Sumit Kumar

Life is small for adventures, they say. And the mundane and rather hectic life so far had provided little opportunity for adventures. But then came up a crazy idea and it didn’t take us long before we were on our way – to Sankarpur and Digha, the most popular beaches of West Bengal. Going to a beach  is no adventure of course, but it definitely qualifies as one when you decide to go there cycling – Sankarpur is a cool 115 kms from the IIT Khargapur campus. Some called us crazy while others prayed for our well-being, but the 8 of us set out within one day of coming up with the plan.

We got up campus early in the morning and by the time all of us got ready and left the campus it was 5 AM. Google Maps helped with the route, which was drawn on paper. We had expected to move at around 10-12 km/hr. But following the milestones, I found out that we were covering up each kilometre in around 3 minutes – that is 20 km/hr. But since we were not cycling non-stop, we were not going to make it in 6 hours flat. We took stops for water, tea, glucose etc and once for lunch.

The journey can be divided into 5 major parts:

• Kharagpur-Narayangarh (20 km) – on NH 60 , across the serene villages and fields and a rather mild traffic.

• Narayangarh-Belda (25 km) – NH 60 continues but it is more wider now and it was a real pleasure to pass through it. We covered this stretch pretty fast without feeling much about it.

• Belda-Egra (30 km) - Here we left the NH and passed through some forests and some busy small towns in between. The day was getting hotter, so we had to take a good number of stops here. The road is still quite though. We had our lunch at a fairly good restaurant just before Egra town. The owner was too overwhelmed with 8 IITians cycling upto his place all the way from Kharagpur. He took nice care of us and also helped us with the routes ahead to Sankarpur and Digha.

• Egra-Ramnagar (30 km) – This part of the journey was the most tiresome of the lot. A major part of the road is in very bad shape and we had to absorb shocks all through. It was afternoon by now and the sun didn’t help our cause either.

• Ramnagar-Sankarpur (5 km) – This was the final leg of the journey. We were tired but just kept going on until we reached the beach at 4 PM – The feeling was awesome.

We went to the beach straightaway, with our cycles right into the sea and spent the rest if the evening there. After the dinner we had a good night’s sleep at a hotel very near the beach and then we rammed our cycles right into the water once again in the morning. After spending around two hours in water we found a fishermen’s boat. On our request, they took us deep into the sea.

Around noon, we left for Digha, which is another 12 kms from Shankarpur. While the rest were too tired and spent their time having lunch, I went to the Digha beach as well and chilled myself off. Digha i far more crowded and understandably quite dirty. Contrastingly, Sankarpur was absolutely quiet and clean. As if we had the whole stretch of sand and the sea just for ourselves. We did make the most of it… of course having cycles helped as we could cover the full stretch of the Sankarpur beach, sometimes riding inside the water itself!

All in all, it was an experience for a lifetime. Now we can recount this experience when we come back in one of those Alumni Meets, just like a bunch of alumni of 1984 batch did this time!

Pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/sumitk.iitkgp/SankarpurDighaCycleTrip

For a long time, I have been thinking over the role of spirituality in our lives and have tried to ascertain my own spiritual path. Religion has always occurred to me nothing more than just a way of life, wherein a certain set of rules are followed which might vary from one another. It is not these rules over which I have pondered, but over the ultimate goal which these lead to. Some religious scriptures and leaders might define those set of rules, but not the goal. People following the same religion can have widely different purposes for following it. At the same time, people following different religions can have a similar purpose. In this way, I have always felt that spirituality for a person is not a matter of his or her religion, but very much a matter of his or her own self.

I spent my childhood in Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur, a school which prided itself in following some well-defined religious tenets. We had a half-an hour prayer session every morning and evening. Huge expenditures were made on commemorating the birth anniversaries of the religious leaders with whom the institution is associated. This is just an example of how religion has dominated the minds of people over the ages and over the places. Particularly in a country like India, where there is an overt paucity of basic resources of life for the people, the expenditures carried out in the name of religion are bound to raise questions.

