Section TypeAnalytical WritingQualitative ReasoningVerbal Reasoning

Description1 Section, 2 Tasks2 Sections, 20 questions each2 Sections, 20 questions each

Time allotted30 minutes/task35 minutes/section30 minutes/section

THE SCHOLARS’ AVENUEIIT KHARAGPURAUGUST 19 2011

1

www.scholarsavenue.org

What’s up with DC++

-Page 6

Exclusive

h e G r a d u a t e R e c o r d section 3, making the test almost 4 number, will not detract from your Examination, commonly hours in duration.The GRE consists of 3 types of overall score.T

abbrev i a t ed a s GRE , i s a question sets. The exam starts with standardized test that needs to be A n a l y t i c a l Wr i t i n g , a n d The Quantitative and Verbal scores taken for admission to many Quantitative and Verbal Sections Your written pieces are evaluated

for the revised General Test will graduate schools in the USA and (see box) follow in random order. In by experienced GRE readers each be reported on a 130-170...other English-speaking countries addition to the mentioned sections, e n g a g e d b y E T S . O v e r a l l

The GRE General Test, designed by t h e t e s t w i l l c o n t a i n a n performance for Analytical Writing Educational Testing Service (ETS) to test writing, verbal and quantitative skills aims to evaluate students regardless of their undergraduate specialization.

Starting August 1, 2011, the GRE has

Experimental Section disguised as a is reported on a 0-6 scale, in half-been revamped with the intent to normal Quantitat ive/Verbal point increments. Both the tasks make it more student-friendly. Section. Your performance in this will be separately marked on a 0-6 Direct vocabulary questions have section will have no bearing on your scale (in single point increments), been removed and an on-screen score, and is intended to help ETS and the scores averaged. Key calculator is provided for the create better tests. You might also parameters include depth and Quantitative Reasoning section. As receive a Research section at the end quality of your argument; logical a promotional offer, test-takers are of the test, which will contain flow and use of correct and effective being offered a 50% discount on the specific instructions. A 10-minute grammatical structures. Minor fee (roughly Rs. 8500) for the break is provided at the end of typos, provided they are few in months of August and September.

Exam Structure:

How is it evaluated?

(continued on Page 4)

An endless maze of 88 classrooms? A heritage building with posh interiors for the Prime Minister? A mammoth Hall with 1500 single rooms? What’s Basketball Courts, Swimming all the noise about? Pool

First Year Laboratory Complex

Student Activity CentreNalanda Complex

Tagore Open Air Theatre

The Scholars’ Avenue had a chance to catch up with officials at the Civil Works Department, who updated us on the status of the various construction projects happening around us.

by the end of August, well in time ŸSince the Nalanda Complex is not before the Inter-IIT meet. a part of the Diamond Jubilee

celebrations, work has been temporarily de-prioritized causing a slight delay.

ŸFacelift in progress at basketball court, volleyball court, Gnan Ghosh stadium and swimming ŸPhysics and Basic Electronics Labs pool . are ready; only transfer of

equipment from the older labs to ŸWill be ready in time for the Inter new location remains.IIT Sports Meet.ŸFinishing work in Language and Electrical labs is expected to be ŸThe entire construction of the complete by September.SAC complex is over; finishing ŸTwo blocks of the complex are

work is in progress. ready.ŸGymnasium is up and running, ŸThirty classrooms, planned in Slot

1, will be ready for usage in a couple of months.ŸSixty classrooms are expected to be completed by December; a total of eighty-eight classrooms planned.ŸSome classrooms have been designed in semi-circular fashion; others will be rectangular in shape.ŸNew features include laptop connections provided below each

ŸRenovation is complete - TOAT seat.rooms for Springfest and Kshitij has been given a new lease of life.ŸSample study to be conducted in teams are functional. ŸFreshly renovated green rooms, end-August, based on which ŸSquash court requires a maple toilets, extensive electrical wiring further plan and design of the wood finish, rubber surfaces need and waterproofing.classrooms in the complex will be to be fixed on badminton courts.

carried out.ŸWork is expected to be complete

continued on Page 2

Campus Facelift

The Revised GRE: What You Need to Know

Know your IP LawsPage 8

Glimpses from a Jubilee MinePage 3

Bhaat Avenue is backPage 7

The Mark and Review tool

The revised GRE, unlike the old version, allows you to come back to a question, provided you have time remaining for that section. The ‘Mark’ button at the top of the interface can be used to highlight a particularly difficult question you want to attempt/revise later. The Review screen, which can be accessed at any time, allows you to quickly navigate to any question (the Marked questions are so indicated). Once you move on from a section, you cannot return to it.

Remebering Prof. GS Sanyal The Art of the Start When Kgpians pick up the pen Into the Mind of a ‘Geek’Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 8

2 C A M P U S A V E N U E THE SCHOLARS’ AVENUE ² SUNDAY , 19TH AUGUST , 2011

ONLINE NEWS

"When we can treat all existing persons as human, it will be time enough to think about having more."— Athelstan Spilhaus

While new construction saved some messes from the brunt of overcrowding, residents in some halls still have to wait in serpentine queues or dine under makeshift bamboo tents to be served their daily bread, images reminiscent of a flood relief centre. It is a flood, indeed, a flood of humanity on wheels which inundates the

being felt in multiple aspects of life Scholars’ Avenue during lunchtime. which begs the question - where did Cycle stands, in halls as well as the the planning go wrong? Has the one near the Central Library have number of students grown long been overflowing, but to no untimely, without giving thought to one’s notice, it seems. Students are how the general quality of lifestyle queuing up to use machines in the and academics may be impacted? overcrowded gymnasium which has esolutions are meant to be There are of course possible R already stopped giving forms for broken - that truth is universal. solutions, they only need to be new entrants, leaving hundreds who If the construction delays are any thought of early enough to be desire admission without the indication, one is compelled to implemented on time. Class timings facility. conclude that the situation in KGP

is no different. Our leaders' vision is commendable and we are part of an i n s t i tu t e w i th wor ld - c l a s s infrastructure; but sadly the infrastructure seems to exist on paper only. With about 2000 people making the campus their new home this semester, we are simply not equipped enough to support their needs. Already stressed mess facilities are fighting a losing battle can be staggered, with systematic to feed hundreds of hungry mouths.

