1500 years ago, an Indian was being funded for research by Indians

There is this Airtel advertisement that I keep seeing on television. It tells us that how Indians were inventing things and the world was following them. For e.g., it points to Aryabhatta who put forth the concept of zero. It also points to Sushrut, the first person to practice medical surgery and document it in detail. Towards the modern times, it shows about Vinod Dham, who led the team that invented the Pentium processor for Intel.


Now, what cannot be shown in this short advertisement is the tremendous amount of research efforts put in by all the three men. All of them did (probably) believe in themselves. Let's talk of Aryabhatta and Sushrut. They carried out a large number of studies and documented their successes for the future generations to taste their fruits. Aryabhatta is believed to have studied at Kusumpura, which is a name for Patliputra. The university at Patliputra was patronised by the king and wealthy of that era (equivalent to what is government and businessmen today). Aryabhatta wrote his famous "Aryabhatiya" while at the university in Patliputra. Sushrut, the legendary surgeon, lived in Kashi around the 6th century BCE. While I have no idea about his early education or his studies in the field of medicine, it was common in that age for the king or emperor to patronise education. The ruler would give a piece of land to the scholars interested in teaching or research and would fund them for their work. Many times, the wealthy too would patronise such institutes of studies or research. Thus, both Aryabhatta and Sushrut were products of patronised research. Both had an objective of serving the purposes of the society through their research.

What does this mean in today's context? If we are ready to believe in ourselves, as the Airtel ad wishes us to, there needs to be someone who can stand behind us solidly with resources to carry out research that can serve the purpose of the Indian society. Does Airtel want to do so? How many Indian corporates (not foreign multinationals) carry out research work to develop products suited for use in India? How much support does the government lend for the upkeep and expansion of research infrastructure? And till what time will we Indians rely on past glory to claim the superiority of our civilisation? We should believe in ourselves, back our researchers to the fullest possible extent and build an India based on our needs.

Statistics: Thou art synonymous to illusion

In the period between April-August 2008, crude oil prices saw a huge surge, in their dollar value. At its peak, crude cost $ 147 per barrel. In India, the oil marketing companies were losing a hell lot of money as the government did not allow them to raise the prices of diesel, petrol, cooking gas and kerosene. Petrol and diesel prices were frozen at levels which would be profitable with crude costing around $60 per barrel. Whenever there was a discussion on raising the prices of fuel, every person in the political sphere raised his/her voice against it. They condemned the government as anti-people, pro-rich and asked for taxes to be reduced, etc. On the other hand, the prices of products for industrial use were adjusted to reflect the rise in crude prices. For example, ATF prices at their peak were around Rs 77000 per kilolitre.

Now, with the fortunes of oil turning down and the cost dropping to $50 per barrel, the opposition is again screaming at the government for not reducing the prices of petrol and diesel. The prices of products such as ATF and fuel oil have been revised based on the current price of crude. Now, ATF costs around Rs. 45000 per kilolitre. The government is actually correct, when it says that the oil companies should be given an opportunity to recover the money they lost when crude prices were high. I may sound a capitalist, but in this world, there is no free lunch!! We as citizens of this country expected largesse from the oil companies when the prices were high. Most oil companies are owned by the government. This means, they are built and operated out of the our own tax money!! So, when we invest in the company, shouldn't we be looking at keeping it in a healthy position? By not raising prices of fuel, we eroded the value of our investment. Now, it is a chance to return the favour. The oil companies should be allowed to recoup all their losses and allowed to build profits. We should see our investment flourishing, rather than diminishing. The government being the largest shareholder, receives crores of rupees as dividend (if the company makes profit). This dividend can then be ploughed back into the economy for some fruitful use.


Now, coming to the illusory nature of statistics. The BJP (especially Ram Naik) has been claiming that while petrol costs Rs. 57-62 per litre, ATF is Rs 45-47 per litre. He cries hoarse, stating that the government is pro-rich and has therefore reduced ATF prices but not reduced petrol prices. Let us look at the simple mechanism behind the sale of ATF and petrol. ATF is sold directly by the oil marketing companies. There is no local petrol pump owner involved while selling to the customer. So, there goes the commission of the local owner. Second, the fuel tank of one aircraft (say a Boeing 737) when fully loaded, contains around 70,000 kg of fuel. So, at a given instant, the aircraft is a bulk buyer of the ATF. On the other hand, petrol is sold at retail levels, most buyers buying between 3-5 litres for 2-wheelers and 10-25 litres for 4-wheelers. This is analogous to the super-stores format. The super-stores receive discounts on various products which they buy in bulk from the manufacturers directly. This benefit is then passed on to the consumers. The neighbourhood mom and pop shop owner buys relatively less quantity from the wholesaler and therefore misses out on the discounts. If we were to look only at the figures of prices of petrol and ATF, we would definitely feel short changed. But, looking at the broader horizon over the past 8 months, we realise that what goes around, comes around. We asked for discounts then, we have to live with high prices now.

