THiNK - the idea

A Brief History of Change



BC 65 million: An Asteroid Strikes; Wipes out Dinosaur Population, the course of evolution of Life on the Planet Changes
BC 10 million: An ape takes a small step upright; humanity takes a leap forward, the saga of anthropology Changes
BC 3200: An Egyptian develops hieroglyphic writing, the process of communication and knowledge aggregation Changes
BC 509: Roman Republic is founded, political and social setup of human civilizations Changes
AD 1: The Christ is born; A Mel Gibson gets the subject for his passion; Eras of Beliefs and Calendars Change
AD 820: An Al-Khwaizini invents Algebra; Comfort levels of Generations of High School Students to come Change
AD 1492: A Columbus discovers America, the destination of freedom and prosperity seekers for generations to come Changes
AD 1776: A James Watt invents steam engine, an Industrial Revolution Changes the scale of Human Enterprise
AD 1879: An Edison invents Incandescent Bulb Power Equation of Day & Night Changes
AD 1969: A Concorde is airborne; the relative Speed of Transatlantic sound waves Changes
AD 1991: A Manmohan Singh assumes office; a nation’s economic orientations Change
AD 2000: A Y2K bug mania bites computer Systems, the face of Indian IT Industry Changes
AD 2007: A magazine by the name of THiNK is published in BIT Mesra.


Crash! Boom! What the Hell!


Wait a second! I thought we were talking about change here?!
Yeah!

Change.

That's what THiNK is all about.
About stepping out of the cast mould. Away from the mindless rush of life to ascertain one's identity. No, THiNK is not a movement. It's just a thought. Exhorting you to THiNK.

To stay hungry. To stay foolish.

In these two lines lies the paradox of this idea.
Stay Hungry.
For more knowledge. For more of everything in life.
Stay Foolish.
Not dumb. Not arrogant. Humble. plain ol' simble you.

Like all good things under the sun, this idea was born during a time when ideally the idle mind where it sprung to life should have been doing something else. Like studying Electromagnetic Theory. or Linear Control Theory for that matter. But it was elsewhere. Musing to itself, to try and do something different. Something off the beaten path. I think the original idea came to me sometime around idle week following the mid-term papers, when we were preparing to return home and stuff our faces with good food. It went something like this:

Left> so what are we gonna do this semester?
Right> something different?

{ Note to reader:
Left and Right (L & R henceforth) can be freely interpreted as per the limits of your imagination. They are however to be both treated as mutually exclusive integral parts of the author. Suggestions include parts of:
a> the brain
b> vacuum occupying the place of the AWOL brain
c> alter egos - without the obvious political leanings of course
d-z> your imagination?
}

L> let's continue blogging.
R> Na, that was last year's idea. Something else.
L> like what?
R> how about actually writing?
L> you mean like a novel? That will take umpteenillion millennia to finish, and longer to spell-check, proof read, plus it will never be published.
R> hmmm. Point.
L> so what to we do?
R> you temme.
L> ahem. I know this may sound lame, but how about resurrecting Zog's idea?
R> which one? Starting a movie library?
L> No dude. The other one.
R> Ok. You mean setting up a propah coffee shop-cum-eating joint near the library wi-fi hotspot, right?
L> seriously! I am surprised I happen to be connected to you. I am talking about Buzz-In-Town.
R> What! Not that Gossip rag! Isn’t that the reason she buried it in the first place?
L> exactly. Let's come out with something more like, you know, my style...
R> you mean a half-baked re-incarnation of Douglas Adam's writing that no one this side of the galaxy can interpret?
L> uh.........
R> loaded with brain teasers, quizzes, useless trivia, comic strips, smart alec comments on everything under the sun and over it, et al?
L> uh.........
R> that is sure to ruffle some feathers and other appendages of most people that hear about it? That will be another time sink for you?
L> uh.........
R> Well, You are absolutely right. Sounds exactly up your alley. Let's do it. But how are you gonna mange it?
L> uh........., what?!
R> I said, how are you gonna manage it? What form will it be? What will it be called? Who’s gonna do the designing? Who will contribute to it?
L> I think I need to sit down.
R> what you need is another shot of caffeine.
L> yes that will do just fine.

