Editors Desk

8Bit

Editors Desk
Hello and welcome to the third issue of 8Bit!
It seems like just yesterday that I was enjoying my summer vacation and
yet one month of college has passed by so fast (though life at IIITB is something one falls into sync with just as swiftly). However, in this speedy, expiditious ride were on at college, our one constants are, of course, our professors. As William Arthur Ward said, The mediocre teacher tells. The good
teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. None of our professors fall short of this definition of greateness.
In this internet age of information where education is but a click away, the role
of the teacher needs recognition and acknowledgement and not mere sycophancy. This edition of 8Bit features Teachers Day as its theme. It seemed only fitting that our first Septmber release be dedictaed to teachers, as we celebrate the
127th birth anniversary of our countrys very own Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the great teacher, academic philosopher and Indias Second President.
Keeping in mind the theme of this issue, weve featured recollections of a
few of our professors fond memories of their teachers. The cover story is
a view and counter view on Face-to-face vs Online Instruction. Prof Balaji Parthasarathy proved to be a brilliant speaker both in as well as out of
class. Weve included snippets of a wonderful interview with him. Our chosen alumni of the month are Harsha K and Bharath Palavalli of Fields of View,
a startup incubated in IIIT-B, who talk to us about their entrpreneural lives.
Campus Buzz certainly reflects all the happenings of our college starting with the two batches of freshers and going up to our newly elected SAC
members! Weve also included phtographs of several events that took place
in college including Independence Day celebrations and Onam celebrations.
Creative Crossroads features a short story on the city of Kolkata, an open letter
from the 8Bit magazine team to the almight trio morning, afternoon and night,
two poems one on love and one on a broken promise. On a lighter note weve
featured some content to tickle your side. Kudos to IIIT-Bs comic club whose
comic strips could possibly the colleges most original work produced to date!

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8Bit

For all our freshers, new to the wonderful city of Bangalore, Whats Trending inludes a review on a popular multiplex not too far off from college and
also a restaurant review on Electronic Citys Zero Mile Punjab restaurant and
Citrus Cafe. For our techies and geeks weve put in a review of the upcoming iOS 9. Movie buffs wont be disappointed as well! We have two movie reviews, one on Frequency (2000) and the other on Jupiter Ascending (2105).
Read on to know which one to watch and which one to never ever download.
On a closing note Id like to thank Trisha Mittal for setting into motion the idea that has become this brilliant magazine, for two wonderful issues and for giving me the incredible opportunity of being its editor.
To all our professors, a very happy Teachers Day! Thank you for everything.
To all our readers, I hope you enjoy this issue!
Until next time,
Ankita Victor
Editor

Editors Desk

8Bit

From The Ex Editor

Just after holding the first meeting for this issue of the magazine, when all had left,
Ankita asked me, Would you like to contribute a piece for the magazine, maybe as
the ex-editor? I realised how the roles had reversed. Usually it would have been me
asking her for articles for 8Bit! Perhaps this was the natural progression of life. Nevertheless, I liked the idea of writing something as the ex-editor and hence here it goes.
Towards the end of this semester break (July) at home, when I finally had to decide the future of 8Bit, I was surrounded by so many thoughts. Had the magazine
even after two issues garnered adequate attention among the students, faculty and
staff of the college? Had it become a predominant part of the campus life? Though
a part of my mind said it was too early, the magazine being just a semester old, I
still wondered how long that could be used as an excuse. At the same time, the
future of the magazine depended on how the junior batches would take it forward
and I thought it was time for editorship of the magazine to be passed on to them.
Like any other mother, my mother too sensed there was something bothering me
and I was just not my usual self. Finally, after hovering around for quite some time,
the next day at the lunch table she said, Trisha, I think this whole passing the editorship to the junior batch is giving you separation anxiety, stop worrying about it..!
This is what I did - I cut her off mid sentence and told her that she was over thinking things and that I was really fine. To prove my point, I even took an extra helping of rice to keep her from complaining that I never eat enough! To satisfy her
completely I even went shopping (something that I absolutely hate) with her!
But the moment I was back, I could not stop thinking about what she had said
earlier. Separation anxiety. Was it true? I had been so attached to the magazine last semester that publishing and releasing the two issues never felt like
a TASK. No doubt, it had its own share of ups and downs, moments of frustrations and excitements, fights and dilemmas, but all in all it was a great experience. And, we have indeed come a long way. I still remember the day, when I
first sent a mail to SAC on starting the magazine. I still had second thoughts of
whether this would be a good idea or if it would turn into a disaster. And then
I remembered this convocation, when Director Sir mentioned the magazine as a
part of the Annual Report. There is undeniably a lot more that 8Bit can achieve,
but the baby steps that8 Bit has taken till now are definitely in the right direction.

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but the baby steps that8 Bit has taken till now are definitely in the right direction.
The success of the magazine has been purely a result of a great teamwork. SAC 2014, the
faculty and the 8Bit team have all put in a lot of time and efforts into releasing the last
two issues. The magazine would definitely not have been possible without their help.
I hope that this support continues and grows with every new issue of the magazine.
I have always looked up to my schools and my teachers with a lot of pride and respect. They have made me the person I am today. I know once I graduate from IIITB I will always be thankful to this institution. I still remember my orientation day in
college two years back, when Prof Sadagopan was talking about how we should work
hard and someday give something back to college . I will continue to do so, but I
think starting this magazine was the beginning of my small contribution to IIIT-B.
I hope that 8Bit continues to enthrall its readers, gathers more attention over
time and have even more powerful and strong editors in the time to come. Wishing all the best to all the editors from here on, this is Trisha Mittal signing off.

Cover Story

8-Bit

Cover Story

Face-to-face vs online instruction is a popular debate of the day. With ever improving

online resources and ever increasing efforts to provide the best college education its
hard to take a single side. Here is our take on both sides of the fence. Writing for faceto-face instruction is Ved Kurien Mathai and for online teaching is Mounika Neerukonda.
Many of us may dread the holy trinity of structured studies, classroom learning and
books and look for the new myriad deities out there available in the form of MOOCs
(Mass Open Online Courses like edX and Coursera), YouTube videos and HowTos,
just because they are hip, out there and in. The idiomatic arguments we make in their
defense are, we can study at our own time, we get to do courses from Stanford, MIT
and the likes, all at the same time, we dont have to study stuff we dont have to or want
to. But the question is are they to be seen just as vitamins, to be taken as supplements
or are they the real sabzi, roti and dal? Can they be thought of as the future of learning?
Like all good P vs NP debates, this one being no exception, there are winning arguments on both sides, with everyone tending towards one way or the other in
the end, but with no real conviction. Yet, for the sake of good discussion I shall
stand biased on the side of the vitamins arguments. (Mind you the arguments here
dont extend to things one would want to learn for a hobby, like cooking, knitting,
and tying shoelaces, but to traditionally academic things like computer science
and engineering. Unless, of course, if tying shoelaces is your thing, then go for it.)

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For structure, lets take the holy trinity, one at a time.

Structured Studies. Andrew Ng is nothing less of a God in some circles (google him if
you dont know). Thousands sing in praises of his machine learning course. He may
be the best and you may have started a company based only on what you learned in
his lectures. Fine. Good for you, I will give you that. But, the point is, if just 48 hours
of video can make you a millionaire, then what are the other Bachelors, Masters
and PhD people doing, slogging it off for 9-10 years? Surely not just twiddling their
thumbs. Obviously, becoming a millionaire precludes standing out in the crowd, and
you wouldnt standing out if you and the entire crowd have watched only Andrew
Ng. (Unless, your argument is amongst the whole crowd only you understood him.
But, thats a different story altogether.) Okay, so you say you will watch all the videos
possible on all Courera and edX, and not to mention YouTube. Simple math will
show youd be eighty and too old to do anything by the time you finish. So, you say, I
wont watch all the videos, just some. I ask, Which ones? And thats the debate precisely. How do you know what and what not to study, unless you have some guiding
hand telling you what? And this is where traditional structured courses like Bachelors and Masters, and even PhDs come in. The structure guides you onto things you
wouldnt have otherwise realized existed before: you know machine learning now,
but tomorrow you want to implement learning on a network, say. You cant be sitting
and watching 50 hours of video when your deadline is 24 hours away. Taking up that
course in college, regardless of how you did, will definitely save you effort later in life.
Classrooms and Exams. Every classroom has atleast one person whod seem to lose
the ability to breathe if he or she doesnt raise a hand, everytime the teacher asks,
Any questions? Regardless of how much you want to punch him or throttle her,
you cannot deny that at least 40% of the time youd had the same doubt as them and
were too scared to ask. So the question is can MOOCs really recreate that paradigm
with their online forums and such similar things? Even if they can, there is something lost in the lack of the immediateness that one would otherwise get from a
spoken response with hand gestures and body movements and colloqiual exchange
of dialogue. The flipside, however, is we wouldnt be able to pause a lecture inorder
to check our Facebook wall when our brains get tired, like how wed do while watching lectures on YouTube. It is argueable that that is a very important deficit, no?
In the definition of exams one would tend to use the word evil. But then they are some
who say would prefer to prefix them necessary, as in necessary evils. The argument is
simple. You studied ML on Coursera. You say you know it? I believe you, your mother believes you, maybe the guy who interviews you will bother asking you questions and youll
convince him. But what if he doesnod luck explaining to him what proctored tests are.

