Feeds Feb 2014 by Feeds

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Editorial Our Patron Director

Dr.S.Sundarrajan

Dean ( Students’ Welfare ) Dr.G.Venkatesa Prabhu

Faculty Advisors

Dr.V.Sathyaraj Dr.V.Vinod Balakrishnan Content developers: Rithvik, Dinesh, Lakshmi M, Parameshwar, Satish, Shanal, Srivathsan, Suhas, Salil, Vignesh R, Shubham T, Sanjana, Athira. Cover Story: Anirudh Rajaseshan, Aditya Prasad, Keshav Goud, Priyanka Garg, Sai Priyanka, Abhinav, Shubhadeep, Sharanya, Sibi, Shruthi M, Pompi. Creative writers: Abhishek, Abinash Padhi, Arvind Ravindran, Devika, Mike, Vrindaa, Vyjayanthi, Priyadharshini, Subramaniam, Illustrators: Proteek, Shubham Gupta, Sidharth Designers: Abhay, Angels, Ezhilvel, Jishnu, Nithish, Pradyut, Raghuram, Santosh, Sriram. Photos : Pixelbug

Editor

Raghav S Chakravarthy

Co-Editor

Mohit Asnani

Administrative Head T. Gowtham Kumar

Associate Editors Lakshmi Po Priyamvatha S

Blog Heads SriKrishnan T.N. Veena

Creative Head

Anirudh Bharadwaj

Founders

Lakshmi Po Associate Editor

s we all move through college, very often, we have to deal with being part of a team. We are either confronted with the task of leading a team or following a leader. More often than not, we all tend to slack off. I have been a part of Team Feeds for quite a while now. We have to meet deadlines every month and have to make sure that we maintain or improve the quality of our work. As a part of this team, occasionally, I have often found myself slacking off or leading people who slack off. Recently, when I tried to shake off responsibility, I found myself being reminded of it by a friend. I was angered and I fumed at the thought of him asking me to come for Feeds work when I had a review approaching. Only when I calmed down a little while later, did I realise that if I were in his position, I would have done nothing differently. I apologised to him afterwards. Another time I had to come down hard on a team mate who was slacking off. I kept putting it off till I realised that the work wouldn’t move till I did. I have now come to terms with the fact that being a part of a team is not just being part of a group, it is a responsibility - the responsibility to accept one’s mistakes and work on them and the responsibility to ensure quality even if it means being hard on people. I have realised that being a part of a team means to do what is required to take the team forward.

Priyamvatha Shanmugam Associate Editor

ur generation can proudly claim to have witnessed a massive exponential growth in technology. On an average how many electronic devices do each of us own? These gadgets that were meant to get us virtually closer to our loved ones, in stark contrast have in fact left us far away from reality. We feel compelled to pick up the phone within two rings, reply to every text message within two minutes, update our Facebook statuses and check in at every new place we go to. Dining table conversations have been replaced by blank faces staring into cellphone screens and hand written letters have been by emails. Why even bother remembering birthdays when its all up there on Facebook? We plug in our ears with music and comfortably choose to ignore the sounds around us – people chatting away, busy roads, loud street hawkers, the sound of life! I wonder sometimes who we’re keeping in touch with when we’ve distanced the people sitting around us. There was a reason why missed calls were invented and text messages can be viewed later. We don’t have to answer every single call at once. Let’s for once look up from our mobile screens and look around us. There is so much more to life, isn’t it?

Jan - Feb 2014

NITT

NEWS

TCS CEO Alma Mater Visit

3rd February, Barn: It was a proud moment for

Mr.N.Chandrasekaran during his talk at Barn. Photo:Santosh

E-Summit- True Entrepreneurial Spirit:

7th-9th February, A Halls: 2014 saw the annual flagship

event of the Entrepreneurship-Cell of NIT, Trichy, Ventura evolve into E-Summit. The event was the finale to multiple events held before it. Competitions including quizzes, TradeEx, Deadline Day, etc. were held in schools all over the country prior to this event. A treasure hunt named “Lazarus” intrigued many, foiling mental efforts at deciphering hints. Following the inauguration in the first day, the second day saw the activity chart shoot up with numerous events being held simultaneously. I-interact using real time market simulation software gave the contestants a feel of market management and its effect on company growth over the years. A national level quiz was organised with about Rs. 25000 as the prize money. Interaction with venture capitalists through a talk session offered a rare chance for amateurs to learn the nuances of the trade and to know what tickles the whims of the investors. An investment boot camp was also on the menu for budding entrepreneurs to gain comprehensive nourishment from. The finals of the international business plan competition was held on the third day.

