Counselling

Dream

"Dream is not what you see in sleep. Dream is the thing which does not let you sleep."

This evening I got a call from the adjacent computer room which was then under command and control of Her Highness! I was at my relaxed best watching television - after an 8 hours stay at office on an Institute holiday! If one sneers that 'watching television' in the evening is too low level an activity to be engaged in, I have some techno-social explanation to offer. This can be weakly related to 'Nyquist Frequency'. I was covertly experimenting what could be the ideal sampling frequency of watching channels in a multiplexed condition. Multiplexing here refers to the techno part and is not related to 'multiplexes' society in general relates to and television brings the society in its all hues colours in our drawing room! Yes, I was watching IPL 4, two Bengali news channels covering state election, one Hindi channel depicting life of Sai Baba, two English news channel giving miscellaneous news and one movie channel simultaneously in a time sampled manner!!!!

In the middle of doing such a serious job which had the potential of developing 'Goutam's Frequency' of channel surfing, came the call - too powerful to ignore! Her Highness appeared to be quite excited. She was there to look for some missed episodes of her favourite TV serial from the net. What happened? Is there an n-th reincarnation of a character who died (n-1)th time p episodes back? As I entered, I saw a photograph of Dr. Kalam on the computer screen which carried above quote. She was writing down in a piece of paper the neo-definition of dream, very excited.Wish all of us take a mental note of it and live for a dream.

Postponed

Flashback to yesterday evening. The review meeting was just over. The reviewer seems to be quite pleased. They talked about how to take the work forward. They were referring to protecting IP (Intellectual Property i.e. patenting), commericialization of this piece of technology on biometric authentication. Lots of suggestions received for developments of sub-IPs. There was quite a good amount of feel-good factor amongst all. This area too was also considered to be at an inflection point and expect to catch up, in terms of recognition, with what our lab. got in biomedical area.

Next, this project team gathered in my office. We discussed the next steps, the division of labour etc.. We were to attend dinner arranged as a part of this review. Towards the end of this meeting, I turned my attention to one project student who remained absent without information, appears to take things not that seriously. I told, "Hope you remember that your scolding is due and got postponed due to this project review! Today there is a dinner after this. Let us schedule it on Monday." The student said, "I admit that I made a mistake. I deserve scolding. But can it be postponed to 29^th (next Friday)? I have one exam. On 28^th April." We agreed on that schedule. The other project student who faulted once, told  "Please remember that my quota of scolding is done. You scolded me for two days."

Concentration, Passion

There was a new project student in this meeting who was surprised at how we conversed. I took an example which Sri Ramakrishna used to explain. Our mind is like mustard seeds in a bag that got pierced and became scattered all over, on a floor. It is so difficult to gather all of them and put them back in the bag. One has to practise concentration, meditation may be too much to expect for a beginner. There is a nice, short (only 2 pages) article on how to improve concentration here (Link). It is important to have control over mind and focus on research. The parallel sun rays if focused through a magnifying glass become so powerful that it can cause fire. Asked them to spend one month’s undivided attention to research and see how wonder works. Vivekananda said, "The difference between an ordinary person and a great person is in the power of concentration."

This morning I was listening to Mr. Ram Narayan of Dept. of Telecommunication, Govt. of India. He was referring to how we Indian lack in our temperament in approaching research problem. We treat it as a job. If the clock strikes 9 PM, we feel tired and think that we have done is enough. (Yes, he said 9 PM ... and one may not be surprised to see people who are mentally off at 6:00 PM or even earlier.) He continued to share his wisdom. The people who  ‘çreate’ and with whom we compete internationally, not only remain awake for one night but many nights. Madam Curie sold her house to fund research. Such  passion is somehow missing. He further said, ‘Failure’ is not when you fail but when you do not get up.

Originality

Few days back one UG student asked for an appointment. The student finds the mode of instruction, evaluation unexciting and wants to go to the bottom of a topic that is liked. The fellow students do not like that approach and thus cannot strike a cord. Communication became a problem amongst them. I discussed how the world is hungry for originality. The originality is to be preserved for the good. Being original is a virtue and this is an important ingredient that helps to create.

Then we discussed how doing well in exam. is important even if that means being monotonous at times. The better one does in exam., the more time and confidence one has to pursue one's original thinking. A not so capable person looks for advantageous proposition only. A capable person can convert any proposition to his/her advantage. It is not at all difficult to do well in academics in IIT system because of continuous evaluation if someone is serious. It was admitted that the regularity had been missing in study and that would be corrected. Nice to see that the student comes occasionally in google chat and is trying to remain engaged. My best wishes.

