The last week has been a wonderful reveletion with regard to cutting edge technology in the fields of power quality and AC motor drives. 20th and 21st December saw the presence of the lovable, good natured Prof.Ned Mohan, the author of the bible for every power electronics student and a foremost innovator in the field of power electronic converters. 26th and 27th December saw the presence of the soft spoken, quiet Prof. F. Rahman who is a leading exponent on AC motor drives.
The workshop on Power Quality was a beauty because Prof. Mohan was ever so eloquent in his explanation of the various converters that are in use, the 'fundas' behind every one of them, and the best part was, he taught as if he were teaching a baby. Even 'elementary' doubts were answered and commented upon in such a way that the questioner felt that he/she was being praised for such a line of reasoning.
The other workshop on drives was literally a climb up Mt. Everest. Infact, the beauty of this workshop can be explained by saying that it was a journey to the centre of the 'DRIVES' earth. Observe this my fellow bloggers, whether you are an Icarus or an outlaw, this workshop was equally challenging.
Ah, before you think that this is going to be 'roses roses all the way and not a thorn in sight', let me assure you that since this is India, such expectations are not allowed. Mobile phones blaring away, constant opening and closing of the door, people entering and exiting, (yours truly included, but out of compulsion not out of will because I was a volunteer) were all part of the show. The attitude of some of the 'top-notchers' among the set of students here was also equally disgusting.
1. The feeling that they were beyond all work that required them to 'get their hands dirty', so to use the term. What I mean is, they were there to share credit, but when such work arose where there was some potential to draw flak, these luminaries were never to be seen, or at best, they used to 'delegate' responsibility.
2. Criticising (not constructively) some of the presentations.
3. Washing their hands off any further responsibilities once the participants had registered and had paid their fee. Specially irritating was the final comment that I heard today from the mouths of these luinaries, when some participants asked for a separate receipt for their accomodation charges, "Chalta hai yaar, ab to nahin hoga. Dekhte hain"...
My take on the issue is that these big headed luminaries exhibit such behaviour because they have a few publications or patents in their name. They are more concerned about getting things off to a start and not completing it thoroughly (unless its their own work); whereas it is ironically many fellas like me (whose research is being roasted in the fires of Mordor who need the supporting shoulders of time) who take up the job of a finisher, a la Michael Bevan. And everyone knows where Bevan ended up finally.
Ultimately I refuse to see the negative side of things. My reseach may go down the drain, I may fail my M.Tech, but I will be a good human being, a good team-man. As Varakavi Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre, (popularly known by his pen name Ambikatanayadatta) said in one of his poems "Yenadaru Sariye, Modalu Manava Nagu" (trans: Be what you wanna be, but be a human first)...............................................................................................................................................................
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FUCK SELF-SERVING SOCIALLY INSENSITIVE RESEARCH
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