IISc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2005_IISc_Bangalore_shooting

I was at the same (ORSI) conference about 7 years back. I had even briefly spoken to Prof. Chandru, one of the injured, back then about taking up grad study in OR. I feel sad and outraged at this attack.

During high school in Delhi and undergraduation studies in Madras, I had visited some of the internationally renowned institutes in India - the IIT-D, IIT-M, Anna U and U Madras and of course, IISc.

Of all those, the IISc campus touched me in a way no other campus (except for my high school SPV) had. Very serene, refreshing and having the effect of clearing one's mind. It almost felt as if I could think much faster. It might have been that the campus is huge and lush with trees and other greenery and the oxygen had its effect.

But it was more - I wanted to catch hold of a book and read it. I wanted to have a puzzle, an engineering problem presented to me so I could solve it and make someone's life easier. It was on this trip that I decided I wanted to pursue higher studies.

I would wake up early in the morning and have breakfast in a small stall set up behind the guesthouse and then walk briskly to the conference hall. After a day of seminars where I learned that I could grasp at least some of what was being presented, I would walk around the campus for a few more hours finishing the day with a very fulfilling dinner at the institute-run restaurant on-campus. On one of the days, I visited the huge ballroom on the second floor of the main building, I was the only person walking around the beautifully lit hall - it was grand like a palace. I felt sad leaving the campus even though I had been there just 3 days.

Looking back at the experience, it was 3 days very well spent and a cherished memory.

Here in the U.S., many parents take their kids (who will soon be applying for colleges) to various campuses and in many cases the kids decide to go to one or the other school based on the beauty and/or location of the campus. But even before making the decision, I think the kids start to feel what stirred within me at IISc - the yearning to adopt a lifestyle so very conducive to learning.

QOTD

Seek not to follow in the footsteps of wise men; seek what they sought.
--Basho