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And finally, books. Though itd seem counter-intuitive, there are only so many
things a person can cover in a video. He can try to explain his heart out, but he
will not be able to faithfully recreate things that can so succinctly be written in
a line or two. Yes, you may joke, that a thousand page book makes better table
support or arm weights. But, the truth is no part of your 5GB collection of videos will faithfully recreate those 1000 pages of a carefully written, pruned and
edited book. And when I say this I am refering to the million degree furnace of
the editing process that the book goes through before being published. Video lectures and online material dont go through even a fraction of that degree.
If you thought trial by combat was bad, you dont know any editors personally.
So, the bottom line is sure, MOOCs, YouTube and all the HowTos of the world
may be the new cool kids on the block. But in the long run are they good enough
to replace your grandfather, and his dusty, mouldy library with a thousand years of
wisdom? Are they the sabzi, or the vitamins? By my count they are the vitamins.
-Ved

Can alternative energy replace fossil fuels? Is sexual orientation determined at

birth? Should euthanasia be legal? Dont stress yourself too much by wondering
how they are all related. These are all conventional debate topics which have managed to remain in mans arena of interest for over a decade now. And this article that
you have decided to read has been written on one such conventional debate topic
whether or not online education is better than the traditional method of teaching.
I have decided to place my arguments in favour of online education simply because I believe that it has well justified potential (especially given the advances of
high definition video conferencing) to completely take over the traditional faceto-face interaction in the near future. The skyrocketing costs of college tuition is
the number one reason. With fees soaring every academic year and students questioning their genuine interest in their course, isnt it fair to ask is it worth it?

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Even though there is the option of a student loan, none of us would like being
saddled with a six figure debt upon graduating, a debt which promises to stick
for quite a while! And if you are a middle-aged employee, you probably will
not want to take the risk. It is true in every spirit that learning can never be
too late, but can one really afford a huge loan for a degree that will add only incrementally to your earning potential through the rest of your life as an employee (or employer)? Can you recover all that interest? It seems unlikely!

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Maybe an answer to this problem could lie in the better embracement of online education. With online education, you have access to the best and most
unique material from the worlds best scholars. And thats not it! You have a
choice. You can choose. You can choose who is going to teach you, what they
will teach you and when they will teach you. Such flexibility is something that
cant be found in a typical college and this is what makes distance learning more
valuable. In an online environment, you can find the finest lecturer and absorb and learn at your own pace. And as long as you have a connection to the
internet, you can do it for free (not considering internet charges of course).
There is also this major concern about self discipline. Yes, internet has its downsides and serves as a great distraction but if you are hell bent on learning something, why would you even think of being distracted? In fact, there lies the whole
point. When you are doing something you enjoy you wont have the urge to constantly seek distraction. In online education, you choose that course you want,
which means that you enjoy learning it and hence discipline is bound to follow
Online colleges have existed for decades. But they dont always have to be the forprofit universities. Were talking about an atmosphere of free learning from the
best available lecturers. For instance, there is the Khan Academy. How many of
us have turned to him when a concept taught in class was eating at our brain cells
and prayed that somehow, miraculously Sal Khan was our professor? And the fact
that it is a not-for-profit organisation with the goal of providing a free and world
class education to anyone, anywhere makes this all the more better and powerful.
The only downside of an online education, that I can think of, is the absence of
an accredited degree. In many cases, this becomes a core problem as employers
do not typically accept course credits over an actual degree.But I dont think this
should be reason enough to reject a promising candidate, especially in todays world
scenario. Just because you did not pay tuition doesnt mean that you are any less
talented. And practically speaking, once you have been in the work environment
for longer than a year, it doesnt really matter where you got your degree from.
With easy access to top quality lecturers online and in some cases even being able
to interact through two way video connections, what difference does a degree make
any longer, as long you are imbibing knowledge.
- Mounika

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A couple of decades down the line, when we will look

back to our college days, apart from countless friends,
shady hangouts, first loves and silly nicknames, we
will remember those handful gems - our teachers who gave meaning or direction to our academic
lives. We interviewed some of our professors to find out
what their fondest memories were of their teachers.

Chandrashekhar Ramanathan
Thanks for triggering fond memories of my teachers! But picking a special
teacher from 23 years of my life as a student is going to be tough! From my
school days I remember Vallabhacharya sir demystifying algebra; Srinivasulu sir for delightful Telugu Vemana poetry, some of which I still remember.
There was Sambamurthy sir during my under graduation who made physics
thoroughly enjoyable. In my post graduation, professors P. S. Rao and M. P.
Reddy, whom we students referred to as 'Emp Reddy'. I shall ever be thankful to them for introducing to me, databases and Julia Hodges for helping me
remain sane during the toughest and most grueling times of my doctorate.

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8-Bit

Meenakshi DSouza
One of my fondest memories is when two of the faculty members came and
gave me a call for applications for PhD fellowships and asked me to apply for
it in theoretical computer science. I think that was the turning point of my life
during my MSc. With all the digital learning that is happening, I personally
feel that there is nothing like one to one interaction between a professor and
a student and a conversation while teaching, which does not happen through
these online courses. A lot of teaching is done through interaction. I think it
helps everybody a lot; professors get to learn and the students also benefit.

Srisha Rao
Two very good professors, Prof Sukumar Ghosh and Prof Ted Herman at the University of Iowa taught me that it is important to be a
good human being not just a good professor. They were outstanding scientists, outstanding teachers and even better human beings
and I think that is probably the greatest lesson I learned from them

Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti

I have three people; one is my Hindi teacher, Bharathi madam, when I was in
the fifth or sixth class. She used to break out of syllabus and give us projects
which allowed us to explore our creativity. One project she had given was writing a short story. The other was the 1987 World Cup. It was called the Reliance Cup at the time, and we were asked to make a documentary on it. That
was one of my initial experiences of doing serious drawing which would be
used by someone else for reading or illustrating something else. This made me
feel that what I learned or am going to learn will be useful to somebody else.
Then there was Krishnamurthi madam in tenth class. She taught English and
she too would go beyond the syllabus. There were some more serious books
that she would go out of her way to issue for us because we were very interested and really wanted to read more. Girls used to be quite shy and did
not like to come out. The way she encouraged them was inspiring and motivating. Then my MTech guide, Prof H.K.Verma in IIT Roorkee was also of
the inspirational sort. He was one of those rare people who left a high paying job and became a professor out of love for teaching. He was a wonderful teacher. All my experiences with my teachers have been life changing.

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G. N. Srinivasa Prasanna
I remember one of my mathematics teachers, Prof K. Venkatachalaiengar, tried
to explain the concept of a derivative. After many attempts, I remained mystified - how can you divide zero by zero? Finally, in exasperation, he said, Look,
0/0 can have a value! This did clear a lot of my confusion. Another time, he
was explaining something about advanced complex analysis (Riemann Surfaces), of which I never understood anything. I kept making mistakes. Finally
he once wrote to me, I hope you understand. He is actually my grandfather.
My IIT Kanpur professor, I remember was trying to explain DC coupled amplifiers, and the offset voltage was a problem to be solved. Once we were in class
someone asked him, Why dont you make a DC coupled amplifier by putting a
capacitor, then the offset will go away? He (professor) said, After all this! Is this
all that you get after so much explanation from my side that you cannot make a
DC coupled amplifier with a capacitor in the middle. You will get a 3dB point!
Interviewed by
-Janaki Joshi

Creative Crossroads

A Two Day Crush (True Story!)

