I know, you probably haven’t even driven one of the electric vehicles yet or probably you may, Am I right?
Literally, we are in the middle of the greatest automotive revolution since Henry Ford’s first assembly line began in 1913. But now many changes have taken place in the field of automobiles. You may even ask yourselves why do we need these automobiles or what is the significance of automobiles? Yes, we do need automobiles for our day-to-day transportation and we want to adopt ourself to the electric automotive. They emit fewer greenhouse gases and air pollutants than petrol or diesel cars.
Once could see the significance and future of automobiles from the major
Automobile companies. Companies like Jaguar plan to sell only electric cars from 2025, Volvo from 2030, and the British sports car company Lotus said it would follow suit, selling only electric models from 2028. Not only these premium brands, companies like Ford and VW (Volkswagen) declares that by 2030 all vehicles sold in Europe and 70% of VW will be in electric respectively.
Our Indian automotive segment has also taken the first step towards its autonomous future. With the right mix of such hype and incentives, we may see EVs becoming more popular.
In 2015, the government introduced the Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme to encourage the production of eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids. The decision to pay a reduced GST of 12% on EVs vs 43% on hybrids could benefit us than the gasoline vehicles. The Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) is distributing Lithium-ion battery technology to commercial players through the Automotive Research Association of India.
Talking about the UK government, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that UK government brings forward its ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel engine cars and vans from 2030, although some hybrids will be allowed until 2035.
From the Technology point of view, there are primarily three types of electric vehicles available in the market.
- Full Electric cars – Battery operated
- Electric solar cars
- Electric hybrid vehicles
These cars are the most recent vehicles which run on electricity rather than traditional fuels such as gasoline, diesel, or compressed natural gas. The batteries (lithium-ion batteries) of the electric cars can be recharged and the average EV battery pack’s lifespan is nearly 10 years. If you may ask me about the price of charging these batteries, I would say the fuel cost of an EV is as low as 1.1Rs/km.
As a result, the overall fuel cost spend for a gasoline car is declined, which is, in fact, a great deal for our future automotive.
Electric Vehicles Adoption
EV is the only possibility to save our fuel costs. From April 1, 2020, to January 31,
2021, India’s fuel price climbed over 75 times. With ever-increasing petrol prices (nearly 95Rs/liter in Delhi as of June 2021), many Indian states have already begun to use EVs. In this regard, Delhi and Kolkata are the two forerunners. They advocate the use of e-rickshaws, which are both environmentally benign and cost effective.
Brands like Mahindra Electric, Ather, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Ashok Leyland, Audi, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, MG Motor, Jaguar and goes on have gradually inclined to manufacture more electric vehicles in India.
I think most of us have heard about the name TESLA. The new HYPE in the upcoming years is the American company Tesla which launches Tesla cars in India with a manufacturing unit.
EV market share in India
From the business point of view we need to talk about the shares of these EV towards our country, As the production of electric vehicles has increasingly becomes popular, its market share also increases considerably. India’s GDP is expected to grow by an astounding 25% by 2022. The best part is that, in addition to reducing pollution, EVs have the potential to reduce oil imports by $60 billion by 2030. Currently, imports account for 82 percent of India’s oil demand. As a result, it is evident how much better the Indian economy will be, if this import cost is decreased.
The Benefits of Using an EV
As we all know, the key feature that distinguishes EVs in the automobile sector is their environmental friendliness. Several other aspects, though, are just too significant to overlook.
Let’s understand some valid reasons about the EV’s, environmental pollution has nearly reached critical levels. According to the Climate Risk Index 2020, India ranks the fifth position, indicating that the country is vulnerable to climate change. As a result, it appears that the only option is to adopt e-mobility.
First and foremost, electric cars significantly reduce air pollution in Indian cities. These vehicles run on batteries, which produce less pollution like internal combustion engines.
Even though they make little or no noise, these cars help to reduce noise pollutions. In addition to this, electric cars tend to be cooler like gasoline cars. As a result, many have started to like electric cars
I can hear some voice-overs asking me how these slow-moving electric cars creates fun for us. Currently, electric cars are getting cooler than gasoline cars and many have started to love electric cars as much as gasoline cars. few examples are Audi E-Tron GT to the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S because they provide both comfort and performance simultaneously. A very simple YouTube search can reveal that lot of videos about these EV things are beating Lamborghinis, Ferraris, McLarens, Porsches, and so on away from the lights.
