Mathletics 2017-2018

THE ANNUAL MATHEMATICS MAGAZINE

Department of Mathematics, Miranda House
 Message from the Teacher in Charge
It gives me immense pleasure to introduce the first edition of our mag-
azine ‘MATHLETICS’. It started in the year 2012 as a newsletter by the
enormous efforts of our students Nishika Bhatia, Neha Budhiraja and
Ashima Sharma. This year also the magazine has been designed and
conceptualised by the students. Our aim is to encourage creativity of
thought among students so that they may learn and grow in every aspect.

In this publication, we offer a wide variety of articles which are con-

tributions by the current students, with special write ups by alumnae
Nishika Bhatia and Mahenoor Ali . The edition of Mathletics also pro-
vides a glimpse of the activities that have happened in this academ-
ic year. These include workshops, seminars, talks, trip to Shimla and
Chandigarh, the annual departmental fest and associated activities.

I convey a word of thanks to Meghna Basu and Pankhuri Khare with their entire editori-
al team for their efforts with special mention to Lehak Narnauli for the very philosophical cov-
er design. Mr. Manoj Rawal’s inputs and his contribution deserve a notable mention. Our Stu-
dent advisors Ms. Bhawna Bansal Gupta, Ms. Apeksha Verma and Dr. Rekha Gupta have been very
forthcoming and that has enabled us to work as a team, and I extend my sincere thanks to them.

My best wishes to all.

Dr. Meetu Bhatia Grover

Teacher in Charge
Department of Mathematics
Miranda House
 Message from the Staff Advisor
Print media has always been a means of promoting cre-
ativity. Although quick technological tools exist for ex-
pression of ideas in today’s world, but significance of
print media cannot be denied. Information, facts are full
everywhere but analytical elucidation is developed when
writing takes place that leads to self-satisfaction. Maga-
zine is a means to provide platform for students to come
forward, identify their talent, discover their potential and
move on the path of progress. It is supposed to garner di-
verse thoughts and expressions altogether. I am delighted
Ms. Apeksha
to see that creative capacity of our students has been trans-
formed into a tangible way in form of ‘Mathletics’ as result
of their tireless efforts and is presented for the feedback.

I sincerely thank our editors-in-chief Pankhuri and Meghna, and student union pres-
ident Mahima whose diligent efforts and strong determination has made the dream of
‘Mathletics’ come true. I thank the entire editorial team for their commendable work.

I would like to extend my thanks to student union – Mahima, Diksha, Anjali and Vaishali for
working as a good team and having accomplished set goals irrespective of many hurdles. I
really admire their willingness to work at any time, be it late night or early morning. Many
events like seminar, talks, Origin were organised and successfully completed by their efforts.
All of this was very adventurous for me, which taught many lessons. There were many
ups and downs during the advisor-ship but at the end everything was good, reaffirm-
ing my faith in that if we do our work honestly and give our best, outcomes are al-
ways positive. And this is my message to outgoing batch that wherever you go, what-
ever you do, do with interest and wholeheartedly. There may be circumstances when
you feel that situations are not in your favour, but look at the positive side of every
situation and keep doing your work with allegiance. Feelings are temporary; don’t let
them control you. You have infinite potential which you have to realize and explore.

My best wishes to all of you.

 Our Union
President
Thoughts came rolling back and it seems as though it was just yes-
terday that I was entrusted with the responsibility of being the
President of the Department of Mathematics, Miranda House.
The, now seemingly, smooth end of the road had a wonky be-
ginning filled with so much more than challenges and triumphs.
It was an experience that could not replaced by any other. We bade
farewell to those who kept our ship going, welcomed the Freshers
and celebrated Teachers' Day. These acted like my training programs
into what was yet to come, and trust me, there was so much more
to come, the least of which was the turbulent path to Shimla with its
twists and turns, which is the most accurate description of my journey!
The New Year firmed the Origins of a hardworking President in me,
and it laid the Origins of a less patient President. If the above isn’t
laced with enough hints, I am referring to Origin 2018. It was the Mahima Arora
highlight of the session and greatest test and achievement for me.
I am thankful to Diksha Gupta, Vaishali and Anjali Ranolia for their cooperation and sup-
port. I am grateful to the faculty members for their constant support and guidance. I am much
obliged to my classmates and my juniors for their never-ending love and encouragement.
And, to the passengers who kept my ship from sinking- my closest friends: Diksha Gup-
ta (for making faces at whatever I used to say), Krati Morandani (for being a beacon of cute-
ness), Meghna Basu (for her ever-ready hugs) and of course, Aparna Brahma (for nev-
er showing up). A special thank you to my roommate Veronica Kashyap for always being there.

