Samir speaks....

Thinking about education and my nation

2010-04-26T11:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I watched the movie A Beautiful Mind, perhaps for the tenth or eleventh time, I guess. This movie is about John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics. Each and every dialogue of the movie will inspire to think beyond...

The story forced me to think about the difference in perception about what we mean by research and development. Whatever be the field, knowledge is always virtue. There in the movie, we find that doctorates in academic field, not restricted just to engineering are recruited into the top cadre posts of Defense Labs of USA. Nash was a mathematician, a person who had a better vision to recognize patterns and correlate them to messages, and hence, could better serve the nation than contemporary engineers who worked on cryptography.

On the contrary, in our nation we have a die-hard competition for almost anything and everything. One has to qualify an entrance exam for everything. Students are tested for their fundamentals rather than their interests. As a result, research centers hardly get deserving people. They just get people who want a secure government job and hence, India being a country which has 16% of the world's population just contributes just 2% of the world's research in Science and Technology.

Another very bad trend that has developed is that students are now going after engineering courses only and general courses are neglected like anything. Our country needs scientists and we have a hoarde of engineers who are not worth the degree, including myself in the cadre.

We need to change, change for the better. We should encourage scope for students in basic courses so that a better percentage of the population goes to become mathematicians, scientists, artists, poets and all the various fields of human excellence we can think of.

BJP in turmoil, lack of strong Opposition and Dance of Democracy

2009-08-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

There is no need to mention about the current crisis that BJP is undergoing due to the fight between its members. Each one is accusing the other of something. Question has arisen as to who will lead the main opposition party , the BJP now.

The RSS has termed that BJP is in crisis because it has deviated from Sangh ideology. And has planned to re-establish the BJP so that it functions well and in accordance with the long term ideologies that are the pillars of RSS.

With no great leaders as the stature of Vajpayee and Advani, new members will be taken into the party. However, Advani will be the first line leader because of the mass base he holds and therefore, all others derive their strength from him.

However, as Pankaj Vohra, the Political Editor, Hindustan Times puts it

"Advani's credibility is now at an all-time low. His colleagues — George Fernandes, Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Brajesh Mishra and Arun Shourie — have accused him of lying about the Kandahar episode. Further, it is being alleged that he was the brain behind the cash-for-vote scam in Parliament in July 2008. Any leader who is painted as a ‘liar’ by his own colleagues will be on the backfoot. His continuation, therefore, is untenable. It is for the party and the RSS to decide the timeframe for his departure. But it has to be sooner than later. Otherwise the BJP’s credibility will sink further."

With such a situation arising where the main opposition in the Parliament is in the worse turmoil ever, we people can never expect the democracy to function properly. There would be no one to oppose government policies and hold it accountable to the public. Moreover, lack of a strong opposition leader who can actively debate legislations and constantly question the government will lead to a chaos like situation.
India is in a phase where we are exploring our potential to the fullest to become world leaders whether it is economy or science, literature or music. In this phase, we all need a strong government as well as opposition. Let us all hope that indeed our dreams of a stable and progressive democracy be true soon.

Chandrayaan-I comes to an abrupt end

2009-08-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

My country's first maiden moon mission, namely Chandrayaan-I has come to an abrupt ending, with ISRO losing communication with the spacecraft after nearly ten months, cutting short the oddessey of a what was supposed to be two year long project.

Chandrayaan was launched Oct 22, 2008 from India's only spaceport Sriharikota, about 90 km from northeast of Chennai, on board the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV). It has provided large volume of data from sophisticated sensors such as terrain mapping camera, hyper-spectral imager and moon mineralogy mapper, meeting most of the scientific objectives of the mission.

"The contact was lost at 01.30 IST as the deep space network (DSN) at Byalalu, about 40 km from Bangalore, received the data from the lunarcraft during the previous orbit up to 00.25 IST," according to an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) statement from Bangalore.

However, as Project Director of the mission, Mr Annadurai puts it,"Chandrayaan-1 has done its job technically about 100%. Scientifically, it has done almost 90-95% of its job."

ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair said scientists were analysing what has gone wrong and whether there was any possibility of recovery.

Some critics regard the space programme as a waste of resources in a country where millions still lack basic services.

Here is a video from Times TV...

Chandrayaan-I was India's first step towards the moon. Whatever may be the results, it has sparked off a great many positives for our nation. Our scientists have now a greater confidence level because we have already had a mission at an expenditure that was many times less than our US and Japanese counterparts.Many students are now striving hard to realise their dreams to be space-scientists. Various debates and competitions are now being held in various parts of the country regarding the knowledge of the mission. It has led to popularization of space sciences and radio astronomy as a career pursuit.

And say what...We Indians have progressed towards the second phase with our design of Chandrayaan-II complete, and our scientists get a chance to check and recheck their architecture of the mission critical components.

All this is a sign that we are moving towards realizing our India Vision 2020.