A Blog by K.Keerthi rajan from B.E Automobile Engineering, KCG College of Technology.
The nature of depression can be exhausting, weakening, lonely and in some cases,life-threatening. If you’ve been struggling with depression for any length of time,your pain is worth taking seriously. You matter, and how you feel matters. However convinced you are, you have worth, you are loved, you are not invisible and you are not damaged beyond repair. You aren’t alone, and you don’t need to carry this burden alone. There is a way out of the dark, but it will not happen on its own. It is going to require some level of intentional action. So, pause and hear me out for a moment. Put simply, “Humans don’t do well if they’re alone.” I would say Maintaining healthy, happy FRIENDSHIP can have a significantly positive effect on our emotional wellbeing. Friendships work both ways. A mental health problem doesn’t mean that you’re never able to support or laugh with someone else.
It’s fair to say that I would be pretty miserable without my best friend. In fact, totally lost without my girl gang virtually cheering me on. The saying goes that “behind every great woman there is a bunch of other great women who have her back” which to me is profoundly accurate. I’m not just talking about women, but anyone who has ever felt the familiar warmth of a shoulder to cry on, a welcoming ear to hear them out or even a simple
text message of positivity, confirming that your friends are listening.
Some friendships appear out of the blue, some have been long standing and some, fleeting. But they often leave their mark, treasured memories that run deep. And real friends, the ones who stick by you through the good, the bad and the ugly are key relationships that carry us. Having friends to talk with, laugh with, be vulnerable with adds so much to our Some friendships appear out of the blue, some have been long standing and some, fleeting. But they often leave their mark, treasured memories that run deep. And real friends, the ones who stick by you through the good, the bad and the ugly are key relationships that carry us.
Having friends to talk with, laugh with, be vulnerable with adds so much to our lives. Now more than ever, friendship is to be treasured. With 2020 challenging everything we once held true, our relationships have been put to the test and we’ve had to get creative when keeping and making connections. But in the end, it’s always worth it.
Friendships teach us lots of things, including acceptance, trust and gratefulness. A good friend accepts you the way you are, no matter what. Being thankful for the support your friend has given you can teach us about gratefulness, and how important it is to feel appreciated. We often talk to our friends about sensitive issues we may not feel comfortable talking to anyone else about. In fact, it’s been scientifically proven that friendships are essential for both our mental and physical health..
Maintaining healthy, happy friendships can have a significantly positive effect on our emotional wellbeing. Here I detail about some benefits of friendship that can contribute towards your positive, emotional wellbeing. Lift our moods Friends can boost our mood by being there for us, whether it’s virtually or socially distanced. During these past few months, it’s completely normal to feel anxious, worried or sad. Even with lockdown restrictions lifted, it’s still a testing time for many of us, so it’s great to know that good friendships can give us a pick-me-up when we need it most. It can be a relief to speak about how you’re feeling. A good friend can give us advice on what’s on our mind and offer any support we need. Friends can also provide a distraction; a good laugh with friends can boost our mood.Increase our self-love We all have times when our confidence may be low. Whether it’s a compliment about a nice outfit or how we’ve worked hard on a project, friends can help us feel more confident about ourselves. Friendships work both ways too, so dishing out a Increase our self-love We all have times when our confidence may be low. Whether it’s a compliment
about a nice outfit or how we’ve worked hard on a project, friends can help us feel more confident about ourselves. Friendships work both ways too, so dishing out a compliment to our pals and being there for them can give us a sense of purpose and boost how we feel about ourselves. Avoid feelings of loneliness. It’s normal to have felt lonely over the last few months; especially if you’ve had to shield during lockdown. Whether it’s through virtual catchups, socially distanced walks or weekly video calls , we’ve all had to get creative. A chat with a friend can reduce the stress of feeling alone and provide us with a much-needed distraction.
Keeps us motivated Many of us set goals during lockdown, like exercising more or taking up a new hobby. Research has shown that learning new skills can improve our mental wellbeing, help us connect with others and boost our self-esteem. We’re more likely to stick to our goals if we share these with our friends or loved ones, as it helps us stay motivated. It’s also more fun to complete and get a little competitive about these goals with a buddy!
