan and
communal art through Punjab to the Kanchipuram saree of the south.
which a culture examines
its idea of beauty and In my opinion, the first true Indian designer was
goodness. Fashion is Mahatma Gandhi when he urged the people of
usually a synonym for India to wear khadi garments. It was not only a call
glamour, beauty and style. to create self-reliance but a call to wear something
Talking about India, our that could prove the unity of India. Therefore,
motherland has her own khadi became not only a symbol of revolution and
unique native costumes resistance but part of an Indian society.
and traditional attire. While
traditional clothes are still The year 1947 not only marked the partition of
worn in most of rural India, urban India is changing India but also the division of cultures, traditions,
rapidly with international fashion trends. It is much dress codes and lifestyle.
reflected by the young and the glamorous in the After the partition, the
cosmopolitan metros of India. The Fashion saree became the
industry is a booming one where glamorous most popular dress
models display new styles every day. The face of of Indian women and
Indian fashion has totally changed from a weaver the salwar kameez
in olden days to today’s fashion designer who is for Pakistan. The
celebrated for his or her creativity. The fusion of Salwar Kameez
Indian and western styles is seen in the streets gained popularity
and on the ramps of fashionable cities. Indian i n I n d i a ,
Fashion has also made its mark in the changing the
international market after being worn by some of whole fashion
the fashion icons like the pop star Madonna in
recent years.

Indian fashion designers like Manish

Malhotra, Ritu Beri, Ritu Kumar,
Satya Paul, etc., have
contributed greatly to the
international market.
Fashion in India covers a
whole range of clothing
from the benarasi saree
A Glimpse of Indian Fashion Srishti ‘09 11
rustle of this unique garment has an ancient
culture. Cool baggy jeans from Pepe, a loose t-
shirt from Levis with the photo of a devil or a
funny caption on it, a cloth belt from Armani,
junk jewellery, a wrist band and a hand bag
from Gucci. All these are the “identifiers” of
typical Indian youth! The professional male
group of India is confined to linen shirts, a 3-
piece suit as worn by superstar Aamir Khan in
“GHAJINI”, a leather belt, trousers and formal
shirts from Allen Solly, Van Heusen,
Raymonds, etc. Indian cinema has a very wide
influence in the changing trends of Indian
fashion. The youngsters tend to copy the filmy
looks of the actors and it becomes the trend of
the season. From the boy next door John
Abraham’s “DHOOM” looks to the
Anarkali salwars of “MUGHAL
E-AZAM”, each movie an
star creates a new mar
ever changing fashion i
The Lakme India fash
week, Wills lifestyle wee
and Indian fashion week
showcase the Indian
scenario here. Today, it stands as the second designers’ work across
most popular dress in most parts of India. India. These events
Varying from the ethnic touch to the cocktail have also influenced
look, the salwar kameez has come to suit all the fashion industry
occasions. worldwide. The foreign
desig-ners thus hav
The bindi is also the most enduring part of our an opportunity o
cultural inheritance. The popularity that the collaborating with th
bindi is currently enjoying in Indian fashion Indian designers an
cannot be matched by any other cosmetic. A launching their fashion
majority of the female population whether trends. Viewing the
young or old, modern or traditional wears diverse Indian styles and
either the traditional blood red bindi or varied trends we can
colored ones to match their outfit. surely be regarded one
of the most fashionable
Saree, the most popular attire worn by people on the planet.
millions of Indian women is, by far, the most
elegant. More than the grace and glamour,
the saree symbolizes the continuity of an age
old tradition of the Indian way of life. Every
12 Srishti ‘09
T. Ragland Navamani
IV year EEE

The Love
of my

DREAMS
All my life, I had a dream,
Which always made me beam.

The thought of my hands around you,

Evokes images of a flower, tender, lovely and new.

The simple thought of seeing you smile,

Brings one to my lips, and stays there for a long while.

The joy of teaching you something new,

Always makes my cheeks turn a bright red hue.

The thought of kissing your tender little cheek,

Makes me show between mine, every single teeth.

The plain thought of just looking at you,

Brings a joy that could be understood only by a select few.

Oh yes, the thought of the scary pain,

But does it matter, I had you to gain.

Or so I thought, but God had a plan

That unfolded, like the feathers of a fan.

Feathers behind an arrow, that didn't give a breeze,

But stung me like a swarm of flaming bees.

He loved you more than I did,

So I am forced, and to you, farewell I bid.

So special you are, that He wanted you, my little baby,

All for Himself, as His crown jewel, a priceless red ruby.

The
And here I am, with the memory of a distant dream,
It brings a tear down my cheek, but, it used to make me beam.

– Mother of a stillborn child

 G. Chockalingam
IV year, Civil
The Best Days
of my Life
W hen I sat to write, one last
time for SRISHTI, I was
pretty sure of what to
write. I went through myriad
experiences of these 3 ½ years,
comprising of moments of pleasure,
moments of pain, humbled-by-friend-
occasions (numerous actually), gloomy
days when I was hurt hard, incredibly
exciting events, moments when I was
jubilated etc. Finally at the end of my
stay here, I realized that life has been
fine at all these times. And this is what I
am writing about. These pages will
tell how your dear writer experienced
CIT…

il fe
my
f
s o
d ay
es t
b
The
It all started in the Audi during the
orientation programme. From there,
Palani block took care of my first year.
My room in the second floor, with two
roommates in the always busy wing corridor, provided fun and fervor. GS meetings, 9.00 O'clock restrictions,
Open TV room, ED charts and Chairman Tutor were the watch words in first year. Never would one forget the
drill run during P.T hour (which I attended only once), where almost every boy ran straight to the hostel. The
first class-bunk, gave immense joy.

The best thing about First year remains in the simple fact that the section-wise split up for common subjects
and department-wise for electives made everyone know guys from the other departments. A six day per week
workload didn't deter our enjoyment at the hostel. Since computers were forbidden in the first year hostel,
Suryan FM was a big hit. Fitting workshop & the messy mess were dreaded most. Floor cricket, puerile chats
and the eagerness-to-explore-Coimbatore, were the hot happenings. Constant rumours about ragging and first
semester results still flicker in some distant corner of my mind.

Second year or more professionally - sophomore year, is easy to define with this word - FR-EE-EE-EE-DO-OO-
OO-MM. One of my friends would sound similar to Braveheart's Mel Gibson in hooting the same word. The
hostels were changed and so were the sections paving way for the official entry into respective departments.
Complete freedom at the Maradumalai hostel turned many into mavericks. As it is always, the senior tag
aroused some to rag juniors. Meanwhile, everyone on planet CIT was given a new watchword-M3. As it is said,
for some it was really MI3. Here, every sophomore had his own story to share, own flirts to pursue and every
senior had a word of caution for his junior. Computers were welcomed into every floor with at least one movie a
day, running NFS Underground and most importantly having excellent video-song collections. Frivolous
fights went on between the main and the annexe blocks. To enjoy fresh air, many including your writer
practiced sleeping on the annexe roof. The Hostel day matches were welcomed with funny & creative names.
2nd year saw most of the people joining clubs and earning member tags. Second year meant a lot personally.
One was instilled with virtues like team work & responsibility in the club events. Academically, all the basics
were taught but it depended upon each and every individual, whether he/she learnt it.

Pre-final year…

The hostels were changed for the final settlement-Tirumalai block. An activity filled year, where you were
forced to show responsibility to conduct national level symposiums. Hoping for the best to come, 5th semester
and 6th semester were open to any career option. Dreams of CAT, GATE and GRE ran through many eyes.
Night labs of any department turned into a gaming arena where C.O.D, A.O.E, Counterstrike, Trackmania
were competed in LAN until the security came and said "thambi; time aachu". In the mandatory IPT, when we
observe anything that could match characteristics in the remote part of our brain, on what we learnt, a fear of
future starts to haunt one indefinitely.

At this point of time, many, including your writer, developed certain pre-final year characteristics."

a) You are irritated when someone pretends to be an under-performer.

b) You are against any senior who advices you.

c) Placements appear as a pipe dream for many 7 pointers.

d) Mid-Sems become a routine. Attending 50th mid-semester exam during the 5th semester would be a
personal milestone for everyone. Well, the mid-sem arrival can be easily figured out by the number of
vehicles at the hostel premises.
The best days of my life Srishti ‘09 15
e) You blame the education
system every week. You
come out of lab-viva,
At the end of all continuous
wondering whether the assessments and amazing doubts
viva questions were in like, "Machan arrear vacha
Arabic or Greek. " mid-semester thiruppi eludhanuma?”...
Towards the end of the pre-
final year one started hearing
words like Mock, GD, and most importantly R.S.Agarwal on a regular basis. The vacation was spent
encountering numerous rumours of TCS, CTS, IBM, Infy & Accenture being the Day 1 Company. Some even
spread panic saying, "I got TCS sample paper! Haven't you!!" like everybody one wished to get an offer in the
placement week itself.

Come final year, placements became the buzzword. Hostel notice boards overflowed, displaying criteria and
process details. Happening topics like- IPL, Inflation & Nuclear Testing were exchanged as ideas for the group
discussion and questions from the previous candidate were rehearsed at the door of every interview panel.

90% of CITians opt for the placements as if they are entitled only to that. Only few start preparing for M.Tech,
MS, or a bunch of competitive exams. For some, until they aren't placed, only their friends give hope and it is
relished when he/she finally cracks it.

Mandatory Final Year Characteristics to be exhibited:

a) Mess food becomes unpalatable even once a week and KB, restaurants at Hopes, etc.. are too distant to
walk. Try to get a bike from someone for these long distances.

b) You visit the gym for the first time in your life.

c) You give your mandatory attendance at the tennis court, after entering the college premises at 9.00 pm.

d) Many develop contempt for marks, even when the C.G.P.A goes down as low as our sensex of today and you
console yourself saying, "It is my lowest, I'll cheer up. At least my name figured in the success list".

Snaps with friends all through CIT became mandatory. Sentiments ran high once the final days were
numbered. Short trips were organized once a month in a quest to create memories to cherish forever.

You might have encountered true friendship, care from all when you were weak, broken love, words that
consoled, words that comforted, places where you went wrong and certainly no matter whether you are a
guy/girl, living at C.I.T with your friends would have been the most joyous, memorable and sensible moments
in your life.
Life here at C.I.T is wonderful. It
makes the gradual transition from
adolescence to adulthood more
meaningful.
Surely, these are the best days of my
life.
16 Srishti ‘09
The Economic
J
ust like the cycle of life with
its various stages,
economics also has its own
cycle, which includes growth,
inflation, recession, etc. Let’s start
with growth. In a well governed
economy, there are many factors
which fuel growth. In the case of
developing countries such as India
and China, reform is the key
factor. However, in general the
major factors are demand
exceeding or equaling supply,
reduction in taxes and interest
rates which boosts liquidity in the
market, greater government
spending, a good supply of large
(skilled) working force, a stable
gover nment, security from
internal and external threats,
friendly government policies, etc.
Economic growth is a
combination of the above
mentioned factors. So how do we
sense this growth? It is
characterized by a boost in income
and spending power, rising
standards of living, increased
employment generation and so
on. As we can see, the results of
growth themselves, become the
contributors of growth. As income
and spending power rise, more
products are consumed starting
from vegetables to consumer
durables (TV’s, computers, fridges
etc.). Also the taxed amount
increases due to more transactions
resulting in lesser tax rates and
increased government spending in
infrastructure and development
activities, leading to rise in living
standards and more security and
stability resulting in further
growth. Thus, growth in itself is a
continuous cycle.
But if this is the case, then why do
we have recession at all? To
answer this, first we must discuss
about inflation. Inflation is the
phenomenon of a general
increase in prices of commonly
Karthick
IV year EEE
Cycle
inflation is born. Just like
growth, inflation is also a
continuous cycle in itself.
As income increases, the
buyer spends more,
hiking demand, resulting
in a rise in prices and
more profit for the seller,
who in-turn has to pay a
higher price for the
goods that he is buying.
So we can safely state
that inflation follows growth.
traded commodities like food,
fuel, steel etc. There are many Inflation in itself will not affect
reasons for its occurrence. In a well
governed state, the main culprit
for recession is growth. The
populace indulges in more
spending due to its increased
disposable income which
results in a demand-supply
mismatch with a higher
demand for goods ranging
from vegetables to vehicles.
In such a scenario, the
seller will opt only for
those who pay more and
in-turn everyone is forced
to pay more even if they
do not have the means
to do so. The buyer will
adjust to this by hiking
his income by
increasing the price of
his services or the
profit margin in his
goods. Thus
The Economic Cycle
growth as long as it is less than
growth. So, if inflation is a natural
successor of growth, what is the
problem? The problem is that
growth is not distributed equally
among the populace while
inflation affects everyone equally.
As we can see from the case of
India, only some sections of the
populace accrue the benefits of
growth while others, especially
the economically weaker
sections are left out. If left
unchecked, this situation will
result in social unrest and
destabilize the country. Hence,
the government steps in and
takes corrective measures to
ensure the equal distribution of
growth to reduce the sufferings
of those left out and rescue them
from the clutches of inflation.
This is done through various
measures such as regulating,
subsidizing and rationing the
price of essential commodities
such as rice, wheat, sugar and
fuels. Another renowned method
is to control and reduce inflation
by tightening the liquidity in the
market through increase in interest
rates. But the efficacy of this
method is questionable, for
whether it controls inflation or not,
it will surely dent growth as
liquidity is a main criterion for
continuing growth. Another
measure is to generate more
employment for the left out section
through schemes like NREGA
(National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act, India), or to dole
out an unemployment salary
(welfare states), etc.
Coming back to the question on
recession; ‘It is the phenomenon
of a temporary (a year or two)
economic decline during which
trade and industrial activity are
reduced’. Recession is the
opposite of growth and some of
its causes and consequences are
also the opposite of the causes and
consequences of growth. The
causes of recession are varied such
as instability, internal or external
threat, tightening of liquidity,
s u p p l y- d e m a n d m i s m a t c h ,
inflation, unfriendly government
policies to name a few. The major
cause of the current global
recession is the recession in
America which in turn is due to the
• In a well governed state,
the main culprit for
recession is growth.
• Growth results in inflation
and recession, and the
solution to recession results
in growth again and the
cycle continues.
economic mismanagement of
those in control of liquidity flow,
namely the investment bankers
and flawed, short-sighted
economic policies of the
government. Other factors include
the mismanagement in the top
echelons of the sectors such as the
automotive industry and the
aviation industry to cite a few.
Another major cause of recession
is globalization. Even though the
fundamentals of growth are intact
in many countries such as China,
they are facing recession due to
America’s recession; since the
latter is their major trading partner
and they are dependent on her for
their growth. One more reason is
the government policies. As in the
case of India, the government
resorts to tightening liquidity by
increasing the interest rates and
taking the money out of the system
in order to control inflation (which
is an election threat) and in the
process has strangled growth.
Similar to growth and inflation,
recession is also a continuous
Srishti ‘09 17
cycle. But unlike the former,
recession is universally hated by
the government and all sections of
the society. Hence, they act
quickly to solve the problem of
recession and in the process re-
introduce growth. This is achieved
by preventing recession from
spreading from one sector or
region to another, by introducing
economic stimulus packages,
increasing the liquidity in the
market, etc.
Finally, we come to the case of
(economic) depression. It is the
phenomenon of a long and severe
slump in economy and market.
The worst depression in the
history of the planet is that of
1929-33. It started in America and
its impact was felt all over the
world. It was a major cause of
Hitler’s rise and eventually led to
the Second World War. But
depressions are rare. Actually, the
most severe recession is termed as
a depression. A recession
becomes a depression when it
spreads across all sectors and
affects everyone and brings the
economy to a standstill.
Depression is a vicious cycle and
the only solution is the
combination of all the methods
used to fight recession and to allow
time to cure.
As we can see, growth, inflation
and recession follow in a cycle one
after the other with depression
jumping once in a while. Growth
results in inflation and recession,
and the solution to recession
results in growth again and the
cycle continues. The general case
is that when people experience a
long period of growth, they
become complacent and over-
confident resulting in decrease in
efficiency and their willingness to
take more risks assuming that
growth will last forever, forgetting
the previous recession.
18 Srishti ‘09
Relics
of
Religion
F rom the macrocosms of the
universe, the galaxies, the stars
and the planets to the miniscule of
the atoms, the bacteria and the virus,
everything we know is governed by a supreme
power, a power which can only be felt rather
than be seen, a power whose existence can be
seen in the changes in our backyard but is
beyond our wildest imaginations. What is this
power that governs us? What is it that is
responsible for all the changes happening
around us? What is this
supreme power? The true reason, however, for
When man first thought such religious practices, lies
of these and when he beneath the surface
realized he could not get
certain things under his “I love religion but I hate
belt he started to respect religionists”.
these powers. This
respect marked the
beginning of worship, the origin of the word
RELIGION and hence the term GOD.
Religionists of the ancient world worshipped
every aspect of nature as God. This was the
reason that a majority of the ancient
Siddarthan
II year Chemical
civilizations like Egyptian, Greek , Aztec , Mayan
, Norse , Indus valley all had Gods in the name of
nature and natural phenomena with Pagan
being the oldest and the purest form of nature
worship.
As the sands of time passed, religion turned over
a new leaf. A human factor entered the citadel of
nature worship. This marked the beginning of
humanoid forms as Gods or even prominent
humans as Gods. Religion evolved to meet the
changes in society but this
evolution stopped all of a
sudden, a millennium ago,
when people failed to
understand the true
meaning of religion and
started following religion
blindly as a faith, a belief,
rather than as a means of
guidance or an external
conscience.
The trend has carried on till now. Several things
that are done have no real meaning, and when
people are asked the reason behind such
practices, the immediate and the most common
answer we get is that the religious
practice is a tradition which we have
to follow, failing which we would
incur the wrath of God. The true
reason, however, for such religious
practices, lies beneath the surface.
It is in the nature of humans to do
what others ask them not to. So in
order to make people follow certain
regulations for the betterment of the
society, philanthropists took
advantage of God as a fear factor.
They made these rules compulsory
Relics of Religion
religious practices so that
people dare not disobey them.
When we dig deep into such
practices we will find that all of
them have a moral
background, a proper reason
behind every practice.
In Hinduism people are
expected to light a lamp at six
in the evening. The reason
behind this practice is that this
was introduced when there
was no electricity and it would
become dark by six in the evening. So, to light
up the house people used to light lamps. But
today every house is lit up by more than a dozen
lights but still people have the practice of
lighting an oil lamp.
Similarly, people buy new clothes during
festivals. Until two hundred years ago, people
bought new clothes only once or twice a year
and to make them special, they used to buy
them on festival days. But today, though people
buy new clothes everyday, they still have the
practice of buying new clothes on festival days
with tradition as a lame reason.
People, especially those in south India, have the
practice of drawing beautiful designs, using
rice flour in front of their houses every morning,
called the ‘Kolam’. This practice was derived
from Buddhism and Jainism where people
Srishti ‘09 19
believed even the smallest of creatures like an
ant should be cared for. But today people use
coloured sand instead of flour which does not
serve the real purpose of this practice. Yet it is
being followed in the name of tradition.
In Islam the most commonly misunderstood
word is ‘Jihad’. It means war against anti-social
elements that tend to destroy innocent people
and the roots of Islam. But in the name of Jihad,
terrorists around the world kill thousands of
innocent civilians, which completely contradicts
the real meaning of jihad. Moreover it is against
the rules of Islam which respects even the
smallest creature on earth.
These practices give a clear view of religion
being misinterpreted by the masses, where faith
has blinded the inner eye of people, restricting
the power of common sense which
distinguishes them from the rest of the living
world.
“COMMON SENSE IS THE ONLY THING IN
THE WORLD WHICH IS NOT SO COMMON”
Gandhiji once said,
“I love Christianity but I hate Christians”
But I believe in a broader view “I love religion
but I hate religionists”. People of the world
should start finding out the real roots of every
religious practice, eliminate those which are
irrelevant to the modern society and follow only
those which have certain uses, faithfully.
Moreover people should open their inner eye
and start thinking freely and make religion an
accelerator for the betterment of the human
society rather than having it as a speed breaker.
20 Srishti ‘09
S. Vignesh
IV year Chem

Way beyond the

W rld
Dwindling raindrops never touch the soil for no greens grew
Nowhere seen are the towering trees piercing the blanketing blue
Vanishing down the ravines are sinuous rambling rivers without a clue
The scorching sun squeezing out the chest, till the bitter end

Short of lush fields, high and dry are the countryside

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness are nowhere beside
Remain standstill the dark clouds, for no rain drops reside
Cracks and fissures embellishing earth is the foregone conclusion

Gone are the days when humane in human flourished

No signs of harmony and peace that could be nourished
Only the damn outlook seems cute with noble thoughts cherished
Hard as a boulder the soul is poisoned with flowing blue blood.

