1. Established 2012 January 2013 Issue #3 Price 2 Page 1
THE WORDSMITH
Asia’s largest Science & Technical
festival and the Best Innovative Team
2 weeks to submissions and 50 ‘tasks’ staring at us
Disha Waghela
T.E. Instru
We, ‘The Planeteers’ (the
environment club of CCEW), took
up ‘Techfest Green Campus
Challenge (TGCC)’ as our activity of
the semester. An event hosted under
the celebrated IIT Powai’s, Technical
Festival. 300 colleges nationwide
participated to make their campus
come across as the most Green and
Sustainable. The testing barometer,
100 tasks designed by eminent
professors and PhD students from
Centre for Environment Science and
Engineering (CESE), IIT Powai. The
tasks in domains of energy, climate
and air, sustainability, social outreach
and media, were ‘easy, medium and
hard’ as they claimed, but for us
purely ‘challenging’ with the deadline
coinciding with the biennial “terror.”
While ‘easy’ tasks earned us 10-20
points, the ‘challenging’ tasks
provided us an opportunity to earn a
maximum of 200 points. We
completed 64 tasks and earned a
total of2865 points!
The initiation and
execution: Disha Waghela, Radhika
Saraf, Aishwarya Chaporkar and
Krishnali Penta; read through one
hundred tasks, shortlisting fifty.
Emerged four groups who breathed
TGCC. But as we scurried executing
tasks, filing reports we stumbled
upon a piece of information every
CCEWian must be privy to. The
Sanstha and thus college is an almost
zero waste campus. The paper and
food waste collected is used for
composting. Some food waste is
dumped in the Sanstha’s very own
Biogas Plant. The biogas produced is
used as cooking gas in hostel messes.
This saves 75 gas cylinders each year.
Further the slurry left behind is again
used for composting. The e-waste is
sold to scrap dealers who in turn
submit it to recycling facilities. Also,
all the sanitary waste is dumped in
the incinerator and the flyash left
behind acts as manure. The terraces
of all buildings within the campus
have pipes that either drain into the
garden area or they are directed
towards underground storage tanks,
providing rainwater harvesting
facility. With the Sanstha and
Shahapurkar Sir, doing so much for a
‘green campus’, we needed to win this
challenge for them.
From making organic
colours with kajal and vermillion to
water buzzers and timers with
adjustable period and light
dependant switches, to a
rollercoaster of emotions with our
rank plunging, trampling our spirits
and then the phonecall that made
our world shake. TGCC
encompassed the entire gamut of an
engineers life.
For a detailed account of
the tasks we performed or any
queries on how to register as a
‘Planeteer’ and be a part of our next
mission: to devise a food
management system to gain control
over the wastage and quality of the
food in our canteens and messes,
which stands at a staggering 500kg
wasted daily; or be a part of TGCC
2014 contact The Wordsmith at
the.wordsmith@cumminscollege.in
and you will get through to us.
We emphatically thank Dr.
Khambete, Professor A.K. Joshi and
Rohini madam for being so
supportive and caring.
MANEKA KHANNA
3rd Year, National University
of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.
Today, 16th Jan.
2013, happens to be the
6th Day of the Maha
Kumbh Mela in Allahabad,
held once in 12 years and
termed to be the world’s
largest congregation with
1.1 crore people coming
from all over the globe.
People come to take a dip
in the holy Sangam- the
confluence of the Ganga ,
Yamuna and the mythical
Saraswati to wash away
their sins and take a step
closer to attaining moksha,
or spiritual release. As
students in this techno-
scientific generation, yes,
we can scorn at this
befooled exodus of people
who believe that a dip in
holy water makes
everything right. Yet,
regardless of your faith and
belief, I feel that attending
the Kumbh Mela will be an
enthralling, exciting
experience that you will
never forget for the rest of
your life.
At a peripheral
level, just being witness to
the sheer magnitude and
diversity
of people
across
the globe,
all
engaging
in the
same
religious
rites and
ceremoni
es, and held together by
the same spiritual bond is
something bound to leave
you in awe. It is about
being endeared by the
exotic Naga and Aghori
Sadhus, naked, covered in
ash and smoking
marijuana, seeing the
gorgeous sights of the
largest mela-the stalls, of
every sort of
item from
around the
world,
selling
unfathomabl
e things; and
being part of
nig
htt
ime gaieties and
celebrations with
people from parts
of the country
you’ve never even
heard of. Most
importantly it is
the sheer
excitement of
participating in a once in a
life time opportunity, with
the energy and youth that
we won’t have as 40-year
olds working in MNCs.
That is why I
would love to part of a
Kumbh Mela. Religious
viewpoints apart, simply
taking part in the festivities
with the humanoid gives
you perspective, makes
you realize just how
limited our mind and
experiences are.
My friend told
me something that sums it
up, “It’s the reason we love
rock concerts; the feeling
of the pulse and energy of
a congregation of people in
a celebration, to go
through the same
emotional ride and
experience as hundreds
around us.” Here, make
that millions. Yes, there are
safety hazards, stampedes,
whatnot. But that’s what
makes us young, wild and
maybe stupid, right?