Support us when we need it most A good friend can help cheer us up and offer us support and guidance when we need it most. If you’re struggling at the moment – whether it’s feeling anxious, stressed or worried – speaking to a close friend can help ease these feelings.
How should we respond to hearing about our friend’s problem?
If you’re the friend of someone with a mental health problem, you may be concerned about them. The most important thing is to tell them that you’re still their friend. If your friend is comfortable with being touched, a hug shows that you care about them and that you accept them whatever problems they are having.
How can we support our friend?
Never Judge anyone with their mistakes..People with mental health problems often need different things from their friends at different times and friends show their support in different ways. The most valuable support you can provide is just being there to talk and
listen. Mental health problems are so misunderstood that someone who acknowledges your problem, continues to accept you and treats you with
compassion is doing something extremely important to aid your recovery. The most valuable support you can provide is just being there to talk and
listen. Mental health problems are so misunderstood that someone who acknowledges your problem, continues to accept you and treats you with
compassion is doing something extremely important to aid your recovery.
Your friend isn’t looking for another mental health professional and should expect nothing more than your affection and your support as a friend. Some people with mental health problems want to go on being as ‘normal’ as possible with their friends and that may mean continuing to laugh and have fun together. They don’t want to be identified by their problem, even if you need to adapt some of the activities you used to do together.
However, someone who insists that they’re ‘fine’ may actually be in a pretty bad way. They may just need to talk or they may need professional help.
Men are often particularly reluctant to talk about emotional issues. Practical help can be valuable, too. If you feel more comfortable offering practical help than emotional support, explain this to your friend. It is important that you acknowledge their distress, even if you don’t talk about it much. Understanding your limits If you’re miserable, suicidal, confused or having mood swings, you’re not likely to be your ‘usual self’. It’s intensely frustrating – for you, and for everyone around you – to realise that you don’t feel up to doing the things you used to take for granted such as going to work, seeing your friends, getting exercise or playing with your children.
If you can’t go out – or you can’t get out of bed – you become increasingly isolated and perhaps hard to be with. And if you show other symptoms like hearing voices or you’re convinced that someone is doing you down, it’s hard for you to talk to other people and it’s very hard for them to talk to you.
“I gave my friend a lot of support and at times felt close to burning out. Now that my friend has recovered we are closer than before. ”
Friends who do hang on in there can feel out of their depth, frustrated or emotionally drained. You may feel that the person you used to know has changed and so has the balance of who needs whom in the friendship.
You may feel responsible for your friend and worry about what would happen if you weren’t around. It can be painful and embarrassing – on both sides – to admit that this is happening and it can be hard to get the balance back, even if your friend’s mental health improves. But you don’t need to cope alone and setting clear limits to the support you can give is not the same as rejecting your friend.
Others sources of support
If you have a mental health problem and you’re worried that you’re making too many demands on your friend, one of the most important things you can do is thank them. Make it clear – in words or actions – that you appreciate what they are doing for you.
Your friendship may change for a while or it may change permanently. However, it doesn’t have to vanish. Nor does it have to take over your life. Underneath everything that is going on, you’re still the people who became friends in the first place. We all have our ups and downs and need the support of our friends.
You might be an extrovert, introvert, or somewhere in between. Regardless, friendship remains a healthy part of life for most people. Not only
spending time with friends improve a person’s mood, it can also affect mental and physical health. Connecting with others seems to be one key to a healthy mind and body. So don’t hesitate to show appreciation for the friends who keep you healthy. Be grateful for the friendships in your life!
MINNU VARUGHESE
3 RD YEAR
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
If you ask yourself the question whether you are mentally healthy or not. You may not be able to answer in a categorical yes or no. Why is that so? Simply put, it is because mental health lies in a continuum, with mental illness and good mental health being on opposite sides and each of us lying at some point on this scale, tending towards either direction. And yes, all of us may move to different points of the scale at different stages of our life.
What then is good mental health about? Good mental health incorporates the way we think, feel and act. It is:
- Believing in oneself
- Living up the possibilities that life provides
- Striving towards living a meaningful and purposeful life
- Nurturing mutually fulfilling relationships
- Living in the present rather than being bogged down with preoccupations of the past and future
- Being able to jog up every available resource and not giving up when life throws roadblocks one’s way
- Learning from failures and moving on
- Being okay about asking for a helping hand when one is down
- Being happy and at peace with oneself and the world, knowing that imperfection is a given, and change occurs not through cynicism but by hope and by giving of oneself a bit at a time
We are just human beings and cannot be perfect. Some of us have the capability of staying positive, learning self-improvement techniques and self-heal ourselves. However, the rest of us who need professional help should not hesitate to seek help.
