Vaibhav Jain

JIIT academic block

WELL well well… For Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, an affidavit has been submitted to the Supreme Court to strip it off its “deemed” university status along with 43 other ‘universities’ of India. For others, it may be just a masala news.. these things happen day in and day out. But think about the thousands and lakhs of students who are in a quandary about their future. Enough of newspapers, e-newspapers, television, etc… this is LIVE from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology.. read on.

JIIT view

To make it clear, the students are, obviously, in a state of a shock and so is the management. After the announcement of this news yesterday night, there was a panic in the hostels here. Our Vice Chancellor, Dr. J.P. Gupta addressed all of the members of this esteemed “Jaypee Parivar”, and tried to alleviate the mental pain we were suffering since last night. One can easily blame the management about the blemish we have incurred on our CVs, but spare a thought about them, who work day in and day out for the betterment of this institute. I stress on the fact, the status has not been changed, just an affidavit has been submitted.

Hostel View                                              Awesome Infrastructure

MHRD has been heartless and knowledge-less and it should be the Ministers in the MHRD who should be stripped off their offices. Granting the university a ‘deemed’ status is not a child’s play that you can give it any day and take it away suddenly as if it is like disposing off some waste material from your home. They didn’t even care to find out how the studies take place over here. None of the parameters which they jotted down for considering the stripping off is applicable to JIIT.

Swimming Pool

Night View

Lecture Theatre

Outside the mess - Annapurana

We have one of the BEST infrastructures in colleges of India. The academic building, the hostels, the mess, the labs, the instruments, the machines… you name it and we have the best of them. Talking about the faculty, I can’t find a single incapable faculty here. They have numerous research publications and if Mr. Kapil Sibbal wants, he can have the details from them.

Jaypee Business School - one of the emerging B-schools of the country

Research work is the area JIIT lays stress upon. The UGC, which granted the affiliation few months back, were convinced of all this before giving us such a recognition. If they did it by mistake, question them.. not us.. without going into the details.

Frankly, I haven’t even heard about any other colleges mentioned in that list of 44 apart from Christ college, so can’t comment. But JIIT can certainly be not a part of such a list. If Amity, Rai University, ICFAI are okay to functiona, we are far far ahead. We are here to compete with one of the best private institutes of the country. Our institute is backed with prestigious Jaiprakash Associates, which have been here in the industry since decades. No one can question their integrity like this.

Jaypee - No dream too big

Atleast, students have shrugged off the panic and they believe that management is there with us. NO DREAM TOO BIG.. as the tagline holds, we students are capable enough to live our dreams, no matter what these stupid affiliations has got to do with it. Our management is capable enough to sort it out. It can never ever leave the hands of thousands of us who have left prestigious institutes like NITs to take admission here. We believe in them, and I request everyone who is associated with the college, to believe in the system rather than pointing fingers at their integrity. We all are family and it’s the time to support the head of the family.

Finally… Its peace here.. we are back to what we are known for.. Hard Work and Excellence. All the best…

November 15th 1989. Karachi. Out came a little kid to face the likes of unplayable trio belonging to the soil of Pakistan when India was reeling at 41 for 4. To say not much was expected from him at the ‘tender’ age of 16 would be wrong. The boy had already hit the newspapers and the cricket fraternity about 5 years ago.

At the age of 11, when Sachin started the journey from Sahitya Sahawas to Shivaji Park under the able guidance of his coach Ramakant Achrekar, people easily predicted that he would once play cricket at the highest level. His brother, Ajit’s role has been the key to his success. He scored and scored heavily for the next 4 years at the school and the club level. One could never forget the 329* innings with friend Vinod Kambli who scored 346*. Sairaj Bahutule, who would later play for India for a short while, was at the receiving end. Sameer Dighe, who would also later represent the country, was Sachin’s senior in the local team.

Sachin has such a variety of strokes in his kitty that even greats like Gavaskar and Vengsarkar were mesmerized even before he entered the real zone. Rules were broken for this lad to play for the club at the age of 16 where children below 18 were not even allowed to enter. Finally, he made his debut in Pakistan exactly 20 years ago.