Three new halls – Lal Bahadur The Scholars' Avenue took a reality Shastri, B R Ambedkar, and check of the present condition and Chanakya halls of residence were the prognosis is anything but the administration’s answer to this pleasant:problem. Lal Bahadur Shastri has been delayed by more than two years going by initial estimates. Out of a total of 667 planned rooms, only 124 have been handed over to the HMC. The hostel, which currently houses post-graduate students, doesn’t have LAN, a proper dining

variation aimed at minimising hall or a functional kitchen. Food is

sudden load on the messes being prepared elsewhere and being especially during lunch hours. served at a single counter in the hall Second years perhaps have been Facilities for games and sports need where long queues are the norm. To dealt the worst hand. In almost all to be in some kind of proportion add to the discomfort, the on-going boys’ hostels (with the notable with the growing population, construction is a cause of exception of RP) they’ve been otherwise we might end up continuous disturbance.shepherded either four in a triple compromising on too many fronts.

sharing room or paired up in a single Here's hoping that the future brings Several departmental classes and room. Four students crammed into successful execution of well laboratories are experiencing 3-seater rooms in this oppressive thought out plans to make life dilution in quality and intensity in weather is hardly the ideal start to a productive for every individual on the process of accommodating more new ac ademic ye a r . Wi th campus. nstudents, not to mention that student-teacher interaction is inevitably taking a hit. The planned Nalanda complex is expected to give respite, though one is inclined to believe that a great amount of effort and planning will be required to even maintain the present standards of education.

In essence, a lack of resources is

accommodation facilities like these, students are more likely to spend time walking the 2.2 than stay in the c o n f i n e d s p a c e s o f t h e i r overcrowded rooms. Also notable is how the distribution of students among halls is pointedly skewed. HJB and LLR did not receive any new students this year; their ambitious plans for the GC and Illumination have since, taken a huge hit. In other halls, even third years find themselves struggling for space. RK, Azad, Patel, HJB and SN have them paired up in double rooms.

The mess is a major cause of The situation came uder control concern, especially in RP. Our when the M.Sc. students were “strength stands at 835, so the “ultimately removed from PAN condition of the mess is which otherwise would have pathetic. You can see students resulted in total chaos. So all I fighting for rotis or waiting in would like to do is plead to the queues for 15 minutes. I hope all authorities to make room for these issues will be resolved newcomers before increasing once LBS gets completed." - the number of seats" G.Sec. G.Sec Maintainence, RP.Maintainence, Patel.

Four people living in one room means you have to adjust to “three different daily routines, as opposed to just one in a twin-sharing room. It's not only about physical space but also about loss of privacy." - Second Year student.

The More the MessierŸTOAT should comfortably handle crowds for the next 20-25 years atleast.

Ÿ140 rooms of LBS are ready, with postgraduate students programme currently accommodated.ŸRemaining work expected to be complete by the end of the year, including 667 rooms for residential purposes and a few special rooms like a yoga room etc.ŸAll rooms will be allotted on a triple sharing basis.

ŸPart of BRH will be completed in coming months; students might be accommodated by December 2011.ŸBRH will have all single rooms, instead of the triple rooms that LBS has.ŸWith approximately 1500 rooms, hall is expected to be completed by June 2012.

ŸConstruction work is yet to start at this hostel for VGSOM students.ŸSoil testing and other groundwork has been completed and approvedŸHall will be built on a BOT (Build Operate Transfer) basis.

ŸLocated next to Kendriya Vidyalaya, a heritage building is being converted to a VVIP Guest House.ŸThe Guest House will have six plush executive rooms and a lobbyŸThe Prime Minister will be the first person to reside in the new

facility.

ŸIIT Kharagpur’s guest house in Salt Lake, Kolkata is being renovated .ŸFrom ten rooms earlier, it now has sixteen rooms with additional dormitories on the top floor.ŸThe facility is also a tiny educational centre, with some classes on short term courses held there.ŸT h e G u e s t H o u s e w i l l accommodate members of the Prime Minister’s contingent. n

Lal Bahadur Shastri Hall of Residence

B R Ambedkar Hall of Residence

Chanakya Hall of Residence

VVIP Guest House

Calcutta Guest House

Construction Updatescontinued from Page 1

Photo: Sourya Dey

The mess extension at Azad Hall

The mess at the new LBS Hall

R E M E M B E R I N G A V E N U ETHE SCHOLARS’ AVENUE ² SUNDAY , AUGUST 19TH , 2010 3

ailing down the river of time, we heels of the inauguration, the include astrology in university c e l e b r a t i o n s . We f o u n d Sfind it befitting every now and bamboo framework that will curriculum was criticised by the considerably less archives from this then to slow down and study the support a renovated TOAT’s cloak C M . J o s h i , c i t i n g r e c e n t period though. One was Director distance traveled thus far. To for the convocation is visible and Government expenditure on a C. S. Jha’s convocation address. The observe how events have unfolded there’s a buzz about the PM visiting telescope in Ladakh, retorted that image presented is that of a younger and look at patterns that have Kgp. Many renowned voices will they were “not mixing up institute, where some of the most e m e r g e d . We g a t h e r t h e speak on the impact of IITKgp, and astronomy with astrology”, a remarkable achievements were in achievements and highlight them, making the best of this time will also comment that shot to local fame. experimenting sieve out defining occasions and involve stepping out of the trees to with academics The Chief Guest of the 47th commemorate them, seek both look at the wood. Important & curriculum. convocation was C. Rangarajan, grand and unnoticed tales and recite questions such as what the future IITKgp set up Governor of AP. In his address he them. We develop a feeling of there course of action could be, both at basic science discussed technology innovation being a special quality in the passage the institute and the personal level, departments, and diffusion considering an open of time and decide to mark it; we can be asked by the administration p i o n e e r e d economy and the important role of make arrangements, send out and individuals. This is an post-graduate the Government and universities invitations and lay out plans to interesting time to be around. courses and alongside private industries.celebrate it. Jubilees then, in a sense, started short-are crystallizing in a mine over the term courses. “Courses have been The Scholars’ Avenue wondered A number of aspects that have years , s lowly acquiring the p r o l i f e r a t i n g , t h e s t u d e n t what the prev ious jub i lee become an integral part of the characteristics that one day make population has gone up ten times celebrations were like: what their lifestyle here today were initiated them desirable enough for us to dig and the faculty position a little less memorable features were, which around that time. The SBI ATM, for deep and extract them. These we than [sic] so; with the physical personalities made an appearance example. But more importantly, the regard as the ornaments of time. facilities trying to keep pace with and so on. We did a bit of our own institute LAN! It was then that the