You can talk to a friend and feel good too. Talk out, be open, vent out your feelings. Choose your trusted partner and share your thoughts. When you realize it’s not going in the right direction, do seek professional help immediately. Don’t be scared or worried about getting stereotyped. As is the ailment of the body, so is the ailment of the mind.
Get treated and share your success story with your friends and relatives. It would definitely motivate people around you. I can proudly say that I was also a victim of depression and rebuilt my life. I am definitely not embarrassed to tell this. The positive life that I am leading today is definitely because of opening up, seeking medical help and transforming myself with self-improvement techniques. I would always remember the hard times and the lessons I learnt. Life is not cruel as you imagine if you are open.
Listen to your mind when it cries for help!
To the hero in each of us, an exhortation:
Fear not the untrodden path, abandon not the cherished aim, charge the errand will to stand its ground, forge ahead and discover in yourself, the power to beckon fledgling dreams to life!
-Roshini
19cs072
“There is hope ,even when your brain tells you there isn’t”
-John Green
Starting off with such a rosy ,saccharine, glass-half-full kinda quote would probably make you, the reader, think that the blog about mental health is going to be oh-so-positive and sunshine-y. Well, spoiler alert-it isn’t.
Well , for starters let me tell you I ain’t a certified psychologist, neither have I been to therapy. ihaven’t had crippling depression nor have I encountered friends or family who have been living with mental disorders as such. But just because I haven’t had any serious brush with mental disorders, does not invalidate my two cents on it.
Mental health is an integral part of everybody’s daily life and surely everybody must have had one or two bad mental days atleast. Just like how physical health is a multi-disciplinary science with doctors and their team taking care of any snag in our bodies and nourishing it back to good health, mental health is just as important. Currently with suicides and celebrities’ mental health being dragged into the hubris, much of mainstream media has brought the topic of mental health into our daily conversations. But has it really given us a clear roadmap or conviction as to how we take care of ours as well as our loved ones’ mental health? Nope!
You see, mental health is not just important for 20-yr olds undergoing an existential crisis as they show it in the movies.
Mental health is for the 12yr old girl unsure of her interest in her after-school activity chosen by her parents. You see mental health is for the engineering graduate wondering whether to take up a gap year after completing his undergraduate. Mental health is for the young mother suffering from post partum depression. Mental health is for the 40 yr old working woman balancing her career with her family role .Mental health is for the young and the old, fat and the thin, male and female, straight and queer.
Mental health disorders are a wide spectrum with seemingly less harmful disorders such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) existing side by side with potentially fatal ones such as depression and schizophrenia .Just like physical health, mental health has the same cue- ‘Early diagnosis ,better the odds’ Self diagnosis is seemingly the easiest one, although acceptance of the same can be difficult . Removing the stigma around mental health is a pretty important cause too.
Revealing to our near and dear ones about us dealing with a mental disorder is almost always met with a disapproving glance saying ” it’s just a bad day, just let it be “when the same wouldn’t have been the case if we’d told them that we were suffering from a physical ailment. The shame associated with it and the name-calling such as ‘attention-seeking’ ‘dramebaaz’ ‘moody’ wouldn’t be the same in case of physical ailments such as BP, heart issues etc
The alacrity and ease with which people dismiss people with mental disorders changes to concern and support in the face of physical disorders. And so, here’s where much of the change needs to take place. People need to realise that mental disorders may also have as much as pain and discomfort associated with them and that people don’t really use mental disorders as a means to garner attention.
So now that we’ve seen what needs to change in the collective consciousness, let us now discern what needs to change in the individual consciousness.
STEP1: Check in with yourself daily ,swim through your thoughts and feelings, ascertain which ones seem hurting or pricking to you.
STEP 2 : Sit with those feelings and see if they’re casual and fleeting. You see. some days may turn out to be bad because of a overhanging deadline or a missed commute and you needn’t worry as much about them. But if you really feel recurrent bouts of misery and angst , it’s probably time to reach out to a trusted adult or family member who may understand and help you.