Every single pebble falls to rack and ruin except the futile law
Innocent Flesh and blood, the victims here, true hearts thaw
Still breathing are the heartless beasts, falling upon the rest tooth and claw
Benevolence and munificence vanishing into thin air

In every phase blunders are done, yet no steps to rectify

But still open is the arena, before the weeds could nullify
See not through the eyes, but through the heart for relationships to fortify
Life is beyond worldly stuff, realize, and the day is yours.
 s. . .
d I sle
era l
h e Em Jaya Mary Divya
I year Chemical

T The summer of
2004 will remain
forever as one of the most
beautiful paintings in my memory
canvas, etched with the exotic, wonderful &
colorful hues of the emerald islands - Andaman,
nature's gift, pride of the Bay of Bengal, a traveler's
s haven.
land
r Is The first glimpse of these enchanting islands, with
ba
i co gently swaying palm trees on white sandy beaches, teeming
n &N
with an infinite variety of flora & fauna, is indeed majestic. It
a ma
And showcases nature in all her glory.
As I hovered some 30,000ft above the sea, I saw nature spreading her luscious
green wings across the blue tranquil waters beckoning me to come and play on her lap.
Stepping down on this seakissed land, I was drawn to the unspoiled beaches offering a panoramic
view of the seaside. Nature tussled with me, frightening me with her mighty waves, which towered over me in
Havelock Island.
There can be no better way to begin a day than a refreshing bath in nature's own spa, slapped by waves and tickled by the soft
white sand at the Rangat Beach. For a day which had so beautifully begun, the conclusion could be nothing short of a perfect sunset. As
the sun receded from the skyline in Chidiyatappu, nature changed coats and the sky turned into a gorgeous shade of orange-yellow.
A trip to Andaman is incomplete without exploring her greatest treasure- the coral reefs of Jolly buoy. The breath-taking view of the bewitching
corals through the glass bottomed boats would make one marvel at the Almighty's artistry. Nature with its crafty fingers seemed to be
painting a live, colorful & strikingly beautiful masterpiece. Mounds & mounds of multi hued, different sized corals, sparkle under the rays
of the sun which pierce through the crystal clear blue blanket; warming the gorgeous fishes swimming through the coral cliffs, the open-
mouthed sponges & the tentacle dangling anemones hitched into the crevices in the underwater glitterati, were indeed a marvel to
behold.
The long ride, under an arch of entwined mangrove branches, over cool and calm waters en route to the limestone caves of
Middle Andaman is a unique experience.
Long rides in boats are part and parcel of Andaman's tour itinerary. But these long rides are neither boring nor eventless,
because you are kept company by shoals of fishes, jumping just over the waterline. (Catch a glimpse of a group of
dolphins, merrily playing in the cool waters of the Redskin Isles). When nature dances in all her beauty in these
emerald isles, man does not fail to miss the treat for the eyes. As the day draws to a close, the Port Blair harbour is
a glorious sight to behold. As the boat draws near the shoreline, the harbour looms ahead; spreading her
luminous arms & shines like a million candles set against a deep blue starry sheet.
For an island of such spellbinding beauty, it has a sad and gruesome tale, flavored with patriotic fervor, to
tell. The walls and beams of the notorious Cellular jail scream out the painful and heart rending story of
the men who won our nation's freedom.
Man's ingenuity interlaced with the Master's handwork is boldly splashed with history, culture &
adventure in this island's sea kissed soil. Andaman makes you fall in love with the green earth.
Nature melts you with her subdued sunlight that shines with innocence and mystery through
the clear blue waters.
Lose yourself in nature, in these emerald islands and find peace and tranquility, which is
so rare a commodity in the concrete jungles we live in.
22 Srishti ‘09
The Girl, the Dog
and the Umbrella
“Every author really wants to have letters printed in the paper. Unable to
make the grade, he drops down a rung of the ladder and writes novels.”
Life is said to contain, among other things, a
certain number of ‘ups’ (semester holidays,
IVs, passing lab tests) and ‘downs’ (days
before exams, failing lab tests, IVs getting
cancelled). While the actual number of ups
and downs in a person’s life changes with the
subject under question, the numbers are more
or less equal to each other. I find that very
disturbing. For, like any normal person, I wish
to have ‘ups’ all the time. But the ‘downs’,
especially the nasty ones, have this annoying
nature of being inevitable. So how does one
deal with ‘downs’? Everyone has his or her
own method. Some take a break and go watch
a comedy, some talk to their friends and find
comfort, some sleep it over and I settle down
with a Wodehouse, the man who put
words together in the funniest ways
possible.
Now to the story of my own
association with the man and the
books he wrote:
Srivatsan.V
III year EEE
-P.G.Wodehouse
I had just matured out of my Enid Blytons (I
love them even today, though. Who doesn’t?),
and was into my Jeffrey Archers and Sidney
Sheldons when the Wodehouse thing
happened. For a novice to the habit of
reading, a Wodehouse book can be quite a
..*yawn*. You get the point. The first time I
laid my hands on a Wodehouse novel (on a
friend’s recommendation), I slept halfway
through the first page, and it took me a week to
reach the second. The book, in one word, was
boring. It was filled with sentences so long that
by the time I reached the next full stop, I forgot
when I had seen the previous one. My brain
was not able to process the initially intolerable
and complex paragraphs that seemed to have
words which I couldn’t dream of pronouncing.
Project Wodehouse came very close to being
abandoned after that first disaster. And it
would have been had I not had the sense to try
another Wodehouse. To be truthful, I skipped
a lot of those longwinded paragraphs in
between, because they were too boring; the
language was way higher than anything I had
ever read before. For example, am quoting
Wodehouse:
“I was sauntering on the river bank with a girl
named something that has slipped my mind,
when there was a sound of barking and a large
hefty dog came galloping up, full of beans and
buck and obviously intent on mayhem. And I
The Girl, the Dog and the Umbrella Srishti ‘09 23

was just commending my like laws, taxes and even

soul to God and feeling that Things that mattered death did not matter as much
this was where the old big in a normal in Wodehouse’s world, are
flannel trousers got about person’s world, like regarded at the most as
thirty bobs worth of value annoying nuisances or given
education, career,
bitten out of them, when extremely comic
the girl, waiting till she saw
love, marriage, i n t e r p re t a t i o n s i n t h e
the whites of its eyes, with divorce and things wodehouse world. The
extraordinary presence of like laws, taxes and things that mattered big in
mind opened a coloured even death did not Wodehouse’s world were
Japanese umbrella matter as much in (non-Wodehouse readers
in the animal’s face. Upon might find this strange) pigs,
Wodehouse’s world...
which it did three back newts, and silver cow-
somersaults and retired into creamers and yes, chef
private life”. Anatole’s cooking. And his
description of these drew us into his world
This translates to, in plain English:
where we laughed when the people in his world
“I was walking along a river bank with a girl laughed; we laughed even more when they
whose name I’d forgotten. There was this dog cried (the few times they did), for that was
that suddenly came running towards me to funny too!
bite my leg. The girl had the presence of mind
In spite of the times in which Wodehouse wrote
to use the umbrella she was carrying to scare
(there was an economic depression
the dog away”.
sandwiched in between two world-wars and
Get my point? the invention of weapons of mass destruction),
what deeply bothered Lord Emsworth (a
But after a couple of more books, the fact recurring character in Wodehouse novels) was
dawned on me that while the plot and the the lack of proper nutrition for his porcine pet (a
characters were no doubt funny by pig, in simpler terms). And who can blame
themselves, the real laughs were hidden Wodehouse for being detached from reality,
inside those seemingly long drawn-and- when people read his books to escape the
incredibly-boring paragraphs, that I didn’t tedium and darkness of the real world?
have the patience to go through earlier.
The man preferred to touch people’s hearts
It took a lot of time and persistence before I with humour and innocence rather than reality
was able to truly appreciate the magic of and depression. Wodehouse brought hope and
Wodehouse, which lay in his ability to happiness to my world, and to that of countless
perceive the world very differently from other others. Who knows, the light at the end of the
“normal” people. Things that mattered big in dark tunnel might be the place where someone
a normal person’s world, like education, tells you the story of a girl who used her
career, love, marriage, divorce and things umbrella to save a man from a dog’s bite.
Photograph by Majeed

harath

m es
Fra Mind
of

Photograph by Majeed

Photograph by Bharathi
 Editor oi ce
ial’s Ch
Schindler's List - An all time awesome movie,
which brought alive the horrors of holocaust. A
biopic of Oscar Schindler and how he protected the
'Schindler Jews' makes this movie a classic. The girl
in the red sweater, red being the only colour we see
in this black and white movie, stands out distinctly,
showcasing the pathos of the characters.
Jodhaa Akbar - This Ashutosh Gowarikar's
portrayal, of a romance between a Rajput Princess
Jodhaa and the mighty Akbar, kicked up a lot of
controversies. Aishwarya Rai Bachan shining with
cool and royal poise and Hrithik Roshan with steel
cold eyes and ramrod straight back royalty bring the
Mughal times alive. If you want to melt along with
characters on screen, do watch this movie.
Batman, The Dark Knight - Needless to say, this
was one of the best hits 2008.Heath Ledger's
brilliant portrayal as ‘The Joker’ won him an Oscar
for the best supporting actor in 2008. It was a
tragedy, that Ledger was not alive to receive it. Also
to be mentioned is the excellent adaptation of the
comic book series by Christopher Nolan.
Shawshank Redemption - This movie based on a
Stephen King's novel is a story of a single man's
determination to fight against all odds. It is a must
watch movie for people who love to see the power of
human will in action and all those who watch it will
probably draw a parallel with their own lives.
Juno - A movie with very crisp, sarcastic dialogues
make the audience sit up and cheer for the undying
spirit of the adventurous Juno. The movie starts with
hip hop, rhyming music that underlines the spirit of
the movie. Watch it if you want to remember the
movie next day, with a faint grin tugging at your lips.
Anbe Sivam - A movie that brings out the
concept of finding God in Man is the best from
Kamal Haasan ever. Two contrasting characters with
the common quest of finding happiness, come
together and take us along in a journey filled with
amazing incidents and characters who tell us what their
interpretation of God is. At the end of the movie one
realises, that a person's very existence is to make the
life of another person meaningful. Thus folks, Love is
God.
Mumbai Meri Jaan - The lives of five common citizens
of Mumbai change forever after the suburban bomb
blasts. Their beliefs are shaken and they undergo an
emotional turmoil, ultimately realising that whatever
happens one should never give up his/her spirit.
Kung-Fu-Panda - Laugh till you cry, at the adorable
and affable Panda whole resilience transforms it from
a soup chef to a legendary dragon warrior. Our
editorial board's unanimous choice makes this movie,
a must watch animation flick.
Khuda ke Liye - This Pakistani film by Shoaib
Mansoor, is a 'once in a life time' effort that rises above
the mediocrity of Lollywood. It gives you a new vision
about life in Pakistan where people are not very
different from us or from any others, anywhere
else. Islam as such is portrayed in an entirely
new manner giving glimpses of its power,
beauty and mystique. It is about social
reform & protest with music at its core.
Vedam Pudhidu - A gripping perspective
on caste and class discrimination is
brilliantly portrayed in this revolutionary
Tamil movie by a then 'in experienced'
director, Bharathiraja with a skeleton cast.
Sathyaraj his career best role with panache. The
movie won several accolades and is still looked
upon by new directors as a benchmark that each
strives to achieve. This would be part of any must
watch list.
SRISHTI AWARDS
26 Srishti ‘09

Vinoth Balaji
III year, Chem

God Plays Dice

10th September 2008, Geneva
The master brains of CERN had finally built it - the Large Hadron Collider - the invention of the
eon. After triggering a few protons into this giant ring of a particle accelerator, they are going to break
the silent secrets of the universe which have been untouched for ages. Nature's secrets are hard to
explore, since nature is fabricated in such a complicated way. But challenging nature and God-who
has woven the threads of the universe, the humans have got the key to God's treasury and in a couple
of months they'll ransack everything.
Same date, Heaven
God was silently watching these experiments, but he could not
tolerate the invention of LHC. It was the biggest ever invention that had
happened during the 3 billion years of human civilization. If they do switch
on the LHC and get the results of their mega project, then for certain the
humans would get to know about the spark which made the Big Bang
during the formation of the universe. It meant that they could go on to find
Him.
3 billion years ago, same place
During the creation of the universe God had passed a bill in the Council of Lesser Gods and
Fairies that, if the humans tend to invent something big, that could solve the puzzle of the universe, they
had to be stopped.
God had done this many times when the situation arose. When the technocratic people of the
Indus valley had invented a communication system to connect to God, he feared that they might find
him and so he made the whole valley disappear. He made the great mathematics prodigy Ramanujan
die young, since the mathematical theorems he obtained were far more advanced and helped solve
the complex mechanisms of the universe. Also He was the one, who terminated the Columbia
expedition.
But His counterpart Prometheus, a Greek God and a Titan always wanted to help humankind. He
was the one who stole fire from the Lesser Gods and gave it to mankind; God punished
him by chaining him to a rock where an eagle gnawed at his liver until Hercules
rescued him.
On seeing the stupendous inborn talent of Thomas Alva Edison, God had
made him deaf to prevent him from getting school education. But it was
Prometheus who helped him by paving a smooth way to invent some

HEAV thousand devices. God's hand worked on Stephen Hawking also. He

had cursed him with a muscle-wasting motor neuron disease. But

EN Prometheus was there to make him the master brain behind the
LHC.
God has now started to think what should be done to fend
off humans from seeing the results of the LHC experiment. He
has now decided to stop this kind of rise of humans to the next

HELL level; to stop this forever.

He felt a pang in his heart since he was going to put an end to earth.
He made up his mind to use the most powerful weapon to destroy the
whole world so that there would not be any nuisance from the humans
God plays dice Srishti ‘09 27

anymore. Lots and lots of weapons bloomed in his

mind; ideas like collision of giant meteors, a strong
sun storm, tossing the globe out of the orbit etc. But
one weapon was simple in operation and more
effective and that was switching the Gravity control
panel off. Even though he had not used it yet, he knew
the catastrophic effects it would render.
Even if gravity was switched off for a
microsecond, the effect would be so disastrous, that
the entire world would die. As the earth rotates at a
speed of over a thousand miles per hour at the
equator alone, when the gravity goes off, every free
body would accelerate by a thousand miles per hour from east to west. Inside the buildings, people
would bump and crash into the ceiling. The earth's atmosphere and hydrosphere would also float off
into space for the same reason. But only a few things like trees and buildings would stand rooted to the
earth. The earth itself would most likely break into chunks and float off into space, since it is also held
together by gravity!
This should not happen. But the Creator decided that it should. He even fixed the date for the
catastrophe: 2nd January 2009, few days before the result analysis. He indeed had a soft corner, for
he wanted the humans to enjoy the new year day; their last day.
“He gave his most 31st December, 2008
powerful 'Veecharuval'-
Just two more days to go. Somehow Prometheus got to know
the holy, long blade,
about this and he desperately wanted to deter God’s plan. He
more powerful than even knew how to do it. He just had to enter the disaster control room of
Thor's Hammer. It could God and damage the Gravity control panel. Once it was done the
destroy anything with a people would be saved, since the rule prohibits God from revising
single stroke”. the plan a second time.
But he knew it was as difficult as cleaning the Aegian stables
since the control room was protected by the lock engineered by God himself during the creation of the
universe. Prometheus loved the humans so much that he wanted to do this. Light came in the form of
Aiyannar, one of the Gods in the Lesser Gods council. He owed so much to the people of his hamlet,
since they offered him every year, a feast, without fail. Even though his territory was restricted to a few
villages, he wanted to save the entire world.
He gave his most powerful 'Veecharuval'-the holy, long blade, more powerful than even Thor's
Hammer. It could destroy anything with a single stroke. Prometheus broke the lock with the
Veecharuval. He was dumbstruck on seeing the control room. There were umpteen number of gadgets
and devices showing the present happenings of the world - The hurricanometer displayed a typhoon
over the mid-Atlantic, a quakogram showing a tremor in Turkey and a flood-o-meter detailed on the
floods in Chile.
He found the Gravity gauge in the left corner of the room. With all his power, reminding himself
about God making him a prey to the eagles, he slid the blade into the gauge. It exploded like a bomb.
Same date, Earth
The whole world is celebrating the New Year as usual- sweets, beer, temple, friends, movies,
orphanage visits, etc. the world is getting ready for another bright and cheerful day - 2nd January.
28 Srishti ‘09
Joan Mary. D
III year CSE

It started with a
Five–star
I was just nine years old when my parents took me to my first circus. It
was luckily before circuses were forced to stop using animals for
performances. While I do appreciate the concerns of animal lovers,
I still have cherished memories of my first circus.
Seated next to me was a gentleman in his early forties, wearing the traditional silk dhoti
and shirt. His family sat next to him engrossed in the performance. He seemed to be more
interested in my restless antics than the antics of the clown. My parents had long ago given
up on my endless curiosity; so they remained stoically silent even when I asked them why
the clowns had to have paint on their faces.
"Because they want to make little kids like you laugh", the gentleman sitting next to me
said good humouredly.
"It makes them look scary", I shrugged, "They could do the things they are doing without
the paint and still make us laugh."
My mother glared at me, but the gentleman laughed saying, "Ma'am, you have a little bundle of energy here!"
"A big bundle of explosive energy", my mother muttered.
"Now, would you like a Five Star?" he took one from his wife's handbag.
"I cannot take chocolates from strangers", I scowled at my mother, "But if you tell me your name, you won't be a
stranger. Then I can take the Five Star."
"An excellent point", he smiled looking at my mother who sighed, "My name is Shashi Tharoor."
"What do you do?" I asked him even as I nibbled on the Five Star.
"I am a…", he seemed to be trying to find the right word, "A writer and a traveller."
"I will become a writer and a traveller too when I get bigger", I promised even as my mother handed me a handkerchief
for my messy fingers.
H H H H H
I was walking home from school in the rain clutching my umbrella. Though it was only four in the evening, the skies
were dark and the roads deserted. I shivered as the cold wind blew, literally rattling my bones. I had to get home as soon
as possible.
A cycle veered past me, splashing muddy water from the roadside onto my white school uniform. I cursed loudly in
Malayalam. If there was something that my mother hated more than muddy feet in her house, it was muddy clothes.
Removing the mud stains was a tough affair.
The cyclist stopped and waited up for me, probably thinking that I had been hurt.
"YOU SPLASHED MUD ONTO MY SHIRT!" I ended my very vocal sentence with another curse which if my father
had heard, would have earned me a long lecture.
"I'm sorry", the tall cyclist stooped down a bit and peeped under my umbrella, to face a very angry twelve year old girl.
"It's you, Five Star", he chuckled lightly as he pulled his raincap away, "I should have suspected that the little bundle of
energy would have grown into a perky girl by now!"
I smiled helplessly as a slightly older Shashi Tharoor ruffled my hair.
"Why are you cycling?" I asked interestedly as we walked together along the narrow road.
"I am visiting my ancestral home in Palakkad. Whenever I come here, I cycle or walk through the fields. It's something I
like doing", he smiled, "And what are you upto, Five Star? Still wondering why clowns have painted faces?"
"No", I scowled, "I am bigger now. When I become older, I am going to become a writer.
“I told you then!" after a few moments, I asked again, "You are still a writer, right?"
"Sort of", he grinned, "But I will stop writing when you start, promise! And I will ask you for a special story."
H H H H H
It was Republic Day. I impatiently waited with my fellow members of the school parliament, for the chief guest. I hated
coming to school on holidays. But since the principal had threatened to roast anyone who absented themselves for the
occasion, I had managed to drag myself out of a pleasant sleep and come to school.
It started with a Five-star Srishti ‘09 29
Happiness doesn't lie in winning, Five-Star",
he smiled softly, "It lies in the will
to appreciate the world...

With the usual band, thaalapoli (flower ceremony) and red carpet, the guests were welcomed. I was practically
replaying one of the old movies in my mind all through the long, boring speeches regarding patriotism and sacrifice. As
if any of them would fight in Kargil with the enthusiasm they showed on stage!
Finally, the chief guest began to speak. As soon as I heard his voice, I looked up. It was my old Five Star cyclist,
Dr.Shashi Tharoor, who worked in the United Nations Secretariat as a diplomat. And he did not mention patriotism.
He talked of great people, of their lives, of their sorrows and failures. It was inspiring.
As the chief guest came to meet the members of the parliament, he spotted me and smiled. I was very nervous. If he
joked about our cycling episode to the principal, I was sure that I would get the long overdue T.C.
"Five Star", he shook my hand cheerfully, "We meet at the most interesting times. So, you are now in your tenth
standard? And the Editor of the school magazine?"
"Yes, sir", I smiled nervously.
"Where is that famous scowl of yours?" he teased me, "Or did you suddenly turn into a Buddhist in three years?"
"Your speech was good. I liked it", I said quietly, "Especially as you didn't ask us to do anything you wouldn't have done
yourself."
"Frank as ever", he laughed, his eyes darkened as he continued, "I did read your story in the magazine."
"Did you like it?" I asked hopefully, eyes wide and anxious.
"Mmm…", he frowned as if in thought, "Ask me when we meet next, Five Star."
I scowled. He laughed and went to join the principal and the other dignitaries.
H H H H H
I joined another school in a different state after my tenth. It was a time of uncertainties.
New language, new customs, new faces…..I virtually forgot about Shashi Tharoor and my childhood dreams as I
plunged into the new routine.
I heard of his failed attempt in the United Nations Presidential race and I grieved for his lost opportunity. I have always
believed him to be a capable man.
The Onam after I joined college, I was at Palakkad. Though, by rule, I am a late riser, the day after Onam, I rose early
and went out to the fields. It was a beautiful day, with the fields freshly reaped and the lands awash with rains. I made
my way to the large pond behind the fields and settled down for the day. My family rarely stirred out of the house on
days after celebrations and I was sure that I would be disturbing them if I stayed in the house.
Around five in the evening, I heard a tuneless humming. A few seconds later, Shashi Tharoor strode through the
surrounding trees, towards the pond, clad in traditional Kerala style. He looked older and wearier.
"Hello!" he smiled as he saw me, "I always seem to be running into you, Five Star!
Though it has been a long time since we last met and you look older."
"I am older", I pointed out testily even as I smiled and got up to shake his hand enthusiastically, "I wish you had won."
He smiled, but there was a slightly bitter quality to his smile now. He said quietly, "I am sure that the better man won!
Now, since you say you are older, what about the story you promised to write for me?"
"I will write it", I promised eagerly, "What should it have? Politics?"
"No", he rolled his eyes, "A bit of everything", he paused, "Tragedy, Romance, War, Jealousy, Politics, Death, all in a
new way", he smiled wryly, "I ask for too much, Five Star."
"I am not a good writer", I said sincerely, "But I will try for your sake, Someday I will write a story with all that you want”.
"Good", he smiled as we watched the sun sinking down under the trees, "I have always found sunsets to be the most
beautiful wonder of nature."
I smiled, "You are right, sir. But I wish you had won."
"Happiness doesn't lie in winning, Five Star", he smiled softly, "It lies in the will to appreciate the world and those who
live in it. I can say that I am happy with what I am."
“Maybe one day", I murmured, "I will be able to say the same words; that I am happy with what I am."
H HH H H
 1
R. Sankara Narayanan
IV year, Mechanical

I nd ia
Mother India is a truly magnificent nation on the face of this
ravaged earth. A nation, home to incredible excellence in
all fields known to man, be it nuclear or space or any other
technology. The exquisite words used by the poets fail to
convey the greatness that is India.

A country may be an economic super power, a wealthy one

or a militarily strong nation, a nation with a lot of
achievements to its name. All this does not match the
prosperity of a culturally strong nation. Our nation is a
stronghold which will stand even while all others fall. It's
easy to draw a picture with no color. Painting the picture is
what takes real skill.

The modern era is the age of the nuclear family. We live in

times when unity is not seen even in families. Joint families
are fast becoming things of the past. At such a time, the
Indian army managed to bring together the entire nation in
O
N
a small village at Pataudi, Haryana. It was at the National
Integration Camp (NIC) that Cadets from all the states of
India came together to carry the spirit of the Nation.

Cadets eagerly awaited the sun rise which would bring

E
them together in the parade ground and then it would be
India that shone. Smiling is a simple action, everyone can
do it. But bringing a smile to another's face is something
difficult. Unforgettable and memorable were the moments
when we basked in the glory of smiles of the cadets from
Maharashtra to Bengal and Kerala to Haryana.

Game periods simulated the war field, but it didn't matter

who scored the points, India triumphed. For any target,
competition is necessary. Integrating a nation must not
shackle the effort to attain the pinnacle. Bharath Matha's
various children displayed their strength in different
disciplines such as tent pitching, traditional dance and
singing competitions with vigour and a will to win.

The tent pitching competition brought a view of "Nation

building", where tents were pitched side by side by the
 competing states and Uttar Pradesh conveyed that
they construct strong buildings for India by
clinching the title.

We as Indians should be proud of

our seven north Eastern States.
Their unique talents, rare as uncut
diamonds, were showcased. Gujarati

I
Dandia dance , Bhangda of Punjabi , Kerala's Kalari
fight , Delhi's fashion, Buddhism in Bihar, Silambam
from Tamil Nadu etc are a few examples which
added essence to the camp. This goes on to show

N
the diversity of tradition, the richness of culture and
the wealth of talents in our great nation.

We were then shown around Delhi. The capital of

India simply astonished us with its planning,

D
magnificence and its bustling traffic. We were also
taken in by India's most powerful addresses
(10 Janpath, Sonia Gandhi's residence, Akbar
Marg….). The Delhi metro showed us how an
immensely populated city commutes so easily and

I
efficiently. The silent preparations for the Common
Wealth Games made us truly proud. India gate
silently exulted as a mother would, at a visit by her
children. Saluting the Amar Jawan Jyothi marked

A
the zenith of our trip to Delhi.
It is a sight that no Indian
must miss.