this tremendous surge forward, the mining and came across some massive project was carried out Indian Institute of Technology can valuable nuggets we’d like to share. with help from the IIT Foundation. certainly be said to have come of Academic projects undertaken by age,” he said. the institute included the beginning

of the Medical We obta ined p ic tures and S c i e n c e a n d documents belonging to the Golden T e c h n o l o g y What’s it going to take to give you Jubilee celebrations held in 2001 Course and setting that ‘I was there!’ feeling when you from Prof. Sadananda Sahu of IEM, up the Ramanujan think back to being in Kgp in 2011-who coordinated the inauguration Complex. Similar 12? For starters, the Curtain Raiser and convocation that year. A reading to this year, Kgp will be held on 21st evening in the of the calendar revealed that played host to the Tata Sports Complex, where the conferences, workshops conducted inter-IIT in 2001. world’s largest calendar is planned to by various departments and alumni While Spring Fest be unveiled. “The idea is to honour meets were the order of the year. was around, the our predecessors and demonstrate Nobel Laureates delivered Golden technology fest was an Ideon in our unity,” says Prof. B.K. Mathur. Jubilee Lectures.place of Kshitij. Consider additionally, an eminent

line-up of guest lectures throughout Murli Manohar Joshi, the then the year, including the likes of a few Union Minister for Human As IIT Kharagpur with its Nobel Laureates, and this could be a In a throwback to Nehru visiting Resource Development and then undoubtedly long history and very enjoyable experience. Here’s Kgp in 1951, PM Indira Gandhi, West Bengal CM Buddhadeb significant status welcomes the wishing this is cut out to be one with her own silver lining of hair, Bhattacharjee were amongst those Diamond Jubilee, a spectacle on a brilliant gem of a year. nwas Chief Guest of the convocation present for the inauguration. The large scale is assured. Close on the

in 1976, the year of the Silver Jubilee Centre’s decision at that time to

Good as Gold

Like a Diamond in the Sky

The Silver Lining

Glimpses from a Jubilee mine

he 'Grand Old Man' of IIT to the field of Communication institute from derailment. He TKharagpur, Prof. Gitindra engineering was recognized through always had a soft corner for the Saran Sanyal passed away this the award of D.Sc (Doctor of underprivileged. He committed summer on July 7th, leaving the Science) Honoris Causa at the 49th himself to social welfare in his later worldwide Kgp community in tears. convocation. He had seen it all in his years by starting a micro-finance He was 89. He is survived by a son in long and illustrious career – Head of project for deserving people in and the USA. The void created by his the Department, Gymkhana around the campus.demise is going to be a very difficult President, Dean, Deputy Director, one to get used to. The Scholars' Director and then coming back as Avenue decided to rediscover the Emeritus Professor. As an icing on legacy of the last 'IIT-Adivasi' – the the cake, one of his students, Arjun first batch of Professors who took it Malhotra (co-founder of HCL) stopped working till his last day. upon themselves to embark on a established the GS Sanyal School of path of teaching and leading Telecommunication (GSST) in his He was loved and revered by all his technology education in modern honour.students and faculty alike. He was India. like a father-figure to his students

helping them in times in need. He G.S. Sanyal never let age get the imbibed in his students a thirst for better of him. He was instrumental Prof. Sanyal lived in a time of learning and taught them to be good in setting up STEP (Science and political turmoil, when India was human be ings above great Technology Entrepreneurs Park) fighting for its independence, but he engineers. and the extension campus at Salt never let that become a hurdle in his Lake, Kolkata. He used his wide quest for knowledge. At the age of network of contacts for the benefit 22, he went to England to study Such was his expertise in the field of of IIT. He was instrumental in Radio Engineering and Radar He was the director of IIT Communication that DRDO built nurturing the missing bond Systems and obtained his General Kharagpur from 1983-87, which the Radar and Communication between the IITs and their alumni, and Advanced Diploma. He worked was a very troubled time. Back to Centre (RCC) for assisting his laying the foundation of the IIT-at Marconi Wireless Telegraph back strikes by the mess-workers' research. He was also the recipient alumni relationship which soon Company for four years before and teachers' union had crippled the of numerous awards and honours became a global event – PAN IIT. joining Calcutta University as a institute and was in danger of falling f o r h i s r e s e a r c h o n He joined VGSOM in an advisory lecturer. He eventually joined IIT to political anarchy. Never hesitant Electromagnetism, Microwave role and continued publishing Kharagpur in 1954, beginning a long to take bold decisions, he had the antennas, Phased arrays and Optical research papers till his final days. nand fruitful association. Such was vision and determination to save the fibers. His immense contribution

his devotion to Kgp, that he never

One of his students in the early 60's took a course at VGSOM. “Prof. Sanyal amazed him by attending all his lectures, sitting on the front bench. “Just 'Gurudev’reciprocating what you did 40 years earlier,” was his reply.

Post-RetirementAfter establishing GSST, Prof. Early Life Sanyal sent postcards to his “family informing them that if

they saw his name in the newspapers, they need not worry, he was still alive.