Post Caffeine Ingestion

L> hmm. Name... the obvious moniker will have to serve as a placeholder till I THiNK of something better.
R> and what’s the obvious moniker called in these parts?
L> think.
R> I am.
L> no, THiNK.
R> Huh, why can’t you just say it?
L> i already told ya. T H i N K.
R> oh. Right then. What about the....
L> you know what your problem is? You never...
R> Eh? Which one?
L> What?! Now how am i supposed to know which one?
R> you should. You are the one that brought it up in the first place.
L> ya right. So why don’t you just make a proper numbered list of all of them and we could check later which one it is that we were discussing, or add it to the list if it isn’t already there.
R> ok.
L> as i was saying, your problem is...
R> but what am I gonna call it?
L> call what?
R> the list of course.
L> how about things that aren't right?
R> but that describes you doesn’t it?
L> yes, but not exclusively. Or completely.
R> ok. "Things that aren't right" it is. You were saying...
L> saying what?
R> that my problem number is...
(whispering- x being a placeholder for its number on the list you see).
L> ah yes. Since you ask, just not these down. Firstly …
R> you are dictating a list.
L> that’s right, and you are to be taking it down without interrupting me, get it?
R> ok. Go ahead, make my day
L> ya rite. Ok, where was i?
R> 3rd rock from the sun
L> i mean where as in...
R> Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
L> Jesus Christ Bananas!
R> Alright, alright. Firstly?
L> God! Yes. Firstly, you never stop
Secondly, you make hyperspace jumps at every pause for breath on part of the other person communicating with you, or trying to
Thirdly, you leave all others confused, dazed and tired from jetlag / spacelag / whateverlag, trying to keep up with you
Fourthly ... what are you doing?
R> … … …
L> hello? I’m talking to you.
R> … … …
L> will you bloody answer me?
R> No.
L? No?
R> N. O.
L> why?
R> I’m trying not to interrupt your stream of thought, seeing how hard it is for you to get into it in the first place.
L> ok. I give up. What do you say we do?
R> are you sure you can handle it?
L> ya
R> absolutely?
L> yup
R> positively?
L> yes
R> lock kiya jaaye?
L> Y.E.S. Is that clear, or you want it in writing on stamp paper, signed in triplicate, attested in duplicate and sealed by legal counsel?
R> Nah. that will do.
L> so...
R> so what?
L> WHAT DO WE DO?
R> oh that? Yes yes.
L> well?
R> ya. catch some carbon based life form, show it how hard it is living the way we do, with this endless stream of ideas and thoughts, focus on the one's about fun, food, enjoyment, college and print THiNK diagonally in bold across it.
L> and?
R> that should be enough to put things into perspective. Meanwhile we can think of more things to shock the living daylights of the poor thing. What say you?
L> Seems like a plan.

Ok.
(deep breath)

So that is something of what went on in the devil's workshop before i manage to dupe Mr. insaneunknown into listening to my latest brainstorm
(believe me; you have no idea why it is called a Brain-STORM!). He further suggested SS (Not the Schutz Staffel, in case you were wondering) & logistics undefined. I decided to call everyone to a war conference at the canteen, threw in the zog as part of a forgotten package deal and Voila! We had the editorial team of THiNK ready. That left the creative group/team/person issue dangling. At which point the lioness was lured in, putting my fears to rest (in pieces…) with sharp measured ninja chops of creativity. Whatever that means. So the next day at the canteen, i managed to dole out the stuff swimming in my mental cavity, between bites and sips of a free treat from idontknowwho. Well, that's that, and this is THiNK now.

What originated as a bored gestation of thought seems to have picked up some wind, even if it should only be from half a dozen individuals, at least it's there.

