Feeds Feb 2016 by Feeds

Communism: An enlightening tale about Communism in India, and its current state of affairs. Also, is communism still alive? All that, and more, in this article about Communism. 22

E‘Thali’Opia: The cuisine of an African country is not all that different from Indian, much to the surprise of an adventurous family trying out a new restaurant in NYC… 15

Her Herr: Take a peek into the life of the ‘unhappiest woman in Germany’. 19

From an email to Feeds: Is our college as safe as it is portrayed to the outside world? Or is there more to it than meets the eye? 06

PULL OUT POSTER FEATURING DEADPOOL ALSO INCLUDED

Find out about LIGO and the discovery of Gravitational Waves, the reason behind such a belated verification of Einstein’s theory, and much more… 34

Curious about when startups can no longer be called so? Read this analysis, continued from the previous issue, about the tipping point of startups. 16

Get all the dirt on the scandalous betting scene, along with some big names involved in this account of the recent unearthing of match-fixing in tennis. 36

Discover Kenya and all the wonders it holds, in this exciting recollection of the author’s stay in this mystical country. 18

Our Patron Director

Dr. S. Sundarrajan

Dean (Students’ Welfare) Dr. A.Venkataswamy Reddy

Faculty Advisors

Dr.V. Sathyaraj Dr. V. Vinod Balakrishnan Content Developers: Ashwin, Subramaniam, Vignesh, Aniruddh, Swathi, Abhinav, Abinesh, Diptisikha, Neveditha, Kaushik, Ashwin, Nived, Nishit, Sriram,Vyjayanthi, Adityan, Ria, Lakshmi. Cover Story: Gautham M, Srishyam, Vyjayanthi, Arvindmani, Lakshmi, Rithvik, Sruthi S. Creative Writers: GauthamM, Samba, Ajay, Snigdha, Suriya, ShruthiS, Arvindmani, Sandeep. Illustrators: Ayush, Neeraj, Sidharth. Designers: Arun, Ezhilvel, Sanjana, Sri Harsha, Thilak, Shakthi Hari, Pranav, Arun Kumar, Abhinaya, Abhijjith, Swarthika.

Shruthi Muthukumuran Online Presence Head It’s an interesting time to be on campus. Academics and classes have taken a back seat while festivals, clubs, symposiums and more have become the center of everyone’s focus. And it is from these student run activities that some of the best college experiences are derived. Teams are built and friendships are forged. This is your chance to be a part of something bigger. Running around co-ordinating between teams or practice sessions in your departments; memories will be made at some of the most unexpected times. “Why bother?”, you may ask. It’s simple. Opportunities to connect with and meet some of the best minds in college knock only so many times. Be part of a team because the work fascinates you, not because it’s the campus fad or the cool thing to do. It is here that you find like minded souls, people who are driven by the same ideals and interests as you. Agreed, turning up for meetings, going for practice or working late in the night sometimes just doesn’t seem worth the effort. But despite all the drudgery, the connections formed are worth a life time. So don’t hesitate the next time there’s a chance for you to be a part of a team. Pitch in wherever you can. You can always find ways to balance cycle tests, assignments and extra curricular work. As a wizened old final year student, there’s only one thing I can say- Seize the moment.

Sai Priyanka Associate Editor Editor

Abhinav Ramachandran

Co-Editors

Vignesh Ramanathan Vyjayanthi NV

Associate Editor Sai Priyanka

Online Presence Head Shruthi Muthukumaran

Administrative Head Rithvik Mahendrakar

Founders

It’s not new to see every first and second year student on campus take up every other activity on campus, be it the three fests or the sixty-odd clubs. While clubs provide an amazing exposure to the outside world, help you grow as a person, teach you how to deal with people and give you a sense of responsibility, what people fail to see is that in the end, these clubs or fests are only a part of our college lives. It’s important to realize that ‘the difference’ one wants to make can be made irrespective of whether he’s in a club or not. I have people around me who haven’t been a part of any club through four years of college but are still one of the most sought after on campus; simply because, they’re being themselves and doing whatever little they can to make the campus a better place. I also know people who make their lives revolve around the fests and clubs they’re involved in; simply because they love what they’re doing. Brooding over a failed club induction and lowering one’s self esteem is the last thing that needs to be done. College exists to help you grow. College exists so you can become a better person. College exists so you can make it a livelier and healthier place for your juniors. Be yourself, and the rest shall follow.

nitt news Centre For Entrepreneurship Development and Incubation In an effort to encourage technical innovation and entrepreneurship, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development and Incubation was set up in 2012 under the aegis of the Ministry of Communication & Information Technology, Govt. Of India. CEDI, through its Business Incubator, has been actively involved in promoting entrepreneurship through a plethora of activities ever since. CEDI’s recent partnership with Sonata provides a promising platform for budding young entrepreneurs to translate their innovative business ideas into a viable product for the technology market. With the recent project competition announced by CEDI (refer to www.nitt-cedi.in for further details) witnessing active participation, “With events as these, we hope to bridge the gap between a great idea and economic feasibility & infrastructure.”, says Dr. G. Kannabiran, Founder-Director, CEDI. Talking about the student community at NIT Trichy, “We have been partnering with student bodies like E-Cell to help accomplish our mission of promoting entrepreneurship. Our association with Ventura, the B-Plan contest organized by E-Cell, has been very exciting.” he says. Besides incubation activities, CEDI’s projects also encompass rural women entrepreneurship development, Faculty Development Programmes, Enterpreneurship Awareness Camps and the like. It is also worth noting that CEDI functions as a nodal centre for EDII Ahmedabad for their one-year Diploma course in Entrepreneurship and Business Development.

DA and YAA Awards The office of alumni relations, NIT-Trichy in conjunction with the students council had organized an awards ceremony to confer the alumni of NIT-T with the distinguished alumni and young achieving alumni awards on 3rd and 4th of March. Director Dr. Sundarrajan gave the opening address and talked about the variegated talents that the students of NIT-T possess and the importance of reconnecting with the alumni. He informed the crowd about the CEDI incubation centre functioning in collaboration with Sonata. He furthermore, briefed the gathering about how NIT-Trichy has grown to be recognised by all leading industrial organizations such as the CII and FICCI for effective use of technology. He also went on to speak about NIT-Trichy’s Academic conclave and how NITT’s new academic curriculum, a product of the conclave, has been at NIT’s all-round the country as a new standard to adhere to. Mr. E.S.L Narasimhan, the honourable governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was the chief guest for the function on the 4th of March and spoke about the threats of cyber-terrorism in India. The event was also presided by Mr. Rajan Narayanan, president of the RECAL association. In his address, the President of RECAL association mentioned that 2016 was the first instance of implementing the YAA RECAL initiative. Further details about the same can be found at www.recalnitt.org. He further talked about the importance of the mentoring role that alumni play. The YAA awards were given to alumni aged 40 years and below. Both the DAA and YAA categories of awards were given to alumni for achievements in diverse fields namely: research and academics, corporate and industry, and entrepreneurial ventures. The alumni were conferred their awards by the Director of NIT-Trichy, Dr. Srinivasan Sundarrajan. The awardees proceeded to deliver acceptance speeches to mark the end of the ceremony.

