Peter’s Trip To India – Part 1

[Music] Oh here I am I'm taking a pause [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] Thank you I'm back from India after a hectic three And a half weeks tramping all over that Great country And this is going to be a series of Several videos where I talk about some Of the experiences I had during those Three and a half hectic weeks Let me Begin by the first part of the Series of videos and this is about my Visit to IIT karpo which is my University where I Did my electrical engineering degree and It is really a visit down memory lane Many of you will know by now that I am Not really Chinese although ethnically I'm Chinese but my grandfather emigrated From China to India in the late 19th Century my father was born in India and I was born in India and I I had my Entire education in India Culminating in my graduation with an Electrical engineering degree from this Prestigious place called IIT kharagpur So this first part of the video is about This visit to my old University campus Let me tell you why I was

Invited there It really came as a shock to me because On the 14th of November I received this letter Let me just Enhance the Video you see that this letter I Received out of the blue Inviting me to be the guest of honor At the annual convocation Usually being invited as the guest of Honor is reserved for bigwigs mainly Politicians in India such as the Prime Minister the Prime Minister was the Chief guest last year And they had the convocation I think online it wasn't a real live one But nevertheless People like that are usually asked to be The guest of honor so when I was asked To be the guest of honor I nearly fell Through the floor how could they invite A poor humble Gardener like me to be the Guest of honor but obviously they felt That I had something to contribute to The Institute and therefore they broke with Tradition and invited me to Grace this Occasion However The convocation as you will notice was On the 24th of December which is Christmas Eve and I didn't want to be Away from home because I always like to

Stay at home for Christmas but when I Told my daughter about this she says you Mustn't refuse you'll never get the Opportunity again So I hurriedly had to sort out all the Visa arrangements and travel Arrangements and decided to go there In case some of you don't know what iot Cardboard is if you go to Wikipedia and Look up IIT carbo you will find all that You need to know about this great University or Institute Suffice it to say that it is India's Most prestigious Technical University or Institute it was founded in 1951 And there are now several of these Institutes And in the mid 60s and early 70s I would say that most of the graduates Who left India and went to America A third of Silicon Valley Industries Were started by alumnus from our University And of course today we have some very High profile alumnus including the Famous Sundar pichai who is the chief of Google chief of alphabet Another famous alumnus Is Arun serene He is a graduate of 1980 and he was the CEO of Vodafone worldwide and if you go Through the list of great entrepreneurs And techies you will find there are very Famous people who are alumnus of our

Institute but I happen to be just an Ordinary Gardener but I have some Reputation as a bonsai person no more Than that so I was very honored to be Invited a little bit about the history Of the Institute Here I photographed only on this recent Visit the foundation stone And of course Late Prime minister in fact he was the first Prime Minister of India since Independence As he was known and he laid the Foundation stone in March 52 when this New building was built they started off Life in the old building and the old Building is in fact No more than A jail There is a watchtower And then watched her Was the jail where the britishers Incarcerated the Freedom Fighters of India So karpo has a lot of sentimental Attachment to the Freedom Movement of India Going back Into history here I am receiving my Degree From then director Dr sen Gupta The picture on the left was taken in December

1962. So when I went back in December 2022 it's exactly 60 years to the day That I received my engineering degree The diploma Picture on the right is me standing in Front of our Hall of residence with the Topper Mr Cornelius who is now in Silicon Valley And he was always top of the class and I Was at the bottom of the class Notice the picture on the right with the Flowers in the background I was the gardening Secretary of my hall Of residence and that was my first Association with plants and flowers So even in those days I was very fond of Growing plants This is a Sunil that is produced when People graduate This is dated March you know may 62 and You look at the entry on the right hand Side And you can see there The entry for me About Peter churn And it says that I'm quiet and handsome and I'm known all Over Bengal for my cycling He got the Institute blue for cycling And is also a wonderful speaker His room still Bears testimony To his artistic nature So that two things they got absolutely

Right I'm still a good speaker and I am Artistic by Nature I don't know why I took up electrical Engineering because I never fitted into That But life goes on and we all end up doing Different things In life and food has it that I turned Out to be a bonsai practitioner and I Earned my livelihood from that I did Have two other careers before this I did Work for ten and a half years as an Electrical engineer in the UK and then For the next 12 or so years I was a Civil servant in the department of Energy so that is my background Some more old pictures for you to see This picture is of me with my uncle on The left hand auntie And Standing next to the famous new building This picture was taken in 1960 so the Building was only like I would say 10 years old The picture on the right is the famous Old building and that Tower in fact is The Watchtower for the prison camp where All the Freedom Fighters of India were Incarcerated That picture on the right shows me Standing with my auntie and mother on The far left So my mother did visit the campus twice I think because our campus is about 80