Kumbh Mela - The Concert
The energy of the
congregation in a
celebration going
through the same
emotional ride and
experience as
hundreds around
them
Featuring
Inside
BREWING ­ Pg 2
Kalyug, Karma
and Women
IN FOCUS ­ Pg 3
College: Festivals
and Clubs
TECH A PEEK
- Pg 4
Auto viewed, OS
reviewed
ANALYZE
THAT - Pg 6
This time we
write about
Sherlock
PHILOSOPHER
-Pg 8
Divination
A Cummins College Initiative

2. Page 2
PRIYANKA CHANDNA
Editor,Wordsmith
Darn the Doppler effect. As that noisy
machine approached, its rattling wasn’t exactly
growing kind on the ears. Our protagonist, A.
Muruganantham enters. He approaches and asks,
“One packet please.” The man at the other end
hurriedly wraps it in paper, throws it into a black
bag. The money exchanges hands and with a
practiced sleight the transaction is complete.
Now going back a little and shedding
light on the events that led up to this moment.
Murugun was drinking his daily cuppa when his
wife, hiding something behind her back tried to
slide past. “What do you hide there?” After much
prodding she reluctantly showed him a “nasty rag
cloth.” I won’t even use that to clean my moped.
“Don’t you watch advertisements?” To that she
replied, “Watch I do, but patronizing would mean
no milk in this home.” But Murugun wasn’t
satisfied, he took out his moped and rode his way
to the chemist, “One Stayfree please.”
The inspired man, the son of BPL, Below
Poverty Line, parents was baffled.
6 grams of cotton cost Rs0.20 but these
multinationals sold sanitary napkins for Rs3.00, 15
times the market price. Thus, started his pursuit to
make an affordable sanitary napkin. But his
research required a subject, with only his wife the
case study became time- exhaustive with 3 week
intervals between each.
Then struck the solution to his first
problem; the many and probably more candid
medical college students. He rode his moped
through the gates of the medical college to make
his weekly delivery. 7 days later, when he returned
he was crestfallen. Only 2 of 22 girls had
extensively filled the data sheets, a bias feedback
which was like an “incomplete balance sheet.”
However perseverance got the better of him. If he
couldn’t test it on the women he would test it on
himself.
He bought a V-Shaped undergarment,
stuck on his napkin and with a little help from his
butcher friend the next round of experimentation
began. He used fresh, warm goat blood filled in a
football bladder which was connected via a
catheter. As he walked and cycled around town he
would intermittently press the bladder. The results
left him dissatisfied.
By now he had exhausted much of his
funds, was on the verge of selling his home but his
mission was greater. He knew he was rubbing
shoulders with the Biggies “P&G
and J&J,” but the game was on. He sent the sanitary
napkins to labs across the IIT’s and BITS Pilani.
The result he got back was that the napkins were
made from a certain cotton filament: cellulose. But
1.5 years offan audacious study ofused napkins, in
a 10X10 room in his backyard; napkins made from
every possible variant of cotton, had taught him
this “It was not cotton.” Then after research,
research and more research the revelation came: It
was cellulose of pinewood. A search led to
frightening numbers- Rs3.5-7 crores, the price of
the machines used to manufacture sanitary
napkins. Every woman in the world might never
get the “privilege” called sanitary in the most
sacred cycle oflife.
He knew the raw material now all he had
to do was make the machine. And he did and when
he did the President awarded him.
His invention, a sequence of simple
machine tools: 1. A Defibration machine, 2. a core
forming machine and 3. napkin finishing machine;
comes with a mission- “To make India a 100%-
Sanitary Napkin-using-nation.” With over 630
units in 23 states he is one step closer to his goal.
He doesn’t want to make his organization
“Jayashree Industries” a corporate entity and thus
all procedural details are uploaded on public
domain quite like open source software and 110
nations have accessed it.
This man on his moped rode away with
the packet ofStayfree to make history.
BREWING
A Nation Cries
The papers were flooded with the uproar
and chagrin of the nation over the Delhi rape case.
On a Sunday, the 30th oflast month, I went through
‘The Times ofIndia’ and saw this drawing. Have we,
as a nation, forgotten to respect our women? A
country widely known for its rich heritage and
culture; is this what our culture teaches us? Its time
we revisit the lanes of history and learn from our
forefathers to give women the respect and social
status which they deserve.
We cannot neglect the statistics in this
case. This is not a time to play the blame game but
this is the time to act. We must get to the heart of
the problem and find practical and feasible
solutions. The nub of the issue, I feel, is the
degenerate notion that women are inferior and thus
easily used.
These preconceived notions have lead to
extensive female foeticide, human trafficking,
domestic violence and rape. Female foeticide, a
direct result of the menial status accorded to
women, has led to skewed sex ratios in many states.
Also increase in nuclear families, increased
vulgarity in films, easy access to pornography at a
very young age coupled with lack of sex education
are some of the reasons why these crimes are being
repeated without compunction.
I really wonder if hanging, physical
castration or chemical castration would be possible
in our country (not to forget the laws that need to
be passed by the parliament). Saudi Arabia, which
has the lowest per
capita rate for
crimes against
women, has the
Sharia Law
wherein the rapist
has his head
chopped off in
public. The
Indian Judicial
system is not so
Roman in its
approach but delayed justice and red-tapism have
incurred censure.
