Are you wondering why am I suddenly asking you guys to fight AIDS? I can explain.

A couple of weeks ago, there was an IP (read notice) put up in my hostel. It invited submissions of logo/web-template designs for an NGO called "Fight Aids in India". I tried making a logo because there was a cash prize attached to it! The prize for the logo-design was 500 bucks while that for the web-template-design was 1500. In case you are wondering why I chose to make only the logo and not the web-template, I should tell you that making a logo takes something like 15 minutes while creating a template definitely takes a lot more time (at least to me). Basically 1500 bucks was too less a prize money to motivate me to try making a template (which might or might not have been selected). Fifteen minutes was worth betting for.

So my 15-minutes of graphic stint ended with this logo that you see below.

The good thing is that, today I was informed that this logo has been selected. :) Good news. Isnt' it? The better thing is that I am richer by 500 bucks! And can I also add that I in my own way also contributed towards fighting AIDS in India? ;)

For those of you, who are not already aware of my PTJ, this is the post to read. And those of you, who are already aware of it, read more.

I did use to put science-maths fundays to my siblings at times. But teaching for money is somewhat different. One needs to 'act' like a professional. I try my best. In the process, I have started looking at the world (albeit only at times) through the eyes of a teacher. I know this sounds so weird. I mean, afterall I just spend few hours each week with tenth class kids!

What do I mean by the phrase 'looking at the world through the eyes of a teacher'? I am not sure if I can explain this fully. But there's surely one thing that I can write about. Today, it so happened that I was teaching Physics to the two kids together. In some time, I realized that one of them was actually too low on concentration. I 'hated' it. I don't belive that I 'hated' it when I myself, had always been a student like him! All this time! Did someone say that you can't feel the other guys pain till you actually step into his shoes? So true! Just so true!

I am sure that the next time I switch to a nap-taking-mode in any of the classes, today's incident will help me come out of it. Good for me!

Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) fame, was here in insti this Monday, to share her piont of view with us, the IITians. Since I happen to be doing so many case studies this semester, which involve in some way or another the resistances offered by activists and environmental groups, I was particulary interested in hearing to what she had to say. And oh my holy lord, she had to say a lot. She is an extremely effective orator. She knows how to put forward her points and how to fight back against so many powerful forces.

She was here in Chennai, basically to oppose the airport expansion plan, which if initiated would displace about five thousand households. I wont go into the details of her speech (as if I remember everything she talked about in that something more than an hour duration), but I would definitely like to share some points that are worth pondering over.

Before writing any more, I would like you to recall that I am being trained as a Civil Engineer. So you see, guys like me come up with engineering solutions in the form of Dams, and Airfields to meet the needs of the society. Guys like Medha on the other hand, just brush aside our otherwise appreciated projects. So there's supposed to be an inherent conflict between our ways of thinking. All I would like you to do is to keep this in mind while you read my arguments so as to make a better assessment of the affair.

She questioned the meaning of development. Do rising shopping malls in cities, or the increasing number of airports or the construction of hydroelectric power projects really signify development? She said no. And she said she belived so, because these activities lead to disparity. These so called parameters of development, leave behind the poor who are not included fairly in the policy making processes. She asserted that every individual matters and so any infrastructure project should not be given a nod, till every affected 'citizen' is happy with it.

She is no different from the other activists who fight for the plight of small sections of society who so often get negatively affected by the process of so called development. Though she never explicitly mentioned, what she was talking about was 'Economic Development'. And Economic development indeed includes all the stuff (especially the infrastructure realated stuff) that she talked about. It includes any thing and everything that leads to improvement in the overall economy of a nation. So if the Govt decides to invest in a project that will lead to an increase in power generation, it indeed is a step towards economic development. Doesn't matter what Medha Patker thinks of it.

But yes, her issue about rising disparity is true. Economic Developments often tend to increase the gap between the rich and poor. The section of people who are directly going to benefit from say increased power generation are the industrialists who are in real need of power to run their machines. Why should a villager who doesn't even have a power transmission line crossing his village care about it? He care's about his land, which gives him rice and wheat and maze and sugarcane and what not. That is all he wants. And so if a dam at an upstream spot is going to sink his land deep inside water, he is going to raise his voice. What we are talking about here is a trade-off. Scarcity of resources is the concept on which the whole theory of economics is based. So many times, it happens that to produce A you have got to give up B. So how do you decide then? Tricky question.

