ABOUT
ENVIKAL |
What
is ENVIKAL?
It stands for - Engineering Novel Volunteer Initiatives & Knowledge Alliance Launch. Sounds intriguing and contrived? It does, because it is really so. It derives its name from the mascot of IIT Madras (1970) alumni (IITM70) e-group. The obvious next question is - what the heck is ENVIKAL, the mascot? If one sees a faint resemblance to Narasimha, Varaha or Khara, one may not be far off the mark. But the fact of the matter is that its origin is shrouded in mystery. As the adage goes - one is barred from probing into the origins of sages, rivers, and now… ENVIKAL. All we know is that it represents strength, endurance, consistency, repeatability et al, which happen to be the qualities one desires from social services projects, too. In much simpler terms, ENVIKAL is nothing but Social Service Initiatives of IIT Madras (1970) alumni members. |
The
cyber hostel
Year 2000 - the year of millennium change also proved to be a watershed year for IIT Madras 1970 alumni (IITM70). The pearl reunion slated for December '00 generated lot of enthusiasm, resulting in formation of the e-group in October '00. The e-group soon evolved into a cyber hostel, fanned by the nostalgic outpourings of the batch - mates. Within months it turned out to be a cyber group nonpareil, what with hundreds of messages being posted every month by the members spread across the globe, on topics ranging from the mundane to the philosophic, from the temporal to the spiritual, and from light banter to serious arguments. When someone proposed it was time we collectively did our bit to the society at large, ideas poured in along with dollars and rupees. |
Birth
of ENVIKAL June 2001 - the month that saw over 1000 messages posted also marked the birth of ENVIKAL, after an e-group poll endorsed as top three choices - Self-sufficiency Initiatives, Education & Literacy, and Public Health Services for the social service projects. |
NT Nathan – Alamathi Project Coordinator, Content manager for this website |
Vision
|
Dream
aloud, when you want, |