So what can be the possible solutions to
these problems? Fast and efficient community
policing (instill a sensibility or sensitivity that would
make arguments over jurisdiction redundant),
forming a centralized judicial body to handle cases,
an emergency SOS system and lastly but most
prophetically, eradication of the flagrant social
stigma.
The most common solution to all these
problems is imparting moral values to all sections of
society. Men and women are equal and have equal
importance in society. We must learn to respect
each other’s bodies. Most importantly women must
know their basic rights. Together let us work to
eradicate these crimes and aim to build a free
environment where a woman can roam alone on
streets without being visually raped.
Do let us know if you take up any social
initiative for this cause @
newsletter.cummins@gmail.com.
Fast and efficient
community
policing and
eradication of the
flagrant social
stigma.
Murugun on Moped
A. Muruganantham

3. Page 3
CARTOON CARNIVAL
11th ‐ 12th Feb ‐ Workshops
13th Feb : Le Carnival- Go by the Theme
14th Feb: 6‐Yard Fun - Traditional Day
15th Feb: Addam's Family
16th Feb: Razzle Dazzle‐Glam it Up
INNOVATION 2K13
Event Details:
1) Prose Prowess:
Paper presentation Areas: Cloud
Computing, Artificial Intelligence,
Latest trends in automobile
engineering, Signal processing and
image processing, Nanotechnology.
2) Proyecto Mania – Here’s a
chance to demonstrate your
innovative project in any of the
three categories : software,
hardware or firmware. The domains
in software project are web app and
cloud computing, mobile and
network applications, application
development, other – AI/OS.
3) Anatronix Circuit Designing –
Perform magic with ICs, chips... and
your circuit designing skills.
4) #51- It’s time to brush up your
concepts and roll up your sleeves.
Test your Micro processor and
micro controller skills in the first
round, and code in microcontrollers
in the second round.
5 )TechSIM – Test your skills in
solid state devices and integrated
circuits
6 )C­Odenses – Are you ready to
voyage into the world of C? Enter
and win battles with your coding
skills.
7) De­surprizia- An on the spot
competition – you will be provided
with the material, and bring your
imagination into action.
8) Lathe Wars- Can you “Operate
to Generate” ? Produce a
component of the given drawing
using lathe machine.
9) Vitrizion- A war between two
robots! Can your robot win?
10) Tech Evangelist – A theme is
given, work out a plan with various
energy conversions and reach the
aim. Theme: Blow a whistle and
show as many energy conversions as
you can.
11) Java Concurrenza-Do you
have the passion to create? Design
your way up in Java.
Workshops:
1)ANDROID Development
workshop-Square Robotics
Android OS has fast become the
most used and powerful tool in
mobile systems today. Be able to
develop Android applications easily.
2)Haptics Robotic Arm – ARK
TechnoSolutions
Haptics is the science of applying
touch sensation and control for
interaction with virtual or physical
applications. In this workshop we
train you to control a Robotic Arm
using Haptics Technology (Haptic
Glove).
3) Design of Wind Turbine -
Leanway energy pvt ltd
It is the need of the hour that we
become independent of non-
renewable energy sources, into
which this workshop will provide a
deep insight.
We also have on the spot events like
technical Sudoku, trivia quiz, and
many more.
For Details:
Neha Shaah: +919096396452
Rajashri Munot: +919404225337
Nitisha Pandharpurkar:
+919689611174
Accolades
Apart from the prestigious
Purushottam Mahakarandak, the
Bagulbuva team won many prizes
at the city and state level.
Pune Level: 2nd place
Harivinayak Karandak for Team
performance.
Nupur Lele and Ashlesha
Deshmukh ­
Utejanartha(consolation prize)
Kakaji Puraska.
Siddhi Gupte ­ Purushottam
Joshi Paritoshik (Vachik
Abhinay)
Apoorva Bardapurkar ­
Neelsindhu Award for
Direction (Consolation)
State level: Team
Bagulbuva won the
Purushottam
Mahakarandak.
Apoorva Bardapurkar ­
Ganptrao Bodas Award for
Best Director
Nupur Lele ­ Keshavrao
Date Best Overall Acting
Siddhi Gupte ­ Kakaji
Puraskar (Consolation)
“What do you know about the Art
circle?” I asked. A wide range of answers right
from they put up exhibitions to it being a global
organization I got them all. Amused it made me
realize we needed to know better than that.
The art circle was the brain child of
Mrs.Jayashree Mokashi and Mrs.Karandikar
who together thought of getting all the budding
artists in Cummins under one roof.” THE ART
CIRCLE” was thus formed as a group of like­
minded people who were driven by the objective
to promote all forms of art in our college.
Everybody was welcome, irrespective of talent,
past experience, fresher, senior. Thus, under the
leadership of Suvarna Athavle, (our first Art
Circle Coordinator) chief guest, the esteemed
Dr. Salil Kulkarni, inaugurated the art circle,
which was officially named as ‘Kala Spandan’.
