[Reader-list] B Grade Engineering College Culture

[Nalin Mathur]

Sarai / Independent Fellow 2007/ Nalin N. Mathur/ Second Posting

Confession Time

Now nobody calls his or her *Alma Mater* a B – Grade institute, definitely
not in public. It remains a universal fact that one tends to relate with
ones institute, irrespective of its social or educational ranking. Even
though I agreed with this theory, I had to experience it first hand when I
broke the news of receiving a fellowship to study B – Grade Engineering
college culture to my friends. Let me share with you upfront that I was
expecting words of praise and encouragement, which I eventually got, but not
before being subjected to ridicule. Most of my friends were dejected at the
adjective I had used to describe our college. Almost all showered
obscenities. Those few with a sense of history reminded me of Arthur
Wellesley's epic tribute to his *Alma Mater* mentioning the famous "*The
battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton *" quote
(forgetting that the play ground at our college resembled an over sized cow
shed for the better part of our graduation). Nevertheless, what hit me the
most with this quote was our uncanny resemblance to Wellesley's educational
and professional life. Like Wellesley, I or my friends never scored well at
school. Later in life he was a highly successful and decorated soldier,
something which we wish to accomplish in our respective field of expertise.

As a whole, I observed two points, which have become the basis of my study
for this fellowship. One – the utter disregard of ones academic credentials
in view of gaining success in life. The zeal to accomplish and beat the odds
has absolutely nothing to do with ones *Alma Mater.* The aspiration and
attitude to go for the kill are as independent features from the place of
graduating as rocket science is from the excavations at Harappa. In short,
just like a shrewd Wellesley defeated the mighty Napoleon, graduates from B
– Grade engineering colleges are all pumped up to take on the world.

Two – all said and done, Wellesley was from Eton, among the best schools in
the world with a culture and legacy as enriching as it can get. No matter
how he fared in classes, he must have gained something, the credit for which
can go to his school as well. A similar scene shapes up for my study. B –
Grade Engineering colleges have a lot to catch up on when compared with the
top tier institutions, engineers from which, irrefutably, have a major edge,
in terms of level of education, exposure and environment.

So here I am, trying to get over this fascination from Duke of Wellington
and his times, and the contradictory notions cropping up in my mind. And try
to study and document as to what goes inside those worn out walls of a
second tier engineering college. What happens to half a million engineers
passing out from such colleges every year in India? What role do they play
in building on a society? What aspirations do they carry? What is it that
makes them believe that they can excel when they would be competing with
peers who are far better equipped? And importantly what kind of dynamics do
they create and live through?

To be honest I am skeptical if I would be able to present the answers in the
manner they deserve. Or, in the first place, if I would be able to find them
at all.

If I do, my Orkut profile would read – I am done!

Regards,

Nalin N.
Mathur
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070408/5597ba8a/attachment.html