THANK YOU TO THE WALLS OF MIRANDA!!

Mitti ki hai jo khushboo, mai kaise mitaugi,

Mai chahe kahi bhi jau, mai laut kar aaugi!

Vice President
I had to see things from the other side to actual-
ly live every moment here at Miranda House. After all,
the experience is always better from behind the stage!
This post is what gave me the opportunity to live the best of both worlds.
From enjoying the fests and attending the workshops, to actually get-
ting every bit together for a successful show, was a worthwhile journey.
I am really thankful to my colleagues and my teach-
ers for all the support, love and trust bestowed upon me.
I hope I was able to do justice to my designation because I can say with
firmness that it made my final year the best here at Miranda House.

Diksha Gupta
 "There are no secrets to success.
It is the result of preparation, hard
work, and learning from failure."

-- Colin Powell

Our Achievers
Batch Of 2017 Batch Of 2018
(SGPA 10)
Aayushi Chaudhary, M.Sc. Mathematics, IIT Delhi
Charu Yadav, M.Sc. Mathematics, IIT Roorkee Ankita III & V Semester
Mayuri Saha, MCA, NIT Jamshedpur Archana Bhoria III Semester
Pooja Gautam, M.Sc. Mathematics, NIT Durgapur Krupa Maria Jose V Semester
Sheena Saini, M.Sc. Mathematics, IIT Delhi Neha Joshi III Semester
Suman Kaswan, M.Sc. Mathematics, IIT Patna Priyanka Gupta V Semester
Tanisha, M.Sc. Mathematics, IIT Gandhinagar
Trishita Nandi, MBA, IIM Ahmedabad
Upasana Kalra, M.Sc. Mathematics, IIT Bombay

Batch Of 2019 Batch Of 2020

(SGPA 10) (SGPA 10)
Andin Kour III Semester Sudha Yadav I Semester
Rythm Babbar III Semester

Jahanavi Godara (H1A): Received 1st prize in Baseline test (Mathematical Sciences) held in September 2017.
Got Best Interjector Award in Science Award (2017-18) presentation round organised by DS Kothari Center for
undergraduate research

IIT JAM Rank Holders:

Baby Gill (H3A) - Rank 44
Diksha Gupta (H3A) - Rank 72
Priyanka Gupta (H3B) - Rank 91
 From the Editors
All our lives we’ve been preconditioned to believe that Maths is all about formulas. But if there’s one thing
we’ve learnt within these red brick walls, as students of Mathematics, it is that Maths is far from that. The
journey through the labyrinth of Mathematics is largely incomplete without sheer intuition and imagination.
It’s the ability to think outside the box and apply yourself creatively, while maintaining scientific integrity.

When we first entered college, we were told to unlearn all that we had learnt before and to look at the
same problem from myriad perspectives and truly understand why we do what we do. The “formula” for
living our lives is not very different; we must stop following rules blindly without understanding why
they were put there in the first place. Keeping that in mind, we have made it a point to include articles
that put emphasis on the relationship between our lives and Mathematics; articles that make you realise
the all-pervasive nature of this subject and the fact that it is inherently present in all aspects of our lives.

Our experience as editors of this first edition of Mathletics has been truly gratifying. The whole process of
mentoring our team and coordinating with our convenors has been a great lesson in responsibility, account-
ability and the corresponding authority that comes with it to get the job done effectively and efficiently.
We sincerely hope that the legacy of Mathletics is carried on, with each edition being better than the last.
We wish our readers have as great a time flicking through the pages of this magazine as we had creating it.

We would like to express our gratitude to our juniors for working tirelessly to make this magazine
a success and our convenors for guiding us throughout. We would also like to especially thank Shireen
Kaul and Lehak Narnauli for their contributions and the union for taking this wonderful initiative.

(Meghna Basu & Pankhuri Khare)

"In Mathematics the art of proposing a question

must be held of higher value than solving it."