It felt good when Medha did admit that some kind of econimic development was definitely needed. But it should be done in fine balance with the social develeopment where the benefit of any project trickles down to the lower sections of the society. A fine balance! Well, it makes sense though it does have one problem. Being almost always surrounded with the affected groups, she wont ever be happy with any kind of balance that guys like me come up with. What kind of balance is really the best? It's really a difficult question to answer, more so because here we are two different sets of people looking at world from different places. The more we listen to one another, the better we will be able to appreciate each other's concerns. And look, that's happening! :)

It's quite a coincident that just two days after the last post (yesterday), I was gifted a super-cool no-wood-all-graphite 8B pencil by one of my best friends. I call this a coincident because I am more than sure, she hasn't seen the earlier post, which carries a Fabre Castle ad. :)

And this pencil is amazing. It's unlike any other graphite pencil that I have ever used. Love it!

No, this is not about tech-fests. This is about a small report in today's ET, titled "IIT among world's top universities".

Only when one reads furthur, one finds that IIT's rank is 57. Not bad! Afterall India is a developing nation. The report is based on the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) survey.

Well, the bottomline is: It feels good be studying in a place like this! :)

It's spirit everywhere; the spirit of engineering. Today is the third day of Shaastra2006 and I am having a good time!

No plans to participate and all. My only job is to see that there are volunteers around all the ambience-models on display, who can put fundays to anyone who is 'curious'. And then of course, I also need to use my grub-coupons in all the stalls that are running.

A decent number of babes to be seen this time! Babes in a tech-fest just rock! ;)

When you remain alone and do something, you either end up performing better than everyone else or you end up performing worse than everyone else. When the first case occurs, you think you are the only smart guy out there in the whole universe. Deep sense of pride creeps in. When the second case occurs, you think you are the only loser out there in the whole universe. Depression creeps in.

Bottomline: Get out, get going. Find someone with whom you feel happy with. Stop being lonely!

I am doing a very interesting course this semester. It's called Infrastructure Planning and Management, and I thorughly enjoy it. We in class have been discussing about various issues regarding infrastructural systems like Power, Transportation, Telecommunication, Water and Sanitation etc.

Dealing with water has been the most interesting experience so far. Let me pose you a question to begin with. How much do you pay for a litre of potable water? The second question is, how much do you think the slum dwellers pay for it? Is it less or is it more?

You would be surprised to learn that, the poor living in slums (which mostly are spread over illegal land) end up paying way more than you do. The World Bank has data to prove that. And the reason is pretty simple. We can get pipe connections, which brings public water while they can't get these piped connections since they don't have a legal address to provide! How do they get water then? They have to buy it from private water suppliers who generally bring tankers to the areas. And by all calculations, these tankers charge way more than what the publicly provided water costs.

What a state of affairs! Do you think a solution exists?

I would also like to ask few basic questions, which if not answered in the beginning itself, won't ever let you implement any change in the existing water and sanitation infrastructure in India and for that matter in most of the developing countries.

Who owns natural water? Is it the government? Or are they the common people? Or no one at all?
Is water a basic human right? If yes, does it mean it should be given away for free to everyone?

Let's see what you guys have to reflect on this. I will carry on the talk with upcoming posts.

Amazing movie!

Yes, I am talking about Lage Raho Munna Bhai (LRMB). If Munna Bhai M.B.B.S was "the" comedy movie that made sense, LRMB makes a lot more sense. And you keep laughing throughout the show. Amazing movie! "Fundoo" is the best word to describe this film. Go watch it ASAP and you will get convinced that comedy is not always crap or pure time-pass or requries one to keep one's brain elsewhere while waching it. Lage raho Munna Bhai!

I always thought that I had some kind of a personality disorder. Today I found out that I indeed had one. It's called the Dependent Personality Disorder or more commonly known as the DPD. Well, I suffer form DPD! :(

I happen to satisfy at least three of these traits which make me an eligible DPD candidate.

1. Goes to excessive lengths to obtain nurturance and support from others, to the point of volunteering to do things that are unpleasant
2. Feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone because of exaggerated fears of being unable to care for himself or herself
3. Urgently seeks another relationship as a source of care and support when a close relationship ends

This realization doesn't make me too happy! Sob sob!

Crystallinks.com presents a fairly good example demonstrating DPD.

Two women are best friends for a long time. They share everything. Along comes another woman - or a boyfriend - who takes time away from this friendship. Issues develop and friendship become 'challenged' - another word that describes our experiences here. Many things seem to be challenged.

The friendship between the women now becomes outgrown and can end in drama. Many people report that lifetime friendships suddenly come to an end - become outgrown for one of the people involved - but they don't understand why. On occasion the friendships rekindle. For the most part they have served a purpose that worked at the time the people were friends - then moved on.

I am sure it's not too severe, but now that I know that is a disorder, I am looking forward to change to a healthier condition. In the race of physical health, it's a pity that we forget the importance of a healthy mind.

Wish I succeed!