iot Innovation Centre

Internet Of Things Innovation Centre is a research laboratory, set up at the old Physics department by the 1981 Alumni Trust NIT-Trichy at an expenditure of Rs. 20 lakh. The centre was inaugurated by the Director on July 23rd, 2015. Apart from donating funds for the lab, the trust has also provided three project-ideas to be taken up by the students with mentors guiding them. The three projects that have been taken up are the “Smart Bus”, “Smart House”, and “An Internet of Things-Assisted Car”, which have been exhibited at Sangam during Pragyan. The Smart Public Bus System aims to improve the reliability of bus timings for the millions of commuters who tend to wait for long periods. They’ll get to know about the arrival timings of the bus they want to board. The system is proposed to make use of wireless transmission. The Smart Home project aims to build a real-time feedback interface between the user and his house, and to make the house more intelligent and cater to the needs of the user. It also makes the user aware of the changes in various systems in the house and notifies him to take actions or automatically takes the necessary actions. The input will rely on the user’s hand gestures and facial expressions.

The IoT-Assisted Car is aimed at the racing cars assembled in our college. An electronic system will be interfaced with the car so as to make it more interactive and allow the driver to be aware of the internals of the car during the ride. Micro-controllers, sensors and communication protocols will be used to run this system. On March 2nd, a briefing regarding the IoT lab took place at the Lecture Hall Complex. The IoT Centre is still inviting project ideas, the deadline being 19th March. For more details check out their Facebook page (IoT Lab IC – NIT Trichy), and their website - iotic.nitt.edu. For contact purposes their e-mail id is: iotnitt@gmail. com or iotic@nitt.edu.

- Lakshmi, Sriram, Shruthi S

how to predict the weather ‘Plup, plup , plup.’ “Yes! It’s finally raining.” Vathermani looked up in joy, only to be greeted by a shower of blinding white. Yes indeed, it had rained. Poop. A disgruntled Vather washed the crow’s mess oﬀ his face and stared at his snickering girlfriend. Things hadn’t gone as planned. It should have rained and, she should’ve been drenched and irate. He had counted on the weather app to ruin his date. He had been so sure that the thunderstorm would give enough reason for the eminent break up. However, his trusty app had ditched him and he was stuck with her. Every one of us, like Vather, has been hoodwinked by the weatherman’s forecasts. To be accurate, weather prediction is the result of hours of analysing probability and statistical data run on erratic wind paths, low depressions, volcanic activity, global warming and so on. In other words- it is the study of chaos. Keeping in mind that the calculations made are for a wide coverage and not just the skies over your head, any genuine weather prediction contains a certain uncertainty. Well then, how does one survive the odds, especially in a place like Trichy? Fret not, here we bring to you some weird and wonderful methods to predict the weather - NITT style. They may not have much rhyme, but they work. Trust us, not the weather. “If a fly lands on your nose, swat it till it goes. If it lands again, it will bring back heavy rain.”

“Curly hair, the weather isn’t fair. Straighten it down; else you’ll be left with a frown.”

As unbelievable as it sounds, it has a ring of truth to it. Low pressure, indicative of bad weather, makes insects fly lower and increases the risk of it landing on your nose. It works, unless the fly has been intoxicated by mess food.

If the day starts off with a duel between your curls and the comb, take an umbrella with you. Humidity makes your air frizzier, so it may not after all be a good day to let your hair down.

“Coffees predict cyclones”

“Rain dogs and calm cows”

Let the bubbles settle. Bubbles moving to the edge? The sun will shine brightly. When they cuddle up in the middle, it’s a downpour. And if there are no bubbles, just go make yourself another cup.

Did the dog just go crazy upon looking up? Are the cows suddenly low and lazy? Mark it; you’re in for a rough day. Dogs, apart from sensing ghosts, with their infrasonic hearing and sixth senses can detect storms. Cows huddle together and sit down to save a dry patch for themselves before rains.

“Onion-o-meter”

“Low flight”

Onions bring tears. Onions foretell weather for the year. Split the onion into layers and add a pinch of salt to each layer. Let it rest overnight. If the salt sticks to the onion-a dry month is underway, else the conditions are likely to be sultry and wet.

Our feathery friends fly low to prey on insects that usually come out before rains. So the next time a bird poops on you, take their full stomach as a premonition and rush indoors. Maybe, Vather should’ve waited longer.

- Diptisikha, Sriram

THE BLACK OSCARS

Being black is hard. Your chances of being recognised for your brilliant work as an actor or director is very little. It is the same if you’re a minority like Latino or Asian American, or if you are part of the LGBT community, or even if you’re a woman. Life is always quite hard.

taught film-making while still in schools. How this is a solution, we have no idea. In addition to all the views we’ve been presenting to you, one more popular opinion is that coloured actors are not yet as talented as the white actors and that is why they haven’t been nominated.

For two consecutive years, there have been no Oscar nominees who are not white. People are scandalised. They are shocked over the lack of diversity. A few have complained that coloured people have been overlooked because the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is filled with older white males who might never relate to a movie like “Beasts of No Nation”. Ironically the head of this organization is a black woman, Cheryl Boone Isaacs. So why does this disparity exist? Why is the system so skewed?

When looked at from afar, one thing is glaringly noticeable. Those old white men who form a majority of the selection committee are not willing to open themselves to new experiences. Movies have always given its viewers the chance to live a different life for a little while. This inability to be anything beyond white is sad. The world is becoming culturally diverse. It is important to learn to move forward with the changing world, to be more tolerant and mostly to empathize with people of different ethnic backgrounds.

It has been reported that a slew of foreigners were invited last year to join the committee that gives out the Oscars. Once more people have complained that these men (and women maybe?) from abroad will not have the required emotional and social intelligence to enjoy these minority films. Prominent actors, directors and musicians have again and again stressed upon the fact that to be recognized, a need exists for the presence of a coloured man in the selection committee. Others have also added that minority children need to be

What I preach may be a little too idealistic. However, we live in a world with growing racial intolerance. White Americans are increasingly scared that Hispanics and Blacks are taking over their land and displacing their values. It is vital that the not only the Millennials but also the Baby Boomers learn not to call the Vietnamese “gooks” anymore. In fact, forget the Vietnamese, we as Indians do not want to be discriminated when we go abroad. We don’t want to be called “brown” in the future, do we?

- Vyjayanthi

FROM AN EMAIL TO FEEDS Note: This was sent to the Feeds email ID from the email account hplporuler@ymail.com. The contents are disturbing, and we’re not sure if this is fake or real, but we believed that this should be read by everyone. The contents of the email as reproduced as is, with all the grammatical and spelling errors.