~ Georg Cantor
'Fun with Maths' series was conducted, which included 4 crosswords and one photography with Math-
ematical explanation competition. The winners were as follows:
Mathematical Crossword 1: Sweta 2nd year Maths(H) and Hanan Latheef P 1st year Physics(H)
Mathematical Crossword 3: Kalpana 1st year Physics(H)
Mathematical Crossword 4: Manya Singh 2nd year Maths(H)
Mathshot : Andin Kour Sason 2nd year Maths(H)

Almost everything happening  around us can be explained mathe-

matically , be it the landscapes or the rainbows. I have clicked two
such pictures and tried to explain how mathematics can be linked
to them .
Image 1:
This picture was clicked by me  at Kargil , Ladakh in July 2017 .
We can witness in the picture , the beautiful landscape out there.
The average elevation is about 2,676 m . Before the development
of fractal geometry , nature was regarded as noisy “Euclidean ge-
ometry”. A mountain is primarily a roughened cone for example.
Indeed this view was modified by Paul Czanne’s statement about
painting -“ Everything in nature can be viewed in terms of cones,
cylinder and sphere”.
The word “fractal” was coined less than 30 years ago by one of the
history’s most creative mathematicians , Benoit Mandelbort, father
of fractal geometry . In his book ,The Fractal Geometry Of Nature,
he explained the concepts underlying this new vision. To realise
a fractal mountain we can take an elastic string , then a random
vertical displacement is applied to its middle point . This process is
repeated recursively to the middle point of every new segment . To
realise 3D mountains is more difficult than 2D . Some approaches
are based on midpoint displacement method which can work with
a triangle , square ang hexagonal grids .
Image 2:
This picture was taken in Kashmir on an evening in June 2017. 
Rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by re-
flection, refraction and dispersion of light appearing in the sky.
However if we look on the inside of the principal violet arc we
find several pale violet arcs interpersed with some paler greenish
bands . Cambridge mathematician , George Biddel Airy applied
the wave theory of Fresnel to explain this.

Ps: Every shot is a mathematical shot , we just need to be curious

enough to find the correct mathematical reasoning and explana-
tion for it.

-Andin Kour H2A

 TIMELINE OF EVENTS 10
IN
AN OPEN INTERACTION 11 CONVERSATION
WITH IRA SINGHAL
WITH...
WORKSHOP: PROBABILITY AND
STATISTICS USING 'R'
12 13
ARTICLES 15
LIFE THROUGH THE EYES OF A MATHEMATICIAN RENU 16
INAUSPICIOUS NUMBER 13? DIVYA JOSHI 16
WOMEN OF MATHEMATICS ESHA AWASTHI 18
HISTORICAL NOTE FOR SETS AND FUNCTIONS HIMANI THAKUR 20
0! KRITIKA BANSAL 20
GOD'S PLAN KOMAL YADAV 21
NO NOBEL FOR MATHEMATICIANS ASHMITA RANA 22
THE DIVINE PROPORTION RITIKA VERMA 22
LAUREL FOR THE LOGICIAN KARTHIKA R 23
WHEN MATHS TURNS GOLDEN SHIVANI HOODA 24
WHY DO WE STUDY MATHEMATICS? NISHIKA BHATIA 26
THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY ALKA YADAV 28
A TOUCH OF MADNESS, THE STROKE OF GENIUS KOMAL YADAV 29
KUMMER'S CONTRIBUTION MAHENOOR ALI 30
BRANCHING THROUGH THE MIRANDA ROOTS NISHIKA BHATIA 31
MATHEMATICS IS EVERYWHERE MR. MANOJ RAWAL 32

34 46
DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES 35

FACULTY & BATCH PHOTOS 37

TRY IT OUT IN MATHEMATICA 40

ORIGIN CAREERS IN MATHEMATICS 41

BATCH
2018 ACTIVITY CORNER 42
OF 2018

TABLE OF
CONTENTS
 Timeline of Events
A two-hour talk delivered by D.R. K.V. Shantha, on the 8th of
September 2017, broadly covered the topics: journey of Mathe-
matics from numbers to alphabets and careers in Mathematics.
She also discussed the hacks to some of the trickiest problems
of Mathematics. One of the examples she gave was that of Rus-
sel's paradox which is, 'who will shave the barber' if the barber is
the one who shaves all those, and those only, who do not shave
themselves. Answering this question results in a contradiction.
The barber cannot shave himself as he only shaves those who
do not shave themselves. As such, if he shaves himself he ceases
to be the barber. Conversely, if the barber does not shave him-
self, then he fits into the group of people who would be shaved
by the barber, and thus, as the barber, he must shave himself.
Her determination and passion towards Mathematics acted in
her favour to gather the interests of the audience. The attendees
were actively involved in the talk and it turned out to be an in-
teractive and fruitful session.
-Diksha Gupta
Mathematics (Hons.) H3A

