Push the limits

Inspirational lectures by many eminent persons have made us acquainted with the line - "Push the limits". However, to me it is not just a mere line with use limited to writing award winning essays. To understand the real essence of this powerful statement, one needs to experience it. And after the mind boggling experience that you will have, you will truly understand what it is to "push the limits".

It was the week after the final examinations of my Btech degree. The project evaluation was to be held on the Friday of that week. And as any other IITian, I had done just a minor part of the entire work during the semester and hence had an enormous amount of work to be completed before my thesis could be ready, to be presented before the panel of three Professors who evaluate the project work.

Mine was an experimental piece of work. Work had to be done in the Mechanical engineering workshop and every time I had to rush to the department to carry out additional tests on the samples under study. The distance between the workshop and department, though not much, took atleast 3-4 mins by walk. Add to that, the running after the PhD assistant to get the work done in time and endure his whims and fancies(sometimes) and administrative constraints , actually makes it a tiring job.

:Monday:

9.30 am
Work had to be started by 9.30 am. But thanks to the careless attitude of the workshop technicians, it got delayed. After coaxing them with directives from my project guide, they finally decided to prepare the machine for use. By the time it was done, it was already lunch time. How do I explain them , I was running out of time !!! After all my project work was at their mercy.

2.30 pm
The machine was ready to be use, but some initial runs had to be made before I could start using it to produce useful results for my project. Time was running fast and I was getting tired and surprisingly restless. The PhD assistant asked me to come early the next day.

:Tuesday:

8.00 am
I woke up quite early by my standards. I was feeling feverish. Looked at my watch. I had to go to the workshop by 9.00 am. I had to !

9.10 am
Reached the workshop and started work. Had to spend time in the air-conditioned lab in the department testing my samples. With a terrible headache and an apparent feeling of weakness, I was conducting research. It was really testing my nerve under such physical conditions. But i had no choice. I had to do it. I had to !
In the workshop, I had to keep myself alert while I stood close to the spindle of the lathe running at 500 RPM. A little mistake, and it could turn out to be fatal. Apart from that, I had to be careful to get correct results. All this, while I was running high temperature and having this frustrating feeling to leave everything and just go away and lie down on my bed. But I could not. I had to stay there and back myself to finish the work. I had to !

12.30 pm
Came back to my room. I was running high fever by then. I was not in a position to work in the afternoon. Sat and re-planned my schedule to complete the project in time. I could afford taking rest for a while. Popped a medicine into my mouth and went to sleep. That was a much needed rest. I am glad i took it.

:Wednesday:

9.30 am
Thanx to Calpol, the fever was down. Though not in great shape, I was faintly fit to work. I reached the workshop and the work started yet again. The numerous to-and-fro between the workshop and the lab in the department began to hurt more than ever before. Legs were trembling, head was reeling under pain and there was this usual feverish weakness in the body. Yet i had to get the work done. I knew i had no alternative.
I did an appreciable amount of work. Not much was left for the afternoon session. And then, something struck me. I decided to do some additional tests ! I informed the professor and he gave the go-ahead. I sometimes wonder what came upon me to take such a decision. As if the fever and the time-crunch was not enough.

2.30 pm
Spent the afternoon finishing the tests. The work was almost over. Just a couple of tests to be done the next morning. And yes, I had still not recovered. The head was still heavy as if from a hangover and there was no sign of the body ache subsiding.

9.00 pm
Started writing my thesis, incorporating the results. Formatting MS Word could be really troublesome when you have a heavy head, running temperature and weakness in all parts of the body. Not to mention, the wish to leave everything and just lie down on the bed.

:Thursday:

9.30 am
I just had one day left to finish all tests, finish writing my thesis, show it and get corrected by my project guide and prepare the power point slides to be presented in front of the panel of Professors during the evaluation. I was hurrying through the lab, looking for the PhD assistant.
As luck would have it or say my carelessness, I fell down the stairs. As if I had not had enough, my right ankle got twisted.However, the work must continue. It had to !
I finished up the remaining tests with a feverish body and a crippled leg.

2.00 pm
Now started the never ending saga of writing the B.Tech thesis. It drained out all my energy. Sitting in front of the computer, continuously writing and formating seemed such an arduous task. It took the entire afternoon and the evening to get the thesis ready. By then, most shops had closed and had to rush to the Tech market to get the thesis printed. Luckily, a shop in my hostel did the spiral binding in the night, saving me from last minute rush next morning.

11.00 pm
Everything was not over yet. Tired hands, sleepy eyes and an exhausted mind had still some work to do.The power point slides could not be avoided. It was important! Setting aside all thoughts, I worked on the slides. It was done in about one and a half hours. Finally, my project work was complete and I went to sleep. Oh yes, not before I popped in another Calpol into my mouth.

:Friday:

10.00 am
It was my turn to present my project work. I did it and was happy with it.


They say- All is well that ends well. Rightly so. My B.Tech project taught me many things. Apart from the effect of surface pre-treatment on the adhesion of PVD coated TiN on WC inserts, I learnt something more significant. I understood the meaning of "push the limits" !