I don’t know why I’m writing this to you guys. I’m scared to death right now. There’s something bad happening in college, and nothing is being done about it. I don’t know who to tell. Everyone is going to think I’m crazy. That’s probably why I’m doing this. To get my story out without my name being involved. Which year I’m from, my hostel, department, none of that matters. All you need to know is that I was walking behind Zircon-C, and took the road that sort of lies in between Amber and Aquamarine. That really long road that seems to stretch on forever. There’s almost always someone playing on the ground there, and so there are floodlights, but there was no one that day. The road was lit only by streetlamps. And even they weren’t bright enough for the most part. As I walked on, the paved road gave way to a simple mud road. There was no one in sight. The entire place was quite save for insects. I was scared of snakes, but I found none. The roads had a few very strange stone structures. They seemed like watchman booths, but they didn’t look to be comfortable enough to sit in. I was able to stand in one, but that certainly wasn’t a comfortable way to spend the night. It was also very rundown, as if it had been built years ago (which it probably was) and then forgotten.

I walked on. The lights became dimmer; the insects got louder. At this point I looked at my phone to check the time and realized that I had no signal. That was strange, since I have a BSNL phone. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I just kept going forward. My goal was to eventually reach the wall on the far side. I was suddenly hit by a very strong, unpleasant smell. Almost like corpses rotting. I took this to be the sewage treatment plant on the far end of the campus. I didn’t think much of it, and just kept going on. I eventually came across a small hut. It was so out of place. Why would there be a hut on that part of college? I decided to explore it, and by god I wish I hadn’t. That was the biggest mistake I made. I entered the hut, and the smell hit me stronger than ever. It seemed like the hut was the source, and not the sewage plant. I saw dark shapes in the corner, which looked like bags. Then I heard screams. They were deranged, desperate screams. They scared the life out of me. I hurriedly got out of the hut. The screams, interestingly enough, seemed to come from the sewage plant. At this point I heard running feet, and decided to get out of there. I’ve never run as fast in my entire life. I took off. I heard shouts behind me. I didn’t look back, for fear of who or what I’d find. I didn’t stop running until I reached my room. I went in and collapsed, thinking I had an interesting story to tell the next morning.

I calmed myself down, and decided to go get something to eat. I figured the food and company would make me feel much better. I desperately needed some sort of a boost. So I headed to the nearest place, ordered, and ate. I did feel much better. When I point my hand into my pockets to pay, I realized I didn’t have my wallet. That hit me. I took my wallet with me on my walk. I was desperately hoping it would be in my room I ran back, turned my room inside out looking for it. I still couldn’t find it. It must have fallen out while I was making a run for it. Which means whoever was running after me might have taken it. I desperately hoped that they had missed it. I spent a sleepless night, scared, confused and scared all over again. I took a friend along with me the next morning and went up and down that road until before the hut. I didn’t have the courage to go there again. I couldn’t find my wallet anywhere. Which means they have it. They know my name, year and my department. They know my hostel. They know where to come after me. I haven’t gotten any sleep since that night. I’m scared out of my wits. Nothing has happened to me so far, but I don’t know how long this will last. Please don’t go down that road at night. And if you suddenly hear about a student disappearing, you’re probably reading why.

- Ajay

Coffee with feeds Team Feeds got in touch with Mr. Sanket Saurav, founder of DoSelect. DoSelect is a collaborative, multi-stage hiring platform that aims to aid recruiters acquire the best possible talent pool. Mr. Sanket is an alumnus of the 2014 batch of Computer Science and Engineering, NIT-Jamshedpur. He has also co-founded another start-up by name- Design From The Heart in his second year of college.

What were the major challenges you faced while starting DoSelect, seeing as it was incubated right after your graduation? How much of a factor was the entrepreneurship environment present at your institute? The biggest challenge I faced was the fact that I didn’t have a working knowledge of what it meant to start a company from scratch. The only knowledge I had about startups was from my reading of Techcrunch and Hacker News. I knew what a start-up looked like, but didn’t know anything else – sales, marketing nor the execution. We didn’t have a native incubation center at the institute that provided guidance or funding for such ventures. But, these problems could have been unique to me and needn’t be the problems all budding entrepreneurs face. On the flip-side I’d like to add that the non- restrictive environment at NIT-Jamshedpur helped me start DoSelect. While we weren’t provided the resources or the machinery to start-up, the institute itself didn’t impediment my venture in any way. Our flexible attendance requirements may have helped me devote more time to getting my venture up and running. The environment in essence didn’t matter as it was made clear to me that I had to look outside my college. I got in touch with a network of individuals in Bangalore who encouraged me to attend startup conferences that would help me take my baby steps into the Indian startup universe.

What in your opinion are the top three things a budding engineer-entrepreneur should know if they wanted to start-up? What I’m about to say is not restricted to engineers alone. These are some of the things any person should know. When you’re in college you need to understand the fact that money is not everything. Money is going to come your way anyway. So, do not base your decisions based on money. A lot of successful people in the start-up community I look up to have followed this mantra. Be really good at atleast one thing no matter how small or insignificant the skill may be- photography, writing or coding. Proficiency is what makes winners. Do not care about what others think of you. Just do it. Do not listen to anyone unless you have a critical dependency holding you back. And to your worried family, just ask them to trust you.

Do you think that coding is as common in school or college curriculum right now as it should be? How should people from a non-CS background get enough exposure to the same? The tech industry has a lot of non-coding opportunities- marketing, sales, content writing etc. There are far more opportunities in the tech industry than in any other industry at the moment. Exposure is something you can control. As long as you have the internet you can’t complain about exposure. Be proactive, don’t be a frog in the well. Nobody is stopping you from travelling to a start-up conference in Bangalore. Such things are learnt by meeting people and are acquired with experience.

Could you give us insight into how eﬀective this start-up India policy will be in encouraging the growth of the start-up culture in the country? I’m glad to see that the Indian government is finally officially recognizing start-ups and instituting policies around it. But, it’s my opinion that the initiative misses the target in not looking to solve the problems that actually aﬄict startups in India. There’s no dearth of money in India. It is red-tape and outdated guidelines of the RBI that perhaps slow down the development of a start-up culture. Start-ups for example cannot make recurring payments on credit cards in India- most countries have this feature. Indian companies can therefore not create a SAS company such as mine, based out of India. I had to get DoSelect incorporated in the US just so I could make recurring charges. Policies such as these should be what the government should work on changing. Getting a company registered in India still takes 1-1.5 months, whereas in the US you can get it done in 7 days. Time is of the essence while starting-up and 2-3 months can make or break your company. In conclusion, I believe that they currently have the right intentions but lack focus with regard to the issues that entrepreneurs actually face.

Do you require a mentor to oversee your implementation during the incubation stage? A mentor is often required only to get direction. Prototype development will not require a mentor. But in order to make it a tangible real world product, you will need a mentor.

Is it necessary to move to Bangalore to start-up? Does the state government policy oﬀer any incentive to encourage start-ups? The biggest reason to move to Bangalore is becaiuse it has a mature ecosystem. Hyderabad is another option. But if we were to look at say Trichy as a start-up hub, the lack of an ecosystem, talent pool and mentor network would result in unnecessary overheads. Plus the Bangalore weather is nice.

