Engineering?? Not really.. Really..Part II

I'm sitting on a rusty iron chair surrounded by a dozen odd insects (if it was their idea of being close to Mother Nature) figuring out how much wood it would take to power a city for a day... No.. I don't work for the Electricity Board.. I'm an Engineering student.. and this is what 'Engineering' has to offer. Infact, we have a full-fledged Centre for Energy and Environmental Studies And Technology, which we benignly refer to as 'CEESAT'... the seniors fret to utter it, the freshers toil in the sun to tackle it... It's a research facility that has a hybrid solar-wind energy conversion system that boasts of superior power production..... and yet on an occasional weekday we get to spend some time in the dark pondering about the purpose of humankind and contemplating on how to finish the Physics, Chemistry,Mechanical Engg, Civil Engg, etc and etc assignments!!



Welcome to 'Quality Engineering Education'.



Again.. let me emphasize on the fact that I AM NOT TRYING TO PAINT A NOT-SO-POSITIVE PICTURE OF ENGINEERING IN INDIA... I don't really know about how much the students 'learn' in other places.. Well.. atleast in my case, this is exactly what can happen.. It's one of those physics classes.. the teacher walks in with a contemptuous smile on her face.. after the doling out of the attendance,

( Yes!! they check if you're in class.. EVERY class, just like they check if all the convicts have returned to their cells... I have just this to say to those ppl behind this idea.. 'If you're only so confident in your educational system.. i think you should consider changing what happens in class to make us 'convicts' come begging after the teacher for more classes rather than run out of class as soon as the Prof. turns his head around..)

yeah.. as i was saying.. after the mechanical roll call, she sprawls something on the board which none (or should i be that much more sure that it's NONE) of us seem to comprehend... the first few steps have been "QUOTED" off some pre-existent theory.. which the ppl at school have gleefully avoided teaching us.. the enquiring minds that we have, some of us question the authenticity of that first step.. pat comes the answer "You've done it in school (have we??).. i can't be teaching you again".


!!!?!!!


so the story goes.. the time is up.. the teacher turns her back.. and the fastest of us are already at the water cooler....... you figure!

Engineering?? Not really.. Really..

It was right from the time i knew that i was into NIT Trichy that I started fantasizing about the different non-existent 'research avenues' that would be open to me.. ok.. i'm not saying that i would've created a hydrogen fuelled car.. given the resources or something.. I'm just complaining that i wasn't even allowed to think freely in my one years' stay there..

It started off with CEESAT.. a subject that got my immediate attention when i first saw the course module and what we'd be doing.. well.. what can i say.. it was only sometime before i was harshly disillusioned to the fact that there were a standard set of experinments.. and a standard set of results that were made to look like you could come to your own independant conclusion based on the experiment you did.... Bah.. I can still remember that teacher with the lisp.. Aaargh..


Anyway.. back to square one.. <<>>...


So as i was saying.. what we call engineering.. in one of the premier institutes of the country turn out to be nothing but the same old bull$#it that we had in school.. only at a more sophisticated level.. I'm not trying to dishearten all of you who are reading this by saying that you can never learn anything in an engineering institute.. As the saying goes.."Nessecity is the mother of invention".. and the human brain, as far as i have learnt is so brilliant.. that because of this lack.. or rather this nessecity.. of a mental challenge has propelled most of our brains into more creative avenues.. like..



Counterstriking...


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Yes.. this is what we use our multi-crore, state-of-the-art, computer centre for.. It's called the OCTAGON(by God knows who..).. We call it the OCTA.. It is the heart and soul of enginnering.. oops i'm sorry.. did i say engineering.. I meant.. Uh.. College life.. (pretty much the same..).. So off we are at NIT trichy.. doing headshots.. er.. uhm.. engineering..

back??

it feels like drinking orange soda after a non-stop 26 mile hike in an uncharted, god-forsaken desert, to be writing a blog.. wouldn't wanna blame my fate for it though.. it feels even better to step into my room and sit in front of my computer after a seemingly never ending stay at Agate( that's the name of my Hostel).. I bet all my batchmates will agree with me.. now that I'm back.. you can expect some decent blogging from my side.. keep watching my blog..