Land of Opportunity

A village boy comes from a district which is 6 hours from Kolkata towards North. His father had a small business of selling mosquito net, but also a dream of making the youngest son an engineer.

Village school education was free but could not help the boy securing good enough a rank for Govt. Engineering colleges. An education loan helped to get an admission in a private engineering college in the neighbouring district for which a village school teacher stood guarantor.

There was a campus job offer of Rs. 12000 p.m. but while joining the boy found the company to be a fake one. Off-campus attempt to get a job asked for a Rs. 25000 deposit to a company. The job was found to be one where he had to climb tall cell phone towers in hills without safety gear. Mother asked him to leave the job and come back home.

Some neighbours and members of larger family members laughed at this fate of the engineer. He started helping father in the mosquito net business. Some gave suggestion to work as labour and learn masonry.
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The phone call came yesterday evening when I was returning from Kolkata after an official work. There were best presentation award in conference, publication in very good journal before (more in the pipeline). Now comes a 'signal processing' work related job offer from campus placement in one of the most reputed company of the world. This is an international brand that offers only premium products which are aspiration of who's who.

Wish the father was there today to see what his engineer son is up to. During his project and M.S. work here, the son was devastated to hear but then did his best to take the father to the best place in the country offering cancer treatment.
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It is time for search engines to redefine "Land of opportunity"! The boy once shared that every evening after returning to hostel from lab. he takes time out to talk to himself - to analyze the problems in hand and find ways to overcome them. And, he finds this poster inspiring!

The successful run of biopics at Bollywood in recent times may evoke interest in this script!!!

Bharat - Ek Prem Gatha

The train finally moved at 4:15 AM, 6:30 hrs. later than the scheduled time. Announcements of incremental delays due to 'operational reasons' came infrequently. It was left to guess what were those 'operational reasons' as each answer from the persons who mattered added to the confusion. It was a long wait with 2 unwell members for a family of 3 and, many others. As we boarded, we lost no time to hit the bed. We had 3 sleepers in one side of a block of 8.

Woke up little later when 4 co-passengers of that block boarded the train. One berth went vacant. An elderly lady was in charge of that family of 4 and was instructing what the rest 3 would do. Her son, appeared to be an off-duty, young army man, was following the orders and meticulously made bed for all four. The elderly lady and her husband had the side berths. The son and the bahu had two berths in the middle. The lady's loud voice and the son's mild reply in affirmative slowly, slowly started fading ...

The morning came late. We had to get down at 10:00 AM. These co-passengers were making a longer journey. The elderly lady ordered the son to arrange tea. The vendor served dip-tea. The bahu in ghunghat was unaware of how to handle dip-tea setup. The son helped her under a watchful pair of eyes from the side berth. The elderly lady suggested something as snacks for all. The bahu didn't seem to utter any word but the son understood. More options available in the pantry car which was only two coaches' away. A radiant glow and she started walking towards the pantry car barefoot. The son got an error message and stopped her. The sandals were far underneath the lower berth. The son struggled to take them out and then she moved on. The son was tying lace of his shoes when the elderly lady murmured, "Baap par gayi (went by her father)!" to which came the mild reply but this time in negative, "Itni chhoti na soch, Ma (Don't think it that low, Mother)."

The son and bahu were away. The elderly lady spoke a few things to her husband who quietly listened. Then the lady went to give her back some rest and started watching the nature through train window. The elderly man got down from his seat and set two pillows to her back and made room so that she could stretch her legs and relax. The son and bahu came back soon with snacks of individual choices and all of them started having it.

It was time for us to deboard. The accent in which the family spoke made me remember the movie with dialogues such as, "Gold toh gold hota hai ... chhora lave ya chhori." Didn't know why but felt there was a plot in this story that was begging for unmaking through a larger plot of "Bharat - Ek Prem Gatha."

