Fighter

A swimming coach in Late Moti Nandi's novel screamed "Fight, Kony, fight." Kony, a poor girl coming from a land of abject poverty dreamt to be a swimmer.. fought against all odds. If that was fiction, this one is real. Yesterday, Class X board exam. in West Bengal started. The adjacent photograph is of Nasima Khatun appearing in the exam. at Barasat Vivekananda School, West Bengal without any aid. That she is a girl, that she is from a minority community, that she is handicapped are left way behind. She is a fighter. Our best wishes to Nasima. You inspire us. We'll never give up without fighting!
(The photo appeared in today's edition of Anandabazar Patrika)

Children's Camp 2010

Waiting for NSS student San... to arrive. He wants to discuss activity to be taken up after mid-sem. Yes, mid-sem is on. Else this is the time for double lecture. In the morning prepared a report of the various works done by NSS volunteers who worked under my supervision and mailed it to NSS Head.

Last Sunday attended a one day long 'Children's Camp' arranged by young members of Kharagpur Vivekananda Yuva Mahamandal (KVYM). This is an annual event for the organization and seldom I have missed it. In fact, in my school days I attended it as one of the camper and later when active as organizer. This visit was more to feel proud how younger members representing the new generation have taken up the responsibilities and running the camp with comfortable ease with utmost sincerity and seriousness.

After flag hoisting, Sri Uttam Chatterjee (Uttamda) discussed 'Mental Concentration : Why and How'. How important is to have control over mind for any individual, more so for the young students. This was followed by a short physical training. A sound mind resides in a sound body. A balanced development of 3 'H' - Hand, Head and Heart is necessary. During breakfast break I went with Uttamda to KGP bus stand. He had to return to Chittaranjan today itself where he works for preparation of Secondary Exam. in his school. Uttamda, a senior member of had always been a great worker, leader and inspiration.

Next, Prosen..., a young member of KVYM, currently doing PhD at IIT Kharagpur discussed on 'Character qualities' and how to imbibe them in one's life through regular practice. That a person can develop his character and there is a scientific way for that was the highlight of the discussion. Next, Sri Dipak Pramanik (Dipakda) addressed the queries of the campers related to first two discussions. I said a few words during this.

There was a session on "Let us sing together" where the designated person a great singer cum teacher Kanchan Sil, attcahed to KVYM were supposed to lead. He suddenly fell ill. So a young member Souradip Pradhan and Dipakda taught campers, "Ta thaia ta thaia nache Bhola", a favourite of Swami Vivekananda.

Then there was lunch break. This is the best preparation I have had in Children's Camp. We thanked the head of the caterer as well as Shantanu, the secretary, KVYM for the arrangement. Post lunch another young member of KVYM Anirban who is currently studying in Kolkata beautifully conducted the session where the campers told short stories, recited poems or stotras. I don't think anybody could do it better than Anirban. Kudos to this young lad. The concluding talk was the address by Swami Sunisthananda, Principal, Midnapore Ramakrishna Mission School. This was an open session. Guradians, elderly people also gathered. Maharaj blended it so well that the audience of different age groups were captivated for one hour and fifteen minutes. I am uploading his entire speech (in Bengali :( though) in theses links. It is .amr file best played in nokia multi media player that can be freely downloaded (e.g. http://www.brothersoft.com/nokia-multimedia-player-46238.html) It is difficult to summarize what Maharaj said as each segment he touched is expansive. In short, he talked about (i) Arundhuti-Nyaya i.e. to start from gross else the fine cannot be immediately perceived (ii) Dogmatism coming from semi-literate condition even among the so-called learned who are out to educate others as there is no 'realization' (iii) the importance of tolerance, patience, forbearance (iv) Social service develops oneself as good human being. The civilization is cyclic in nature with ups and downs. There is no permanent remedy. One should not carry any ego that he has the solution to everything. etc.