Miles from Calcutta where I lived So these are very sentimental pictures More than 62 years old I always like to show off my other Side of my life which is my cycling when I was in college I did nothing but spend My spare time cycling I was the state Cycling champion of West Bengal and Eastern India And this is the crest on the left which By Institute awarded me this is the Institute blue Just as in Oxford and Cambridge they Have the Oxford blue and Cambridge blue The iot also had the blue for Outstanding Sportsmen which I was Because I was the state cycling champion The crest on the right is the standard Crust which no longer is used now they Have a new Crest which doesn't show the Ashoka lines And we all wore Blazers we were very Smartly attired in those days a lot of All British tradition These are pictures of me in the stadium Of The Institute I met a person on this visit and he was Telling me how as a boy He used to idolize me because I was the Folk hero on the campus I won every cycle race which was held Each year and all the campus children Treated me as a folk hero almost like a God

Because I was that famous for my cycling Was a large part of my life in those Days but of course no more And the reason why I still keep good Health is because I've always been Active in sport I do visit the Institute from time to Time so this is a picture of a visit I Made I think in 2000 I think the year 2000 I was in 1999 I Can't remember no Sorry about this because I'm taking Pictures On my computer so it may be a bit shaky But please bear with me The picture on the right is another Visit I made I think in 1994 or 95 Nearly 30 years ago And I donated Some sums of money to plant trees on the Campus And I'm glad I did that because many of The trees are now mature and very old And large I will show you more of these Pictures as we go along Some more pictures of the past Sorry if I'm boring you but I thought You'd like to know a bit about my Background So the picture on the left is me 1959-60 in my second year I think it was And I was always part of the IIT culture Athletics team because I was considered

Quite a good athlete And of course this picture on the right Is a picture that is always made for Students who graduate and this is the Graduation photograph from our Hall of Residents if you look carefully at that Picture I'm sitting At the Front row towards the left next to the Warden I was always a very high profile person And I was always at the Forefront of many Extracurricular activities I seldom studied most of my time was Spent playing around doing other things Apart from studies but I enjoyed that Sort of life Another picture taken on this recent Visit of me visiting my old Department Which is electrical engineering Department I studied heavy electrical engineering Which means All the things to do with generators and Motors and transmission lines The picture on the right hand side shows The machines that I used to do my Experiments on they're still there They're all British machines which were Donated by the UK Government after Independence These are pictures of earlier visits

This was a visit I think maybe 1997. Showing me with some of my All batchmates The gentleman on the right hand side on Both the pictures sadly passed away He went to America to live with his son But unfortunately he got killed in a Road rage accident in America So I feel very sorry for him Let's move on and this is a picture of Me in 2015 seven years ago When I was awarded the distinguished Alumnus award The gentleman who is holding the Certificate Is Lord potacharya Lord bhattacharya Is the famous industrialist engineer who Was responsible for rescuing the famous British car company Jaguar Land Rover he Passed away two years ago but he was a Few years senior to me so Lord Bhattachary is one of those famous Alumnus of this institute These are pictures taken recently on This visit and as you can see me Standing there this was on the 22nd of December Two days after I landed in India it's Standing in front of the new building And there were signs everywhere of me Being the Guest of honor for the convocation there Were huge hoardings all over the campus

So this was my moment of Fame I feel a bit embarrassed about it Because I really shouldn't be there I'm really not worthy to be invited to Do it but if they think that I'm worth It so be it I accept it very humbly Which of me with the director Professor Tiwari a very Dynamic man very very Dynamic band and he's taking the Institute forward to Great Heights This is the day When I was doing One of my workshops I did a lot of Workshops on other topics I didn't go There just to attend the convocation but I Did some workshops on sustainability Climate change and also well-being and Wellness on this campus there are quite A few suicides among students because The pressure on the students is so great That they all want to achieve high and Be at the top of the ladder as it were So I was doing some workshops on how to Have a well-balanced life and not just Do all your work concentrating on career And studies This is a picture of part of the Convocation At this convocation 2 300 students received the actual Degree diploma From undergraduate degrees The Bachelor Degrees master's degrees and doctorates