NIT, Trichy as Mr N. Chandrasekaran, CEO of Tata Consultancy Services arrived on campus to receive the Distinguished Alumni Award. Regarded as one of the brightest technocrats of the nation, the day was a celebration of his achievements, something that every student aspires for. The Office of Alumni Relations compiled a special documentary on Mr N. Chandrasekaran’s life which was well received by the audience. The itinerary kicked off with a performance by the Music Troupe. Post the presentation of the award, an interactive discussion followed suit. The exchange between the speaker and the students saw a fair percentage of humour, wit and nostalgia go into the mix. Sparring questions on old flames and certain company policies with equal finesse, Mr N. Chandrasekaran kept the promise of making the afternoon an interesting one. The Dance Troupe of the institute then performed the finishing honours making the day a truly memorable one.

Shresthas-Motivating the masses:

1st February, EEE Audi: The Dhruva club arranged

a motivational talk by Mr. Rajesh Talwar, a corporate coach and training consultant. Speaking in general terms on leadership and outlining the importance of sustained inspiration through faith in a higher power, Mr. Rajesh succeeded in weaving an uplifting talk through video conferencing. An interactive Q & A session followed.

Jasper unfurled:

3rd February, Behind Aquamarine-B: Jasper,

the new hostel for boys was inaugurated by Mr. N.Chanrasekaran, CEO & MD, TCS and in the presence of other distinguished alumnus. The Director Dr. S. Sundarrajan was also present. Located at the extreme corner of our college, a stay there promises a quiet sojourn and lots of calories burnt in transit.

NITT News

Pre-MUN Preparations: 31st January - 1st February, LHC: A workshop was held to acquaint potential participants with the “how-tos” in a simulated United Nations conference. It was aimed specifically at preparing the attendees for the MUN conference to be held on 15th and 16th of March. The first day saw an outlining of the rules and procedures to be followed during the conference, which are of paramount importance in preserving the decorum associated with such premiere conventions. The attendees were also briefed on how the council normally functions. Chasing further clarity, a mock council session was rendered on day two. The MUN conference in March will cover specifics both under and outside the United Nations concern following internationally recognised mandates.

Dandiya Nite: 15th February, Barn: It was a sight to behold as the over-enthusiastic crowd revelled in jubilation, all dressed up in traditional attire with dandiya sticks in their hands, dancing their heart out to loud folk music in an adorned Barn. The Dandiya Nite organized by Aayam, the Hindi-Cell of NIT-T on 15th Feb was a huge success and the titles like Mr/Ms fresher, Mr/Ms Dandia and Mr/Ms costume just added to the already overflowing excitement.

A gang of girls enjoying themselves during Dandiya Nite at Barn. Photo: Saathwik

Yugam 45:

Inauguration of IGTTrichy Chapter:

12th February, Admin: The event was organised by Tamizh Mandram had a huge turnout from all years. Competitions like potpourri, dumb charades, cine quiz and creative writing garnered quite a crowd from Tamil literature enthusiasts. The ‘Azhagiya Tamizhmagan’ (‘Azhagiya Tamizhmagal’) event saw contestants charm the judges with their wit and personality. The prize distribution and valediction was held on 17th February.

14th February, A Halls: Geotechnical engineers gathered for the

grand inauguration of the Indian Geotechnical Society’s Trichy chapter at NIT, Trichy. The function was presided over by our director and Dr. V. S. Raju, Former Director-IIT Delhi, Former Professor-IIT Madras. Prof G. N. Gandhi, President, IGS, Delhi delivered a key note about the Indian Geotechnical Society and about the international conferences held and the journals published. The Chairman of the IGS, Trichy Chapter, Dr. K. Muthukumaran, Associate Professor-NIT, Trichy addressed and Dr.V.S.Raju at the inauguration of IGT-Trichy welcomed the dignitaries and the secretary Dr. G. Venkatesan, Chapter. Photo: Saathwik Professor, Anna University, Trichy delivered the Vote of Thanks. The function was followed by a two-day workshop on “Challenges in Geotechnical Investigation and Foundation Design”.

NITT News

Meditation-A Way of Life:

Q.U.I.E.T. - Guest Lecture Series:

29th January, A Halls: A guest lecture on meditation 13th -14th February, A Halls: The lecture series was held by the Science and Spirituality club. The guest lecturer, Mrs. Seetha Kuchidapadam, Director, CREST (Centre for Research, Education, Sadhana and Training), Bengaluru, expanded on the reasons for adopting this practise beyond gaining of mere mental enhancements and deliberated that it should be accepted as a way of living. A conscious effort was made to nominate meditation as an inner journey rather than a redundant activity requiring hours of visualizing a needle tip. The event saw a packed hall with our beloved Director too in attendance.