Then the camp ended with flag down ceremony. Shantanu, the secretary praised three B.Sc., B.Com. students Bahadur, Somnath, Krishnadas for successfully conducting the camp. Ruhidas Banik, now posted in Bankura joined at about 4 p.m. after attending another meet 200 km. away that started yesterday. Ruhidas doing the mentoring role at KVYM. The leftover food was taken to Diptimoy Babu's residence, an elderly family devoted to Thakur-Ma-Swamiji with both the daughters married currently housing KVYM activities. KVYM members gathered there in the evening for post camp discussion and dinner.

Finally, the person whose silence is eloquence, who stands like a rock and guiding the young members, working with them shoulder to shoulder, my salute to you, Prabodhda, Sri Prabodh Kumar Sasmal. None can forget the contribution of young camper's favourite Bantuda who even with a paralyzed right hand and suffering from many diseases from childhood never gave up and remained an inspiration for many. One pic of Bantu talking to a young camper is available here. Other pictures are available in http://picasaweb.google.com/gsaha.iitkgp/ChildrenSCamp2010#

As I complete this post, I finished discussion with two NSS volunteers who came in between.

Placebo

This establishes mind over matter although in a different way. Placebo effect is a much debated, often-ridiculed method which some found as a substitute for ignorance. This study shows there is a great potential of research in this direction. AP report published in TOI, Feb 20, 2010 edition.

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Not only mind,placebos may affect body as well: Study

London: When it comes to the placebo effect,it really may be mind over matter,a new analysis suggests.
In a review of recent research,international experts say there is increasing evidence that fake treatments,or placebos,have an actual biological effect in the body.
The doctor-patient relationship,plus the expectation of recovery,may sometimes be enough to change a patients brain,body and behaviour,experts write.The review of previous research on placebos was published online Friday in Lancet,the British medical journal.
Its not that placebos or inert substances help, said Linda Blair,a Bath-based psychologist and spokeswoman for the British Psychological Society.Blair was not linked to the research.Its that peoples belief in inert substances help.
While doctors have long recognised that placebos can help patients feel better,they werent sure if the treatments sparked any physical changes.
In the Lancet review,researchers cite studies where patients with Parkinsons disease were given dummy pills.That led their brains to release dopamine,a feelgood chemical,and also resulted in other changes in brain activity.With growing proof that placebos work,some doctors are trying to figure out how to capitalise on their effects,without being unethical.AP

Reaction

I used whatever free time I got to look for the reaction towards these back-to-back tragedies. In one, I wrote to Major S---- of Indian Army who has a root in IITkgp. In other case, I wrote to a very senior respected professor who was teacher of my teachers. The rest I read in newspaper or from web presence - blog, google buzz and so on. I'll share few of them which would definitely instil hope and confidence in us and show a direction.

I'll start with the reaction of Ankik's mother, Alpana Dhar that appeared in The Tlegraph and ToI.

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She could feel the grief of the families of EFR policemen killed in the Maoist attack, for she herself has lost two children in a terror attack.

At times, Alpana Dhar’s eyes turn moist. At times, a daze of disbelief takes hold as she gazes at newspapers carrying reports on the terror attack in Pune and the massacre by the Maoists in West Midnapore.

“I wish terrorism ended soon. It has become part of our daily life, snatching away bright young lives,” sobbed the mother of Ankik, 23, and Anindyee, 19, who died in Saturday’s blast at German Bakery in Pune.

“Many innocent lives have been lost in such violence in the past and perhaps many more will be lost in the future. I would have felt worse had they contracted some lethal ailment and suffered for days,” said Alpana.

“I had groomed them in a manner that they would become good human beings. After their death, I visited Anindyee’s college and Ankik’s office and everywhere I found people loved them,” Alpana recalled.

“We mourn our children, but we mourn their unfinished dreams even more. While Ankik was a number wizard and a bright IIT-ian who made it to a coveted position in an investment bank, Anindyee was extremely creative and went on to study photography. They both had plans to create a better society for the new era that is gradually awakening,” Alpana said.
After graduating from IITKharagpur, Ankik had once expressed his desire to take the GRE and go abroad. But Alpana wasn’t too keen on this as she had always tried to instil in her children the urge to stay back and serve the country. Ankik realised this and dropped his plan to leave the country.

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She is just not Ankik's mother, she is Mother India. Salute to thee. Let us be worthy son of her.