Category: Semi-fiction, Embedded-reality

At the other side

Human makes mistake. I am human, therefore! This week, after watching the movie "Uma", work of an award winning Director, I made the mistake of telling a group of three persons that everything is excellent about the movie except that without Mahishaurmardini (Mahalaya) pieces in the background / foreground one would always fall short of recreating Durga Puja; Anjan Dutta in his character role could have been less loud and there were too-muchness in the use of the dialogue. "I want to make a master-piece." Last week after watching Boom-Boom "Satyameba Jayate", I didn't say anything to anybody, even to myself. Earlier, after watching "Dhadak", while leaving the hall, I just murmured if that was the only way to end the movie which invoked an angry retort from a fellow spectator, "Why not if that is what our society is."

The Karma caught up with me soon. I was asked to shoot a 3 minute long promotional video for an upcoming 3 month long program. For this, I had to fit myself into many different roles, that of script-writer, background designer, dress designer, make up man, director and also, actor. And there was only 24 hours of time for all these with no relief from usual office and household work.

I started with a visit to the studio. The camera crew showed how it would be done and examples of few such promotional videos which were shot before. Most importantly, they provided lots of encouragement and told me that I need not be nervous. A slot of 2-3 PM was given next day i.e. today.

I started writing a 3-minute script and came up with a one pager. People who I sought feedback from uttered the minimum but a look of disagreement said what they wanted to say, that I could have done much better. After one iteration it appeared to me as okayish. It was late evening, too late to get a feedback on that. Then, started working on the background design which was completed late night.

The director in me told that there must be lots of energy, enthusiasm, cheerfulness in the delivery with a matching get up. The actor in me, facing the camera first time for such a promotional shoot, had everything in contrast in him. The shirt has to be single coloured, preferably dark. The trouser could be anything as the shot would be above the waist.

Found that the dark, single coloured shirts in the stock need to be ironed. The earliest I could get it done from outside was this evening. Who does not know that self-help is the best help? There was a visit to barber's shop. He was surprised as it was ahead of the schedule. Little touch up after which he reminded that I need to pay another visit before Durga Puja.

It was 1:15 PM to return home after conducting midterm project viva. There were 30 minutes for a rehearsal. Got a quiet room and started reading the script loud. My own voice appeared strange to me. Got accustomed to after reading it few times. Daughter got drawn from next room with a camera in hand and there were funny takes.

Reached the studio at 2 PM sharp. The camera crew told that reading out from script was not allowed. This was known to the director in me but the actor in me was praying for the opposite. "Can there be a prompter, a screen in front wherefrom I can read it out?" The crew looked at me meaningfully. They understood that they had a difficult job ahead of them. And the answer to the question was negative.

Some effort with the chroma software and background fixing, combing of hair for which mobile phone camera in selfie mode came handy, and we were good to go at 2:30 PM. The studio was to be released for other work at 3:00 PM. Take 1 survived 30 seconds. Take 2 about a minute. Fumbling after going good for 2 minutes in Take 3. For Take 4, camera crew asked not to start all over again but from where I stopped in Take 3. They concluded by that time that I was not in a position to finish a 3 minute's script at one go.

It was 2:55 PM. The persons who would take over the studio at 3 PM was at the door. One crew asked me to go for another full take as they wanted to make some change in proportion of my image and that of the background. I began all over again and behold, the whole 3 minutes' shot was okay at one go in this Take 5. The crew were very happy for their accomplishment. I was in a state of disbelief, "Did I do it?" The next slot persons watched this take in the monitor. They entered when I was packing up and congratulated.

Endnote: It was a lesson learnt. Never ever critcize a script-writer, director, actor, etc. Who knows whether the persons from that make-believe world can make that famous "Om Shanti Om" dialogue (Kehte hain ki, ... agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaaho to puri kayanat usey tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai) work in the reverse direction, too? 
 :-)

Not in Syllabus

PART I

I was sitting at the back among freshly inducted students in the 'unreserved' seats of Netaji Auditorium. Tried but could not ignore when a hand waved at me from the first row. Got introduced to Samarth and Ashay with once held NSS (National Service Scheme) identity of mine. Samarth asked if I could recognize him. He was from Mechanical Engg. dept., graduated in 2014 and was an NSS volunteer. Ashay was shyer of the two. We two managed a gentle nod. The stage was up for the screening of 'UNRESERVED', an award winning documentary, directed by Samarth and produced by Ashay.

