Chandra Kuchibhotla

Photos, stories and views of the world as I see. Technology, Travel and Politics. Techie by profession.

[Saran Shanmugam @saranstm]

The 3,084-acre Karur temple land order is just the tip of the iceberg.

The real issue involves a staggering 13 lakh acres of temple inam lands across Tamil Nadu. By applying the same order statewide, the TVK government can effectively release 13 lakh (1 3 million) acres from the HR&CE block to regularize occupants.This is the biggest disadvantage anyone could deal to our heritage.

Handing over sacred, multi-crore endowments means temples could end up owning absolutely nothing in the near future.

[Malay Krishna @Malay4Product]

I taught JEE physics for years. That paper breaks strong kids in three hours.

This exam is five hours of theory and five hours of lab work, and these five did close to perfect scores on it.

Let me tell you what actually happened.

The International Physics Olympiad is the world championship of school physics. It was the 56th edition. Held in Bucaramanga, Colombia, from July 5 to 12.

381 students. More than 85 countries. Every one of them the best physics student their country could find.

India sent five kids.

All five came back with gold.

Their names are Kanishk Jain from Pune. Riddhesh Anant Bendale from Indore. Rishit Garg from Dwarka in Delhi. Shresth Suraiya from Mumbai. Svarit Joshi from Ahmedabad.

We know a hundred cricketers by their nickname and not one of these boys. :)

That clean sweep put India at joint World Number One. Tied with China, Russia, Kazakhstan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Those are countries that pour serious money and national pride into science education. We are standing level with them.

Now here is what the exam actually was.

Two papers. Each five hours long.

The theory paper had three problems. One on the thermodynamics of paramagnetic cooling. One on the photoionisation of ozone. One on the dynamics of electron positron pairs.

The experimental paper was another five hours in a lab, working through heat transfer and thermodynamic processes in fluids.

That means you get given equipment you have never seen, and you have to design your own experiment, take your own readings, handle the errors, and reach a real answer.

Not multiple choice. No shortcuts. No pattern recognition. You either understand physics or you sit there for five hours.

HBCSE says the Indian students were near perfect on theory and excellent on the practical too.

Now, this was India's 27th appearance at the IPhO.

Across all those years, about 44 percent of Indian students have won gold, 41 percent silver, 10 percent bronze.

In the last ten years, every single Indian student has come home with a medal. 62 percent gold, 38 percent silver.

Not one kid has gone and come back empty handed in a decade.

Five golds in one year has happened only twice. This year, and in 2018.

So who built this.

The programme is run by HBCSE, the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education. It sits under TIFR, which sits under the Department of Atomic Energy.

They run the whole funnel. A national exam, then a national olympiad, then a brutal selection and training camp, and out of everyone in the country, five kids get on a plane.

The team was led by Professor Anwesh Mazumdar of HBCSE-TIFR and Dr Leena Joshi from St Xavier's College, Mumbai.

The scientific observers were Professor Ananda Dasgupta from IISER Kolkata and Nisha Kelkar from Gogate-Joglekar College in Ratnagiri.

Yes. Ratnagiri. A college in a small coastal town in Maharashtra.

This is public education doing something the private coaching industry could never do on its own.

The coaching industry is very good at one thing. Teaching you to solve a known problem fast.

That is what JEE and NEET reward, and I say that with love because I was part of that world.

But an olympiad paper does not have a known type. There is no shortcut chapter. There is no formula sheet that saves you. You have to sit with a problem you have never seen and think.

That is a completely different muscle. And a government funded centre has been quietly building it in Indian teenagers for 27 years.

So yes, be proud. Loudly.

HBCSE also shared that around 64 percent of India's olympiad medallists go on to do a PhD.

But only about 32 percent of medallists end up settling in India.

I do not say that to spoil the moment. These kids owe the country nothing. They earned every option they have.

But it should tell us something. We are excellent at finding this talent. We are excellent at training it. We are still not great at giving it somewhere worth staying.

Congratulations Kanishk, Riddhesh, Rishit, Shresth and Svarit. This is one of the best things an Indian did this year and most of the country will never hear about it.

[బద్రి @badri_j]

Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna #BornOnThisDay #CaricaturesbyBadri

[anand mahindra @anandmahindra]

Winning against the Chinese. In China.

At the Asian Relay Championships.

Srabani, Sudeshna, Sneha & Tamanna in the 4x100 relay.

Power. Speed. Grace. Commitment.

But above all, teamwork.

This clip has it all.

I’m watching it on loop.