She came into the classroom like a breeze

I was busy playing flash cricket with ease
That day I was sitting in last bench
And she was sitting in front of me speaking, god knows, French?
She was dressed up in purple and black,
But it was her childish face that did the knack.
Being a shy guy I didnt know how to react,
Oh God ! Her hair still intact
I prayed and left things to God,
Maybe she was the one odd!
Next day the miracle just happened,
We both came late and I was stunned.
I sat and her friend sat beside me,
I wondered what she really was like,
After break they exchanged their place,
At the time you should have looked my face!
I just looked at her from the corner of my eye,
And she was busy staring on the board. Oh my!
I looked for a window of opportunity,
But she was writing like a printer, very busy.
And I kept thinking, What to say?
Suddenly she spoke. Whats that written on left board block?

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Oh my! What a soft voice!

I turned my book towards her as I had no choice!
Then after the small talk we exchanged numbers,
But I had nothing to say about her.
At night I got impatient and thought of texting,
Then I thought ,Wheres she going?
Next day, I approached her friend,
To ask,Can I take this to some end?
Her friend said, Dont get too excited!
The girl you have crush on is already committed!
Hearing this I became sad
And thought A two day crush! Wow! Thats not bad!
Abhinav Shrivastava

Kolkata- A Collage of Hope and Despair

This city is a quaint mix of good and inequity, love and hate, fairness and
injustice. The following instances (inspired by true incidents) testify my
conviction.

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8Bit

Scene I
This is probably one of the last few days that Mr. Bose will be treading on this busy
route. Tomorrow, or the day after, he will be taking his retirement and will fly off to
his son in New York. The face of his charming granddaughter flashes in his mind.
He cant help but smile at the thought of seeing her again. He can hardly wait.
Suddenly, he feels a pain in his chest. His feet go numb; his office is just a
few steps away, but he cannot stand. He stumbles down. He shouts for help
but no sound comes out. Nobody seems to have noticed that a full grown
man is lying face down on the road. He tastes blood spilling out through
his nose and mouth. From the corner of his eye he can see a lady taking her daughter to school. The little girl looks exactly like Piyali. Or
does she? He cant tell. His vision is blurred. He feels cold. Maybe he is in
New York! The sun starts to set. Wow! Time really flies, he thinks. As Mr.
Bose and his surroundings get immersed in darkness, he suddenly realizes that the stars will never shine and the moon will never come out

Scene II
Ah, the signal has turned red. Little Sonus brothers and sisters hurry in different directions, all of them wanting to reach the richest looking car first. Sonu
hurries as fast as his four years old legs can carry him. He presses his face against
the window glass and performs the gesture that Anil Bhai has taught him- bring
your right hand towards your mouth and spread out your left hand. He doesnt
know what it means but he knows that hes in luck if the window gets lowered
Sonu looks inside at the lady in the car. She looks like an angel from the
heaven. Sonu looks up at her eyes and halts. Her eyes appear to shine,
and subsequently, two drops of diamonds seem to roll down her cheeks.
And then, the window gets lowered
P.S. Sonu was adopted by a well-to-do childless couple. He pursues education
and says that the most memorable day in his life is the day he met his mom

Scene III
Ah, theres my brother, she breathes a sigh of relief. She gets up on the

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carrier of the cycle and the two make small talk. Her brother grumbles as
they enter the dark road without any streetlights. She grips the seat tightly
and suddenly, a wave of panic washes over her. A bunch of hooligans are
blocking the road. They stink of scum and rum. She feels nauseous. They
taunt her and her brother. Everything seems to happen too fast. One member of the gang pours wine all over her. She feels enraged and helpless
at the same time. Her brother protests. They pin him to the ground and
beat him mercilessly. She runs for help, she finds a group of people, but
they are too scared. She seeks desperately for help. MY BROTHER IS BEING MURDERED, she screams but the world seems to have turned deaf.

Scene IV
He did not get a seat in the bus. The laptop bag hangs heavy on his tired shoulders. He keeps the bag on the rack, leans against the seat and closes his eyes. A
sudden jerk wakes him up. Oh it is his stop! He gets down and crosses the road
Suddenly the temperature around him falls down a few degrees below zero.
He realizes that he has left his bag in the bus. He turns around and crosses the road. He reaches the previous spot only to find that the bus is gone.
What follows next, is 45 minutes of unbearable tension and agony where
he takes the next bus of the same route, all throughout the journey he can
hear his own heart hammering against his chest and he keeps wondering,
for what crime God is punishing him in this manner. He reaches the depot.
He can no longer think. He sees the bus and rushes towards it. The conductor is sitting outside. He explains his loss. The conductor verifies the contents of the bag and assures him that the bag is with him. The driver and the
helper arrive. They open the locker and return his bag. He is overwhelmed;
he wants to give them money, they decline; he goes to buy sweets, they stop
him saying that he is like their brother and so, should not feel indebted. He
gets up on the bus and waits for it to start. He has read so much about superheroes and comic book heroes- today he knows, who the real life heroes really are..
- Ashhadul Islam

Creative Crossroads
Love - A poem in two parts
If this is love
The sky is dark.
The rain is dark and wet.
I cannot see, I cannot cry.
All I did was love.
If love cannot measure in years the yearning in my heart,
If love cannot bring fair play along as its companion,
Why love did come here at all?
Darkness and pain,
Sorrow no gain,
Love courts me with its promise.
I understood...I thought I did.
Love caught me in its snare,
Now I care no more for love or lack,
My heart is cold at times.
It thinks:
I cannot tell if love was ever my guest or I its host?
All I can feel is the cold dark pain of a void,
a nothingness now.
Ah, this must be love!
Who are you? She looked up wide eyed,
Into those questioning eyes;
I am they gazed back.
I always was. I will be.
I have known you through many lifetimes.
Walked your ways through tears and laughter,
Pined for you through endless aeons of hope
Whiled away seasons in anticipation
That one day you will be mine.
Yet that day seems written in eternity.
My soul grows strong with all the strife and pain,
My heart weaker still with unrequited love,
And questions unanswered

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Creative Crossroads
The blood pulsed through her veins vibrantly.
Her heart beat like it would burst through,
She neither saw nor heard no matter what
When he placed his hand upon her open waiting palm,
It was just as of yore, from palm to palm is palmers kiss;
Will there be answers for all the queries?
Will there be many sunsets and full moons to gaze upon,
in harmony and unison of thought and feeling?
She had no answers yet but knew for sure,
Change was in the air.
Change that may be good for her, or bad,
But change that she had paused through fears unknown.
The inevitable time for action, here and now!
Her heart like molten mercury but head filled with queries,
She gazed upon the resting palm, dreams scattering around
Stars and sunbeams seemed to float around in perfect harmony
A strange but soft feeling of content resting on her brow
The look she returned spoke all that he cared to know
Ah, this must be love?
- Prof Radha Parikh

Promise
Long ago i made a promise to thee,
Promise- that i broke again tonight
.
Consumed by anger then, I sinned,
I confess, I broke thy heart tonight.
The guilt of my sin now consumes me,
Punish me Goddess, Im thy sinner tonight
Ignorant of thy pain, thy torment, Goddess,
I committed several sins tonight

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I do not deserve thy forgiveness, yet I beg, forgive,

Renew thy faith in this sinner tonight.
Percieved a god, then arrogant, humbled now,
The sinner cries his heart tonight.
Weeping over his mistakes,
A broken soul tonight.
Forgive thy culprit- Gaurav, O Goddess,
Im no god, Im a mere mortal tonight!
- Gaurav Koley

An Open Letter
Dear Morning, Afternoon and Night,
You three diabolic sisters seem to have it all sorted out. Your schemes
to mess with our cicardian rhythms have worked to such an extent,
we never know which one of you we are flirting with at any given time.
Morning, you are the most beautiful of three, you know with the birds
chirping and the kiss of dew and all that. But please forgive us if we notice
none of it because we are too busy tackling number one, water so cold
that it makes even Sheldon from BBT look hot; and second, our alarms
which always seem to ring only when we are that the prime juicy part of
our dream the part where we got the Amazon job, the Turing award,
or that girl on the front bench just got to know our name. You ring it
and land us back on this world with so many hard truths like the fact
we have three unstarted assignments and Algo class in 45 minutes.
So, you understand, dont you? But dont fret, we do notice you a little, maybe
catch a glimpse of you, if we are lucky to have five minutes left before class after
standing in the long breakfast queues and gobbling down our toast, that is, if
we dont use those five minutes to check Whatsapp, our email, or Facebook.
But we do catch a glimpse of you, you must not mind, when we proclaim out
loud, Your are so beautiful, Morning! But alas, those days will be rare indeed.

