वो सात साल

Don't worry, I'm not typing a post in Hindi. But, Romanised Hindi is something that I hate, and hence have put the title in Hindi. It's been almost seven years, since I entered the lush green campus of IIT Bombay. Coming from a college(?) where no one cared about its teachers and lectures and were only governed by University regulations, I was in for a cultural shock. Suddenly, professors were very important. Attending lectures and classes was necessary, since the syllabus didn't remain standard but on what and how much the professor desired to teach. Moreover, most of the professors were caring enough and took their jobs of teaching very seriously. They enjoyed the activity of teaching, which made me respond back equally(?) well.

I came here for a Masters' degree. The plan, initially, was to get the IIT brand name on my resume, which will help me jump start my career, which would have been a non-starter considering the college that I studied in, during for my undergraduate degree. One thing led to another, and I don't know when it happened, but I decided to enroll myself for a Ph.D. Of course, many ask me why didn't I go abroad for doing one? The truth is that it is extremely difficult for a non-IITian (meaning, someone without a B.Tech. from IIT) to get into those top universities, where the best researchers are. Moreover, I didn't want to grind myself through the GRE and that Barron's word list, from where 90% of the words are never used post-GRE.

And so began my tryst with IIT-Bombay. I enrolled for the Ph.D. programme in July 2006. It has been a long and painful journey. As it happens with almost every Ph.D. student, my work too began as a treasure-hunt. And it has taken five long years to gather the treasure, properly document it and lay adequate claims on it (submit papers for publication). The duration seemed so long, for myself as well as others, that even the security personnel, mess workers, staff, etc. started asking me, "अरे, तुम्ही अजून इथेच?" (translation: Oh, are you still a student?) or "अजून किती दिवस?" (translation: how much time more?)

But equally interesting has been the life apart from research. From the experiences of my seniors, I had realised that an active extra-curricular life is necessary to stay sane in IIT. No, I didn't actively participate in extra-curricular, but  did make an attempt. It is here, that I started taking exercising seriously. I trained myself and ran the Mumbai half-marathon twice, enrolled myself in swimming classes and trained to clear the intermediate level camp conducted at IIT. The Sameer hill became my favourite destination, to give some stress tests to the heart and muscles. I have encircled IIT so many times, that my jogging shoes never lasted beyond one year. Hostel activities, Research Scholars' activities, etc. took up a good chunk of my time at IIT. I was introduced to many facets of life here. Students' struggles at research, apathy towards common courtesies and sensibilities, politics being played to the extent that it hampers research work and also, some faculty genuinely fighting it out for students. It is here, that I got to listen to extraordinary talk from Nobel laureates to Fields' Medallists and realised what makes them special. I also got to listen to eminent personalities who have made a difference in India. Through the Institute Colloquiums (which also had awesome refreshments), I got to listen to great talks from researchers around the world.

 It is here, where I learnt more about friendship, about give-and-take. About bonding with an extended family. About the importance of building relationships, with your family, your neighbours and those in your workplace. Building of relations has helped a lot in times of need and times of crisis. These are important when you are at the nadir of your confidence or at the peak of your success. Good relations help you reduce anguish and increase the joy. IIT gave me a few important lessons in life. Not only about academics, but also about non-academics and these are equally important when I shape up my career.

Experiencing the jetlag

Almost everybody who has travelled across the Atlantic or the Pacific have a jetlag story of their own. Some brag about how they didn't feel the jetlag at all, while some sheepishly admit that they suffered for days together before they overcame their jetlag. Why does someone have to feel sorry of suffering from jetlag? It is a natural phenomenon and can affect someone more than the other. Just like common cold. Some get better overnight, while some struggle for days.

But, once you've experience it, you begin to realise that each one has his or her own unique scenarios. E.g., now that I travelled across the Atlantic, I experienced jet lag for the first time. Not that I couldn't sleep in the night, but there were other signs that indicated that I am experiencing a jetlag. The first and foremost thing I did was to sleep whenever possible on flight. So, while I missed a meal on one leg of the flight, I wasn't groggy and tired when I reached my destination. But then, the internal body clock hadn't yet adjusted. So, I didn't feel like having dinner during regular dinner time and ended up feeling hungry at odd times in the night. Moreover, my bowel movements went for a toss. I was using the wash room at odd times and had a clean movement only by the next evening!! My host must be wondering about my frequent visits to the washroom. Fortunately, I didn't have too much trouble with sleeping. When I landed here, it was in the evening and went off to sleep at night. But I ended getting up early in the morning and hence, the following afternoon, I slept for almost three hours.