Tough Task

Got a kind of distress call from an elder sometime back for their ward, a college student. It is very common these days to get into a relationship in college days. Initially, I declined thinking it is not correct to come into personal space of a 20 years old. But the parents continued to ask me to counsel. They neither agree nor disagree to that relationship but wants the commitment part to be postponed by few more years; till the college education is over, till the youngsters get adequate time to be acquainted with the world, become some more matured.

I must say that it was one of the toughest task of recent times. My first such engagement. Tried to convey the parents argument to the ward and vice-versa. In the process, when all were present, my own view was sought. I don't think there is any prize to guess what I said. I don't claim to be an expert. And there seems to be too many experts around. Also often while trying to do 'mentoring', we try to 'control' others and impose ourselves, without respecting the journey of an individual.

Experts Speak

Therefore, it is best left to those who are not street smart. I would like to refer to this very very beautiful discourse of a Ramakrishna Mission Monk that can be found here (Link). Another wonderful discourse from from a teacher who now gives lecture to Ramakrishna Mission monks can be found here (Link) that talks about life's goal, the benefit one can derive by following higher thoughts and ideals.The 2nd lecture was addressed to students of Sister Nibedita School of Kolkata. He talked about how there is improvement in confidence, concentration.

Almost a month back I was watching one episode of 'Awakening with Brahma Kumaris' where Sister Shivani dealt this nicely. I have not been able to locate that in youtube. But in this one (Link) Sister gives almost a 360 degree view on 'Personality Development' and puts the responsibility on oneself. She was addressing an audience where there were many young members.

Finally, this Kids Marshmallow Experiment on 'Self Control' which is referred even by Scientific Americana is not simply hilarious. It shows how our reward system works and how we learn to deal with temptation and develop our own mechanism to handle it. If a child can do that, why not we elders? We know very well the kind of reward waiting for us when we achieve our research goal. Let us exercise our will power and remain a life long learner.

Holidaying

Relieved

Just now Benida rang and told that Kounish's father has returned from Chaitanyapur Eye Hospital and the eye is saved. We were all worried. We saw 'Kaku' working in a coal shop in our younger days, struggling hard to cope up with life. Both the sons, Koushik and Kounish were some years junior to me but we played together in BNR ground. Koushik joined Ramakrishna Mission. Kounish now works under a distributor of consumer goods. Several occasions we met in Tech. market. Few days back Kounish rang, was at a loss what to do. The doctor has referred to Disha Eye Hospital and they have asked to arrange a large sum. Benida knew about Chaitanyapur Eye Hospital near Haldia run by Vivekananda Mission Ashram and they do such a wonderful job. And they did it again. Heartfelt thanks!

Oh! It's a holiday.

This had been one of the most hectic day of recent times. In the morning, one ex-student, now with TCS came in chat. I answered that today is a sudden holiday under NI act. And we get to work more on holidays when the distractions are less. Completed setting up of two exam. papers. One in the morning and the other in the evening. Scheduled a 3 PM meeting with research students which ended at 7:45 PM. This accomplished a much needed review of our various strategic initiatives and take a stock of tens of leads we are pursuing.

Staff vs. Student

Work in a research lab. is not an office job. Pushing the reporting time from 9 AM to 9:30 AM, then 10 AM and so on, leaving campus in the weekend (without permission) compulsively, extending the weekend, not following reporting structure etc. do not help one to stay focused on research problem or derive the most from IIT infrastructure and research environment. We try our best to remind our those students who think themselves more as staffs than students of these pitfalls and how important it is to maintain focus.

Man is a social animal

People in this part of the country perhaps are more social than others, which of course is good when society is getting fragmented, families are becoming nuclear. But it comes with its own problem for those who are supposed to be in 'student mode'. There comes a social pressure to attend every single birthday, marriage function, first-rice-ceremony, this and that of all the people I know or and share a cord. The emotional self gets better of us. We find it difficult to say, "No", not to hurt feelings of others. I myself have experienced this and still experience it because of my very large social network. But somehow I have been able to communicate well and make my community feel that they have a stake, a share in whatever work I do at IIT and how important these are. I talk to them about our research, work in a language they can appreciate. It is their kindness, magnanimity that not only the bond is strong and healthy but also they inquire time to time how the work is going on here.

Abhyas (striving) and Vairagya (detachment)

Urge research students to make your community a stake holders in whatever you do and they will try to create a congenial atmosphere for you and ask you not to get defocused. Please act before it is too late. It is your career. These 2-4 years are very crucial. This is the most productive phase of the young and intelligent. Yesterday, we had a snacks break in between our research meeting. One new faculty joined us in Tikka. He was discussing the difference between a research student of China and that of US. And one can see the difference how these two nations have come up in recent times. The research students in India need not follow a 7 days a week culture but definitely do more than what they are doing now. The story says that God was not happy creating all forms of life till man was created, as the formers did not have the ability to realize the creator. When one realizes God becomes God himself. The power is there but latent. One has to strive. The scripture talks about twin principles, 'Abhyas' (striving) and 'Bairagya' (Detachment). If we remain too much attached with surroundings, we shall not be able to concentrate. Unless we strive and focus our energy, the nature will not reveal its secret.