This marked the beginning of the future filled
with amazing activities and most of all
wonderful memories.
I remember the quote by Picasso “Every
child is an artist. The problem is how to remain
an artist once he grows up”. This is exactly what
the art circle is about ‘To keep the artist inside
you alive .It isn’t just a club, it is an initiative
taken to keep the cultural scene of our college
active and growing, to unleash the artist inside
you. Painting, sketching, dance, music, poetry,
drama, sand animation, miming, sculpture, you
name it, we have it! So, next time you see a
notice about the art circle meet don’t hesitate
come and be a part of this happening club.
That is exactly how I made my mark in
this college be it music, art or anything creative.
One idea lead to another and at the day of the
inauguration it struck my mind ’We need to have
a Cummins band’. Lo behold and soon the band
was formed.
Girls come, join, share your talent with us.
Discuss your idea, who knows one of you could
be a trendsetter in our college.
As Lady Gaga said, “And now, I'm just
trying to change the world, one sequin at a
time.”
Contact:
Mukta Kulkarni – 9423056866
Art circle Co­ordinator.
YUGANDHARA
BAKRE
BE Cultural
Secretary

4. Page 4
A Smart Choice
AutoCAD WS is supported by Android 2.2, Kingsoft Office by 2.1. Do i
really want 4.1 to play Temple Run or Whatsapp, or is there more to it?
Why does almost each smart phone user in my class swear by Android. Is
the rather handsome Lumia a bad buy? KETAKI JOSHI from SE Comp
has tediously put on one page some technical details that might facilitate
an informed choice.
Touch phones/Tablets have become an
integral part of our daily life. Are the latest
Operating Systems equipped with latest
features putting you in the dilemma of which to
choose? Well do not worry because here is
quick check on the features and a comparison
between two of the most preferred OS: Android
jelly bean & Windows 8!
On June 27, 2012, at the Google I/O
conference, Google announced Android 4.1
based on Linux kernel 3.1.10, Jelly bean.
The best features of jelly bean include are:
Project Butter: It is what Google has
labelled the “Under‐the‐hood Improvements”
which keep Jelly Bean quite literally running
like butter. The system continually renders
touch input events in better sync. It even tries
to predict where you'll touch the screen next.
Offline voice typing: When your device
has a poor data connection or no connection at
all, voice‐to‐text tasks are crunched locally
instead of in the cloud. Basically, it means you
talk and your device types!
Google Now: It is Google's attempt to
predict what you'll need. In theory, your device
learns your habits, interests and gets you the
relevant information before you even realize
you need it.
Voice search: Google's voice search is
now powered by a knowledge graph:‐ meaning
that you'll receive what Google deems to be the
best answer to your query first, followed by
relevant web results.
The competitor of Android, Windows
8, is worth taking a look at because it has
shaken the android developers to a great level
since it provides the user with various attractive
applications and an amazing interface that is
simple, user‐friendly and very smooth working.
The phones that have integrated this operating
system work very fine since the operating
systems jell in with the hardware very well.
Let us look at the striking features:
1. Support for both x86 PCs and ARM
tablets: Windows 8 is the first edition of
Windows to operate on both ARM‐based
tablets and traditional x86 PCs based on ARM
processors from Intel and AMD.
2. Touch‐centric, Tiles‐based User
Interface (UI): The “Metro” user interface
primarily consists of a "Start screen" made up
of "Live Tiles," which are links to applications
and features. Users will also be able to switch
between apps in Metro by simply swiping
across the screen.
3. Better Support for Multiple
Monitors: You can stretch the wallpaper across
two monitors, or display the Start screen on one
PC and the desktop on the other.
4. Native USB 3.0 Support drivers: To
better support the described “Super speed”
phenomena; Microsoft is outfitting Windows 8
with USB 3.0 Driver Switches, which are 10
times faster than USB 2.0 drivers. USB 3.0
gives breathtaking swiftness in file transfers
and can achieve transfer speeds of a maximum
of 5 GBPS. In layman terms, that includes
transfer of around 30,000 Digital Camera
pictures in 1 second.
Yes, now let us come to the two primary
yardsticks in comparison of the two most
demanded OS in the world:
Performance:
Jelly Bean: When it comes to
performance, we should note that Jelly Bean
has some clear advantage mostly because of
inclusion of Project Butter. It supports quad
core chipsets. That is, it can ensure high
processor performance now certainly levelling
iOS and Windows Phone, two systems long
held to be better optimized.
Windows 8: Thanks to brilliant
optimization, Windows Phone handsets have
never suffered from performance issues.
However, high power handsets and gaming
machines will not work on Windows Phone 8;
because Microsoft has set some hardware
restrictions. Only handsets with Qualcomm
single core CPUs with a maximum speed of
1.4GHz and 512MB of RAM will work on the
operating system.
Hardware support: Both platforms have
huge hardware support. Google and Microsoft
have been keeping in touch with a huge variety
of hardware makers for their mobile firmware.
Google is a step ahead in this regard. Being an
open source platform, Android is accessible to
all tech manufacturers. For Microsoft, firms
like Nokia, HTC, Samsung, Acer, ZTE,
Huawei and others will make top‐end products.