The National Integration Camp

was an experience that showed
each cadet a glimpse of what
we stand to gain if we stand
united. It also showed us that
differences in culture, language
or tradition are never barriers in
friendship.
32 Srishti ‘09
Chandni Chowk to China
“Survival of the fittest" is nature's law. Fighting is more
ancient than man himself. This struggle to subdue one
another in combat, unarmed or armed is possibly a
legacy handed down to us from our ancestors. This
desire for domination sowed the seeds for martial arts.
Anyone who has ever seen a Bruce Lee, Jet Li or Jackie
Chan movie would have been amazed by the jaw
dropping action sequences. The last ten years has seen
a tremendous rise of interest among Indians, for the
East Asian martial art forms especially Kung fu and
Karate, as a means of self defence and maintaining
fitness. But not many people know that India has had
something to contribute to most forms of martial arts
practised around the world. India has probably the
most number of martial art forms practised in a single
country. Almost every state has a history of its own. The
importance of martial arts in Indian culture is visible in
many ancient Hindu temples which have statues of
deities and warriors in various combat postures. In
fact, the Vishnu Purana describes Dhanurveda (from
dhanus and veda in Sanskrit meaning bow and
knowledge respectively) as one of the traditional
eighteen branches of knowledge.
One of the widely known martial art form, which is also
gaining popularity in the West nowadays, is
Kalaripayattu. Kalaripayattu literally means "the way of
the battlefield." This martial art originated in the
kingdom of Cheras, in present day Kerala. However,
Kalari was just one of many martial arts that evolved
from the ancient martial art of Vajramukti, or "Thunder
Fist." Kshatriya Vajramukti is mentioned in the great
Ramayan. Indrajit, the son of Ravana, was mentioned
to be highly proficient in its use. Vajramukti branched
out into various Indian martial arts Simhanta,
Kalaripayattu, and Nata being the most famous.
Kalaripayattu continued to evolve through many years.
The Sushruta Samhita (dating back to 4th century)
identifies 107 vital points on the human body of which
64 were classified as being lethal if properly struck with
a fist or stick. Sushruta's work formed the basis of the
medical discipline ayurveda which was taught
alongside various Indian martial arts, especially those
that had an emphasis on vital points such as Varma
Kalai (which was made famous by Kamal Hassan in the
movie, Indian).
We would have not seen Shaolin Kung fu had it not
been for the Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma. It is
believed that Bodhidharma was born a prince of the
Pallava dynasty in their capital of Kanchipuram, and
was an exponent of kalari. Wong Kiew Kit, 4th
generation successor of the Southern Shaolin
Monastery in a television interview to The Discovery
Channel said "The Venerable Bodhidharma came
Syed Shahid Imdadulla
IV year EEE
from India to China to spread
Buddhism. In 527 AD, he settled
down in the Shaolin monastery in
Henan province, and inspired the
development of Shaolin Kung fu.
This marked a watershed in the history of Kung fu,
because it led to a change of course, as Kung fu
became institutionalized. Before this, martial arts were
known only in general sense." The Chinese school of
martial arts agrees with the South Indian School on the
principle of 107 pressure points. Even today, wall
paintings and murals at the Honan Shaolin Temple in
North East China show ethnic Indian Monks sparring
and training in boxing skills with Chinese Monks.
Elements from Indian mythology, like the Naga,
Rakshasa, and the fierce Yaksha were modified and
converted into the protectors of Dharma; these
mythical figures from the Dharmic religions family
figure prominently in Shaolin boxing, Chang boxing
and Stave fighting. A teacher of Kung fu traditionally
commands deep respect of students and a lesson
always starts with a bow from the students to the
teacher. The teacher here is not looked upon only as a
coach as in western martial arts like boxing and
fencing. He is looked upon as a mentor and guide who
helps to pave a path for the student's life. This
relationship between a teacher and student could have
its roots in the Guru Shishya tradition of India. Around
the 3rd century BC, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali taught
students how to meditate single mindedly on points
located inside one's body, which was later used in
martial arts, while various mudra finger movements
were taught in Yogacara Buddhism. Various Kung fu
forms contain positions identical to these mudras. The
theories behind yoga, ayurveda and tantra, such as
kundalini (coiled energy), prana (life energy), nadi
(meridians), chakra (energy points) and marmam
(pressure points), are present in Indian fighting
systems, which form the basis of another chinese art
form "Tai Chi".
The state of Tamil Nadu is considered to be the cradle
of modern and scientific staff fencing, popularly known
in Tamil as Silambam. The Pandya kings of Tamil Nadu
promoted Silambam, as did their Chola and Chera
counterparts. Silapathikaram, a Tamil literary work
dating back to 2nd century A.D., refers to the sale of
silamabam staves, swords, pearls and armour to
foreign traders. The ancient trading centre at Madurai
city, renowned globally, was said to be thronged by
Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians among others who
had regular sea trade with the ancient Dravidian kings.
The Silambam staff was one of the weapons that was in
Chandni Chowk to China
great demand with the visitors. The Akananuru and
Purananuru describe the martial arts of ancient Tamil
Nadu including forms of one to one combat, and the
use of spears, swords, shields, bows and Silambam.
Some records trace the origin of this art to a divine
source Lord Muruga, and within the Tamil
mythological framework, sage Agasthya is also
credited with the genesis of Silambam. The ancient
Tamil kingdoms were instrumental in spreading
Silambam throughout Southeast Asia. During the
18th and the 19th centuries Silambam was much
more prevalent in Southeast Asia than in India, where
it was banned by the British
government. It is still practiced by the
South Indian communities of - Kalari was just one of many
Malaysia, where it is now a popular martial arts that evolved from the founding influence on their fighting
recreational sport and also a means ancient martial art of Vajramukti. principles.
of self defence.
- The oriental martial arts of today was first introduced to England by British
Thang Ta (The art of the sword and have their roots in India.
the spear) is a popular term for the
ancient Manipuri Martial Art known
as Huyen Lallong. The art was developed from the
war environment of the tiny state of Manipur in North
east India. It played an important role in the
geopolitical environment of medieval times between
India and China with many independent states at war
with each other. Constant life and death struggles
between clans, tribes and states resulted in the
devising of ways and means of safeguarding the lives
of the citizens and at the same time developing an
inner attitude to problems of life, death and afterlife.
Thang Ta thus became an expressive art form which
however retained its fighting character at the secret
home schools of individual teachers or Gurus, after
being prohibited during the period of the colonial raj
(1891 1947). It survived during the period of the
state's integration with the Indian Union in 1949,
since when the art has been shown in festivals.
Tibet has the most striking evidence that the oriental
martial arts of today have their roots in India. For in
Tibet, survives the ancient Indian martial art of
Simhanta (Lion's Roar!) in its relatively unchanged
form. Simhanta is one of the most ancient Indian
martial arts, one of the first styles to evolve from
Vajramukti. Tibetan Simhanta, sometimes called
Tibetan Kung fu, is Indian in every aspect. From the
Sanskrit names, to the Hindu mantras, to the
techniques, which are drawn from Vajramukti and
Kalari. The major mantra of Tibetan Simhanta, which
all practitioners recite, is "Om Ah Hum Vajra
Simhanada Sangha Hum," which praises
Narasimha, and is in the Sanskrit language. The
other major symbolic animal in Simhanta is the ape.
A further point of note concerning a pre Tibetan 'Ape'
as Totem animal in the original Hindu Simhanada
Vajramushti, is the importance of the God Hanuman.
After a series of victories, the Muslim conquerer Babur
established Mughal rule in North India during the
Srishti ‘09 33
16th century. The Mughals, Persians of Mongol descent,
practiced martial techniques such as wrestling and
mounted archery. By combining indigenous malla
yuddha with Turkic and Mongolian wrestling, they
created the grappling style pehlwani which has
remained popular until today, particularly in the states of
Haryana and Punjab in North India. The Indian
wrestling form of pehlwani became prominent in
western catch wrestling tournaments and Karl Istaz
applied the training methods of Indian pehlwans to
shoot wrestling. The wresting form used in modern
Olympic games is Roman Wrestling, which shares many
of its moves and tactics with its Indian
form. In addition, modern styles such as
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu credit India as a
The practice of the Indian club swinging
soldiers who had studied the discipline
while stationed in India during the 19th
century. The Indian clubs were used by military cadets
and appeared as a gymnastic event in the 1904
Olympics. Russian officials travelled to India, under the
employ of NKVD physical training centre, "Dinamo", to
observe its native martial arts. V.A.Spiridinov was
assigned to Mongolia, China and India to research the
Mongol Vedic martial arts. The collection of techniques
from martial arts of various countries including India
formed the basis of the Russian martial art Sambo.
India has also influenced various other Asian martial
arts, particularly in Southeast Asia. Examples include
Indo Malay Silat, Burmese Naban and Bando, Filipino
Escrima and Kali, Thai Krabi Krabong and Cambodian
Bokator. Indian martial arts also influenced the various
forms of Indochinese kickboxing, namely Muay Thai
from Thailand, Tomoi from Malaysia, Muay Lao from
Laos, Pradal Serey from Cambodia and Lethwei from
Myanmar. Contrary to its name, Muay Thai actually
originated not in Thailand, but in Khmer. For much of its
history, Khmer was Hindu, and it was the Nayar, the
Khmer Kshatriyas (warrior caste) that developed it.
Indian influence is predominant in Khmer. Frescos on
the Angkor Wat depict scenes from the Hindu epics
Mahabharata and Ramayana, showing Kshatriyas
engaged in martial arts. Most likely it was the Indian
influence through Sri Lanka that led to the development
of Khmer martial arts.
This is probably just the tip of the iceberg. Though a
handful of martial arts are still practised in our country,
the internal system of meditative practices and its
essentially spiritual character has been lost through lack
of knowledge and commitment by the further
generations. There are many Indian martial art forms
which became extinct with the foreign invasion, but
continue to live in the wall painting and statues in ancient
temples. The study of Indian martial arts is a vast territory
which is yet to be explored completely.
34 Srishti ‘09
i ti e s
c t i v
n A
i a ti o
c
A
ss o The Departmental
Associations in our
A college act as the liaison
between the IIPC (Industrial
Institute Partnership Cell) and the
students. This helps the students acquire
the much needed information about the state of
art industrial facilities and in turn add value to
their employability and entrepreneurship skills.
It also acts a platform to hone the organisational
skills of the students through various inter and
intra-collegiate events conducted in partnership
with industries.
The primary functioning of the association
happens in weekly hours allocated as a part of
the curricular time-table. Apart from these
regular meetings, Associations also conduct
seminars, workshops and other co-curricular
activities. It also hosts mock placements and
other placement related training activities. The
staff advisor and the final year office bearers
organise these events for the juniors with help
from the final year students. Given below is a
brief description of the various international
conferences and activities conducted by the
Associations of each department.
A National Level Technical Workshop on
C O L L A B O R AT I V E P R O D U C T D ATA
MANAGEMENT (CPDM) was organized in
association with EMPOWER CONSULTANCY
PRIVATE LIMITED, Chennai, on 12th
September, 2008. The Chief Guest was
Mr.Balaji Dagupati, the Managing Director of
Empower Consultancy Private Limited. He
spoke on the need of database management
system and its role in product design and
development. Ms.Riddhi Vijay, the Manager,
Academic Initiatives from Siemens India
Limited, spoke on the possibility of establishing a
Centre of Excellence in the CIT campus for the
benefit of undergraduate and postgraduate
students enabling them to take up projects in
collaboration with SIEMENS INDIA Ltd. About 40
delegates from industries, 20 delegates from
academic institutions and research institutions
and 15 students, research scholars and
practicing engineers participated in the
workshop. The programme was well
appreciated by all the participants.
Associ
In today's modern digital age, software based
systems are becoming the core infrastructure of Staff
effective and efficient activities of everyday life.
During the historical development of industry,
human society has experienced many industrial
Secre
Semin
revolutions. Currently, the world is undergoing a
hi-tech industrial revolution with information
technologies, with digitization, computer
network, and artificial intelligence as its main
features. Digitization is a natural stage in the
evolutionary process of modern engineering Intra
design. The role and future of the digital factory
Maga
in various engineering fields is full of potential
and bright possibilities when it is used with
quality software.
THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
DIGITAL FACTORY (ICDF) 2008 was jointly Staff
organized by BUSINESS INNOVATION
RESEARCH CENTRE (BIRC), Charlton College Secre
of Business, University of Massachusetts,
Semin
Dartmouth, USA and supported by Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New
Delhi, European University of Lefke, Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus. The valuable
support received from all categories of sponsors Maga
were gratefully acknowledged. The conference
started with the inaugural address delivered by
Dr. M.P. Chandrasekharan, Dean -Engineering,
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore. Dr.
Angappa Gunasekaran felicitated the Staff
conference. The conference closed on 13th
August 2008 with a valedictory given by Cdr. A. Secre
Thakur, Deputy Director, Naval Research Board,
Semin
New Delhi.
T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L S E M I N A R O N
SENSORS, SECURITY, AND INTELLIGENT
SYSTEMS (ISSSIS) 2009 was jointly organized
by the Coimbatore Institute of Technology and
the Oklahoma State University, Oklahama,USA.
Our correspondent Dr.S.R.K.Prasad delivered
the Presidential Address. Dr.Karl N. Reid, Dean,
Oklahoma State University inaugurated the
conference. Prof M.Devaraju, Head of the
Intra
Department ,Computer Technology, CIT, with
the help of the students and staff members Maga
organized all the events with great dedication
and zeal.
 Association Activities Srishti ‘09 35

Activity Summary

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION

e based
cture of Staff Advisor Dr. M. Thirumarimurugan
day life.
Secretary Mr. K. Sudarshan
ndustry,
ndustrial Seminars/Workshops Personality Development Programme by Mr. Madhu
rgoing a Namboothri, Director, Time.
rmation
mputer A Lecture On Process Equipment Design and Drawing By
Mr. A. Pitchiah, Industrial Consultant, Krishna Industrial
ts main
Corporation.
e in the
neering Intra Department Event Technofest, Quintessence
factory
potential Magazines Synergy
ed with

CIVIL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION

CE ON
s jointly Staff Advisor Mr. M.P. Muthuraj
VATION
College Secretary Mr. S. Ananda Uvanesh
husetts,
Seminars/Workshops Guest Lecture on Environmental Facts by Mr. Elongavan.
uncil of
R), New A Seminar on Software Packages by Arris Cadd and Cadd
Turkish Centre
valuable
ponsors Magazines Edifice
ference
ered by
neering, ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION
ore. Dr.
ed the Staff Advisor Mrs. P. Chitra
on 13th
Cdr. A. Secretary Mr. S.K. Raja
h Board, Seminars/Workshops A Seminar on PLC by Mr. Kumar from Arris Cadd,
Coimbatore
R ON A Seminar on 'Current Status of it Industries' by
LIGENT Mr. Sathish from CTS, Chennai
ganized
A Seminar on "Embedded Software" from Arris Cadd,
ogy and Coimbatore
ma,USA.
elivered A Seminar on 'Cadd Stimulation Software' by
d, Dean, Mr. R. Santhosh Kumar From Cadd Centre
ted the Training Service
of the
Intra Department Event Emissions
IT, with
embers Magazines Resonance
dication
36 Srishti ‘09 Association Activities

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION

Staff Advisor Mr. S.J. Sugumar
The yea
Secretary Mr. S. Manivannan
for stude
Seminars/Workshops Guest Lecture on Carrier Options by globe. P
Mr. Mathu Namboothri. the dot c
A Seminar on PLC by Arris Cadd the state
reputab
A Seminar on 'Expectations from Today's Individuals' by
Mr. Muralikrishnan among r
students
Intra Department Event Electro students
Magazines Grid compan
Networks stands
knowled
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION worldly
players
Areva, V
Staff Advisor Dr. V. Senthil
econom
Secretary Mr. R. Rajesh looking
Seminars/Workshops Cad/Cam Seminar by opportu
1. Arris Institute Coimbatore, 2.Rhizome Institute recruited
Coimbatore, 3. PSG Institute Coimbatore
The pla
A Seminar on "Stress Corrosion Analysis on Aerospace" by
Dr. Bobby Kannan (Australia) Placem
Addition
A Seminar on 'Graduate Marine Training' by GE Institute done an
Pune
the stu
Intra Department Event Glimpses and Spark awarene
Magazines Momentum
Brain Drive

ASSOCIATION OF CSE AND IT

Staff Advisor Mrs. R. Renuga

Secretary Mr. A. Raghav - CSE, Mr. P. Manikandan - IT
Seminars/Workshops T.I.M.E Workshop on "Career Options"
ACM Seminar on "Software Testing"
TCS Workshop on "Challenges in Applications
Development"
Intra Department Event Syllogism
Magazines Online
ctivities
PLACEMENT REPORT
The year 2008 has been a very forgettable year
for students as well as professionals across the
globe. Plagued with a global recession similar to
the dot com crash back in 2001, most colleges in
the state have struggled to place their students in
reputable firms. CIT's standing as a favourite
by
among recruiters, has helped the majority of our
students find lucrative employment. Around 500
students getting placed in a total of 67
companies that visited our campus this year,
stands proof for the students' rich domain
knowledge combined in right proportions with
worldly know-how. Star recruiters include global
players like Volvo, SP Constructions, Oracle,
Areva, Verizon, Motorola etc. Even in this current
economic scenario where companies are
looking at downsizing, we manage to provide
opportunities for deserving students to get
recruited in more than one company.
The placement Cell under the guidance of our
e" by
Placement Officer Dr.K.Subramanian and
Additional Placement Officer Dr.V.Selladurai has
ute done an exceedingly good job in not only getting
the students placed, but also creating
awareness among them about entrepreneurship
Srishti ‘09 37
and higher education. The office bearers of the
placement team include 27 students from UG
and 16 students from PG courses.
Two placement secretaries are chosen, one
each from the circuit side and non-circuit side to
lead the team. Three placement co-ordinators
are chosen from each branch of study to assist
them. The Placement Cell, which is entirely run
by the students, stands proof of the managerial
skills of CITians. Right from inviting the
companies to our campus, driving the students
to prepare for the placements and making the
HR’s feel at home, the members of the
Placement Cell have exhibited their prowess.
We, CITians feel proud to say that we have
achieved yet another pinnacle, where CIT is
currently ranked 25th among top engineering
colleges in India by the "Outlook" magazine. CIT
is also ranked among the top five engineering
colleges (excluding IIT) in TamilNadu by a Tamil
daily. Thanks to our management, alumni,
recruiters and above all the students for helping
us achieve these and for making sure that we are
well positioned for further glory.
38 Srishti ‘09 Placement Report Placem

List of IT Companies
1. Accenture 13. Informatica 25. Sutherland
2. Adaptec 14. Infosys 26. Target
3. Aditi 15. I Gates 27. TataElsxi
4. Aricent 16. I Flex 28. TCS
5. AIG 17. Manhattan Associates 29. Tesco
6. Carevoyant 18. Misys 30. Thoughtworks
7. Cordys 19. Motorola 31. Toshiba
8. Commvault 20. Mu Sigma 32. Verisign
9. CSC 21. National Instruments 33. Verizon
10. D.E.Shaw 22. Nokia-Siemens Network 34. Wipro
11. Fidelity 23. Nortel 35. Yahoo
12. HCL 24. Oracle

List of Non-IT Companies

1. IOCL 12. PRICOL 23. ITC LTD
2. SUNDARAM CLAYTON 13. HCC 24. VA TECH WABAG
3. GAMMON INDIA 14. STERLITE 25. SYNERGY
4. DELPHI - TVS 15. ABB 26. EMAS 'Econom
5. SANMAR 16. TVS TYRES 27. MAYTAS making
6. GODREJ 17. L&T 28. TATA CHEMICALS previous
7. AREVA 18. SP CONSTRUCTIONS 29. HCC
lull in ca
8. ESSAR GROUPS 19. CCCL 30. JOHNSON TILES
accordin
9. ADITYA BIRLA(TANFAC) 20. BRAKES INDIA 31. FLSMDITH
10. ASHOK LEYLAND 21. TVS TYRES 32. TCE circums
11. SUNDARAM FASTENERS 22. GODREJ & BOYCE maintain
need of
turbulen
with the
Star Companies to watch out for entrepre
without
be frank
PEC ove
has bee
to addre
placeme
students
opportu
prospec
UK, the
and end
does tak
and wor
putting
higher e
blessing
ending t
From
The Pla
CIT
Report Placement Report Srishti ‘09 39
PLACEMENT POLLS

LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVES

'Economic slowdown', 'recession', 'fiscal crises- these seem to be some of the buzzwords that are
making the rounds throughout the world. The subprime crisis that originated in the U.S. of A, the
previous year has taken its toll on companies irrespective of their domain and this in turn has led to a
lull in campus placements. People are eagerly anticipating the re-emergence of the market which
according to financial experts may not be experienced until May 2009 or even after. Under such trying
circumstances, when a large majority of companies would only look at cutting costs and labor,
maintaining a successful placement record would only seem a distant dream to universities. The
need of the hour, hence, is to sincerely look out for other alternatives that enable us to counter the
turbulent market conditions. 'The Placement and Entrepreneurship Cell' (PEC) of CIT is entrusted
with the responsibility of ensuring the successful coordination and management of placement and
entrepreneurship activities every academic year and it has been doing it successfully all these years
without compromising on the quality of placements and the all important 'student to job ratio'. But to
be frank, there has been a dearth in promoting entrepreneurship and other related activities by the
PEC over the past two-three years and thereby the response of the students towards such initiatives
has been lukewarm. It was an area of imminent concern, according to us the placement coordinators,
to address these issues, given the sorry state of the market at present. To ensure that the current
placement year (2008 - 2009) ends on a positive note without having to face the dejection of many
students, we decided to channelize our efforts in educating them about higher education
opportunities in India and abroad. We are therefore currently involved in preparing a list of
prospective institutes that offer good educational and placement opportunities in countries like the
UK, the USA, Australia, Germany etc. Information is also being gathered on the possible scholarship
and endowment prizes that students could avail, since pursuing higher education in a foreign country
does take a heavy toll on one's pocket. Also, a lot of initiatives are being taken to conduct seminars
and workshops that focus on entrepreneurship and on the importance of higher education. We are
putting in our best efforts to ensure that placements, entrepreneurship and initiatives to promote
higher education go hand in hand, without compromising each other on any aspect. With the
blessings of the Almighty and the constant support of our staff and well wishers, we are confident of
ending the current academic year on a happy and positive note.
From
The Placement Team,
CIT
 Intervie

it h
w w
rvie
togethe

Inte
and I ha
Ram :
academ

V.B. CHANDRASEKHAR VB : Wh
only cric
me out
record w
by my fr
appointment concent
Here is a brief introduction to this "Chennai Super
with him at 5 p.m. was a n
King".
in Jenney's Club for manage
Mr.V.B.Chandrashekar (Known popularly as VB)- his interview. obtaine
director of "Chennai Superkings" (Indian Premier hiccups.
League), is a distinguished alumnus of CIT. His father Here is engraved that
Vignesh
was a famous lawyer. VB is the youngest among his fantastic 30 minute face-
cricketin
brothers and sisters. Since his elder brother and sister to-face interaction.
were software engineers, under pressure from the VB : (sm
Vignesh : How was your stay and I
family he had to opt for engineering. He did
at CIT? enthusia
mechanical engineering in CIT after he had
completed his B.Sc in mathematics. As with any VB : I always cherish the almost a
educationally forward middle-class family, there was memories of stay her
a pressure on him to do well academically. But my college didn't m
subsequently, the results he showed in cricket, earned life. Before I make th
him the support and confidence of his parents and joined CIT I had a h
well-wishers to continue in that path. After completing already had a arts coll
his engineering he decided to concentrate more on bachelor's to head
cricket and played in the Ranji Trophy for Karnataka degree in match.
and then got the opportunity to play One Day mathematics. Ram : W
Internationals (ODIs) for our country. And may be, I unforge
guess that V.Ramaseshan
VB : The
Even after leaving the field he continues to associate Captain,
could be the CIT Cricket Team
picked
himself with cricket and he is currently the chief
reason why I knowled
selector of the "Chennai super kings". Since Chennai
associated myself more with the guys of my age rather were go
super kings were the runners-up in the IPL, his job has
than being with my classmates. But this was until the PSG (loc
become even more crucial to choose the
first year and later vanished as we all mingled was wri
right players within the given price
limit, not to show the same Since I w
result this time but to better it with the
and clinch the IPL trophy. bat as th
score bo
It was a great opportunity for notifying
me (Vignesh) and Ramaseshan S. Vignesh
least 10
(Ram) - our cricket team IV year Chemical
other. Th
Captain to meet him in wickets
person and interview come ou
him. We fixed an longer w
exam. A
friend g
I didn't e
82 for
unbeate
PSG arts
 Interview with V.B. Chandrasekhar
together. In fact cricket was the unifying factor
and I had a number of fans even at that time.
Ram : How did you manage both your
academic studies and cricket?
VB : Who said I managed both? I managed
only cricket and my friends were there to help
me out with my academics. In fact most of my
record works and laboratory works were done
by my friends and they really motivated me to
concentrate more on cricket. At the same time I
was a no nonsense guy in my academics and
managed to score average marks and
obtained my degree without the slightest of
hiccups.
Vignesh : Sir, can you tell us about your
cricketing experience in CIT?
VB : (smiling) Wah! It was a great experience
and I have a lot to tell you. I was very
enthusiastic about cricket at college. I spent
almost all my time in the cricket field during my
stay here. I devoted a lot of time to practice. I
didn't mind paying the markers that extra bit to
make them work on holidays. Our cricket team
had a healthy rivalry at that time with the PSG
arts college team. Whenever we both met head
to head, it was almost like an India-Pakistan
match.
Ram : Which do you think is the most
unforgettable experience in your life?
han
VB : There was one instance when the captain
eam
picked me in the playing 11 without my
knowledge, and the semester examinations
e rather were going on. It was a match between CIT and
until the PSG (local India-Pakistan). The very same day I
mingled was writing my Engineering Chemistry exam.
Since I was in the main eleven I was updated
with the score and was called several times to
bat as the team was in a very bad position. The
score board read 80/8. I received paper slips
notifying the required runs and wickets left, at
least 10 times in the exam hall some way or the
other. The last of which read "need 120 runs, 2
wickets left, enough of your chemistry paper,
come out". This time I realized that I should no
longer wait and came out halfway through my
exam. As I was coming, I was watching my
friend getting out and returning to the pavilion.
I didn't even have time to pad myself. I went in at
82 for 8, scored a century and remained
unbeaten. We won the match for CIT against
PSG arts. (Chuckling) The funniest part of it was
Srishti ‘09 41
that I passed my chemistry exam by a narrow
margin. Then I was elected the captain of CIT
cricket team for the next three years. Also I got the
opportunity to captain Bharathiar University for 3
consecutive years. And not once during my stay
did I have an attendance% that permitted me to
write my exams. Every time I had to meet the
professors to seek permission to write my
semester exams.
Vignesh : How do you see yourself as the chief
selector now?
VB : (with a deep sigh) Well…. It's a job constantly
under pressure. It's a task of selecting the right
players for the team, the sort who can win you
matches . It's twenty-twenty and the players have
to be good hitters of the ball making the
opponents go for a leather hunt.
Ram : How did you manage to select Manpreet
Goni to the side?
VB : (thought running across his mind) Goni
played well in the Ranji, and I thought he would be
a better player to be on the side. It is actually a big
story the way Goni entered the squad. He was
punctual and made sure of his presence whenever
we called him. Also he has exceptional talents and
is strongly improving as well.
Vignesh : We are really elated to spend time with
you. Finally, what's the message you would like to
leave for us?
VB : CITians have all the potentials. It's up to you
students to bring out your hidden talents. If you
feel that you could shine well in the area of your
interest, then just go ahead, no matter what others
say. Get the suggestions from people around you
but arrive at a decision that is not influenced by
peer pressure. Be confident and make sure that
you are up to it. Building castles in the air does not
help. My best wishes to you all.
That was VB exclusively for you .....
 Chand

Bino. K
III year Mech.