Choose your ideal

We try our best to recruit the right kind of people for the lab. ... the ones who have passion for research, ones who are trainable, ones who are hard working, ones who want to dive deep and immerse fully. None of us are super talented. It is the combination of whatever talent we have and hard work that make us deliver. New comers to the lab. should take note of this. Please draw inspiration from performers in the lab. Please see their track record, their effort, their devotion, their sincerity.

Welcoming fresh blood

Yes, we are gearing up to welcome three new students (not staffs, please!) in our lab. We are filling up all the three positions that we advertized recently. We are keeping one in waiting list, in case somebody does not join. One thing was noticeable in this round of recruitment. It appeared that a good number of these candidates have genuine desire for a research career. This is a welcome change. Some of these candidates are from industries and little bit out of touch. Some are willing to sacrifice their faculty job and be a part of our team. One candidate appreciates that the performance should have been better and wants to prepare for the next selection and seeks guidance.

Humbled

I must say that I am overwhelmed and humbled by this keenness. Wish all of you who are really interested get an opportunity to fulfill your research dream. Usually, we are asked to submit projects but we do not do as there is a scarcity of committed manpower to service when projects are granted. I think, we can explore new projects now.

Resources

To those who are looking for guidance may refer to NPTEL (Link) resources. Please brush up the fundamentals of core subjects. If you are to be called an engineer in a particular field, the basics of core subjects should be known. One may forget minute details if one remains out f touch for long. But if the fundamentals are clear (what this chapter says and why is it useful - basic equations / graph / table and their significances) then one knows where to start if a problem is given. Be it a drawing of CMOS inverter, transistor characteristics curve, getting a non-inverting amplifier from OP-AMP, definition of Discrete Fourier Transform, Truth Table / Excitation Table of Flip-Flops, Design steps of filters, Difference between Synchronous / Asynchronous counter, Difference between C and C++, writing simple codes for basic mathematical manipulation or reading / writing files ......... we often find candidates appear clueless. Also one should be comfortable with detailing of projects done or proficiencies claimed in biodata.

We often tell people interested to work with us to brush up Digital Signal Processing (Link1 and Link2), gather some idea on Pattern Recognition (Link1 and Link2 : Low cost Indian Edition is available for the book "Pattern Classification" by Duda and Hart : May not have been exposed as this subject is a PG core or UG elective ... basic understanding will do, details can be learnt in course of time.) and have familiarity with MATLAB (If one has MATLAB loaded in own machine then can play with codes of this Link or other stuffs available on web). MATLAB is gently and systematically introduced in this Analog and Digital Communication Text (Link) and the companion website's student centre (Link) provides downloadable MATLAB mini-projects and codes. Similar feature is offered for Verilog HDL language in this text (Link) and the downloadable stuffs in student centre (Link).

NSS

Talked to Jugal Babu, a devoted High School teacher this evening on a new free coaching centre our NSS volunteers have planned. It is on course. Just now the student volunteer pinged. Their team had been very very responsible and are showing a matured approach. If IITians come forward like these and help the community it will truly be leading from the front. Proud of these young volunteers.

Shubho Poila Baisakh (Happy Bengali New Year)

Time to say good night. It is 1:30 AM. Have an 8:30 AM class. Shubho Poila Baisakh (Happy Bengali New Year) to all. While typing this post was going through some of the PPTs 2nd Year UG students are sending by mail for their mini-projects. Some of the ideas (not implemented) like Moving PPT slides by voice command during presentation, Lie Detection, Communication with Extra Terrestrial Intelligence appear interesting. Let's see how they present.

You have earned one more tomorrow

Sure that earned one more tomorrow for what I have done today :-)  ..... pasting one poem that is my favourite for long.

Is anybody happier because you passed this way?
Does anyone remember that you spoke to them today?

The day is almost over, and its toiling time is through.
Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you?

Can you say tonight in parting with the day that's slipping fast,
That you helped a single person of the many that you passed?

Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said?
Does the one whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead?

Did you waste the day or use it? Was it well or sorely spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness, or a scar of discontent?

As you close your eyes in slumber, do you think that God will say:
"You have earned one more tomorrow by what you did today?"