This was the tech support that you
needed to make your decision. Tell us if you
have a contrarian opinion @
the.wordsmith@cumminscollege.in.
Tech A Peek
TANUJA SAPKAL
SE Mech
I would like to share my experience of
visiting the ‘Auto Expo Exhibition 2012’ held at
Golibar Maidan, Pune from 19th to 23rd
December. The picture alongside of the stealth
supersonic cruise missile BrahMos is only a
glimpse ofthe visual treats on display.
On entering the machines that caught my
eye were the ‘ATVs’- military combat vehicles, that
stood with name-plates bragging supporting
features such as weight of the vehicle, dimensions,
projectile angles (in case of canon), angle of rise
from water bodies etc. Prestigiously alongside were
the award winning ATV entrants of various
colleges. Those “cars” forged my decision and grit
to be on the college team for Baja 2014. There were
shops that sold car and motor bikes accessories at a
discounted price, and I was already taking note.
Also on display were basic machine
components such as bushes and bearings; hoses,
Internal Combustion Engines, gun bullets and their
casings and a lot we learnt about in the “afternoon
sessions” of Manufacturing Processes. Air
compressors, hydraulic press, electric motors and
machine tools used in car garages such as turn
tables, car-jacks, lifting-tables were displayed. The
best part was that you could try your hand at the
same with the assistance of the volunteers who
provided information regarding their mechanisms.
A device that intrigued me in all its
simplicity was the ‘pressure regulator cum cleaner’,
used in air compressors. The working states that at
NTP the air entering the compressor has some
moisture present in it due to which the coefficient
of performance of compressor is reduced and one
sturdy, bulky body would be demanded. To
overcome this problem the device uses a sponge to
absorb the water. These small details kept my
interest piqued.
Workshop guns used to remove nuts were
available at work stations and we were assisted in
getting a feel ofthe shop floor. There was a cleaning
device which created vacuum and sucked not only
the dust but also water from the metal surface
rendering its surface to shine back. Live
demonstrations of the ‘dent removing’ technique
from the cars’ bodies kept rash Pune drivers rapt.
The videos of the working processes of different
machine tools like lathe machines, drilling; cutting
operations and loading of canons helped in better
understanding.
As a rule ofthe marketplace it ended with
a little commercialization as -Toyota, Honda,
Volkswagon, set shop for sale. All in all it was a very
knowledgeable experience and a real great treat for
the ‘machine lovers’.
Float like a Cadillac,
Sting like a Beamer
BrahMos is a stealth supersonic cruise
missile that can be launched from
submarines, ships, aircraft or land.
AUTO EXPO 2012

5. Page 5
Hello CCOEWians,
I must say that I am really
impressed by the way Wordsmith
has evolved from strength to
strength. Full credit for this goes
to the editorial team that has put
its heart and soul into each edition
and I am sure that it has been
encouraged by the wonderful
readers from the CCEOeW student
fraternity. I am thrilled for having
been given an opportunity to pen a
brief note for this edition.
Let me begin with a quick
synopsis of what the Signature
project entails. As you are aware,
Cummins has been associated with
CCEOeW since its inception in
1991. Under the Signature Project
initiative, Cummins aims to
enhance the quality of education
so as to enhance the ranking of
CCEW amongst the top 5%
privately
managed
engineering
institutes in
India. The road
map developed
for
accomplishing
this objective
focuses on the
undergraduate
programmes in
the first phase
(2011­2017) and
on graduate
programmes in
the second
phase (2018­
2025)..
We are focusing on three
fundamental areas, viz. student
development, faculty development
and infrastructure development.
I am thrilled to inform
you that we are on the verge of
completing a Six Sigma project
“Understand and build a Guideline
for Undergraduate Student
Development at CCEW” sponsored
by your Principal, Dr Madhuri
Khambete and the undersigned.
Many of you have contributed to
this project by giving us your
valuable inputs and I would like to
thank you for your feedback.
Overall, we received a whopping
2,035 questionnaires from all
stake holders (students, alumni,
faculty & corporate) from which
there were 8,780 ‘voices’
(responses). The team used an
interesting process called a KJ
(named after the famous Japanese
researcher of ethno­geography
Kawakita Jiro) to analyse these
voices, ran a series of statistical
tools on the quantitative data, and
then conducted a QFD analysis
incorporating information from
the benchmarking visits to four
key engineering institutions
spread across the country.
This now brings me to
one of the areas which
differentiate good institutions
from great, which is the role of
students, present and past in
building the brand image and
enhancing the brand equity of the
college. In the
few months that I
have been
interacting with
the students and
faculty of the
college, I know
that CCOeW has
an extremely
talented group of
students who will
go out into the
world and join
the alumni of
successful and
accomplished
women
engineers.
A series of interesting
opportunities to help build brand
CCEW are in the pipeline. Do visit
the college website and Facebook
page to know how you can
contribute.
Enjoy your days in
college, focus on the fundamentals
/ first principles of subjects of
engineering that you have opted
for, interact collaboratively with
students from other streams, and
like stated in thethe college
mission, evolve into Women
Professionals who are
Academically and Technically
Sound with Strong Ethics and
above all Good Human Beings.