Hit by Waqar on the nose in the 2nd test, one would have felt pity for him, but he continued waging the battle, blood oozing out. Only the Indian army had such a strong courage and will-power to carry on, but then Sachin was just 16. He had announced his arrival. What followed ridiculing of the ‘kid’ was acceptance of his heroics from all the Pakistani players and it was followed by terror for the opponents which has carried on till now.

The innings in England made India save the Test when greats like Vengsarkar, Srikanth, Shastri vanished from the scene in no time. The century at Perth was the most memorable. He had barely come around to cross his teenaged life but his achievements had spoken a lot. He was not a kid, he announced that the God is here.

And then it was unthinkable and unstoppable saga. He single-handedly carried on the team - India became a one-man army until the arrival of Dravid and Ganguly. Expectations put pressure but he knew how to handle it. World Cup 1996 saw his bat without any sponsor and he made 523 - highest in the edition. Although he failed to see India through, he was India’s only pride.

He was made the captain immediately after. The stint wasn’t a great one. How could it be? Remember these names.. Harvinder Singh, Dodda Ganesh, Noel David, Sujith Somsundar, Devang Gandhi, Nilesh Kulkarni, Debashish Mohanty, Ashish Kapoor, Abey Kuruvilla, Paras Mhambrey.. When given these players, what could a captain do? Ok, he was not that good a leader, may be, a job not meant for him. Came 1998, came Australia. Sharjah, Shane Warne, Tony Greig and Sachin… what a combination it was. Those mammoth innings of 143 and 134 put combiningly would have produced a better script that the movie Lagaan.

He kept on holding the turf during the match-fixing days. The only formidable player to have avoided all the allegations. No one could have pointed a finger at Sachin. WC 2003 saw him again rising to the occasion. He did his best to put India to finals - failed at the last step, but due to errors made by the bowlers who made us chase a target of 360. Sachin had to risk his wicket and he lost. It was not India’s loss, it was Sachin’s loss - in the same manner that it was Sachin’s victory alone to have put India to the finals.

2005 was a dull year for him. People had forgotten his heroics of more than a decade and he had to face a lot of criticism. But then, that’s Sachin. Always emerging out of ashes and brining something out that would burn the basher’s words. People say that Sachin is no longer the master he was during 90s. But they don’t realize that with time, the body and the role change. Dhoni was an attacking player initially, but didn’t he adopt a defensive style lately? He even plays 20-20 like a test match just because he is no more able to connect the ball properly. Nothing against him, but even if Sachin has slowed down, he has maintained his Strike Rate well above 85.

The time has come now that we leave him alone. He has dictated his terms to the opponents for 2 decades. Let him dictate his departure from the game himself. Even if he fails in 5 innings continuously, one shouldn’t mind. Atleast we can give a person this much in return of his sacrifices. He is the single man who has and can unite Indians. Irrespective of color, caste or community, when Sachin plays, every one is an Indian praying before each ball for him to produce the best. Even his defenses and leaves are a masterpiece.

Cricketers came and went. Some became TV actors, some movie actors, some ‘experts’ on stupid Indian news channels, some referees, some eyeing for Presidentship of cricket boards, some dumped after match fixing allegations, and various have become non-existant. But there is one man, still standing tall, one man with never-say-die attitude, one man to have won the world, one man who is super-human… who is GOD.

More than his game, one likes Sachin - the human. He is a university in himself. Take the records and cricket away, what remains will still mesmerize the world. Such a human… such a master… and no attitude, no arrogance. His each and every word is a source of inspiration to many. Whenever in trouble, not feeling good or need for some motivation, just go through a Sachin’s interview or some of his words. Go through the words of honour of people across the world, and I bet you would end up being energetic.

Just go through some of these, said by Sachin -

“Let others talk about your past, you just have to think about your future.”

“Aggression should be inside. It has to benefit you and not your opponent.”

“Mumbai belongs to all Indians. I am a Maharashtrian and am extremely proud of that. But I am an Indian first.”

“Everyday is a fresh challenge. You have to be on your toes.”

“Dedication, discipline and keeping your focus on the game are very important.”

(more will be added later, you can contribute)

At the occasion of 20 years of spellbinding International cricket, I pray God to give him more and more energy to continue for another 10 yeas. All the best Sir Sachin Tendulkar.