Hiring Again : 3 positions vacant

“A mistake often made by freshers is that they run after high-paying jobs. In the initial stages, don’t mix career and money. Your priority should be the job profile based on your capabilities, which will help you hone your skills and grow. Once you’re established, the money will come,” ~ Nidhi Gaur, Head, HR, Wiley India

Whoever said that match is made in heaven was more than philosophical. The practicalities on earth show that it is not easy to get students who are serious and not looking at project positions as stop-gap opportunities. Equally difficult is to find students who love academic environment, research and have good fundamentals. This points to quality or more correctly, the lack of it. Often wonder, with thousands of engineering colleges around, why are we facing such a scenario? Is it like - water, water everywhere; not a drop to drink? Do not want to sound pessimistic at all. Rather urge engineering students to work on the fundamentals, develop passion for research and an attitude to scale higher altitudes, have faith in self. There are plenty of opportunities in IIT research lab.s, waiting to be grabbed.

Trying once again with this round of walk-in-interview. The selected candidates, if qualifies Dept. test, can register for higher degree from IIT. In the past, all eligible did qualify the test. Besides this, it offers an opportunity to work in a challenging research environment, a great team, good infrastructure and IIT brand.

Trying to sell hard :-)

Worth every rupee as getting a right candidate is not just the first step but the most important one. Well, from a candidate's point of view, getting a right research problem, research environment and research advisor mean a lot. Today's Economic Times in a career advice (Link) tells that such a career should be selected in initial years that allows one to hone skill in one's area of interest and asks not to go after money. If one attains skill, the money will come later, thick and fast. The compensation we offer in project positions is not bad but more than that, IIT lab. environment offers no limit to attain skills.

Let's see how well the match is made this time. Calling all eligible candidates. Urge well-wishers to forward the message to probable candidates. Now the advt. is for 3 positions. No short-listing. All eligible candidates as per the Advt. are to send biodata by email and directly appear in the walk-in-interview on April 13, 2011, 10 AM at Dept. of Electronics and ECE, IIT Kharagpur.
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Project Title	Automatic Speaker Recognition on VoIP (VDA - IV)
Reference Number	IIT/SRIC/R/VDA-IV/2011/65 DATED 31st March, 2011
Temporary Position(s)	Walk-in-interview on 13/4/2011 at 10-00 AM at Dept. of E & ECE for Junior Project Assistant / Junior Project Officer
Number of vacancies	1
Consolidated Compensation	Rs.16,000/- p.m.to Rs.24,000/- p.m - (depending upon qualification & experience)
Coordinator / PI	Dr. Goutam Saha, Deptt of Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering
Qualifications & Experience	M. Tech (Preferable) in Electronics / Electrical Engineering OR B. Tech / B.E in Electronics / Electrical engineering preferably with valid GATE/NET Score. Candidates should have good academic record (minimum first Class in all exam.) Competence in Digital Signal Processing, Speech Processing, MATLAB with research experience in signal processing & pattern recognition, preferably related to speech processing is desirable.
Relevant Experience	Candidate should send prior intimation with their CV to the email ID gsaha@ece.iitkgp.ernet.in by12.4.2011 with a subject heading “Walk in interview for JPA/JPO - VEICET ”
Last Date	13 Apr 2011
Application Fee	Rs. 50(not for female candidates only)/-

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Project Title	Digital Electronic Circuit Lab (VLS-7)
Reference Number	IIT/SRIC/R/VLS-7/2011/64 DATED 31st March, 2011
Temporary Position(s)	Walk-in-interview on 13/4/2011 at 10-00 AM at Dept. of E & ECE for Junior Project Assistant / Junior Project Officer
Number of vacancies	2
Consolidated Compensation	Rs.12,000/- p.m.to Rs.18,000/- p.m - (depending upon qualification & experience)
Coordinator / PI	Dr. Goutam Saha, Deptt of Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering
Qualifications & Experience	M. Tech (preferable) in Electronics / Electrical Engineering OR B. Tech / B.E in Electronics / Electrical / Computer Science & Engineering preferably with valid GATE/NET Score. Candidates should have good academic record (minimum first Class in all exam.). Competence in Digital Circuits,MATLAB. Programming knowledge of .PHP, Actionscript is desirable.
Relevant Experience	Candidate should send prior intimation with their CV to the email ID gsaha@ece.iitkgp.ernet.in by12.4.2011 with a subject heading “Walk in interview for JPA/JPO - MHRD ”
Last Date	13 Apr 2011
Application Fee	Rs. 50(not for female candidates only)/-

Indian Innovations

Today the special edition of Economic Times ran a cover story on Indian Innovations. The web edition can be found here (Link). The author Kamya Jaiswal writes in the introduction "There is no rumbling of change. The transition has not shown up in any statistic. But it has happened. India is innovating. It is genuine, it is grass roots, it has commercial value-and it is distinct from the jugaad we are best known for." Later the difference between 'jugaad' and 'innovation' has been graphically illustrated.