The occasion was freshers' induction program. On 23rd July, the UG 1st year joined the institute and a week long induction program was arranged for them to get acclimatised to the environment; before the rigour of the academic work starts. Samarth and Ashay got introduced to the audience. Both spoke briefly in the beginning and the interactive session was reserved after the screening of the film.

The one hour documentary has eleven segments interwoven in such a manner that one would remain riveted to it. The segments were picked up from their 17 day long train journey in unreserved compartments throughout India. The Rs. 1 Lakh budget asked for a minimalist approach -  only a DSLR camera and a microphone to shoot. No retake, no rehearsal - documentary it is, yet it has the ingredients of many full length feature films - the ones that make you smile, that make you cry, that make you think. The film shows things as they are and never sounds preachy. At the same time, the characters in the unreserved compartments appear more qualified than many a experts who occupy prime time television space to speak on important issues faced by the country. One would vouch that the  greatest of the actors cannot match their expressions whatever be the number of takes because it was effortless real. Needless to say, the audience was deeply moved by the movie and a standing ovation was more than due at the end of the screening (Link).

I shall refrain from sharing the actual content of the movie rather, would urge everybody to spare one hour to watch the movie, available for free in youtube (Link). Assured that it would be a revelation of a different kind and our love for the country and its people would make a quantum leap after seeing the movie. It is not sympathy but empathy which will overpower us, we shall cry when they cry and we shall laugh when they laugh. We shall feel a kind of oneness and an urge to be by their side and gently ask, "How do you feel now?" Of all the questions that were asked at the end by the freshers, there was one which could be there with many of us. While Samarth worked in an MNC for six months after graduation from Mechanical Engg. Dept. before making the plunge, Ashay moved into film-making immediately after graduation from Industrial & Systems Engineering. The question asked was why they did the Engg. if they were to go into film-making. And, Samarth answered smilingly, "Engineering is the new plus two (i.e. Higher Secondary) of current times." Both of them went through a discovery phase during their engineering days here. Both were into short-film making which was a part of their extra-curricular activities and were competing for Hall Championship (they were from different Halls) which helped them identify what they were up to.

They told that film making has three different elements in it - script, camera, editing. One may not be good in all and thus, needs to team up. They are ready to help current students in any of their projects. They particularly mentioned of the opportunities lying ahead for NSS volunteers among them who would be working among underprivileged in adjoining villages and slums. Presented below are two videos from NSS Camp 2016 (students speaking) and 2017 (faculty members speaking).

PART II

There was an interactive session arranged in the Dept. for UG freshers and their guardians on 23rd July evening. With 100+ students joining, there was not a big enough room in the Dept. to address all of them together and we had two separate sessions - one with the students and one with the guardians. The students were in a very happy mood to join a premier dept. of a premier institute. While few, only a few, seemed little nervous, the rest appeared very confident while introducing themselves. Next, we interacted with the guardians who understandably, was anxious to get separated from their wards. We assured them and also made them aware of issues in general faced by the students and how the guardians can keep a tab if there is any slippage and also, how we all can work together - that stepping into an IIT for them is an important step but it is only a step (a 2012 Freshers' Intro. Link). Some of the guardians said if we shared the same with the students in the earlier session. Did we? :-)

The last two Sunday study circles had members uttering the words "Not in Syllabus" in the context of what we need to be taught in our formative years. We leave certain important learning outcomes to learning by default and wonder if we fall short when those outcomes matter. Yes, those are "Not in Syllabus."