Daslakshan Parv, also known as Paryushan Parv, is the most important festival celebrated among Jains. To give it a word ‘festival’ would insult the 10-day long celebrations. Like ‘nav-durge’ of Hindus, Daslakshan Parv has much more attached to it then just fasting and the Pujas.

It comes thrice a year, but the most important is regarded to be in the month of Bhadrapad of Hindi Calendar. It is because in ancient times, when there was lack of transport media, people didn’t commute much in the four months of the rainy season and remained at homes so were comfortable during this time. The monks also practice the Chaturmaas during these days and thus, it adds meaning to the celebrations of Daslakshan in Bhadrapad.

It commences on bhadrapad-shukl-panchmi and the last day is called Anant Chaudas. Two days prior to this, Roat Teej is celebrated (only in Khandelwal Jains) where they eat Roats. It is a special day and a special lunch. Then starts Daslakshan Parv two days after.

Devotees fast severely, the extremes not eating for the entire 10-days. Some moderates fix their diet to 5 or 6 green vegetables. Even the people who are not much into the ethics of Jainism, abandon eating at night or taking Abhakshya (root vegetables). If not for the whole year around, Jains usually visit temple everyday for these 10-days.

The significance of the 10-days is that each day different ‘dharm‘ is celebrated. It is believed that if these 10 dharms are followed rigorously for the entire life, the way to Moksha becomes easy for a soul. The following are the 10 dharms celebrated chronologically for the 10-day durations.

1. Uttam Chhama (day 1) - Even if in the presence of anger, revenge or feeling of destruction, the person remains calm and serene, with attributes of forgiveness to all.

2. Uttam Maardav (day 2) - No pride even in the presence of immense knowledge, superior caste, power, money, physical beauty, etc.

3. Uttam Aarjav (day 3) - Not carrying dual-faced nature and behaviour, always doing what you say and the feelings should be pure.

4. Uttam Satya (day 4) - Always speaking the truth even when the conditions are adverse.

5. Uttam Shauch (day 5) - Abdication of internal and external wants (parigrah). It means purity of mind, body and soul.

6. Uttam Sanyam (day 6) - Control on the soul and guiding it to the right direction avoiding it to drift in the wrong one.

7. Uttam Tap (day 7) - Renouncing of worldy pleasures and wantings in order of purification of souls. Realizing that it is all immaterial.

8. Uttam Tyag (day 8 )  - Without any greed and want of fame/recognition, abdicating of such things.

10. Uttam Bhramcharya (day 10) - Renouncing the attraction and attachment with the opposite sex. This includes looking at vulgar pictures, such movies, physical as well as mental attachment, etc.

The Daslakshan Parv this year started on 24th August. The Anant Chaudas is on the 3rd September. Then on 5th September is the Chhamavaani Parv. My request to all the Jains is that they should try to avoid eating non-veg (if such people really exists), avoid smoking, drinking, eating after sun-set, avoid abhakshyas and try to go to temple as many days as possible. Avoid usage of bad words, don’t let evil feelings come to your mind and try to remain pure for these 10-days.

NOTE - Tha above is only for Digambar Jains. Daslakshan Parv in Swetambars fall on other dates, generally they end prior to the commencement for the Diagambars.

For further info, or any suggestions/corrections, please do mention it in the ‘comments’. I will be obliged.

For the last few days, I have been hearing and reading almost in every kind of media about the comments Vinod Kambli made on the cricket icon and his long time friend, Sachin Tendulkar. The situation goes like this:

There is a reality show telecast on Star Plus Channel “Sach Ka Saamna” hosted by Rajeev Khandelwal, where he asks a contestant some really personal questions which require him to give a truthful answer. The lie-detectors detect the wrong answer and the contestant loses if he tells a lie. So the basic purpose is to keep on telling the truth even though the questions may be extremely personal.

Now Vinod Kambli was asked a question whether he thinks Sachin should have helped him more when he was going through tough times in Indian cricket. It has been a fact Kambli started his career far better than how Sachin fared initially, but he soon diminshed in the sand for lack of consistency. However, he replied that Sachin could have helped him but he didn’t, for which he was highly disappointed. He said that his best friend was expected to give him a helping hand in tough times.