And also the distinguished alumnus Awardees were present to And because this Auditorium only holds About four or five hundred people They had to come in batches in streams Right through the day so poor me had to Sit on the dice with the director and Other dignitaries From 11 30 in the morning till 8 30 in The evening awarding the degrees Very tiring affair And the following day in the telegraph You will see the date there It is the 24th of this no 25th of December Christmas Day issue of the Telegraph which is a leading Calcutta Newspaper or Indian newspaper And my speech was Reported quite widely I don't want to talk about my speech I Think you can find it on YouTube Because The Institute did put it on YouTube And the gist of my talk was that you Don't have to be at the top of this Class to be a success in life Most of the people who enter IIT are Very highly accomplished students in Their own right so There's no matter if you don't reach the Top of the class you you have to be First or you have to be lost just take It and accepted and live life life is Not always about being first So that went down uh so well I think I

Got many many standing ovations for that Speech I talked about hurdles in life And how to overcome hurdles and I also Talked finally about what constitutes Success in life and essentially the Message was it's not about money it's Not about Fame it's about doing Something and making a difference in Someone's life so all these things went Very well So that was a memorable experience So let me continue this video showing You some more of what I did I spent A full week on the campus so I had a lot Of time and I was riding around in these Little electric buggies and they're all Battery powered buggies The the campus is very green 50 percent Of their electricity is generated by Solar PV And they're trying to make an impact on What they believe and what they preach So the tech is practice uh on the ground Level as it were picture on the right is With me visiting the Gymkhana where all The sports activities take place because Of my obvious connection with sport While I was in university I visited my old Hall of residence there Are now 25 Halls of residents on the Campus because there are 15 and a half Thousand students undergraduate students And another thousand postgraduate

Students so it's a huge campus very Large campus And the campus covers about 2100 Acres Here I am in my old Hall of residence Having dinner I insisted in having the Food that the students have so I was There with the warden and some of the Students And the picture on the right shows the Utensils where we had our meals this is A typical Indian device where they have Little compartments for the different Dishes That's my Room in the middle floor Third from the Center of the building And there's me standing in front of my Old room two to eight C of RK or rather Krishnan Hall I spent a full four years there so this Was always a nice experience I have Visited this room many many times Because I go back to the campus quite Often On one of the visits back in 1995 I took My daughter Angela there She was in her finally in Cambridge and I wanted to show her the contrast Between her rooms in Cambridge and the Rooms in iot which were primitive to say The least I showed it to her because I don't like to reveal too many Secrets But my wife was my pen friend was when I

Was in college at the age of 20 I used To write letters to her and she was my Pen friend at the age of 15 and we Corresponded for many many years and I Told my daughter that had I not written Letters from this room she would not be Born so it's very much like Back to the Future that famous movie had I not done This this what had happened and I had Not done that that would not have Happened Such as life Of course the campus Is a Not as jab and dreary as you think I stumble across a group of students who Are making music Playing Contemporary Indian pop With us play I will show it to you but It's lovely music [Music] Foreign [Music] And I discovered that I had gifted them One of my books this is Bonsai Secrets I Think it was On the 5th of December 2005 that is 17 Years ago I have gifted them most of my books And of course the alumnus have written Many many books This is a picture of me taken on the 22nd of December standing in front of The

New building what we call the new Building This is the famous landmark of The Institute none of the other iits have a Landmark as famous as this And I did go to the top of the IIT Tower That Tower is about 180 feet tall So in all the time I was in iot those Four years we were never allowed to go To the top of the tower in case people Jumped off the top But I had to get special permission even On this visit There's the head of security behind me I Had to sign a form saying that they were Not responsible if something happened to Me And the picture on the right is the view You get from the top of the tower The campus of course is a very beautiful Campus now In our days it was pretty wild because It was only like seven years since it Had been uh established so everything Was in a state of disarray we had Jackals and wild animals running through The halls of residents And uh it was a complete uh I would say Primitive Place but we enjoyed our life There we were the pioneers of that Institute I'd like to show this picture because When I was there The campus don't celebrate Christmas