Saraswati Pooja:

Q.U.I.E.T., an acronym for Quite Untold Inspiring Enticing Tales, was organized by the Pragyan Team to pique interest in the upcoming technical festival of the institute. It involved six talks on a mixed bag of topics including technology, humour, literature and life in general. The six motivational speakers-Lakshmi Po, Koushik Gokul, Gowtham Kumar, Aravind U. Shenoy, Vishal Asokan and Deepak Valagam kept the audience rapt in the jam-packed hall. The Guest Speaker Deepak Valagam, an alumnus of NITT and one of the founders of Feeds, spoke about changes in technology. The event also included inspiring video lectures by Saagar Verma, Jeetwan Tripathy, Venkatesh Balakrishnan, Ramkishore Balasubramanian and Rachana Ramchand.

One of the most awaited festival, honouring the goddess of learning, was celebrated in full glory on 4th and 5th February. The idol was brought in all the way from Bangalore. On 4th, the festivities started with the morning pooja- ‘Pushpanjali’ which was followed by the ‘Bhog/Prasad’, cooked entirely by the students, served to a fully packed Barn with devotees from BHEL, the Director and other faculty members also in attendance. The day ended with an evening ‘Aarti’. On 5th morning everyone gathered for the ‘Dadhikarma’ and finally the festivities culminated with the idol Visarjan in the Kaveri River near Srirangam.

Devotees during the Saraswati Pooja conducted at Barn. The event witnessed attendance of people from the entire campus. Photo: Pradeep

A Silent Prayer Photo: Pradeep

Etymology

Alumni Speak

Creative

Emerging Fields

Viewpoint

- Vyjayanthi NV , Lakshmi Po 13

Creative

NITT News

Romance

Is your name Are you Full of Beryllium, Gold and Titanium? Because you are

Be Au Ti

B e c au s e yo u h ave e ve r y thi ng I've b e e n s e a rc hi ng for.

full

YOU SHALL NOT PASS

Whenever I'm near you, I undergo

anaerobic respiration, because you take my breath away.

You must be the

square root of two, because

I feel irrational around you.

without givig me your

phone number

Is your name

If you were a Pokemon,

B e c au s e I'm re a l ly fe e l i ng a c on n e c ti on.

Do you believe in love at first sight? ‘Yes, until I got my spectacles.’ hottest couples spot in the campus ‘I'd tell you but I'd loose the place.’ Ideal proposal statement to your girlfriend ‘Marry me….. Please.....’

Are you a 45 degree angle? Because you're

acute-y.

Stealth Shiva turns Love guru "This Valentine's Day pick-up a book instead"

Pick up line from a mech guy to a mech girl Are you for real? Perks of being in love. Social "elevations" Have you ever been in love? Yes but I had to put her down after she got rabies We asked our team what they thought about love and this is what they said: - It is overrated - Rather a dog than a human - It is a drug - Necessary sometimes, unnecessary most of the time - Going back home with a lighter mind and an empty pocket - Something NITT-ians rarely get to experience

Tech

Fakenews

inal year of college. So much stuff left to do. Trips with friends, college fests, everything for one last time. So, inevitably, for the final years, it’s DESTINATION GOA! But Pragyan can’t be missed either, can it? Pragyan Infotainment is teaming up with Sunburn, as a part of Sunburn’s Social Responsibility (SSR), to have a live streaming of the Infotainment in Goa, to help change lives with technology. Pragyan is honoured to be associated with such a relevant social cause. This has the added benefit of allowing the final years to enjoy the best of both worlds. Given that nearly 600 of the 10000 people attending Sunburn are from NITT, Sunburn readily gave thumbs up to the plan. Guaranteed to be a crowd puller, Sunburn finds this as a perfect opportunity to attract more geeks from our very own sunburnt city, Tiruchirapalli. A giant screen has been set up on the sands of Candolim, Goa’s most popular beach. This has drastically increased Pragyan’s reach by nearly 10000 people. The response to this idea by the Goan crowd has been overwhelming. People are enthused by the idea of having an option to expand their intellectual horizons if the parties get too boring. The final years are highly excited by this initiative. “I was always averse to going to Goa due to the fear of missing Pragyan. But thanks to this initiative by Infotainment, the choice has become easy for me”, says Sohit Muhas (name changed on request), a final year student who’s heading to Goa this March. Taking the enthusiasm of the students of NITT in creating a satellite, Sunburn Goa is introducing a competition for the party goers to design a robot to check the pollution levels on the beach. Here’s to welcoming Sunburn in its new avatar.