The obvious question kept coming in my mind over the pertinence of these principles. Whom are we trying to satisfy by praying day and night? And through all these ostentations, are we gaining anything as an individual or as a society? At times I really feel sorry for the poor people who don’t have enough resources to get two meals a day still spend some money seeking the blessings of some deities. And raising these questions by no means is a badge of atheism.

All this questions have so far been a part of my quest for divinity. I have realized that irrespective of the path undertaken, the ambition is to attain a certain sense of peace and happiness. And this has to be achieved staying within the realm of all the worldliness. It is neither pragmatic nor logical to go into this quest through asceticism. There are various other responsibilities which need to be taken care of at the same time.

Somewhere inside we all have that glowing light, which has a certain meaning when looked upon with regards to what life is and to what role we are destined to play in this world. We often fail to realize this and go after certain ideals which we believe will lead us to a certain supreme being. It is more rational to seek that supremacy which lies very much within us.

Arvind Adiga’s winning the Booker Prize this year is nothing new to establish the fact that Indians have arrived on the world stage. There have been many others in the past and recent times who through their achievements  in various fields  have already helped establish this fact quite firmly. There have been the  great leaders and the great minds  in the past.  And in recent times  the job has been better done by the more glamorous and colorful ones. Yes, the whole purpose of those “India Parades” in New York City and London is to bring India closer to the western world. Simply put,  to make India “known” to the world.

But what India are they presenting to the world anyway? Yes, that question needs to be delved deeper into – What India? Is India represented by those beautiful actresses and dancers and beauty queens, or by the numerous super-rich CEOs and founders of big corporate houses, or by the wonderful tourist spots which is a big source of foreign exchange? This is where the role of Adiga’s Booker winning novel The White Tiger is so important and so different. Its not just another of those achievenments by another of those Indians over which the fame-starved nation can rejoice and over which Mr Adiga can command all the fanfare and media-publicity.

The importance of his achievement lies in presenting the real India to the world. The India which those living on the streets see. The India which those working as drivers and servants of the big people experience. The India which is being eaten up by those from very within. The India which needs to fight many battles against the enemies which are within its own territories.

When terrorists attack the US, the world changes. 9/11 becomes a worldwide phenomenon, not just American. It has far-reaching impacts worldwide both politically and economically. When London gets bombed on 7 July 2005, the world’s top leaders including the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh present a combined face against these terrorist attacks at the G-8 summit. This was when just two days ago, there had been a terrorist intrusion in the very hallmark of India’s religion – Ayodhya. An incident which largely went unnoticed at the international stage.

Apart from these two incidents, the US and the UK have hardly seen any major terrorist activity in the recent times. During the same period, India has seen umpteen number of terrorist attacks. The attack on the Parliament was within 3 months of the New York attacks. Attack on the Akshardham temple. Serial blasts in Mumbai local trains. Every major city has been through the wrath and hatred of terrorists – Hyderabad, Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi and many others. And now the lowest of all the lows – terrorist attacks inside the top hotels of Mumbai. Beyond doubt one of the biggest blobs in the face of the Indian intelligentsia (if one exists at all) and of course in the face of the government.

Whatever the roots of these terrorist acts be, the striking dissimilitude between the attacks in India and those in the US or the UK has been the failure of India to garner international support in its favor. When the US was attacked, it projected its “War Against Terrorism” as if it was liberating the whole world from the clutches of terrorism. How much they succeeded, is altogether a different question to answer but the attack on the US suddenly began to be perceived as an attack on the whole world. While presenting a unified stand against terrorism is all right, it was by and large a problem of the US. Why did the whole world have to change because of it? Was it that the world woke up to terrorism only after the New York and London attacks? What about the numerous terrorist activities which have been going on ever since in India? While the London subway bombings became a worldwide issue, what amount of attention was paid to the series of blasts in the Mumbai local trains which had left dead many more people than London?