So this is the church we used to go to When I was in college Union Church it's a Baptist Church Started by American missionaries about 160 years ago So here I was on Christmas Eve And I went to the church service on Christmas Day Some sites from the past This building on the left is where one Of my Girlfriends used to live she passed away Two or three years ago now sadly But this house doesn't resemble the House in the early days it's in a Complete state of disrepair This is me standing in the railway Market called goal Bazaar The campus is really beautiful I'll show You some videos of the campus It's not full of trees beautiful Greenery everywhere And of course when I was there I Visited one of my YouTube Friends And this YouTube fan lived in a village Called chagram which is about 40 Kilometers from our University campus And I'll tell you more about it in a Minute Now let me tell you about this visit I Made to a YouTube fan in jagran Village Near karapu Ever since I started doing the YouTube

Videos I have built up a huge following And I always try to reply to comments That are made by people if they are Relevant and I noticed that this Gentleman called nabakumar mahata was Not only an Indian but he lived in a Village called jagran so I remember John Graham from my college days because I Used to ride my bicycle there as part of My training 40 kilometers away and I Used to do it on a Saturday afternoon 80 Kilometers was just a cakewalk so I said That if I go to karpo I must visit this Guy I love to support my YouTube friends and Especially a YouTube fan that had some Connection with my old college or University So here am I This I think was the 23rd of December when I went to see him that's Him standing next to me He's a artist in his own right that big Mural of the leopard Catching a deer was painted by him so is The picture of Hanuman the Hindu god these pictures were all Painted by him And this is his family His father on the left And his uncles on the right and other Relatives his brother I think And they live off the land They have lived on this site for I think

150 years over six Generations he told Me And of course like most of these Villagers in India The children are very tech savvy so Although the parents can barely read or Write the children line to high-tech Stuff So this is the Modern India today Not only is it tech savvy guy he also Makes bonsai On this visit This YouTube fan of mine was so touched That he Bought a special Tree this is The Banyan Tree And this banyan tree is one of these Great big trees that spread with the Area roots and make huge plants so he's Planting this tree To commemorate my visits so he made me Plant it And not only that He is so Savvy that he Got the reporters from a famous Calcutta Newspaper Bengali language paper And this visit was reported widely in That paper so there was a lot of press Coverage about this visit Now although this visit has been an Interesting one it was very stressful And as you see in the script My luggage was lost on the way out I was

Flying Business Class by Air Canada And they lost my two suitcases One of them was retrieved after six days That means almost the final day when I Was on the campus so I was without Decent clothes to meet the Vice President of India and the second one Was recovered after 16 days So that was very stressful indeed but What did I do I know it upset me Initially but I took it very Philosophically and I think a lot of People were quite surprised that I Didn't get too upset because I said to Myself that what can you do if you get Stressed about it you can't make the Suitcases come back you can try your Best but they will turn up I hope which They did eventually and so I look at it Like this in the 60 years that I've been Traveling by air this is the first time That I've ever lost my cases so that's Not a bad record so looking at it from The positive side of things it's not so Bad so that is how I coped with my lost Suitcases so that was a bad experience But I didn't let it upset my thing I Went out and bought some new clothes Fortunately I have some funds that can Help sustain My Lifestyle so I bought New clothes and new shoes new underwear And I got by doing that but all in all It was the most enjoyable visit so I'm Now going to follow this up with some

Videos live videos that I made off my Visit to karakpur and in the subsequent Episodes of my India trip I will show You what I did uh by way of bonsai in Calcutta Delhi Bombay and in one of the Resorts outside Bombay called karjat so There are lots more videos to come so I Hope you will enjoy it I'm on my Sentimental Journey it's the 21st of December 2022 And it's over 64 and a half years since I first Visited or came to IIT kharagpur so how Nostalgic is that I came here in May 1958 this was a Jungle all the trees didn't exist there Were just dirt tracks everywhere and This is what The IIT kharagpur looks like today So I'm here as the chief guest and guest Of honor so it's going to be very Sentimental Journey for me so here I am Taking a walk Good morning good morning sir [Music] At least all these roads are now Tom Academy Before the roads were like this Just dirt tracks and that is the sound Of the diesel trains In our days we had steam even when I Visited in 1994 steam train still used To run but there are no steam trains now Trains always make me fulfill nostalgic

Look at the greenery here look at the Greenery all these huge trees were no Thicker than one inch in diameter when I Came here in 58. [Music] Oh gosh the chains make me feel so Nostalgic So I'm here for this event the 68th Convocation and I'm the chief guest and Guest of honor [Music] Because in one day we'd never had Cameras So I have very little to record from Those days What a shame I wish I had [Music] [Music] There are some improvements These were not like this before Palm trees planted nearby In between the tall trees And there actually seats for people to Sit on benches How nice is that These by the way are Crepe myrtle trees in the spring in February They have beautiful flowers Look at these beautiful trees crepe Myrtle And this by the way Is a mighty great big neem tree Neem is used for many many purposes many