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Afternoon, you are the one wed all

settle down with in the end. Why?
Because you remind us of our
mothers homes, and the feeling
associated with bloated, full, satisfied tummies, and eyelids, and
the want to do absolutely nothing, but laze around.You compensate for your crafty little sister
Night. There is nothing like a long
comfortable Afternoon nap, especially after Night kept us awake.
So we love you.
Until, of course, we meet her, your saucy sibling. With her, its this long breathless dance which, like so many things, is brilliant while its going on but highly regrettable afterwards. We know we shouldnt indulge, but you, Night, just
have to bat your eyelids, and we swoon. We know we should probably submit
assignments well in advance, but we just cant seem to resist the palpatations
and rush of blood that you give us with those impending deadlines. And as
if that werent enough, being the temptress you are, you offer us such irresistables like 11 oclock tea, 12:30 badminton, and another round of tea at 2
.
But in the end, it is fun and worth it. But you know you will be the one we
will never introduce to our moms, no?So see you around, the three of you.
Continue to plan and plot against us. Contriving to rave, tempt and comfort
us with your devlish charms that leave us high and dry, and in the end still
knowing nothing like John Snow.
We still love you all,
-8Bit Team

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Zero Mile Punjab

Lakshay Jindal

Zero Mile Punjab is an ethnic restaurant situated in Electronic City, just

opposite Lords Plaza. Although it has a nearly unnoticeable entry and negligible branding, it always remains crowded. This might be because it serves
the most authentic and best North Indian food in this part of the city. The
food served here is not only finger-licking good but also economical. Dinner for two costs just around Rs 400. Almost all the dishes are great but
some are a must try like Kadhai Paneer, Chicken Ajwaini, Paneer Tikka,
Tandoori Chicken, Amristari Kulcha, Aloo Parantha and of course Lassi.

Satisfaction from the food is guaranteed. It does, however, have a very limited
number of tables and the service is just satisfactory. Even at the busiest time of
the day, one can notice at the most two waiters in the restaurant. The visible
hygiene of the place might disappoint you a little but this disappointment is easily overcome by the food served. The place is very lively with neat ambience. It
gives one the feel of an original Punjabi dhaba. This restaurant should be visited
with friends and family. So, whenever you are bored with the food served in the
mess, this is the place you and your friends can and should go to. With excellent food, decent enough hygiene, satisfactory service, economical prices and
good ambience the overall experience got out of Zero Mile Punjab is 4 out of 5.

Whats Trending

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Citrus Cafe, Lemon Tree

Lakshay Jindal

Citrus Cafe, Lemon Tree Hotel is a multi cuisine restaurant in the heart

of Electronic City. Food lovers visiting this place get an option of both of buffet and la carte. The ambience of the place is very vibrant and dynamic. Its
full of light because of the large windows on one side. The furniture and upholstery is entirely modern. The restaurant boasts its vast menu comprising
of dishes from Europe, North India and South India. The menu has also got a
home-style section for those who like their meals simple and uncomplicated.
People choosing the buffet will love it as they will be enjoying a vast variety of food.
Starting from a range of salads and soups, followed by starters and main course,
and finally dessert. You will definitely be a fan of the North Indian and South Indian dishes. The continental are not so great. Nonetheless, the desserts are absolutely
fabulous and will take up the little space left in your stomach after a large main
course. The presentation is also upto the mark. However, visitors will surely miss a
live counter. The buffet is also a little expensive. The cost for two is around Rs 1700.
There is the cheaper option of la carte. The service does tend to disappoint. One has to wait for at least 20-25 minutes for the food to arrive. Unlike buffet, one can just enjoy 2 to 3 dishes. The quantity of food served per
plate does make up for the wiating time. The cost for two in this option is
around 800. With an impressive ambience, excellent food, tolerable service and relatively higher prices the overall experience one gets is 4 out of 5.

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Cinepolis mall, Banerghatta Road

Smit Patel

Cinepolis one of Bangalores many multiplexes - is located opposite the famous

Meenakshi Temple on Bannerghatta Road, in Royal Meenakshi Mall. The complete

address is - Royal Meenakshi Mall, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560076.
Ill start off with the pros of the multiplex. Its well equipped with pretty big
screens which enhances the movie watching experience to a next level. The movie quality is awesome with full HD display and amazing sound quality. There
are much better options provided for Snacks and Beverages as compared to its
counterparts.
The waiting lounge outside the individual theatres is excellent with well cushioned, extravagant sofas and even massage-chairs. Adding to this is the great outside view through the transparent glass walls.
Its the best theatre to go to on Wednesdays due to the availability of discounted tickets
with discounts as high as 50% off the normal prices. Even on other days of the week and on
weekends the prices are pretty affordable and theres even provision for free tickets with
points won on each purchase. The screens as well as the seating areas are sparkling Clean. I give the multiplex a 10/10 for Cleanliness. Theres ample leg
room along each making it a perfect place for all those long-legged fellas. This
may seem a little weird, but I really love the fact that the post movie exit is
through the main mall, and not some back door way like most movie theatres.
Alas no theatre can be perfect. The theatres feature way too many advertisements
before start of the movie. In most cases the actual movie tends to start 15 miniutes
after the scheduled showtime (I suppose thats good for all you late comers!) The
prices of popcorn and soda are pretty high. But Coffee Tree situated within the
multiplex lures all coffee fanatics. The in-hall experience is pretty average. There is
no provision of special seats for premium and executive ticket holders, the seats are
the same throughout the hall. I perssonally didnt like the repeated interruption of
the ushers and waiters, asking for food orders inside the hall during intermission.
Now coming down to logistics. To get to Cinepolis you can board Bus 378 from
the Infosys Gate-1 bus-stand and get down either at St Johns College Cross
Road or at Gottigere from where you can catch an auto rickshaw till Meenakshi
Mall (3km approx).

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Jupiter Ascending (Rather Descending)

Pranav S

Directors: Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski

Cast: Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne
Rating: 1.5/5

Had a great day at work today? Feeling too happy? Wanna get stressed

out? Then Jupiter Ascending is the movie for you. I wouldnt rate it R. Infact
an S rating would have been perfect (restricted to a special class of persons),
where only the cast and crew and their families were allowed to see. Heck,
even they wouldnt want to watch it. The story barely makes sense; one moment Jupiter (Mila Kunis) is a janitor cleaning toilets, and the next moment
shes Emperor of Earth, a fact that she doesnt seem too surprised to accept.
Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), rescues her from a pack of keepers; humans
spliced with animals. Caine himself is a wolf human. On top of this, when
things become tensed, well supposedly, and Caine and Jupiter are captured
and the fate of the planet is at stake, she finds this time apt to flirt with
Caine and in the most awkward way possible - by saying she loves dogs
thus implying she loves him. The on-screen chemistry lacks between them;
Caine comes off as more of a bodyguard than a boyfriend (wolf-friend?).

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with Caine and in the most awkward way possible - by saying she loves dogs
thus implying she loves him. The on-screen chemistry lacks between them;
Caine comes off as more of a bodyguard than a boyfriend (wolf-friend?).
There are a few good elements in the movie. The VFX team and the screenplay deserve great appreciation, and the Wachoskis creativity in imagining
a whole new universe is incredible. But, it is marred by a story which fails
to support it. The actors seem quite plastic and dont give much life to the
caracters. Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne) can hardly be heard, with his
voice sounding like hes gargling and talking at the same time. Channing Tatum is expressionless most of the time. Many things are unexplained right
from the start like how Jupiter is the Emperor of Earth and why Caine is
protecting her. Its shocking to see how directprs who produced legendary
movies like The Matrix bring out a movie like Jupiter Ascending. Overall,
the poor script and lacklustre performance makes it a never-time watch; alright maybe one, for Mila Kunis and the special effects. But Id recommend
Friends With Benefits, where she shows a more human version of herself.