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Teacher of teachers speaks :

"Pune blast and maoist violence belong to different categories. Maoist violence is due to negligence and exploitation of the tribal poor for centuries;this exploitation has been mounting over the last few decades in the name of development.Tribals have lost their means of livelihood and very little effort has been made to improve their lot.Miltary offensive against them is of no use.We need people who would go and work with them ,be one of them,and find out what is best for the tribal people and act accordingly with support from all good Indians.I am reminded of the book "three cups of tea" by Mortenson on his experience with tribals in Afganistan;when you drink a cup of tea ,you are merely known ,when you drink two cups with them,you are getting closer and when you drink three cups of tea you become one of them and they listen.Spreading education of the kind particularly useful for tribals is an important step. A decent standard of life must be ensured.. Mahasweta Devi has made significant contribution in making us aware of jangal mahal people. There must be a massive Indian effort to wean the poor away from the path of violence. State and central military counter-violence is NOT the answer..
The Pune blast has possibly link with Pak engineered terrorism..." Prof. continues saying how a community by certain design were deprived of education and how Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose instilled a pride of Indianness across communities in his INA. A big and patient effort is needeed. For cross-border terrorism no chicken-hearted response will do.

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Major S----'s view

Dear Sir,

1. It is indeed tragic whenever innocent lives are lost and
especially when taken by our disillusioned brothers we refer to as
terrorist/Maoists.

2. Its important to understand the reasons which drive a particular
human being towards such cowardly activities. And reasons are not
complex but fairly simple ones.

3. In villages reason is simple lack of good education, economic
disparities, poverty, loans, dowry for daughter marriage (more is the
groom qualified more is the demand). It is very simple to brain wash
village people as they are simple and already feel isolated from main
stream. I had the opportunity of being posted to Arunachal Pradesh a
land of infinite scenic beauty, but it hurts to tell that even after
64 yrs of independence there are no roads/shops/schools/basic
facilities, leave aside these there are villages where people donot
wear clothes and still reside on mountain tops.

4. Now in such scenario what matters is who is the first one to go
and tap these human resources, definitely people and countries with
economic interest with the aim of destabilizing a developing nation
and corrupt its youth potential advantage have outscored our able
leaders and society.

5. In cities lack of jobs and ever visible degrading society culture,
police atrocities( jesica lal murder by a brat son of a politician,
ruchika’s molestation by a police DGP, Army land scam, Madhu koda
scam, Convicted for murder people like Shibhu soren reelected as CM
etc…) all these incidents creates stress in the jobless young
countrymen and installs sense of hatred, disillusionment and revenge
against the haves thus making them soft targets for exploitation.

6. The idea is to approach them before anti nationals do so. This can
be done very effectively by education, creating opportunities,
transparency and willingness in administrators to implement policies
fairly and without corruption, which I find is slowly being achieved
and implemented. Our society is evolving towards it, people have
started questioning politics, Scams are being busted and people being
arrested. The very fact we are discussing these issues shows the
willingness of present society which feels responsible and has the
potential to bring change.

7. What can be done at IIT level?
(a) The students taking up NCC should imbibe the spirit of
Discipline, Sacrifice, Service before Self, Team Spirit and
brotherhood rather than just taking up and completing the 2 years
since it is compulsory. A lot of responsibility lies on NCC group
imparting this education to students in true sense. Definitely a
student who imbibes the true message will turn out to be a better
student and in long run a better national.
(b) With NSS we should imbibe the message that we owe more to society
than we actually demand from it. NSS activities are mostly (not all
and not everywhere) focused to complete the 7 day routine camp without
the students learning or the village where camp is held having any
benefit. It is not an NSS activity to clean a village, NSS focuses on
teaching villagers how to remain clean. Students should be trained on
activities and those should be given as projects to implement in
nearby areas, where they interact with villagers and teach them how
to do so and then should be accordingly jugged. Activities could
range from how to keep village clean, how to manage
poultry/fishery/piggery, medical camps, building roads, bridges etc.
They basic idea is to win the hearts and minds of not haves by
interacting with them , participating with them and taking them along
rather than just spoon feed them so they are left lost once you leave.
Better still if we can adopt a village and develop it step by step.