Medicinal Stems are used as toothbrushes And I'm pleased to see that they have Put their Botanical names neem Whole plant has got value [Music] So I was telling you about The crepe myrtle I used to love these trees because the Flowers were so pretty So the Indian name is yarul Legislative media speciosa And the commercial value is the leaf Flying fruit So that's interesting to know I've never noticed how beautiful these Trees are On the campus because now that they're More more mature and with more character Look at them this is a beautiful tree I Think this is a gold mahor which Probably has the red floss there's Another tree similar to this which has Yellow flowers So that this is the cycle Park Cyprus stand And this is where I made my name my Claim to fame Was as a great Sportsman at I.T I was the king of the track Undisputed cycling champion Not just a white kharpur but the whole Of West Bengal the state of West Bengal Pretty this is shot

Oh they actually got a proper track No longer is it just grass Things have moved on Foreign I guess I'm going to record all the Trees while I'm here this tree I can't remember all the Indian names Called chatim Estonia scolaris How appropriate for Scholars The bark and the latex is of use And that is a large casuarina tree It must be every bit Easier I would say 100 feet tall or more This is what ficus trees do This is probably just distressed Seedling That has grown So it's Strangle the wall And about to strangle the tree I was telling you about the termites and That crepe myrtle are not long-lived Trees look at this for an example it's Completely rotted away So these trees don't live long and it's Just covered with termite nest So I dare say this tree will collapse It will collapse Hi the student is here yeah the fact That I heard you were from jhagram Reminded me 1958 to 62 I used to ride the bicycle Here to jhagam I know

Yeah You told me sir that you came Yes yes okay Okay please do But you have to be quick I have to dig More because there are a lot of people In uh the Calcutta area already doing Bonsai you know making Bonsai so Suddenly the market will get completely Full up So you have to be very quick Come here So this is our YouTube follower one of My YouTube friends I'm visiting his Village in the deepest part of rural India look at all the cows YouTube fans don't often get a chance to See all this this is all Atlanta And they can get three to four crops in A year this is the dry season these Mango trees they have a lot of fruit Yeah What variety of mango is that Maybe Alfonso oh really yeah Yeah and what you do with that tree root Three Roots it's a it's an art set it's Called So you use a tree root to make art yeah Yeah Look at that driftwood So this wood is used for making artistic Objects And these are mango trees Okay let us see the object what are you

Doing there is that a well for water Irrigation Is that [Music] And this you fill the tank So here One of our YouTube fans making his Bonsai from a type of ficus Very nice shape yes very nice Very nice but you need to make lots yes Make hundreds of them hundreds hundreds To get experience yeah okay keep going In pots it's so easy to propagate very Easy to propagate Oh I got some yeah that is very easy to Go yeah Come here Okay no What tree is there what variety is that This is uh in our in Bengali it is Called Um Not people people different people People I thought people tree is different isn't It People tree has this both the sides the Same but It looks like people but I think people Know it's people oh They call in Bengali sorry it is called Asus Oh People tree people tree

So I think uh so this is the tiger buck Oh Ficus no I have party this is like a box tree Boxes boxes boxes I can't call to mine Sorry yeah boxes That See we don't get to see a scenery like This Look at it Do you sell the chickens or you only use It for eggs no sir it's uh we use my Eggs And also chicken oh for meat yeah But you don't produce on a commercial Scale just a few minutes Only for your own use only or for your Use Okay So is this Patty yeah pedi rabi crop Winter winter crops Foreign So this is the artwork of My bonsai YouTube follower Look at this so artistic Right in a village of nowhere Meaning small village small village Small village And the family has been in this area all The time how many years the family have Been here family More than 100 years More than 100 years more than 100 years More than 100 years you've been living

Here yeah So this was 200 years 200 years so in Those days it was all jungle yeah yeah Six Generations This is really a privilege to come here Totality Indian hospitality What can I say thank you very much So they're organizing a party in our Honor Just for us all right thank you for your Hospitality In each other's life really they can't Relate to the experiences okay these Days because in the village in the Village there's always a conservative Thinking that once you'll have a Government job that's all you need yes Nothing else so there's a trend from From chidawa where I am from yeah There's this trend that people go in Military services for more than 70 Percent of the for Indian forces like Jats and all that are the only workers Army people or government service yes is The biggest achievement in life IIs Officer yes this is the basically Preliminary goal which we lead which we Take from the very starting and then Coming out seeing all these experiences All new experiences or gaining all these Experiences we start to find out that What do we need to do how can I create An impact on this society and then these All these confusions come so what should

