AID Pilani Chapter

BITS Pilani is a lyceum consisting of 3000 students, who have high intellectualcapacity and extraordinary skills. However, the students are restless; everyoneis in a hurry here. Sometimes they get involved so much in the quotidian hustle-bustle of their BITSian lives that they pay little or no attention towards the smallest of things which impact life in a big way. Whether it is as simple as turning off lights when not in use or as intricate as considering the opportunity cost of making a choice.

We realized that Bitsians have developed a peculiar habit, a habit which could lead to catastrophic results in the future if left unchecked. This would-be-disastrous habit is ‘WASTAGE’. The obvious question which comes tomind is wastage of what? What can a college student possibly wastethat can cause a bleak future?

There are several things to waste and undoubtedly several ways to waste it. To quote the most generic:

v  The seemingly trivial matter of wasting his/her time by sitting idle. It has been noted for centuries that “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop”

v  Wasting money buying unnecessary things. Remember, “A penny saved is a penny earned”

Not withstanding, these things are individual-specific and no one is more affected by than the student himself. Moving on to societal problems, the scene at the college level which is nearly the same as that of the world, we have wastage of:

• food
• electricity and
• water

The common wastage started shaping up as so significant a factor in our lives thatit is unavoidable. To heat up the situation we have problems like

• regular power shedding,
• rising food prices and
• deficit monsoon

As we pondered over possible ways of tackling this problem and spreading awareness about wastage, we came up with an idea of organizing a Marathon to support this cause. It seemed a brilliant idea but we wondered if any of the BITSian junta would be willing to wake up on a Sunday morning and run. It wouldn’t seem important to them unless they have something in it. Fitness was one thing, butwe felt attractive prizes is what would lure them.

 We decided to have prizes up to Rs 1500 forthe first 3 spots. But there were some problems associated with this decision. Since we are still at in the nascent stage of our establishment and by no means could we sponsor the prize money we took help from National Service Scheme, BITS Pilani chapter to support us in our cause. They were more than happy to sponsor the amount decided as the prize money. On 23 August 2009, Sunday, our idea came alive with a 5 Km long marathon, flagged off at 7:15 A.M.by Prof. G. Raghurama.

Here are some of the statistics of the marathon.

Length: 5 KM

No of participants: 147

MarathonTheme: Save electricity, save water, save food.

Prize Money:

First:           Rs 750

Second:       Rs 500

Third:          Rs 250

Water points were put up at regular intervals for the convenience of the participants. At each of water points coupons were provided to the participant to ensure that no one takes a shorter route and uses right means to win the marathon. An emergency ambulance was also arranged to prevent any mishap. The winner had to produce all the coupons at the end to claim his prize. The students were given lime juice at the completion of marathon, after which prizes were given to the winners by Prof. G. Raghurama.

But we feel that the purpose with which we organized such an event is not fully addressed yet. Organizing such a marathon can be considered as the first step, rather an initiative towards fulfilling that purpose. The path is full of meanders, rapids and obstacles. It is on us now that how we interpret thesituation and act according to it. We feel that such kinds of events promote harmony and awareness among the educated people. Bitsians are an educated lot, they will learn to ignore ignorance and opt for means which are good for the society. We hope to carry our future endeavors with more dedication and effectiveness. Before we end please give it a thought:

Only when the last tree has been cut,

Only when the last grain has been eaten,

Only when the last river has been poisoned,

Only then will we realize that money cannot be eaten!!!