8. Lastly sir, as SRK says it in his new movie MNIK there will always
be two types of people in this world GOOD and Bad. We all can strive
to be former irrespective of what and how many latters are.

Regards

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Google Buzz

CAN WE DO SOMETHING TO STOP THE MAOIST ATTACK IN OUR STATE..BENGAL:.....
every single man makes the difference...

its no like that army is not the one and only solution...every man is part of th solution and some role

Maoist belief stems from years of deprivation, starvation and primeval living conditions of the tribals....and the guerilla warriors are mostly demented souls who have been coaxed into believing that the world is to be won by force and warfare..u cannot uproot this menace by guns and bullets...the world needs more love, more care...if we cared more for the man next to us..learnt to show mercy, to learn forgiveness...if we all changed on the inside...if we could all extend our hands to those who have been deprived..probably sumday things will change..this needs concerted effort NOT a Burst of public outcry and then silence .....U DONT NEED TO BE IN THE ARMY TO BRING CHANGE, YOU NEED TO BE THE CHANGE WHEREVER YOU ARE...Feb 17

well said ..... bt the govt have already been unsuccessful playing with soft hands with them(i mean love and affection)..show them to leave in the mainstream of society bt they hardly care...should we not think something different(which i cant think) to stop this massarce....in our society?

plz explain how do u plan to stop a person who's planning to blow u up by showing him affection or love. these terrorists(broad category which includes all kinds of ppl who believe in killing innocents) shud b dealt wid only force-n that's the only sure shot way. the govt knows everything there is to knw abt them, all that remains is to wipe off all those nutters, but sadly no body around has the balls to do this

of course killing in self defence is not a choice, it is a necessity...but i'm saying doing only that by strengthening defence is not sufficient...its important to bring a change in the way the world runs ..."its a dog eat dog world"....THAT SHUD STOP! when ppl in authority sit to discuss an issue, its always things like race, caste, politics and god knows wat that comes into picture and thats the end of civilised discussion! ppl living away from the seats of power HAVE NO TRUST in the government..they view them as an enemy..i'm saying we have to get proactive in development activities in those places! make them see that they are part of our world too! by love i meant this....lets try to bridge the divide btwn the haves and the havenots.....thats where EVERY act of violence has its core!

problem actually doesnt lies in either hatred or it even cant be solved by path of love..............politically and practicallly speaking if we see the fighters who used to fight for either maosist or army organisation they are just doing their job in their respective areas.......and by some specific class of ppl they are continuously used.............unless and untill the exact relation at the top levels are not toatally exposed we cant find a solution.............i agree to the fact that love and all can make a difference.....but let me ask love can be a solution when the war in current scenario is only getting fuel of hatred........and i strongly beleive it's not like that..........politicians are using them now for their own benifits..........which are chosen by us..........so their is no point in making the discussion ideal......by 'INTRODUCING THE CONCEPT OF LOVE' ..............if it would have been an era of gandhi and nehru then i would have definately accepted it as a best way to deal with issue....because in those days these 'andolans' just came as a result of 'jamindari pratha' and all 'lokvirodhi kanoon'......and some group of ppl took the way of arms to deal with it............but now indirectly each and every common man sho goes to elect such leaders are responssible............change then ............or BECOME A CHANGE............then only u can improve12:38 pm

baap re.. KUCH hi fi bhaat going on.. :D hmm.. on the serious note.. awesome views yaar.. :)

TO ADD TO ABOVE VIEWS..yesterday (Feb 18, 2009) maoist attacked in bihar(jamui)..killing innocent people out of nothing...to add to it jst the day before nitish kumar..chief minister of bihar said the arms is not the solution to the above problem...and then u see the result..i think we should go for the other way and end this problem permanently...how long can gov jst hold a meeting and do then do nothing for this virus killing our country.....they have to take a serious action now ...and we common people have 2 play a very serious role in it.