Frequency (The Lost Blockbuster)

Anup Deshmukh

Director: Gregory Hoblit

Writer: Toby Emmerich
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, Shawn Doyle
Imdb: 7.3 Rotten Tomatoes: 70%
Released in 2000

This unique and interesting film is actually more of a suspense thriller

than a science- fiction film, although what I think fans of both genres will
be pleased. Going into this film I had no idea what the actual story line
was. Is it a time travel film, is it a sci-fi film or is it a murder mystery? Well
its a little of each of these. Frequency is one of those rare, almost forgotten movies and basically in my opinion born from Back to the Future and
Silence of the Lambs. The screen writers have done nice homework there.
Unlike such notable gimmicks as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Terminator and Independence Day which try to imitate this movie and cash in
on its success, what I loved about the film are the small hints and moments
that are scattered throughout and tie back into the larger time travelish
ry, which makes it great on repeat viewings. Just dont put yourself behind
the images of flying Delorians and likable characters like Marty and Doc.

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story, which makes it great on repeat viewings. Just dont put yourself behind
the images of flying Delorians and likable characters like Marty and Doc.
I wont go further into the storyline and spoil the fun. Basically the movie
is all about a rift in the time-space continuum and the heart-touching relationship between a father and son. I thoughtthe moments of how the past
affected the future were all plausible except for one moment at the very end
of the film, which was pretty clich and which, according to me, was done
clearly for dramatic effect (but Ill let it go). Speaking of the characters Quaid and Caviezel are both great. You should see Caviezel in the 1998s!
The concept of time travelling communication may seem far-fetched to
some, and Frequency is a little hard to grasp at times, especially when the
film never directly explains the science behind it. However Frequency is
one of the most enjoyable time-travelling classics. Its over 15 years old and
it still hasnt gotten old. Sadly, they dont make it movies like this any more.
I always treasure movie experiences in which Im blown away by the experience of head-banging story. It gets a solid 4/5 from me.

iOS 9

Rahul Rachuri
At A Glance
iOS 9 is Apples next iteration to iOS announced in WWDC 2015. iOS
comes with subtle design changes on the outside and a lot of under-thehood improvements like a more powerful Siri, contextual awareness and
battery life improvements.

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Whats Coming
Proactive Suggestions
iOS 9 is described more intelligent, thanks to proactive suggestions. Proactive, a major feature in iOS 9, tries to turn your iPhone into a lifestyle
management tool with apps and recommendations at appropriate times
For example, if you listen to music every morning, iOS 9 is going to open the
music app with your favourite playlist when you plug in your headphones.

If youre getting a call from an unknown number, iOS 9 will look through
your emails and suggest who it might be. It is also possible to add events and
contacts through mail.

Siri
Siri can do a lot more and be actually useful with contextual awareness. If you ask Siri to Remind me about this when looking at a request youve received in the Messages app or the Mail app,
Siri will understand what this is and create an event accordingly.
You can also say things like Show me photos I took when I went to Coorg and
it will show appropriate images from the Photos app. Searches can be based on
where you took the photo, album titles or the date on which you took the picture.
Along with improvements to Siri, Apple has also made the Search more useful with the addition of Siri Suggestions . Siri Suggestions include a list of

Whats Trending

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of people you usually contact at that point of the day and the apps you are likely
to open at that time. Overtime iOS 9 will learn more about you and the suggestions get more accurate. There is also an option within Search in Settings
which lets you choose which third-party apps should show up in suggestions.

Apps And Services

Notes
Notes has also seen some major changes, allowing users to create check lists, create attachments and make sketches in the app making it a worthy competitor any third-party note-taking app like Evernote

News
While many of the apps have received minor design changes and performance
improvements, News is a brand new app with which Apple hopes to kill Flipboard
and Zite. News works the same way as Apple Music does, it asks you to choose
topics you like and websites you want to follow the you first open it. It learns
about your preferences based on your hearts to bring more suitable content.
After the iCloud hack in 2014 ,Apple has tightened the security in iOS
and OS X by a two-factor authentication system that replaces the current two-step verification. The two-factor authentication does away with
the recovery keys and uses new methods to trust devices such as sending 6-digit verification codes for a more streamlined user experience.
The elimination of recovery keys is important because with the twofactor authentication system because now there is no danger of losing an Apple ID and linked purchases even if the trusted device is lost.
Also, iOS 9 prompts users to create a 6-digit passcode instead of a 4-digit one, because
it has one million possible combinations over ten thousand that the 4-digit one has.

Laugh Out Loud

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LAugh Out Loud

Why doesnt C++ have a garbage collector?
- Because there would be nothing left!
Why didnt C++ go out with C?
- Because quite frankly C just has no class!
Whats the object-oriented way to become wealthy?
- Inheritance

Laugh Out Loud

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- A young Programmer and his Project Manager board a train headed through the mountains on its way to Wichita. They can find no place
to sit except for two seats right across the aisle from a young woman
and her grandmother. After a while, it is obvious that the young woman and the young programmer are interested in each other, because they
are giving each other looks. Soon the train passes into a tunnel and it is
pitch black. There is a sound of a kiss followed by the sound of a slap.
When the train emerges from the tunnel, the four sit there without saying a word. The grandmother is thinking to herself, It was very brash for
that young man to kiss my granddaughter, but Im glad she slapped him.
The Project manager is sitting there thinking, I didnt
know the young tech was brave enough to kiss the girl, but
I sure wish she hadnt missed him when she slapped me!
The young woman was sitting and thinking, Im glad the guy
kissed me, but I wish my grandmother had not slapped him!
The young programmer sat there with a satisfied smile on his face. He
thought to himself, Life is good. How often does a guy have the chance
to kiss a beautiful girl and slap his Project manager all at the same time?

Laugh Out Loud

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Laugh Out Loud

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Tete-a-Tete

8Bit

FACULTY INTERVIEW
Professor Parthasarathys research and
teaching interests broadly focuses on the
relationship between technological innovation, economic globalization and social change. Within this broad focus, his
work follows two threads. One thread examines the impacts of public policy and
firm strategies on the organization of
production in the ICT industry. Another
thread deals with ICTs for Development.
1. What excited you to take up another masters degree in architecarchitecture
and
subsequent- ture. However, my masters superly move to urban planning? visor, who was a wonderful mentor, agreed to write reference letters
- Architecture is a source of three di- for me only if I applied for a PhD.
mensional spatial and visual delight. That is how I went to UC BerkeBut after a couple of years of work- ley for my PhD in urban planning.
ing as an architect, I became disillusioned with the profession. After 2. What is the most rewarding and
all, the building industry is not the challenging aspect of teaching?
cleanest and, moreover, my interest
in complex urban issues grew. As I - Its like two sides of a coin. The chalwas drawn to spatial scales beyond lenge is to give students a new set of
individual buildings, I went to the lenses and open a window to a world
US to graduate school in urban plan- out there, a bright and exciting world
ning. That was a mind blowing ex- of ideas, which they did not know
perience, mostly because of the way existed and which they can explore
higher education is delivered in the in ways they did not think possible!
US. It taught me the joy of explor- Ive seen this happen in some of
ing a world of ideas that goes beyond my students. It is heart-warmthe immediacy of a workaday life. ing when students feel that a
At that time, my only goal was to get class has not gone to waste.
a degree, secure a job, save money, When students gain the exposure
travel and then return. But, since the and begin to view the world difjob market had little to offer in the ferently, connect the dots differyear I graduated, I was wondering ently, and experience intellectual
about hanging around by pursuing

Tete-a-Tete
eureka moments its incredibly rewarding! To the extent that
it is hard to do, it is challenging
but the rewards are well worth it.
3. What is the USP of the iMTech
programme and what is your vision
for the students graduating from it?
- The faculty has a vision but how the
vision transforms to an USP depends
on how students grab it and what
they do with it. Faculty can help but,
ultimately, its not you or us, its everybody together. Its a joint project.
My personal hope is that our students
will subvert the dominant paradigm
i.e. they should challenge accepted
ideas and not succumb to social pressures. They should stand up for themselves and stand out in the crowd.
4. Given a chance to dine with 3 (living
or dead) persons, who would it be with?
- One of them would definitely be Karl Marx. The next person
would probably be Thyagaraja (the
great composer) and the third one
would be Sir Garfield Sobers (former West Indies cricket captain).
5. Who is the person who has influenced you the most in your life?
- I have had many influences in my
life family, teachers, colleagues and
friends. But, by far the most important influence has been my parents.