So come the Ides of March in the year of our lord 2007, THiNK shall be distributed as a PDF on orkut, Gmail and bit-mesra.ac.in (God & Pant Sir be willing).

Dear weary reader, if you have managed to reach here unscathed, drop me a line and I promise to treat you to a coffee at the canteen and a copy of THiNK.
Alternatively, you can also take your revenge by sending in your contribution to bit.think@gmail.com


Auf Wiedersehen
(Google it out if you don’t know German! that's what I did.)

And meanwhile,


THiNK
stay hungry, stay foolish.

IEE : The Initial Years

The IEE club in college was one of the first that impressed me during my first semester. Briefing time is one of the few times when seniors persuade you to do something when you are still officially a bakra. All briefing were a pack of lies, except that I somehow managed to join this club.

No activity in the first year. Not heard of the office bearers till until the end of the second semester. Come suddenly a notice asking all members until third year to pay a cool 100 bucks. For what? Farewell to the outgoing members of the club. What? Are you kidding me? These politician style (well, in Jharkhand and Bihar thats quite popular and more often than not the normal way to get things done) club leaders did not care to show their shameless faces even once, and look at their audacity, they want a farewell. No money paid. Not 'invited' to the 'party'.

Second year saw some activities in the club which could very easily be passed off as a roadshow. Came in touch with some seniors; most prominently Mr. AJ and Mr. AM . AJ had the habit of stoking anyone's dislike towards AM. AM somehow did not quiet get along pretty well with me too (although I appreciate a lot of his qualities including the subtle way in which he neglects people, including me), and I found myself working only with AJ. I decided to pay for a farewell for the outgoing '99 batch seniors. It was a sham. AJ was made the president of the club, AM got the prized IEEE club.

With AJ as president, I should have expected some freaking activities within the club. I somehow did not want to have majority of his shit, AB (the next presi) was pretty good at that and I was more than happy for him to be that way. One major disaster was the Haldia trip that was organized. RK, AB and myself were the only 2k1 batch guys in that. Rest AJ and another 2k guy (imagine no final year guy came!!!), and a bunch of ignorant juniors. We traveled to Kharagpur and got off in the cold at 4 am in the morning there. Now? AJ announced, " So we shall all use the waiting room toilet". That sentence marked the beginning of the ordeal.

To the unknown, as such railways toilets suck. More so at a non-discreet place like Kharagpur ( the place of India's no.1 technical college) in a poor state like Bengal. I could barely manage my ablutions in those conditions and decided against and bath. Tea at a nearby stall came in handy. We got onto a local train at 6am to a small town called Mecheda. This is somewhere deep in Bengal in Midnapore district, apparently close to the Bangladesh border. The countryside is amazingly beautiful ( I am not amazed by the Britisher' s description of Bengal) but after years of neglect the poverty was stark. We reached Mecheda with our luggage. Where to go? " Ujjwal and AB search for some guest house". Hail Hitler. We managed a small ram-shackled guest house. I suggested we have breakfast at a dhaba. People had it. I did not even try it. AB still swears at me for that meal.
Ok. Now how do we get to Haldia. I should have guessed with AJ at the helm of affairs. Local bus. I could not believe my luck. I traveled with fish sellers and WT (without ticket) Bengalis in the local train. More was in store. We settled at the back of the bus. 18 of us. The juniors were already looking at us in despair. I felt helpless but joked around with them, AJ being the puppet of amusement.

By the time we reached Haldia ( around 120 minutes for 35 or so km), I was nauseated by the smell of humans. Got down and a whiff of fresh air. Now? What to do? Where is the petrochemical plant? Ask the locals. Ok. Now this was the best. I hung onto one of the trekkers which run with at least 5 times their capacity . I was desperately clinching onto the small iron rod at the back end of the trekker. There was some semblance of roads within the potholes, few and rare.
Reach Haldia plant. Grand. Thats the word. We were not allowed to enter as apparently AJ did not confirm the trip with the lady concerned and she had apparently gone off to Calcutta for some official work. Superb. I thought now I had an excuse to beat this guy up. After 90 minutes at the gate in the heat, it was already 2 pm. AJ begged like anything to the authorities fearing a bash up. The authorities relented after they saw our hopeless faces; hungry, thirsty, tired and with luggage. They took us on a bus ride around the campus, gave us a 15 minute hushed up information presentation and served us tea and Marie biscuits. Heavens!! That was one of the meals I thanked God for. Tea was like amrit at that time.