N ovember 14, 2008, 8:06pm- The

instructions from ISRO’s Telemetry,
Tracking and Command Network
(ISTRAC), separated the Moon Impact Probe
(MIP) from the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.
hand picked experts
in every field of space
science and
persuaded them to
work for India’s
proved
process
rockets,
The spin up-rockets were fired after achieving space program. On 100 km
a safe distance of separation from seeing his charisma, a phen
Chandrayaan-1. The final 25 minutes count who could stop equator
down started… getting attracted to number
him! His visionary develop
The history of Indian rocketry dates back to space program used were the
1750, when this science was perfected by the to sound like science ultimate
then Sultans of Mysore, Haider Ali and Tipu fiction to people Satelli
Sultan, for military purposes. The Jourks those days. The (SLV).
(rocket men) of Tipu’s army won many wars space program started with a message to the
against the British colonial armies with these world:
Then th
weapons. Finally the British forces won the Launch
Battle of Seringapatam and captured Tipu’s “There are some who question the relevance of
into e
war rockets. Then followed a period of 150 space activities in a developing nation. To us,
higher
years during which rocket science in India there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not
followe
remained dormant. have the fantasy of competing with the
of the
economically advanced nations in the
Launch
November 14, 2008- MIP’s onboard video exploration of the moon or the planets or
the cap
imaging system, the radar altimeter and the manned space-flight. But we are convinced
geostati
mass spectrometer got activated. that if we are to play a meaningful role
The nex
Chandrayaan-1 started receiving information nationally, and in the community of nations,
Polar S
from these instruments as the MIP continued we must be second to none in the application of
Space m
its descent. The mass spectrometer began advanced technologies to the real problems of
of 100,
examining the extremely thin lunar man and society.”
termed
atmosphere. - Vikram Sarabhai achieve
nations
Indian rocketry was reborn, after The name of the hamlet- Thumba got satellite
independence, thanks to the technological registered in the world catalogue when India
vision of Prime Minster Jawahar Lal Nehru. successfully launched its first rocket on ISRO’s
Prof Vikram Sarabhai took the challenge of November 21, 1963. For the western world it space m
realizing this dream. That was a time when was a matter of astonishment that so much was mission
there was acute food shortage in India, and achieved with so little. I remember a mail from ISRO’s
these men took the bold decision of making my friend which had the photo of a person PSLV-C
rockets and satellites. Very few took the space carrying the cone of Nike Apache rocket to the kg Ch
program seriously. But Sarabhai was launch pad on a bicycle. transfer
determined to make his vision come true. He
 Chandrayaan Srishti ‘09 43
November 14,
2008- The onboard
retro rockets began
firing to slow down
the MIP.

People questioned
the viability of the

C.I.T. TALKS
Indian space
program. Sarabhai
and his band of
young scientists
proved them wrong but it was a painstaking
process, beginning with simple sounding Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota. Chandrayaan-1
rockets, which could go only up to a height of aims to further expand our knowledge about
100 km and were used to study Earth’s only natural satellite – the
a phenomenon called the People questioned the moon. It would also perform
equatorial jet. They had a large viability of the Indian remote sensing of our nearest
number of failures during the space program. Sarabhai celestial neighbor using its 11
development stage. But these and his band of young onboard scientific instruments. It
were the stepping stones for the was Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam who
scientists proved them
ultimate dream of developing a gave the idea of incorporating a
Satellite Launch Vehicle wrong but it was a device which could land on the
(SLV). painstaking process...
e to the moon, which later turned out to be
the Moon Impact Probe (MIP).
Then the Augmented Satellite We have given the moon The mission was planned to land
Launch Vehicle (ASLV) came to India”, announced it near a spot called the
vance of
into existence which had ISRO Chairman Shackleton crater close to the
. To us,
higher load carrying capacity G. Madhavan Nair. lunar South Pole.
do not
followed by the development
ith the November 14, 2008, 8:31
of the Geostationary Satellite
in the pm- It was children’s day. The video of the
Launch Vehicle (GSLV) which gave India
nets or descent went blank. MIP successfully hit the
the capability to park satellites in the
nvinced lunar surface.
geostationary orbit at an altitude of 36000km.
ul role
The next big feat was the development of a
nations, “The moon was favorable to us. We have
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
ation of travelled all the way to the moon. We have
Space missions that travel beyond a distance
lems of given the moon to India”, announced ISRO
of 100,000 km from the earth are usually
termed deep space missions. With all these chairman G Madhavan Nair after the successful
arabhai achievements India entered an elite group of landing.
nations which had the capability to send
satellites into deep space. Unlike other space agencies, ISRO never
ba got
enjoyed big budgets for R&D and space
n India
programs. But thanks to the dedication and skill
ket on ISRO’s next big dream- India’s first deep
of several scientists, the space program is one of
world it space mission, sprung up. They called it
the outstanding successes of the country. All
uch was mission- Chandrayaan. On October 22, 2008,
ail from thanks to the great minds who had the vision of
ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle,
person linking space technology with the development
PSLV-C11, successfully launched the 1380
et to the of a backward nation. We shall forever be
kg Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft into the
indebted to them.
transfer orbit from Sathish Dhawan Space
 Mumbai
Chandrasekar
III year EEE

W
e have been through a very eventful year. 2008 continuation of the series of attacks that started in 2007.
was the year when India joined the Nuclear But sadly, we never did learn from the past and most
Elite after the 123 Nuclear Agreement was state governments chose to ignore the specific and the d
okayed by both the US and Indian legislatures. It was also intelligence inputs that were given to them. The Mumbai terrorist a
the year when India won its first individual gold in the attacks eventually made the government act. However, who thou
Olympics. India clinched the Border – Gavaskar trophy the opinion that had we been more vigilant, one or more being att
from Australia in cricket. When the whole world thought of these attacks could have been prevented will prevail The educ
that all was well, the economic recession set in. Towards for sometime to come. have so fa
the end of the year, the rupee started weakening. There political s
The Mumbai attacks are certainly India’s 9/11 in more the peopl
was political turmoil in the disputed state of Jammu and than one way. Firstly, people from all walks of life
Kashmir. is enough
suffered losses. Till the 26/11 attacks, mostly the poor the afterm
But we Indians will never forget 2008 and not just for the protest m
above reasons. This was the year when India faced its which m
worst terror attack ever. The incidents of terror that took take noti
place between 26th and 29th shook the entire nation. The governm
country had never witnessed a terrorist attack of such attributed
magnitude in the past. It proved to the nation that even
the establishments frequented by the rich and the Fingers w
famous were open to terror attacks, and it was more than terror o
(LeT) aft
C.I.T. TALKS

just a pointer to the extent of sophistication involved in

training terrorists and planning such dastardly acts. organizat
jihad (hol
Prior to the Mumbai attacks, there were bomb blasts in it a part
major Indian cities namely Jaipur, Ahmedabad, this ideol
Guwahati, Bangalore and Delhi. These attacks were a

d in 2007.
and most
and the downtrodden suffered because of
specific
Mumbai terrorist attacks. The urban educated elite,
However, who thought that they were insulated from
being attacked, were rudely awakened.
e or more
The educated youth of the country who
ill prevail
have so far been hesitant to be a part of the
political set up, started protesting against
in more the people in power. The slogan “Enough
s of life is enough” acquired a lot of significance in
the poor the aftermath of the attacks. There were
protest marches throughout the country
which made the government sit up and
take notice. Much of the action that the
government has taken today can be
attributed to these protests.
Fingers were pointed at Pakistan based
terror organization Lashkar–e–Taiba
(LeT) after the Mumbai attacks. This
C.I.T. TALKS
organization’s main ideology is to wage
jihad (holy war) against India and to make
it a part of Islamic Pakistan. Obviously,
this ideology is dangerous and extremist.
This is not surprising, for the organization
is headed by a man who lost 36 members
of his family during Partition and is
strongly anti-India. Unfortunately for
India, there are a number of people who
subscribe to this ideology in Pakistan. To
compound our problems, much of
Pakistan’s poor populace sends its
children to madrassas for education,
where students are taught religious
subjects in addition to science and
mathematics. But the madrassa education
system in Pakistan has remained
unregulated leading to accusations that
these institutes preach religious
fundamentalism. Western powers like
America firmly believe that madrassas
serve as training grounds for terror
organizations.
India has been persuading Pakistan to act
against terror groups which operate from
its soil. Pakistan on the other hand has
been reluctant to act against them and has
often been dismissive of allegations of
terrorism against it. The democratic
government in that country is very young
and a wrong step against popular opinion
may see the government being toppled by
the real power centers namely the Army
and the ISI (Inter Service Intelligence).
The ISI is a covert organization that has
allegedly been funding, training and
encouraging terrorist groups operating
from the country to orchestrate terror
attacks in different parts of India. So, if the
government were to act against the two
organizations mentioned above, it could
well spell doom for democracy in
Pakistan.
The Indian government cannot squarely
blame Pakistan based outfits for all the
attacks which have taken place in 2008.
The name “Indian Mujahideen” has
repeatedly surfaced during investigations.
This group, investigative agencies
suspect, is the handiwork of the Lashkar.
The LeT has long attempted to establish a
pan India jihadi organization for close to a
decade. The Indian Mujahideen could well
be a manifestation of the LeT’s ideas. To
add to India’s woes, most Indian
Mujahideen members who have been
killed or arrested seem to be educated
young men who have been successfully
indoctrinated by their mentors in
Pakistan.
The terror attacks have in some ways
taught Indians to live with terror. People in
Even if there is a terror
attack, people continue to
work and shops make it a
point not to down shutters so
as to send a message to the
perpetrators of the attacks.
India are learning quickly to put up with
terror attacks. Even if there is a terror
attack, people continue to work and shops
make it a point not to down shutters so as
to send a message to the perpetrators of
the attacks. This is to be expected as India
features on the list of five countries on
which the impact of terrorism has been
most damaging.
T h e h o l e s i n I n d i a ’s s e c u r i t y
establishments stood exposed at the end
of every terror attack. India’s police force
is so badly armed and trained; in the
aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, it was
shown that our Police constables use
rifles which were used during the Second
World War. Our Coastguard was not even
aware that a bunch of terrorists were able
to take control of a fishing vessel and
reach Mumbai without any hassles.
Monitoring every minor action taking
place along a 7000 km long coastline is as
good as an impossible task but it is
imperative that we maintain stricter vigil
on our western coast and also the
southern coast where we face a threat
from the LTTE.
In the wake of the Mumbai attack, the
Central Government has passed a new anti
terror law and a bill for establishing a new
National Investigating Agency (NIA). It will
be interesting to see how successful the
NIA is, in India’s fight against terror. In
addition to these measures, many of the
state governments are contemplating to
have an NSG like commando force in their
reserve Police force. This again is a very
good step in the right direction. At the end
of it, it is clearly seen that India’s action
against terrorism has been reactive and
not active. It is time that this attitude
changed. Not very often does one get to
read articles in successive editions of
Srishti on the same issue. Let us sincerely
support our Government in its fight
against terror so that we do not have to
read an article on terrorism in Srishti’10
also!
46 Srishti ‘09
Vaishnavee. K.B
IV year IT
Radhika. M
IV year IT A tribu

A TRIBUTE TO

Prof. P.R. Ramakrishnan

H e was a man with a vision. A vision

which has helped us all realise our
dreams. He was a man who crossed
boundaries in his quest for quality education.
Jeypore Sugar Company Limited.
Prof.P.R.Ramakrishnan, obtained an M.B.A.
degree in the year 1952 from the Sloan School of
Management at MIT and had the distinction of
Nothing stopped him, not even the Second
being the first Indian Sloan Fellow.
World War. Reformer, leader and entrepreneur
are all synonymous with his person. Popularly
He was blessed with three sons. The eldest son
known as PRR, Prof.P.R.Ramakrishnan was
is Thiru.R.Prabhu, Ex-minister of fertilizers in the
born on February 12th, 1916 as the second son Rajiv Gandhi Government and currently
of Thiru. V.Rangaswamy Naidu and Tmt. Member of Parliament in the Congress party.
Chinnammal. Pr
The youngest son, Dr.S.R.K.Prasad, is de
currently the Managing Director of
He did his schooling in Sarvajana Th
Krishna Industrial Corporation and
High School, Peelamedu, En
Correspodent, Coimbatore Institute of
Coimbatore followed by a Technology.
Bachelor's degree in Mathematics
in Presidency College, Chennai. He Prof.P.R.Ramakrishnan realized that Prof.P.R
then went to United Kingdom to the only way this nation could down fro
pursue his higher have an all round one of th
studies. When the development was by industrie
Second World War imparting high quality educatio
broke out, he left the technical education to
students. His vision was Prof.P.R
UK and traveled to the
to provide education and elected
USA and joined the
training for all with freedom of thought. Prof. P.R. and Coi
world famous Massachusetts Institute of
Ramakrishnan felt Universities are not built by Congres
Technology (MIT) for his B.Sc. and M.Sc.
mortars and bricks alone but are built by a man's Industria
degrees in Electrical Engineering.
hard work and intellect. With this motto in mind, collabor
He served in the General Electric Company, way back in 1950, he conceptualized the served a
USA, for a period of seven years. He then idea of Coimbatore Institute of Technology. Society
married Madam Rajeswari, daughter of an Prof. P.R. Ramakrishnan after his return to Chenna
eminent industrialist and former bureaucrat India had a vision to start an Engineering Educatio
College on the lines of MIT. Along with his
Sri.V.Ramakrishna, I.C.S. It is a fact that,
father Sri.V.Rangaswamy Naidu and brother Though
Madam Rajeswari Ramakrishnan is one of the
Sri.R.Venkataswamy Naidu, Prof.P.R. mission
earliest lady entrepreneurs in our country.
Ramakrishnan started Coimbatore Institute of society a
Currently she is the Managing Director of the
Technology in 1956.
 ka. M
ar IT A tribute to Prof. P.R. Ramakrishnan Srishti ‘09 47

mited.
M.B.A.
chool of
ction of

dest son
rs in the
urrently
ss party.
Prof.P.R.Ramakrishnan realized that the only way this nation could have an all round
asad, is development was by impatring high quality technical education to students.
ctor of
The college had grown from strength to strength and attained the status as one of the Premier
on and
Engineering Colleges in India under his guidance.
itute of

zed that Prof.P.R.Ramakrishnan managed the affairs of the college as Principal for 25 years till he stepped
on could down from office in 1981. The college had grown from strength to strength and attained the status as
round one of the Premier Engineering Colleges in India under his guidance. He was also a promoter of many
was by industries in Coimbatore. Among all his activities the closest to his heart was the running of this
quality educational institution.
ation to
ion was Prof.P.R.Ramakrishnan started a Tamil Daily "Nava India" and served as its Managing Editor. He was
tion and elected as Member of Parliament for two terms, representing Pollachi Constituency from 1957 to 1962
rof. P.R. and Coimbatore Constituency from 1962 to 1967. He had served as the Treasurer of Tamilnadu
built by Congress Committee in the Indira Gandhi Govt. He was the Managing Director of Ramakrishna
a man's Industrial Corporation Limited, involved in the manufacture of Textile Ring Frames, with Japanese
in mind, collaboration. He served as the Managing Director of Madras Aluminium Company Limited. He had
zed the served as Coimbatore District Rotary Governor. He was also the President of Operational Research
hnology. Society of India. Before he left us he was the Chairman of the Jeypore Sugar Company Limited,
eturn to Chennai, Krishna Industrial Corporation, Chennai, Managing Trustee of V.Rangaswamy Naidu
neering Educational Trust and the Correspondent of Coimbatore Institute of Technology.
with his
brother Though he is not with us anymore, he still occupies an eminent part in the hearts of CITians. His
of.P.R. mission and vision will be our motivation, thereby invigorating our desire to succeed and to serve the
titute of society and the country at large.
48 Srishti ‘09

a
INTERFACE & TECHNOVATION 2009
Interface 2009 was held on February 13 & 14 of 2009 and Technovation on 14th & 15th of the same month.
The student organisers did a marvellous job during those three days. Financial backing by corporate and
non-corporate sponsors continued to be as generous as ever
despite the economic recession. The organizers were able to
conduct the events despite the one-week government holiday that
came out of the blue, barely six days before the scheduled days for
the symposiums. All this speaks volumes about the expertise and
confidence of the students to manage such a large-scale endeavour
in a remarkably short time. The participants came from all over Tamil
Nadu in droves! This year's Interface and Technovation certainly
held up the 'Brand CIT' with pride.

The setting of the pitch

Events in CIT belong to a class of their own because of the long-held
policy of letting the students organise them with guidance from the
management. Interface and Technovation 2009 were no different in
this regard. The office-bearers were chosen from the various
departments and the quest for sponsors was launched. Students

Film
simultaneously worked on the event websites namely,
http://www.interface09.com and http://www.technovation
2009.com. The websites helped the organisers to take advertising to
an entirely new level. No stones were left unturned; invitations were
sent to nearly 300 colleges in the country. Students had fun choosing
the slogans for the symposiums. They came up with intriguing, yet,
simple lines. It was 'Where Brains Count More', for Interface and
'Inclination towards Infinity' for Technovation. IOCL, SBI, Clariant,
Black Thunder were a few among the many sponsors enjoyed by
Interface and Technovation this time. The generosity of the sponsors

c
helped the organisers to take the exciting events to an entirely new

si
level of perfection. CITians should be proud that, even in such tough

u
times, the corporate world continues to have 100% belief in the

M
efforts of the students to organize such a symposium. This truly
highlights the enviable position of CIT on the corporate world
rankings.

And The Games Began!

There was a thrill of suppressed excitement that hung in the air on the morning of February 13th 2009. The
Chief Guest, Dr.Manmohan Thampi, lit the kuthuvilakku to signal the launch of Interface 2009. The Chief
Guest for Technovation was Mr.C.Murugesan, SM Aqua-Sub Engg Works. And things were off to a flying
start.
With more than 75 events held over the three days, the participants
had a wide range to choose from. The exciting events scheduled
were all the more attractive with the substantial prize money adding
sheen to them. The technical symposiums underlined the
adventurous and hard-working spirits of the student community at
CIT. But, the crowning factor was that the events highlighted the
deep unity of the students and the administrative staff once again. All
in all, the three days enlivened up the college with the perfect
concoction- hardworking and brilliant organizers, enthusiastic
participants, willing sponsors and the generous administrative
support.
Snehal Jain S. Sridhar
II year, IT IV year, EEE
 ar
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 The Gr

Srinath
IV year EEE
banks re
The hou
40% in
were va
so rich.
values a
their de
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2008
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T he financial crisis which broke out in the year 2008 Inflation was taking its

recession
“Inflation was financial
is one of the worst in modern history. There are toll on the lives of the lending
several reasons for the sub-prime mortgage crisis common man. In an taking its toll on plan cau
and the financial crisis which followed it, the main reasons attempt to tame the lives of the
being excessive debt, global trade imbalances, inflation and squeeze common man.” The fina
weakness in the manufacturing sector of American the availability of to a shar
economy, high oil price and high inflation. The Americans credit, central banks “Money was By the e
relied heavily on debt to finance their high style of living, all over the world entered
created out of
Americans with little or no income borrowed from increased interest thereby
American banks. These loans were high risk, asset rates and took several
nothing and that depend
backed loans. Millions of loans were dispatched to poor other measures to money is now The lack
people who clearly didn’t have the capacity to repay those squeeze the money disappearing.” function
loans from their income. By giving easy credit, investment supply. This even- in troub
banks gave the people an opportunity to purchase tually led to a slow inflation
houses beyond their capability. The demand for new down in the later part of 2007. econom
housing increased and so did the price. Housing prices entire ch
rose rapidly. As housing prices increased people began to Due to these measures, housing prices in the US in dema
borrow more from the banks (i.e.) their mortgage value didn’t rise as expected and there was a small drop the entire
increased. Many of them made money from increasing in prices. This had a catastrophic effect. The
housing prices. increased interest rates and lowered housing
prices meant that people couldn’t repay their loans.
In 2007 inflation and oil price all over the world surged to Mortgage loan became
historic levels. Rise in asset prices and increased liquidity greater than the market
(money supply) resulted in a massive rise in demand. value of assets. These
Real estate and asset values increased in many countries assets are known as toxic
mainly due to easy availability of credit. Demand for all assets. Nearly 6% of the
goods and commodities increased. Developing countries housing loans failed
grew at a tremendous pace as they were sources of (people could not repay those
cheap goods and services to the developed world. The loans) in the early part of 2008.
increase in demand resulted in a massive increase in Massive number of houses and
prices, especially oil. Several industries were affected, assets were put up for sale and
especially the manufacturing and the airline industry.
 The Great Recession 2008
banks refused to lend any more sub-prime loans.
The housing demand fell and prices fell by nearly
40% in the first half of 2008. Suddenly, assets
were valued lower and people felt they were not
so rich. Many had debts greater than their asset
values and they were not capable of repaying
their debt. As prices in other sectors reduced,
more assets became toxic and defaults (failure to
make payment) and foreclosures increased. This
was the subprime mortgage crisis.
8
Gradually even good assets turned toxic and
banks were taking heavy losses. Unable to meet
their obligations to their depositors Lehman
Brothers (One of Americas biggest investment
banks) declared bankruptcy. A long list of banks
turned to the government for help. The
government now stepped in to prevent a collapse
of the American financial system. They
purchased massive amounts of toxic assets to
stem the fall in prices and protect the banks. The
government also gave some money to banks and
recession
financial institutions so that they could resume
as
lending to good business and industries. This
l on plan caused the government trillions of dollars.
he
n.” The financial crisis hit the economy hard and led
to a sharp recession (negative economic growth).
By the end of 2008, most of the major economies
f entered into a recession. Banks refused to lend
thereby leading to a credit crisis. Most industries
that depend on credit to carry out their usual activities.
w interest rates could quickly put Indian economy
The lack of credit meant that industries could not
.” function properly and even good companies were
in trouble. The steps taken earlier to reduce
inflation had a negative impact on the global
economy. The shortage of credit affected the
entire chain of businesses all over the world. Fall
n the US in demand, credit crisis and job losses threaten
mall drop the entire global economy.
ect. The
housing
eir loans.
C.I.T. TALKS
Srishti ‘09 55
From 1997 onwards, many countries (emerging
economies like China, Brazil, Russia, South
Korea etc) became highly export oriented.
They exported cheap goods and services to the
American people. Now America’s and Western
Europe’s home grown industries were unable to
compete with the emerging economies owing to
their low cost. Gradually American and
European companies shifted to China, India and
other emerging economies where land, labor
and other costs were cheaper. As a result, the
US manufacturing industry weakened even
during the boom. The weak manufacturing
sector has suffered losses and unemployment.
Some of the big stalwarts of the American
economy like GM, Ford and Motorola are in big
trouble. Job losses in US are leading to a steep
fall in consumer demand, investor confidence
and asset prices.
India’s banks and finance institutions are safe
but its economy is exposed. India runs a trade
deficit of approximately 4% of GDP (it went up to
7% in 2008) and relies on foreign investments to
finance these deficits. Pull-out by foreign
investors and capital is India’s major problem.
Fall in IT and other exports would have a bad
impact on the Indian economy. However the
nation has good domestic consumer demand. A
good economic stimulus package and low
back on high growth rate. India’s strong financial
institutions are a great advantage when
compared to the rest of the world.
The American government has now resorted to
the last ditch effort of printing money and
spending. What we are witnessing now is an
unwinding of the events that took place for a
quarter century. Money was created out of
nothing and that money is now disappearing.
The governments are trying to make up for this.
Only when asset prices stabilize, finance
institutions become stronger and resume
lending, can the economy recover. When the
economy recovers, trillions of dollars given in
bail-outs will begin to surface, causing massive
inflation. Taxes will reach historic levels and
recovery will be slow and painful. We must
endure this so that corrections can be made and
financial markets are well regulated.
 It's a
Black Day