STEP 3: Seek PROFESSIONAL HELP if you still feel in bad straits. Do not hesitate or feel lowly of yourself. It’s all natural and the sooner you do it, the better you’d feel eventually.
STEP 4 : Be the trusted adult or friend whom people can confide and trust in. But also make sure to keep your own mental care in place, clearly making your time and energy prioritised around yourself. You needn’t spend all your time and energy counselling someone else, ( if you aren’t a practicing therapist ). Instead direct them to professionals who’d help them along their journey.
Educational institutions and work spaces should also have trusted and efficient mechanisms in place to handle students’, as well as employees’ mental and emotional facets are taken care of.
Families, friend circles should in general, act as safe spaces, a place where growth and support go hand-in-hand. And oh, if you really don’t have a supportive family or friends circle, it is alright too. Support and grace come through unexpected places and healing through toxic situations (even if it is with people we love) is a worthwhile feat!
All said and done, after all the self care and self analysis, after being a trusted ally to others, after all the therapy sessions and healing episodes, it’s still perfectly fine if you have one or two bad days. Life is all about the ebb and flow and it’s always about how skilfully we steer our ships through it all.
Few reminders🌻:
🌺Anybody made of stardust is not allowed to treat themselves with anything but respect.
🌱Remember you can be kind and sweet and soft hearted and still have boundaries and still say no when you want to and still stand up for yourself.
🌺Don’t invalidate your feelings with “oh,i’ll get over it”. It’s good to acknowledge that the way you’re feeling isn’t forever and eventually things won’t bother you anymore, but it’s just as good to accept the way you feel at the moment.
🌱Don’t belittle your achievements. Be proud. You should be.
🌺You deserve the empathy you give others.
🌱Learn that forgiveness doesn’t mean to rekindle old ties.
🌺Stay authentic.
🌱 Remove the whole ‘too good to be true’ narrative from your life,you’re deserving of all things beautiful and nourishing.
🌺If you aren’t the type of person to find joy in shimmering light filtering through leaves, steam rising from a cup of coffee, smell of a damp forest- it’s alright. Find joy in your own terms ( as long as it isn’t hurting anybody else) and pursue it unflinchingly.
🌱Remove discomfort of being alone. Take time to learn about yourself, by yourself.
You were enough yesterday.
You are enough now.
You will be enough tomorrow.🌼
Adios my friends, and stay in your power! ⭐
Snegha R
Aero7B
KCG COLLEGE OF TEECHNOLOGY
311017101069
Growing up in a family of science enthusiasts and literary lovers, I had the chance to experience the best of both worlds. While my cousins and uncles entranced me with science, the rest of my family captured my heart with the sweet essence of literature. From the moment the school leaving exam results were announced, there was a constant battle amongst my family with everyone convincing me to take up a stream that they had wanted to do, but were not able to. My mother always told me, “Do what you think is right, don’t listen to the others, you might not always know what their true intentions are”. I have always lived up to that.
“Engineering is over-rated.”
“You’re more a ‘literature person’.”
“Are you looking forward to ending up jobless?”
“You just can’t do engineering.”
The elders voiced in their thoughts, desperately trying to prevent me from pursuing engineering, but I had other ideas. Through the course of my life, my answer to “What motivates you?” has been ‘spite’. I have been living my life out of spite and so far, it has been good.
I was ecstatic when I got admission into KCG. I was going to spend the next four years, meet up with everyone’s expectations and gather as much knowledge and wisdom as I could. The day before the first day of college, everyone gave me several tips on survival.
At break of dawn, the ringing of my alarm sounded like a World War II air-raid siren – blaring, unceasing, crippling my thoughts and assaulting my ears. That did not stop me from hitting the snooze button repeatedly for the next thirty minutes before my senses awoke. There was a reason I set the clock to this unearthly hour, messing my already messed-up sleep schedule. It was the first day of college, a new beginning in the course of my life.
All my life, I have been a procrastinator. Not a quitter, but a procrastinator and that part of me had me staring at the blank ceiling for a little longer than usual and surprisingly, it was interesting. Thoughts swarmed my mind like bees in a hive.
“How do I adult and act like a college student?” defeated every other thought. In all honesty, I have not found the answer yet.
