Newsdigest for the IITD Alumni Association

Swami Mukundananda did B.Tech (1982, Mech) from IIT Delhi, and M.B.A from IIM Cal. He gave a very fruitful lecture on 26th January at Seminar Hall, IIT Delhi. Mr. Yogesh Andlay welcomed Swamiji and invited him for lighting lamp. Swamiji worked for a few months in the Tatas. However, material education did not quench his thirst for knowing the Absolute truth.

The longing for God was so strong that he renounced his career. Under the guidance of Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj, he practised sadhana and studied the Vedic scriptures and the Indian and Western systems of philosophy.

Swami Mukundananda has been delivering spiritual discourses for the last two decades. His lecture coverd the teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavatam, Puranas, Bhagavad Geeta, Ramayan, and other scriptures. The special feature of his lectures was that he establishes every spiritual truth through scriptural quotations, irrefutable logic and humorous real-life illustrations, keeping the audience absorbed and entertained.

The event was attended by over 300 alumni and their families including alumni of other IITs. He delivered a thought provoking lecture which was followed by a lively interaction session. The interaction continued outside and inside the Seminar Hall over tea for another 30 minutes, with alumni, faculty and their families discussing various ways of discourses. The following is the small profile of Swami Mukundananda. The vote of thanks given by Mr. Meerani alumnus of IITKGP, he thanked to Swamiji accepting the invitation to give lecture.

2. Family Picnic













A family picnic to ring in the New Year 2006 was organised by the IIT Delhi Alumni Associaiton along with NCR (East) and NCR (South) Chapters on Sunday, January 21, 2007 at Sports Stadium, IIT Delhi.













The event was a great attraction and was attended by over 300 IITD alumni families. A number of fund games including Tennis Ball Cricket, Lemon in Spoon Race, Tambola & Tug of war were organised. There were events for all the age groups.



The snacks and the drinks kept everybody busy. It was an event to remember.










3. Silver Jubilee Reunion Batch of 1982.

SILVER JUBILEE REUNION BATCH 1982

The Silver Jubilee Reunion of 1982 Batch, held from 28-30 December 2006 at IIT Delhi, was attended by 53 alumni and their families. The Reunion got off to an early start with some of the 1982 its arriving as early as 27^th December to spend time with locally resident alumni. They also took a tour of the city visiting their old time favorite hang outs in town. With the D-Day (28^th December) nearing some half-a-dozen participants had already checked in at Nalanda Guest House. The 28^th morning started with the first formal activity of the SJ event (visits to the Laboratories / Departments, etc.) where the faculty and laboratory staff were eagerly waiting to welcome the alumni.

This was followed by lunch at the Sports Stadium. After lunch, the Director and faculty and the alumni present, who were about three-dozen strong by now, moved to the Senate Room for the customary meeting with the faculty members; while the families enjoyed games at Hockey Grounds. During the meeting, the Director appraised the Silver Jubilee Batch Alumni about the landmarks the Institute had achieved till date and its plan for the future. The alumni introduced themselves and briefed the gathering about their careers and achievements over the twenty five years since graduation. Thereafter there was a lively, free and frank exchange of views on all relevant issues. The Alumni with their families then moved to the Director’s Lodge for the Director’s Tea and enjoyed a delightful high tea with delectable snacks in the idyllic setting of the lawns. The Director presented the gentlemen alumni with the Institute tie and the lady alumni with shawls.

By 7:30 pm the center of action moved to the RCA Terrace. The group was there in full strength to enjoy the music, dancing, eats, etc. at the RCA Terrace.

At 11:00 p.m. dinner had to be served to bring Day -1 to an end - before the clock would force it to be called Day 2. The celebrations stretched well beyond midnight moving over to the Nalanda Guest House and the alumni staying there. A good number of those living in the NCR reluctantly left for home, hoping to be back early next morning to catch up with more of the fun.

Day-2 started on breakfast hosted by Jwala Hostel, which was a scrumptious spread surpassing any standards for a hostel.

The SJ batch then gathered on a grassy mound with the Main Building in the backdrop for the tree plantation ceremony, leaving at the Institute a permanent reminder of the Silver Jubilee; and a group photograph to carry back indelible memories of the reunion.

The group reassembled at Nalanda to board the bus and many cars to head for the venue for the night out planned at BEST WESTERN RESORTS Country Club off the 56 km. Milestone on NH-8 (Jaipur Highway). A well laid out buffet with ample indoor seating awaited them. There was good news that some alumni scheduled to join on Day 1, but delayed by rescheduled / rerouted flights finally caught up and joined the celebrations.

Lunch over, the lawns enveloped in a warm, bright, late afternoon winter sunshine beckoned. Some just lazed and “gupped”. For the children / families there was plenty to do - animal rides, cricket, tug of war, tambola (a hit with the ladies), card games, chess, animal / bird cage(s), skittles/bowling track, swings, hammocks, etc.

The entertainment being led by the DJ playing favorite music tracks the dance floor was packed and the dancing lively. Narrations and recollections from the IIT days were well mixed with a wide variety of snacks. The festivities, of course, went on well beyond midnight.