Scientist extraordinaireAs Director

Remembering Prof. GS Sanyal

4 C A M P U S A V E N U E THE SCHOLARS’ AVENUE ² SUNDAY , AUGUST 19TH 2011

...scale in single point increments. This September. However, a tentative testing has decreased significantly, and means that even if you get all score range on the old scale (200-800 the f o cu s i s now on you r questions wrong, your score stands at for each section) is displayed at the understanding of the subtleties of 260, with the maximum possible end of the test. sentence construction. While being 340. After all questions have knowing the meanings of so-called been answered, Your raw score (based 'high frequency' words and other While the old GRE was a Computer on the number of questions you commonly used words is important, Adaptive Test (correctly answering a attempt successfully) is normalized ensure that you also understand question meant getting a tougher one by taking into account the difficulty of words in their proper contexts.next up), the revised GRE is a Multi questions and the day of the Stage Test, which means that all the examination. There is no negative questions within a particular section Reading Comprehension questions marking for individual questions. carry equal weight. However, the test your ability to analyze the text's d i f f i c u l t y o f t h e n e x t meaning and to understand the The new GRE scoring scale is not Verbal/Quantitative section depends purpose of language tools employed ready yet, and scores will be reported on your performance in the first. by the author. Reading issue-centric starting in mid-November for articles in eminent publications such students taking the test in August and as Wall Street Journal, Time and

Frontline regularly should help As most people find the Quantitative develop the skills necessary to tackle Reasoning sections of the GRE these questions. Make sure you comparatively easy, preparation for develop the habit of reading critically: the exam is generally associated with try to keep a track of the main points learning by heart the 3,500 words being made, and how examples and listed out by the famous Barron’s. grammar are used to make a point. In However, the new pattern ensures tandem with regular practice, this that mugging overtly difficult words is should also enhance the effectiveness neither necessary nor sufficient. The of your writing.difficulty level of direct vocabulary

Practice is very important: take fully timed practice tests to familiarize yourself with the interface and question types. There are quite a few books which provide practice questions and general tips for the revised GRE. The test-makers, ETS, have released their own guide, as have Kaplan and Barron’s. A variety of free material can be found online as well, on websites like The Princeton Review and GREEdge. n

How to Prepare

Dos

Use the 10-minute break to freshen up, maybe grab a quick snack. Attempting the first three sections in succession can be quite taxing, and you want to be refreshed and alert for the next 90-100 minutes.

For the Analytical Writing section, focus on keeping your language clean and your logic lucid. Flowery words and convoluted sentences are not required.

Your Passport is the only accepted ID Card. Make sure to check for its expiry. Also keep a government issued secondary ID like PAN card or Driving license handy.

Make sure you don’t forget to take a print-out of your confirmation E-mail.

Don’ts

Don’t get distracted by easy questions, especially in the QR section. They might be followed by a tricky one and you might just overlook your mistake.

Don’t worry about learning by heart the meanings of inordinately difficult words. The challenge lies in understanding a phrase/word’s usage.

Tips for cracking the Revised GREcontinued from Page 1

TEAM SCHOLSAVE

Send letters to the editor at:

editor@scholarsavenue.org

ONLINE NEWS

To read these articles online and to give your feedback on them, please v i s i t o u r w e b s i t e a twww.scholarsavenue.org. The website provides the latest campus news through our coverage of events as they happen.

Executive Editors : Abhirajika (8001853469), Amiya Adwitiya (9832840782), Arvind Sowmyan (7407139549)

Editors: Achyut Bihani, Chirag Tibrewal, Deepesh Kumar, Hridya Ravimohan, Indra Saha, Mahtab Soin, Parth Govil, Rishabh Poddar

Asst. Editors: Abhijeet Tallavajhula, Adarsh Mathew, Ajay Viswanathan, Debadrita Das, Koulick Ghosh, Madhurima Kumar, Pranav Rao, Pravin Sharma, Sagnik Chakraborty, Suvinay Seth

Reporters: Akhilesh Prasad, Jatan Buch, Sayak Bhattacharya, Siddhant Wahal

Inceptionvalue written by students. hen over 7000 inventive minds

are boxed together, great things Ware bound to result. Welcome to the start-up culture of Kgp. Where an innovative idea and a clever name for an organization can make you a CEO overnight. Read on, and get started on building your own massive business empire. A team expansion. An offline

magazine. A rejected takeover attempt. A partnership with a leading

news channel. It's been a tumultuous yet exciting year for Bishwajeet Mahato of CompTalks.

What started off as a blog post to help his friends get rid of a common computer virus has blossomed into an At a time when the government is immensely popular technology blog, accused of not doing enough to with over 13,000 users and 700,000 alleviate the sufferings of Indian monthly page views. CompTalks farmers, two IITians have taken it covers the happenings of the tech The results of those post-12th upon themselves to help their agrarian world, and offers computer solutions standard examinations confuse you. brethren.and tips to its followers. After an You could do with some good advice, FnF is an NGO and non-profit initial period of stagnation, Bishwajeet but -This is where IFY extends its organization which works towards recruited members on the back of his helping hand. the betterment of the general expansion plans, and a few months IFY is a start-up that provides condition of farmers and farming later came out with an offline mentorship and directional assistance techniques employed in the northern magazine targeted at engineering to pre-college students to help them states of India. Since it was founded in colleges, which met with considerable make better decisions regarding their 2010 by 2 IIT alumni – one from Kgp, enthusiasm. CompTalks was the choice of branch and institute for their and one from Delhi - FnF has subject of an acquisition offer during undergraduate degree. provided technical assistance to the summer, but Bishwajeet resisted farmers in Rampur, Kurlahiya, Founded in 2010 by a group of IIT the temptation of big bucks as he felt Hemnagar, Nabigarha, and also in Kharagpur students, the organization CompTalks could grow to another Vaishali district in Bihar, where it is hopes to eradicate misguided career level during his last year in Kgp. He working to improve the efficiency of decisions. With a total revenue of Rs.272,400 also struck a partnership with the TV the banana fibre extraction process.Current activities include a in 40 days, EstuMart's first outing was c h a n n e l ' E T N o w ' , m a k i n g The organization aims to help recently conducted workshop a laudable success. Basically an online CompTalks the online partner of a farmers achieve long-term profits, and ‘Endeavour’ at Patna, which was shopping portal designed withKgp show covering fledgling start-ups, to make farming a more enjoyable and attended by over three thousand students in called ‘Starting Up’.lucrative occupation.students between from classes 9 to 12, m i n d , When asked where he sees and their parents. With a good number of technical E s t u m a r t CompTalks in five years' time, professionals in such diverse fields as Also, a magazine called ‘Inception’ attempts to Bishwajeet, whose name literally horticulture, soil testing, and organic is expected to be launched shortly, i m p r o v e means Conqueror of the World, farming, it is hoped that FnF will help which will contain articles with the dai ly replies, ‘I'd like it to become the the Indian farmer smile again. inspirational and/or informational s h o p p i n g TechCrunch of India.'