8Bit
6. Could you explain your
current
research
pursuits?
- I broadly work at the intersection of
economic geography and economic
sociology to examine the relationship between technological innovation, globalisation and social transformation. Within this broad focus,
my work follows a couple of strands.
One strand looks at how innovation
works across geographical territories and social boundaries. In other
words, I attempt to answer questions
such as who produces technology, how is it produced and where
is it produced? Since my PhD I have
used information technology as a
lens to understand innovation. Information technology need not be the
first thing to come into ones mind
when we talk about innovation. But
it is perhaps contextually appropriate, especially at a place like IIITB.
The second strand that I became interested in about a decade ago poses
a mirror image of questions who
consumes information technology,
how is it consumed and where is it
consumed? If we look at the design
of many technologies, theyve typically came out of advanced industrial countries with little thought
about how they might be inserted
into a context like India. My first
project in this area focussed on egovernance that involved a comparative study of six projects across
India. One of the most interesting

Tete-a-Tete
projects that Ive done so far is a 3
country study - Bangladesh, Lithuania
and Chile - on the social and economic impacts of access to information
technology for low income groups.
More recently, both strands have
come together in a project that examines how firms are using India as
a laboratory to innovate for underprivileged members of society. Figuring out how to meet user needs in situations that are new or unfamiliar is
a non-trivial challenge. The demands
of the illiterate, poor, first time users
of technology, where infrastructure
is almost non-existent, forces us to
ask hard questions about the social
role of technology. And good design
starts with asking the right questions.
7. What are your leisure pursuits?
- I enjoy reading (mostly non-fiction)
but am unable to devote as much time
as I used to. I listen to music, I used to
play an instrument too! I rarely attend
concerts, but listen to music when
I work, mostly Carnatic classical. I
also occasionally listen to western
classical, 1960s rock, and jazz. I was
a movie buff, especially during my
PhD days, but have hardly seen any
lately. I occasionally watch theatre,
test cricket and football. I love trying new cuisines and spending time
with family. I also enjoy traveling to
see art and architecture although that
is something I cannot do frequently.
8. Sundar Pichai took over as CEO of

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Google. What is your take on Indians
becoming
head-honchos
of big established companies?
- Frankly speaking, I dont think
about it in those terms. To me, nationality is not terribly critical. There
are a bunch of people who were born
here and have done well for themselves there. The US is a place of great
opportunity, but there are opportunities here (India) as well - they are
just different. There are a number of
achievers all over, in different walks
of life, and we should seek inspiration
from them. I think its more useful to
ask: what are the circumstances that
allowed him to do what he did, and
what led him to do what he has done?
I would like to connect this to what I
said earlier - if you want to influence
the world, you have to do something
unique, ask different questions, view
the world differently. I once attended
a conference where Bill Gates spoke
about supporting the malaria vaccine, and the AIDS vaccine. He said,
Its not about who comes up with
the solution, whether its an Indian
or an American or a South African,
because all of humanity will the benefit when that vaccine arrives. We will
fund anybody who has the potential
to come up with the solution. This
kind of thinking is far more relevant.
9. Do you think there are any necessary conditions to be successful?
- Keep an open mind, and shed

Tete-a-Tete
prejudices and pre-conceived notions in all aspects of your life. To
hold firmly on to received wisdom,
despite the evidence pointing in another direction, makes no sense. It
is like insisting that the sun rises in
the west, despite the sun rising in
the east every day. To be open, it is
essential to give yourself exposure.
Read, interact with people from diverse backgrounds, communicate,
engage and debate. Think critically!
This is a necessary condition. Let
me add, however, that none of this
means you have to shed your values
or the ethical principles guiding your
life. Besides keeping an open mind,
hard work is just as crucial to success (however your principles might
permit you to define success). Finally, be nice to others, and the best
way to be nice is to treat them fairly.
Interviewed by Mahati Bharadwaj, Likhitha S, Sriveda
Reddy and Garimella Gayathri

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8Bit

Tete-a-Tete

Alumni Interview

Issues in urban systems and public safety and security are often referred to as wicked problems. Such problems require a diverse set of actors to come together and collaborate. We need
government, academia, industry, and civil society to question, debate, discuss, and ideate together. In short, we need a dialogue in
diversity. The goal of Fields of View is to design spaces to enable
such dialogues using games and simulations tools based on research at the intersection of social sciences, art, and technology.

Bharath M. Palavalli is a researcher at Fields of View. In the past

he has developed simulation and
games to explore complexities in
urban growth and to identify challenges in disaster management.
1. Did IIIT-B help inspire you to create your own start-up?
.
- Yes, the range courses at the institute
helped us appreciate the problems in
the real world which we are otherwise
oblivious about. In most cases, having
a good and competitive peer group
tends be the important part of the
time spent at a university. I was lucky
enough to be part of a lab and a group
that were willing to experiment and
take a shot at things labelled risky.

2. What does Fields Of View signify?

- After having spent some time
working on infrastructure policy
with a wide variety of partners
ranging from activists to defence
organizations, a few gaps and
trends became visible. We often
hear that the two key issues in a
large country like India are diversity and scale, but the ramifications it has on policy design and
infrastructure are largely ignored.
At Fields of View, we aim to bring
people who design, implement
and are affected by such measures
to collectively define the problem. The name is a play on field
of view which stands for the total viewable angle for an observer.
3. What makes Fields Of
View unique in what you do?
- There is a certain stigma associated with failure and the costs
of failure are very high in the Indian context (though it seems
to be slowly changing). This
inhibits our ability to experiment and learn from the experience. There is a large socio-

Tete-a-Tete
economic gap in India and this does
not really allow us to embrace participatory processes even with help
from emerging technology. At Fields
of View, we try and address these two
key issues by creating a safe space with
games and simulations where people
can come together and experiment.

8Bit
7. If you could, what would you tell
your M Tech self?
- Id probably say take a year or two
to work before coming back to study.
It would have allowed me to appreciate what I was learning at the institute with a very different lens.

4. What is your most cherish able

memory at IIIT-B?
- I dont think Ive gone into a reminiscing mode yet, it does seem
like I graduated only recently.
5. What was it like being an incubee
at IIIT-B?
- As a non-profit research group
we shared a great relationship with
the institute. It was really great
to be able to walk into the Directors or the professors office and
learn from them. The institute was
generous with providing us access to
their network and helping us through
the initial phases of our growth. As
a bunch of new kids on the block,
the faith the institute placed in us
was a great motivator for all of us.
6. Is returning to society important to
you?
- One of the tenets of Fields of View is
that our work is grounded in reality and
has value to people on the ground. Most
of our work is in some form of open
source as we believe that people can
then use and modify. Being a non-profit
helps us achieve this with a lot of clarity.

Harsha K has designed and built

agent based simulations and
games in the field of safety and
security. His current research interests include complex adaptive systems, complex networks,
cities and urban systems and
safety systems. He spends his
free time reading detective novels or playing computer games.
1.Did IIIT-B inspire you to take up
your current line of work?
- Ive always wanted to be involved
in a research oriented space. IIITB made it easier to pursue this woth
its research friendly atmosphere.
2. What is the general idea behind
starting Fields Of View?

Tete-a-Tete
- The general purpose or idea behind Fields of View is to understand complex adaptive social systems. To elaborate its to help
understand society around us better.
3. How does it feel to be an entrepreneur contributing to society?
- I really havent thought about this.
I dont think of myself much as an
entrepreneur. Id much rather consider myself to be a researcher.
4. What are your most cherish able
memories at IIIT-B?
- Some things I still reminisce about are
staying up till 2 AM on the hostel porch,
Prof. Prasannas lectures, Prof. Srinaths
proofs in MFC and Prof. Raos lectures
on the dining philosophers problem.
5. What was it like being an incubee
at IIIT-B?
- Thats an interesting question. It is
definitely not easy to get into IIIT-Bs
Incubator. You cant assume a ready
entry just because you are a student.
6. Can you tell us a little about the
research you are doing?
- At Fields of View I work on multiple research projects. The one that is
taking a lot of my time is developing
traffic and transport models for Bangalore and other Indian cities. This
is a widely researched topic. I could
speak endlessly on the subject once I
have a couple of more articles ready.