America
for
known) t
Universi
New Yor
confusio
Indeed! and America has changed. Change. black. H
Writing on such a huge personality was
Illinois w
daunting, I kept falling into a quick sand, a
Project (
quagmire of failed expectations and
standards until I reminded myself of this
journey of change. A journey of change, that There he
had brought a onetime self confessed drug This was
abuser, a confused youth all the way from The ans
Hawaii to Washington D.C. , to the highest probably
office in his country and arguably the world. success
cleaning
They would have been proud today. installing
In heaping praise and there as
Quick Facts

• 44th President accolades onto Barack wanted f

• Electoral margin - we perhaps forget that issue. Th
365 to 173 this journey did not start few time
• 52.9% - Popular vote at Hawaii nor did it start white mo
in the recent past, a mere people w
• The first African
50 years past. This is a themselv
American president of
story of more than 200 Thus he
the Harvard Law
years, of the journey another
Review public ag
president made, of a war he
fought , of the right he defended
and of another man, a man of immense stature, one He then
who set his claims and refused to budge until he got that it wo
them. Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King story, as
would have been proud today. But by what one the state
knows of them, they would have believed that this U.S. Con
is but the beginning in a sea of change.
Is he rel
I want you to know the real Obama. When I f
We imagine that the great men we adore were he anno
always the men they are now. We never see them
as the awkward kid, the confused youth, the angry
son raised by a single mother or a boring executive
in an accounts company. I wanted to know this
Obama, warts and all. What made him tick? Why is he the
man he is? And I want you to know.

A lifetime of change.
Barack Hossein Obama was from Kenya. With a
scholarship he came to Hawaii and there met his
wife. To them was born his namesake Obama Jr. (but
always known without the Jr.). He was raised by his
single white mother when his father left them for
Harvard and then back to Kenya. The father had left but
had left behind an image that his son would look up to for
the next 25 years. Barry (as he was
known) then followed a confused path to the Occidental
University and then to the Columbia State University,
New York. Throughout he was plagued by self doubt and
confusion about the hate between the white and the
black. His search for answers took him to Chicago,
Illinois where he joined the Developing Communities
Project (DCP), an NGO of sorts.
There he found himself.
This was probably the most formative period of his life.
The answers to my questions of 'what make him tick?'
probably lie here. His time with the DCP saw some major
successes and some dismal failures. He was involved in
cleaning up a very depressing black community and
installing a school program for the kids there. He went
there as a confused young man not knowing what he
wanted from life, confused about the whole white-black
issue. Though he had been teased and tortured quite a
few times over his color, he could not forget the love of his
white mother or his grandparents. But he found that black
people were still treated like scum and that a lot of them,
themselves did not feel that they deserved any better.
Thus he found himself in organizing, organizing the
public against the Govt., for the public.
He then went onto Harvard to study law because he felt
that it would help him help people better. The rest of the
story, as they say is history. He became a senator, first of
the state of Illinois and then representing Illinois at the
U.S. Congress. And today, he is at the oval office.
Is he related to Osama?
When I first heard about Obama, it was way back when
he announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party
C.I.T. TALKS
primary, in the fight to be the democratic candidate for
President. My only thoughts about him, as of others,
were about his relationship with Osama. I never believed
then that he could win the Democratic primary let alone
the White House, not with a name like that. Seems a long
time back.. But I did hear his name a lot more from then
on, each time spoken with a higher tone until it was
almost deafening. Now I know that a firm foundation had
been laid in service in Chicago and that he was the most
likely winner at any point, in hindsight. IN HINDSIGHT.
But then all I thought was, what the hell? But his
campaign of change caught on and his speeches
became immortal and were even aired on TV… and all
through those three words were a recurring theme.
YES WE CAN!!
"Yes, We Can!" "Yes, We Can!" When the crowd began to
chant I wanted to join in. Tears came unbidden to
thousands of eyes irrespective of color, age or
nationality. The change had occurred and irrespective of
what followed America had achieved. That such a man
won, was not the miracle, that he won in spite of his
background was. Not since Lincoln, had a President
come from a more ordinary background and not since
Kennedy had a President come in with such a massive
popularity vote. The change was here and what a
change. He had given hope where only dirt resided
before. He replaced corruption, incompetence and plain
stupidity with his own inspiring image.
The President of the United States of America
What stands out throughout this journey, this journey of
change, this journey of hope, is that basic honesty, the
exuding warmth of that smile that seems to include
everybody and his constant need to help.
Another change that occurred was the huge number of
students and youngsters involved in Obama's campaign.
Perhaps they could feel the hope pulling them there, the
hope of real change happening. But he is still a black man
in a white man's world, some say. While others claim that
the blacks should not claim him for their own as he is half
white. But the truth is, that Obama is on the pedestal of
scrutiny and he is definitely more black than white. For he
will fall, he is only human and when he falls he will be a
black man falling. But maybe we should stop this
nonsense and as he himself would say- accept the fact
that he is not the President of the Black states of
America or the White states of America but of the
United States of America.
58 Srishti ‘09 Media

R. Sooraj
IV year Mech. D

Media Matters
be
th
gi
S
<< media matters
ne

T he media must have complete freedom to speak, but, its voice should be neutral, clear,
and pertain to make people aware of the situation; not be wary of it. But, in the present
era of communication advancement, 'sensational news' seems to be the buzzword
attributed to all information. We are engulfed by a media which claims that each bit of news is
Fo
op
de
of
worth a fortune and of immense value to everybody's day-to-day activity. S
Each news item broadcasted, is associated with either a higher amount of fear and chaos, or a to
glossier amount of luxury and societal status. The news is made to be associated with some te
cause and people are made to adhere to, or even appreciate the cause. A
Nowadays, there seems to be an unwritten law that news at
has to be provided incessantly and as soon as possible. A w
deliberate rush to be ahead of the competing channel m
develops an attitude of blowing up even commonplace no
incidents, creating hype about them and with use of cl
sensational coverage, the public is made to react cl
emotionally rather than be provided the exact knowledge of O
the situation. ev
In any given situation, the media tends to react with an M
impulse which it calls as swiftness and quickness in passing on P
information to the general public. Incidents are captured on camera and broadcasted at a M
break-neck speed. If one channel or, a media arrives at the place of the incident, then there is a A
tendency to dominate the situation and disseminate the information in its own individual th
fashion, which, more often than not, is biased or incomplete. fa
There is also a degree of insensitivity and imperviousness among the journalists to any te
situation they report. Though it is claimed that these are st
maintained for unbiased coverage, it is often used as a D
The public craves for details
and statistics. The media takes tool for exploiting the grief by giving a comparison po
advantage of this instinct and between the journalist-who is unaffected by the incident de
by providing facts and figures and the victim, who is portrayed as completely shattered an
making people think that they by it. an
have a guiding hand which
For example, consider the Tsunami, when each channel a
shall help them cross the path
of danger. had sent a journalist to the spot where he/she was Th
standing poised with a microphone in hand and asking a m
victim about how her husband was killed, or how her child st
was lost. Moreover, the victim would be given close-up shots in the T.V. frame while he/she
was crying and the public would be made to feel insecure. And this could be seen as the same
pattern of reporting any other tragedy.

H
 Media Matters Srishti ‘09 59
During the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, people in the rest of the nation were made to
believe that the media was giving them information-like the number of policemen surrounding
the Taj, or, the possible entrance/exit routes in there-which they were supposed to listen, and
give their opinion on, to show their care for the country. And this was done despite the National
Security Guards' persistent warnings about the terrorists gaining crucial information from this
tters
news.
r, For another example, consider the pub attacks in Mangalore. The media did a good job of
nt opposing the so-called moral police. But, most of it was done by showcasing upon ridiculous
d demonstrations and protests such as "Pub Bharo", and asking every woman to join; as a mark
is of solidarity. Also, the protesters such as "Sri Ram Sene" and "Maharashtra Navanirman
Sene" have gained such notorious fame all across the country just because the media chose
a to interview hooligans and offered them a chance to make their propaganda via national
e television rather than snubbing them by giving them no spotlight.

And also to be noted is the mute participation of the camera men and the crew during such
atrocities. For example, a small girl in Haryana was found guilty of theft of a paltry sum and
was reported accused by her employers. The police constable who was in-charge beat the girl
mercilessly despite her cries. A news channel was onsite and reported it live, but, the crew took
no steps to stop the cruelty. Same was the case of the Mangalore pub incident. The media
claims to be the guardian of justice and yet, does not take the necessary steps to justify its
claim.

On another note, the media also exploits people and diverts them towards glitz and glamour,
even during grief. Like in the case of asking celebrities, their opinions on the terrorist attacks-
Mr. Ram Gopal Verma-for his association to films on underworld mafia or, it could be Mr.
Prahlad Kakkar-"for his association with Deepika Padukone, et al"(That's how he is known in
a MTv!).
a At the same time, the farmers' suicide bear no place in the media and no coverage is given to
al the information that the government has announced loan waivers and subsidies for them. The
farmers are not the centre of attraction and they are left to suffer, because the media is busy
ny telecasting a condolence meet conducted inside an air-conditioned hall, attended by cine-
e stars wearing Armani suits/gowns with Versace glasses.
a During panic, people tend to lack clarity of thought and align themselves to the most quickly
n possible external line of thinking which comes in a structured manner. The public craves for
nt details and statistics. It waits for analysis and comparisons, or a parallel being drawn between
d any other known situation. The media takes advantage of this instinct and by providing facts
and figures-even though it is of the costs of the Armani suits-makes people think that they have
el a guiding hand which shall help them cross the path of danger.
as This trend needs to be corrected and that can be emphasised only by us-the viewers, by
a making the choice of listening to information only when it is valuable and authentic. Or else, we
d stand affected by the media and let our minds be governed by it.
e
e
 Your turn to answer the God... The sec
was an i
was bet
slender
Captain

T
he third edition of CIT's annual quiz,
'Brahma' was held on the 24th of
August 2008. This year's edition was
an Open Quiz, which attracted participants
from all over the city. There were also
participants from cities like Chennai,
Cochin, Bangalore and Calicut. Brahma is
fast becoming one of the better-known
quizzes in the region not just for the quality
of quizzing but also the prize money.
Brahma has special significance because it
is the only quiz in the state, which is
conducted in the odd semester. The quiz,
(Chennai), IIM-K, Indian Quizzing League
(Chennai), a school team from SBOA At abou
(Coimbatore) and a college team from PSG inaugur
TECH, Coimbatore fighting it out. The the 19th
finals consisted of 5 rounds and it turned out out blo
to be an engrossing two and half hours of hosts as
quizzing. Captain
Batsma
The Chief Guest was Prof Rangarajan from
PSG CAS who is a prominent quizmaster in Bowler
Coimbatore. The Guest of Honor was Mr.
Senthil from Infosys, Mauritius, who is an
alumnus of CIT. The quizmaster for the day,
R.Amshuman lived up to the demands of a

b r a h m a

Augustin
peeping
”Put all
brought
2 0 0 8 The fina
store fo
Thomso
this year did not disappoint the 300 people state level quiz, entertaining the audience
writing
who had turned up that day for it was an and quizzers with interesting info-bits and write’.
opportunity for the audience to learn a lot of intervie
new things apart from trying to give the
Though
established quizzers a run for their money. end bidd
The prelims stood out for its innovative and the beg
novel idea of having all the answers starting budding
from each letter of the alphabet in order (A
to Z). The finals had teams from QFI
 Srishti ‘09 61
CIT Trophies
... The second edition of the CIT basketball trophy took place on the 15th & the 16th of March, 2009. It
was an inter-engineering state level tournament with 14 teams competing for glory at CIT. The finals
was between the host (CIT) and Kumaraguru College of Technology, (KCT) in which KCT won by a
slender margin after a hard tussle with our college.
Captains: CIT- Arunkumar.S ; KCT - Shyam
gue
OA At about the same time a similar contest was taking place nearby. The CIT cricketing trophy’s
SG inaugural edition happened between the 15th and the 19th of March 2009. The arena was set and on
The the 19th the two gladiators, the host(CIT) and Banariamman Institute of Technology (BIT) fought it
out out blow for blow to establish supremacy but luck favoured BIT or maybe we were just being good
s of hosts as they won by as small a margin as one wicket.
Captains : CIT - V. Ramaseshan ; BIT - R. Gowtham
Batsman of the series: R. Gowtham (BIT)
om
r in Bowler of the series: A. Karthik (CIT)
Mr.
an
day, Writers’ Workshop
of a
A bunch of pens, quires of paper and the brains of 40 heads were all in action
with the expertise of the top notches in the field of journalism to create yet
another Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and Frost in the back breaking effort of
the Literary Club. The workshop, the first of its kind in CIT took place from
5th – 7th September ‘08. Creativity took centre stage at the Writers’
Workshop 2008, marking the inauguration of the Literary Club on the 5th of
September. The workshop started with “free writing” by Mr. M.Santhosh
Kumar (UESI), stressing on the writer’s block. Dr. Babu Verghese (MAI)
followed, narrating the life of a journalist, giving students an insight to the
world of mass media and pointing out the power of the pen over the gun.
The second day kicked off with an inspirational speech by Mrs.Seline
Augustine, Associate Editor, The Hindu, quoting on ‘the art of editing’. The workshop continued
peeping into short stories with Mr. Timothy Peace, encouraging and instilling skills into young minds.
”Put all your thoughts on paper and ride them like a horse until you have poetry”- Robert Frost, was
brought into practise by Mr.Santhosh Kumar, generating poems from thin air.
The final day had many interesting sessions in
store for the participants. Mr. John Tilak from
Thomson Reuters briefed on the basics of
nce
writing – ‘what to write and what not to
and write’. Other sessions included “How to
interview a VIP” and “Reporting an incident”.
Though the three day workshop came to an
end bidding adieu to the guest speakers, it was
the beginning of a new chapter for many
budding writers who attended the workshop.
62 Srishti ‘09 Destiny

Aarthi
IV year IT

Destiny (re)written !!!

Inquisitiveness is intrinsic in human beings. One they have
who is really skeptical about facts and seeks to chosen.
supplement what ever he hears with reasoning, They walk
stands to attain true knowledge. And the ones the path to
who make it to the pinnacle of glory are always success, as
connoisseurs of the art of reasoning. they welcome
the right sort of
In this multifarious world of hustle and bustle, change by rolling out
people hardly find time to be themselves, leave the red carpet, no matter
alone to reason out things. Thus in course of what risk it necessitates. It's Another
time, they tend to slowly lose the innate power these sorts of risks that are sector.
of reasoning, and start to take things as they are. accepted by those who succeed, bank in
On the contrary, the fittest are those who survive reluctantly accepted by those who fear to commit
by making the correct use of the opportunities succeed and totally avoided by some for fear of a modern
that knock on their doors. They try to reason out big fiasco. two, thi
every single thing they come across. This doesn't various
mean they are always correct. They still do err, Take for example, the instance that lead to the forthcom
but the decisions they make are whole hearted birth of the electronic watches. The story goes was to a
ones. As Albert Einstein rightly said, "Anyone back to Japan's greatest economic meltdown. A bankin
who has never made a mistake has never tried scientist from Japan, during one of his research connect
anything new". By mastering the art of experiments, came up with a miraculous result - through
reasoning, they have become seasoned in the art the methodology required for making electronic banking
of decision-making. They never regret the road watches. Being steadfast and patriotic, he
adjudge
informed all the major Japanese firms that, he
new sce
was ready to offer the copyright of his invention
would s
for reasonable compensation. Rather than
of symp
accepting his offer, one of the Japanese firms did
survey
a great mistake by not only failing to recognize
issue. A
the significance of his invention, but also
without
satirically ridiculing him and his invention in
proposi
the media. This incident gave birth to the awe-
inspiring digital Swiss watches, after a Swiss futile in
major, realising the great potential the invention encumb
had, acquired the copyright for lump sum. The failed to
Swiss major then grew by leaps and bounds. Do "One m
you now realise the importance of making a successo
shift at the right time? way for
'Globali
 Destiny (re)written!!!
thi
ar IT
Another success story comes from the banking
sector. Two decades ago, a hugely popular
d, bank in America, appointed a technical
fear to committee to look into the posibility of
fear of a modernising the bank. Within a fortnight or
two, this committee came up with a report on
various developments, feasible in the
d to the forthcoming fiscal quarters. One among those
ry goes was to automate the bank with computers and
down. A banking devices like ATMs, thereby
esearch connecting every nook and corner of the world
s result - through networking- the idea behind core
ectronic banking solutions. The then CEO of the bank
otic, he
adjudged that, though the introduction of the
that, he
new scenario would bulge their profit bag, it
vention
would show the door for many employees. Out
er than
of sympathy for his employees, he asked for a
rms did
survey to be conducted among them on the
cognize
issue. As expected, the employees voted "Nay"
ut also
without raising too many quibbles about the
ntion in
proposition of the committee. The deal went
he awe-
a Swiss futile in a slapdash fashion. The CEO, who was
encumbered with the power of deciding, again,
vention
failed to read the business paradigm that states
um. The
"One man's loss is another's gain". His
nds. Do
successor, though, took the risk and paved the
aking a
way for core banking - the first step towards
'Globalisation'.
Srishti ‘09 63
The phantoms of fear are more fearsome than
reality. If any Indian entrepreneur can claim to
have understood this fact, it would be none other
than Mr.Narayanamoorthy, the founder of the
leading India-based software firm, Infosys. His
resolve and voracious appetite to succeed made
him mortgage his wife's jewels for US$250,
though he and his family were in a state of
penury. He wrestled the fear of risk and failure,
overcame it, and now, stands successful till date.
Had he not had the courage to make the shift, he
would have renounced his business unborn and
stood without fulfilling his dream.
A change, for the purpose of changing, or an
ostentatious change, or a tentative change
decided by a capricious person often backfires.
But to savour the taste of success, a premeditated
change or a shift in paradigm, decided at the right
time, by a right person, that might yield fruitful
consequences, is a welcome one.
Once you overcome your fear of risks and failure,
you succeed. Does some kind of fear haunt your
mind still? Then, you shall never realise your
dreams. The very purpose of life is to live a life of
purpose. So, Think! Act! Succeed! Better late than
never!
64 Srishti ‘09 C. Sakthi Swaroop
IV year ECE Crushe

What yo

Crushed
consequ
most triv
<< JUST ANOTHER CRUSH >> importan
and you
loving it

H aving a crush is like walking through life catch a glimpse of her. And when you do see her same jok
wearing rose-tinted glasses. Everything outside class, you can feel your heart jump all the
retard. O
around seems so simple, so way to your head giving you such a high that
are one.
uncomplicated. As many may already know, there everything around blacks out - Except her. Looking
the nigh
is a very distinct difference between having a crush at your crush is like looking at the sun. You look at
pointless
and falling in love. In the case of the latter, it is her for a second, and then you look away. But in
that time, you would’ve seen enough to keep you stupid ar
understood that when you make efforts to build a
going for the rest of the day. You involuntarily divine at
relationship, you expect the same in return. But
when you have a crush, the most beautiful part is become another person, and start looking for ways Somewh
that it doesn’t matter if your crush does not have to impress her, or in some cases, atleast let her
you find
crush on you too. You still end up having fun all the know you exist. Some of the sure-shot ways of
missing
way through. You practically live on cloud nine finding out if your friend has a crush on someone
going th
everyday. Now I don’t know much about falling in are if:
Maybe y
love, because fortunately or unfortunately, It never
1) They talk really loud in English (which they’d things, m
did happen. But for a crush, I think I have enough
never do otherwise) when that person around. matter,
‘work’ experience to bring out this article. Many of
you may have your own experiences. Since I had meant to
2) They dress up really well, girls behaving
the opportunity, I just thought I’d put out my you grad
excessively girly and guys a little too macho when
perspective. that special someone is around. that onc
slowly fa
Personally, I feel that the experience of having a 3) The guy will deliberately try to bring up that girl’s into, or s
crush can be divided into three phases. The first name in the conversation (or vice versa), just to see
phase is Impressions, the second phase is Bliss, if he can learn something new about her. This pha
and the third stage is Failure (or maybe not). and bitte
4) He just blurts it out unintentionally. Trust me, I did memora
Now I believe that the first it once. lessons
stage is the best and most is bitter f
Regardless of how many efforts you put in, or how
fulfilling. This is when you end of p
much time it takes, when she finally looks at you for
realize you actually have a unintent
the first time, you feel this simple sense of
crush on someone. That
satisfaction, something you’d never feel even if you zone, or
person, who seemed so
unintentionally aced your mid semester. Once this former a
normal until then, suddenly
task has somehow been accomplished, you’ll want that bef
starts looking extraordinarily
more. Maybe a smile, a wave, or just a simple ‘Hi’. already k
beautiful. You don’t know
Any of these, and you are set for phase two.
how it happened or when it Rakshab
happened. But at that Now there are a few people who just aren’t that hapless
moment, all else will matter greedy (or maybe they just don’t have the guts) to attack w
little or nothing to you. From work for that sign. They are just happy the first them wi
the very next day, you start phase worked out and aren’t bothered where million v
going about every day of phase two is heading. In six years of ‘work’ around a
your otherwise ordinary life experience, I too found myself being content a the gro
with your crush in mind. You couple of times. And due to various personal
start listening to tacky love songs all of a sudden. happeni
reasons, reasons my fellow students may thought,
You choose your clothes with the intention of understand, my relationship somersaulted to
impressing her(/him). You walk past her classes, fact that
phase three. But when you do make it phase two,
even though they’re a mile away from yours, just to me, If it w
it’s pure bliss.
 Crushed Srishti ‘09 65
What you do in phase two is of little or no To this day, every time I pray, I thank god for not
consequence in phase three. You talk about the letting that happen to me, and I thank my few
most trivial issues as if they’re matters of national crushes, wherever you are, for not putting me in that
importance. She tells you the dumbest of jokes situation.
and you find yourself laughing like a retard, and
loving it at the same time. You try cracking the There are others who may find themselves being
see her same joke amongst your peers, and still feel like a mercilessly jilted, wherein their crush will confess
p all the his/her love for some other jerk. And a few of these
retard. Only this time, you realize that maybe you
igh that poor souls will be forced into the torture of listening to
are one. All those unending phone calls through
Looking their crush yapping about her love for this ‘other’ guy
the night, hundreds of messages in the inbox,
u look at (@#!*).
pointless conversations in the lunch hour, and
y. But in
eep you stupid arguments make this phase both silly and Though you can be really angry for your former
oluntarily divine at the same time. crush for all or any of the above
for ways reasons, I still say the last phase is
t let her
Somewhere through phase two,
you find that there is something
“ Looking at your sweet in its own way. Why? At the end,
ways of
missing in the relationship. It is not crush is like none of this matters! That’s exactly
omeone
going the way you wanted it to. looking at the sun. though you’ve hit rock bottom, you
what I said in the first place. Even
Maybe you are not doing the right
h they’d things, maybe the right things don’t
You look at her for can still climb all the way up, dust
nd. matter, or maybe it was just not a second, and then yourself off, and get ready for the next
ride. In the case of a crush, there is
ehaving
meant to be. Whatever the reason, you look away. ” always light at the end of the tunnel.
you gradually realize that the spark
ho when Always.
that once fueled the crush was
slowly fading away. This is when you slowly slip So people, I just want to say that having a crush is
hat girl’s into, or sometimes crash into phase three. one of the best things that can happen in your teen or
st to see
This phase, in my opinion, is the most confusing early adult life. You’ll feel like it’s everything you’ve
and bittersweet of all the three. It is also the most ever wanted and it’s all that you need to keep you
me, I did memorable. This is when the guy or girl learns going. Whether you take it to the next level or not is
lessons (often the hard way) about heartbreak. It up to you. If you do, I wish you all the best. And if you
is bitter for a various reasons. Sometimes, at the don’t, better luck next time! And remember, for a
, or how
end of phase two, some may find themselves crush, there is always a next time. Just like an
t you for
unintentionally, yet gleefully sitting in the ‘Friends’ extremely clichéd, yet ever-famous movie tagline
ense of
zone, or even worse, the ‘Brother’ zone. Both the goes:
en if you
Once this former and latter may come as such a rude shock “Someone Somewhere is waiting for You” ;-)
u’ll want that before they realize what hit them, they’re
mple ‘Hi’. already knocked out cold.
.
Rakshabandhan is absolute doomsday for these
en’t that hapless creatures. They literally suffer a heart
guts) to attack when they see their crush walking toward
the first them with a rakhi in her hand. Even though a
d where million voices in their head are urging them to turn
f ‘work’ around and bolt, they just stand there, nailed to
ontent a the ground, wondering how this could be
personal happening to them. And before they complete that
ts may thought, they are forced to come to terms with the
ulted to
fact that it is the end of yet another crush. Believe
ase two,
me, If it was me, I’d run like my life depended on it.