Mr. Nick Wood was invited for an interactive session

which took place on the 14th of September 2017.
He discussed with students the future prospects of actu-
arial science as a profession. He talked about not only the
curriculum but also told about the broad scope of actuar-
ial science in the future and the current job scenarios in
the market.
He gave students an idea about how the system of actuar-
ial works seeing as how it is still a new field and is lesser
known. The session was extremely successful with all stu-
dents as was witnessed by the appreciation conveyed by
the audience at the end of the talk.
-Vaishali Goel
Mathematics (Hons.) H2B

10
 An Open Interaction with
Ira Singhal

The Department of Mathematics, Miranda House witnessed the Seminar Hall filled to the brim with an exuberant
audience when Ira Singhal was invited for an Open Interaction on the afternoon of 23rd of March 2018.

Amongst a roar of applause, Ira Singhal was introduced, by Department President Mahima Arora, as the first dif-
ferently abled woman to become an IAS topper through the Civil Services Examination; Arunachal Pradesh, Goa,
Mizoram and Union Territory’s home cadre IAS Officer from the year 2015 and a B.Tech undergraduate of NSIT
and an MBA graduate of Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi.

With an amalgamation of wit, astuteness, humour and an exceptional connect with her starry-eyed audience, Ira
Singhal started her talk by first covering basic concepts of what an IAS officer acting as a Sub Divisional Magis-
trate does, which is a multi-dynamic alloy of responsibilities regarding public health, sanitation, law, education,
environment protection, government schemes and many other areas. She then moved on to talking about her
adventures as a Strategy Manager at Cadbury in Mumbai before she stumbled upon her moment of epiphany that
inspired her to put her talent and efforts into a platform that would impact people’s lives in a positive manner at
a larger magnitude.

She talked about gender discrimination and ways to break those barriers through positive self-image and empow-
erment. She then narrated her journey of becoming an IAS officer which turned out to be a four year long gru-
eling legal battle at the Central Administrative Tribunal despite her clearing the examination in the first attempt
in 2010. Her story inspired the audience to have grit and perseverance and to never take no for an answer. She
emphasised the importance of the right amount of effort at the right time and gave smart hacks to being a better
leader personally and professionally.

This was then followed by a question-answer round where the students asked her various questions regarding IAS
examination prep formulas and her experience at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.
Safe to say, everyone, walked out dazzled, with a fresh zeal towards their aims and ambitions. It was truly a day to
remember.

-Pankhuri Khare
Mathematics (Hons.) H3B

11
 Worskshop:
Probability and Statistics using R

From the past two years, the Department of Mathematics, Miranda House has conducted many workshops for
the benefit of the students who want to boost their academic skills and not just limited to classroom learning. This
year, our department organized a three day workshop from the 4th of April ’18 to the 6th of April ’18 focussing
on the topic “Probability and Statistics using R” under the guidance of Dr. Ritu Gupta and Dr. Jyoti Talwar. We
hosted many eminent speakers like Professor Seema Jaggi from ICAR, IASRI; Dr. Abhay G Bhatt from ISI Delhi
and Dr. Antar Bandyopadhyay from ISI Delhi.

The first day of the workshop, on 4th April ’18, commenced with a 9:15 am session with Professor Seema Jaggi,
who is currently a principal scientist at ICAR. She began her session by introducing the students to ICAR, fol-
lowing which she discussed various ways of testing a hypothesis in order to check whether a given problem is
significant or not. She ended her session by telling us about ANOVA after which we had a small break. Resuming
the workshop, Ms. Barnali Deka from Weekendr, which offers hands-on learning engagement in Data Analysis,
Data science and Placement preparation - joined us. Currently, she is teaching as an assistant professor at Ramjas
College, University of Delhi. She began her session with the basics of R and then followed it up with statistical
knowledge about plotting and testing of hypotheses in R.

On the 5th of April, the second day of the workshop, Dr. Abhay G Bhatt who is currently head of ISI Delhi, started
the session by showing us how we are surrounded by statistics everywhere. He explained the concept of pattern
of races and later discussed Brownian motion, which he connected to stock price modelling. The session was
quite interesting and we all gained significant knowledge. Later in the day, Ms. Barnali Daka took a session and
continued with R.