Cost of Adaptation to Climate Change

2009-08-28T23:51:00.000-07:00

Needless to mention, the climatic change in the planet has given severe headache to all nations of the world, the major culprit being the greed of humanity for prosperity without maintaining a natural balance with the ecosystem.

Changing climate patterns have caused less rainfall this year, most of them coming in the form of clouds formed due to low pressure over the seas. This has dramatically reduced the crop yields this season for which the common man suffers and also the prices rise sky high thereby turning life worse for a dominant portion of our population. A drought situation has also arisen.

The glaciers which are the main source of water for our perennial rivers are also melting, so we may experience water shortage also.

Meanwhile the UNO is busy in policy planning for persuading nations susceptible most to climate changes to sign up to a global agreement in December. However, many scientists and experts report that the UN has underestimated the budget and that it is going t be two to three times more as compared to that predicted.The UNFCCC(UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) has estimated annual global costs of adapting to climate change to be US$40-170 billion, or the cost of about three Olympic Games per year.

Scientists led by a former co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warn that these estimates were produced too quickly and did not include key sectors such as energy, manufacturing, retailing, mining, tourism and ecosystems. Other sectors that the UNFCCC did include were only partially covered. The report has been named as Assessing the costs of adaptation to climate change: A critique of the UNFCCC estimates. (Click on the link to download the report)

However, Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, in a statement issued Friday, said precise figures on the amount of cash required was unnecessary at this stage. Such estimates “remain a moving target,” he said, adding that “starting to plug the hole right now is more important than determining its exact future size.”
"Poorer countries need to be given aid to adapt to climate change and this amount needs to be scaled up significantly in coming years", he adds.

Here is a video of Prof. Martin Parry, Imperial College London, talking to IIED about climate change, vulnerable countries, the most urgent issues and the vital next steps.

Regardless of the efforts of UNO, it is high time for humanity to change its ways for a sustainable development, failing which we all are sure to face crisis in the near future.

My Technical Blog

2009-08-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone, I have started a technical blog by the link provided below. Anyone visiting from Netbeans Wiki is requested to visit my Technical Blog.

I miss B'day at UCE

2009-08-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

Yo my birthday!!! no serious topics man... I can't bear it at least today. So what are the birthday updates????

My friends wished me, some on phone, some on orkut, and some by mail.

But I miss today UCE very much. Infact, we UCEians have a peculiar style of celebrating birthdays. Right before 12.00 am buddies gather at your room...you don't even know you have suddenly become a celebrity.

And everyone will wish you, but that's not the only thing. Suddenly someone will give you a loud thunder at the back, thus starts a cermony where everyone gets atleast one such bump. I think engineers of UCE make real crackers with these strokes.Those strokes apply equally to room-mates also. Favorite juniors also have to share that... but indeed it was thrilling.

They will carry you to a pool and throw you inside. What you do is to splash water on everyone and it is an hours play over there in the midnight and everyone is drenched.

After that we return to the room, cut the B'day cake and the party with some of the most "peculiar dancers" of the century. No classes, go to restaurant, have a good lunch, go to cinema, then have a dinner and its all over.

Thanks UCE for such a memorable birthday...

And this my group...

Pokhran, CTBT and war between scientists

2009-08-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

The news channels are flashing today about the doubts raised on the success of Pokhran-II which was held way back in 1998. K Santhanam, a former top official of the Defence Research and Development Organization(DRDO) has stated that the nuclear tests at Pokhran in 1998 were partially successful and not enough from security point of view and that India should not be signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty(CTBT). Santhanam says that India should go for more nuclear tests.

What everyone is pondering about is why Santhanam was silent for the last 11 years?

However, such a claim has been discarded by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who spearheaded the nuclear tests as the then Director General of the DRDO. As Kalam puts it, "After the test, there was a detailed review, based on the two experimental results: (i) seismic measurement close to the site and around and (ii) radioactive measurement of the material after post shot drill in the test site.From these data, it has been established by the project team that the design yield of the thermo-nuclear test has been obtained."

India conducted five nuclear tests on May 11 and 13, 1998 at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan which included a 45 kiloton (kt) thermonuclear device, called as hydrogen bomb in common parlance.The other tests on May 11 included a 15 kt fission device and a 0.2 kt sub-kiloton device. The two simultaneous nuclear tests on May 13 were also in the sub-kiloton range -- 0.5 and 0.3 kt.

It is being also said by some that Santhanam's statement is going to bolster India's opposition to signing the CTBT. However, all the people at responsible posts of the government have completely stated that such a comment has no validity in the truest sense of the terms. Also, some VIP has commented on Santhanam not to make his personal duel with somebody as an issue of the nation.

Whatsoever, this issue has put to question the caliber of all the scientists who are involved with the cause. It is not only the scientists but also common people who will be affected with this. Simply because this matter has directly put query on the status of our India as an independent nuclear power.

