Bastar dussehra goes on for 75 days. It isnt about burning Ravan effigy, but about goddess Danteshwari. This chariot is built anew by hand every year.
https://t.co/L9QCKXc6FX
Never say never.
- I gave 3 attempts at JEE (95-97), did not make it to the IITs
- I missed the cutoff at BITS Pilani by less than 0.5%
- Ended up in a Tier-3 college
- Studied hard, topped a lateral entrance exam to migrate to to a Tier-2 college
More than IITs, the fact that I missed BITS Pilani by a whisker hurt me all those years. An institution I admired so much - I was so dejected that I would shut my ears when anyone mentioned the name.
As fate would have it, I then returned to BITS Pilani to do my Masters in 2002-2003.
And few days back, life came full circle when BITS Pilani awarded me with a Startup Excellence Award for my & my team's work at @vanshivtech at our Alumni event in Jaipur.
Sometimes life doesn't give you what you want at 18, so it can give you the grit to earn its respect at 48.
Keep walking. One day, you won't just walk those halls- you’ll hold their trophy.
The golden girls (L-R) Kiran Pahal, Prachi Singh, M R Povamma and Vithya Ramraj who won the Gold Medal in the women's 400 M relay race at Aichi- Nagoya, Japan. Pic @rvmoorthyhindu@the_hindu
In 2000, he was All India Rank 1 in IIT-JEE. He took Computer Science at IIT Kanpur and finished the degree.
Then he left computing altogether and today he studies the brains of mosquitoes.
His name is Nitin Gupta. He graduated in 2004 with a BTech in computer science and an interest in biology that had been quietly growing through his undergraduate years.
He went to the University of California, San Diego for a PhD in bioinformatics and systems biology, finishing in 2009. Then he spent a few months in a cognitive neuroscience lab there, using magnetic stimulation to study how urges for food and money leak into the motor system before a person actually moves.
From 2010 to 2014 he was at the National Institutes of Health, in a laboratory studying sensory coding, learning electrophysiology. Recording the electrical conversation between neurons, one spike at a time.
In July 2014, he came back to IIT Kanpur as faculty in Biological Sciences and Bioengineering.
His lab asks a question that sounds simple and is not. How does a brain decide that something is worth moving towards, or running away from, without ever having learned it?
They use smell, and they use insects. Grasshoppers, flies and mosquitoes. A mosquito finds you largely by carbon dioxide, picked up by sensory neurons on its maxillary palps and carried into a region of its brain called the antennal lobe. Gupta's lab works on how those circuits weigh a human body against a repellent, and how that computation becomes a decision to approach or turn away.
His group also built TreadWill, a free, fully automated cognitive behavioural therapy programme for depression, designed for people in countries where therapists are scarce. In a randomised trial with 598 participants in India, users who completed at least half the modules showed significant reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms.
Of the twenty students who topped IIT-JEE between 2000 and 2019, twelve now work outside India.
He is not one of them.
"I always knew I had to return. Movies like Swades inspired me."
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) achieved a historic milestone this year, commemorating four decades since the induction of India’s pioneering all-women combat battalion in 1986.
To celebrate this 40-year legacy, the CRPF organized a special event on 25 September 2026 at the CRPF's Shaurya Officer's Institute in New Delhi.
During the ceremony, DG @crpfindia Shri @gpsinghips , joined by Dr. Anamika Singh, President of the CRPF Family Welfare Association (CWA), honoured both veterans and women in service for their dedicated service, exceptional courage, and sacrifice.
While addressing the gathering DG laid emphasis on women empowerment in CRPF following the line of Government of India. We salute our women warriors for their sacrifices and achievements.
#NationFirst
#Vandematram150
#MissionNaxalMuktBharat2026
@gpsinghips@crpf_j@CentralZoneCrpf@northeast_zone@southzone_hyd
#WomenWarrior
#40YearsOfWomenInCRPF
#WomenInUniform
DG and all Ranks of #CRPF pay solemn tribute to Ct/GD Mukesh Kumar Bunkar of 203 CoBRA, who made the supreme sacrifice on 24 September 2012 after sustaining grievous injuries during an encounter with Maoists in Chatra district, Jharkhand on 18 September 2012. #CRPF salutes the braveheart and pledges never to let his sacrifice go in vain.
#LestWeForget
🇮🇳 #Bharat_Ke_Veer 🇮🇳
DG and all Ranks of #CRPF pay solemn tribute to 6 brave troopers of 133 Bn and GC Pinjore, who made the supreme sacrifice after sustaining grievous injuries while valiantly countering an ambush by insurgents in Imphal district, Manipur, on 24 September 1997. #CRPF salutes the bravehearts and pledges never to let their sacrifice go in vain.