Economic Times has taken up 6 works in detail and another 3 to illustrate their points on innovation culture in India. Our work on heart sound analyzer and lung sound analyzer (patent filing process at IIT Kharagpur is just completed) gets a major referrence (page 15). I have attached a few screen shots here. Click on them to enlarge. ET has come up with another article titled, "Nine innovations that are likely to change our lives". This is available here (Link1, direct Link2 and Link3)

Yesterday, while delivering the 43rd convocation address of Utkal University, Sam Pitroda, Chairman, National Innovation Council said, ''Only innovation and technology can save higher education in India." Later he said. "We don't need lots of teachers. The teachers don't need to create or impart content to students anymore. The role of teachers has changed to that of mentors." 

As mentioned in earlier posts (Link1, segment 9 of  Link2 ), the students here are being motivated to come up with prototypes through system level developments. For younger ones, where lot of theoretical understanding is still to be captured, a reduced feature versions are encouraged. For seniors, we would like to encourage team work. Some work on the data acquisition subsystem, some work on decision making subsystem, some work on the display and platform which will house the technology etc.

I thankfully acknowledge the contribution of my research team which include present and past students as well as technical staffs, in whatever little we could achieve. I am just the face. It is these individuals who deserve all the kudos. Proud to be a part of this great team and this great institute. Thankful to colleagues, family members, collaborators, well-wishers for their constant encouragement. Seek good wishes from everyone so that we can live up to the expectation.

At a Glance

Festival

Happy Holi to all!

Kesaria Balam Padharo Mahre Desh.

The tune had been visiting for quite some time; since the time we were returning from a trip with Republic Day skit team of NSS. There was an antakshari competition arranged by the students in the return journey on a MUV.

Yesterday was the super moon evening. Seven families gathered at the residence of one of our colleagues and celebrated Basanta Purnima with song and recitation. The musical extravaganza started at 8 p.m. and continued till midnight. The mood was to continue even further but for the kids, who however did not show any sign of fatigue. While most of the songs were Rabindrasangeet, one Rajasthani folk song took us far at the other side of the country in the land of desert.

Sponsored Research

Had been quite busy in between. There were reviews of five sponsored projects one after another. One more to go. Another big project has come where I have a good amount of responsibility in platform development and operationalizing the work. There were several visits of an MNC, interested in technology transfer of two our innovations in healthcare area. All these required a lot of team meetings and interaction with visitors. Also a certain amount of travel which I try to minimize to the extent possible. Being in station allows multitasking, to take care of many responsibilities simultaneously.

Receiving a lot of requests from various universities which requires visit to their places. I have been advised to be selective so that the work at KGP does not suffer. We have almost all the right ingredients in place and enough funding. We are looking forward to taking up some audacious challenges. At the formulation / setting up of problem stage, I need to give more time to students. Gou.., my first M.S. student (had two Ph.D.s earlier!!) last month defended his thesis very well. He did some pioneering work in his 2.5 years of association with our lab. in the area of frame selection which reduces computational burden in automatic speaker recognition not just by a factor of 1.5 or 2 but 4 or in some cases 8. The work was immediately accepted by a reputed journal without any single correction. The MS thesis was accepted as it was by both the examiners. One examiner commented that it was almost a Ph.D. level work. Gou.. is now taking a break in his own chosen way and preparing to go abroad for Ph.D. work. Proud to have students like him and wish him the very best.

Received research proposal from someone from abroad who wishes to join our group for a Ph.D. in speech processing area. He has excellent background, a BTech degree from top Indian Institute and Ph.D. from abroad with volumes of work experience. Dean (PGS&R) and Dept. Head welcomed it and the rule (citizenship and others) and procedure for getting fellowship etc. are being explained to him. On behalf of the research team, I appreciate and thankfully acknowledge every single event that encourages us, motivates us to deliver our very best. 

Compensation

There was an unexpected ending to US edition project when the manuscript was fully ready after 2 years of hard work and the chapters received very good review. The publisher was hugely apologetic saying that the dollars offered to me is a token of appreciation and cannot compensate the passionate work put behind. Yes, I felt sad but only for a day or two. The US audience miss what is already there in new Indian edition and US edition was turning out to be even superior when I completed action on US reviews.

Life moves on. One Editorial Head from the publisher’s Indian arm visited IIT Kharagpur thereafter and we discussed for hours to restart a 2 year old project which took backseat for the US edition. I shall start that work in summer vacation which is 1.5 months away.

