The Nilgais and us- the irony of greening a campus

This morning I noticed that the nilgais had paid my tiny garden a visit. The papaya leaves had all been eaten off (it is safe to assume that they will not get dengue) and the hibiscus had been partly eaten up. I am quite sure that they will pay a visit in the next couple of days to finish up the hibiscus. I gave the news to my mother and told her that there will be no flowers for the next few weeks for her puja.

When one looks at the old photos of the campus, one realizes how much has changed. In the 70s this was a barren land.  When the university set up its base here, and people started moving in, they also started planting trees. Today the entire campus is covered with trees.  Many of them are not the native flora of this region but never mind...it is green. So green, in fact, that most of the campus has been declared as forest area and therefore, protected land. If we want to build anything, we have to get clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest.  So the administration proposed two hostels and an extension to an academic building. The ministry shot it down.  Last heard, we got it approved through the PMO. 

The best bet would be to actually demolish the old houses and hostels and build new ones in that site.  We do not have any policy of maintenance, and therefore, many of the houses and hostels are in horrible condition. I really have no idea how the students manage to live in the old hostels.  To me, they are little better than slums. However, I understand that there is money to build new hostels and new homes but not to rebuild the old ones.

That brings in with direct conflict with nature- the one that we have assiduously built over the years. Do we destroy it in our quest to expand?  We will not only lose the green cover but also the nilgais, different species of birds, snakes, mongoose, civet cats and the rare fox that have made their home in the campus, enriching our lives. Where else in the city can we live in such close proximity with the wild?

I realize that there are no answers to such questions.  The only thing to do is to enjoy what is available and never mind the nilgais.

The House that BJ Built- by Anuja Chauhan

As I am not in a mood to read heavy stuff (both H is for Hawk and The Emperor of Maladies are sitting in my book shelf unread), and as my sister-in-law had left "The House that BJ built" by Anuja Chauhan in my house after reading it, and as many people had said it was a laugh riot, I decided to read it.
We have clearly mastered the art of rom-com be it our movies or our books written in English. The Hero and the Heroine  have clearly been lifted from the pages of Mills and Boons and you know how it will all end. In summary, there are two love stories (better to give the readers a value for their money), 4 of the Thakur sisters who featured in an earlier book by the same author, their evil uncle and aunt and cousin, two Bhutanese who end up featuring in an item song, and a haveli that needs to be sold off because the sisters need the money.
In the end, the only thing I liked about the book was that it was set in Hailey Road in Delhi, where I went to my first school.
The rest...well, I won't go as far as the review that appears in The Ladies Finger, but definitely it was not a laugh riot as some of the reviewers had said.  And oh, some one needs to tell Anuja Chauhan that Dahlias and Amaltas do not flower at the same time.

Teaching Chemistry

When I decided to do Chemistry in college, it was based, on what I thought and still think, on very logical thinking. I was not going to spend hours memorizing biological names and had no inclination for math or physics. That left Chemistry and I believed that I sort of got it.  I used the same type of rationale later to switch from Chemistry to Biochemistry.
But learning chemistry and teaching chemistry are two different ball game.  Especially to a bunch of biologists who want to do only molecular biology.  Especially when I left chemistry after completing B.Sc.  Yet when my colleague fell ill, I jumped at the chance.  It would be fun, I thought, to go back to one's roots and re-learn the entire thing. Plus I was bored of teaching the same thing again and again, year after year, and I felt that if things are left as it was, I, too, would resort to using the same notes- believe me after teaching the same subject for few years to a bunch of students who do  not ask questions it really is tempting to use the same notes.
So here I am this year teaching physical and inorganic chemistry to the first year M.Sc students. It is scary because I do not know if I will do justice to the subject.  But at the same time I am sort of thrilled at the opportunity.
Most of the students have had some chemistry in their undergraduation though it was appalling to know that some them have not even been exposed to physical chemistry.  It promises to be an interesting semester.
This year, after much prodding from UGC, we have introduced tutorials for students.  However, the onus is again on the teacher. We do not have any teaching assistants.  So a 2-credit course with two classes per week essentially becomes a 3-credit course with three classes per week even though one of that class is optional. The tutorials are meant to help those students who are having difficulty with the subject but I do not know how it will pan out in the end.