We walked back 2 kms to the highway. Juniors were pretty angry. Completed the 2 hour journey to Mecheda standing in a local bus. I told AB that I wanted my money back and that AJ should not make profit out of this. I got down at Mecheda. Bought tickets to Calcutta for the 18 of us on a local train again.
As I saw Howrah bridge, I thought it was over. I walked across from the station, crossed the bridge on foot with luggage due to traffic. Finally we caught a bus from Bara Bazaar. 2 kms.
When we reached back to BIT after the Pujas, there was a rebellion within IEE. RK and I had messed up our chances for some decent position within the club. I did not go for any activity of the club in Bitotsav, mainly because I participated in it as one of the BABAz.

Finally, the day came. AJ was to go. He was to announce AB as the next president; fair enough. I relented to be present at such a ceremony at first, but then went along anyways. I was to be made some secretary. I kicked AJ that day and on the day of the farewell. It was pretty satisfying.
When AB and I walked out of the gathering at the end of the ceremony as the Chairman and the Vice Chairman, we kept quiet. The shuffle in posts and fortunes and the embedded trust within the silence of our walk changed the face of IEE in the coming year. IEE was never the same again from that day.
********************************************************************************

ps: This article is old was written just between the period I graduated from BIT and was about to leave for higher studies. The club has been renamed as IET now. Names have been abbreviated to preserve confidentiality of the people involved.

NJoy RASHly………..

Legend has it that once upon a time there lived a master craftsman who crafted out a Gurukul for young boys and girls out of 780 acres of dense forest. Unfortunately, he had to leave before his dream was completely realized. Hence, to assist his successors he left behind a board saying “site for swimming pool”. But his successors were oppressive, orthodox demons who chose to ignore it and spread their reign of terror over the Gurukul.
The sands of time dimmed the “writing on the board”. Occasionally some students would notice it and sigh! However one day in a train chugging away from the Gurukul to Bong-land two ladies, who happened to be under instruction there, brought up the topic. One was drunk in the anticipation of getting drunk and the other was perennially drunk. But it was in this moment of disillusionment that they saw clear light. “We must complete the task and relieve our brethren of the bane of boredom and joblessness”……..hence NJoy RASHly was born……
NJoy RASHly is an underground club in the Gurukul. The sign said “site for swimming pool” but Robert Langdon taught us to dig deep (and we did…..literally!!!). It is built in five levels. The first is a bookstore called ‘Biblioklept’. You can find everything here….from second hand text books (no need to say Jai Bajrangi one week before the exams now) to Penthouse. But this is only for deception lest some unsuspecting professor or student stumbles upon it.
The second level is a lodge. This has been built keeping in mind the needs of the fairer sex who have been meted out a not- so-fair deal we all call “in-time”. This provides them shelter so that they too can NJoy the nightlife the club has to offer.
The third level is for the boys to park/hide their beloved possessions i.e bikes. This is the level that is connected by underground tunnels to all the hostels, for easy to and fro movement.
ENTER—level 4----our best offering….the bar, restaurant and disc all rolled in one….where you can NJoy RASHly. Food, drink and ‘accompaniments’ from far and wide…..such that you will never feel like going back……
Level 5 is a tribute to the master who showed the way….it houses an underground swimming pool connected to Subarnarekha…..just in case you want to get a breath of fresh air.


I have told you the tale and showed you the dream…but I can do only so much. You must look for hints hidden near the ‘board’.You must find the path yourself……. only then will the wine on the fourth level taste sweet.