8Bit

7. If you could, what would you tell

your M Tech self?
I would tell myself this - learn to work
on your own and be more creative.
Interviewed by Mounika Soma,
Soumyadip Sinha and Tarun Dutt

Campus Buzz

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MEMORIES FROM OUR 2015 GRADUATES

It was Sunday morning and I got up as soon as my alarm rang. Having brushed my teeth
I rushed for the canteen. My favourite Chole Bhature was to be served for breakfast.
When I reached my friends were already there, hogging. I joined them and started
eating. We didnt realize that by the time we had taken that last bite it was already
9 and we had to rush and get ready for class. It was at this moment that my alarm
actually began to ring. I woke up from this beautiful dream which was nothing
but one of the best memories I have had at IIIT-B. This was my routine over the
past 2 years and has now changed into a hectic corporate life of get up early, dress
and leave for office, come back after a crazy day, have dinner and quietly go to bed.
Life at IIITB has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me in
my lifes journey of 25 years I miss every corner of IIIT-B, every minute spent
in IIIT-B. But life moves on and well have to move on to match pace with life.
I know that there are many beautiful things waiting for me in the future, and
Ill surely enjoy them but Ill always cherish every moment spent in IIITB.
- Apoorva Mishra
Life at IIIT-B was as colourful asit could ever have been! The friends we had, caring seniors, lovely juniors, the lectures we bunked, the late night snacks, the fun
we had with unique traditions like Spandan and ravaali, memorable trips are
all beyond what words can express. The most important poeple to me were the
faculty who helped us gain an immense amount of knowledge in just these two
years! I owe my success to them. I miss my small and loving family at IIIT-B. The
memories I created shall always remain in my heart.
- Surbhi

Campus Buzz

Sojourn
Travelled miles on road,
Moved away from home.
Kept faith in destiny,
Got out of comfort zone.
Accepted the challenge.
Tackled the obstacles,
Reached the summit,
Conquered the peak.
The gem of knowledge
Bestowed upon us,
Opened up the prospects
Limited by none.
Journey of two years
Unforgettable in our lives
Was in itself the reward.
That no one can deny.
Arjun S Bharadwaj

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Campus Buzz

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MY FIRST MONTH IN COLLEGE!

Like every other freshman, I began my journey towards Bengaluru with anxiety. Having heard, anything which is not South India is North India added
to my woes. I could not decide what seemed the major worry - food or the
language. Having resided in the north for most part of my life, the (mis)conception of having to eat idli-dosa everyday seemed daunting and knowing
only two words kannada gotilla simply added fuel to the fire of perplexity.
To ensure this does not become a C. Bhagat styled writing, I will skip forward
past the melodrama of how I had a change of heart and mind on seeing the
campus and blah blah. The first of the many memorable experiences I had
begun with meeting the MTech seniors. The warmth in their conversation,
and the sense of ensuring all juniors cozied in the campus was remarkable.
In my mind, it definitely set a benchmark for an ideal senior. The experience
with director sir and the professors struck my mind next. Never had I imagined, someone taking great lengths in conversing with students in person
or on WhatsApp. My respect for the college was there when I sat foot, but
post interaction, it reached a different orbit altogether. It is a privilege in becoming a junior again, and having so many people ensuring my well being.
Over coding and projects, lunch and snacks, new hostel with its problems
and late night work with puffy red eyes, I got to interact with the so called
Mafia Gang! Good friends in my dictionary are THE integral part to survival in a foreign land, and I am very pleased to find so many students as
crazy and insane as I am. The late nights spent playing and singing on the
basketball court is a memory I will always cherish. As it is well said, Friends
are siblings, God never gave us. I am very happy with the fact my next
two years with these insane people will be anything but commonplace!
The most happening thing in the last weeks was the SAC election! It turned
out like a typical Bollywood film - the trailer and the movie had a null set
intersection. The initial phase of the movie made little harmony with the
later; and the climax happened so unexpectedly, it definitely made a mark
for itself as the most dramatic scene in the annals of IIIT-B. Having said
that, the entire week was fun (Dubsmash videos - hilarious!) The election night was an experience in itself and the worthy candidates got elected.
Transitioning from one home (read B.Tech) is never an easy job and neither is the transaction ever atomic. It takes one packet at a time to find

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find the right destination address and make a move. Over the last few weeks, a few
packets have reached the destination, many are in the intermediate routers, and
a few are stuck at the source waiting. I do not claim to have a solution to TSP but,
the melodies in the quaking of the ducks and these last few weeks have ensured,
in the smallest time all the packets will somehow reach the correct destination
address. The correct destination address being IIIT-B - a home away from one.
- Antriksh Shah
Its been just about four weeks at college and it already feels like my new home. As
much as she hates to hear it, my mother too is making peace with the fact that Im
not really missing home. The people here, be it the seniors or the non-teaching
faculty, are really accommodating and go that extra mile to make you feel at home.
The kind of mix in terms of the cultures of my batch mates is quite diverse, and this being the first time Ive gotten to interact with a crowd like
this was an exciting prospect my first week. That entire week was spent getting to know people and making new friends. Four weeks into the course
and I feel like I have enough like-minded friends to survive college (which
was initially a concern to me as the college strength being not so high and
also largely academically oriented, I worried about having a hard time
meeting like-minded people, thankfully I couldnt have been more wrong).
College life has actually lived up to quite a bit of the hype that surrounds it. The
independence and freedom IIIT-B offers just feels too good to be true. My definition of late into the night has undergone a huge change. 10 in the night now
seems way too early to fall asleep. The college is awake and happening even at
midnight be it people working in the academic block, the placements for the
MTech seniors, the late night football games or the raavali birthday celebrations.
The faculty here is on a whole new level all together. Classes are just what I wanted them to be and after those long and typically boring days at school, you begin to really look forward to interesting classes. The course load has been fairly
light up till now and its given us a lot of time to settle in try a few other things.
I can say my first month at college has been quite different from anything Id
ever imagined it to be. Once you look past the initial few hiccups and the run ins
with the administration it has been by all means beyond my expectations. What
I found most surprising was that zero ragging in college literally meant ZERO
ragging (initially I did feel kind of disappointed, that was until I got a chance to

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speak to a few of my friends in other colleges). The seniors are really great people and it feels like theres no difference between the seniors and the freshers.
This first month at college has been ideal start to what I hope will be a wonderful five years for me and the college to which Id like to be a valuable asset. I look forward to spending the next phase of my life at IIITB.
- Nihal Kudligi
I know its hardly been a month since the start of college, so hold your
horses people! At the time Im writing this, its been like 22 days 8
hours and 6 seconds, but really who is counting? Definitely not me.
Trying to come up with something to write, when you have the attention span of a dyslexic goldfish is a tough task, especially when you have
noobs as your friends, who delete your article the first time around.
Yes, they are still alive and healthy, where is karma when you need it?
Anyway
back
to
the
task
at
hand.
The
one
thing
that
stands
out
definitely
in
sharp
contrast
is
P.Ed.
Friends also feature on the list but P.Ed is a more life and death topic.
Sweat. Tears. Swears. Rinse and Repeat. Thats how my P.Ed classes usually
are. I bet thats how those classes are for most of the people. Disclaimer - fitness freaks arent humans and are therefore are not included in people. I
mean I am physically fit. I can walk from my bed to the fridge without external help and frankly, thats the only level of physical fitness I aspire to have.
But jokes aside, P.Ed has made me a more responsible person. Now, I can brag about
having the emergency ambulance on speed dial, and my Final Will and Testament
ready if I dont make it out alive (Im not being melodramatic). I totally get why
they are compulsory for first years. People bond well over pain and exhaustion!
Hi
Hey!
*Awkward silence*
P.Ed class
*Best friends forever! *
That brings me to my friends. A bunch of retards, the entire lot of them. I bet
someone released them from a zoo, or a mental asylum. Im pretty sure Ive seen
one of them in the cell next to mine. We tried exploring the city together. We
might have taken the longer 5km walk to the forum instead of the usual 2, but that
was totally intentional. We dont make mistakes, were perfect. Sarcasm. I tried
One of the most remarkable things about making new friends is the exponential increase in the number of selfies and squad photos. Most of them turn
out to be really hideous but thats beside the point. Brownie points for trying.