Despite me procrastinating for longer than I had intended to and almost missing my bus, I kept my ‘cool’ facade on. “Be yourself. It’s just college”, I reminded myself moments after I had gotten into the bus.
Perplexed and paranoid, I forced myself up the stairs, following the herd of students who had similar expressions on their faces. We had the same destination – the auditorium. Each step triggered my anxiety and increased my curiosity. My bewildered eyes scanned the room as a teacher called out our names according to our departments, bringing me out of the maze I had built in my mind. When she called out my name loud and sharp, I almost gave myself whiplash when I snapped my head in her direction. Unbeknownst to us, there were faces we had no idea would be our emotional support, personalities whom we would become fond of soon. Things may change; no one knows what the future has in store for us, or what life has to offer. After that, we were separated according to our departments and were given the schedule for the day. The science side of me was thrilled to find it was the laboratory session until noon. I was excited just as much as I was nervous considering that I had not spoken to anyone from my class yet, nor did I know how welcomed I would be.
The introductory part came in and I found it rather amusing. The creative answers for “Why did you choose engineering?” had me snickering in the last bench.
Looking through the syllabi of the subjects we had for the semester, I realized everything was a revised and a slightly more advanced version of what we had learned in 12th grade – except for Engineering Graphics. I am someone who struggles drawing straight lines and with EG as a subject, I could do nothing but heave a defeated sigh.
Making friends was not much of a big deal for me. I approached people with “Are you a Marvel fan?”, because at that instant, I could not find a better conversation starter. The typical “Dude, what were your 12th marks?” seemed a little too clichéd and trust me, no one wants to bring back war memories.
Lunchtime rolled in like a rock down a hill, the blaring siren we have for a bell made me realize that my alarm was not too bad after all. I spent the hour roaming around campus, discovering new places with excitement and getting lost every now and then.
Before I could even take in everything that had happened, the final bell rang, a signal for us to go home. Everyone scurried out of the classes screaming, “I’ll meet you tomorrow!” to their friends.
Fortunately, I was proven wrong. I felt very welcome. I did not have to alter my personality in any way to fit in. Everyone accepted me the way I was, as I did them. Much to my surprise, I befriended quite a handful (me being me, I counted the number of friends I made on day one, en route home).
My first day at KCG was quite a normal one. After all, it was just the first day. There was more to come and the question to ask is, ‘Was I prepared?’ No, not really. In my opinion, college and school are two separate things and they should never be compared. They are different places and different experiences. Everything is different except for one similarity: classes.
Authored by : Prashanthi Bhaskaran – Ist year – Department of ECE
Throughout a person’s life, there is no shortage of memorable days and the first day of college is a prominent one for most. Like many others, I had a glimpse of college life from my siblings. However, I never expected that my first day at college would be so spectacular! On the morning of July 10, 2019, I took my first step towards my dream of becoming an engineer by joining KCG College of Technology.
When I entered the campus, I felt many emotions – happiness, anxiety, fear and sadness. I was happy because the campus was vast and beautiful, anxious at the thought of coming into a completely new environment, culture and tradition. I was afraid since I had to stay alone in the hostel and sad because I knew that my parents were going to leave me in a while. But all my sadness changed to joy when I reached the Main Block. Three gorgeous ladies, whom I realized were teachers at the college, were smiling at us.
The moment we entered the Main Block, the teachers greeted us warmly. They gave us flowers and chocolates and I still remember the beautiful smile of Ms. Deiva Sundari, who escorted us to the admission office. My parents and I were impressed with the level of hospitality that was displayed by the college. The admission process started the moment we entered the office. My mom and I were told to go to the KMC auditorium for the induction program.
The Principal started by giving us a welcome speech. Once that was done, another lady walked up to the stage and enthralled us with her speech. Unfortunately, I was not able to see her as a pillar blocked my view. As luck would have it, I found out later that she was Ms. Anita, one of our all-time favorites. That day was the start of me becoming her biggest fan. After that, it was time for a speech by the Chief Guest, which touched our hearts. Once the induction program was over, they provided us refreshments.
After that, they asked us to go to our respective classes. Classroom T67 was the class allotted to Aerospace. There, I met another teacher whom I later came to know was Mr. Gladwin. He asked us to give both photocopies and originals of our documents. We were initially asked to submit 2 copies of all the documents but I had brought only 1 copy of each. I expected him to be upset with me; instead, he gave me a broad smile and told me calmly, “It’s OK. Don’t worry. Just go and bring it now.”
