Prof. Mohini Mullick and the course on Modal Logic

Yesterday, we had a get together of 1992 Mechanical Engineering graduates of Punjab Engineering College. While sipping tea in the lawns of Director's residence, one of the alums, Akshay Sahni, asked me if Prof. Mohini Mullick taught me when I was a student at IITK. She is her aunt. And that caused me to recollect and write these memories. IIT Kanpur had a strong focus on education and barring a couple of courses, I enjoyed every bit of my time there both inside and outside the classroom.

I registered for two courses with her. The second course was titled, "Modal Logic" and it was a wonderful course that I believe has prepared me well for the life. At the end of the course, she asked us to write a term paper, which could have a proof of any theorem/corollary, or whatever else. Frankly, I didn't understand what was expected in that term paper, and I was too shy of meeting any faculty in those days. So I wasn't going to meet her and ask. None of my friends in the hostel wing were doing this course, so no help from them either. So I went to the Central Library (now known as P K Kelkar Library) and started reading research articles on allied topics.

It turned out that just a one semester course hadn't prepared me to understand much of current research in the area. So I went back, and started reading journals which were several decades old and some of the papers I could understand. I must have spent a few days in library, read scores of articles. But I couldn't just copy any article as my term paper. It ought to be believable that a student of the first course of Modal Logic could potentially think of that. So I kept reading, till I came across this article where the author had proven a theorem and it seemed like a pretty simple theorem that someone like me could potentially think of while doing the course. So I thought of a trivial corollary to the main theorem, built a proof in no time, and submitted the paper.

I had mixed feelings about it. I had perhaps read more papers and knew more, learnt more, than anyone else in the class. So, if the goal of that term paper was to make students learn on their own, the instructor had succeeded brilliantly. But if the goal of the term paper was to make students do something original, it was really trivial. And unlike these days, we weren't taught about giving citations to the papers that we referred to. So I had no mention of the original paper in my term-paper.

A few days later, Prof. Mullick returned everyone's term papers, with feedback. She asked me to meet her in her office after the class. I went to her office thinking that she must have realized that I have done it after reading that paper. But she was very nice to me. She congratulated me for a good term paper and told me to look up a paper in this Journal of Philosophy (don't remember the name) by such and such author in the June, 1900 issue (Don't remember the date, but it was almost 90 years earlier).

How does she know of research done a century earlier. That was her scholarship. I am totally convinced that she knew that my term paper was a trivial derivation of that paper, and more importantly, I had done that trivial derivation after reading that paper. But she chose not to point that out. That was her way of encouraging students.

I am so glad that IIT Kanpur decided to make her an Institute Fellow last month. IIT Kanpur became great because of people like Prof. Mohini Mullick.

My New Inning

I have just received the office order from the office of Dean of Faculty Affairs, IIT Kanpur that my leave (deputation) has been approved. That has prompted me to write this.

I was remembering my first ever visit to any engineering colleges. Two score years ago, my brother had applied for admission to several engineering colleges. One day in June, there was admission "counseling" in two different colleges. In those days, you had to be present in person, show all your certificates, pay some fee, and you get admission. No Internet. And the technology had not yet advanced to the level that he could be present in two colleges at the same time. So it was decided that in one college, I will go with copies of his certificates and the required money to confirm admission.

I was scared. I had never traveled outside Delhi alone. And I had never had more than a 10 rupee note in my pocket, and I was to carry several hundred rupees. I was scared to talk to my own school principal, and here I was supposed to talk to many people, fill up forms correctly, pay at the right window, and what not. What if I fill something wrongly. Reject the admission in a discipline that he wanted or accept in a discipline that he did not want. And, of course, there were no mobiles, not even the STD booths that dotted Indian landscape in the 90s, and even if I could find a phone to call, we didn't have a phone at home. So there would be no connect with home till I return.

But there was no choice. I had to go. Unknown to me, a larger cosmic plan was being hatched and it will only be revealed to me in 2019.

So in the evening, I went to the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Kashmere Gate. Took a bus. The Grand Trunk Road was not yet a divided highway all the way, and I was sitting in the rickety bus for the entire night to reach the city beautiful. It was 5:00 AM. Our neighbors in Delhi had called up their relatives and told them to expect me in the morning. But it was too early, they may still be sleeping. I waited at the bus stand. At 6:00 AM, I went to their home, got ready, had breakfast and at 08:00 AM, left for the college. That was the first time I was seeing an engineering college. I really don't remember anything about the campus from that visit, and my brother wasn't interested in the disciplines in which he could get admission there. After a few hours on campus, I came back to the bus stop, took a bus to Delhi, and by night, was at home.

My fate was sealed that day. I had to return to this place.

Of course, I have visited them several times in the last 20 years, giving talks on security, IPv6, and on topics related to teaching/learning processes. And it has always been a pleasure. But this will be the first time I will be spending more than 2 days on the campus.

I am wondering if I had not visited PEC then, would the universe have still conspired to help me get there for a new inning. One will never know.