So, like everyone else, my story of jetlag too turns out to be unique to a great extent.

How tennis has changed over the years

Just have a look at these two videos.

1. Bjorne Borg vs. John McEnroe, 1980 Wimbledon final

2. Federer vs. Nadal, 2008 Wimbledon Final

See the difference? Forget the big fibre-based racquets of Nadal and Federer, forget their improved athletics. Notice the grass on the Centre Court in both the videos. In the first video, you will see that the grass is considerably worn out even near the net, indicating the dominance of serve-and-volley type of play. Watch how frequently McEnroe and Borg rush towards the net in order to play their volleys and remove the sting out of the opponent's returns.

In the second video, you will still notice green grass near the nets. But at the base line, the grass is completely worn out. This is the change I am talking about. From the serve-and-volley type of game to booming from the baseline itself. Notice how rarely do Federer and Nadal come close to the net. Both try to hit towards the base line and from there itself.

Tennis has changed over time and as usual, Wimbledon is there to remind us about it and help in etching these changes in our memories.

My experiences with the Maharaja

Photograph ©: Vinay Bavdekar

It was conference time, and since I was being funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, it was compulsory for me to travel Air India, at least till its hub in a foreign country. Beyond the hub, I was free to travel any airline, preferably a code-sharing partner of the Maharaja.  I was flying international with the Maharaja for the second time. Last time too, I had taken Air India to travel to Frankfurt and back.

I had to fly to Hangzhou in China. Air India said that I would have to fly to Hong Kong and from there to Hangzhou. The Maharaja would drop me in Hong Kong and from there I was supposed to fly any other airline. It turned out that if I were to book any other airline, my ticket would have been way cheaper than that it cost me on Air India. Why does this happen, I do not know? But, since DST had agreed to pay me whatever it costs, I didn't have to worry too much. It turned out that even Cathay Pacific is cheaper than Air India.

Most of Air India's international flights now begin from Delhi. New Delhi T-3 has become the hub for Air India's flight operations. Many flights routes have been converted into via Delhi routes. So, although my flight was numbered AI-310, I had to fly to Delhi on a Airbus aircraft (possibly an erstwhile Indian Airlines aircraft used for domestic operations). The Mumbai-Delhi leg was pleasant. The flight took off after a 20 minute delay. However, AI staff announced this well in time, so that we didn't have to keep wondering what happened to the aircraft. AI should retire its Airbus A320 fleet. The aircraft looks aged, the interiors speak volumes of its age. When most aircraft (including AI's new Boeing fleet) are donning white coloured interiors (not seats), the A320 has yellow interiors, which makes the atmosphere seem dull. Anyways, once that's out of the way, I enjoyed the flight, except for the toilets, which were stinking like those on railway stations. The food was good, and most importantly, the flight landed in Delhi 5 minutes before the scheduled time. Delhi-Hong Kong was on AI's new Boeing 777. The interiors were well maintained. The ambiance is way better than the A320, with soothing lighting and spacious seats. The in-flight entertainment system was functioning well, with new headphones kept in the seat-pockets. The movie stock was nice and the music collection, too, was great. The crew was mild mannered and polite. The air hostess in our part of the flight deck was extremely polite and tried to cater to passenger demands with utmost care. The flight took off on time and landed in Hong Kong 20 minutes before its scheduled time of arrival.

After the conference, on my return leg from Hong Kong to Mumbai, it was again time to be served by the Maharaja. This was against the back drop of the news when oil companies had refused to give fuel to AI aircraft, because AI hadn't cleared their bills. My worry was whether we would be able to even take-off from Hong Kong. But, we did take off on time. Here again, the crew was well-dressed, well-groomed, strict, yet polite and mild mannered. At this point, I would like to point towards the behaviour of passengers. Almost everyone in the flight were Indian citizens or persons of Indian origin. A Gujarati family, the moment they entered the flight, started saying "Air India hai, kuch bhi ho sakta hai", on anything that didn't happen as per their desire.  The desire might have been completely impractical or misplaced. E.g. when dinner was delayed due to turbulence, they got agitated and restarted their rhetoric against AI. A kid (hardly 5 years old) of the family told her father that she had been given non-vegetarian food. The father immediately began a rant against the steward without any verification. The steward just looked and said, "Sir vegetarian hi to diya hai, aap khud hi dekh lijiye."  After sometime, another passenger got drunk and began creating nuisance. Because of his nuisance, I couldn't concentrate on my movie. When the steward tried to calm things down, the drunk passenger became more abusive. At this moment, the senior steward stepped in and gave a nice mouth lashing to the passenger, who really deserved it. It also perhaps helped in sobering him down.