It is true that the Indian intelligentsia has never succeeded in presaging such attacks, which is just baffling because such organized attacks are never possible without the involvement and support of the locals. But the handling of the aftermath of these incidents has been even more listless and sluggish. Who really cares for these ghastly acts of inhumanity? The Home Minister is busy flaunting his apparels and the only justification of his being on this post remains his allegiance to Sonia Gandhi. All the other leaders are trying to gain the maximum political mileage. The news channels consider a bigger achievement in bringing those “live pictures to your home” than anything else. That the pictures are of streets and building burning and the civilians dying isn’t a concern for them.

The police and the army try their best no doubt, but even their hands are tied by the rigid bureaucracy above. And sometimes when they do succeed in finishing off these criminals, they are condemned with dealing with them in an “inhuman” way. As if the killings of hundreds of people by these terrorists was not inhuman enough. The perpetrators of the crime are rarely caught and even when they are, they are hardly put to justice. Not just because the system of justice is slow in India, but mainly because the government is unable to take a tough stand. It fears that bringing tough laws against terrorists would project them as “anti-secular”. That these terrorists are responsible for such heinous acts is not a matter of solicitude. Since these terrorists are Muslims, politicians fear losing the Muslim vote-bank if tough actions are taken against them. Ridiculous to say the least.

At the end of it all who are the sufferers? None, but the common man. Not the politicians, not the bureaucrats and not the religious leaders. They will keep on delivering their sermons and in way further perpetuating these crimes. But the one who will keep dying in the streets, markets and trains would be none but the common man.

Here I present a collection of what I believe are some of the best photographs I have taken.

1. Royal Bengal Tiger

Staring right at you, indeed it is Royal! Not far from the hubbub of Bangalore, you can find it relaxing in the serenity of the Banerghetta National Park.

2. New York City at night

The city that never sleeps – and literally that! The almost panoramic view of the city. Taken from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, the tallest building in the city (after the ill-fated Twin Towers were felled of course). The ornamented Chrysler Building, the MetLife Building and the the illuminated Manhattan Bridge at the distance can all be seen.

3.Daulatabad Fort

A perfect silhouette. A gate in the hill-fortress of Devgiri. The center of power of Deccan and famous for the capricious Muhammad bin Tughluq shifting his capital here. (He was the one who changed the name from Devgiri to Daulatabad.)

4. The carriers of peace

They symbolize peace and the court ensures that peace prevails. What better place than this for these pigeons to congregate – the lawns of the Karnataka High Court, located in the heart of Cubbon Park, Bangalore.

5. The White House

The South portico of the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. I would better refer to it as just the most famous of the numerous gigantic and astounding white buildings – most of them are the places where some of the most important policies which influence the whole world are decided. The rest are some very famous museums. All within a 2 km vicinity.

6. Khandala

The famous hill station in the Western Ghats. A perfect chill-out place, located the right in between the two big cities – Mumbai and Pune. At the right is the expressway connecting the two cities.

7. My School Days!

Yes they were the fun days! Undoubtedly one of the best places to be for your childhood – Narendrapur. Shivananda Bhavan – this was the hostel where I lived during class 8. The picturesque view from across the lake in front of the hostel.

8. Brooklyn Bridge

The majestic bridge that connects Manhattan with Brooklyn. This pic was taken from just beneath the bridge – in a cruise in the river. In the background is the series of sky-scrapers that define the Manhattan skyline.

9. Nandi Hills

The awesome view from atop the Nandi Hills, a popular hill station, 60 km north of Bangalore. The place used to be the summer resort of Tipu Sultan.

10. Birds at Central Park

A convenient oasis for New Yorkers escaping from their skyscrapers – The Central Park. Also well-known globally after its appearance in many movies and television shows, making it one of the most famous city parks in the world. Early morning is the time when birds of various species throng the place as seen here.