! Disclaimer

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

Puzzle

Feature

Debate

Messes should not be divided on the basis of region FOR NIT is a place where students from all over the country meet. It takes pride in calling itself the “pride of India” every hour, rather than “pride of South India” or “pride of North India” at frequent intervals. That said, the process of allotting rooms to first years tries to bridge the cultural divide by bringing together students from south and north together. But, we divide ourselves into separate wings and form our own gangs when we finish our first year which is to a certain extent acceptable. With a cultural divide pretty clearly visible, the only place where everyone met was a common mess where we even fought together for the same reason (of bad food). What should have typically happened was that better food had to be served instead of bifurcating the mess so as to cater to the need of students. Though an argument can be made that there are a few students hailing from South India who have opted for the North Indian mess system, it doesn't really imitate the old mess system where we had everyone dining together. So, it really seems that even though the standards of food might have increased, the divide has just exacerbated the already present cultural divide.

AGAINST After years of dilly-dallying the college authorities finally decided to have separate North Indian and South Indian mess with appropriate menu changes and even brought in new caterers for the North Indian mess. Word of mouth spread on the quality of food and you had even the South Indians queuing up to the hostel office to eat in the North Indian mess. One look at the mess in its rush hours and you wouldn’t think that only the Hindi speaking dined at the particular mess. The counter effect was those who came late didn’t get to register in the North Indian mess so quite a lot of people had to go to the south Indian mess. So both the messes have their fair share fair of representation from different parts of India and the whole pride of India feeling is not lost in either of the messes. You will continue to see the familiar faces and the hi-bye friends you have been seeing in the mess in your time in the college. Another important change has been that the second years, third years and even M. Techs from different parts of the country eating in the same mess and interaction between graduates and post graduates as well as between those of different years has increased thanks to this new mess system. And most importantly almost everyone is happy with the food so much that Selvam and Bamboos have had to reinvent themselves to attract the ones who were regulars till before this semester.

Freelance

Age Of Empires - Aditya Patil

No resemblance to real characters or people. Or to people at NITT. Or to NITT itself. Ps : Or to the WiFi at NITT

egend has it that the white-hooded poles that King Adminus of Nittia had ordered, built along the heights of Zirconia and other provinces, served the purpose of integrating his people with much of the outside world. It must have been necessary, considering how isolated Nittia was from the rest of the world. According to the legend, King Adminus was aware of the problems his subjects faced as a result of having to walk a long way to the provinces of Ilabia and Octavia, the only parts of his vast kingdom that housed portals to the outside world. King Adminus, determined to put his kingdom on the world map, ordered the commissioning of what the people of his time understood as ‘telepathos’, or communication without a direct, physical connection between the communicating parties. King Adminus put forth a name that even the plebeian population of his kingdom could easily use: wifi. When the King’s workers finished installing long whitehooded metal poles along the heights and mountain tops of the kingdom’s provinces, the people were elated – especially those belonging to the provinces of Zirconia and Amberon. This is just about as much as where the legend goes, as skeptics say that the white-hooded poles, “wifi”, were just that. They even quoted an article from a popular journal, suggesting that poles with white-hoods were popular amongst the people many centuries ago. They

went on to say that they were mere adornments which made no real difference in the lives of the people back then. And that they didn’t, even now. A survey was conducted as a part of a myth-busting study. A respondent, Adithya de Outraged VI, who hails from the Seaside municipality of the Zirconia province, rubbished the legend. He points to his solitary house along the 8th street and says, “This house belonged to our family for many generations. My grandfather, Adithya de Outraged III, one boring night, told me how the name ‘Outraged’ became our family name. He told me his grandfather, Adithya III, was promised a magical portal to the outside world right from this house,” with a don’t-give-me-thiscrap skeptical look on his face. “And he was outraged at not having his promise fulfilled,” he ended. “My grandfather also told me about how some of his friends believed in the existence of such portals and went insane trying to connect to them. It is needless to say that none of them succeeded.” “Why, some of my friends, even in this era of science and reason, still believe that the portals on the mountain tops work,” he said. “Can’t believe they actually try connecting to them.” King Adminus, throughout the pages and records of history, was known to be a benevolent and wellintentioned man with a lot of ideas for his people. History does feel bad for him, as many of his ideas never worked.

Misco nceptions- Aditya Balaji

fondly perceive this era as one where technology has taken centre-stage. But though tremendous advancements have been made on the technological front, we still have a long way to go in making the people of the world overcome their mental inertia and eliminate their persistent skepticism towards the role of engineering solutions in solving their day-to-day problems.