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Blogspot

As was my first reaction, condemn and forget, so was the reaction of over 1 billion Indians, because thats all we do. But as soon as I came to know about the sad demise of Ankik Da, the anger, the frustration, the dissatisfaction, the grief reached an altogether different level……We dont raise a voice if the victim is unknown, and we stop raising voice in a month or two even if he is known.

There was 1 terror attack in the US and the terrorists have forgotten the path to US. We have been facing worse attacks than the 9/11 year after year after year and yet all we do is hope it wont happen again. We are pessimists who expect the government to fight for us while the truth is we cannot stand for ourselves or our neighbour, or friend or for anyone except for ourselves. We are hypocrites talking about peace and harmony. We are not peace loving, but a scared bunch of people who mask their fears by preaching about love and peace. Busy with our own comfortable life, we dont look around, we don't notice that we are next in line.

The question remains, why cant we bring about a change. Is it because the system is irreparable or because we are too lazy to make amends in it. I won't ask everyone to come forward, unite and take responsibilty to change the way things are around here coz this is the same country that has forgotten Gandhi's death, so these 9 deaths don't even stand in the line. But I am still writing all this since I believe, that some people think and act, coz i believe that even if one mind accepts this and wishes to change the way things are, the destiny will itself show the course. ….If the path is beautiful,first confirm where it leads, but if the destination is beautiful, dont bother how the path is..just keep walking...and this destination, my friends is much better than the timidness we have mistaken for reality.

--------------

Scrap to Ankit’s Orkut Space

We all the nw genaration people should be arise and protest against this terroist.So all guys of ankik,anindyee & shilpa should plzzzzzz take those responsibility.Otherwise we will lost another brilient,talented student or a person like ANKIK,ANINDYEE & SHILPA...So everybody wake up ...the tme starts now...

ur community says 'God is always there with me'..actually He wanted u to be with Him forever...may ur soul rest in peace wherever u r...its really high time that gov shld wake up nd do smthing effective...

No word of condolence is enough in these situations. But we surely can show our anger and keep the flame burning in us in order to annihilate each and every m****rf***ing terrorist from our land....... We will never forget u ankik(and ur sis and friend) cause if we forget u we'll lose the vision of making India a safe and secure country as well......

Sorry is too small a word........ but i guess d entire nation shud apologise to u n ur family for tolerating terror 4 soo long n paying 4 it wid innocent lives..... i dint kno u but it aches my heart n several others who blive in oneself ,peace n harmony...May God Almighty giv ur family d much needed strength n perseverence to cope wid dis irreplaceable loss...

Of course you don't die.
Nobody dies.
Death doesn't exist.
You only reach a new level of vision,
a new realm of consciousness,
a new unknown world.May ur soul rest in peace n god bless ur family n may strngthn deir mndz......

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Aftermath

It is a double blow. From West to East. Different group and different target. Newschannel started beaming yesterday, 7 p.m. onwards. It is Headline news of today's newspaper. Twenty four Eastern Frontier Rifles jawans are killed less than 100km distance from our IITkgp campus. They were supposed to protect our fronts, border. Have been put there to fight our own people who have taken up armed struggle. How difficult it is for a person who have taken oath to protect his own countryman to fight against that very person. Also the elite, the haves hardly join military. Unlike many other countries military service for youth even for a few years is not must in India. The have-nots are out to protect the haves and bite the bullet. In most of the cases, they are the only bread earner of the family. What happens to the family when a father, a husband, a son is lost? Do we count all these lives? Do we shed tear for them? Do we think that we can and we should also do something? We blame political class, admin. people, intelligence people, policy failure...is easy to point fingers at others. Have we ever considered what others think about us, the strong IIT community? Imparting technical education is fine. The best students that our country can offer are coming out of IITs in thousands, year after year spending the prime 4-5 years of their lives in UG, DD, PhD program, little less - 2-3 years for MTech, MS pograms. How much they can contribute to the development of the nation (they are the most capable), united they are a great force, committed they can take development to every far and corner of the country. Have we teachers been able to impart that sense of responsibility? First and foremost, do we find ourselves responsible? We have mandatory two year (1st and 2nd year of UG curriculum) of NCC(National Cadet Corps) and NSS(National Service Scheme) program. Have we ever taken it seriously and committed ourselves? We need a 'Nation First' attitude at least for next 10-15 years. Let the IITs which host the best of the country own the responsibility and lead from the front. Freedom struggle is behind us where we fought against external forces residing in our country. This is a struggle within to see the fruits of the development/freedom reacheing everyone. When I say 'struggle within', I mean both, struggle within the country - struggle within ourselves.