Few days back, I was listening to an interactive session of Swami Sarvapriyananda of Ramakrishna order with young students of Shilpamandir, Belur, a Polytechnic college. It was partly in English and partly in Bengali. The discussion was on the topic, "Personal habits for higher work efficiency." Presented below a summary of this discourse in which he is asking all students to understand the significance of five key points to make the best of their student days. Incidentally, Swami Sarvapriyananda got his Business Management degree from XIMB (Bhubaneswar) and delivered series of lecture before IIT Kanpur students and many places abroad. His TEDx talk can be found here (Link).

Point 1: Have self-confidence.
And he quotes Vivekananda. “He is an atheist who does not believe in himself. The old religions said that he was an atheist who did not believe in God. The new religion says that he is an atheist who does not believe in himself.” No matter how talented one is, lack of confidence in oneself would put one's foot in the brake pedal and would not let one accelerate or move forward. The one having self-confidence does not feel shy of trying and thus, has higher probability to succeed. We need to remember, if another person could do, with effort I can do the same and can even surpass.

Point 2: Have a high goal in life.
It helps in channelising one's energy in a particular direction which helps in achieving excellence. There is no place for mediocrity if one wishes to reach the pinnacle of success. In any journey we undertake, when we board a vehicle, we do tell the driver where we want to go. Where would we like to go in our life's journey? Not having a purpose - random frittering would lead to a void and frustration would engulf us in time to come.

Point 3: Learn concentration.
Swami Vivekananda said that the difference between an ordinary person and an extraordinary person lies in the degree of concentration. Practise of concentration goes through three phases - focusing on something, cutting out rest of the world, holding that focus. He gives an example from the life of his brother disciple Swami Ramananda (IIT JEE All India Rank 2, CGPA near 10 when graduated, now a faculty member of Ramakrishna Vivekananda University, Link) where after study hours, drum playing started but Swami was so engrossed in study that he did not recognize it. Somebody tried to converse, gently pulled his feet but he had no sense of it. Only when someone pulled the book, he got startled and started making a meaning of the surroundings. Yes, the concentration can be so deep!

Point 4: Learn time-management.
Greatest resource of life is time and each is bestowed with same amount of this important resource, while other resources may differ. How we utilize 24 hours of a day in life makes the difference. One can divide what we take up in four categories: (i)Urgent and important, (ii)Urgent but not important, (iii)Not urgent but important, (iv)not urgent and not important. Many things that are important for our life do not get the priority (urgency) it deserves (Category (iii)) and we keep it postponing. We find ourselves looping between (ii) and (iv) only to find it is too late 10-20 years down the life. Swami visited two institutes with almost similar infrastructure. One of them was rated much higher. In it, students were using the lab., library etc. while they were empty in the other institute.

Point 5: Be unselfish.
This is the secret of success which often illudes us. Selfishness comes from poverty mentality. Unselfishness comes from prosperity mentality. We human or so rich - we have time, energy, knowledge, intellect, money - if we give, what we get back in return is many times more. It may take time to understand this - the earlier one understands this, the luckier is the person. Swamy gives an example from a US university. A Psychology Professor one day didn't take the class and spent his earning to take the students to a popular movie. The students were very happy. Week later, he again called off the class but this time took the students to a slum where they gave various toys, gifts to underprivileged children. The students enjoyed that visit and was happy, too. Both occasions, students gave a rating of 3 to 5 in a scale of 1 to 5 on how happy / satisfied they were. Six months down the line, when these students were asked to recollect these two visits and how happy they felt now, in the former the rating came down to 1-2 while the later maintained the same 3-5 level. To be effective, one needs to work with others and cannot afford to be self-centred. Unselfish people are more effective, successful and happier.

The video of Swami Sarvapriyananda talking to students follows. The sticker in this Part II showing the difference between successful and unsuccessful people was sent yesterday by a friend who graduated from here with us. After completing B.Tech. in Computer Science & Engg., he did his Masters in a reputed US University, provided consultancy to many Fortune 500 companies etc.. But, wait! There comes something which was not in syllabus!! His current interests lie in bringing out the original spirit of ancient Sanskrit wisdom to modern times.

