Fundamatics

Author: Beheruz Sethna

  • Metamor4sis! Planting Trees Under the Shade of Which We Would Never Sit

    Metamor4sis! Planting Trees Under the Shade of Which We Would Never Sit

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    Artwork by Prof. Arun Inamdar

    [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]As background, I had the honor of serving as General Secretary (GS) of Hostel 4 in 1968-69 1 . During my H4 GS term, we broke all norms for a hostel function (and more).

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  • The Race to the Vaccine!

    The Race to the Vaccine!

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     Illustration by Rajat Patle

    [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This story is set long, long ago, way back in the Summer of 2020 … the lockdowns were coming to an end, but the future seemed uncertain at best. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Each summer, I journey from the US to Balgram, an orphanage school outside of Lonavala, to teach science to orphaned kids. I have done that for many years. I buy equipment for fun but science-based experiments and teach the kids at Balgram the “fundas” before we do the hands-on stuff, which they very much enjoy. But, in 2020, due to COVID-19, I did not go. In the US, we faculty members get paid our full salary for the academic year (August to the first week of May) and the summer is ours to do what we like. Most faculty teach in the summer for substantially extra money. I am a very popular guy in my department because, since I go to Balgram, I don’t compete for summer teaching money (as a senior professor I would get a substantial chunk of resources if I wanted). I willingly give up this increase in my bank balance in favor of the (presumably) increased Heavenly balance each time I teach at Balgram! But, in 2020 (since summer teaching decisions are made in January) I lost out on both. (more…)

  • The Role of the Government in Publicly-Funded Institutions: To what extent should the government be setting the agenda for activities of the institution or its faculty?

    The Role of the Government in Publicly-Funded Institutions: To what extent should the government be setting the agenda for activities of the institution or its faculty?

    First, let me put this column is perspective. In the December issue of Fundamatics, I wrote a column entitled, “The Golden Rule, Balgram, Michelangelo, IIT, and IIM,” which basically made the case (I should never say such a thing to my fellow IITians – what I mean is that I attempted to make the case) that government bureaucrats are best advised not to be making decisions in the running of colleges or universities– particularly the IITs and IIMs. I quote below some excerpts from that article, though I encourage you to read it yourself. (more…)