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This is the phase when youre still not sick of each others faces. Really, no one takes that many photos with their longtime friends. So Im taking zillions of pictures. Sure, making memories is one of the factors, but
as they say, Ugly photos of today are the blackmail fodder of tomorrow!
I wont lie; college has been a lot of firsts for me, my first time in a
bus, first time going out alone and so forth. Ill stop here before I
lose my already nonexistent cool quotient anymore. Its practically at zero and I really dont want to drop to the negative side of the scale.
I am probably the only person who like the mess food and the only person in the history of first years who would go back home fatter. Something
might be wrong with my taste buds? Im not kidding, I actually like the food.
Now to the generic stuff. The classes are great, the campus is teeny-weeny,
but the smaller the better, less walking more lazing. The landscaping is amazing, it really does look like something out of a Good Housekeeping magazine.
So I guess everything has been covered. Thank you, IIIT-B. Sayonara then!
-- Juhi Singh

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MEET YOUR SAC

The SAC election was probably the highlight of August. Following all the
pre-election drama we finally have our elected representatives. Here is
an interview of each SAC member.
Taken by Raghav, Ved, Surya, Ankita, Supragya and Anshumaan.

Tanya (iMTech 2014)

1. Had you not become a SAC representative what would you be doing in your
free time?
- I would probably just be hanging out with my friends or watching sitcoms. I
love Friends!
2. If you were a box of cereal what flavour would you be?
- Probably cornflakes? I dont eat a lot of cereal so I cant really tell.
3. If you were stranded on an island with three items what would those be?
- A book (any book), my iPod (everyone needs music) and my phone!
4. Describe yourself in one word.
- Id say simple.

Abhijnu (iMTech 2014)

1. Who, from college, would you let punch you directly in the face?
- No one but myself.
2. What song do you think best describes you?
- Mujhko Pehchaanlo from Don 2.
3. What are your plans for the gaming club?
- We dont want to make it official as of yet. Weve had just two sessions so far.
Currently only the first and second year iMTechs are involved. We will soon
involve all interested parties and take their suggestions for further development.
I am sure it will be great all we need is time.
4. If you were an ice cream what flavour would you be?
- Chocolate. I love chocolate and better so everyone likes chocolate!

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Veda (iMTech 2013)

1. What is your weakness? Could you be bribed by that weakness?
- Sushi, haleem and mashed potatoes. Of course I can be bribed, but they need to
be delivered to my room, thanks very much.
2. If you woke up one morning and had 2,000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them how would you choose which ones to answer?
- In decreasing of priority - Mother, SAC group (I have to watch what I say now
haha) and ignore the remaining 1500 because its probably Kaushik Turlapaty
spamming.
3. How would your best friend describe you?
- Perfection. Thats not true, they dont believe that. Probably, funny? Ask them.
(On asking, Gayathri said Veda is delectable!)
4. Describe yourself in one word.
- This is harder than I thought it would be. I want to be modest but not safe, and
the only words that come to mind dont describe me. Im quite loyal, so probably
loyal, yes.

Srini (iMTech 2013)

1. Why is your nickname Mystique?
- One day my friend hacked/used my facebook account. Prior to that I had had
nicknames like Ronaldo Srinivasan. My friend got bored of all the football nicknames and thought it would be a cool prank to change the nickname to Mystique Shrinivasan. Now facebook has a fixed quota of the number of nicknames
you can change and I reached the limit thanks to my friend. So I got stuck with
this name. I did try coming up with cool stories about why my nickname on
facebook is Mystique, cause you dont need to be a great cook to cook stuff up.
2. What do you feel about Spandan? Do you feel it is chaotic?
- Not exactly, I think spandan is not chaotic at all. The problem comes when people play multiple games. They are extremely talented and Spandan is about having fun. So when people play multiple games and taking in the fact that a lot
of alumni also participate in the event, this is the best event that can be organised. Last year I was the SPOC for football and I know firsthand how tough it is
to come up with a fixture especially when alumni teams too play all the games.

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Anamika (Mtech 2015)

1. What can you tell us about yourself?
- My name is Anamika Sharma. I am from Mahrashtra.
2. What is your favourite past time?
- Hmm...I love animals, especially dogs. I really like basketball and I have a fetish
for sweets.
3. Do you/have you worked for any NGO?
- Not yet. But I would really like to open an animal shelter soon and take active
part.
4. Being SAC has its perks (note the sarcasm). But it can get really hectic, doesnt
the pressure get to you?
- I have only one mantra - keep calm. Whenever I encounter a problem, I keep
calm and try to solve it!

Priyanka (Mtech 2015)

1. What is your special talent?
- I can apply kajal in less than 12 seconds. (She did prove this to us.)
2. You set a new record by getting 138 votes. What is your secret?
- Maybe my kajal applying skill is the secret here!
3. We hear that you are a fashionista. Can you confirm or deny that for us?
- I wouldnt call myself that. I try and manage with what I have (referring to
clothes). I dont wear much make-up either.
4. How do you manage to look so fresh round the clock?
- Well thats a part of my job. To look fresh whether its 5 in the morning or 5 in
the evening and to be ready for any problem at any time of the day.

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Arjun (Mtech 2015)

1. Do you have a special talent?
- I can draw manga charachters. (He drew a lifelike Shrini in 30 seconds!)
2. As a TamBram are you trained in Carnatic Music? What about Bharathnatyam?
- Yes I like carnatic music and I used to learn singing long back when I was a
child. I do like singing even though I cant sing that well.
3. If you had to assign each SAC15 member a manga charachter, how will you go
about it?
- I will associate each member with a manga charachter from DragonBallZ so that
everyone can understand.
I am obviously Goku (duh!). Priyanka is Bulma. Anamika is Tien Shinhan cause
she is really silent. Srini is Krilin because I am Goku and we gel well together.
Tanya is Piccolo cause she is level headed and raises valid points. Avinash is Yamcha, Abijnu is Chiaotzu and Veda is Dande

Avinash (Mtech 2015)

1. What is your least favorite thing about humanity?
- Discrimination based on things such as cast, sex, colour...
2. How honest are you?
- I am 100% honest. The above line just proves how honest I am! (This seems like
some discrete math problem to us?)
3. How many hours after you get paid do you think you would spend your entire
pay cheque?
- Never (SAC is responsible!)
4. What do you think cats dream about?
- I think they dream about regular days activities like hunting, eating, sleeping...

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TANYA

ABHIJNU

SRINI

VEDA

ANAMIKA

PRIYANKA ARJUN AVINASH

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THE KABIR PROJECT A PERFORMANCE HELD ON
26TH AUGUST, BY SHABNAM AND VIPUL

INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS!

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ONAM CELEBRATIONS

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Kala Bazaar

GAURAV

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SUDESHNA

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MEENAL

Kala Bazaar

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SINDHU PRIYA

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TEAM
Editor Ankita Christine Victor
Editorial Team Antriskh Shah, Trisha Mittal, Karthik
Cover Story Ved Mathai, Mounika Neerukonda
Campus Buzz - Antriksh Shah, Nihal Kudligi, Juhi Singh
Whats Trending Lakshay Jindal, Smit Patel, Anup Deshmukh, Pranav S
Interviewers Mahati Bharadwaj, Likhitha S, Veda Reddy, Gayathri,
Janaki Joshi, Soumyadip Sinha, Mounika S, Tarun Dutt, Anshumaan
Agrawal, Supragya Bhushan, Surya, Raghav Bhatnagar
Layout A Sahithi,Vineet R , T Aditya
Cover Page T Aditya
LOL Prasoon
Photo Credits Satwik, Roy
Website Ahmad Shayaan, Soumyadip Sinha
A special thanks to Prof Balaji Parthasarthy, Bharath and Harsha of Fields
of View!
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