Morning of Day 3 started on more of an individual focus, with families packing up and fewer and smaller groups of 2 or 3 seen chatting and still catching up. With no planned activity, breakfast was a relaxed affair. Packed and with still time to spare some were seen enjoying / relaxing in the bright warm sunshine on the lush green lawns. And finally, by 12:45 pm the bus was loaded and ready to leave for the trip back to Nalanda Guest House, IIT campus. And so came to an end the STORY of SJ '82.

3.PAN IIT 2006 In Mumbai Attracts Over 5000 Delegates

The PAN IIT

Conference 2006, attracting over 5000 participants and featuring a host of high profile panelists, was a resounding success. The event was held in Mumbai on Dec. 23, 24 and 25 at a temporary convention center created expressly for this purpose at the MMRDA grounds at the Bandra-Kurla complex.

The event program designed based on the survey questionnaire sent to thousands of IITians was based on the three themes – Inspire, Involve and Transform. The president of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam inaugurated the event with a speech which he termed as “mixed” in terms of identifying the positives and negatives of the IIT system. He urged the alumni to identify ways of making IITs more inclusive and emphasized the need for IIT alumni to expand the spirit of IIT to touch every technical university in the country. He identified specific opportunities in different areas of technology that could help push development in India. The session included a host of other leading speakers including Shahi Tharoor, George Soros and Sri Sri RaviShankar. In a riveting speech, Tharoor pointed out the dichotomy of India’s unity in diversity by highlighting the harmony of the nation’s identity despite several fissiparous and divisive tendencies and though processes of the Indians. Soros felt that in the next three years there would be tremendous opportunities in India. He also felt that there are many challenges the major one being education and meeting the human resource need. “India must focus more on education. It must ensure that more children get elementary education,” said Soros.

The IIT directors who took active part in the conference expressed their deep concern at the severe faculty crisis expected from the next academic year at their institutes with the implementation of 27 percent OBC reservation. The directors urged the alumni to come up with creative solutions to attract quality faculty to the institutes.

Quality of education in India was on the mind of many panelists. They expressed their discontent over the depleting standard of education in renowned institutes like IITs. Professor M Balakrishnan, IIT-Delhi, said: “In comparison to global educational scenario, IITs have failed to produce sufficient number of research scholars. Every year IIT-Bombay produces just 60 PhDs. This is due to the paucity of technical expertise required to maintain the infrastructure.

Many felt that government interference in education was problematic. Mphasis CEO Jaithirth Rao said: “No government interference will pave the way for more innovation in premium institutes in the country. It will lead to the creation of a competitive environment. The Government of India has passed several laws that have caused a decline in the standard of education offered at the IITs. It is the role models that will help the country to produce world-class IITians and not the laws. The IIT alumni held the government responsible for the failure to upgrade technical institutes and making them appear as though they belong to the 1950s. To improve the quality of education available to the poor, the alumni suggested the introduction of a system that allows choice.

Elaborating on various measures to be introduced in IITs to bring it on a par with foreign universities, Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Infosys, said all IITs need to be equipped with the “incubation centers’’ to enhance entrepreneurship among the IITians. He also expressed the need to involve curriculum based on finance, accounts and market in IITs instead of providing conventional technical education through subjects like chemistry and physics.

The second day featured several tracks the focused on different aspect of nation building. Sessions focused on, Building India into a Knowledge Economy, Lifting 260 million people out of poverty in one generation, Sustainable development through decentralized services, Getting the Governance You want, Use of Technology for nation building, Learning from successful entrepreneurs and Shakti with a focus on women’s issues featured leading speakers like Sam Pitroda, Nandan Nilekeni Dr. Ashok Jhunjunwala, Pradman Kaul, Arvind Kejriwal and others brought forth several issues and actively engaged the Alumni in thinking about various aspects of nation building. http://www.nostaljigs.com/ has some very intersting blogs that address different aspects of these sessions. There are also videos of the different sessions.

The Shakti track brought awareness about an infamous abuse of technology in India where identifying the sex in the womb has led to female feticide. Lara Dutta, the former Miss Universe acted as a spokesperson for UNFPA, an organization that has worked to prevent this terrible tragedy. There was also a panel discussion featuring IIT women alumni that discussed the value of an IIT education for empowering women and identified strategies to help increase number of women at IIT which continues to be dismally low.

As promised, the conference was not just all talk. Many working groups led by distinguished alumni of the various IITs emerged with a charge to have a time bound action plan addressing different issues. It is of interest to note that the PAN IIT group was proactive in including many people who are differently-abled and use their skills as part of their organizing team. They trained men and women who are blind to act as telemarketers and help desk operators. President Kalam applauded this effort and invited the blind members of the team to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. “We are glad that IITians thought of creative ways to use our abilities. This experience has given us a new skill which we hope to se effectively in our career,” said Anandi Vishwathan , who acted as the group leader.

Chariman Ashank Desai and the action group that coordinated the event should be congratulated for pulling together a wonderful event which sowed some seeds that we hope will transform India. PAN IIT 2007 will be held in July at the Santa Clara Convention Center in the Bay area.

# posted by IIT Delhi Alumni Association @ 4:52 PM