What are the most important skill sets the tech industry currently demands? Python, Node JS, UI/UX design are in the greatest demand at the moment. UI/UX designers are currently in great demand due to a dearth of supply and will look at very high pay packages in the near future.

Does a person require an MBA in order to start-up? Degrees are not what define what you can achieve. A background is needed- a tech background for a tech start-up can be helpful but isn’t necessary. We end up doing a lot extra-curricular work during our days at college. I believe that I’ve built DoSelect purely on the basis of skills that I’ve acquired out of my extra-curricular learning. Somewhere down the line, an MBA book might help you address a few organizational problems you face. But the best way to learn is by practicing your craft with passion and not fearing failure.

- Abhinav, Vignesh

- Kaushik, Nived, Ashwin

r.i.p indian comics??

Hallo Chaudhary saab! It must have been the better part of a year that I’ve received a letter from a friend. It is gratifying to see you still remember me and I’m glad that you’re still up and pondering over such profound worldly issues. But Chacha, you’re aging fast - why do you fret so much over a little comic? Whenever a new medium of communication comes on the scene there has been a furore. You know, when Pran began, you were a radical idea; when I founded Tinkle, I had to persuade so many educationists that Tinkle would merely be an edifying divertissement for the students. Everyone has their reservations! I too, when 21, used to gawk at the advancements we were making then, and look now! I think our generation wasn’t ready to catch up with what we hadn’t anticipated and age caught up with us first. Waqt kisi ke liye nahi rukta, Chacha. I’m mighty glad that at least the generations of today have not taken to us and WANT metamorphosis. This ‘want’ is the key to newness and the evolution of things. These are the times of art and creativity, and chemical X. Yet, creativity gets you nowhere. Face value sells! Wrap the Mahabharata up so tight in CGI characters that even YOU wouldn’t be able to identify them, and it becomes a bestseller. Who would read the epic otherwise? We are becoming citizens of a rapidly shapeshifting globe and it will touch every aspect of your life and mine while we strive to leave a mark here; comic books are mere specks of dust. The teenagers of this global era are subject to the highest quality of CGA interwoven immaculately with realities from distinctive urbanites (go to the cinema and watch Deadpool - you’ll know what I’m talking about; don’t take Binni bhabhi along!). And it is the same audience that we have to cater to too. Is it then not the most sensible idea to burn our inhibitions and get on the bandwagon? There is no dearth of skilled designers out there. The quality of print has never been better. We have unprecedented access to inspiration from around the world. So why not? Maan lo Chaudhary saab, the tides are changing faster than ever. This method of retelling our mythology is just innovative - it’s not bad. Wasn’t Amar Chitra Katha one too? It did very well despite having to snip around ‘the truth’ to make it more enjoyable. The person that would read a comic book today comes from the same pool of those who enjoy the ‘firangi superhero movies’ - they do not belong to the pool who look for creativity in content. As for content writers, well, they too will have to find a niche for themselves - they are going to have to evolve. A change in the weather is what this is. In the next 10 years, I’m even looking at holographs and projectables, and these are only little, inconsequential picture-books-for-grown-ups. I would advise you buckle up because the rollercoaster only gets faster from here on old man, and you’re not going anywhere anytime soon! Let the good old times rest now and serve as memoirs of a time of learning. Let yourself on the belt to an uncertain future and, I quote here, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Put peace. P.S: You needn’t have mentioned. 4 kilos of oranges should find their way to you, like every year. Do visit us sometime. I’ll show you around the Tinkle office (on the condition that you give my staff a good scare and Sabu comes). Take care. At your service, Anant Pai

- Shruthi S, Nishit

he even semester of the academic year at NITT is known for being devoid of holidays, for the unforgiving heat, Pragyan, and of course, the bloody battle of the year – NITTFEST! However, being the diplomatic person I am and staying true to my name, I prefer staying in the shadows. It is way more fun to watch a guy from Civil department (ironic, isn’t it?) beat a guy to pulp, rather than being at the receiving end. Anyway, NITTFEST is back this year with a new theme – Pop Culture. Every year, the NITTFEST organizing team does something unique to set the bar higher. Last year, two amusement park rides were set up on the days of NITTFEST. This year, it’s all set to be bigger and better. This year, Comic-Con is coming to NIT Trichy! When I first heard the news, I didn’t believe it either. Comic-Con? In NIT Trichy? But upon further investigation, there was no denying that the massive event was actually happening. “We wanted to do something huge relating to the theme, and ComicCon is exactly that. We had a contact in Comic-Con India. We contacted them about two months ago, and we have been in talks with them ever since. Only last week, was the deal finalized”, said one of the NITTFEST core members. “We have also decided to add an event in association with Comic-Con, a Cosplay event. The event shall come under the cluster of Arts, and shall be one of the high scoring events. We shall have a meeting with the department coordinators regarding the event soon”, added the NITTFEST core member.

Word about Comic-Con and the Cosplay event started getting out slowly. We got in touch with a few students from various departments to find out their reactions. While there was excitement among students about Comic-Con, most were focused on winning the event– Cosplay. The students of the Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering, still coming to terms with losing the title to Computer Science Department last year, have started preparation in full swing. “We have given strict orders to all our first years that all of them have to stay here during NITTFEST. Costumes have to be made, tried, and what not. There’s so much to do!”, said one frantic ECE student while juggling with art supplies. The Department of Architecture seemed confident about the event. “It’s an art event. We’re meant to win it”, said an architecture student. The Department of Mechanical Engineering seemed a bit dejected at the news. “We’re still trying to figure out how to dress up a guy like Khaleesi. Why always us?”, asked one student. The administration has had mixed reactions to the news. My sources at the administration offices say that a dress code might be imposed for the event. “The event must comply with basic NITT dress codes. Last thing we want is people running around in spandex”, said one admin official. With just a few days left for NITTFEST, we can all expect something massive this year, especially now that Comic-Con is coming down. This year, NITTFEST shall be bigger, better, and bloodier. Stealth Shiva out.