CRUSHED
 India S

i Shining
Aravind. G.

ndia IV year, CSE

– oh really?
I ndia Shining was a political slogan that was
popularised by the then-ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) during the 2004 Indian General
Elections. Though it didn’t win the election for them, it
did its part in promoting India internationally. And
since then, for quite a while, we have been associating
these terms to any successful endeavour of which India
is a part. Hence it’s no surprise that we find these
words repeated time and again.
LOOKING AT BOTH FACES OF THE COIN:
We are now entering into our 62nd year of Indian
Independence. India has developed a peculiar attitude
- one in which tradition refuses to bid adieu and
modernity fiercely pushes its way forward. There are
numerous fronts on which we have emerged
triumphant after all these years of hard toil. The media
as a whole seems to be trumpeting the rise of India as a
world superpower. While it would be foolhardy to list
out all these here, as the list is innumerable, a few
definitely deserve mention. These include the Right to
Information Act (RTI) - a real boon for the citizens
provided it’s made use of properly, Chandrayaan I –
India’s first mission to the moon, the burgeoning rate
at which Urban areas are developing, the IT boom, a
reasonable decline in poverty levels, our emergence as
one of the fastest growing economies in the world etc
to name a few. While these help in depicting India as an
up-and-coming prosperous Nation, I do basically feel
that they represent only one side of the coin. Let us be How do t
fair, though. dream of
Most of the India Shining claims are true only for ten too busy
do, how T
percent of the population. The other side of the coin
these issu
deserves to be mentioned. The poor seem to be as
poor as before. Prices are rising rapidly. The middle The Sen
class has risen, and the wealthy have become more was on
visible than ever before. Weekly news magazines like booming
India Today, The Week, send out glossy supplements worth r
filled with very expensive gadgets, and I wonder how country
many of its readers can afford them. Anyway, all this have a b
grandeurs doesn’t seem conducive to a peaceful mind. millions o
can be re
sector in
or autom
grown
anticipate

India’s h
It is also
slipped
Develop
Develop
measurin
and healt
living.” A
poor in
Occupied
Ours is
number o
is still ho
where ne
between
and anem
under
malnouri
girls. To
states, no
That is,
mandato
destruct
developm
 India Shining - oh really? Srishti ‘09 67
G.
E

migrations. That in turn, has seen more children drop

out of schools and even colleges in large numbers. Dalit
and Adivasi students are the worst-affected. Studies
from crisis districts clearly show that. For too many,
there is no work to be found. And quality employment is
unavailable for a major portion of our populance.

Other Issues under the scanner:

citizens
In the villages, the collapse of communities has
ayaan I –
destroyed social bonds and broken up families. The
ning rate
debt owed to moneylenders has mounted as farmers
boom, a
are denied credit by banks. (It is simpler today to get
rgence as
low-interest loans to buy a Mercedes Benz than it is to
world etc
raise one for agricultural purposes.) As what little
ndia as an
remains of the public health system deteriorates,
cally feel
people are at the mercy of private providers. Health
Let us be How do they bear it, the vast majority who can’t even expenditure is now the second fastest growing
dream of possessing any of it? Maybe, the press was component of rural family debt.
y for ten too busy gawking at what celebrities wear, what they
do, how Team India is currently performing; I reckon Last May saw problems in water supply in the slums of
the coin
these issues took a back seat. Mumbai. Thousands of women queued up for water in
to be as
the slums each morning for hours. In and around the
e middle The Sensex might have taken a tumble now, but it same Mumbai, others had no such problems. There
me more was on a dream run earlier with the markets were 24 amusement and water parks using 50 billion
zines like booming and the investors thrilled. But it is litres of water a day for the entertainment of
plements worth recalling that this happens in a the rich. In Rajasthan, plagued by water
der how country where 65% of households do not It can be scarcity for five years, we plan more water
y, all this have a bank account. And where tens of reckoned that parks and golf courses. A single golf course
ful mind. millions of farmers live and die-in debt. It the fastest takes 1.8 to 2.3 million litres of water a day
can be reckoned that the fastest growing growing sector through the season. On that amount of water,
sector in India is not IT or software, textiles in India is not one lakh villagers in that State could have all
or automobiles, but inequality. This has IT or software, their water needs met right through summer.
grown faster than one could have textiles or This unfolds in a country that wants to spend
anticipated over the past decade. automobiles, what equals roughly a fourth of its GDP on
but inequality. linking tens of rivers.
India’s horrendous ranking:
It is also in these past few years, that India In the mindset inequality has bred amongst us,
slipped from rank 124 to 127 in the Human one aspect that stands out as perhaps the
Development Index of the United Nations saddest, is the absence of outrage over the farmers’
Development Programme. That is an index suicides across the country. Too many academics,
measuring average achievement in terms of “a long researchers and journalists have looked away. And
and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of nowhere in media was exclusive coverage given to this
living.” And it shows that you are better off being issue.
poor in Botswana, El Salvador, Guatemala or the
Globalisation – or re-colonisation perhaps?
Occupied Territories of the Palestine - than in India.
Ours is a country which accounts for the largest Globalisation has contributed to ever widening circles
number of malnourished children in the world, which of prosperity and we in India have benefited from it. But
is still home to about half the planet’s hungry people, its benefits have not been equitably distributed.
where nearly nine out of 10 pregnant women aged Ensuring inclusive growth within nations, and inclusive
between 15 and 49 years suffer from malnutrition globalisation across nations, is a central challenge that
and anemia, and where about half of all children faces us. The development gains that many countries
under five suffer moderate or severe have made are today threatened by a possible food
malnourishment or stunting, with most of them being crisis, a global energy crisis and most recently,
girls. To complicate matters further, in at least three unprecedented upheavals in international financial
states, no mid-day meal scheme was in place till 2003. markets. The net impact of these problems is that both
That is, a year after the Supreme Court made it the industrialised economies and the developing
mandatory for them to have one. The planned economies face inflation and a slowdown in growth
destruction of agriculture in the name of after several years of robust expansion. Industrialised
development has pushed millions into mass countries can afford periods of slow growth.
68 Srishti ‘09
Developing countries certainly cannot. The explosion
of financial innovation, unaccompanied by credible
systemic regulation, has made the financial system
vulnerable. The resulting crisis of confidence
threatens global prosperity in the increasingly
interdependent world, in which we live. The world
food crisis is the cumulative consequence of the
neglect of agriculture in the developing world, aided by
agricultural subsidies in the developed world.
Possible corrective measures – How about
‘Indianisation’!
While there are several issues to be addressed, there
are a few things that we as Indians can definitely do
right now. We need new technologies, new
institutional responses and above all a global compact
to ensure food and livelihood security. Also we could
resort to using Indian Products, while not completely
isolating foreign goods. (Hi! I am not being insane, it
definitely makes sense). There are quite a few Indian
brands that one can be proud of and these include
Bajaj, Rexona, Hindustan Lever, Tata Motors, Wipro
etc. with products catering to all necessities that one
can ask for. There are multiple surveys that point out
how much of a fad India has for foreign goods (do I
have to mention Coke or Pepsi). As a result of this,
quite a lot of money has been siphoned out of the
country (Rs. 4000 crore during the financial year 2006-
2007) while the same could have been utilised not just
for the betterments of Indian brands but for the
people as well in numerous ways. Another suggestion
that I would like to put forth may not go down well
with most people but still worth giving a thought. The
Government is spending whopping amounts of money
on our education and to make it more affordable to
the masses (Would you really believe if I bring to your
notice that the average amount spent by the
government on a student during an academic year is
around 15000-20000 an year and this figures are
definitely bound to rise over the years). With all such
efforts from their end, does it really make sense when
some of the brightest minds invest their valuable time
and efforts in developed countries like the US,
Australia etc. While this would bring in a lot of foreign
India Shining - oh really?
revenue to the country, one thing that has to be
sacrificed is their valuable services to our motherland.
In that sense, one may find that Bollywood actors may
hold India more beloved than any other (and you know
why). No harm intended and regrets if readers find this
comment rude.
How about participating?
There are many NGO and Government Initiatives out
there that have been setup for the betterment of the
Nation and it is only required that we actively
participate with emancipation of the various ills of
society plaguing the rural and urban areas alike, not
equally though, like poverty, illiteracy being the sole
aim. Also it can be assuredly said that such things will
not just be of immense benefit to us, but also one that
will be able to provide such immense satisfaction and
everlasting happiness without draining our physical
and monetary resources.
IS ’REAL’ INDIA SHINING?
We can say that India is a country where ‘The old think
old, and the new think new’. An India where feminism
and women power are being shouted from the
rooftops, while in some remote corner, a helpless
female dies in the name of dowry. India is an India of
fashion shows and models. But India is also an India of
beggars and the underprivileged. And this is a reality
we cannot ignore. Is India, then, shining? To those born
with silver spoons in their mouth, life is a merry circus-
a kaleidoscope of color and mirth. They don’t fear a
fall; there are velvet cushions to hold them up.
Monetary concerns don’t haunt them-money flows in
without their turning a hair. Power, wealth, influence,
they have it all. India for them is the grandeur of its
`modernity’ - the shopping malls, the gadgets that
make their lives simpler, the new cars that roll out
every year, and the expensive parties that they attend.
Life for them is an easy journey, to nowhere in
particular. To them, India shines-and will always do so.
Is this the real India? And is India shining? The da
in the
WITH RURAL INDIA SHINING, INDIA WILL
SHINE! since i
launch
Erode
Thanks
and re
daught
their ro
club w
'clicks'
made t
yearnin
the nos
 really? Srishti ‘09 69
as to be
therland.
A REPORT ON THE CIT 1983 BATCH
tors may SILVER JUBILEE REUNION
ou know 27th and 28th December, 2008
s find this
and
ALUMNI DAY
tives out 14th March, 2009
nt of the
actively
us ills of
like, not
the sole
hings will
one that
ction and
physical

old think
feminism
rom the
helpless
n India of
n India of
a reality
ose born
ry circus-
n’t fear a
hem up.
flows in
nfluence,
eur of its
gets that
roll out
y attend.
where in
ys do so.
The day was indeed a special occasion for the old students of CIT as they got together with their family
in the campus. The groundwork for this Silver Jubilee Reunion was started well before January 2007,
A WILL
since it involved the hectic work of collecting the contacts of 195 people. The job was made easier by
launching a website for the 1983 batch. Meanwhile meetings were arranged in Chennai, Coimbatore,
Erode and Neyveli to know the updates and to boost the momentum of the process.

Thanks to the organizing committee, untiring efforts had paid-off. Everybody came with their family
and rejoiced their good old days walking around the refurbished campus. Taking their sons and
daughters to their hostels, they remembered their gleeful hostel life and they could not resist visiting
their rooms where they had once stayed. As arranged earlier they had a splendid dinner at the Jenny
club with an entertaining magic show. As the second day was allotted for snaps, there were a lot of
'clicks' around the campus, with their family and their peers. The melodious musical performance
made the pleasant December morning even more special. The blissful reunion ended with everyone
yearning for another get-together as they became emotional and sentimental. The day had ended but
the nostalgic feeling of the reunion will be ever-green.
 ARCHANA Asokan
SNEHAL Jain Delhi D
HARINI Ragothaman
II year, IT You are
longer s
that stud

arot
Tarun
Tarot Tarun
In the line of Om Kapoor, Zeishar, Himes Bhai comes
Kilijoshi Kanan in his new avatar Tarot Tarun. The
reincarnated KK now TT has lost none of his lollu or the
wisdom with which he predicts your fortunes. We have
dealt you the cards. Let’s see what you end up with.

Rajasthan Royals
You might be the underdogs, but who knows every
mistake may turn out to be a hair in a bald pate. Fear
not of shame, for you have Shane. Your fairy
godmother is a close friend of Sarah Palin and she can
exert her influence.

Chennai Super Kings

You might be ferocious
lions at the start but you will
be reduced to pathetic meows in
by the end. But all is not lost. On
the coming full moon, what you lost til
l now will reach you in unexpected
wrong turns. Yeah, you are right, you
share the same fate as Dhoni, our new Ad
Film sensation.

Kings XI Punjab
Your Kismat cross connection will lead you to be slapped
around by all your so called bhais. Don’t fret because you will
be offered promising roles in all mega serials for your skill in shedding tons of
tears at short notice.
 Delhi Daredevils
You are always content to sit high and dry. Nobody is going to be fooled by your name. Your field of action no
longer suits you. Join the Lalu Prasad Yadav School of Business. TT with his infinite wisdom has found out
that students should give four cows and two goats as donation. Pig donors earn extra points.

Mumbai Indians
Your lucky stars are all missing. Your only way to avoid misfortune is to go on a long medical
leave and seek them. Make sure you come back only after all the drama is over. This
way no one can blame you if any misfortune befalls in your absence. Worried about
attendance lag-Run to Sachin for advice.

Deccan Chargers
You are totally out of charge this season. A tea from the college mess
will charge you up. The greater the size of the organism found
floating in your tea, the greater the charge. By the way your bottle
of V.V.S coconut oil has already expired. Time to replace it.

Kolkata Knight Riders

You will impress everyone with your clothes and style but
that is about all that you can do. Your gang’s poster boy
can do nothing but flaunt his six pack abs. Yet the sun will
shine on you. You will not have any financial problem.
Generous contribution to the TT trust will solve all your
problems.

Royal Challengers
You will be ravaged by internal conflicts. Even TT who
commands unbelievable power and influence can do
nothing to save you from your never-ending list
of problems. Your only consolation is that there
will be no dearth of Royal Challenge to revive
you when you are depressed.

in
If you guys are not the supporters of any of
til the above
teams, you will
be happy to know
that you share your
fate with those of the cheer girls. No
matter what you do or don’t do, what you do(n’t)
wear, you will find yourself to be the center of attraction.
 world,
exist.
e

destro
ag

chaos
Propon
p

been a
en

bloody
to the
ld

religion
go

The po
Why power
masse

theism
is not necessarily
public

The Ba
roots, d
was m
a solution seekin
Now, t
“ There's probably no God. So stop worrying and enjoy your Life. ” be abo
If you have been reading the papers recently or if you have been to London of-late, you would have a prac
probably noticed this, This is the newest avatar of the atheist campaign that is gaining popularity globally. The violenc
fact that the campaign was able to raise £140,000, £135,000 more than what its founders originally intended, one o
while human welfare organizations are struggling for funds speaks for itself. politici
the wo
Some of the recent events that have taken place in the name of religion and God are which
certainly very disturbing and undermine the very aim of faith. These events lend credit the sel
to the claim that the path of religion leads to destruction of self, as well as society. openly
human
This raises a big question. Is atheism the only solution? Will atheism show us the way
to end this madness? Perhaps not! Instead of trying to prove why religion is the best, I'll The la
demonstrate why atheism is not exactly the best solution. have
Howev
Religion has been the founding stone of civilization. It sets the basis on which man
pronou
could congregate and build empires that would not vanish at the touch of the hat. In fact, religion was initially no
contro
more than a set of beliefs and rules strung together. It kept communities from disintegrating and provided a
is anot
platform to settle internal disputes and to maintain order in the community. Ancient Egypt or Rome could be cited
change
as good illustrations to the role that religion played in shaping them as powerful civilizations.
person
Religion has been the cornerstone of civilization and it still is. We might have come a long way been a
from hunting in the wild, but Man's instincts have largely remained the same and it takes an exte
little time for him to return to his ancient unsavory ways. As the world embraces is a c
atheism more, it has also been taking a step back in terms of toward
morals. Of course, it might be purely co-incidental. But then again, While
it might not. mind,
person
The main reason that we have been able
to come so far through all the hard What
times is religion. Think of a religion

K. Sandeep
II year, EEE
 Why Atheism is not necessarily a solution
world, where religion as a concept, did not
exist. In that world, mankind would have
destroyed itself a hundred times over by now
chaos would have reigned supreme.
Proponents of atheism argue that religion has
been and still is the root cause of many a
bloody conflict. They quote from the Crusades
to the recent terrorist attacks. However,
religion in itself is rarely the cause for violence.
The politics behind it is the culprit. People in
power abuse their ability to reach out to the
masses, use religion as a tool and bend the
public to do their bidding, all for selfish gains.
The Babri Masjid problem, despite its religious
roots, did not flare up just because of religion. It
was more of an attention-
seeking effort by politicians. The laws of today's political
Now, the next question would administration have been down.
be about the necessity of such adopted from religious
e a practice which perpetrates codes. However, the reach
y. The violence. But, religion is just o f r e l i g i o n i s m o r e
tended, one of the tools used by pronounced than the law.
politicians. All major religions in
the world are built on ethics,
God are which enumerate ways for the betterment of
nd credit the self and the society as a whole. All religions
y. openly condemn acts of mal-intent to fellow
human beings.
the way
best, I'll The laws of today's political administration
have been adopted from religious codes.
However, the reach of religion is more
ch man
pronounced than the law. 'Crime cannot be
tially no
controlled unless the criminal decides to forgo',
vided a
is another popular saying. This shows that the
be cited
change must be effected from within the
person. No matter how it is framed, law has
been and will always be seen by the public as
an external agent meant to govern them and it
is a common mentality to feel rebellious
towards any external force that directs us.
While the law reaches out to the analytical
mind, religion has the power to reach the
person's emotional core.
What would happen if the world shuns
religion? There are people who do not need the
Srishti ‘09 73
guiding hand or religion to choose the right
path, but the majority, without an external
stimulus might choose the wrong path, a path
of corruption, lies and deceit. Of course, I might
be wrong, but then there is a bright chance that
this might happen.
Atheists might say that 'atheism' is simply the
non-belief in the existence of God but for all
practical considerations, when there is no form
of higher authority to answer, the individual will
be lax in following. There is a good chance that
thoughts like, "I'm not responsible to anyone,
so why should I care?" will crop up. When
combined with the thought, "I'll circumvent my
rule this one time. After all it is a rule I set for
myself",it forms a deadly duo
that is likely to pull the person
Religion also provides the
necessary incentive for the
individual to be considerate
and helpful, without any
reason. It may just be the fear
that drives it, but the end result is desirable. But
of-course, the person need not be religious to
be ‘good' to others.
Moreover, without a consensus on the rules to
be followed, atheism falls short in bringing a
peaceful and progressive society. As an added
bonus, man can fall back to the bastion of
religion when he feels isolated. It is one of the
most soothing forms of escapism that helps an
individual to get back on his feet.
Let me come back to the first line of this article,
the quote on the London's buses. A society
being devoid of rules develops chaos and
unrest, which atheism seems to point to.
Simply put, atheism does not have the faculty
to manage the complications arising out of the
clash of individual agendas in a society without
a unified code of conduct. Religion is nowhere
close to being the foolproof method of
preserving order in a society, whereas,
Atheism is just as good at being a solution as it
is to being the source of troubles.
 From C