I do but then you could get a situation Very easily like from here if he had Gotten to IIT or there are IIT students Who are from Village like this and then They go to America the change is even More Uh stock and severe isn't it yes sir I Feel How can they relate to the Village when They go back huh like whenever somebody Comes back to the place where he's from He can relate all the hard work that he Has been there oh so that's what the Hard work has made it uh made him Possible made him possible to come back To a point where he started yes that's The biggest privilege what I feel okay Yeah I don't think you'll get that so much in The westernian developing country you Get it I hope people who watch my video will Appreciate this This thing you know this transition Which is going on in the world I'm very privileged to be here to do This Is the 2016 22nd 2022 2022 you touched Foreign This is the special message that Peter Has For his followers Thank you and may you succeed in your

Bonsai 100 years We have parsley we have [Applause] It but the hole is a bit too deep All these two deep But sometimes let me do something Feel another 30 centimeters Yeah okay Thank you That's okay that's okay Don't worry [Applause] Bring the plant bring the plant I will Go get them put it in the sauce Oh dick In my video at the moment yeah yeah so We are planting a tree Banyan Tree he's Asked me to plant a tree to mark my Visit Okay that's fine that's fine this looks Very good smart very smart Foreign [Applause] [Music] We doing So I'm actually planting a tree it's for You memory Of meter yeah Okay So on the campus those big Banyan trees Yeah yeah when I was in California 64 Years ago 1958. those big trees

That thick and now they're so big after 64 years We want to show some pictures okay yeah Foreign Okay thank you It is a great honor to do this all right Good luck yes Okay Thank you for very good news here no no No no no no no [Music] Um This is a very very special YouTube Video I'm here Almost in my birthplace because I was Here in 1958 to 62. 64 years ago I came To the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology in kharagpur and in my College days I was the gardening Secretary we are here in the grounds of The facilities uh Management and if you can introduce Yourself sir I'm Vivek srivastava chief Engineer of the campus chief engineer so You look after all the girls So they have Engineers looking after Their grounds and facilities and if you Look around all these beautiful flowers This is the nursery where they grow Their plants for beautifying the campus You can see how lovely it is all these Poinsettias roses gone from cuttings All these beautiful plants and of course

They grow these plants to beautify the Campus so look at it so I would say I Had to do especially a YouTube video Showing all these beautiful things that These people do so what are some of your Big problems here apart from growing Plants very hot I know somewhere what's The temperature in the summertime and it Goes up to 42-43 sometimes okay Centigrade yeah [Music] Okay sometimes because I remember when I Used to do exams in March April already It was getting very hot yes in those Days And rains with heavy showers and Thunderstorms that is in July Monsoon Time It doesn't flood here and the campus Does it because we're higher But you have to irrigate the ground to Keep the grass green yes okay This is something which is unique to India you see the edging the white Triangular bricks there they put this is Only found in India I don't see anywhere Else in the world we recycle the waste Bricks okay yeah so that is very pretty Huh very nice And I notice you always paint the flower Pots So this is what the Horticulture is About so as I said in my college days I Used to be the gardening Secretary of my

Hall of residence and under my Supervision we had a Mali who used to Grow all the plants and I was studying Our colleagues here that the budget Given to me in those days about 64 years Ago was 200 rupees A year to pay for the services of one Gardener 200 rupees today is what two Pound for the whole year but in those Days I think 200 rupees was a very good Very good money very good money very Good money anyways so like 200 pounds Here now it is 477 per day Yeah four pound a day anyways But the campus size is huge but we Definitely need two thousand nickels Yeah the campus is 2 000 Acres more than 2 000 Acres But do you have to look after all the Grounds all the facilities Yeah rest of the places where because It's not buildings are there or people Are not staying there that is usually Taken as in when it is required Talking of the campus these big trees Which are all huge I remember 64 years Ago they were only about one inch thick They had just been planted they had just Been planted so they have grown very Fast in 64 years of course tropical Trains grow very fast so it's very nice To come back and see these things it is Almost like a jungle in our days the Campus was newly built it was only like

