Farewell

You are more into something when you are away from it.

Miss the farewell function of this evening for our final year students of the Dept., which I presume, by now is at its peak.
My best wishes to all. May you all become worthy children of this country and we all feel proud of you. May you all nurture in you how this institute came up in a detention camp of freedom fighters, where two of them laid lives when British police fired at them, where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose visited. May you all remember your role as a maker of this nation. The country cannot afford to make the best of its education infrastructure available to all. It is given to the chosen few, the most capable ones, who you are, the blessed, the deserving ... with a hope, with an urge that the enriched you, your capacity  will help raising the country, your fellow countrymen - the suffering millions, the downtrodden, the ones who also deserve access to education, employment, health, shelter, a space for themselves ... who are waiting with expectations in those tearful eyes..... in overcrowded general compartment of trains, in long queues of Govt. hospitals....when the educated, the empowered ...you, will reach out to them.

I am sure, wherever you are, you will carry 'India' with you and will not leave any opportunity to see that India achieves the much desired inclusive growth ... beyond islands of excellence ... creating opportunities for all. Tall task indeed ... that's why the hope rests on the tallest amongst us, young graduating IITians. Your batch, previous and succeeding batches - together you are a great force, you can and I am sure you will. The nation will see in you not only leaders in technological field but leaders who are 'Dedicated to the service of the Nation' on their graduating day, as inscribed in the magnificent main building that beholds all of us. Let me end this little speech :-) with what we all KGPians remember by heart, the famous quote from Pandit J. L. Nehru's first convocation address, "Here in the place of that Hijli Detention Camp stands the fine monument of India, representing India's urges,India's future in the making. this picture seems to me symbolical of the changes that are coming to India." May you all lead a happy, prosperous and meaningful life. May God bless you.

The old building of IIT Kharagpur during World War II, a picture from pre-independence era.

 

The making of the new building. The main gate was in place before others.

 The making of the signature tower. The F-116 (Bhatnagar Auditorium) entrance to main building is in place.

Instant Gratification

Have been quite busy this year to be regular with my posts. The following I read today morning in The Hindu (Link) on sad demise of an IIT-M student. Dr. Vijayakumar has raised a very pertinent point in the last paragraph of the report which is reproduced below. If possible, I shall try to share my observation on this later. All stake holders - students, parents, teachers must act together in imparting basic values of life from an early age. The 'career only' approach to our education process leaves yawning gap in the life and character of youngsters. Each of us is responsible in someway and must think beyond that it had happened to somebody else's son / daughter. We need to act early and now.
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The reason driving students to committing suicide may not always be related to academics. “Most students in IITs have slogged really hard to get there . When they come here, they feel there are many others better than them, which would not have been the case back home. Coping with those realities becomes difficult,” Dr. Vijayakumar said. Also, the issue of handling relationships is important. “Youngsters today are so used to getting everything instantly, right from their pizza to money, that they want the same in relationships too. Educational institutes should help them cope with the failures of everyday life.” she said.
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