NSS Work

National Service Scheme (NSS) occupied a large part of me in this period. National Youth Week celebration included a morning rally (Rally link) and an evening function involving village school teachers, panel discussion, exhibition of inter village school drawing competition, prize distribution, cultural program etc. (Link1, Link2)   This is the first time NSS was asked to put up a show in the Republic Day (Link) flag hoisting ceremony at stadium. The volunteers put up a nice skit on patriotic theme, urging people to participate in the national regeneration, shaking off ‘Sab chalta hai’ attitude. Aurko compeered it very well. Director, IIT Kharagpur was very pleased at the performance and made congratulatory remarks on NSS activities at IIT Kharagpur. We heard the same from one NSS Advisory Committee member who is not from IIT when he attended Youth week function. I shared these with the NSS team and all feel enthused, motivated.

In fortnightly program officers’ meeting got to know how young IITians as NSS volunteers are reaching out to the underprivileged. In one secondary school in a backward slum area (first generation learners), all the classes from V to X (there are different sections in one class) on Saturday from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm are taken by IIT students. They teach mostly Vedic Math., English etc. complementary to what school teachers teach Mon-Fri. The Headmaster said that the feedback from the guardian had been very good. There are many such inspiring developments. It gives me so much of joy to see young IITians who generally represents the India part of the digital divide, getting acquainted with Bharat part. I think it will have far reaching effect in the mind of the IIT students as well as the community it is serving.

Dean (Planning & Coordination) took special interest in seeing that NSS figures in our new communication directory. It was not there earlier. Further, on his advice, we have submitted our infrastructure requirement which will be a shared resource. He found the design well thought out. Two consecutive  such design - one for NSS and the other for a new lab. of the Dept. - I am gaining some experience in this too!

Thanks Giving

Had an opportunity to take Republic Day skit to a trip to make them feel special after their special performances on two consecutive days that made the entire NSS family proud.  A few could not make. Finally, there were ten of us and we hired a Tata Sumo. This was the birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna. The students did not know that. I was surprised when they gifted a Sri Ramakrishna idol to me to say ‘Thanks’. This was also a day where I had so many pics of me clicked on a single day. This collection can be found here (link).

Few weeks back one program officer rang me one afternoon and I accompanied him along with two NSS student volunteers to a village about 5KM south of IIT Kharagpur. The villagers arranged a evening meet to say ‘Thanks’ to NSS, IIT Kharagpur. The volunteers worked hard to make water available in that village without which 300 families were to travel 2KM to nearest source of water, the well, ponds in the village gone dry. The meet was arranged in the evening as the villagers work as a daily labourer during day time.

We sat in the ground (though they arranged chairs for us) with them. They managed a low power incandescent bulb from somewhere. All belong to backward castes, mostly scheduled tribes. They were sitting quietly, did not know how to say thanks but their eyes says it all. Finally, one young person (with whom NSS volunteers established connection first) said that they still cannot believe what is happening is for real. They never believed that there are people who think about their well-being and work for them. The previous Sunday NSS volunteers were there till 7 pm and left only when they saw that mother earth is delivering the water to her those children who need it the most.

Slowly we got into conversation. They talked about issues they are facing on getting ST certificates etc. We told how we can assist them. They accepted our position when we said that as National Service Scheme volunteers, ours is to serve and not criticize any or finding fault with any. As the conversation was in the local language, I was translating it into English for the NSS volunteers in between. To my surprise, many a villagers told that they were able to understand what I was telling in English. At the end of 1 hour meet one school-going teen of the village came forward and said if it is possible for NSS to open a weekly ‘Spoken English’ program for 7-8 teens like him. To come it from a first generation school-goers of a backward village was surprising and the student volunteers immediately agreed on a Saturday afternoon slot.

Uttamda's Blog

I got this message from Uttamda once he returned. "My dear Goutam,Good morning. Yesterday I have created the blog as per your instruction. Thank you. Please visit www.ukchatterjee@blogspot.com With best wishes, Uttamda". And in one month what did he deliver! Gems - one after another. I simply kept this link in my google status space. Students here told me that they benefited a lot from these writings. Uttamda once worried about quality of English, language skill etc. I requested him to ignore that and it is the substance for which the world is hungry. One day, I got a ping in my google chat. This was Ch.., an IIT Kharagpur alumnus studying in a top US university, top most in some estimate.

7:57 AM Ch...: This blog is excellent. Thanks so much for sharing. :)

7:58 AM me: Thanks Chintan. He is a very simple person. ....

8:02 AM Ch...: I think a person is as strong as his or her thoughts. Then it doesn't matter what his or her background is.

8:03 AM He has written about very simple things, but with powerful take-aways.

We are One

Some of the senior IIT students (who are providing scholarship to 28 village school students) asked me to interact with a group of juniors who have a common origin (one coaching institute in Andhra Pradesh) and one common desire to serve the community. Their motivation comes from one teacher of the coaching institute, Mr. SVK who has started a 'movement' called VR1, ‘We are One’. There are about 100-150 such students in campus. Met the students one evening in Math Dept. seminar room. They inquired about service opportunities existing in the neighbourhood of the campus.

