IITBHF and IITBAA (http://www.iitbombay.org)

At the gates of glory

By Bijoy Venugopal

Excerpts from article - the full text is in copies of India Abroad on the newsstand.

Bijoy Venugopal catches up with the toppers of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay for a taste of the life they leave behind and a peek at the road ahead.

The seven Indian Institutes of Technology - at Delhi, Chennal, Mumbai, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Guwahati and Roorkee - produce thousands of graduates each year. Their annual convocations are rites of passage for the brightest, most promising minds, picked on merit through a keenly contested nationwide entrance test. Only the keenest survive the grueling academic regimen. For four, sometimes five years, undergraduates are immersed in demanding courses packed with lectures, theory, practical assignments and internships. The end of the sheltered campus life marks their transit to the real world, where their skills as engineers and scientists are in demand. Many who go to universities in the US and Europe for higher studies often stay on, tempted by the opportunities.

As the lIT Bombay campus readied for its 42nd Convocation August 6, India Abroad trailed the toppers for a taste of their ambition, a look into the life they leave behind, and a peek at the road ahead.

Rains, trains and engineers

The monsoon, which has stranded trains and flooded roads elsewhere, seems a welcome guest on the leafy campus in Powai, suburban Mumbai, which is several degrees cooler than the city. The adjoining Vihar Lake, whose water nourishes the metropolis, is swollen and shimmering.

Anish Das Sarma has just arrived from Bangalore to attend the convocation the next day and could not have asked for a more fitting welcome. A warmer one awaits him inside Hostel 3. His friends hoist the lanky 21- year-old in the air by his arms and legs and gently kick his behind "bumps," an honor reserved for birthdays. "It’s really sad to leave after four years," he says.

It is easy to look past Anish in a crowd. His quiet, brooding demeanor transforms when he smiles, revealing a sharp, ready wit. He’s no pushover - far from it. Linger around him for a while and you begin to sense a hero.

Here’s why. Anish completed his computer science graduate program with a cumulative point average that reads like an Olympic gymnastics score - 9.8 out of 10 – and represented his hostel in table tennis and chess. He also plays tabla and keyboards for the hostel music group. His all-round achievement won him the Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal for general proficiency, named after the late Indian president. He is now headed for Stanford to pursue opportunities in research.

Friends would envy him if they could. Instead, he inspires admiration and affection. "A lot of people would owe their grades to Anish," says hostel-mate Anshul Acharya. "We’re really proud of him," says Devadatta Gangal. "I used to sit in his room till 3 am, asking him yeh padhao, woh padhao (teach me this, teach me that)." "He’s the most helpful guy in this hostel, even if you knock on his door at three in the morning," says Himanshu Nema.

...

Looking ahead

August 6, Anish received his gold medal from Reliance Industries Chairman and Stanford alumnus Mukesh Ambani, chief guest at the convocation.

"A lot of people say they want to come back to India and work for the country and end up staying on in the US, so I can’t give you in writing what I will do," Anish says, adding that he hopes to return to India and join the faculty at any of the IlTs or the Indian Institutes of Science.

"Teaching is like an extended student life," he muses, "and I have always loved the student life - staying on campus, interacting with students and doing what you like."

The hard road to the top

Navneet Loiwal flew down to Mumbai from San Francisco where he works with Internet search major Google to lead his graduating batch through the pledge of responsibility.
"To receive this medal you have to be Rank 1 in your batch," says the computer science graduate who was awarded the President’s Gold Medal, the highest student honor. "That requires constant work. I have been working at it the last four years. Navneet, who turned 22 last month, attended the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, Jaipur, where he was a topper all the way. In 2000, he won the gold medal in the International Physics Olympiad in Leicestshire, Britain.

"My first two years at IIT were my most active,", he says, a smile dimpling his cheeks. "I danced on stage, I sang, I did dramatics. The third and fourth uears were concentrated on academics."

Like all IITians, Navneet will miss the hostel life and the vibrant positive energy "But it will be in India," he says with of lIT Bombay. But he looks forward to the winsome smile.

"I find the Google work culture fantastic and the people extremely talented. It’s a treat to work with them," says the topper, who is now deployed in Bangalore with office manager Krishna Bharat (India Abroad Magazine, December 27, 2002).

"One of India’s biggest challenges is keeping people back [in India] to start companies here," he reflects. "People do start companies but that happens in Silicon Valley, or people go to companies that have been started there."

In about ten years, Navneet hopes to start a company that "will be just as popular as Google with that many people."

"But it will be in India," he says with a winsome smile.

Optimism, the key to success

"I know at least ten friends here who deserve this medal," says Amol Subhash Gogate, holding up his newly won Institi Gold Medal. "If I were to rate them would rate them higher. This gold medal for all of them."

Amol, who was born in Aurungabad in Maharashtra, took part in dramatics and debating, and played football during his five years at IIT Bombay. He reported for the campus newspaper and started a radio station. He headed the student mentor program, which identifies student problems and provides peer counseling.

"India’s challenges are many,", says the soft-spoken graduate of the B Tech (Mechanical) dual degree program, who now works in Mumbai with McKinsey. "To face them we need optimism, as opposed to cynicism."

To Mom, with love

Behind every successful young man is a hand that rocked his cradile. Both toppers fondly dedicated their gold medals to their mothers. "I feel proud to be his ma," says Madhu Loiwal, tenderly kissing Navneet’s cheek. "He is gifted and blessed. God is with him." "It’s the greatest day of my life," says her husband Rajeev, embracing his son. As torrential rains in Mumbai stopped trains, the Loiwals jetted from Jaipur to watch Navuect sweep top honors. "In Jaipur we are known more as Navneet’s father and mother," he says. "People call him the pride of Rajasthan."

Pramila and Subhash Gogate flew down from Aurangabad to be with Amol during his moment of pride. "The standard of education in a small town like Aurangabad is different, as is the competition level," says Gogate, an engineer with Johnson & Johnson, alluding to the notion that students from big cities and reputed institutes make it big. "What he achieved in adverse circumstances is the lesson others must look to learn."

"I have seen his efforts over the last five years, and I feel he deserves the medal," says Pramila, a nutritionist. Always a bright kid, Amol was shy and withdrawn until he joined the National Cadet Corps, recalls his father. "NCC gave him self-confidence," he says, adding that Amol rose to become the best cadet in Maharashtra State.

"We are proud we can take our problems to him," adds his mother, fighting back tears of joy. "He is mature enough to give us guidance."

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