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PRELUDE

Thanks Ixxxx for your mail and the note received from Axxxx. It is sad that such acts are on the rise. Just now I find in TV that Naxalites have killed more than 16 jawans in a camp at Shilda, not far from KGP. Check Star Ananda and other channels.

I know not much about who are already brainwashed. What I know that who are not yet are to be flooded with positive thoughts, care, development ... so that they can counter negative influences. Can anyone kill people just like that? For some waging war against the country it is just a job. I am talking about foot-soldiers picked up from common people. We have to reach out to them.

The following is what I tried to send to Prof. Nxxxx after today's condolence meet. That time I did not know about the imminent Naxal attack. The post I wrote this morning in my blog can be found in http://gskgp.blogspot.com/2010/02/tragedy.html

In grief with all of you

-----------------------------------------------
Dear Sir,

You wondered why there is no outpour of anger. How much I welcome that! My only submission is that the fire is to be preserved and translated into action that goes into the making of a Nation. Most of the the times our responses are knee-jerk and ends in rhetoric. Sir, tell us from your vast experience what is needed. Sir, tell us what we can do as an individual as a member of very, very strong IIT community, how to fulfill our quota of service to the nation. The little travel I do, the little exposure I have with communities which is not elite (Rxxxx used the term), one can see a growing division, alienation and that make them a kind of soft target for people who are waging a war against the nation. Besides terror attack, we have many more disturbances within the country that is wiping off hundreds of lives every month for whom there is no support system, could be the only bread-earner of the family...we should condemn that and IIT community may ponder if they have any role to play.

Today we are mourning death of Ankik, because he was one of us. When the news first came, I first checked if our relatives in Pune are OK. We felt a kind of relieved after that. Anguished again when one of the dead was known to me. http://gskgp.blogspot.com/2010/02/tragedy.html I asked one of my NSS 1st year UG student friend this morning. He tried to be kind towards me - "Sir, it is human nature." The question is how we can become unselfish, what is our role as teacher-as student-as citizen of this country-as social being-as someone looking for a better career. And time is limited. How to fuse seemingly conflicting goals.

Sir, it would be interesting to receive some suggestions from you. Also your experience might tell us that certain goals are illusory or transient and not worth attempting.

Only to show that we are trying to do something seriously and sincerely and it is not all emotion, I am reproducing some of my posts to NSS googlegroup.

Warm regards

Tragedy

I was out of station for GATE exam. duty when the news of Pune blast broke. Our immediate reaction was to find if our relatives staying in Pune are alright. Yes, they are safe. A sense of relief descended. It is ironical as if the tragedy belongs to somebody else, family members of those nine who died in the blast. India is vast country. Everyday somewhere or the other there is disturbence and people die. Can we take notice of each one of them? After all, we also have a right to enjoy life! That goes the logic. We don't realize till our own house is set on fire! Somebody from our own family or community gets hurt. We feel frustrated, angered ... others remain indifferent as usual...ultimately, it becomes a personal tragedy and there is no collective, conscious, cohesive effort to address why this is happening, what is needed to solve this, what role I can play. Patriotism is now placed to history book which is not to be taken seriously as competitive exam. have different syllabi. Independence Day and Republic Day are now marked for shopping festivals. The handful that attend the ceremonial parade are more concened to get their attendance recorded in teacher's register and leave at the earliest opportunity. Community service, to work for the underprivileged, to bridge the gap between haves and have-nots are not well explained, neither one tried to understand that - Me as a parent, Me as a teacher are only concerned about how well my ward are making good career progress. It is least of my concern how well he is integrating with the society at large. In some cases I as a guardian would like to keep him centred around few things and limit his interest in other things ... saying, it is a selfish world, my child!