experience of Kgpians. Conceptualized in early 2011 by

Anubhav Pratap Singh, EstuMart began its operations during mid-March in Kharagpur. It strives to reduce the price of products and offer substantial discounts by efficiently cutting down on the supply chain and acting as a direct link between companies and students. Operations were shut on 27th April, the end of the previous semester, and there has been no activity ever since.

But with such a promising outing the last time, it doesn’t seem unwise to bet on the event that it’ll be back – bigger this time. n

CompTalks MartAGainFarms ‘n Farmers

IITians For Youth

Estumart

A novel initiative by two Kgpians, MartAGain is a platform for in-

c a m p u s o n l i n e transactions of books, g a d g e t s ,

bicycles and other items. It aims to connect sellers with prospective buyers using the interface of social networking, with features such as ‘liking’ a product to convey interest.

MartAGain alpha was launched on April 1, and by the end of the semester had over a thousand users, 140 items put up for sale and 40 successful transactions. MartAGain itself doesn't gain anything from these transactions – it is purely ad-supported. When quizzed about their immediate plans, Subhajyoti Ghosh, Head of Communications and Marketing, says they will soon be starting operations in several universities including NUS, Singapore and PDPU Gandhinagar.

Things look promising for MartAGain, which is faring well on-campus despite the founder graduating and taking up a job.

EN T E R T A I N M E N T A V E N U ETHE SCHOLARS’ AVENUE ² FRIDAY , AUGUST 19TH , 2011 5

Raj Kamal Jha (Mechanical Engineering, 1987) :

Sandipan Deb (Electronics and E l ec t r i ca l Communica t ion Engineering, 1985):

With his three novels, Jha has established a reputation of not

shying away from exploring the remote recesses of human souls, places where other authors fear to tread.

After his first encounter with journalism as the editor of the campus magazine, Alankar, Raj Kamal Jha took a leap of faith and enrolled himself in a journalism course in The University of Southern California. He emerged out of the shadows in 2000, with his first novel, The Blue Bedspread which garnered rave reviews from the literati. A series of vignettes strung together around a newborn child, it is a sordid saga of violence,

An engineer turned journalist, abuse and incest in a dysfunctional Sandipan Deb is famous for penning Indian family. His concise prose down The IITians, a book revolving brings to life the sights and sounds of around the IITs. He examines the Calcutta in a convincing manner history of the IITs since inception, and you find yourself teleported in the lives of its star alumni and the the midst of the hustle and bustle of challenges before the institution, the city. Using evocative imagery most notably, the curbs on freedom bereft of dialogue and a narrative of expression. Delving into these that shifts back and forth across aspects, he tries to identify factors time, Jha manages to strike a chord that make the archetypal IITian with the reader and keep him tick. It's not the classroom learning hooked.that ultimately matters, he reckons. A recurring theme in his book is that After The Blue Bedspread, Jha went the successful IITian is defined on to write If You Are Afraid of more by the education he received Heights , in which the lines between outside his classroom.reality and fantasy blur as daily

realities of contemporary Urban This book will resonate particularly India are mirrored by the well with Kgpians, because the hallucinations of its denizens. He author recounts several interesting makes use of his experience as a anecdotes and incidents from his journalist covering the Gujarat riots student life in Kharagpur like the for The Indian Express in his most famed RK-Nehru rivalry and the recent novel, Fireproof. A chilling 'weirdoes and wastrels' from his tale in which the murdered whisper batch. Although it cannot be tagged from beyond the grave, Fireproof as the definitive bible on IITs, it examines the collective evil nevertheless is a must-read for ordinary humans are capable of everyone associated with this perpetrating when their identity is remarkable institution. nthreatened.

When Kgpians Pick Up the Pen

new dual degree course, tailor-made to meet the growing demand Afor qualified design engineers, has been introduced at IIT Kharagpur. Coordinated by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, the course offers B. Tech. (Hons.) in Engineering Product Design and Manufacturing and M. Tech. in Design and Quality Engineering. The programme will be taught under two broad verticals - Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Electronics, one of which will be allotted to students at the end of their first year based on their choice and CGPA. The syllabus will focus on Engineering Design, Quality and Manufacturing Issues and various other engineering aspects concerning products in these two fields. A six month internship at organizations working on product design and development has been included in the curriculum for students to gain hands on experience. The sanctioned strength of this course is 14 students.

New Course Announced

he versatility of IITians is his corporate stair-climbing friend Trenowned. Deft at surviving once revealed to him- “To achieve s u n a n d r a i n , t h e y h a v e larger glories in life you have to distinguished themselves in a host of sacrifice smaller things”. That was careers and professions. Quite a few until he had an epiphany and have conquered the literary world. realized that he had gotten his In this issue, The Scholars’ Avenue priorities wrong. Nudged by his takes a look at Kgpians who have daughter, he promptly gave up his looked beyond green plains to successful career and started his emerge as successful authors. home based marketing consultancy

business so that he could be with his daughter. He recounts the innumerable ways and gestures in which his daughter turned him into a better father by her charm, love and care in Raising a Father. Above all, he chanced upon a new way of measuring success. A delightful read, it will send that warm fuzzy feeling down your spine, when you turn over the last page.