I shared my experience with them and also some of the issues a new comers face in the IIT environment. Getting into IIT usually is the single minded pursuit before coming here. Hardly one thinks what next once one is in IIT. The IIT-JEE pressure has been released, parental control not in sight, freedom coupled with high speed internet, volumes of materials available in LAN and of different kind, peer pressure etc. there is good enough a recipe to get lost in the web. If one is concerned about community, one has to feel more responsible to acquire knowledge and power so that there is a larger capacity to serve. So the first step is not to get spoilt and to have an all round development of self, evolving as a better human being.

Then one has to understand what is service. One definition says, it is kindness put into action. Both the words – ‘kindness’ and ‘action’ are important. Often there is a lot of action but without feelings for the community, without any sympathy – empathy is a harder call. Where from sympathy comes? What is the philosophy behind? Next, often a lot of kind people are seen with a desire to help the underprivileged. But they find it difficult to reach out, stand by their side under treacherous sun or in a muddy road, issues like availability of time or potential ‘side-effect’ creeps into mind. The action part remains missing or at most turns out to be donation to others who are in action (NGOs) – a kind of outsourcing the responsibility. Each of them in isolation serves some purpose but together they have the desired effect.

VR1 organized one workshop and it was great to have a one-to-one meeting with the founder Mr. SVK. He appeared to be both inspiration and perspiration put into one. Wish his effort the very best. I placed some of my observations on VR1 before him. Next day was a Sunday when he conducted a workshop here on leadership and other issues.

YES+ will be conducting ‘Arts of Living’ workshop in next two weekends. Two students came to my office a few days back and they want a workshop by sisters of Brahmakumaris here. I have listened to discourses of Sister Shivani in television and it is very inspiring, practical and logical. This is also expected very soon. Besides these we are having weekly lecture on spiritual heritage by senior monks of Ramakrishna Mission (every Wednesday at Gargi auditorium). Therefore, there is ample opportunity now. More importantly, that such things are there shows an increasing level of awareness or takers amongst us.

Interview

One mail came to me via a final year student who maintained our NSS group’s website 3 year’s back when I was a program officer looking after a small group. This was from Youth Leader Magazine, India a United Nations project with four UNESCO status. The magazine wants to publish interviews of a few NSS volunteers. The aim is to motivate and inspire the young generation for a positive and healthier life and to train them to develop into more social and environmental conscious adults. I nominated two of the NSS volunteers who received ‘Best Volunteer’ award in Youth Week function. The interview is done and waiting for its publication date. This will motivate young IIT students engaged in community service quite a lot. I was told that the correspondent replied like these after the interview, “It is great to see NSS and it's students doing so much for the betterment of the community and self. Your experience will be a motivating story for our readers.”

I myself too was interviewed a few days back by a leading Indian newspaper on one of our research work. The photoshoot is scheduled next TUE. Shall inform readers about the article when it comes up in the daily. Earlier I had opportunity to interact with a few journalists. Interacted closely last December with the author when this article (Link) on Dr. Kalam’s visit to IIT Khargpur took place and I was the organizing secretary. I am told by our Head of the Dept. that I won’t be spared :-) in upcoming Diamond Jubilee program.

Demo 2

The students in the Signals & Systems course performed 2nd mini-project demo a week back. This was on speech recognition. It worked for two words for most of them and more than two for a few. About ten of them participated. None from girls this time. There were a few new developers who was not there for the first. The highest correlation in code was self-certified as 0.2. The final one is awaited on 9th April. This challenge is on developing automatic speaker recognition system again with minimum user base.

The twin pillars of our research group are 'learning to learn' and 'team work'. We use technology profusely - googlegroup, chat, circulating PPT among the team before any presentation etc. (still there is room to improve). The aim is to make everybody independent as well as a team person, confident as well as humble. Trying to the extent possible, to give these 4th sem. students a feel of it. Shall see if it worked.

Sacrifice

Something very interesting happened on publication which shows how strong our team is and the quality of bonding amongst us. One ex-scholar of IITkgp (in one of our area of interest but not from our lab.) was coming up with an edited volume from a foreign publisher and on his request one of my ex-scholar and myself put up one chapter. Took 9-10 months to prepare that. Few weeks back we received the agreement form when deadline of publication came very very close. IIT Kharagpur had some objection there in the liability clause. I made suggestion on how it can be rewritten that takes care of the interest of editors, publishers as well as authors. The editors said that the agreement cannot be reworked and there is time pressure. My ex-student was comfortable with the liability clause and signed as principal author and sent the agreement. I came as co-author and the liability was not assigned to me.