Five six years old so there was nothing There there was just concrete piles Rubbish everywhere RK Hall had nothing There so a lot of changes has become Better and better so I'm very pleased That I've seen such beautiful things Around here and if my gardening skills Have anything to do with the campus I'm Sure it is the environment I grew up in Which has helped me develop my love for Plants so although I'm an electrical Engineer by training From India's most famous engineering Institute and I think one of the Greatest institutes in the world because We produce Engineers which are world Famous all over the world and this is The birthplace of all those people so Thank you very much Okay all right thank you Now this one has got potentials bonsai Look at it it's got nice shape This is people tree And because it's got that nice shape That will make a nice Bonsai shape And if you take the tips out The growing tips it sends more shoots if You don't cut it it doesn't send much to It so this basically is the shape of Your Bonsai okay so one bottle I made in Iot Thank you And this you can make gooty as well all Ficus grow from gutier

There you go Thank you thank you thank you Like this plant That is how you make the Bonsai you have To be beautiful cut Don't be afraid to cut if you don't cut You won't get bonsai That is the shape of the Bonsai cut this Out Okay And keep it small not big So that is Like even this is Not like this one if you want to make Bonsai you come to about here not so Tall like here then you can use for Cutting you know that's how you do all Right thank you thank you Namaste Oh this is a nostalgic visit again Christmas day in iot karapu Maybe I haven't spent Christmas like This for more than 60 or 65 years Christmas is not celebrated In India generally in small towns like This in a large cities Calcutta and Delhi and Bombay Maybe But here you are Christmas no Decorations nothing people don't even Think of it as a Separate day Today is Sunday so it's a holiday anyway And tomorrow they're working again Look at the lovely trees on the campus

60 or 64 years ago there were nothing no Trees nothing all these trees are only About 60 years old [Music] Down memory lane In more senses than one I love my trees But I'm afraid I don't know these exotic Species This is a flowering tree I guess Look at the size of the leaves so big It's a huge tree And that is the stadium behind me This for me is always nostalgic Ever since I came back in 1993 this is Almost 30 years ago I always used to frequent the stadium to Remember all times My fame in this University or this Campus was made for my cycling Powers I used to win the Four Mile cycle race Every year And today we met two people who remember Me for those days they were only 10 Years old they're now in their 70s and They remember me as their hero because I Won every cycle race not just in the Campus but all over Bengal Now it is different they have a proper Running track in all this it was just Gross and I used to call it cameras back Because it was so bumpy how I Established these records I don't know

Anyway I hope it won't be the last time I see It but I feel so nostalgic Oh the stadium is even lit Things do change after all 64 years Things should have changed Just to give you a flavor of what Tropical trees do look at this tree this Is a people tree What they call Ficus religiosa the tree That Lord Buddha sat under to gain Enlightenment so the leaves are Heart-shaped but it's got a little tail At the end [Music] No What I want to show you is how these Parasitic plants Live on this tree Look at the trunk and there is a ficus Pangolinist which is a banyan tree and There's some other small leaf tree Growing out of the trunk so this is how They grow and further up the trunk To focus on it They've cut some of the Banyan tree that Means the ficus religiosa Was the host for this ficus bengalinus Which was strangling the tree Had they not cut that tree out this tree Would have been strangled and killed So this is what I really wanted to show You this tree has a trunk diameter of About eight feet and I remember in my

College days about 60 to 64 years ago it Was no more than one inch thick So let me come closer So this is the leaf of the people tree Where it says heart shaped And if you soak it in water you get what Is called skeleton leaves Tracery of just veins on the leaf Those are the leaves This is a trunk and these are the Parasitic plants that are growing inside The tree It doesn't need soil so this is the Guest house for mainly visitors and Alumni Modern building I think it accommodates About 200 it's like a large Hotel [Music] Foreign Large mango trees That is the old guest house Thank you Another old mango tree These mango trees must be more than 60 Years old either say 100 years old look At it Mango tree can you imagine that Thousands of mangoes that will be on This tree In the summer Peter you are going to get this Tea table is very very cheap carry them As much as you can to UK Okay

Just carry them with you to UK as much As you can take all of them Wow great Okay Yes sir photos this is beautiful oh very Nice photo Sweet Shop [Music] Big one not two Yeah This is My peanuts Is it yes Like a card And this almond as well this is from This so this is this is Foreign [Music]