Hailing from a country where the

Appointed as the Head of Consulting, Capgemini India earlier this month, this IIT-IIM graduate has managed to sway critics with his debut novel Benaami. Driven by corporate ennui and the desire for distinction, Sarkar spent five years r e s e a r c h i n g t h e m e s l i k e reincarnation and the Sepoy Mutiny, and creating his own fantastical tale of rebirth juxtaposed with India's struggle for freedom.

Benaami is the story of a software developer who has recurring dreams of his past incarnation as the

caste system once prevailed, Paul initiator of a secret society called Kalra scrutinizes the American Benaami in the mid-nineteenth social structure and offers an century, devoted to the cause of unbiased outlook. A venerated extirpating British Imperialism in Electrical engineer from IIT India. Aided by a charming history Kharagpur, with an M.S.E.E. from professor, he sets out on a quest to Illinois Institute of Technology, solve the mystery of his past and Chicago and a MBA from the then follows the battle between Univer s i ty o f P i t t sburg a s time and destiny. Two tangled plots, accompaniments, Kalra felt obliged presented with spectacular to America for rewarding his transitions between the past and talents, but at the same time present, complete with a romantic perturbed by the glaring class angle and a villain, this novel has the distinction predominant there. perfect cognitive content for a

superhit movie. All in all, Benaami is His first book, The American Class a page-turner and keeps the reader System: Divide and Rule, published thrilled with suspense till the end.in 1995, brings forth the existence of disparities in terms of wealth in the American social strata. His twenty-year long quest for finding answers to his skepticism about the Civil Founder of the management War, which involved five wholly consultancy firm ZenMango, Arjun dedicated years, came to an end only Sen used to believe in an adage that with the release of his 300-page n a r r a t i v e , F r o m S l a v e t o Untouchable: Lincoln’s Solution, which reveals that the most ruthless war fought in America was a class war and not an attempt to abolish slavery. It is laudable as to how an Electrical engineer, neither Black nor White, delved deep into the factual details of this aspect of American history, read over a hundred works on slavery and sure-footedly condemned the American class system.

Anish Sarkar (Mechanical Engineering, 1995) :

P a u l K a l r a ( E l e c t r i c a l Engineering) :

A r j u n S e n ( A e r o s p a c e Engineering, 1986) :

6 TECH AVE THE SCHOLARS’ AVENUE ² FRIDAY , AUGUST 19TH , 2011

One of the best things about life in changing of the hub address, support of the CIC, and full a d d r e s s e d b y t h e h u b Kgp is the internet. Lightning fast repeated failures of the main hub functionality was restored after administrators.and amazingly reliable, the Local (10.110.1.110) and an overall almost a week. While the main hub The situation has now normalized, Area Network connecting all the decrease in the amount of data was down, the backup hub and we hope that the present hostels and the academic complex shared have left many complaining. (10.111.11 .111) continued to arrangement continues more has established a stellar reputation These problems have arisen after function with its server in RP and effectively. With a new server all for itself. However, with the DNS the DC++ server was shifted to RK many users switched over. set to replace the ageing AMD servers not responding a couple of this year. H o w e v e r, u s e r s w e r e n o t server shortly, and with the times and routine problems with automatically redirected to the A quick chat with the DC++ admin automatic redirection of users to the the DC++ hub, the last few weeks main hub when things became reveals that a technical flaw in the main hub, the sharing size is surely have been quite damaging for its normal. As a result, there has been a Router in the hall server was the going to rise in the next couple of credibility. significant decrease in the amount initial culprit behind the defaulting days. The good old days are all set to

of data being shared on the main Though the internet connectivity of the main hub. The recurring return again.hub. The conflict is now being has been restored, the frequent problem was resolved with the

Network Failure?

he Tech industry has had a Youtube. Apart from the fact that was that if any competitor did gain against app developers working on Tsplendid run the past few years. implementing an idea takes much access to the patents, they could sue Apple's iOS platform recently. With startups like Foursquare, more effort than proposing it, the the others into submission. The Instead of going after Apple whose Dropbox, Twitter and LinkedIn other glaring thing about this patent takeaway is that market dominance infrastructure is being used, coming up with great and simple- is that it is so broad. Patents like no longer depends on how developers are being picked on as to-use products, tech has finally these have given rise to a new breed impressive your technology is. It is they are easy targets, and find it far turned mainstream. So mainstream of greedy companies dubbed as about how large your patent more expensive to contest the actually, that we even had a no- 'Patent trolls'. All they do is collect a portfolio is and how much legal validity of the patent in court than masala-barred hollywood movie portfolio of such patents and sue muscle you can afford to protect it. settling.about a certain spunky whiz-kid last companies, often startups because And yeah, those patents were finally year! As giants like Apple and they can't afford the legal costs, or sold for a whopping $4.5 billion to a Google manage to break the $100 force them into profit sharing consortium of Microsoft, Apple and entry barrier for smart phones, all agreements. others. Scientists who were the tech we were talking about involved in those patents claim the above, everything that we have amount offered now is magnitudes Of note here is that these patent painstakingly built on the internet, more than what was spent initially trolls have no intention of actually is finally within the reach of the aam on research. And why exactly shipping a product utilizing all those aadmi. And when this happens, should we be worried about all this?patents they have accumulated. So, when tech stops being some kind of In the case above, should the ironically patents - which were geek luxury and moves to being an winning consortium decide to sue conceptual ized to promote integral part of everyone's life, that's Google with their patents, we innovation - are now being used to when we begin to talk about the would lose an entire ecosystem of stifle it.moolah. Nothing illustrates this If you are a startup, be sure to do more than LinkedIn's recent IPO, enough research in your domain. which valued the fledgling company For instance, if you are into e-at $4 billion (more?). When we are commerce, as is the fad these days, talking about money of this scale, you should know that a patent for any organisation would want to "online shopping cart" exists since protect its magic tricks and other 1998. This has caused quite some funda from being copied by its loss to small retailers who have the competitors. Enter the patents. feature implemented in their