Disclaimer: Don’t believe fake news. If someone says fake news isn’t fake, don’t believe him either. 12

- Stealth Shiva

OUTRAGE Scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed has become a tri-daily aﬀair. Today was no diﬀerent; an old school friend had put up photos of her sister’s wedding, a cousin had gone on a college trip to Pondy, a senior got placed, a sexist engineering joke, another sexist engineering joke, Coldplay’s new ‘Hymn for the weekend’ was trending - wait this seems interesting. Most of the people who were talking about it were my ‘keyboard warrior’ friends. You know the type, the one with the long eloquent statuses (usually peppered with 24 GRE key words) about the latest socially trending issue, whose views were formed by reading their fellow keyboard warriors’ opinions and ScoopWhoop pieces. This time they were talking about ‘cultural appropriation’, a phenomenon where opinions about an entity are formed based on popular stereotypes. Coldplay was apparently guilty of ‘slumdog-ising’ India, fixing the usual stereotypical image of slum-dwellers, perennial Holi celebrators and snake charmers to our country. This got me thinking. There is a recurring pattern here. An issue comes up and somebody somewhere reacts strongly to it. What follows is a slew of opinions, informed or otherwise, forced on us. Don’t get me wrong, it’s highly refreshing to see some intellectual vigour infused into our normal conversation, a phenomenon largely propelled by the social media. Facebook and Twitter have changed social dynamics drastically; it is now considered ‘cool’ to champion a cause, irrespective of how much you believe in it or how informed your opinion might be. There are also reasons beyond intellectual and social responsibility to participate in fuelled online discussions. We associate with a social world where such responses are highly valued and give a sense of accomplishment. We belong to a community of intellectual elite where we will find support among others like us, others that we respect and look up to. Perhaps they will retweet us, share our take on it and validate us in many other ways. We are not free from these very human motivations, although we do make a good pretesne that we are. The new era of ‘awareness’ however, has resulted in the unhealthy habit of automatically equating informed opinion to outrage; which lends a shrill unpleasant vibe to social interactions. Outrage is justified and opinion is necessary; but in today’s world we all have a responsibility: a responsibility to society when we know there are millions of people who can access our thoughts at the click of a button. I continued scrolling through my newsfeed, deep in thought. How long would it be before the next issue comes up, new hashtags start to trend, new pseudo-intellectual ideas get propagated? No one really knows. Where did we start? Ohh, Hymn for the Weekend. The song really isn’t too bad; the most Indian thing about it, though, has to be the reaction.

- Gautham M

Kangaroo & Joey words – Kangaroo and Joey words are sets of words such that the joey, while being a synonym of the kangaroo is fully contained within the kangaroo (in the same order of letters). For example : Encourage – urge Here, both words mean the same. In addition, URGE is fully contained within encoURaGE. So here are a few words for you to try

Find the joey – a)Deteriorate b)Prosecute c)Feast d)Stealthy e)Perambulate f)Destruction

Find the Kangaroo a)Dead b)Allot c)Tomb d)Ratio e)Sign f)Lie

You have a 4 L and 7 L jug. How do you measure 6 L exactly? (You do not have extra containers to hold the water)

Each of the following words is a combination of one unknown letter with the word castle anagrammed. Make new words by adding one letter to CASTLE using the hints. a) Stretchy: CASTLE + ? b) Least ruﬄed: CASTLE+ ? c) Takes by force: CASTLE+ ? d) Bright red color: CASTLE + ?

??? : Fit any three letters in between such that the first set and the second set of letters make meaningful words: GUI ? ? ? GET ELD ? ? ? ATE STA ? ? ? KET

- Vignesh, Aniruddh, Swathi

E ’THALI’ OPIA New York City is fabled for its variety of restaurants, fast food joints and confectionaries. Every street features so many cuisines ranging from Italian to traditional Indian, which, save for the tomato sauce used as gravy, will remind you just how far away you are from home. If you’ve visited NYC with family, or pretty much anywhere that isn’t India, you’ll be familiar with the hunt for Indian restaurants to have that ‘Desi’ meal. So, this may come as a little bit of a surprise, but as I walked with my family in search of lunch, we spotted a little Ethiopian restaurant. Feeling adventurous, we decided to make the most of the diversity of dining options and stepped in. The place was empty, which is to be expected on a Monday afternoon, but it still made us a little nervous about what was in store for us. If this doesn’t sound adventurous enough yet, let’s just throw in the fact that we are a family of vegetarians who are about to experience African cuisine for the first time. When the waiter came around to take our order we were pleasantly surprised to find out that meat was not mixed along with the food but rather taken separately as Ethiopians must eat vegan on Wednesdays and Fridays for religious reasons. Naturally, knowing neither head nor tail about any of the items on the menu in front of us, we asked for a vegetarian recommendation and began our next nervous interim period. Finally, the food arrived and the first thing that caught the eye was that the way in which the food was

presented was the same as our own Indian ‘Thali’. The waiter said it was a dish called Injera and explained that no meal in Ethiopia was considered complete without it. Having already compared everything we saw in front of us to a Thali, it became immediately apparent that the spongy base on which the food was served (which is itself known as Injera) tasted and felt remarkably similar to our very own South Indian ‘Dosai’. It is made of flour, just like ‘Dosai’ but of a variety indigenous to Ethiopia, which is called Teff flour. The Injera serves as the base on top of which the other food is piled in a circular fashion. Traditionally, Ethiopian food is eaten by hand and the Injera serves as both the plate and the spoon for consuming the food. Of the many items piled on the Injera was a red chutney like dish called Shiro which is made of powdered chickpeas and a traditional Ethiopian spice called Berbere which is made into a spicy sauce. Another item was a ‘Dal’ like dish called Mesir Wot. It has lentils which are once again cooked with Berbere sauce to give it a touch of spice. Aside from this there were several clumps of cooked vegetables such as beetroots and beans as well as a mashed potato like dish called Atkilt Wot. After a filling and nutritious meal we left the restaurant wondering how we ended up eating Indian food with extremely African sounding names.

- Ashwin

- Vignesh, Arvindmani, Suriya, Abhinav, Sriram

- Shruthi S, Sriram

February 6, 1935 Dear whoever I wish I was talking to, Thought writing this diary would help me feel better. And today of all days would be the best time to start. I have reached the happy age of 23. But I feel far from happy right now. He hosted a private dinner party on this occasion; seven-eight people maybe. I sat right next to him for three hours and never once did he utter a word. I stole a few glances in his direction to see if he was at least looking at me. I searched for concern in his eyes: concern for my happiness. But as always, I was met with disappointment. May 21, 1935 It’s been three months. Not a letter, not a single reply to the numerous anxious messages I sent him. I asked if he could come meet me. The response, as always, was that he was busy. Sometimes I wonder what I mean to him; if he would be willing to give it all up for a life with me. I can’t wait forever. I have decided to end it all. June 16, 1935 For the ﬁrst time since I met him, I have been able to breathe freely. I didn’t think he would notice me when I was gone. And yet here he was: gently brushing his strong hands across my cheeks. I fear that this is all a lie. But a part of me knows it isn’t. He truly cares for me. And I vow to stay with him till the end. April 1942 I fear that the person who writes letters addressing me as his ”patscherl” is not the same man. Deep down I’m sure he exists. But in front of the outside world, I’m just his “hostess”. The world idealizes him as a leader; well if he has the courage he so proudly boasts of then why keep me hidden in his apartment, is what I ask. July 1944 I fear everything that lies in the future. His safety is the sole cause of my anxiety. I want him to give it all up but considering it is all he lives for I cannot ask that of him. 29 April 1945 Amidst all the turmoil and the commotion that surrounds us I ﬁnally dressed in white. Joseph and Martin were our witnesses. We stayed up all night talking. He said he would host a grand breakfast tomorrow. He plans to introduce me to everyone at last. 30 April 1945 This will be the last time I write. It all ends today. But I’m glad it ended in our terms. Despite Erich calling me the “unhappiest woman in Germany,” I know my true identity. I am Eva Anna Braun Adolf Hitler. I am in love with the Fuhrer: the man who is being hunted down today for dreaming to make this world a better place. No matter what the world says, he will always be my “Wulff” and I his “Patscherl”. Note: *not a part of the diary* All dates presented in the above submission are correct to the best of my knowledge. The characters are factual too. Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann were close associates. Erich Kempka was Adolf Hitler’s chauffeur.

