Welcome to the official website of the 
Summer Camp 2003 @ IIT Kanpur, 
Nurturing the Timeless Profession: Civil Engineering!!
6 June - 5 July 2003, an Academia-Industry Interaction Programme 

From: madhuri <madhuri .kumari@tatainfotech.com>
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 10:44 AM
To: Bharat Lohani
Subject: Queries regarding GIS

Dear Sir,

I found a website address near your signature and the name just tempted me to visit the site. I must say it was an excellent endeavor. I personally feel that such an effort gives life to the subject. Now I wish I could have born five years later and would have participated in the camp. 

Regards,
Madhuri

The winds came by, we didn't notice...
The times passed by, we didn't notice...
The lives went by, we didn't notice...
...
The Camp went by, did you notice? !!

Please write your impressions of your Camp 2003



Bharat Lohani, C. V. R. Murty, Ranjana Tandon
Camp Coordinators

        It has been two months since I left the Summer Camp at IIT Kanpur. I always thought of penning my feelings and experience on the camp but (as a lame excuse) a busy and hectic schedule always kept me away from the keyboard. Better late than never was one of the things I learnt at the camp. Primarily the camp has made me to start being inquisitive about anything and everything that I see and hear from my faculty and friends. Among my friends, a few finally believed and regretted not choosing Civil Engineering as the career option after hearing me extol the virtues of the camp and particularly my experience.

          Two Years ago, I did not take much interest on the course and the ensuing profession in spite of having a highly successful Construction Engineer at home i.e. my father. The truth was that I always wanted to emulate my father right from a young age. But as it is bound to happen, the human thinking does not remain the same always. Somewhere along the line, I aspired to become an Electrical Engineer like my grandfather. No wonder they say that when man proposes ,it is the god who disposes.

           Of course I have no regrets now. The camp really opened my eyes. It has heralded a new dimension to my life. For example, my camp-mates Sarvesh Agarwal and Abhinav Goel called on me at SASTRA a few weeks ago, they mistook the newly constructed Digital Library Building in the premises to be a Multiplex. I have, since the camp started to appreciate structures and a curiosity has developed in me to look at them and keep watching them and try to get to know more about them. “A quiet Abhinav Venkateswaran has started asking a lot of questions”, is what everyone comments over here. Another thing the camp has taught me is what life is all about, the ways and means of living all aspects of it in a proper way. 

           The word professionalism means a lot to me now days.The month long camp was a great learning experience is what every one would have felt. That every participant’s feeling of joy or sorrow was shared by one and all with a great sense of belonging was a key part of the camp. Concluding, the love and affection showered on us by the camp coordinators and the organizers was heart warming. I am sure to take up the responsibility entrusted on me for building a stronger nation tomorrow. I thank all the organizers, the coordinators and all others who were involved directly and indirectly in the camp. I pray to the Almighty that the camp continues infinitely.

Bye,
Love you,
Abhinav
School of Civil Engineering
SASTRA

"Ability is what you're capable of doing –
Motivation determines what you do –
Attitude determines how well you do it"

Hello everybody,

        After having postponed the idea of writing my experience about the camp for long I have decided that it's 'high time' when I should write what I feel so strongly about the '30 best and most happening days' of my life so far and I think many of us will agree with me on this. It's been exactly 30 days since we all were together sharing ups and downs of life. Now when all the initial over-enthusiasm has been suppressed a bit by hectic academic schedule I think I can clearly decide what a great impact camp has left on me.

       The very first thing that comes to my mind is that the camp has restored or I would say established my faith in the timeless profession of CIVIL ENGINEERING, the profession which has been serving mankind since the very existence of it.

        I had taken civil engineering by chance and had no clue what are vast career opportunities and great challenges those are lying ahead for a civil engineer until the camp 2003 came . I'd like to say that sitting in one's room in IIT one can never have an insight view of various dimensions of, the oldest but least respected now a days, profession of civil engineering until one goes out and sees the ground realities.

        The same Sarvesh who, not more than 2 months back, used to laugh and discard any possibility of taking up a branch job, wondering if there were any, is now arguing heatedly with his peers pursuing them to take up a branch job. What a 'U' turn my life has taken and it's all because of the camp. The fact is that time I didn't have numbers and facts about the ongoing major projects in civil engineering. No exposure at all! But now when I tell them that tons of money is being invested in the projects, I know what I mean and I mean what I say. I’ve got facts to support my arguments. My friends wonder most of the time that what's happened to this chap the only reply I have is that I've learnt to respect my profession and appreciate the structures, not to mention the adventures and the job satisfaction which this great profession has to offer.

         Another thing the camp has taught to this 'unstable' fellow is to how to live in a 'civilized' community. Now back in IIT I am not able to reconnect myself with my old friends just because I think what they are doing right now, or what I used to do earlier, is not acceptable in a civilized society. This has become a big problem for me as I think that those other 25 people in the camp are my 'class of 2005'not the ones here in IIT Madras. The kind of lifestyle we had in the camp has taught me to work and work in a team. It’s also made me punctual given that most of the time we were hard pressed against the time. I've so much left to write but I don't want to bore you people any more.

        I’ll never forget the kind of love and affection I got in the camp specially after breaking my hands...I'll never forget the words of the president.” BE CLEAN FROM UR HEART NO MATTER WHATEVER YOU DO" or for that matter Murty sir's." you will never earn respect from your juniors until you respect your seniors". (this was regarding me sleeping during the class.) These are few of the lessons I learnt from the camp and kind of affection we got from both the sirs and Ranjana madam is one of the never lasting memories of the camp.

        I have left with no other choice than admitting that camp has changed my life in big way. Joys, sorrows, ups and downs, victory, defeat, excitement, argument, all forms and feelings of life encountered in those 30 days those were "compressed form of life". I'd like to finish with the statement that the camp has succeeded in it's motive to nurture the timeless profession of civil engineering and has convinced, I believe, 26 of us or atleast one for sure to take up the responsibility of rebuilding a stronger nation.

       Thank you all the people behind the camp in giving my life a new direction and shape.

Thank you all.

Sarvesh

From: Benny <bennygeorge84@hotmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2003 12:20 PM
To: <asakshi@iitk.ac.in>
Subject: How the Camp changed me!!

          There's no doubt that this Camp gave me a lot of good buddies. Although some may say we make acquaintances... on such trips, but I really made some good friends!! Apart from this, I've now lived for 5 days without the  26 + 1 + 2 people and what I now feel is what I wanted to tell u all!! Whether it be on the train journey, or it be on the road  wherever I go wherever I travel all I see is Civil Engineering. It's not that I never used to look out of my window! but I see things in terms of Civil Engineering.
                    
           I've begun to appreciate the structures I see and have become more inquisitive!! The funny part is that my relatives have started complaining, "Benny will now talk only in terms of abutments & bearings, so just nod your head all the time and just show some fake interest" But this isn't likely to happen when I go back to college!! Is it?? Students there will be more than happy 2 talk more on these terms!!

LIFE HAS CHANGED IN ITS OWN SMALL WAY FOR ME..

This was the poem I wrote sometime during the start of the camp:  
                     
        IS THAT CLARITY THERE MY FRIEND,

        IN UR THOUGHTS, ACTIONS AND IN UR WILL?

        THERE'S A LARGE WINDOW NEXT 2 YOU ,

        WHAT U SEE IS UPTO YOU!!

This is the poem at least five would have read during the start of the camp, but

DO U SEE THE DIFFERENCE NOW, AT THE END OF THE CAMP ???