More of this please. 🇮🇳

[RadioRambabu @ChennuriSita]

"వ్యంగ్యగీతాల రారాజు-కొసరాజు"

ఇవాళ ప్రముఖ గీత రచయిత కొసరాజు రాఘవయ్య చౌదరి గారి జయంతి
ఆయన 1905జూన్ 23వ తేదీన బాపట్ల తాలూకా చింతాయపాలెంలో జన్మించారు.ఆయన సొంతూరు అప్పికట్ల.మేనమామ వెంకటప్పయ్య గారు పండితుడు.ఆయన వలన కొసరాజు గారిచేత చిన్నతనంలోనే బాలరామాయణం, ఆంధ్రనామసంగ్రహం గ్రంధాలు చదివాడాయన.
అలాగే ఆయన్ని బాగా ప్రోత్సహించింది కొండముది నరసింహం పంతులు అనే ఉపాధ్యాయుడు.పొలంగట్ల మీద సంస్క్రతాంధ్రాలు నేర్పారు.ఆయన భజన పద్ధతిలో రాసిన రామాయణంలో రాముడి వేషం వేయించారు.కొసరాజు గారి కంఠం ఆరోజుల్లోనే లౌడ్ స్పీకర్ లా ఉండేదిట.ఆయన ప్రభావంతో పన్నెండేళ్ళకే అష్టావధానాలు చేయటం మొదలుపెట్టారు కొసరాజు.

రైతుపత్రిక కు జర్నలిస్టుగా ఉన్న సమయంలో సముద్రాల రాఘవాచార్య , గూడవల్లి రామబ్రహ్మం లతో పరిచయం ఏర్పడింది..కడగండ్లు అనే పద్యకావ్యం రైతు పై రాస్తే ఎవరు ముందుమాట రాయటానికి సాహసించని వేళ కాశీనాధుని నాగేశ్వరరావు పంతులు
ఆ బాధ్యత తీసుకున్నారు

ఆయన ప్రతిభను గమనించిన గూడవల్లి రామబ్రహ్మం
తన రైతుబిడ్డ(1939)సినిమాకు ఆయనచేత పాటలురాయించారు.ఆ తర్వాత ఆయన తన ఊరుకి వెళ్ళిపోయారు.వ్యవసాయం చేసుకున్నారు.

ఆయనను తిరిగి సినిమా రంగానికి రప్పించింది డివినరసరాజు గారు.వాహినీ వారి "పెద్దమనుషులు" చిత్రానికి మాటలు రాస్తూ కొసరాజు గారిచేత పాటలు రాయిస్తే బావుంటుందని చెప్పడం కె.వి.రెడ్డి గారు కబురు పెట్టడం జరిగిపోయింది.ఆ తర్వాత ఆయనింక వెనక్కి తిరిగి చూడలేదు..పెద్దమనుషులు లో "శివశివమూర్తివి గణనాధా" పాట చాలా పాపులర్ అయింది.బిఏ సుబ్బారావు ఆయనచేత రాజు-పేద చిత్రం కోసం "జేబులో బొమ్మ" పాట రాయించారు..

ఆయన రాసిన పాటల్లో "ఏరువాక సాగారో" (రోజులు మారాయి)
"భలే ఛాన్సులే లక్కీ ఛాన్సులే"(ఇల్లరికం)
"రామయ తండ్రి"(సంపూర్ణ రామాయణం)
"అడిగానని అనుకోవద్దు"(బాలరాజుకథ)
"ముద్దబంతి పూలు పెట్టి"(కలిసి ఉంటే కలదు సుఖం)
"మత్తు వదలరా"(శ్రీకృష్ణ పాండవీయం)
ఇలాంటివి ఎన్నో ఉన్నాయి.బాపు-రమణలకు కొసరాజు గారంటే ఎంతో అభిమానం..

కొసరాజు గారి సమగ్రసాహిత్యాన్ని ఇటీవలే తానా సంస్థ ప్రచురించింది..తెలుగు సినీ గీతాల్లో కొసరాజు గారిదో చెరగని ముద్ర.విశిష్ఠమైన వ్యక్తిత్వంతో తెలుగు సినిమా పాటలో జానపదాలకు ఒక స్థానం కల్పించారు.పల్లె నుడికారాన్ని ప్రతిబింబించారు..

సి.యస్.రాంబాబు

[Halley @halleyji]

"Fatal poisoning cases from paraquat exposure have led to doctors demanding a complete ban on its usage. The dangerous toxin has been banned in 74 countries, but it is still used in Indian farms and sprayed to control unwanted weeds"

https://t.co/Hq4P9fJjUE

[Chandra Kuchibhotla @LikeISawIt]

@ArunBee So summer vacation is the only window left for travel.