Change is happening

No, this isn't yet another blog post about Obama. It is about my very own country, India. Indeed, it is about Bangalore (I don't know if the city is officially called Bengaluru so I'll stick to Bangalore). I was in this city in 2005-2006. There was a lot of mess around the city. The flyover from Indiranagar to Domlur was in doldrums, there was another flyover near Jayadeva Hrudayalaya whose construction period was stretching for ever. On top of that, Devegowda had gained a lot of bargaining power in the political setup. He announced his hatred for the IT industry, thus drying up funds required to spruce up Bangalore. So many infrastructure initiatives taken up by the previous government were put on hold or funding reduced, virtually bringing such projects to a halt.

Back then, it used to take atleast half-an-hour to reach from Indiranagar to Domlur. There used to be a round about from the construction site through the narrow lanes to go to Domlur. Similarly, near Jayadeva Hrudayalaya there used to be a huge rubble across which the buses, cars and other vehicles used to crawl. Another notorious junction was the Silk Board junction. This junction too used to be crowded and packed because of lack of proper traffic management.

Slowly but steadily, most of these projects got completed with a huge time delay and cost overrun. But, the fruits of these are visible. Today, we can zip from Indiranagar to Domlur over the flyover. We can get on and off the Old-airport road without worrying about the traffic coming from either side. The Silk Board junction has be decongested to a large extent and Jayadeva Hrudayalaya junction has a good over bridge and underpass to allow traffice to pass through it. This has saved everybody a lot of time and energy. The economy is gaining due to improved productivity of the manpower. People are losing less fuel in traffic jams. This helps in saving a precious fuel source. But, the flip side is, seeing this infrastructure development, more people would be tempted to use individual vehicles rather than mass-transport. So, the government should now focus on developing the mass-transport system. The Namma Metro is on its way. The metro should be complemented by the BMTC, thus creating a smooth system of mass-transport.

Change is happening. It is happening slowly. That is the problem. But it is hapenning, it hasn't stopped completely.

Namma Bengaluru!!

I'm back in Bangalore, for a period of 3 months. As a part of my PhD, I am working on a project at Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab, Bangalore. This is a great opportunity to work with one of the leading companies in the field of process control. But, the call comes at a wrong time. While I was supposed to join sometime in September, the HR processes delayed my joining to mid-October. This is Diwali time and everybody longs to be at home. I couldn't do that. So, here I am, celebrating my Diwali in Bangalore.

The weather in Bangalore is very very pleasant. Quite a stark contrast from what it is in Mumbai. Imagine, no sweating through the day. The only soiling of clothes that occurs is due to the pollution and dust on the outside. The day temperatures are just warm enough, while the night is a bit chilly. Bangalore just received a lot of rainfall during the October season. That has added to the chill factor in the evenings. Today it is sunny and a bit of chill in the air. Perfect weather I would say.

With a short stay in Bangalore, I want to go around the city and explore it as much as possible. I couldn't do it last time, as I had no enthusiasm about doing it. Now, this time around, I do not want to go back without exploring the city. I am, therefore, planning to visit one or two places of interest in Bangalore every weekend. Let's see how things shape up.

About my work. Well, the atmosphere is as found in all MNCs. I'm enjoying the work more, as it forms a part of my PhD. And I hope to achieve a lot in these three months at Honeywell. With more friends in Bangalore this time around, I hope to enjoy it better than I did last time.

Aspirations

I was reading the newspaper today morning. It carried a two-page article on Shri Prakash and Sou. Meena Amte's work in Hemalkasa. It described in detail their work, the work of their two sons and daughter-in-law and the sea of change that they brought around in the tribal area. Inspite of all the odds they faced, they have given the tribals in the area a new sense of living. For the past 35 years, Shri Prakash and Sou. Manda Amte have been serving the tribals selfessly supported through donations and government support.

Naturally, I was drawn to their selflessness and to their desire to serve the tribals better. To see their serene and content faces, the happiness derived out of service without expecting returns. In my mind, the thinking cycle started. I wanted to enter social service, the way the Amtes are involved. I sincerely felt that there is no other happiness than the one that you get by serving people in need. Not only do you serve them, but identify their needs and then serve them.

For over the past two years, I have been thinking of moving into the teaching field. This is after I hear that many institutes (ranging from elementary education to higher educations) across the country are facing an acute shortage of quality teachers. I, therefore, wanted to be involved in nation building, in building the constituents of the society. If even one student of mine, every year would aspire to do something fruitful for the society, I was ready to consider it as a success. But then, what kind of teacher should I be? Do I go to the schools in the town/village, where there is a dire need of teachers? Or do I go to the colleges where my technical knowledge would be of some use.

No matter how much I disagree with Nehru, I do believe in one statement of his. That IITs are supposed to provide technological know-how for the development of this country. I would like to agree to this in a broader sense. The technological know-how is essential, but it is also essential to prepare quality man-power who can handle this technological know-how and probably improve upon it. I would like to be involved with such kind of work. But again, whom will I be training? Those who have the money to access such facilities, or those who truly deserve these? Or should I be training the downtrodden, who do not need any of the technical know, but the basic education to understand the way to a quality life? What should be the approach? Questions, questions and questions. No answers found till now!! Aspirations, till they are accompanied with a good plan can't be fulfilled. I pray to the Lord to help me clear my mind and pursue my aspirations.