11. The Blue Beluga

Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta – world’s largest aquarium. And one of its prize collections – the Beluga whale, a sub-Arctic species. This is one of the five belugas that the aquarium has.

12. The peeping sun

A warm afternoon and a clear sky. An the vegetation at its best, forcing the sun to peep from behind. At the Lalbagh, Bangalore.

What was supposed to be a hassle free straight journey turned to out be a nightmare. I had booked tickets well in advance to ensure the shortest and most comfortable route. It was as simple as Charlotte-Philadelphia-Frankfurt-Kolkata. As I set off according to my plans, I came to know at the airport that the Philadelphia flight had been canceled. The US Airways agent tried hard to get me to Philadelphia and all she could manage was to get me into a flight to Washington which was taking off in 10 minutes. I somehow checked in my luggage and got through security check and kept running across the airport right inside the plane and it took off just as I took my seat! The next connecting flight to Philadelphia took just another 45 minutes. And as per my schedule, I was on time for the Frankfurt flight.

Getting one flight canceled in a journey is an unfortunate thing enough to happen. But just imagine your plight when you get to know that after all the running because of the earlier flight getting canceled, the next flight, this time an international one is going to be canceled too. Never thought that these big airlines also had to suffer through the strikes by their employees. But Lufthansa’s reputation of one of the best service providers in the world is going to suffer a serious jolt now after this. The US Airways people at Philadelphia didn’t allow me to board the Frankfurt flight – the reason being given that I didn’t have the German VISA and in case my flight from Frankfurt to Kolkata gets canceled, I could not stay for long in Germany. They said that the best they could offer was to re-route my journey. After a lot of searching, finally they could manage seats for me in the Philadelphia-London US Airways flight and the London-Kolkata British Airways flight.

Everything went off fine hence, except for the fact that when I reached Kolkata, I could not locate my luggage. Although it had been re-routed along with me, perhaps it might have gone somewhere else, Frankfurt probably. Filing a complaint was all I could do then and leave for Kgp. Hadn’t it been for the luggage drama, I would have managed to take Ispat Express to Kgp. But that was not to be. Then I found a new train called Digha Express standing at the platform and the wretched ticket issuing guy told me that it would go via Kgp. So I took the train. But when I crossed Mecheda, I found that we were moving on a rather unfamiliar route. It was then I realised that the train was going to Digha and that was not via Kgp. I jumped down at the next stoppage, a station called Tamluk. From there I walked down the street to the local bus stop. Well, then I was thinking that perhaps it was good that I didn’t have my 50 kgs of luggage with me! I took a bus back to Mecheda station and after waiting there for abot two hours, I finally got a local train to Kgp. When I reacjed Kgp, I was well over 15 hours behind my actual schedule.

P.S. Today, the next day after my arrival, I got a call from British Airways that my baggage has arrived at the Kolkata airport and they are going to deliver it to me in Kgp tomorrow.

After one month in the US, I realised that the two people who taken the most care of mine have been two Indian professors in the Mechanical Engg. Deptt here – Dr Kingshuk Bose and Dr Harish Cherukuri. They have kept track of each of my activities and have taken utmost pains to ensure that my stay here is the best in every possible manner. Today we invited them at our place for lunch. They never expected the food to be delectable – it was supposed to be more of an informal get together away from the hassles of the daily work in the department. But they ended up enjoying the pulao and chicken I cooked a lot. They brought a big cake with them which supposedly is going to last over the week and more importantly I now have an invitation at Dr Bose’s home this weekend.

Dr Bose, myself and Dr Cherukuri

Dr Bose is an IIT Kgp alumnus. Interestingly he was also the Hall President of Azad Hall during his stay there. He recounted his days of ragging, election campaigning and Disciplinary Committees he had to sit through. Not to forget the fierce rivalry among the Halls that has existed all through. All in all it was a memorable experience hosting them.