Now it is nothing new how Sachin’s name can stir Indian public. Kambli was soon caught by media and asked about the statement to which he denied as being true. He said that he can never say anything against his friend of 26 years. But the footage of the show reveals that he certainly has made those comments. When Sachin was asked about this, he, like always, played down the issue.

Now what I feel is Kambli didn’t commit anything wrong even if he had said those things. So he does not need to be so apologetic. He is a human and every human has certain imperfections. Even though Kambli is Sachin’s best friend, he is not expected to be adulating him like a God. It is his perception about Sachin what he said. Had such a program not been made, he would never have had to pass such comments. The most important factor friendship needs is understanding. And Kambli never hurt Sachin’s feelings in all these years by publicly or personally attacking him by such remarks. There can be issues between friends, but they can be nipped in the bud or can be kept by themselves to keep the candle always lit. And that is what Kambli did. Had Kambli lied about that question, lie-detector would have caught him. So that had to come out any how.

On the other hand, many people may accuse Tendulkar of not being generous and great enough to give his friend a helping hand. But I ask, why and how should he? If Kambli could not do justice to his place in the team by playing well consistently, what could Sachin do in that? If Kambli was financially not faring well, would he, as a gentleman, accept money given by Sachin? Did Kambli wa nt Sachin to recommend him to play for India?

All these questions will give an emphatic NO. So there is nothing to stir up the controversy. Infact it is not a controversy at all. This should just be seen as a friend’s feelings for another friend which may not be positive always, and this is not unusual to happen. Kambli was only bound by the situation to commit up and he was brave enough. Sachin has done the best thing by turning down the speculations about rift between the best of friends after this incident.

This is just a publicity gimmick to create hype for the show. Nevertheless, using Sachin’s name anywhere will certainly not go unnoticed in India.

Amidst tremendous speculation, the new rail minister, Ms. Mamta Banerjee read out the Rail Budget 2009-2010, what was being done by former rail minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav for years. Although there are many improvisations and initiations, I will highlight some important things which all readers could connect to.

No hike in passenger fares.

No hike in freight rates.

Book stores, PCOs to be set up across stations

Infotainment services on Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains

Priority for food and water on trains

Developing multi-functional complexes at stations.

SMS updates on wait-listed tickets to be introduced.

Auto-vending machines to be installed in large and medium stations.

High-capacity air-conditioned double-decker trains to be introduced on select inter-city routes.

Unreserved ticketing terminals to be expanded from 5,000 to 8,000. Automatic ticket vending machines to be increased.

Better representation to be given to minorities, women and the economically backward in railway recruitment. Special recruitment drive to be launched to fill vacancies in physically-handicapped category.

18,000 wagons to be acquired during the current year.

Railways to develop cold storages for farmers to store vegetables and fruits.

Superfast parcel express trains to be started on a pilot basis between Delhi and Chennai and Delhi and Mumbai.

Ladies’ specials to be introduced in suburban trains during peak hours.

Twelve non-stop point-to-point trains between select cities to be introduced. The sections include — Howrah-Mumbai, Delhi-Lucknow, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Pune, Delhi-Allahabad, Howrah-Delhi, Sealdah-Delhi and Ernakulum-Delhi.

Tatkal booking time reduced from 5 to 2 days.

Railway ministry has plans to develop important stations through private-public partnership. These include CST Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Howrah, Sealdah, Varanasi, New Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Kanpur, Chennai Central, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Secunderabad, Bangalore City, Byappanahalli, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Habibganj, Agra Central, Chandigarh, Kolkata, New Jalpaiguri, Puri and Kochi.

Railways to develop multi-functional complexes with shopping malls, food stalls, medicines and variety stores in different parts of the country.

Develop 50 stations as world class stations.

Now let us see how many of the above are really realized in the coming year. Happy journey!!

Prasantha Chandra Mahalanobis was born in Calcutta, India on June 29, 1893.

Education:

As a young boy, Mahalanobis received his education at the Brahmo Boys School in Calcutta. He then went on to the presidency College in Calcutta where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in the field of physics. He then went to England, where he originally intended to study in London, but became so impressed with Cambridge that he decided to join Cambridge University. There he studied mathematics and physics.