ARUN KUMAR
GM - Corporate Responsibility
Cummins India Limited
The Cummins 6-σ Project
Six Sigma is a
Metric, it’s an
Improvement
methodology, it’s
a Management
Philosophy, it’s a
Strategy for
running business
In the field of academic
general internal medicine, we thrive
on diversity. As befitting our
clinical world of primary care,
where we are the gateway
for...everything…a breadth and
depth of knowledge is encouraged
and expected.
In my academic world, my
neighbors in my office suite are
each generalists in practice, and
pursue research on: healthcare
disparities, obesity in those with
mental health disorders, how
neighborhoods affect health. All
this within 10 feet. Broaden your
view to the entire floor of my office,
and you will quickly encounter
healthcare policy, genetics,
diabetes, intersection of psychology
with the treatment of sickle cell
anemia and ethics in global health
systems. It is impossible to be well-
read on everything. Each time I
step out of my office, I encounter
something that is new and
potentially revelatory. This is the
draw and timeless appeal of
academia.
All the while, my hours are
peppered with more tangible
questions from my trusting
patients. “I read about this
medication on the net, what do you
think of it?” My foot hurts, I have a
rash, I have just been so incredibly
tired for the past year and no one
knows what it means…can I come
in and see you?
This quick alternation
between the relatively new rigors
and stamina required of academic
life, and the more familiar patient
concerns can aid and inform each
other, however, their intersection
produces a different kind of strain.
I often pass my colleagues in the
hallway, and we shake our heads at
one another while simultaneously
considering new projects, that
difficult patient and the homework
for that extra class we are taking.
Our time burden is noticeably
shifted from what it would be if we
were seeing our patients full-time,
and allows for the flexibility we
enjoy in collaborating on papers,
traveling to conferences, and taking
on extra training. This however,
leads to the feeling that I am a
student ofall and master ofnone.
For my friends enmeshed
in daily clinical care, their work
provides new challenges as unique
as each patient, and now, several
years out of residency, they have
become comfortable with their
knowledge base in patient care. On
the other hand, those around me
who chose to pursue PhDs instead
of MDs now have the knowledge of
epidemiologic methods and
statistics flowing through their
veins while I still often struggle to
solidify the same content acquired
more recently. I love my work, but
it can often be a demon –
splintering my attention and focus
to different skills, requiring years to
gain as much expertise in
everything as it would have taken if
I had just chosen one.
I think I will always
ponder that elusive balance of
inspiration and boredom, broad
engagement and focus. It is both
being an “expert,” yet having
enough of an open mind to look at
new means of clinical practice that I
crave. Am I an expert yet? I’m
working on it, and probably will be
for the duration ofmy career.
Am I an expert yet?
Insight into the chaos of another profession
CONVERSAZIONE

6. Page 6
KETAKI JOSHI, SE Comp, on the
latest television series ‘Sherlock’.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock
Holmes and Martin Freeman as John Watson in the
BBC series “Sherlock” have captivated the tele­
watchers and Sherlock fans are in sheer awe over the
writers’, (Steven Moffat, Mark Gaiss and Steve
Thompson) sleight. The stories are narrated by
adding a modern flavour but keeping the essence of
the characters and the original storytelling by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle alive.
A series of two seasons with the third season
expected in 2014, it is a must for
all Sherlock fans and to see this series.
It is a 21st century take on the original
series so that viewers today relate easily to the epic
that is Sherlock Holmes. The new Sherlock
(Benedict Cumberbatch) is shown as gadget freak
with a website­“The Science of Deduction” of his
own in comparison with the article the old Sherlock
prints in the newspaper.
Also, the consulting detective does not
have just a psychotic professor as a rival but the new
series portrays Jim Moriarty as a crazy ‘consulting
‘criminal. And, this Sherlock does not rely on
telegraphs for his urgent messages unlike his 19th
century counterpart, but is comfortable instead with
SMSes.
Despite the myriad ways in which the
writers have given new facets to Sherlock, he still
dabbles with chemicals old Sherlock who managed
his experiments in their Baker Street suite and the
small forensic department lab with Watson’s pet dos
as the guinea pig, the new Sherlock has managed to
have a hospital’s lab and well some helpful doctors
at his dispense.
Watson has also managed to bag a blog in
comparison to the columns he had in the old
version. Each episode combines the plot of at least
two stories. The effect would have been jarring but
kudos to the writers who manufacture the entire
fabric of the story seamlessly.
To keep the clock of suspense ticking, the
new version has twisted the end in a dramatically but
worry not, the original catch is kept alive, yet again!
So download the series. We assure you, you will be
far from disappointed.
Steel True, Blade Straight
“Some time ago, at a fellow journalist’s
dinner party, someone let slip that she had never
seen Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane. Jaws dropped.
How could she have missed such a cornerstone of
modern multimedia small-talk? But then one well-
known glossy magazine editor leaned over and
said, “You lucky thing. I would give anything to
experience it for the first time again. I envy you
your fresh eyes.” I have to admit I feel something
similar when I realize that a whole new generation
of readers, perhaps drawn to Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle’s creations by recent screen adaptations, are
about to experience Sherlock Holmes and Dr.
