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...Even on a literal level, Madame Defarge’s knitting constitutes a whole network of symbols. Into her needlework she stitches a registry, or list of names, of all those condemned to die in the name of a new republic. But on a metaphoric level, the knitting constitutes a symbol in itself, representing the stealthy, cold-blooded vengefulness of the revolutionaries. As Madame Defarge sits quietly knitting, she appears harmless and quaint. In fact, however, she sentences her victims to death..
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During my entire stay of 40 years at IIT KGP, I found everyone of the so-called supporting staff (administrative + technical) unfailingly courteous and helpful, if not always super-efficient. That perhaps is the wholesome hallmark of the place.
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...Even on a literal level, Madame Defarge’s knitting constitutes a whole network of symbols. Into her needlework she stitches a registry, or list of names, of all those condemned to die in the name of a new republic. But on a metaphoric level, the knitting constitutes a symbol in itself, representing the stealthy, cold-blooded vengefulness of the revolutionaries. As Madame Defarge sits quietly knitting, she appears harmless and quaint. In fact, however, she sentences her victims to death..
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During my entire stay of 40 years at IIT KGP, I found everyone of the so-called supporting staff (administrative + technical) unfailingly courteous and helpful, if not always super-efficient. That perhaps is the wholesome hallmark of the place.
During my first decade there, if I wasn't found in my class room or the faculty hostel or the faculty club, I could be found in the Central Library. That place had a charm then that went missing for me when it exploded in size and girth.
In the Central Library then I found two people not only courteous but, as I said, super-efficient. One was called by everyone, 'Banga Babu', and the other 'Mita-di'.
Mita-di was young like all of us and the IIT itself then. And she hardly ever spoke. And she was not in the limelight on the ground floor, issuing books or receiving them or simply strutting. She was cocooned in a cubicle in the fourth floor of the Tower. Her job was tedious.
During those days the Central Library was flush with funds and used to get enormous numbers of journals, mostly in sciences. She had to receive all of them from the postman, stack them, stamp them, index and catalog them, and send them to the Periodicals Section. There was a rule that no current periodical be issued to anyone till they accumulate to become a Volume. Then they were shifted to the basement where the Bindery was located. (I used to say that Bindery is the present tense of Boundary...and Binder the present tense of Bounder). After getting them bound they were stacked in the Back Number racks. And Mita-di supervised all this almost single-handed, with a couple of attendants to do the manual labor.
During those days the Central Library was flush with funds and used to get enormous numbers of journals, mostly in sciences. She had to receive all of them from the postman, stack them, stamp them, index and catalog them, and send them to the Periodicals Section. There was a rule that no current periodical be issued to anyone till they accumulate to become a Volume. Then they were shifted to the basement where the Bindery was located. (I used to say that Bindery is the present tense of Boundary...and Binder the present tense of Bounder). After getting them bound they were stacked in the Back Number racks. And Mita-di supervised all this almost single-handed, with a couple of attendants to do the manual labor.
Those days I was in a great hurry to finish my Ph D before my Guide, SDM, retired. It was a close call...by the time my viva was held he had just retired. So I had to hunt for relevant literature in great haste. And couldn't wait for the current periodicals to arrive at their racks...it took a month in their cocoon on the fourth floor cubicle to fly down.
One day I explained my predicament to Mita-di and she listened quietly and agreed to permit me to enter her strong room and help myself. The place was like an FCI godown. And I used to spend a couple of hours whenever I entered it to locate what I wanted from the hundreds of stacked journals dumped at random, before she could duly organize them. Hunting took two hours and browsing half an hour.
At times it would get past the 5 PM go-home time for her. And she would cough mildly. And I would take the hint and get up from my stooping posture with a backache and thank her and get lost with my notes.
This happened at least a dozen times in the 6 months of my writing the thesis. But for her help it would have taken 2 years. At times, when I couldn't locate an issue I wanted on the racks, I would approach her and she would shepherd me to the Bindery and ask the Head-Binder, Panigrahi, to help me trace it among the tonnes of bound and half-bound sea of volumes and torn books lying on the floor.
This happened at least a dozen times in the 6 months of my writing the thesis. But for her help it would have taken 2 years. At times, when I couldn't locate an issue I wanted on the racks, I would approach her and she would shepherd me to the Bindery and ask the Head-Binder, Panigrahi, to help me trace it among the tonnes of bound and half-bound sea of volumes and torn books lying on the floor.
When I at last got my Ph D, Professor S K Datta-ray insisted I give a big party to all the teachers and scholars of physics in the vast Second Year Lab on the third floor...SKDR said it is no mean achievement to get a Ph D a good 12 years after one got his M Sc. And he offered that all I had to do was to hand him Rs 120, that's all...his scholars would look after the rest. Which I did. And it was a grand get-together...the last celebration in the Department for getting a mere Ph D.
I wanted to invite Mita-di too but felt it wouldn't be very wise and might be construed otherwise.
I wanted to invite Mita-di too but felt it wouldn't be very wise and might be construed otherwise.
I hope she is retired like me now and is happy drawing a sloooowly-increasing pension...
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I have never been employed by a lady supervisor or superintendent.
But I am told ladies are great taskmasters compared to mere men. They alone can handle maid servants and cooks and husbands and kids and in-laws at home, and lady research scholars at workplace.
My guess is that lady scholars should avoid doing research under a lady guide...they better work under male guides whatever the downsides. But I read that a current minister in our Central Cabinet is s-scared of employing ladies under him. So I guess lesser mortals like male research guides too would henceforth shrink before they venture to take lady scholars under their wings whatever their other attractions...
My guess is that lady scholars should avoid doing research under a lady guide...they better work under male guides whatever the downsides. But I read that a current minister in our Central Cabinet is s-scared of employing ladies under him. So I guess lesser mortals like male research guides too would henceforth shrink before they venture to take lady scholars under their wings whatever their other attractions...
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