Step into Statistics:

Because of World War I, his departure was delayed, leading to the meeting that began Mahalanobis’ interest in statistics. Mahalanobis was looking around the library at King’s College when he was approached by a fellow named Macaulay for his opinion on some volumes of Biometrica, edited by Karl Pearson. Mahalanobis’ interest was peaked so much that he bought the entire set of Biometrica that was then published and brought them along with him to India. This was the beginning of a wonderful interest in statistics.

Professional Life:

The short vacation Mahalanobis thought he was taking in India turned into a permanent stay. He was offered a position to teach at the Presidency College which he could not turn down since it allowed him to pursue his increasing interest in statistical problems. Statistics ended up overtaking his first love of physics, and so, even though he continued to teach physics until 1948, he was devoting his free time and career studies to statistics.

Initiatives:

Mahalanobis was the founder of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in 1931, which was actually started in a room of the Baker Laboratory of the physics department at the Presidency College. He also started a new journal in statistics called Sankhya. He established a division within the ISI called the National Sample Survey (NSS). The NSS grew quickly into an agency noted for its use of continuing sample surveys for the collection of socioeconomic and demographic data that covered the whole country. This division, along with Mahalanobis, played such an incredibly vital role in the creation of the second five-year economic plan in India that the government took over NSS and now it functions as a necessary part of the Ministry of Planning.

Contribution to Statistics:

Mahalanobis’ contributions to statistics are quite numerous. His work could always be associated with some field of application. The Mahalanobis distance, called the D statistic, which is used extensively in classification problems, rose out of his work on anthropometrical problems. The Mahalanobis distance is used not to find the physical distance from one object to another, but to find the distance in terms of related characteristics and likelihood of occurrence of the two objects. The Mahalanobis in multivariate analysis, along with the interpenetrating network of samples (IPNS) in sample surveys and fractile graphical analysis have now become part of standard statistical methodology. Other areas where he made contributions are meteorological statistics, operations research, and errors in field experimentation.

Awards:

Mahalanobis received many awards for his work in India and his work on statistics, but some say that his most prized awards would be the Fellowship of the Royal Society and one of the highest civilian awards in India, the Padma Vibhushan. Mahalanobis was always a very active man and he held many positions of importance throughout his life, many of them simultaneously. Yet he never grew tired of his work.

Other Interests:

Mahalanobis had many other interests besides statistics and physical science. He enjoyed studying ancient Indian philosophy and he loved to read Bengali literature. Professor Mahalanobis had over 200 published scientific articles along with many non-technical articles in Bengali and English. P.C. Mahalanobis died on June 28, 1972, on the eve of his seventy-ninth birthday.

In recognition of the notable contribution made by Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of economic planning and statistical development in the post independent era, the Govt. of India has decided to designate 29th June every year, coinciding with his birth anniversary, as Statistics Day in the category of special day to be celebrated at the national level.

Today the third Statistics Day was celebrated. The main function was organized at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The Welcome address was given by Shri S. K. Das, Director General, CSO. It was followed by address of Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal, Minister of State for Statistics and Program Implementation. The inaugral address was delivered by Prof. Suresh Tendulkar, Chairman, PM’s Economic Advisory Council.

On this occasion, there was also a release of Statistical publications “Children in India” and “Compendium of Selected Indicators of Indian Economy”. There was a presentation on theme “Price Statistics”. Discussions were carried on in the post-lunch session. Directorates of Economics and Statistics of different States also celebrated ‘Statistics Day’ today.

First Statistics Day was celebrated the on 29th June 2007.  The celebrations were aimed at creating public awareness among the people specially the younger generation for drawing inspiration from the works of Prof. Mahalanobis about the role of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation.  The curtain raiser function was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.  The Prime Minister also released a brochure ‘Statistics Day 2007’ on this occasion.

Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MOS&PI) celebrated the Second Statistics Day on 29th June 2008.  The celebrations were held at India International Centre, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi. The function was inaugurated by Shri Pranab Muhkerjee, Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs and presided over by Shri G.K.Vasan, Hon’ble MOS (Independent Charge) Statistics and Programme Implementation.  During the function, National Award in Statistics in the memory of Prof P.V. Sukhatme for the year 2007-08 was given.  Winners of the Essay Writing competition in statistics organized by MOS&PI in February 2008 were also given awards on this occasion.