[Chandra Kuchibhotla @LikeISawIt]

During our time, missing school for a week or so for vacations isn't a big thing and travels used to happen any time, either for marriages or pilgrimage or plain leisure travel. Nowadays schools discourage any leave and make a hue and cry and parents are scared to let their kids miss even a day of school.

[Jordan Schachtel @JordanSchachtel]

https://t.co/d7iNzVxgsY

[Chandra Kuchibhotla @LikeISawIt]

@vizagobelix Still have a 120 column printer lying in the storage. Don't know what to do with it. Almost 40 years old.

[Chandra Kuchibhotla @LikeISawIt]

@Tushar15 @HelleLyngSvends Lol, she wants a meeting in 'Norwegian' time! She's not even ready to invest her time in IST for such an important interview.

[Sougat Chakraborty @sougat18]

Ivy League Scholar: We use the most dense, incomprehensible academic jargon in the world. No normal person can understand us.

Ashoka University Scholar: Hold my iced matcha latte. I just put 'homohindunationalist co-option' and 'transformative horizons' in the same sentence, and I'm just getting warmed up.

[Anita R Ratnam @aratnam]

Why are we not seeing our beautiful sarees with their fabulous weaves and unique colour contrasts on red carpets around the world?
We have so many different drapes and varieties, unlimited natural warp&weft wonders and beautiful women. Yet why are the Celebs from India looking like desperate wanna be’s? Cringe meter has broken through the roof.

[Chandra Kuchibhotla @LikeISawIt]

@TheGopalan What is the music track in the background?

[Sudarshan Shaw @Sudarshanshaw93]

Some avi-fauna species from the "Biodiversity Map of Andhra Pradesh" inspired from the techniques and forms of Srikalahashti style of Kalamkari- a popular, beloved and age-old traditional art of Andhra Pradesh.🍀

#folkindica #andhrapradesh #birds #studiokyaari

[P C Mohan @PCMohanMP]

BJP Bengal candidate Kalita Majhi, who works as a domestic worker in 4 households and earns ₹2,500 a month, wins from the Ausgram constituency. This is the power of the BJP, where even the most humble citizen can rise and script a truly inspiring journey.

[𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻 @yansan]

Back in 1996, a pretty incredible album called 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘤𝘺 hit the scene. It was a rare meeting of two musical giants, sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and the legendary Asha Bhosle. Together, they pulled together an unprecedented collection of eleven Indian classical pieces dating back to the 16th–18th century Mughal courts.
​While Asha Ji provided the vocals, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan performed the sarod and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri backed them up on the tabla and pakhawaj. It was a beautiful bridge between eras, and the music world definitely took notice. The album even earned a well-deserved Grammy nomination in 1997.
Below 👇 - Miya ki Malhar from the Album.
#AshaBhosle

[Keh Ke Peheno @coolfunnytshirt]

Asha Bhosle used to tease RD Burman, saying why he didn't give her the iconic song Jaane Kya Baat Hai by Lata Mangeshkar. She really wanted to sing that song so much..

This is the bengali version, which Asha Bhosle sang with her sublime voice & style♥️🙏🏽

Chokhe naame brishti..

[Swapnil Srivastav @theswapnilsri]

Something small happened on my flight yesterday.

IndiGo flight. Sitting next to a guy, well put together, well dressed. The kind of person you’d point to and say “educated, aware.”

He finishes his snack. Looks at the trash in his hand. And places it on the floor under the seat in front. Not accidentally. Deliberately.

The cabin crew came through for trash collection. Did their job perfectly. Collected from everyone’s hands, every tray table. The stuff on the floor, easy to miss from that angle, stayed.

We landed. His cups and food box were still sitting there on the aircraft floor.

And I just sat with this feeling I couldn’t quite name.

It wasn’t anger. It was something closer to disappointment. Or maybe exhaustion.

Because we’ve been having this conversation about civic sense in India for decades now. And nothing moves.

Here’s what I’ve come to believe. It’s not an awareness problem. It’s not an education problem. It’s not even an income problem.

It’s a “whose problem is it” problem.

Most people in India have unconsciously decided that shared spaces, flights, roads, parks, footpaths, are not their responsibility. Someone is paid to clean it. Someone will handle it.

Me? I’m just passing through.

And that mindset is exactly where the problem begins.

Because civic sense isn’t just about what you do. It’s about what you normalize.

Every time someone litters and nobody reacts, the bar drops a little lower.

Every time someone cleans up after themselves in a space nobody’s watching, the bar rises.

We are all, quietly, setting the standard for each other.

Choose the standard you want to live in.