Now came an issue if such exclusion would be acceptable to the publisher. We (me and the editors) then agreed that my student will come as single author and my name will be excluded to save the chapter. We wanted the work to be there which editors found very well written and informative. In fact, the Ph.D. thesis of this student of mine earned huge appreciation from both the examiners and the foreign examiner, a senior faculty in a foreign university remarked as ‘best thesis read’. And 9-10 months hard work was at stake. We conveyed the same to my student. I kind of convinced him in the evening. Next morning I get a mail which says “I thought very sanely yesterday night about this matter and found that it will not be good if YOU are not there with me as an author …”. The same was communicated to editors and we are waiting for their decision.

Don’t know if we are acting like idiots on this count. Enjoying the holiday and watching ‘3 Idiots’ in Sony channel televised as Holy special. To us, the eternal optimists, "Ell" is always well. Ours is to work.

Walk-in-Interview

All eligible candidates (as per Advt.) are requested to make themselves available at given date, time and place (as mentioned in Advt.). No email acknowledgment is necessary. There is no shortlisting in advance. All those who appear and fulfill eligibility criteria, will be interviewed.

Deadline for sending CV by advance email :  Today i.e. 16.2.2011
Interview : Tomorrow i.e. 17.2.2011, 10 a.m. at Dept. of Electronics & ECE, IIT Kharagpur

Advt. is available in IIT Kharagpur website in 'Temporary Assignment' link and also here.

Wonderful People

Met some wonderful people yesterday, a Sunday. In the morning, Uttamda was at our residence. Uttamda, one of my inspiration from childhood is more than a Vivekananda scholar. A great organizer, master of time management, he ran a series of article titled "What we can do" in our magazine named "Unmochan". They were truly gem and I wish they are made available to every young person. Great to see Uttamda after a long time who is now teaching Higher Secondary students at Chittaranjan Railway School. Uttamda asked when I am going to upload the ABVYM Annual Camp 2010 pics. It is not yet there in ABVYM website. A team from IITkgp that had three NSS officers, spent one afternoon there. Few pics are available here.

Next, rushed to CEC community hall at about 12:30 p.m. There was a one day program arranged by Vivekananda Study Circle which runs a weekly study circle at F-127, Institute Main Building every Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and has taken up developmental work in a nearby tribal village, named Soladahar. Chiranjeev Maharaj from Deoghar centre of Ramakrishna Mission came along with Dipak Maharaj and others. Chiranjeev Maharaj came several times before and inspires this group a lot. There was reading from Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, song, Q & A, presentation of work carried out by study circle. It was great to see young study circle members doing work so sincerely where work is treated as worship.

As soon as this meet ended, arrived at Kalidas Auditorium at quarter to five. There was a TEDx event on "Ideas worth spreading". Announced in NSS bulletin board .. if we get some idea here for NSS, IIT Kharagpur to pursue. The event started at 3 p.m. and I missed nearly the entire first half. The speakers were talking in turn and taking Q&A from audience. Five lucky persons asking questions would get an opportunity to dine with the eminent speakers. This I highlight for some special reason. Our favourite in Signals & Systems class, Gopich.. was one of the lucky five. We congratulated him when his name was announced. He was quite surprised but I as an instructor of the class was not, having faced volley of questions from him, class after class :-) since January beginning. Gopi, are you listening?
 

Coming back to the TED event, it was great to hear Dr. P. Anandan of Microsoft, Srinivas Mohan, Visual Effects Director, our own student Manoj Mandelia who is turning innovation to start-up, Ashutosh & Swapnil duo of Tata Jagriti. While all spoke very well about the work they are doing, somehow I failed to connect with the theme of the conference "Ideas worth spreading". However, Srinivas Mohan briefly touched his life's journey, the struggle towards excellence for a  college drop out. It was truly inspiring. I was looking for his biography in the net. All I get his work but not him. The presentation by Swapnil & Ashutosh brought out what they wanted to tell about Jagriti Yatra in a very, very professional manner. It talked about outlay and not much about outcome. Probably, time was short and it needs some more time to see the outcome. All in all, it was nice to be with these set of wonderful people through out the day. I was honoured to be called by the organizers to hand over mementos to these distinguished speakers at the end of the function together with another professor. Pics of this Sunday and another wonderful Sunday in January, 2011 at my old place of work can be found here.

Here, I got the second referral of 2011, 'Senior Professor' during my introduction to the stage. This follows 'Active Blogger' of IEEE Techsym. While the first connect me to the older generation, the second one with the younger ones. Remember the dilemma in one Amul Advertizement : I am too old for something, too young for something else, but right for Amul Milk Chocolate. Till then let me cherish life, the delicious!