Watson in print for the first time.
I came to the great detective and his
companion via the silver screen. In my case, it was
Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series, fourteen films
of varying quality that were made from 1939 to
1946. Though creaky, black-and-white affairs, the
eternal appeal of the pairing of super-sleuth
Holmes and the loyal friend and associate Watson,
reached out and grasped my imagination. I am not
certain but I believe i made the transition from
screen to print with The Hound of Baskervilles. It
was then I realized that, both Rathbone’s
perform
ance
and
Bruce’s
bumblin
g
creation
, whilst
loveable
, bore
scant
resembl
ance to
the
reliable chronicler and companion that Conan
Doyle had created. but there is a core similarity in
all versions of Sherlock to date,irrespective of the
costumes, physiognomy or the date. This is
because Sherlock Holmes’ character is defined and
constrained by a simple passage in ‘A Scandal in
Bohemia’, when Watson observes ‘He was the most
perfect reasoning and observing machine that the
world has ever seen.’
We know much about the world’s only
consulting detective through the good doctor’s
narration – his hobbies, methods, addictions,
physical appearance, routines (‘He had no
breakfast for himself, for it was one of his
peculiarities that in his more intense moments he
would permit himself no food’), gaps in his
knowledge (politics, astronomy) morals, opinions
of women and human weakness in general. We
even know the man who was the model for
Holmes - Joseph Bell (1837-1911), a brilliantly
deductive surgeon who was Arthur Conan Doyle’s
mentor at the medical school in Edinburgh. Robert
Louis Stevenson wrote to Conan Doyle from
Samoa, “I hope you will allow me to offer you my
compliments on your very ingenious and very
interesting adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The
only one thing that troubles me: can this be my
old friend Joe Bell?” Conan Doyle confirmed that
Bell was indeed the inspiration for his detective.
Try to grasp the screen versions of
Watson as firmly as Holmes and the man runs
through your fingers like sand. Is he the faithful
but farcical Nigel Bruce? The athletic Jude Law?
The cuddly Martin Freeman? Watson of course,
can even switch sex and become Joan (Lucy Lui in
Elementary) or Jane (Margaret Collins in a 1987
CBS show), such is the mutability of the
quintessential sidekick. Watson is the blueprint for
every adventurer’s foil and chum, from Batman’s
Robin, The Lone Ranger’s Tonto to Modesty’s
Willie Garvin. The Prime Directive for every one
of these, including Watson, always seems to be:
“Never Upstage the Star”.
Amid the complexities that arise from
such a biased account, it’s a wonder that Holmes’
Boswell could be portrayed at all. But where did
Conan Doyle get his inspiration for Watson? Who
witnessed firsthand Joseph Bell’s capacity for
observation and deduction from the flimsiest
clues? Look at Sidney Paget’s drawing of the
younger Arthur Conan Doyle. Think of Watson’s
traits of kindness, dependability, thoughtfulness,
thoroughness; all the hallmarks of a good General
Practitioner. And Conan Doyle was a GP before he
took up writing full-time! Watson played rugby,
Conan Doyle was a very useful goalkeeper and
batsman. Conan Doyle claimed “unaffectedness” as
his prime virtue. Who is more unaffected than
Watson, hiding his own light under the bushel
while Holmes soaks the glory? Yes, Watson is
Conan Doyle himself with the distance between
the real author and fictional biographer reduced to
a wafer thin gap. And the great detective’s
marvelous companion can have no better epitaph
than the one etched on his creator’s own
tombstone: Steel True, Blade Straight.
Robert Downey Jr. Benedict Cumberbatch
Basil Rathbone Jeremy Brett

7. Page 7
LAVINA KAVEDIYA
TE Comp
Every since H.G. Wells sent the
man to the moon, scientific speculation
have known no bounds. We could
“teleport” they said, destroy the object at
one point and simultaneously recreate it at
some distance away in space. sadly, geeks
across the galaxies have been slightly
disappointed in the manifestation of their
beloved fiction. But here’s something that
actually did manage to manifest into
useable tech. SixthSense Technology
allows the user to play
around with digital
data using your palm
as the input device.
By using a
camera and a tiny
projector mounted in
a pendant like
wearable device,
'SixthSense' sees what
you see and visually
augments any
surfaces or objects we
are interacting with. It
projects information onto surfaces, walls,
and physical objects around us, and lets us
interact with the projected information
through natural hand gestures, arm
movements, or our interaction with the
object itself. 'SixthSense' attempts to free
information from its confines by
seamlessly integrating it with reality, and
thus making the entire world your
computer.
The SixthSense prototype is
comprised of a pocket projector, a mirror
and a camera. The hardware components
are coupled in a pendant like mobile
wearable device. Both the projector and
the camera are connected to the mobile
computing device in the user’s pocket. The
projector projects visual information
enabling surfaces, walls and physical
objects around us to be used as interfaces;
while the camera recognizes and tracks
user's hand gestures and physical objects
using computer-vision based techniques.