- Snigdha

“The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.”

“The end may justify the means as long as

there is something that justifies the end.” With this line, Abhinav Dimitrov signed off on his blogpost. Abhinav is a member of the youth wing of the Communist Party of India. Or as he prefers to be called, a comrade. Let’s delve a bit into the life of this comrade. As a student from one of the backward districts of Kerala, communism was ingrained into his life very early. But what exactly is communism? Why did such an ideology spring up in a country like India, where unlike Europe and Russia, it has never had much exposure? To put it simply, communism is a belief in which the government owns everything, produces and distributes the goods and services, and controls almost all aspects of social, financial and economic life. The working class is looked at as the foundation upon which a society should be built. How relevant is this in our society? Through the years, extreme poverty, and the divide between rich and poor, made worse by India’s neo-liberal development trajectory, has ensured that ideologies of resistance, including communism, have retained strong appeal among certain sections of the society. ..................................................................... During his college days, Abhinav joined the trade union. His college life mostly involved organising protests and strikes, demanding anti capitalist laws. “No Ford factory here! No Coca-Cola plant!” Despite having graduated college, he struggled to find a job with a B.E degree in hand. Nevertheless, he set about working for the party, committing himself to the CPI’s ideologies of Leninism, democratic centralism, and revolutionary transition, while in effect, pursuing social democratic reforms. The cultural, political and economic differences

between the states have become more noticeable since India, in the early 1990s embarked on a liberalisation process. There have been high growth rates achieved, but they conceal the uneven development and growing inequalities. The agricultural sector has almost completely stagnated. This, along with continued weak employment generation, rapid urbanisation and more focus concentrated on the service sector rather than manufacturing sector has led to fracturing of the society along economic lines. Large-scale capitalist agriculture and modern infrastructure have developed in states such as Punjab and Gujarat, while abject poverty and exploitation in the states of central India gave rise to the armed Naxal struggle. Where deprivation is worst, armed struggle against corporate predators and the state is widely seen as a justifiable response. But across the world, Communism has crashed. USSR, having faced an existential crisis, has dissolved. Even in India, presence of the Leftist Block has been diminishing over the years. The Left Block won just 11 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, a huge drop from the 61 it had just ten years ago. There is high unemployment and little industry, and thousands of people facing an ideological crisis with Communism. When the worker needs to fill his stomach, he can’t think about where the food is coming from. After all, the first duty of a man is to think for himself. As he closed his laptop, Abhinav sighed to himself. He had a flight to catch. He had gotten a job in the Gulf.

- Aniruddh

Pragyan 2016 Report A notable feature of this year’s Pragyan was the institution of a Technical Council and the appointment of a Technical Secretary. Gamescape, an ambitious array of debut events was the brainchild of this team. However, while Meltdown, UV-football, and the flight simulator were strong crowd-pullers for all three days, mechanical troubles to the All-Terrain Vehicle did put a dampener on proceedings. In retrospect, it is likely that a dedicated team needed to have been assigned to take care of Gamescape, rather than an amalgam of members from across teams.

On the back of two outreach events – the Hackathon in December, and the Youth Business Summit in January – both of which received positive feedback from diverse circles, there was a sense of heightened expectations for the twelft h edition of Pragyan. With ‘Fractals’ – a scientific concept embodied by infinite recursion in nature taking centre stage, the techfest had decidedly taken a turn for the unconventional.

Proceedings kicked off strongly on day zero, with opening addresses from the Director and the Chairperson of Pragyan, Keerthivasan. They were followed by Special Guest, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who gave a spirited speech, and was later was interviewed in a Crossfire by staff members from The Viral Fever. While much of the audience was enthralled to see the hero of 1983 in the flesh, some observers did question the curious decision to have a celebrity as the Special Guest rather than a figure from the scientific community.

Events continued to be one of the biggest draws of Pragyan, with the final footfall figures recorded to be over 3000. Replacing Robowars as the flagship event of Pragyan 2016 was Quadcombat – reportedly India’s first quadcopter-based event at a student-run festival. Additional new events were organized by Maximus and Phyxion, the math and physics clubs of the college. M-Decoder, a logical puzzle event was organized by the former, while the latter hosted the event Science Solitaire. Once again, the events followed a system of decentralization, a trait carried over from last year. This time around, the execution was much better, with an even spread of events across the campus. New facilities such as the indoor sports stadium were better utilized, for conducting the Quadcombat and Seven stones events. On the flip-side, the distance between events was still an issue for some participants.

Sangam and Exhibitions fared much better this time around in terms of space and organization. Unlike last time, when exhibits were sequestered in the back of the barn, the large, airy sheds outside of Orion allowed for more prominent displays. This year, in addition to inhouse projects, external projects from other colleges were displayed as well, under the banner of ‘Anwesh’.

The line-up was supplemented by historical exhibits from ISRO in Orion, which included scale models of the Aryabhatta, the PSLV and GSLV series, and a 30 mm cannon from Trichy Ordinances. Notable among the exhibitions was the lock collection from Dr Hiren N Shah, who also gave a tech talk about his hobby. The Guest Lecture series of Pragyan, always looking to up the ante for every edition delivered once again, with a strong and diverse set of voices. The scheduling issues that plagued early-hour GLs last time appeared to have been sorted, with every GL receiving a fair turnout. The lecture from Sudhir Kumar Mishra, CEO & MD of Brahmos was likely the one that resonated the most with the audience, given the lucid and upbeat diction of his speech. Others, including Ralph Leighton, Peter Schultz, Gianni Di Cario and Archana Sharma all hit the right notes technically and in interaction with the audience.

After a while though, the lectures did get highly technical for a casual observer to fully comprehend. However, the weight of the names and their approachable natures,did greatly offset this grouse. Crossfire, the flagship event of Pragyan was a very intellectual affair this time around. The theme of discussion was ‘Development sustains pollution: must we defile to go the extra mile?’ The interaction between panellists remained quite civil for most of the time, with the moderator, Abhinandan Sekhri able to drawout and present different aspects of the issue at hand. Despite the shadow of the names from the previous edition looming, the Crossfire more than held its own and gave the audience much food for thought. The absence of an open-forum Q&A with the panellists though, was a disappointment, since that had been the biggest premise of the Crossfire series. The infotainment shows, which always provided an opportunity for organizers and participants to unwind, had a medley of shows. Girasomnis, a dance troupe from Spain set the stage ablaze on Day Zero, as did the Tron Dance troupe, with their indigenous flavours. JC Sum, while smooth and personable in his stage presence, ultimately couldn’t get his audience to become enamoured by his magic. However, the comedy night with Aravind SA and Sorabh Pant left the audience in splits with their observational humour. For a long time, the sight of “Chappatti” at the mess is likely to bring a wry smile to any student’s face. Pragyan this year, wasn’t smooth sailing all the way through. But the intent and the ambition to take up new initiatives, such as the PSR-coordinated medical camps to be held for the villages adopted by NITT, is a telling sign. It speaks of the relentless nature of the event to constantly push the boundaries of what’s possible. The much-coveted ISO 20121 certification was renewed once again by external audit. Hence, one could state that, despite all the setbacks that may have happened in those three days, or the three hundred before, it certainly seems that the college’s tech-fest is on the right track.