On 6th April, the last day of the workshop, Dr. Antar Bandyopadhyay started his session with the basics of prob-
ability and made us genuinely doubt whether or not a random experiment can really exist. He continued his
session by discussing Garisson Distribution, Central Limits Theorem and so on. After the break, Ms. Barnali
Daka resumed her part of the workshop, at the end of which the students were left with significant programming
knowledge regarding R.

All the students found the workshop greatly interesting and worthy of their time. We are extremely grateful to our
department which provided us this platform to gain knowledge and enhance our skills relating to Mathematics in
a more practical sense, in contrast to the academic learning we do every day.
-Aarti
Mathematics (Hons.) H3A
12
 In Conversation With
Ms. Lalita Dhar 1. What/Who inspired you to be a Professor
and how exactly did you stumble upon Mathematics
as your chosen field?

You will be surprised to know that my ambition was

to become a Doctor but fate willed otherwise. Not that
I didn’t like Mathematics. I was good in the subject
since my childhood and scoring good marks motivat-
ed me to pursue the subject. Also my father persuaded
me to go in for higher studies in Mathematics. Those
days teaching was supposed to be a very noble profes-
sion for ladies and my teachers were also a role model
for me to take up this profession.

2. You are well known in our college as a con-

noisseur of Analysis, a subject that’s notorious
amongst the masses for being daunting. What are
your views on that perceived fear and what is your
personal perception of this subject?

Analysis was a subject which I always loved to study

even though when I was introduced to the subject,
it went over my head. When I was preparing for the
interview for joining as a research student in the De-
Ms. Lalita Dhar joined the Mathematics Depart- partment of Mathematics, Delhi University, I studied
ment of Delhi University as a Research Scholar in Analysis only, and lo and behold my guide Late Prof
1970 after doing her Masters in Mathematics from U.N. Singh formerly Dean Faculty Of Mathematics
J & K University. She has published seven research asked me questions from Analysis only. That is desti-
papers in Indian and foreign journals. She joined ny. Had I prepared Algebra or any other subject, per-
the Department of Mathematics, Miranda House haps I would not be in Delhi University and hence in
in 1974 and taught here for forty one years. She Miranda House.
has also revised the book 'Differential Calculus' by Regarding the subject Analysis, when students join
1st year Maths (Hons) they are exposed to an abstract
Shanti Narayan along with another faculty
subject and there is a sudden jump in the standard
member of the Department, Mrs. Nilima. Ms. Dhar from class 12 Mathematics. If the basics are not clear
retired in April, 2015. She had an illustrious career at that stage, they develop a fear of it. When I was a
and even held the post of College Bursar. student, Statics and Dynamics appeared daunting to
me but as a teacher I taught Dynamics for a number of
years to 3rd year Hons students and I loved teaching
that subject also. So what appears difficult today may
not be so tomorrow, if you make an effort.

13
3. What were your most memorable moments 5. Globally, interest in Mathematics has been
as a professor of Mathematics at Miranda House? waning. Why do you think that is?
What positively surprised you most during your
career at Miranda House? Who is/are the most in- I do not think that interest in Mathematics is waning.
spiring or influential person/people you had come So many different branches of this subject are coming
across over here? up, be it Statistics or Actuarial Sciences or Applica-
tion in Defense Systems. But the curriculum has to
I had a long stint of 41 years in the college and so be evolved in such a way that people are able to apply
many good memories are etched in my mind that it is the subject in other fields. In 1986 our Department
difficult to put them on paper in a few sentences. In a organized a Seminar on ‘Importance of Mathematics
nutshell Miranda House gave me an identity and I am in Social Sciences’ under a scheme funded by UGC
proud to be a part of this institution. I enjoyed teach- where we were exposed to so many applications of
ing here and had an opportunity to interact with so Mathematics. You people are lucky as at this stage
many students who came to study here from different so many avenues for application of this subject have
corners of the country. Some of them were so bright opened up and students are more aware of the hap-
that I learnt a few things from them and evolved as a penings around, thanks to internet.
teacher. Sometimes they would ask such basic ques-
tions that I had to study to satisfy them. They were 6. Any words of advice for us?
also full of respect and love for the teachers. I was

in
also impressed by the role of our senior teachers who Be sincere in whatever you do. Dedication and hard
groomed us to become better persons, better teachers work will give you rewards. It is important to be inde-
and they tried to draw out the hidden talents of ju- pendent thinking women and have a career. But the

CONVERSATION
nior ones. On Founder's Day they would literally drag most important thing is to be a good human being
us on the stage to sing or put up a skit. I also learnt and have compassion for others.
a lot from colleagues and friends in the Department
and had their support whenever needed. The senior

with
teachers in the Department left an everlasting impres-
sion on me and we tried to imbibe the great traditions
established by them. It was a privilege to work as a
Bursar with Dr. Pratibha Jolly. That gave me an op-
portunity to know about administrative problems in
the college and I learnt a lot from her. She has a vision
for the college and she has worked hard for taking Mi-
randa House to new heights. Being convener of Work
Load committee gave me a chance to interact with
colleagues from all other Departments of the college
and that was a wonderful experience.