Later we went to Chacko Hall to see the hostel. It looked very homely from outside. When we entered, we realized that the homeliness was not limited to just the outside. We met the hostel warden, Ms. Glory, who put me at ease. She took us to room number 24 and on the way, I met the occupant of room number 16, who became my first friend at KCG.
In the afternoon, Ms. Glory came and invited my parents to have lunch in the mess. My parents sat at one table and I sat at another, along with the other first year students. Ms. Glory introduced me to everyone. That was the first time I was having a South Indian meal and it was a wonderful new experience for me. Sadly, I knew that the most heart-breaking period was going to be after lunch.
The cab came to take my parents to the hotel as they had a flight to catch the next day. Ms. Glory assured my parents that I would be taken care of. As they left, my heart was filled with sorrow, but I strengthened my resolve by reminding myself that, “To achieve my goals, I have to bear the pain.”
Days will sprout and fall like leaves, but this particular day will always be etched deep into my heart.
Authored by : Debadatta Dey – Ist year – Department of Aerospace Engineering
To be honest, I think I am well qualified to answer this question. Why do I think so? Because, I have attended many innovative hackathons and various symposiums.
By now, you must be wondering what a hackathon is. It is ‘a design sprint-like event; often, in which computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, interface designers, project managers, domain experts, and others collaborate intensively on software projects.’
I had already attended a few similar events just for the fun of it and got to interact with students from other colleges. After all, “No one has ever died, from an over exposure to education”.
One of my most cherished moments was my Head of Department, Dr. J. Frank Vijay calling my class teacher, Ms. Anju to see if my team and I would be interested in participating in a hackathon at Infosys. Ms. Anju asked me to discuss it with my teammates. We unanimously agreed to attend the hackathon, as it would give us more exposure into the subject. The organizer of the hackathon gave us a list of approved topics, and we had to select one.
To our good luck, we had a choice of six topics. After much discussion, we chose ‘Facial Emotion Detection’, which was related to our recently mastered domain – Machine Learning. We conveyed our choice to the Placement Officer, Mr. Pawan. We spent quite some time with him, discussing the hackathon, and asking him questions. We started preparations immediately, as the event was to be held in 3 days’ time, and I was determined to bag a top position. Similarly, I motivated my team too, and we ended up working on our systems, discussing with each other the various ways by which we could arrive at a solution for this problem.
It has been said, “Teachers are your good friends”. I have never experienced it while at school, but at college, this quote proved to be true. I decided to tweak it to, “Professors are your good friends”. This is because, when we were on the verge of giving up, both Dr. Vijay and Ms. Anju gave us their unwavering support. They sacrificed a lot of their time in motivating us and gave us innovative solutions on how to arrive at the best possible solution to the problem. Hours sped by like seconds, and we still had no solution in sight. That night was a miserable one for all of us. We could not sleep, and throughout the night, were busy programming with different logics, algorithms, etc.
Finally, at 4 A.M., my laptop beeped. I scrambled to the screen, and was in for one of the best surprises I have ever had in my life. Yes, we had a solution! I immediately called the team to share the good news. Everyone was thrilled – it was a game changer for us and winning the event was definitely closer now. Later, when we met at the college, I explained the steps I had taken and with it, the way we could arrive at our solution. We did all this just in time as the next day was D-day, and our first step towards our careers.
On the day of the hackathon, we reached the Infosys campus at Mahindra City which was the venue. We had a pleasant surprise when the organizers took us to the cafeteria and asked us to have our breakfast along with them. Later, we were taken to the competition area where we were assigned our seats and a few moments later, the hackathon started.
They started by going through the procedures, rules and requirements of the hackathon. One of the most important points discussed was the elimination of teams during every round of the competition. This consisted of 3 checks during the competition and a final check during the final presentation. As per our chosen topic, each team was asked to present the solution that would solve the problem. We presented our method to the expert panel and they asked follow-up questions including ones based on various scenarios, statutory A/B testing optimization and so on. While this went on, we realized that the main purpose of the hackathon was to make us think in ways that would rival the professionals within the industry and to encourage us to develop the required skills for the industry.