website.A storm is brewing in Silicon Valley. Swords are being sharpened, It is rather a relief that India has thus loyalties are being questioned and far resisted attempts to introduce escape routes are being charted. software patents under the ambit of New recruits are cautiously verified Indian law, as computer programs before being absorbed into a already enjoy copyright protection. company's fold. And do you know Also, patents are only applicable in what the sad part is? All these the countries they have been filed measures are not about innovation in, so you should be safe from or cost-cutting or shipping that cool litigation so long as you restrict your new product. It is about litigation business within the country. But and protecting yourself from that beats the whole point of the patents. Yes, the very same patents i n t e r n e t , d o e s n ' t i t ?which were supposed to deter One big battle in recent times is products (Android) . These copy-cats, 'protect' your idea, around a massive patent portfolio products which brought the Whatever precautions you take, ensure a continuous revenue o w n e d b y N o r t e l , a internet to the reach of the masses, Intellectual Property can be a tricky stream, and by accomplishing all telecommunications company that and an open source platform that bog to navigate. The need of the this, encourage more ideas. At the declared bankruptcy in 2009. Being could well evolve into the next big hour is an upheaval of the patent heart of the problem is how the a pioneer in its field, it had amassed thing, could be dragged to a system and some enlightenment on patents are awarded, especially in quite a few patents - 6000 to be complete stop. the intricacies of the system. But software. You can patent an 'idea' p r e c i s e - s o m e o f t h e m until the legislators figure it out, a n d h o l d r i g h t s o v e r i t s implementable today, most of them your best bet is to stay as well-Apart from costs for needless implementation for 20 years. And simply ideas for the distant future. informed as you can about any patents acquired, expensive legal here's the catch: software is much When these patents first went up possible patents your software may costs to fight patent trolls off will less about an 'idea' and so much on the market last year, there was be stepping on, and keep legal now be borne by you, the consumer. more about how it is executed hardly any buzz about them until counsel handy. Hopefully that cool With all those crushed startups, finally through code. An interesting Google put up an initial bid for weekend project of yours can disruptive products you have come example is of a patent owned by an $900 million, hoping to buy them survive long enough that you can to expect and love will become a unknown Chris Crawford who was up as "a defense to discourage successfully defend yourself when rarity. Fewer alternatives in the awarded a patent for "an online litigation" from other companies the trolls come sniffing; or, if by market would drive up prices of back-up system" back in 1998. So and promised not to use it some stroke of luck you really have available ones automatically.legally speaking, you (or your aggressively to target competitors. something that is novel and unique service provider) have to pay Meanwhile, the race for the patents and (gasp!) not already patented, It would have a direct impact on royalty every time you share had heated up with RIM, Microsoft, make sure you file for one as soon as your livelihood if you were an pictures on Facebook, or upload to Ericsson and Apple too throwing possible before somebody else independent developer. A patent Dropbox or watch a video on their hats into the ring. The premise decides the idea was theirs .ntroll called 'Lodsys' filed cases

Patently Absurd

BH A A T A V E N U ETHE SCHOLARS’ AVENUE ² FRIDAY , AUGUST 19TH , 2011 7

Did you know? Ever wondered how PT sheets came about? Professor Robert Adolf Kraus (1898-1970), the first professor of the Institute and HOD of Mechanical, created a lab called Production Technology. Hence ‘PT’. Papa Kraus, as he was fondly known, worked in Czechoslovakia before meeting J.C. Ghosh, the first Director. He later also worked for the establishment of IIT Madras.

There is a popular consensus among us KGPians that we essentially lead an unburdened, almost phased-out life. ‘Peace hai’ seems almost ubiquitous. Alas! How wrong we are, because equally common is the utterance of the words ‘Fight maarna’ in different grammatically correct/incorrect forms. Be it an I-have-seen-all-there-is-to-be seen fifth year or an overly optimistic batchmate, the idea of the never-s a y - d i e a t t i t u d e i s f a i r l y pronounced. We here at TSA felt it is time somebody gave these ‘pearls of wisdom’ a more structured existence before a Chetan Bhagat decides to make a pay-day out of it (Shh!!You know your role, don’t you?). Our search for structure led us to the pre-Christian era treatise on military stratagems, “The Art of War” authored by the formidable Sun Tzu; behold the wisdom shared:

This is us, extending our sympathies to our second-year readers who are not exactly having a ball being ‘oriented’ (or disoriented, take your pick!) to the ways of the world. Cramming close to 300 odd names, participating in rites of passage of naturalism and doing the ‘firefly’ dance, it is in situations like these that Sun-Tzu’s words “ The Skillful Warrior first ensures his own invulnerability; then he waits for the enemy’s vulnerability “ gain monumental importance.

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”, a seemingly innocuous adage most of you would have heard (or read…seriously?!) is definitely the need of the hour come GC season. How else do you think can you, the self-fashioned protector of the Hall’s tradition, cook up devilish schemes reeking of filthy ‘poltu’ to deride the enemy’s campaign and have the sweet taste of victory for oneself? A slip of tongue or a sleight of hand is all it takes to make a difference at the top of the points table. Who would know this better than the one with the knowledge of Sun-Tzu’s art?