From CIT to Townhall If you d

doomed
To travel from CIT to mouth,
Townhall at five pm crowded
in a town bus is the the see
best way to learn clue ho
management jostling a
skills. Once you
reach Townhall you Your no
would get to know how every se
the mortal body, except from the
for the soul gets kicked, squashed, fragranc
squeezed, pulped and in that vein, soap of
add a couple of adjectives that would would s
suit a banana inside a mixer. who wo
palms,
After a minute or so of waiting in the clutchin
CIT bus stop, you would see people “hanky”
get all tensed up, as if awaiting a yellow (l
rhinoceros from Kaziranga. At a should b
distance one would catch a glimpse of a thought
misshapen object with seemingly extra extreme
attachments slowly waddling towards the bus carry ch
stop. And, of course, by now you would know breath a
that the frame is nothing but a bus, stuffed with bulk tow
the extra-ordinary, ever resourceful citizens of light. T
Coimbatore. shutting
is a sten
The bus, if it is private, screeches to a stop and
emptied
the conductor is the real
to knock
player here. Of all the
optimists we could ever The twis
meet, this guy is the best behind y
for imagining his bus to be question
of the size of a football walk on
ground where everyone building
M.A. Uttara has a place."Keep moving far, far a
III year, ECE in, move, move", is all he there an
says repeatedly as he tightly in
calls for more of the junta to come in. They fit unfortun
themselves even in the nooks and corners of the
the zip o
bus before one realizes that the
scream
bus is standing lopsidedly, in
would s
fact shaking ominously
screams
near the edges of the
them sh
amazingly small bridge
knowing
near hopes. Here one has
their life
visions of Vishnu and Shiva
alarmingly near, but the It's the l
valiant hero of the day stomps
their ins
his hoof over the accelerator and
the bus whizzes forward.
 From CIT to Townhall Srishti ‘09 75
ll If you don't have the exact change, you are independent for more than 60 years. It would
doomed. You might not be able to open your start with the old dame asking the conductor for
T to mouth, let alone your purse in the extremely the whereabouts of the stop (though it's obvious
pm crowded area. Then you would find yourself in that she has been taking the same route from the
the the seemingly middle of the bus, and have no time she was born). Admitting her frailty, she
arn clue how you came over there (Partly by the starts the torture of elbowing the person in front
nt jostling and partly by the quaking of the bus).
of her fifteen minutes before her stop arrives (in a
you
Your nose would find a whiff of something new journey, not lasting more than eighteen minutes)
you
ow every second. From the horrible stench of sweat and start edging her way towards the source of
ept from the college boy standing behind you to the light. The wackiest part is that they ALWAYS, (the
ed, fragrance of the Johnson and Johnson baby caps indicate, that it is indeed ALWAYS) get
ein, soap of the baby screaming beside you. You stuck just at their stop and usually get entangled
uld would see palms searching for the conductor with a college student's or school child's bag.
who would be traveling on the foot board. The The kid screams and the lady develops a morbid
palms, some soft, some very rough, some fear that the bus would move off without dumping
the clutching a flowery dainty her and she tries, with the heart
ple “hanky” and some alarmingly of an Olympic swimmer (who
g a yellow (later struck me that it
If you don't have the exact finds that a guy has just inched
a should be turmeric, for I had
f a change, you are doomed. past him when he is just half a
thought that it might be an
xtra You might not be able to foot from the finish line), to wade
extreme case of jaundice) all
bus carry change. You gasp for open your mouth, let her way through. The kid
ow breath and manouevre your alone your purse in the screams more as the bag
with bulk towards any source of extremely crowded area. somehow gets entangled around
s of light. This time you try his neck. And the lady calls out
shutting your nose, for there the names of a thousand Indian
is a stench from the girl in jeans who must have deities to help her, who in the form of a tough
and
emptied three or four bottles of perfume, enough looking lady come in to the hullabaloo. Expertly,
eal
to knock you out for a couple of days. she untangles the duo. While the kid is gasping
the
ver for breath, the old lady tumults out of the bus and
The twist in the tale comes when a co-passenger
est just remembers that she had forgotten to tell her
behind you finally decides to get off the bus. The
be question is HOW? It would be more tangible to son that she is out.
ball walk on the scaffolding across a fifty storey "Chinraaaaasu...." she screams from outside
one building. You tend to think that your destination is
ing (uncannily like Manorama in "chinnagounder").
far, far away, but before you know it, it's already
he When she gets no response from the other side,
there and you punch yourself through a mass of
he she is all panicked now. Before we can witness
tightly intertwined human bodies. Sometimes,
y fit the next scene of mother-son hugging or an
unfortunately, women with long hair get it stuck in
the estranged mother's melancholy, the bus
the zip of a hand bag of a bob-haired girl and they
scream "my stop, my hair, my stop". Then the girl catapults away. The one sole non participant
would scream, "hey, leave my bag"...Conductor observing to this kind of high level mega serial
screams "quick quick". Ultimately, the three of drama is the speaker of the FM radio,
them shriek, and the passengers up front smile broadcasting a "Kittu mama, Susie mami" show.
knowingly, as they have been through this all
their life. If you could really manage all these and still,
safely land at your destination, it's fantastic; you
It's the ladies above 60 who finally get to realize have beaten a B-school student. Is there a better
their insecurity in this country that has been way to learn management skills?
76 Srishti ‘09 Mukunda Shankar
III year Mech Team W

Simultan
Team Work all of us
encounte
instant-fi
team. Ni

C
ome third year, the urge to set ourselves apart really hoped for a quick reply. He said that he would be complex
was really killing us. We had had enough of really happy to help us in whatever way possible. I With his
being just another brick in the wall. We really couldn't believe my ears. Bino, my supercharged pal rectifying
wanted to do something that would set us apart and was ready to go to Bangalore to pick up the truck on The list
Shaastra 2008 provided us with an opportunity to do Sunday (just after the midsem) and by making this
platform
that. Being mechanical engineers, there were a lot of one-day visit, he saved a lot of time for our team. On
system, t
events in store for us, but the event that stole away the his way back, kids were crowding near him to look at
between
limelight was "FIRE n' ICE": an event based on the box of the truck, and some people even assumed
him to be a salesman and started asking him the price course th
Internal Combustion Engines This event was about
building a mini monster-truck (yes, a real monster of his product!! Bino arrived with the truck at my place. assembly
truck), powered by an IC Engine. Sounds ultra cool? This was where the fun started. The thing
Oh yeah, you bet it was! that real
Bring me to Life- Song of the truck major pro
The gelling of the team The truck was simply a masterpiece. We admired it, hope, so
There was no doubt in my mind when it came to from every angle, but work had to start. At the right motivate
choosing my teammates. Bino-my classmate, Karthik time, we got expert advice from Murarie, an RC worked m
(from EEE), Shreyas and Nikith (both from other enthusiast. When we showed him our designs for the idea eve
colleges) were my obvious choices due to the fact that truck, he advised us to stick to the original design as Bino was
they were both talented and dedicated. And more and the g
much as possible. It sounded sensible, but, we knew
importantly, all of us end up having a fun time together. role in the
that there was a lot of work to be done. We got our act
The arrival of the truck together immediately. Bino and I worked on the CAD
"VRRRR
We had our first meeting at Barista. Being absolute models. We started with the main platform, housing
MMM", th
amateurs in RC racing we decided to buy and study an the engine and the gearbox. We knew that the
caged
existing RC monster truck. There was a 2-fold benefit meshing of the gears required precision, so we
Coimbato
in this, first, we would get the required complex parts, borrowed a digital vernier from the Civil department. direction
and second, it would give us an insight into all the We are really grateful to the department for their timely
minute details to be kept in mind while designing help. In a week's time we completed modeling all the The com
another truck. After having selected our "expensive
required parts. For the platform alone, we decided to We reach
toy", our first hurdle was to transport it to India from the
go in for EDM wire-cut, a precision manufacturing our truck
USA. Shipping was not an option. I tried asking my
friends around, if they knew anyone returning from the process. All other parts were machined prelims. T
US. I knew this was a futile effort, but miraculously my conventionally. Our expenses had gone way over the weight pu
classmate's brother was returning to India in 2 days. I roof, and we still had a part to manufacture - The out of co
was jumping for joy! I sent a mail immediately, and Chassis frame. We were in a fix. And suddenly, it CRITICA
dawned on me to make use of our Central controlle
Workshop. We took the materials to the depressi
workshop and started to work immediately. and we fi
With the assistant's initial help, we completed had been
most of the profile manually using hack-saw my hope
blades and filers - I felt like I was in the first year poured o
again! It seemed a near impossible task . But first in th
our timin
Bino was undeterred. In short, I would say that
drag race
he is an embodiment of dedication. He worked
from first
with the hacksaw and filer and brought the
gave ano
profile to shape after 5 hours of continuous
hard, and
manual labor! And to top it all, we had our mid
this was n
semesters the very next day!! But then, that's
one of o
Bino, who worked hard despite the
the next
pressure….kudos to him! through t
by eveni
 Team Work Srishti ‘09 77
Simultaneously, we were assembling our truck, and
all of us were working rigorously. Whenever we
encountered a hurdle, Shreyas came up with brilliant
instant-fix ideas! He was really the idea-factory of our
team. Nikith also came up with simple solutions to
would be complex problems! Karthik played a vital role too.
ossible. I With his portable driller, he worked his magic,
arged pal rectifying all the errors in the manufactured parts.
truck on The list of the parts we manufactured were the
king this
platform on which the engine sat, the suspension
eam. On
system, the steering, the chassis and the bulkheads
o look at * The thing that set our truck apart was the body
between which the differential is housed and of
assumed cover that really made it look like a monster!
the price course the wheel hubs, the most complex part of the
my place. assembly, that no other team had manufactured. * The fact that, we were the only ones to conform
The thing that set our truck apart was the body cover to most of the rules, gave us a sense of
that really made it look like a monster! We had a satisfaction.
major problem with the steering and I had given up
dmired it, hope, so had Karthik. But then it was Bino, who figured out the problem, and it hit us like a shockwave.
the right motivated me and made me realize my folly. Shreyas Apparently, by pushing our truck too hard, we had
an RC worked meticulously and came up with a quick fix destroyed the spring of the clutch, a highly crucial part.
ns for the idea even to this problem. Our morale was soaring. There is no way to fix a broken spring, so we had to get a
esign as Bino was the grease monkey, meshing the clutch new one. But this was not the kind of spring one can get
we knew and the gear box but then, I guess I had an important in a hardware shop; it was a specialized spring. Some
ot our act role in the team too! help from the the non-finalist Coimbatore teams, we
the CAD thought would be great. It was 11 pm and astoundingly
"VRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM enough, a Coimbatore team agreed to help us out. We
housing
MMM", the truck finally sprung to life!!! It looked like a went to Saidapet and got the part we were looking for.
that the
caged monster waiting for its prey! Force We came back by 12:30 am and then the moment of
, so we
Coimbatore looked to be heading in the right truth. We replaced the broken clutch, and like magic,
artment. direction!
eir timely we were back in the game! In a matter of 8 hours, it was
ng all the The competition time for the finals! While practicing, the truck developed
a snag. We realized that it was the same clutch
ecided to We reached IIT-M and wasted no time in fine-tuning
problem. This time, it was for me to take the lead. My
facturing our truck. Come 3rd October, we were geared for the
teammates who were cynical initially, acquiesced to fix
achined prelims. The first round comprised of a drag race and
the truck. We had just 5 minutes before our turn. But we
over the weight pulling event. While practicing, the truck spun
worked like an F1 pit-stop crew, and everything was
re - The out of control and banged against a concrete wall!
fixed just in time! (this time there was no damage to the
ddenly, it CRITICAL DAMAGE. I was filled with guilt being the
spring, it had just unhooked). We did two runs, it wasn't
Central controller. Everything was over. Even in that
really impressive and we stood only 5th. But there was
to the depression, Bino was undeterred. He motivated us
no sorrow in our hearts. We felt a great sense of
ediately. and we fixed the truck to make it run. But the damage
achievement! We felt the spirit of engineering!!! We felt
ompleted had been done. We did the weight pulling first, but
we were engineers!!
ack-saw my hopes weren't high. But then, divine grace
first year poured on us yet again, and to our surprise, we stood The fact that, we were the only ones to conform to most
ask . But first in that round! Next we tried the drag race, and of the rules, gave us a sense of satisfaction. Getting a
our timing wasn't bad and we stood fifth. After the consolation prize out of 50 participating teams from all
say that
drag race, we noticed that we had been dethroned over India was an added perk. The crux of the entire
e worked
from first place in the weight pulling event. So, we journey was that, we had learnt what it meant to work as
ught the
gave another try and pushed our truck a little too a team. There were a lot of ups and downs but all this
ntinuous
hard, and it caused further damage. We thought that was overshadowed by what we had achieved. It was
d our mid our undeterred spirit and mutual support that kept us
this was not something severe, but it turned out to be
en, that's going. Yes, there's a lot more room for improvement but
one of our worst nightmares. The results were out
ite the we're just kids in the arena of the big boys, and with
the next day. We stood fourth overall and were
through to the finals!!! We started mending the truck experience I'm sure one day, we'll win the first prize.
by evening…but it turned out to be too late. We Team work is divine!
78 Srishti ‘09 GenNe

GenNext
K: Of C
individua
importa
R: I wou
Ramkumar & Karthik
Karthik: Hi Dude .Wassup? IV year, ECE K: It may
Ram Kumar: Hey Man!! give roo
limitatio
Karthik: So,How's life ?? skills and
Ramkumar: Life's Good. I'm just a little concerned though… revolutio
reason w
Karthik: Concerned?
in the ne
Ram Kumar: Yeah! I'm worried about the changing attitude and lifestyle of generation next.
R: I even
K: Gen Nex? You mean people in their twenties?? drive a
R: Mostly…Well! What do you think? respons

K: I think we need more freedom, space &exposure to carve out a niche for ourselves. K: Freed
Focus ag
R: Freedom? But its mostly misused. "Wider is the gate, Broader is the temptation". motivati
K: Not Exactly. Present scenario is that, "we aren't acting but acted upon". Till we are 25, our parents make the
influence us in absolutely everything; All the way from the choosing the color of our jeans to the color of the famil
our future genes. For the next ten years, we become pliable to our wife's wishes & for the next 25, our life R: Wha
becomes children-centric. Then, one day our time is up. How many of us can say that, "I am what I am the cost
because of the choices I have made in my life?" unaccep
R: But don't you feel that the wisdom of our parents is necessary to guide us through this adulterated our pare
world? Do you think we are omniscient? at the sa
be consi
K: No, we may not be omniscient but neither are they. Empathetic Communication is certainly lacking. It
is said that, "No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be K: India
opened from the inside". Now, the sad part is that, our life is rife with these persuasions. not bec
derelict
R: If their guidance is beneficial, why shouldn't we accept it?
resource
K: All that guidance just makes us conservative. On the other hand, Steve Jobs (Apple), Bill system.
Gates(Microsoft), Michael Dell (Dell), Page and Brin(Google), Mark Zuckerburg (Face Book), were all 70% of o
entrepreneurs, and managed to make colossal fortunes in their early twenties. These guys had the Carte go. We a
Blanche to follow their heart and take tough decisions without being influenced. If our present attitude and to de
prolongs, we would never have such people who change the world in the near future.
May be
R: Hey! What about the lamentable condition of our culture? In the name of globalization, our culture is guarding
continuously degraded. In this so called "Connected world", we don't even know who our neighbor is. not with
Everyone is moving towards a nuclear family and is deprived of love and affection as in a joint family. No shown b
moral stories from Grand Parents, no advice from siblings, nothing. path.
K: In this fast world, change seems to be inevitable. Culture needs to evolve and adapt with time. Why not R: Hey h
"change for the good" as said by the first Afro American President Barack Obama in his historical
K: Hoo
acceptance speech, even though I am against the mushrooming nuclear family vogue.
complex
R: It doesn't stop there. Video Games, films, books and even cartoons contain a lot of violence which

n
instigates the younger lot to indulge in immoral activities. Juvenile delinquencies have flared up. To R: I gues
substantiate this, hear this piece of news, an altercation between two school students culminated in the we need
Ok bye d
killing of one guy by the other.
 GenNext Srishti ‘09 79
K: Of Course it is a matter of concern, but I don't feel it's an epidemic rather it is strictly confined to the
individual's moral values and conscience. Every system has pros and cons. But at the end of the day, the
important thing is which weighs significantly more. Perhaps, it is like sacrificing a candy for a cricket match.
R: I would definitely go for a candy.
hik
K: It may sound clichéd, but it’s worth mentioning: Our Current educational system is really sick. It doesn't
give room for innovation and creativeness. Even our country's vainglorious IT industry has a serious
limitation. Its Products are mostly non-transformational and non-revolutionizing. Projects requiring high
skills and research are mostly dealt by IBM, Accenture and other MNCs based in the US. The so called IT
revolution may even turn out to be a fleeting one. This is the
reason why we fear the Chinese influence in the software gamut
in the near future.
Mo
u stly..
R: I even have to mention the complacency of youth lagging in
Y o .Wel
ex? le in do y l! W
drive and motivation. We also ought to know our N o u h at
n p t
responsibility and the value of time and money. Ge n peo ties?? hink?
mea r twen
i
K: Freedom and responsibility is certainly a false dichotomy. the
Focus again shifts to granting liberty which entails drive and
motivation. For knowing the value of money, parents must
parents make their children a part of the decision making process in
color of the family affairs. But what is the reality?
, our life R: Whatever! ….But I feel that change is good but not at
hat I am the cost of existing good values. Blind westernization is
unacceptable. We came to this world because of
lterated our parents. All of our interests can be pursued,
at the same time our parents' feelings have to
be considered.
acking. It
only be K: India is getting bigger in the world map
not because of the corrupt politicians,
derelict bureaucrats, ever weakening
resources nor the flawed education
ple), Bill system. But because of the fact that nearly
were all 70% of our population is very young and raring to
he Carte go. We are waiting to be untethered, unbridled
attitude and to debouch.
May be we need the guidance, but not the
ulture is guarding; we can be provided with choices but
ghbor is. not with choices made for us; the path can be
mily. No shown but we shouldn't be pushed into the
path.
Why not R: Hey hang loose da. Let’s have a cup of tea.
istorical
K: Hoops! Its time...Need to be in KG
complex in another half an hour...Bye!
e which

next
up. To R: I guess u were right in your argument,
ed in the we need more freedom . Ha ha…
Ok bye da!
80 Srishti ‘09
Sylvester Pious.V
IV year, ECE Caste b

on? Th
Revolut

Caste Based Society Renaiss

in the d
society.
- The One Thing You Dont Speak About But why
mention
“India lives in several centuries at the same time. My aim here is not to debate on his actions. mean th
Somehow we manage to progress and regress Primarily because of the gray areas between did not t
simultaneously. As a nation we age by pushing what is right and wrong, the gray areas in which 'almost
outward from the middle - adding a few centuries most of the world's dynamics lie. What I intend the wes
on to either end of our extraordinary C.V" to do is to try and shed some light on this reason
- Arundhati Roy. controversial topic. For caste based than bei
reservation is not something that is pointless life for
I was silently nodding my head in acceptance nor is it the panacea. For some of us 'caste system
when I first read that quote by Ms.Roy. We live based reservation' is something that prevented
Hindu re
in a country caught between modernisation, our entry into top engineering colleges, For
so stron
which threatens to tear apart ancient some of us it is something that made it possible
institutions and a large society which tries to to chan
to get into the same top colleges. For some of us
hold on to those values. caste is something that is a part of our religious
traditional cultural entity, for some of us it is a main go
The Mumbai terror attacks on November 2008, morality
masked the passing away of V.P.Singh. He can relic of the past, and to some of us it is
immaterial as long as it does not stand in our and fo
arguably, be called the father of coalition respons
politics. He was also a very controversial figure way. But whatever be the case, we the student
community in colleges have come in contact govern.
in our nation's political history. So controversial
with caste and have either benefited or suffered who thin
that after a short reign of one year, as the prime
due to it. acts as a
minister of India, he resigned from active
politics and took to art and poetry. He stirred up An interesting thing that I would like to note here In Hind
a controversy that has had repercussions till is that caste is not uniquely Indian. The Vedas 'Dharma
date. From being considered a reformist leader, define the structure of a Hindu community to out in th
he sunk into infamy for trying to implement the consist of the Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, caste de
Mandal Commission recommendations that Vaishnavas, and Sudras. This classification is be rebo
advised reservation of 49.5% for backward similar to what was followed in Europe along concept
classes (up from an existing 27 % for SC's and with the guild system. They had the nobles, reincarn
ST's). The 'not so old' struggle by students of priests, soldiers and serfs. Serfs were the religion
central institutions, the court cases, and the labourers and servants who worked for the (was) s
implementation of quotas for OBC's are fallouts other classes. But that was back in the 10th mobility
of the decision made by him. century. So what has made their societies move
 Caste based society Srishti ‘09 81
So the next logical question is that if Caste
system is a by product of the Hindu Vedas, why
do people of other religions too have caste
identities? This question can be answered by the
observation made by analysing the reports by
various commissions like the Kalelkar
commission of 1955 and the Mandal
Commission of 1980.
Kalelkar notes that "He found that the special
concessions and privileges accorded to the
Hindu castes acted as a bait and a bribe inciting
Muslim and Christian society to revert to caste
and caste prejudices and the healthy social
reforms effected by Islam and Christianity were
being thus rendered null and void. Muslims came
on? The founding of America, the French forward to prove that except for the four upper
Revolution, the Industrial Revolution and
castes, all the other Muslim castes were
Renaissance have all played their role
in the development of the European inferior and backward. The Indian
society. Christians also were prepared to fall in
• Caste based the trap…" (page vi, para 20).
But why is that when someone reservation is not
mentions caste, it has become to something that is We can see that caste as seen by
actions. mean the castes in India. So why pointless nor is it the Indian government is there just
etween did not the caste system in India the panacea. to identify the backward
n which 'almost disappear' like it did in communities. Mandal commission
I intend the western world? The main • Our Indian reports do make good reading for
on this reason is that Hinduism, more Society has never
those who have time for it. For
based than being a religion, is a way of been a perfect
those who still believe that the term
ointless life for the people. The caste one right from
s 'caste its beginning. Any
OC that they saw when they
system has been written into the
evented
Hindu religion by the scriptures reform done to appeared for counselling meant
es, For
so strongly that it is not possible the system has to "Other Castes", this might as well
possible
to change the system without come from us, be an enlightening experience.
me of us Indians.
of our religious reform. Any religion's Our Indian Society has never been a
s it is a main goal is to provide a code of perfect one right from its beginning. Any
us it is morality for its followers to believe in reform done to the system has to come
d in our and follow. Religion helps create
from us, Indians. The British had no need to
student responsible individuals who will be easy to
enforce reforms and it would have been
contact govern. The fear of god strikes terror in those
suffered who think of committing crimes and faith in god
acts as a source of hope to those in need.
ote here In Hinduism, the moral code is called
e Vedas 'Dharma'. In this life, if you live by the rules laid
unity to out in the Vedas and also do the work that your
atriyas, caste decides for you, you will get a chance to
ation is be reborn in an upper caste (being). The
e along concept of caste when mingled with that of
nobles, reincarnation and the core values of the
ere the religion makes reform difficult. The system is
for the (was) so rigid that it provides(ed) no social
he 10th mobility during a person's lifetime.
es move
 82 Srishti ‘09
Right Against Exploitation
catastrophic to them even if they had tried.
Caste was just another card in their pack of
divide and rule. It took great leaders like
Equality
Periyar, Mahatma Gandhi, and Ambedkar to
address the imme-diate evils of untouchability
in the society. These practices continue to this
date in the rural regions of India, best portrayed
by films like ‘Swades’.
Just because the urban population does not
face the full brunt of the evils of caste system
and sees the all rosy side of tradition and culture
in the continuance of caste, does not mean that
casteism is not similar to racial discrimination.
Right to
It took great reformists like Raja Ram Mohan
Roy, the founder of Arya Samaj, to bring
customs practised in Indian society like sati and
polygamy to an end. These issues have more or
less disappeared from mainstream society. But
after that there have been very few reform
movements.
I remember this small incident that happened
during a train journey to Chennai with 3 of my
friends. My dad had always advised me against
talking about politics in the public. I was
discussing with my friends about options
available to us after college. The talk dragged
on from placements to higher studies. Then the
issue of implementation of reservation in IIMs
came up. I was arguing in favour of reservations
being there to make sure that backward
communities got due representation. I was of
the opinion that once social equality is
established, reservations would be
unnecessary and that the practice will cease to
exist. This was when one of the passengers
who had been a silent observer so far, made a
remark. "Reservations in India will not be gone
as long as India remains a democracy. There is
not enough political will to do something like
doing away with reservations. Look at them,
already trying to implement more and more
reservation" he said. I tried to point out to him
that the IIMs were implementing reservations in
a phased manner, and that they were
increasing intake to make sure that the general
candidates are not being affected. To this, he
d
c
d
cc
d
cc
d
c
dd
c
dd
c
d
cd
c
said, "Well I don't know those things, I am FC
Right to Freedom
Caste based society
you see." I didn't see, but I knew why my dad
had laid down those rules when I was a kid.
Caste based reservations instead of their
stated objective of ensuring social equality
have been quite counterproductive with people
from backward castes trying to ascertain their
caste identity. Even commissions appointed to
review these reservations have come to the
same conclusion. Kalelkar himself says that,
"Two years of experience have convinced us of
the dangers of the spread of casteism and…
have also led us… to the conclusion that it
would have been better if we could determine
the criteria of backwardness on principles other
than caste" (page xiv, para 60). But these reservations
still continue because of the unavailability of
any other metric to gauge social inequality and
backwardness.
In a country where communal strife is already
the order of the day and parties flaunt their
secularism or Hindutva ideology to create vote
banks, caste based politics is also on the rise.
People are becoming more caste conscious in
a very unhealthy way. Unless a powerful social
reform movement takes place, this trend is
going to continue. Kalelkar notes in his report,
"All communal and denominational
organisations and groupings of lesser and
narrower units have to be watched carefully so
that they do not jeopardise the national
solidarity and do not weaken the efforts of the
nation to serve all the various elements in the
body politic with equity" (page iv, para 14).
c d c d c d c d c d c d c d c d c d c d
Our constitutional goal is to establish a
casteless and classless society. And any belief
that reservation based on caste is helping us
achieve that is an illusion. A society that our
constitutional charter desires can only be
achieved through a conscious demand for
change by the public. The reform has to start
with oneself first. We will not achieve a caste
free society, a reservation free society
tomorrow. But if we are ready to make a sincere
attempt at creating one, it is surely possible to
do so.
 society

on
chemical
my dad
id.
of their
equality
people
ain their
inted to
e to the
ys that,
ed us of
m and…
n that it

B.Tech. Chemical Engineering

termine
es other
rvations
bility of
ality and

already
nt their
ate vote
he rise.
cious in
ul social
rend is
report,
ational
er and
efully so
national
s of the
s in the

d
c
d
cd
c d c d
blish a
ny belief
ping us
hat our
only be
and for
to start
a caste
society
sincere
sible to
84 Srishti ‘09

Archana Asokan
II year, IT

Hall of Reckoning
Great bards are born in exam halls,
And great ballads from ink pens,
For it is here, time awaits,
Till the huge bells beckon.