We had our fingers crossed as we awaited the results. We were pleased to hear that we had qualified for the second round of the competition. Unfortunately, it also meant that we had to say goodbye to some of our fellow competitors who were unable to advance to the next round.
The second round was more complex as we were required us to show an actual working model of the Facial Emotion Detector. The time limit allotted to us to develop it was 6 hours. We decided that the best way was to split the tasks and we started to code intently. We supported each other often by prompting different strategies by which we could attempt to produce an innovative product. Time flew by and we realized that we also had to go for lunch during the competition and to save time, decided to go for it in pairs. Final touches were added to the libraries to function optimally and the algorithms were coded with input images to signify different emotions. Finally, we developed a fragmenting solution to the product. The expert panel approached us to check and evaluate our product. When one of the experts saw the model we developed, I noticed a gleam in his eyes and I realized that he was able to visualize a finished product in his mind, based on what he was looking at. At that moment, I knew that the odds of us making it into the final round were great. As they announced the winners of the round, we were ecstatic.
We were now entering the third round and this was a crucial one, as it could be the key to our success. However, there was a twist in this round. All the selected teams were asked to recode their code and add some extensions. The extension that was given to us was that gender had to be detected and music was to be played based on the emotion displayed of the user. This was no easy task but we put our minds together and noted down all the ways by which we could implement it. After a while, we were able to come up with a solution to one of the required extensions. The expert panel’s evaluation was based on our optimized model and its working ability. It was a nerve-wracking moment when they announced that only 5 teams would be selected for the final presentation of the developed product, and we were declared one of them. We were asked to proceed to another room to prepare the presentation.
We were under a great deal of pressure as the struggle had been long and we were so close to victory. One by one, our teams were called, and we had to give an 8-minute presentation to a panel comprising of more than 60 experts. As in the first round, where questions or doubts were posed to us, we had to again answer and clear them immediately. We were told that the results would be announced after dinner.
In a competition of 128 teams, we were placed 4th. This was not bad at all, considering that we had not won any hackathons so far. Words could not express the elation we felt on our success.
Right now, we are working on a variety of projects. During this period of quarantine, I have been hard at work developing an application called ‘Simha’s Classes’, while the others have been involved with a few courses to increase their proficiency. The takeaway experience of being a part of such events are exposure, interaction, will to succeed, industry requirements, behavioral response, and attitude development.
As someone once said, ’The harder you work for something, the greater you will feel when you achieve it’. It’s true, isn’t it?
Authored by : Muzammil Sait A – IInd year – Department of Information Technology
At the onset, I would like to tell you all one thing that I have learned over the days – it does not always matter what you present, but what matters is the way you present it. Looking back at the history of humankind, you will find people who have always been known for their way of addressing their audiences. As Frederick Buechner said, “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
You may ask yourself why people fear public speaking. The common issue is a lack of self-confidence. People always have an inferiority complex and end up with the subconscious feeling that they are inferior to someone else. Build your mind to lead an optimistic life and never let pessimism take over your mind. The next issue that people face is criticism. None of us is exempt from criticism. Anyone who wants to taste success will have to taste criticism first.
“Public speaking is the art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary.” – John F. Kennedy
One man who has always been an electrifying speaker is the former President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. Obama is widely known for his stage presence and his style of presenting himself. Obama’s speech during the Democratic National Convention in 2004 is one of the most renowned speeches in American history. Experts say that the speech played a major role in Obama’s victory in the United Stated presidential election held in 2008.
Among Indian speakers, Shashi Tharoor, a Member of Parliament has won hearts (apart from politics) for his style of addressing the public. Thousands have viewed his speech at the Oxford Union. Shashi Tharoor is widely popular for his vocabulary, but the man once lamented, “I am often trolled for my vocabulary.”
“A good speech should be like a women’s skirt, long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” – Winston Churchill
The best way of overcoming the fear is to motivate yourself. As far as motivation is concerned, while people go in search of it, I would recommend that you inculcate it within yourselves. A catalyst can only enhance the reaction but cannot initiate it. In the same way, motivation can goad you into do something, but it depends upon you if you want to taste success. Remember, all the great speakers were bad speakers at one point.
I conclude by quoting Mr. Dirish Mohan – “Public speaking is the art of giving power to words – to influence, inspire and transform lives.”
Authored by : Dhanush N – Ist year – Department of Mechanical Engineering