If above is the analysis of my sense of relief after the phone call, we were surprised yesterday evening on reaching IITkgp campus after completing our outstaion job. It was a hectic schdule for all of us to conduct a national level entrance exam. at state capital, many of us had to skip formal lunch. A silent candle-lit procession of students stopped our vehicle. One of my collegue in the bus started wondering. Is it the anniversary of the student who died last year? The other said - No, it was not on Valentine's Day. The third said - Could it be a new expression for V-Day? But they would be anything but silent. As we descended from bus one Prof. of our Dept. told - Do you know ... it was in memory of Ankik Dhar, our E&ECE student graduated last year. Nobody can forget Ankik, that smiling face .. now in first page of many newspaper, flooding internet sites. That is the time we felt terror at our door step. Checked our E&ECE faculty mail. Members of faculty mourning the death, HOD calling a condolence meeting. In our residential complex, one faculty griefed, lashed out that so much need to be done. Went to Ankik's orkut profile. Checked his photo album. Read the Scholaravenue obituary, and other write ups of his friends. Remember Ankik. Taught him in the class, lab. Watched his BTDS performance. Debated with him on various issues. The entire IIT community feels grieved.

The question remains unanswered - where do we go from here, why we remain oblivious till it hurts us personally?

Non-invasive!

Here lies one of our difficulty in popularizing the 'Heart Sound Analyzer', a VERY low cost non-invasive primary diagnostic solution from Dept. of Electronics & ECE, IIT Kharagpur, a winner of DST Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program 2009. That it is non-invasive and zero risk in nature, that invasive technology should not be abundantly used specially as primary diagnostic tool, that for cases where something suspicious is found in primary analysis a more detailed observation can be made from invasive ultrasound based technology etc... are finding roadblocks for popular misconceptions such as these. BBC News healthcare medical notes put ultrasound based echocardiography in 'Non-invasive' category. Here is the link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/medical_notes/g-i/764038.stm

I had to fight a lot with a senior person holding important portfolio in a VERY big multinational medical device manufacturer company at IKMC 2009 ( http://www.ikmc2009.com ) who was pushing their echocardiogram as non-invasive device and are trying to market a reduced feature version for mass-market saying it is absolutely safe. After contradicting him I gave him and the audience at Taj GVK, the reference of the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS) safety guidelines

http://www.bmus.org/policies-guides/pg-safety03.asp

I am surprised to see the ignorance around non-invasiveness of a medical device where general population are held under a misconception and given a false sense of security by calling a invasive device non-invasive. Simply speaking, from these devices high power ultrasound signal invades the body and gets reflected back which is analyzed. The high energy signal when absorbed by body cell can affect kinetics of chemical reaction, cause cavitaion etc. depending on amount of temperature rise and thus is potentially harmful. Higher power level and higher duration give better image/information (in the reflected wave) but that are more harmful to human body. It depends on the operator if he is following safety guidelines or more importantly educated about safety issues. Even then, under pressure (if he does not get a good reflected image and his efficiency questioned) he might overshoot the limits.

However, this post is to address a more fundamental issue, whether an invasive device can be marketed as non-invasive. My little experience shows that here is where engineering professionals are fooling medical professionals. A physician does not see any incision, neither the ultrasound is visible (so is X-Ray, but it is much more harmful so nobody tries to market X-ray as non-invasive), what he finds a reflected image where inside body parts are moving and he feels that movement itself generating the image/video itself and the device is non-invasive.

Let me end this post by quoting BMUS safety guidelines. Much harsher words about potential safety hazards are used by others but surprisingly are never highlighted.

"Despite its apparent excellent safety record, ultrasound imaging involves the deposition of energy in the body, and should only be used for medical diagnosis, with the equipment only being used by people who are fully trained in its safe and proper operation. It is the scan operator who is responsible for controlling the output of the ultrasound equipment. This requires a good knowledge of scanner settings, and an understanding of their effect on potential thermal and mechanical bio-effects.

A fundamental approach to the safe use of diagnostic ultrasound is to use the lowest output power and the shortest scan time consistent with acquiring the required diagnostic information."