Here’s a link to AcYut’s dancing video. Great job there!
Team AcYut from BITS, Pilani wins a bronze at the RoboGames 2009. AcYut is the only humanoid robot from India.
BITS Pilani - Acyut Etv television coverage (via ksamay)
Mantra of service
This is an interview published in Sandpaper,The BITS Pilani alumni magazine, Summer 2008. Original article is available here.
By Merrin Kurian (‘03 MMS & Infosys , BITS, Pilani) and Sherin Kurian (’04 Infosys, BITS, Pilani)
B. Sandhya is the Inspector General of Kerala Police in India. Besides being an exceptional civil servant, she is a painter and writer and has authored a few published books. She is a Ph.D. from BITS, Pilani. For her stellar contribution to the society, she is a Quarterly BITSian.
B. Sandhya is the Inspector General of Kerala Police in India. She joined the Indian Police Service, after passing the Indian Civil Services Examination in 1988.
Besides being an exceptional civil servant, she writes poems and short stories in contemporary Malayalam Magazines. She has published five books of literature and several research papers in Police Science. She trained in Human Resources Management from Wollongong University, Australia in 1998. She has also passed the PGDBA from the Pondicherry University in 1999 and also obtained a Ph.D. from BITS-Pilani in 2005. The topic of her research was Accessibility of Women to Criminal Justice System.
We managed to catch up with her for a short but insightful interview...
What were your childhood dreams?
“When I was young I had many dreams as any other child. My dream was to become a doctor so that I’ll be able to give an injection to my teacher. Then I thought I would become a teacher. When I was in class 9, I decided to join the civil service. Once upon a time I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to write about my village, the people around me, and my family. It has always been there at the bottom of my heart.”
After completing your post graduation in 1985, you did a certificate course in Human Resource Management, post graduate diploma in business administration, also courses in French and now you have obtained your doctorate! Do you always have a passion for learning?
“Yes, I do!”
What were your biggest takeaways from the universities and educational institutions you studied? What were the biggest factors that moulded your personality?
“I studied in a women’s college. That, in fact helped me because there was no reason for fear. Right from my pre-degree days, I used to participate in co-curricular activities. Everyone around encouraged me. I participated in extempore, essay writing, declamation etc. I was in the college quiz team and used to participate in intercollegiate competitions which helped a lot in interacting with many people. Also I was the editor of a magazine in my second year of graduation.”
Why did you choose BITS for doing PhD?
“I did my French courses at Alliance Francis de Trivandrum in Kerala. At that time I was thinking about registering for my PhD and started enquiring about many universities. I came to know about BITS through Mr. Ananda Bose IAS, who was my classmate. He also did his PhD from BITS. The programme offered by BITS has lot of flexibilities as well. From the place of your residence, you can pursue it which I found very convenient. Also they give a lot of encouragement to professionals with ten years of experience. My guide was Dr. P. K. V. Nair, Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Sociology, Kerala University.”
Any disappointments?
“Absolutely none, except the fees (laughing). It was a very rewarding experience.”
What do you think about programmes like the ones offered by the DLPD at BITS? How effective is it in connecting academia with professions like yours?
“These programmes are really good. There are certain targets to be achieved, as in to conduct seminars and publish papers. I used to conduct so many classes, but just forgot about them afterwards. I never tried to document any of those. After registering for the programme at BITS, I started recording those and it gave me an opportunity to quantify my contributions. People in academics can give theoretical knowledge about professions like mine. Only we can present a better picture since we have the experience, but most of us do not find sufficient time. So there is a gap and that can be bridged through programmes like this which needs us to conduct classes and do related work.”
Poet, novelist, artist… Awards for your literature works along with recognitions in your profession (Police Medal from the President of India). What inspires you? You draw inspiration from work? Or is it the other way round – do they provide you energy to work?
“Of course my experience at work inspires me in my literary pursuits. In this profession, the diversified experience gives a lot of food for thought when it comes to writing. Had I been a teacher, I wouldn’t have had these many experiences. I also gain inspiration from travel. The dedication, work culture and time management I see in western countries inspires me to become a better professional as well.”
What makes a civil servant different? In your opinion what are the qualities that they should possess?
“The first and foremost quality is service mindedness. If your only motive is to make money, you may be disappointed. So will it be if serving the society is not your cup of tea. 70% of my batch mates were engineers including those from the IITs. There were also graduates from the IIMs. Out of 70 in my batch only one left the service. People may have their motives as money, power, status or service mindedness. I got into civil service with service mindedness as my motto. That was the best anyone could dream as a girl from an ordinary background.”
It is a tough job dealing with crime, treachery, mortification and death even. And most of all, it is a thankless job in view of the general public. Have you ever felt like giving up? How do you deal with such immensely stressful situations?
“I have never felt like giving up this profession. Yes, there were very difficult situations. People may feel it as thankless job, but I owe a lot to my job. We are trained to face stressed circumstances. In course of time, it becomes part of our daily life.”
You always work for equity for women. In your profession have you ever felt limitations being a woman?
“In the IPS Academy, we are always treated as equals; there is no discrimination against women. But when women are not a critical mass, your voice is seldom heard. And that happens in almost every field.”
You must be having a rich experience in dealing with all the different types of people. Could you mention some incident or something that you would never forget, something that gave you hope and faith in the goodness of humanity amongst the manifestations of evil in human nature?
“There was a case in a remote village where a husband and wife were murdered. We had to stay there almost for a month for the investigation. It was a very unique experience working with the team during the investigation and also the way the villagers treated us. It was a very complicated case since the incident took place in a small village of just 300 people. Everyone was so scared after the incident that they started suspecting each other. It was a great relief for them once everything was sorted out.
The children of the victims were just in class 9 (girl) and class 1 (boy) at that time. Their uncle took care of them. He did not even marry until the girl graduated and got married. Also the culprit’s family stood with him during his long years of imprisonment and his wife accepted him when he was released. This saved him from remaining a criminal. They live peacefully now. The touch of humanity in both these cases is noteworthy.”
When did you feel the happiest so far in you professional life?
“There is nothing to rejoice. But there are lots of good moments.”
What do you think is an effective way to make the world a better place to live? Certain tips to those who look forward to doing their part?
“I remember two lines of a poem which mean ‘whoever wants to reach the sky should have the mantra of service with them’.
Don’t go with the mass. Do what you think is right. The only thing to keep in mind is not to harm others while you do something. Instead of going by the trend, you create the trend.”
I happened to see the website www.keralapolicehistory.com conceptualised by you. What made you think of such a venture?
“We conducted an exhibition last year with the theme ‘50 years of Kerala Police’. We collected a lot of materials – articles, photographs etc. for the same. We got the idea of collecting data from the archives throughout Kerala. And since we had all that data, we thought the website would be a way to recognize those who worked day in and day out for the society.”
You have a great family to support you. Who all are there in your family?
“My husband Dr. K. Madhukumar is the Head of Department of the Physics department, M.G. College, Trivandrum. My daughter Hyma is now in Class 10 at Kendriya Vidyalaya. Then I have my parents, and a brother who works in Bangalore.”
There are BITSians probably in every walk of life: from Silicon Valley and Wall Street to Bollywood. From engineers, bankers and entrepreneurs to writers, artists, caterers, academicians and, of course, students. As part of the BITSian fraternity, what would you like to say to all of them?
“Everyone should be aware of the responsibility they have to the society. And always keep in mind the mantra of service. BITSians can definitely take a lead in making the world a better place to live in.”