Reformation in higher education

2009-08-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well, why at all I am writing about this? People would say that yes at the times of recession, the best option is to go for higher studies...and therefore folks are running after that. But before that I would question myself if I have understood all that I was taught at the under-graduate level?? And obviously the answer that comes to my mind is a big no. So, a decision evolves to make the best use of what I have known, gain some experience, explore my potentials, experiment what I can at this moment and what I cannot. Let the pay package be a bit less than that applied to post-graduates.

Some people question what is the value of education if it does not pay you enough? But is money everything? Then whatever we enjoy at present would not have been there. It is there because someone sacrificed luxury to give you this, may it be some form of music or a house or even the laborers who made the roads. Every job has its own dignity and we should respect that.

With the recession, the demand for coaching institutes that provide training for entrances to premier institutes is booming up. The positive side is the facility being provided to students, but in reality they are mechanizing an education level that should be completely guided by one's level of intellect. Now with this trend on the rise, there is a loss to the nation in terms of intellectuals who can really be the driving force, who can mobilise the state, bring about a revolution in their respective sector. The final result is that we grow weak at roots and a nation weak at roots can not sustain long.

The scientists in the various educational institutes are busy publishing papers. Research has been redefined to be "Not copying from one, but from two." A kind of race has begun in the stream of paper publication, just for a matter of getting promotion and hence, a higher pay package. However, the truth is that innovation is always fundamental and thus the world only remembers those who really contributed something.

The remedy for this situation is building up a student from the base. There is no necessity for teaching the whole course, no coaching would be necessary, no branding of institutes. Right from the beginning, the student must be given a food for thought.This will make him search what he wants. Atleast he will sit and open a book or search some sites; more positively gather friends for a brian storming session on the topics. Can't a subject guide give this much?

Lastly, professors at IITs and IISc, MIT-OCW etc must be thanked for feeling this need for posting their course materials and inspirational videos on their websites. This will go a long way for those who want to listen about their favourite subjects and learn, thereby contributing to the next generation.

NPTEL

MIT-OCW

Prince Dance Group wins India got Talent

2009-08-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Prince Dance Group has been declared the winner of the reality show "India's Got Talent" being telecast on the Colors channel. The group hails from the Ambapua, a small village in the outskirts of the Silk city of Orissa, Brahmapur (people mispronounced it Berhampur). It was headed by Krishna Reddy and consisted of 26 artistes, most of them young and a few physically challenged also.

The journey to the Finals wasn't easy. They were nominated out of some 45000 competitors. What was unusual about the group was that it was a completely unprofessional one, with people from those classes of our society who face exploitation in their day to day lives. But the fact that kept all spell bound was their sense of discipline which evokes from their discipline thus proving the saying "He who submits to discipline is a disciple." Their act was completely flawless because of the perfect formations they put into it therby depicting epics of the great Indian culture.

Their act of Krishna, the dance to the tune of "Sare Jahan Se Acha" and most importantly the final performance "Vishnu Dashavatram" left viewers bewildered with amazement of the perfection and devotion that shone from the stage loudly speaking to the world that "India's Got Talent."

The act of the "Indian Tricolor Flag" dance was immediatley followed with the crowd uttering loud slogans " Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Jai Hind". That was so moving an act that left judges with tears in their eyes. As Shekhar Kapur puts it :
"...I think the Prince Dance group had won the hearts of the Indian people even before the finals. There was something so emotional and completely Indian about their acts, but on par with the best international traditions of modern group choreography that made us all proud to be Indian. And to know that some of the participants of this group were brick kiln labourers, who normally come to our attention more because we read stories about how this class is completely exploited by the Kiln owners, and earn bare subsistence wages."

Our Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik wished them best of luck and also personally voted for them. Me too voted also. :)

The peformance in the grand finale , the "Vishnu Dashavataram" was mind-blowing. Indian viewers had not the least in their dreams expected what they saw. All the ten avataras in a performance of 10 minutes, Matysa swimming in the ocean, Kurma holding the mountain, Varaha reclaiming the Earth on its nose, Narsimha killing HiranyaKashyap, Vamana , Parsurama, Rama, the complete avatar Krishna, Gautam Budha and Kalki. A completely desi ingredient out to beat all other performances.

The award was given by Shahid Kapur and Rani Mukherjee who had been there as guests and also to promote their upcoming film. Here is a link to show everyone the feedbacks of viewers.

But a matter of concern I would like to put here is that none of the popular TV news channels have chosen to make this a topic of the day. If it could happen with performers from Dance India Dance, Indian Idol, Saregamapa etc and stupid TV soaps also become the burning topics of discussion on TV channels today, why this injustice to people of Orissa??? I think the Prince Dance Group deserves as much attention.

But yes there is a positive side to it. We, Oriya people can live without publicity. We do not even compare to others because that is not in our blood. Satisfaction, devotion and Self-contentment is what defines Orissa. Orissa, the Land of Lord Jagannath, the land of peace, contentment and self-realization. Indeed I am proud to be an Oriya.