Over a cup of coffee

[Adapted from this FB post. Prelude of it can be found here / here / here. ]

The speaker of this TED talk [Youtube Link] (nearly 0.5M views in 3.5 months since publication), Scott Galloway is a 'Clinical' Professor of Marketing at the New York University Stern School of Business [Linkedin profile]. Yesterday afternoon, had an opportunity of a 90 minute adda at Tikka over a cup of coffee with one of our alumnus who did his MBA in the same business school. Currently, he is working on investment in start-ups and helping M & A with big corporations.

Such interaction is very educative for us who work with students and their aspirations. It was learnt that 10 percent of the start-ups are definitely promising. Many start-ups do oversell, are risk-averse while there are those who are quite confident. And, larger fraction of these start-ups are in Artificial Intelligence (AI) targeting the Digital Marketing space.

This made me reflect upon the recent controversy about Cambridge Analytica's misuse of social media platform in grand scale [The Guardian follow up]. Could it be that tighter rules and regulations are in the offing on data ownership, protection? While it is being believed that the 'data is new oil' of the economy, there is increasing awareness and concern on misuse of data and its unintended exploitation.

Going forward, sharing of data across platforms may not be found as easy. Informed consent may mean much more than clicking "I Agree" button where the person concerned as per his background will actually be able to make out what he gives consent to and what are it's consequences. He can pick and choose and not forced to agree en-block, without the sword of denial of service (the basic service which is essential today and is to be considered undeniable) hanging on his neck. It should be explicit if the person himself (his digital self) is going to end up being a saleable product, if so, how he exercises his right to know who holds his digital persona at a given time and for what purpose (since he is more than a poultry animal, nurtured with what it thinks as free stuffs, to get eventually sold).

The hard hitting TED talk of Prof. Galloway follows a Q & A session where he says, "They (Corporations) are not concerned about conditions of our souls. They are not going to take care of me when I get older. We have set up a society that value shareholder's value over everything and they are doing what they are supposed to be doing."

Zeynep Tufekci's TED talk [Youtube Link] was published just one month before Galloway's, on 11-11-2017. Zeynep, associated with University of North Carolina and Harvard, does research on social implications of emerging technologies in the context of politics and corporate responsibility. Her talk is very incisive on how things work out in digital space and what is its implication for which she gives specific examples.

One of her finding shows that in this AI driven world, a bipolar, manic person may be found the most gullible by the algorithm to buy a ticket to Las Vegas since such people overspend, and then he is pushed such content that makes him go for the purchase. Her own study of a particular rally showed youtube's AI algorithm pushing more of white surpremacist's video in increasing order of extremism through suggestions. She also talked about an experiment where 67 M people were shown two different content through pop-up, the second one was more persuasive than the first to perform a task; and much larger share of the people of the second group did really fell for the task.

She finds that whatever be the intention of the seemingly good people writing these AI algorithms, the persuasive architecture of the algorithm eventually finds out that if it shows something enticing, hardcore, something that can affect emotion and behaviour, then people will give more attention and they can be persuaded to do what the algorithm aims at. Therefore, the associated liability cannot be just transferred to the algorithm, however deep and opaque it might be, where people behind it claim innocence.

The last TED talk of this post [Youtube Link], dated July, 2017, is that of Tristan Harris [Website]. He is said to be the “closest thing Silicon Valley has to a conscience.” He suggests that we must embrace following three as solution and at the earliest. (i)We need to acknowledge that we can be persuaded (our ego may find it difficult to acknowledge), (ii) We need new model and accountability system (transparency in the flow) and (iii) We need a design renaissance that would aim at (a)protecting us and (b)empowering us.

In our yesterday afternoon's Tikka adda, our human intelligence (whatever is left) told that besides artificial intelligence, issues related to genetic engineering need our immediate attention!!

Note: The above is as understood by me in a finite time and, misunderstandings, if any, cannot be attributed to other persons appearing in this post.