- Stealth Shiva.

- Stealth Shiva

E I V O M

REVIEW

After a one and half hour date with ‘Who’s That Knocking at My Door’, awe filled the surrounding air. The picture experienced was simple, raw, daring, provoking; yet anachronistic as I will explain it. As the cursor moved forward in my VLC player, a small yet defining concept dawned on me; a concept part of the film which would become synonymous with the maestro behind the lens. Martin Scorsese, the giant under the scanner, is arguably the greatest filmmaker of all time. Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and many other films part of his prolific filmography, all earn their place in the annals of classics that have been watched and admired by generations. Catholic protagonists, angelic female leads, quirky supporting actors and a power-packed cast along with common themes like religion, guilt, redemption, solitude, violence and a love for profanity are recurring in his movies. This movie; his debut however, is never mentioned in the same sentence as the above list and for a legitimate reason too. However, what I hope the result of the following dissection will reveal are the origins of his cinematic style and more importantly an analysis into Scorsese, the human being. The protagonist J.R. (a reflection of the younger Scorsese himself) is a happy-go-lucky New Yorker who spends his adulthood drinking with his useless friends and taking part in frequent brawls in his neighborhood. His world is turned topsy-turvy when he meets the ‘girl’ of his dreams and decides to get married and settle down. This deepening relationship however confuses J.R when he declines to have sex with her thinking she is a virgin and would rather wait rather than ‘spoil’ her. As he is split between his relationship and life decisions, knowledge of his girlfriend’s alleged rape sends him spiraling down to self-destruction. Overcome by guilt, he hopes to patch things up only to be shot down by her. Seeking redemption at the church, he finds no solace and goes back to his old life. As simple as the weave of the plot is, what must be observed is how personal the movie is to Scorsese. An autobiographical movie would probably define this venture. J.R. is Scorsese and the movie chronicles Scorsese’s teenage years in Queens. The wildness exhibited by J.R.’s gang mimicked the director’s experiences with his buddies and the Catholic guilt expressed is straight from his heart. These two concepts shown would feature heavily in his future projects and form the backbone of his legacy. Technically, the film scores in every department. One major flaw is the obscure, random, discontinuous cuts in the film most famously visible in the dream/fantasy sequence. Without spoilers, one could say that that particular sequence was horrifically beautiful and was Scorsese painted on the screen by the strokes of the black and white camera. Every review ends with a rating. I would go with 3.5 out of 4 for this masterpiece. This work of art is simply for those who wish to trip on the God given drug called Scorsese.

- Nived

Etymology Gibberish The word gibberish when used today refers to incessant, meaningless verbiage. The word is said to have originated in the 1500’s and is related to words such as gab and jabber. Multiple etymologies exist, the most notable one by Samuel Johnson in his work, Dictionary: “It is probably derived from the chymical cant, and originally implied the jargon of Geber and his tribe.” Geber is the Latinized form of Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan, whose name is attached to hundreds of books covering a smorgasbord of topics. According to scholars, most of his work is difficult to understand and full of arbitrary technical terms and melancholic rants. That being said, there is some truth in Samuel Johnson’s definition.

At sixes and sevens A phrase that is more commonly used in the United Kingdom, it refers to a state of confusion or disarray, or people who are at loggerheads about how to deal with a situation. The origin of the phrase can be traced back to a dispute between two of the ancient livery companies in London. (They were called livery companies because members had the right to wear a distinctive costume or livery.) These trade guilds grew in the 12th century as associations to protect their members’ interests. There was a lot of squabbling with other guilds about precedence in the early days. One of the more famous disputes concerned the Taylors Company, whose members were tailors, and the Skinners Company, whose members controlled the fur trade. The Lord Mayor settled the dispute in what could be considered a fair manner, by ruling that the two companies should alternate between the sixth and seventh positions in successive years. Clearly, the companies were at sixes and sevens with each other.

Riff-Raff The phrase Riff-Raff refers to trash or rubbish. It derives from Medieval French phrase rifle et rafle. These in turn come from the verbs rifler, to spoil or strip, and raffler, to carry off. Going by the way these words moved into the English language, we could guess that medieval plunderers were quite thorough in their work. The phrase itself first appeared in the Chronicle of London in 1470. It seems to have taken some decades longer for it to get its negative connotation. Its association with the dregs of society probably turned up because common soldiers often ransacked the bodies of the dead after a skirmish or a battle. We’re also familiar with the descendants of the original French word rifler in the English language. Rifler is the origin of our riﬄe in the card-shuﬄing sense, and of rifle, for searching hurriedly through possessions for something, or to steal. It also gave rise to the firearms sense, since a rifle takes its name from the spiral grooves cut in the barrel of a gun; this however, comes from a different sense of the French word, meaning to scratch.

- Subramaniam

- Abinesh

AIESEC What is AIESEC? What is the Outgoing Global Citizen (OGC)? What do you gain from it? Most importantly, how do you go about it? AIESECers explore the world. They attend National and International Conferences where real life issues are discussed by the youth. They don’t wait for a change to happen but become the change themselves, live in diversity and enjoy participation. To quote an example, the 17 sustainable goals present in the United Nations were a result of a survey conducted by the AIESECers. An AIESEC internship can last from 6 weeks to 3 months. One can filter projects based on several parameters – starting and ending date, country, area of interest, etc. An AIESEC intern has different areas to work on. These include but are not limited to Education, Cultural Exploration, Environmental Projects (in collaboration with an NGO), Entrepreneurship and Marketing. All of these are present on www. opportunities.aiesec.org. All you need to do is sign-up and start browsing for projects to apply for. The ways in which AIESEC helps students are as follows:

➢ International Exposure: As an AIESEC intern, you will be interacting not just with people in that country but also with people from say, 5 different countries who experience the same internship as you. ➢ Networking: You get to personally interact with diverse people through AIESEC which is not possible in any other intern. Most importantly, these people would serve as valuable contacts for the future. ➢ Certificate: AIESEC certificate has a global value simply because it is the world’s largest youth forum and has been certified by the UN. ➢ Further Studies: An intern to a country will always tell more about the potential educational prospects of that country. This would be very useful for future MS/MBA. ➢ Resume: An AIESEC intern would automatically qualify you for the several qualities that people look for when they hire people. ➢ AIESEC Member after intern: The highlight of this intern is that it enables you to become a member of AIESEC.