Freelance

This article starts off by questioning the basis on which some scientific ideas are branded as “over-artificial”, or “unnecessary”. It then surprisingly drifts into discussion of common literary norms. Many people swear by the Samsung Galaxy S4 mobile phone, overlooking its cost. But those on the sidelines who prefer making a “logical” analysis of its expensive features do not find the phone too impressive. For instance, S4 has one feature which gives the dictionary meaning of a word in a book, by making the phone’s camera hover above it. “Why can’t we just have a dictionary app?” is the common question posed by its critics. We all fail to appreciate the fact that however needless the app might be, the people who developed it were probably great pioneers of smart-phone technology, and the principles behind the application can possibly be used in a variety of ways. Clearly, this app gives a response which is related to the input fed to the camera. If there is an infestation of harmful organisms in the near future, we can actually focus the images of these creatures with our camera, which would then enable the channeling of the phone’s electromagnetic radiations in a particular direction. Such advancements will take time, but we have been blessed with some starting ideas. Reality is cruel. Nicholas Copernicus was proved right about the Sun being the centre of the solar system only after his demise. I can see a similar storyline regarding the S4 engineers getting their credit’s due. The above example dealt with a so-called “unnecessary” piece of technology. But there are also many ideas that people fear would create a virtual world. Just for starters, I would like to say that I hope artificial neural networks never succeed in fully duplicating the human mind. In numerous references to “Kohonen’s self-organizing maps”, a chapter in the subject of neural networks, there are lines which say -“one reason why the human brain is considered to be advanced, is that humans are able to associate one entity to another similar one by mere observation”. It works as an advantage in some cases but a terrible disadvantage in other situations. This is the same “human observation and association” which calls Pujara “the next Dravid”, putting undue pressure on the youngster. This is the same quality which robs a doctor of his identity just because he comes from a rich lineage of people in his same field. We love speaking about the nuances of human thinking,

and it’s about time we also learn that these ‘nuances’ can sometimes become ‘nuisances’. The difference between an online quiz and a quiz conducted by a teacher is that a student is lauded by the machine if he scores above a requisite minimum, while he is rebuked for the same score by a human quizmaster, if he has the reputation of being a competent student. It is really tough to sustain a good reputation. People advice you to ‘be yourself ’, but it is impossible to do so, as we are defined by the people around us. Some misconceptions infuriate me, and the following issue is no different. In fact, it will cause me to deviate from the point I am trying to make on technology. About a year ago, a news item was published in the “Trends” page of the Times of India discussing the implications of creating a robot which could grade students’ essays. This idea did not look too appealing to many people as they were unwilling to trust a ‘robot’. But before jumping the gun, we must analyze the reason behind which one would create a robot for essays. Every essay topic has the phrase “adhere to the word limit”. Teachers do not have the time to read pages and pages of text while evaluating hundreds of students. Hence, the pressure of scoring marks prevents a student from letting his creativity flow, and replicate some potentially brilliant ideas on paper. But machine execution time is much lower than human thinking and reading time, and a machine might just have enough time to entertain each and every idea that the student presents. “The beauty of an essay lies in the eyes of the beholder”. One might like an essayist’s style, while another might condemn it. If humans can have so many differences in opinion, isn’t a computer also entitled to its own opinion? Why can’t we trust a machine? Another point of argument against an essay-evaluation machine is that “writing is an art, and it takes a real artist to appreciate it”. Try using this line in a professional communication class and be prepared to sacrifice your grade. Unfortunately, writing is no longer about creativity. It is about being thrifty with words, being diplomatic and saving the reader the trouble of using a dictionary (Hey, maybe there is something to S4!). Truth is bitter, and I have begun to accept it, by making letter-writing a mere ritual. The rest of the world also needs to stop clinging on to antiquated ideas, not just in the field of writing, but also in technology, and of course, life, in general.

Department Review

Solution

Crossword Crossword by Suhas, Srikrishnan, Sibi Crossword theme: Led Zeppelin

Rebus Theme 1 – Harry Potter 1) Crow = Raven + Claw => Ravenclaw 2) Angry King => King’s Cross 3) U and M bridged => Umbridge 4) LEY forming the diagonal of the square => Diagon Alley 5) Head+Wig => Hedwig Theme 2 – Politicians 1) Ge+OR+Ge + Bush => George Bush 2) Cage+Re(Rewind)+Wall(Rahul Dravid) => Kejriwal 3) Bill + CL in TON => Bill Clinton 4) Mod (i) => Modi 5) Man+ Mow and Sing => Manmohan Singh

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