#LestWeForget
🇮🇳 #Bharat_Ke_Veer 🇮🇳
#WATCH | Churachandpur, Manipur: Commandant, 58 Battalion CRPF, Suraj Phogat, says, "...this is for spreading a message regarding peace and harmony in the area. And we believe that people out here are more interested in sports activities. And as a principle, I think personally, unless you engage the youth in such physical activities, they get diverted...right now, though, I believe participation of 4,000 is good enough; in coming times when we organise this, I believe it should go beyond 10,000...next time we will be organising other games like football, volleyball, and more across the board..."
DG and all Ranks of #CRPF pay solemn tribute to 11 valiant troopers of 93 Bn, who made the supreme sacrifice after fighting gallantly with Maoists despite being grievously injured in an IED blast in Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand on 23 September 2001. #CRPF salutes the bravehearts and pledges never to let their sacrifice go in vain.
#LestWeForget
🇮🇳#Bharat_Ke_Veer🇮🇳
CRPF की महिला शक्ति के 40 साल, एक बटालियन से फ्रंटलाइन तक का सफर
1986 में पहली महिला कॉम्बैटेंट बटालियन के गठन से शुरू हुआ CRPF की महिला जवानों का सफर आज छह महिला बटालियनों और अलग-अलग फ्रंटलाइन ऑपरेशनल भूमिकाओं तक पहुंच चुका है। नक्सल प्रभावित इलाकों से लेकर जम्मू-कश्मीर और RAF की ड्यूटी तक, महिला कर्मियों ने कई चुनौतीपूर्ण जिम्मेदारियां निभाई हैं।
2001 के संसद हमले में शहीद हुईं कांस्टेबल कमलेश कुमारी को मरणोपरांत अशोक चक्र से सम्मानित किया गया। अब CRPF की इस चार दशक लंबी यात्रा के मौके पर 25 सितंबर 2026 को सेवारत और पूर्व महिला कर्मियों को विशेष समारोह में सम्मानित किया जाएगा।
#CRPF #CRPFWomen #WomenInCRPF #CRPFWomenPower #ATPhotoBlog
#InPics | CRPF’s women personnel have completed 40 years of service, beginning with the force’s first all-women combat battalion raised in 1986. Today, women serve across six all-women battalions, RAF teams and challenging operational deployments, including Naxal-affected areas and Jammu and Kashmir.
The four-decade journey also includes the supreme sacrifice of Constable Kamlesh Kumari during the 2001 Parliament attack. On September 25, 2026, CRPF will honour serving and former women personnel for their contribution and service.
#CRPF #CRPFWomen #WomenInUniform #LadyCommandos #CRPFWomenBattalion #WomenInSecurity #CentralReservePoliceForce #IndiaTodaySocial
Just 3 days to go!
CRPF is set to celebrate a historic milestone—40 glorious years since the raising of India’s first-ever women combatant battalion in 1986.
Four decades of courage, breaking barriers, and supreme service to the nation.
Let's watch a video celebrating the valour and dedication of our brave CRPF women personnel.
👇🎥🗓️ 25 September 2026
#NationFirst
#Vandematram150
#MissionNaxalMuktBharat2026
@gpsinghips@crpf_j@CentralZoneCrpf@northeast_zone@southzone_hyd
#CRPF
#WomenInUniform
#NariShakti
#40YearsOfCourage
Shri Ravideep Singh Sahi, ADG, SZ Hqr, was accorded a grand farewell by DG, CRPF, Shri @gpsinghips, along with senior officers, at Force HQ, on the completion of his 40 years of distinguished service to the Force.
Shri Sahi joined the CRPF in 1986 as an officer of the 18th batch of Directly Appointed Gazetted Officers (DAGOs). An accomplished operational commander, he led from the front through numerous challenging operations, displaying exceptional courage, sound leadership and an unwavering commitment to duty.
His distinguished service and gallantry were recognised with the Police Medal for Gallantry, President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
CRPF salutes his exemplary service, courageous leadership and steadfast dedication to the Force and the Nation, and extends its best wishes to him for good health, happiness and a fulfilling journey ahead.
#NationFirst
#Vandematram150
#MissionNaxalMuktBharat2026
@gpsinghips@crpf_j@CentralZoneCrpf@northeast_zone@southzone_hyd