There are a few with mighty hearts,

Whose eyes rest on white angels.
For it is here, love stretches its arms,
Only to flood or ebb when arrears fall.

Then there are those Hunted,

Living under the shadow of Fear,
To be excused from the Great Hall,
When the Hunters make their call.

Yet there are others in numbers less,

Who sharpen their swords ere the dawn,
But blunt them long before the call,
Only to see their name high on the wall.
 civil

B.E. Civil Engineering

86 Srishti ‘09 c
Uttara M.A.

The
G irl inside the III year, ECE

lass Paperweight
Ananya was beautiful. When I say beautiful, I mean it. Ananya was beautiful, for you could stop
for a second and then one more second and finally think, "Wow.... maybe if I have a little girl
someday…" She lived her life so happily, for it was as beautiful as she was. This was probably
because she was only ten years old and because she had the time to stop, stand, stare and smile at every pretty niche of
her life.
Anything she saw filled those inquisitive eyes with wonder. The earthworm that slowly crawled in her garden; the yellow
flowers that dropped from the trees to form a wide carpet beneath the trees; the ink blue darkness and the stars... She
wouldn't allow anyone to pluck her roses. She loved looking at the sky at night...She loved the constellations.
Sometimes she felt that she had sprouted wings when her dad pushed her in the swing. And she would shout
"wheeeee...this is fun… will fly will fly". The universe dazzled her. Sometimes she would stop beneath a tree and look at
the sunlight streaming through the green branches. People called her a lovely girl. And she called everything lovely.
As I was saying Ananya loved space. She took her little telescope to the terrace on most of the days and pretended to
peep in to Andromeda. And would come back shouting to her mother that she had seen an alien space ship which would
actually be an airplane. She would say that one day she would go to space, and would see her garden from the window of
her space ship. If her mother had let her stick posters in her room, she would have gotten life size stills of Sunita
Williams and Kalpana Chawla. But her mother, like any other, felt that the telescope and the pocket book of astronomy
was enough for a girl of ten years. If she was not looking through her telescope, she would be playing her game:
"Anananya, Chawla and the wicked three pronged man from Jupiter".
Her parents were proud of her. They were proud that their daughter was one who loved everything around her. Ananya
bounced around so much, that sometimes it was a bit too hard for her parents to curb her enthusiasm. Her parents
usually forgot their deadlines, dues, bills, premiums, irritating bosses, crappy office food, etc… when they took Ananya
for a walk, for she could notice things that they couldn't and could explain to them what she thought of them. It was fun
listening to her.
One day she was at her door waiting for her dad. For, it was her usual ritual to fling herself at him as soon as he entered.
Today, when she heard the slow whirr of the Zen estilo, she started bouncing from the tips of her toes and when her dad
walked in with a huge brown package with a tiny satin ribbon, she forgot her fling and instead went to inspect the
suspicious looking package. "Hmm", though she didn't think well of the brown and pink combination, she attributed it to
her dad's character, messy but sweet.
She screamed, for in this package was a 'Dell inspiron notebook'. Her dad watched his baby smiling with joy as she
quickly started tinkering with her new toy. But good sense prevailed and he managed to get the notebook off her hands
before she could do something dangerous to it.
It was Ananya's mother who taught her how to use it. You know, plugging in the right part, playing games, using paint
brush and the rest. It thrilled Ananya to play road rash. And slowly, days went by for her parents. Slowly because, there
weren't any more of the screams at the shooting star that whizzed past , or the "oooooohhh" at the sight of the view from
space , or "how can you do this to my garden", or "oooh, mumma, THAT place looks beautiful" for Ananya no longer
walked with them.
Ananya was busy delving deep inside her laptop. The telescope lay forgotten. If it weren't for her mother all her flowers
would have withered without water. There were no more Chawla and Martian games, because she was busy with
Pacman, Prince of Persia (I and II) and Mario. Her world was no more filled with crayons but with 'pick colour and
customize colour' in paint brush. And when yesterday, Ananya's mother found her astronomy book at the bottom of her
shelf, with a layer of dust, she also found her daughter slumped on her chair, closely peering at the game where there
was an animation swimming in a valley....with "you have only two more lives" blinking next to it with a half blurred
heart...along with a sack of glittering gold coins and diamonds on screen
Ananya's mother looked at the glass paper weight next to her daughter; A beautiful glass girl, bobbing up and down and
swirling inside the glass globe. It reminded her of a girl who used to stand watching how rain drops pattered on her
window pane, rhythmically….
 computer science

che of

B.E. Computer Science and Engineering

yellow
... She
ations.
shout
ook at
y.
ded to
would
dow of
Sunita
onomy
game:

nanya
arents
nanya
as fun

tered.
er dad
ct the
ed it to

as she
hands

g paint
, there
w from
onger

owers
y with
ur and
of her
there
lurred

wn and
on her
 88 Srishti ‘09

Anubhav Srivastava
ele
III year, Chemical

Freedom
Freedom :: My
My Perspective
Perspective
One simple question posed: If we are truly free, why do we have to adhere to whatever our corrupt
politicians so dramatically proclaim? So, we all read in school about how our country is democratic,
right? And we mention it on every Independence Day, Republic Day and all other conceivable
occasions. And we all hold our right to freedom of speech and expression dear and we all stand up
for the national anthem before the movie starts. But why am I asking all these uninteresting
questions? I am sure that is the thought racing through your minds right now. Well, my point is not a
simple one, and I don't expect too many people to understand. But here goes….

Our forefathers created this nation with the very noble ideas of Liberty and
Equality. But these people also framed a law stating that any disrespect
True, people who
shown to the national flag or anthem and other such symbols of a pseudo
have a common
democracy is a punishable offence! culture can have the
freedom to stay
Now I ask, is this not a contradiction? If all men are created equal and if
together if they
all have the right to speak out, why can't a citizen disagree with the ideals
want to, but why
of the nation he lives in? I raise a simple issue that if I live as a free man
have rigid borders
in a free country, why am I being forced to stand up to a song that I feel is
and differences on
intrinsically wrong? This is just hypocrisy. And ours is not the only nation
the basis of race
that's suffering!
and nationality?
As strange as it may seem, I really don't identify with nationalism, because I
believe all men are the same. Why differentiate between men? Why have
borders? True, people who have a common culture can have the freedom to stay together if they
want to, but why have rigid borders and differences on the basis of race and nationality? The truth, I
believe, is that the priests, politicians and religious leaders want to crush your individuality! They
impose upon you all these borders and rules, to stop you from thinking independently and from
living as you wish. Of course, they do all this under the garb of culture, political revolution and
religion, and yes, through education. Consider this, if we are truly free, why do we end up doing
what we did not want to, in the first place. And we end up leaving our dreams and forging them with
someone else's, because they think as they are older they are therefore wiser. This is the sole
reason why many budding sportspersons, musicians or fashion enthusiasts give up their hopes of
becoming big in the fields of their particular interest. They don't have the freedom to oppose. They
tend to be a part of the crowd.

The point is that we have unconsciously surrendered our lives to these unforgiving people who try
to impose their authority upon us without being able to justify themselves. The goal of society is
merely to create a herd, because a herd has no individuality. Animals move in herds! And all this is
being done to curb your freedom. Just look at all that your politicians are saying and your priests as
well. Look into it deeply and you will find that they are all out to crush your individuality.

This is my call to revolution against those very forces that have been oppressing us!

(Disclaimer : The opinions expressed in this article are that of the author himself and in no way
represent the opinions of the editorial board)
 electronics & comm.

B.E. Electronics and Communication Engineering

rupt
atic,
able
d up
ting
not a

ho
on
he
ay
ey
hy
ers
on
ce

hey
uth, I
hey
rom
and
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way
90 Srishti ‘09
My
Birthday
It was February 22nd. Everyone
seemed to be pretty busy doing
nothing as usual. But my fear was
mounting as midnight
approached. I locked myself in
my room. It was 12 A.M and the
‘Elite Panel’ started lashing at the
door, shouting and threatening
to break the door down if I
refused to open it. I was petrified.
Why? It was my Birthday.
Last year, same day, same time,
my group of friends (the Elite
Panel) knocked the door gently.
With a big smile I opened the
door. “Bang!” I got one on my
face. A ruthless mob barged in.
One of them said, “Machan
arambikalamaa??…” That was it.
Tap..!! Tip..!! Dap..!! Dup..!!
Chap..!! . My back turned into a
bongo drum. All those smacks
left solid imprints. Two of my
friends suddenly lifted me. It was
party time and everyone’s legs
were at work, kicking me harder
than a football. This new concept
called “Air Podhumathu”, was
invented with my poor back
being its first victim.
Mahesh
ele
III year, Mech.
Nightmare
My eyes were red and watering.
The room started to spin around
me. Suddenly my friend held up
could complete that thought,
two fingers and asked, “Ithu
“Boom!!” the creamy cake was all
Evalo?” Everything appeared to
over me and I stood licking all the
be blurred. I replied, “Athu veral
cream around my mouth. It was
da.” There was a stunning silence
not over yet. They then poured a
for a moment but later on I
stinking solution, smelling worse
realized that I had invited the
than a rotten egg, containing all
death race again. Dozens of
the possible items from paste, ink
hands once again engraved their
to a fresh egg. This session went
finger prints on my back. It was
on for another half an hour
before they finally let me free. At
“ This new concept called the break of dawn I realized that
my appearance had changed
“Air Podhumathu”, was
invented with my poor back completely with a slightly
being its first victim”. swelled back, reddened eyes,
rigid muscles, and an
overwhelming stench. Then I
their playground that night, and
heard those magical words for
they were trying every new trick
which I had to undergo these
on me. I was like a stray dog
tests of strength, “Happy
getting beaten up with whatever
Birthday da..!!”
objects people had. Or maybe I
was looking even worse than
one!! This is what celebrating a
birthday in boys’ hostel means.
So tell me now, Should I open the
After the entire bullying session
door? If you say no, thinking of
got over, my birthday cake
saving me, then you are wrong.
appeared, with a bright candle lit
The penalties for delayed
on it. I wondered how this could
opening will be punitive. Let’s
alone go by tradition. Before I
see what happens this time..!!
 electrical & electronics
.

B.E. Electrical and Electronics Engineeirng

hought,
e was all
ng all the
h. It was
poured a
ng worse
ining all
aste, ink
on went
an hour
free. At
zed that
changed
slightly
d eyes,
nd an
Then I
ords for
go these
Happy

ating a
l means.
open the
nking of
wrong.
delayed
ve. Let’s
e..!!
92 Srishti ‘09
info
Soorya

Slipping
III year IT

Sand
The sand has slipped out of my hand,
But has carved a mark that will remain forever,
As I turn back and see, I behold green
pastures with very few barren patches,
The intricate melodies of my past
still resound in my ears,
the laughter and the giggles still play tunes,
While the tears still melt in my heart.
The very thought of having had such a
beautiful existence gives me profound happiness,
What I see ahead is nothing
but pitch darkness with not a lamp to guide me,
No piece of music to clasp my hand and say that
I am there with you,
but I know that if I walk on
I’ll reach a junction, where all
paths would meet and maybe at this
place I’ll rediscover a few particles,
Of the sand which once slipped out
of my hand!
B.Tech. Information Technology
information technology
94 Srishti ‘09

Paul Abraham Emmanuel

IV year, Mech.

in Time
Just
‘ Do not attempt today that which can be done tomorrow ' !

This is the statement, not of the lazy or the tardy but that of the most capable sect.
One tends to
However, tardiness, which is to be blamed, is not what I am trying to advocate over
here. Rather, I would like to focus on the other end of the spectrum which houses the focus more on
'early birds', those ultra-prompt pigeons who zoom home 'in time'. Here, by 'in time' I 'delivery in
mean 'well ahead of the stipulated time'. time' rather
than the
In the extreme 'on demand/on request' environment that we live in, anything done required 'best
before time is considered an inventory, which in the end might turn out to be less useful possible
or in some cases, even a waste. Remember the state of General Motors! If 'change' is delivery'.
one's anthem, then a project completed 'in time' does not leave much opportunity for
change itself, even if there's additional time at disposal. The secret is
to be
I personally visualize a few negatives in an 'in time' delivery: The chances of
overlooking a potential opportunity increases when one tends to become overly resourceful
concerned of delivering 'in time'. One tends to focus more on 'delivery in time' rather and maximise
than the required 'best possible delivery'. Being a part of the editorial team of Srishti our efficiency.
'09, I realised that a lot of articles that we received well ahead of the due date, (including
the very first article that we received following the announcement) just didn't make it!
On the contrary, a lot of articles that were submitted 'on time' or rather 'just in time' made it! And of course, the
pressure and the anxiety to deliver 'in time', more often than not, actually ends up destroying the concept of
'fun at work'.
Proficient is definitely not the right word to be used while referring to all in-timers. A proficient person, in
reality uses every day and every opportunity until the given time (due date) is up. The insecure nature of the
in-timers is something to be considered. They are so obsessed with the laurels that follow 'in time submission'
since they are insecure of their ability to deliver the best. They mostly come up with set patterns for a solution
and hence flexibility and openness to alternatives is something they never take into account. 'Change of
plans' is something they constantly fear and if such a situation ever arises they end up caught totally off guard.
Creativity, which is built up with the rush of adrenaline, actually gets pumped up to optimum levels during the
last few days prior submission. And this in turn brings the best out of a person's potential. A gold medallist (be
it athletics, swimming or boxing) might never have topped the charts in the heats or the qualifying rounds.
The secret is to be resourceful and maximise our efficiency. To sum up, I believe that 'Fools Rush In'.
Having in one way crucified the disciplined and the hardworking, let's not jump to conclusions. Remember,
that it's the time conscious and quality wise irresponsible lot that I was talking about. It sure does help to be
prepared, but to be open to 'change' even till the last moment makes a world of a difference. Therefore, the
honors belong not to the early or the late, but to those that finish 'just in time'!
 mechanical

B.E. Mechanical Engineering

ds to
ore on
in
her

'best

.
et is

ful
imise
iency.

urse, the
ncept of

erson, in
re of the
mission'
solution
hange of
f guard.
uring the
allist (be
rounds.

member,
elp to be
fore, the
96 Srishti ‘09
co
Editorial
Book Review – White Tiger
Aravind Adiga was an unknown person before his "White Tiger" hit
BOOK REVIEW
the stands with a bang. With a booker behind its name for this
debut novel, it kicked up a lot of controversies. If you are a kind of
person who hated Slumdog Millionaire because you felt it was a bit
too unfair on India, then you are bound to hate this book. But for
folks who are not in a state of denial, this book would make them sit
up and grip it. The story revolves around Balram Halwai, who
narrates his tale to the Chinese Premier visiting India. He tells the
premier all the horrors prevailing in Indian villages. He also tells
him that the only way a person can reach the upper echelons of the society in India
is by deceitful methods.

Balram earns his name "The White Tiger" because of his excellence at his school.
But he is forced to drop out. He goes to the city and gets his break when he is hired
as a chauffeur of a rich man. As he drives his master to rich malls, he becomes
increasingly aware of the opportunity and wealth around him. He realizes he would
never get what he wants, unless he makes the obvious choice. There are places
where the protagonist gets in to a moral dilemma and convinces himself that his
master deserves the disloyalty his servant would mete out to him. The way Balram
delves in to himself to find his darker side would make a chill run down our spine.

The author's sarcasm at the efficiency of Indian Executive and Judiciary systems
provides some of the lighter moments of the book.

The language is very simple, as the protagonist is a person who drops out of high
school. No verbosity, no grandeur, white tiger struck it rich just by its simple
narration of harsh reality. This article is perhaps more edited than the book itself.
One should give the credit to Adiga, for pointing out the very obvious flaws in the
democratic system that we refuse to see. Balram Halwai is perhaps, one of those
common men who hate mediocrity. The quest to quench his desires takes us along
with him to the not-so- beautiful nooks and crannies of the modern India.

One of the members in the editorial board who read The White Tiger quips

"There are no swirls of saree,

Nor lies, or grains of rice,
Start reading this book,
You will be gripped in a trice.

The end is chiseled in such a way that one would not be indignant at all. For a few
days after the read you would actually love the book. Then one day, when you sit
back and think, you would probably feel "White tiger does not deserve all the hype".
 computer technology
torial

Tiger" hit
for this
a kind of
was a bit
. But for
them sit
ai, who
tells the
lso tells
in India

school.
is hired
ecomes
e would B.Sc. Computer Technology ‘A’
e places
that his
Balram
pine.

systems

t of high
simple
ok itself.
ws in the
of those
us along

or a few
n you sit
hype".
B.Sc. Computer Technology ‘B’
98 Srishti ‘09 M. Eswari
II year, Chemical
S. A
III yea

Into the Night

It was one of the memorable times when
The night sky came close for us !!!

From time immemorial the human race has always had a

dying thirst for new discoveries and so did it progress
revealing the tiniest inch of space in and around, not even
sparing the sky so high. Till date, the search into the
Y
expanding universe has been so profound that the
discovery of extraterrestrial bodies has outnumbered the
species on earth!
Now it was our turn to plunge into the mysteries of the
dark. Time to pack and kick off on a space tour.

TIME: 6 pm
EVENT: sunset
So did the voyage start at dusk, when the crowd gathered on the terrace to witness the
crescent of the moon, thin and light just bellow was the brightest star, Venus. The
expedition started with a pair of binoculars viewing the surrounding adjusting to highest I was no
precision. Next was the higher magnification of the telescope to clearly view the moons wrong. B
started
surface with its craters which was too real to believe followed by the shining Venus. It was a
passwor
live show, the real feel of actually getting closer to the moon itself, as though we were in was a te
space for a minute and peeping into the Venus from there. lines re
SOMEO
TIME: 7 pm LEAVE
EVENT: stargazing MAKE Y
The thrill of the night's expedition began here, with the twinkling stars approaching us, caution
what it w
time to gaze with the naked eye, with the aid of a high power laser clearly pointing out each
and cont
constellation. First spotted was the belt of Orion, then the winter triangle with the three
bright stars Betelguese-Procyon- Sirius-the second brightest star. The Hunter and his dog
were followed by the Gemini brothers, Leo, Virgo and the Phoenix. The whole sky was
showing itself, each pattern clearly seen through the telescope, with even hidden stars For 3 yea
secret pr
showing up brightly including the cluster above the Orion belt. One of them was actually
one of th
moving, which happened to be a satellite orbiting the earth. It was awesome to see a So I got
satellite in orbit. engross
and stay
TIME: 8 pm allotted
EVENT: Saturn's show needed a
All is well that ends well, so did our voyage into the night sky with the special focusing of
When I
the Saturn with its beautiful rings stealing our hearts. So clear and undisturbed in the east surprise
which was the master piece of the night. It was a wonderful experience to remember for That was
ever. even m
address
But our journey into the space wouldn't stop here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The lette
(This star gazing workshop was a part of Quest ‘09)
Dear…Y
 S. Anush
III year, CSE
Srishti ‘09 99

Yet
Another
Beginning

I was not sure if what I was doing was right or well.

wrong. But the story just intrigued me. I boldly I live
started and within a few minutes I cracked the very near
password for the laptop and was through. There you. I see
was a text file in it and as I opened it, the first few you daily. I
lines read… “”YOU ARE TRESPASSING IN don’t know where
SOMEONE’s LIFE … IF YOU WANT TO LIVE; to begin and how to tell
LEAVE THESE LETTERS … ELSE THEY WILL it. I have been trying for
MAKE YOU MAD …” I was surprised by this months to talk to you. But I am
caution and wondered what to do. But no matter too shy and have always withdrawn
what it was, I decided to finish the work I had started not to show even my face. Now I have mustered
and continued reading the file. all my courage and have written this letter. I can’t
express in words how I have kept you deep inside
***** my heart and how much you have disturbed me.
You torture me every night in my
For 3 years, I had been working in a top dreams and I want to see you in person.
“ I saw somebody in
secret project for national security. I am I don’t know how you would feel by
violet approaching
one of the best hackers in the country. reading this letter. But, I love you so
me. She was an
So I got this job and literally 24*7 I was
angel coming to take much and want to talk with you. If you
engrossed in my work. I am a bachelor
me to heaven. I would like to meet me, then come to the
and stayed in the quarters that was
allotted to me. I had never felt that I suddenly went weak bus stand tomorrow by 5.30 pm. I will be
needed a companion. in my knees. I waited in a violet dress with a rose in my hair.
for her to reach me.” With love...
When I opened the door I was I was on cloud nine. I never thought this
surprised to see a letter lying in front of my room.
would happen in my life. I didn’t go to work the next
That was the first letter posted to me in years. I was
day. I read the letter again and again to check if it
even more surprised to see that it carried no
was really true or just a prank. Later, I dressed up
address or stamp since it was hand delivered.
and reached the bus stand at 5pm, with her letter. in
The letter read, my hand. As 5.30pm drew near, my heart began to
pound. It was difficult to breathe. I glanced at
Dear…You don’t know me. But I know you very everyone in that bus stand. Suddenly I saw a
100 Srishti ‘09 Yet another beginning

person approaching me who was clothed in violet. slowly took out a laptop from her bag and asked me
My heart skipped a beat. But I immediately “Do you know hacking?”
realized that she was 40+ and didn’t wear a rose. I “Bingo !!!” I exclaimed.
controlled myself. Half an hour passed. It
occurred to me that this could be a prank and no “You are the best hacker I have heard of. That’s why I
one was going to turn up. When I had made up my was following you”, she said. I could sense her
mind to leave the place, I saw somebody in violet intentions and realized that I was capable of helping
approaching me. She was an angel coming to her.
take me to heaven. I suddenly went weak in my I happened to see what she said was true. Truly it
knees. I waited for her to reach me. Suddenly a was a job for me.
bike halted beside her. She sat behind a young
“I have an elder brother. In the past few days he has
man and before I could move a muscle, my angel
been acting very weird. Yesterday he left home for
was gone. I had not even taken a proper look at
good. He asked us not to trace him. The answer to
her face. I tore the letter in the same place and
the questions where he went and what happened to
went back home.
him are inside this laptop. I don’t know its password”,
Throughout the night, every single word of that She said.
letter was torturing me and I never slept. Come
“He also said that he would come back once I
morning, I saw a letter at my doorstep. I opened it
understood what was inside that laptop”.
with half hatred and half expectation.
“I will try my best”, I assured.
“Dear…
She gave me her contact number, asked me to
I am really very sorry for what happened
contact her if I got anything, kissed my cheek and left
yesterday. I can understand how you would have
the place with a worried look on her face.
felt watching me go away like that. But trust me, I
love you. That was my brother who took me and I I was not sure if what I was
never expected him to be there. I didn’t have the doing was right or wrong.......
courage to meet you with him there. So I was
forced to leave you alone. I am really sorry for
what I did and I will make up for it. There are two
cinema tickets in the envelope. I want to spend
some time with you. You take the tickets and
expect me in the theatre. Waiting for you
darling…With lots of love…”
I was half hearted that day
but was determined
to give it a try. I
went inside the
theatre exactly
two minutes before t h e s h o w
started. No one was sitting in those
seats. And the half empty theatre didn’t
surprise me. After a few minutes, a young elegant
woman approached me. She sat beside me and
immediately took my hands into hers. A silent hour
passed. I have never had such a wonderful
evening. Suddenly, she turned towards me and
asked in a sweet voice “Shall we go out
somewhere?.” I found myself nodding in assent.
We went to a café nearby and ordered two coffees
and sat beside each other. She smiled at me
which sent shivers down my spine. Then she
Executive Members
Executive Members

Club Members
Club Members