There are times, even in KGP of all places, when everything seems to take the downward spiral, all dreams shattered, all roads blocked (and no, we are not referring to the present condition of the campus in throes of ‘infrastructure upheaval”) and all doors slammed in your face. Don’t despair! Sun-Tzu coined a term ‘shi’ which roughly translates to”the art of understanding matters in a state of flux”, sit back and let it sink into you that ‘shi’ happens and you cannot do anything about it; except maybe…wage a war? Ha-ha, gotcha! n

’ve had jinxes cast upon me, felt had to do something about the direction less to leap in. Magellan Ithe heat of dragon fire and been disagreeable real. I was decidedly vanishes and pops up at the other disassembled by Transformers over going to stem the assault Kgp was end of a line. The world reduced to a the past few weeks. I caught the making on my senses and reduce its single plane of perception. Minute biggest summer blockbusters in 3D, reality, all with my own 2D glasses. I details gone, the mind left free to paying for the show a fee that had lifted my invention right out of a appreciate shapes and forms. A me crying ‘Unfair!’ and putting on drawing I made on a piece of paper. heightened ability of comparison blockish glasses that my nose developed due to an unbiased protested to bear, to gain that juxtaposition. Physicists may be amazing as-close-to-life-as- en thus i a s t i c o f twenty - s ix possible experience. Thoroughly dimensions to explain gravity, but I enjoyable the movies certainly preferred to migrate to a sphere- were, sometimes the form more circle, rather- of simplicity where than the content. life moves as a strip with the passage

of time. Over there! In that panel can be spotted newfound friends, A few frames forward and here I the geometric shapes of Flatland, am back in Kgp, annoyingly Calvin and Hobbes.coated with dust that’s colonized

the room I’m supposed to shift into. Coiled lines of people in the The act had to be cut short though, mess with famished mouths this plot device presented unseen present a face no less threatening difficulties. I bumped into walls, than a Nagini. ‘All this is just too sinister lecture notes were damn real,’ is what the subtitles to unchanged under the glasses and my thoughts read as I’m pictured there was admittedly a loss of The flimsy little thing had no riding in the rain, drops falling right dimension in sensation. The glasses thickness itself and I had to walk into my eyes. It was while proudly could only offer a point of view after wearing it with a degree of concern ticking off my vacation list of films all. I continue to believe that Kgp resembling an affected high-and-during a reunion bhaat session that can be best looked at through an mighty manner.the thought lit up in me and I unconventional lens and plan to don pushed the pause on our it occasionally. Now where is it? I But what a spectacle it was! Swarms conversation. Before seeking to must’ve placed it on an edge...the of people, shoved to the distance. make more palpable the unreal, I flimsy little thing... nThe cat in the mess has one

8 GUEST AVENUE THE SCHOLARS’ AVENUE ² FRIDAY , AUGUST 19TH , 2011

On the bestseller lists for quite some time now, Geek Nation delves into the lives of the inventors, engineers and young scientists that are powering India's scientific revolution, steadily shaping up the country as a scientific superpower. We interviewed the author, British Science Journalist, Angela Saini, to learn more.

TSA: Your visit to IIT Delhi must AS: Well, I think more could be used to develop a new drug for have given you a glimpse into how the done to remove hierarchies and tuberculosis. This disease kills two IIT’s function. How do you think they promote a culture of reward that Indians every three minutes, and yet compare with the best of the world? truly promotes young talent. This there hasn't been a new cure for What can be done to transform them would make research institutions around 40 years. So it's exciting to from hubs of 'drones' to hubs of m ore attractive places to work at. see such a radical approach to drug 'geeks' ? Also, of course, funding into discovery being used to come up

research and development needs to with a low-cost, effective solution. I be ramped up across the board.just hope it works. AS: I think it's already happening - I

m e t m a n y i n q u i s i t i v e , TSA: You have studied engineering at entrepreneurial IIT students on my TSA: Finally, now that 'Geek Nation' Oxford University. What was the travels. The key is to transform the is on best-seller lists, what are your motivation behind transitioning to IITs from plain teaching colleges to future plans? Any book we should science journalism as a career? outstanding research institutions, watch out for?

and to some extent, there have already been moves by the faculties AS: I did some student journalism at AS: I've been thrilled with the to encourage that. Students need to Oxford and really enjoyed it. response to Geek Nation, and I learn that staying on to to do a PhD definitely plan to write more books

TSA: In your book, you mention a and further research can be good for in the future. What they will be Although I love science and peculiar combination of science and their careers. about and when the next one will engineering, my personal passion is pseudoscience that seem to go together come is a mystery for now. I'm still writing, so I decided to give i n t h e I n d i a n s c i e n t i f i c mulling it over! In the meantime, I journalism a shot when I left TSA: Are IIT's and IISc at the establishment. How do you think this would love it if IIT Kharagpur university. It turned out to be a good f o r e f r o n t o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l contradiction can be resolved? students would join the Geek choice, because there are few advancement in India, as is widely Nation Facebook page so I can reporters out there who are believed, or is there more to Indian AS: Well, it's not so much a hear/see their thoughts.comfortable enough with science science then just these premier combination of science and and maths to report on these kinds institutions?pseudoscience as a sitting of the two of issues effectively. Today, I love TSA: We would love to have you here. next to each other. It's certainly not my job. Are you planning to visit IIT AS: While the institutes are great at the case that serious laboratory Kharagpur anytime soon?producing talent, they're certainly researchers or engineers turn to TSA: While researching for Geek not the best at producing research superstition to air their work. On Nation, what were the examples of AS: If that is an and innovation. That honour the one hand, I think tolerating a scientific insight (if there were any) i n v i t e , t h e n belongs to organisations like TIFR, broad spectrum of views and ideas is from India that stood out as c o n s i d e r i t CSIR and other private and a good thing because it removes particularly revolutionary and path- received! I would government laboratories.intellectual limits. But on the other breaking? love to come and hand, there does need to be a visit the campus... TSA: On a macrolevel, is the stronger scientific establishment to Just let me know AS: I think the most unusual was institutional mechanism to promote take a stand when there is hokum or when. nopen source science, which is being scientific research in place in India?fraud.

... open source science, which is being used to develop a new “drug for tuberculosis. This disease kills two Indians every three minutes, and yet there hasn't been a new cure for around 40 years ...

Interview with Angela Saini