For the Delhi-Mumbai leg, we had to change aircraft and we were back into the A320. When boarding in Hong Kong, we were allotted seat numbers on our boarding passes. But when we entered the plane, we were told it is free seating. The saying, "Early bird catches the worm", worked well for me. I was the third person to enter the aircraft and got into the seat that was printed on my boarding card. The later ones faced problems and there was a lot of chaos that led to the flight taking off almost 20 minutes late. Families got separated, those allotted window seats insisted on having one, and those who didn't find a favourable seat walked into the business class as a protest. AI should have managed this better. They should know before hand, what aircraft would be pressed into service. Seat configurations are different even for different A320s. Or else, allot seat numbers only after the aircraft is finalised. This would have helped saved passengers a good 20 minutes apart from the troubles and agitations that they had to face. At Mumbai airport too, the aircraft was not parked at an aero-bridge, but in the parking bay of AI aircraft. This bay, is closer to Kalina side, whereas the airport terminal is at Sahar side (i.e. Andheri side). We were ferried across in a bus.

All in all, it was a mixed experience. The flight performance was good, almost on time everywhere. The crew did behave well, with me at least. Considering the fact that they know the dire straits in which the airline is and that their future is completely dependent on the whims and fancies of certain IAS officers and central government ministers, rather than strategic business decisions. But some mismanagement on the airport side, caused stress to certain passengers. And I didn't have to worry about food. Moreover, the route is inconvenient. Why ferry everyone to Delhi and then take them out of the country? Another flip side is that AI hasn't yet joined Star Alliance, which means passengers are bereft of benefits such as seamless connectivity, accruing travel miles for travelling partner airlines, etc. But so is the case with Jet Airways and Kingfisher, India's other two international airlines. Once this happens, it would be even better flying with India's airlines.

Asia's World City: Part 1

That is how Cathay Pacific calls the Hong Kong state. And indeed, it is a world city. Hong Kong's development and current state traces its roots in the deep water harbour. Hong Kong's location was unique, as it allowed smaller ships and barges from the Pearl river to ferry raw material upto the deep water harbour, from where it would be loaded onto the large ships for further transportation. Thus, being a port, Hong Kong was visited by lots of ships and its crew. Further, being a British territory for a long time, it saw settlements from various British colonies such as undivided India, some parts of the African continent, etc. And as Hong Kong transformed itself into a financial centre of the Asia-Pacific region, it saw further influx of various nationalities from around the world.

Hong Kong's economy is heavily loaded with financial services, followed by tourism. And they have pulled all stops out, to attract tourists to the city. The connect begins even before you have bought a ticket to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has a website in place for you to plan the journey. To start with, they offer free tourist visa on arrival for citizens of various countries. So, you can buy your ticket, take your passport and board the plane and enter Hong Kong in a jiffy. Even at the airport, the HKTB goes all the way to ensure that you get to know about the tourist spots in Hong Kong.

One thing that amazes you about Hong Kong is connectivity. The airport is around 25 km. from down-town, on a separate island. It is connected by Airport Express buses, which can take you to almost any part of Hong Kong and by Hong Kong's famous MTR. In effect, if traffic permits, you are not away from down-town Hong Kong by more than an hour.

If you are a tourist in Hong Kong, Tsim Tsa Shui (pronounced as chim cha sui) is the place to stay. Why? Because it has all sorts of accommodation options, ranging from budget hotels to luxury ones. And because of its proximity to most tourist locations in and around Hong Kong island. Also, staying in Tsim Tsa Sui lets you avoid the office crowd that pours into Hong Kong island. Tsim Tsa Sui also has connectivity to two MTR stations: Tsim Tsa Sui and East Tsim Tsa Sui, which further connect to the outer islands and other tourist locations of the SAR.

Must do in Hong Kong: Take a harbour tour on the Star Ferry to experience the colonial history and activites of Hong Kong. Go to the Avenue of Stars and take a picture along with Bruce Lee, Hong Kong's most famous international superstar. And on a clear night, if there have been no thunderstorm warnings, you can watch the Symphony of Lights show, which involves an orchestra of lights being beamed from more than twelve buildings from Hong Kong bay and Kowloon Island.


I will follow up more details about Hong Kong tourism in the next post.