The software program processes the video
stream data
captured by
the camera
and tracks
the
locations of
the colored
markers
(visual
tracking
fiducials) at
the tip of
the user’s
fingers
using simple computer-vision techniques.
The movements and arrangements of
these fiducials are interpreted into gestures
that act as interaction instructions for the
projected application interfaces. The
maximum number of tracked fingers is
only constrained by the number of unique
fiducials, thus SixthSense also supports
multi-touch and multi-user interaction.
SixthSense Tech
'SixthSense' is a wearable gestural interface that augments
the physical world around us with digital information and
lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that
information.
Written almost five
decades ago by Mani Sankar
Mukherji, the story is based in the
enchanting city of Kolkata.
Narrated in first person, it revolves
around the lives of employees of a
five star hotel and a street in
Kolkata named Chowringhee. Even
though it was originally in Bengali
but the translation to English has
succeeded in preserving the
essence of the story. The incidents
are so intricately woven together
that one gets lost in the world of
Shahjahan (the hotel’s name) in no
time. There are hundreds of books
and films made, which are
based on hotels all round
the world. But, what make
this book unique are the
different colourful
characters, their witty names
and the
mesmerizing description
of this East India city. Simple
yet brilliant use of metaphors
has fetched this translation
the Vodafone Crossword Translation prize and nominations for
several international prizes. Definitely a joy for anybody who reads
it .And if you’re a Bengali then your joy increases a thousand fold.
Plus the good news is our library has a copy ofit.
Book Review
Acad Street
WRITE FOR THE
WORDSMITH AND
WIN EXCITING
VOUCHERS
Best book review will (of
course) win a Crossword
voucher and if you cover an
event in town and write some
fantastic prose, a Mocha
voucher to cool your heels
after your adventures.
DIPALI DHOKANE
TE Mech
The possible origin of human race
and engineering must have been the same.
The homo erectus have showcased
engineering skills since the beginning of
time. From using a stone, thrown in a
projectile to get the apple off the tree; to the
invention of the wheel. But even then these
works were expected to be undertaken by
men. The scenario was no different till a few
years ago.
Organizations like ARAI
and SAE India realized the real potential of
women engineers in bringing new and
dynamic changes in the progress of the off-
highways industries. For the same cause they
organized the “Off Highway Board Edu Meet
2013” on 4th of January in CCOEW,
Karvenagar campus. Students from five city-
based colleges, VIT, MIT, CCOEW, COEP and
ARAI academy were invited.
The event was inaugurated by Dr
Indira Parikh, Founder & Director of
FLAME. In her keynote address, she inspired
the women engineers to break into different
sections of the off-highways industries. She
believed that there are areas where women
had better imagination and ideas, like quality
improvement of products and they were
critical for the wheels to roll and gather no
moss.
The Director of ARAI, Mr.Shrikant
Marathe and Chairman, SAE India Off-
Highway Board, Mr. Devendra Bahirat
stressed on gender diversity and its
importance in industries.
Women HR and Engineering
Managers from different companies- John
Deere, PTC, JCB India, Cummins and EATON
were invited to share their story and
workplace anecdotes with students. Later in
the panel discussion, students interacted
with these lead engineers, clearing minds and
squashing inhibitions. The meet concluded
with the most anticipated announcement-
The winner of the Quiz and lucky owner of a
Galaxy Tab2.
Dipali Dhokane-Secretary, SAE Student
Panel, CCOEW
Gayatri Dewasthale-Reception Chair,
SAE Student Panel, CCOEW
SAE INDIA OFF-
HIGHWAY EDU
MEET 2013
“I hitched my
battered and
bruised mind to
the exhausted
wagon of the

8. Page 8
Every movement
needs its associates.
Here’s your chance to
be a part of this
literary movement.
JoinThe
Wordsmith.
Explore.
Contribute.
Illuminate.
Aries : Good week to
finalize deals and
strengthen relationships.
Life will brighten up if you
walk out in the sun.
Taurus : Closely watch
your health. Flu is in the
air.
Gemini : A foreign trip
will materialize soon.With
all the socializing and
catching up with friends,
an antacid will come
handy.
Cancer : Loneliness isn’t
incurable. Make some time to
call up your loved ones.
Virgo : Now is the time to
shine but put your soaps and
detergents to rest!
Leo : Catch the prey.
Incredible opportunities to
make hay.
Libra : The scales are not
tilting to your favour.
Either work hard or buy
new scales.
Scorpio : Life may
sting, but shall come
with antivenom.
Saggitarius : There
are always some
elements which burst
your happy-go-lucky
bubble. Don’t pay
attention because you
need to focus on grabbing
the opportunities as they come by.
Capricorn : Love is in
the air. Put on your
confidence caps and
everything will be fine.
Aquarius : The ruling
planet Uranus is causing
severe emotional
upheavals in your life. You
might consider not taking
a bath for the next 7 days.
Watch those steps , you
might trip and fall.
Pisces : Consider being
a snail and taking long
leisure bubble baths. You
will find yourself in
company of friends at the
end of this week.
What does your Sun Sign say
Philosopher
Editors: Priyanka Chandna| Kalyani Gadgil| Shreeja Nandy| Ketaki Joshi| Purva Joshi