Here is an example of the life of an AIESECer who was a part of the change in HCMC, Vietnam. Vishal from Patna, pursuing his B.tech in VIT, Chennai went to teach softskills to Vietnamese college students of his age for a period of 6 weeks. Every evening, he taught for 2 & half hours in a coffee shop for two different batches of students. He was in a team of 6 who collaborated and taught 60 students. As a result of the 6 weeks exposure, there was a lot of improvement in the confidence and performance of the students. When asked as to how he benefitted from the experience, Vishal replied that he learnt more about himself, became more confident in front of crowds, started trusting people more easily and also met people from more than 12 countries. Vishal also says that this experience is beyond anything he would have ever experienced had he stayed in college. Chasing your dreams, deviating away from the mundane routine, developing oneself by uplifting a community. Are these some of your quixotic goals? Then this is an opportunity that no one should pass up on.

- Soundarya (Freelance)

A Deuce of Rackets J

ust before the Australian Open 2016, a startling revelation was made in an investigation published jointly by BuzzFeed News and the BBC. The gentleman’s game that was tennis was now embroiled in a betting scandal. While concrete charges have not been filed yet against any player currently on the tour, there have been several serious allegations made. So what exactly is this controversy and how did it come about? An investigation submitted to the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals – the governing body for professional tennis over the world) in 2008 accused 28 professional tennis players of indulging in various forms of match fixing. Nevertheless, the ATP did not pursue further action against these players for unknown reasons. Why did this probe suddenly come about? It was triggered by a low level ATP Masters tournament match between Nikolai Davydenko (then ranked world number 4) and Martin Vassallo Arguello (then ranked world number 87) in Sopot, Poland. At the beginning of the match, things went on as expected. Davydenko was leading comfortably and was one set up. Yet, in the middle of the second set, when Davydenko was up by a break, something strange happened. On the morning of the match, the Betfair gambling exchange in London saw several million pounds’ worth of bets placed in favour of Arguello. This was very surprising, considering the chances of such an event occurring. Yet, Davydenko’s continued domination of the match did not change this phenomenon one bit. At one point, 3.6 million pounds’ worth of bets were placed on the match, a princely sum for a match at that level. All of a sudden in the second set, Davydenko began hobbling and requested a medical timeout. He claimed of pain in his

ankle and toe and had his foot bandaged. Following this, play was resumed and he lost the second and third sets, leading to Arguello’s victory. This sudden turn of events coupled with the abnormal betting amounts led to Betfair cancelling all wagers on that match. Davydenko and Arguello were investigated following this. While they were cleared of any wrongdoing, Davydenko refused to turn his phone over during investigations. Since 2008, a total of 16 players have had numerous similarly strange circumstances surrounding their matches. Yet, thanks to the fact that no concrete evidence (such as recorded conversations or messages of any kind) has been found, the names have not been published. In addition, it has been noticed that the ATP itself fielded a curiously undermanned staff to verify the investigations from their end. This problem isn’t endemic to just those players. Novak Djokovic (the current ATP world number 1 in men’s rankings) revealed in the light of these investigations that he too had been offered a sum of 200,000 pounds to throw a match when he was a lower ranked player. The fact that he refused to do so is a heartening sign of the nature of most tennis players. Nevertheless, the whole investigation raises a few very serious questions regarding the sport itself.

How easy is it to fix a tennis match? Several factors decide whether a crime is perpetrated, irrespective of how severe it may be. One such significant factor is opportunity. Tennis is incredibly easy to fix because of many reasons. It’s a single player game, so there are less variables involved. One would only need to influence the players involved (2-4) and possibly the referee. An incredible amount of money is placed on the gambling markets, a large number of games are played annually, and all it takes to fix a match is one person. The difficulty of faking an injury to throw in the towel, or to “accidentally” serve up a double fault is almost non-existent. In addition, bets can be placed on incredibly specific criteria, such as how many double faults that will be made by a player in a certain match. Richard Ings, who used to work at the ATP, in an interview with BBC said, “If you were to invent a sport that was tailor-made for match fixing, the sport that you would invent would be called tennis.” The next deciding factor is motive. Tennis is an expensive sport, with costs from the coaching to sportswear and gear to the traveling. In a survey by Forbes in 2013, it was found that the median costs for a player’s travel, coach and associated medical staff amounted to about

143,000 dollars per annum. It’s also the highest paying single player sport, but its prize money is so skewed it’s misshapen. Winnings at lesser tournaments or even for the first few rounds of the bigger ones hardly seem to make up for it.

Does this tarnish the previously spotless image of the game? Tennis was universally considered one of the gentlemen’s games, a label that is increasingly applicable to games struck by corruption, before the whole racket about the betting surfaced. Now the image of the game stands to be irrevocably tarnished with officials not making a move, dealing a huge blow to honest players and fans. Are there any immediate solutions to this problem? Clearly, eliminating the opportunity and motive should set corruption back by many steps. In spite of being complained to several times, the ATP hasn’t taken definitive action. The Integrity Unit needs to have enough power to be able to crack down on fixing even in the past, making it more difficult to get away with. Moreover, the prize money should be more evenly distributed to ensure fairer slices of the pie.

- Vignesh, Arvindmani

- Suriya, Shruthi S, Arvindmani

To Do Or Not To Do If you’re wondering whether this page is about how to deal with life: no. This page will rather endeavour to describe many situations that affect us all – kind of like the Butterfly Effect. It’s up to the reader to decide or judge or read in-between the lines. We’d like to start with a question that has made us ponder till the point of ‘I-give-up’. “Why do we do the things we do? Why does anyone do anything?” A seemingly simple question that needs to be pondered over. Is it that what makes the Earth move? No. Is it our way of making our lives more meaningful? Pppfftt! Whatever that means... Does it help ensure our survival? To an extent but that’s not quite what we’re here for. Evolution gives us a possible answer : the gift and the impulse to create progeny. This innate, most primal part of us will never ever leave us and forms our very core. We do the things we do, mainly to leave a part of ourselves behind in this world after we’ve passed on. All other actions, in retrospect, seem to be like side effects. This is the crux of all that happens around us. The mark we leave behind is measured by a person’s ‘success’, or by the change they bring about in others. Both may sometimes be the same in some cases. Well then, how is it that some people are remembered more than others? The kind of people who get talked about after they’re long gone are the disruptors, the trailblazers – those who go against the tide. This path is tough to tread and can lead to many pitfalls. So people tend to go with the tide, because it’s easier, preferable for their survival - conforming to societal norms and peer pressure. This is a great catch, isn’t it? On one hand you can most definitely (almost) survive but not be remembered at all, else you can take risks ensuring your place in the annals of history but then your survival goes from being most probable to the least. In a world filled with people with different sets of personal beliefs, ideologies and institutions, clashes are bound to happen, skirmishes are going to occupy the foreground, and chaos is sure to ensue. Finding your true self in this cesspool of human life is tough but in the end that is all that matters.

- Sriram

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