4. If there is something you could change about

higher education in India, what would it be?

The emphasis should be on application of knowledge

and experiential learning, instead of rote system. I
would also like that students are given a free choice to
decide their courses of study and for that they should
be exposed to the different fields in the first one or two
years of college.

14
 l es
t ic
r
A
 Life Through the Eyes of a Mathematician
Mathematics is in every aspect of our lives; from a mother-child relationship to a person’s every needs. The emo-
tional distance between a mother-child can be minimised, i.e. there exists a Delta > 0 for which we have Epsilon
> 0. A mother always tends to a child, who is a limit to her.

Every person has ∞ desires to fulfill despite knowing the fact that ∞ is not a real number. Human beings generally
behave like a modulus function as they react positively or negatively according to the circumstances or people
around them; whenever a person is looking forward to a positive outcome from a situation he takes the positive
values otherwise he chooses to remain indifferent by taking the negative values.

Friends are like limitless functions separately but together they become a constant function.
College students resemble 'unlike terms' of algebra, that is, until the lunch break. The Cafeteria then becomes their
limit point of enjoyment as there exists a lot of points in that interval of time.
A group of friends is like an integral domain because of the absence of zero divisors which implies there exists two
friends such that (1st friend x 2nd friend) = 0 as their love for each other makes them an identity together.

Teachers are synonymous with integration as they increase the capabilities of a constant student with their knowl-
edge and magnify a student’s capabilities.
The most important lesson Mathematics teaches us is the will to never give up as every problem has a solution.

By: Renu
Mathematics (Hons.) H2A

Inauspicious Number 13?

There is a popular maxim which states that the best way to predict the future is to look into the past. History has
time and again proven the number 13 to be a diabolical entity, sneaking in corners, ready to cause bad omens and
accidents, so much so that the fear of this number over the centuries has compounded manifold to the point of
causing looks of horrors at the prospect of residing at the “13th floor” of a building.

16
 India Unbound
The fear of this number has its own personalised jargon known as “Triskaidekaphobia”. It is a combination of
Greek
which words “tris”, meaning
views water as a good“three” , “kai”, meaning
to be accessed “and”, “deka” meaning “ten” and “phobia” meaning “fear”.
by all, the
“doctrine of the riparian”, which gives rights to the
• Apollo
owners 13 land
of the was launched on river,
abutting the 11 April
andand it underwent explosion on 13th of April (2 thirteens).
the “doctrine
• Zoroastrian
of prior tradition predicts
apportionment”, which chaos
limits inthese
the 13th millennium.
rights
•
to the party which has used the resource in history.This one went into space on 1/16/2003. Add all the numbers
Another example is the Columbia Space Shuttle.
Moreand you will getitthe
importantly, number 13.
is necessary to During
analyse its
there-entry
water into Earth, it exploded. All the crew members died.
• Many hotels in China and America don’t
problem on various grounds such as promoting sus- have a 13th floor. After 12th, either they have 12 and a half or 14th.
Sameconservation,
tainable goes for the number
curbingofpollution,
houses too. and better
• Even Microsoft considers the number
management of available water resources, through 13 very unlucky and that is the reason why there is no version 13 of
Microsoft office. The version 12 is Microsoft
the existing bodies set up to resolve these conflicts. Office 2007 and the next version Microsoft Office 2010 is actually
version 14. Thus, the company skipped number 13 altogether.
The subjectivity of each of these conflicts have to be
But just because
recognised and some superstitionofis the
the intervention blindly acknowledged,
centre needs does it make it true? Does this number really deserve
this
to benotoriety?
need based rather than being a prerequisite, in
order to reduce the number of parties involved. In-
Icorporating
beg to differ.stakeholder groups other than States in
• In ancient
tribunal’s Greece, Zeus
adjudication is considered
process is a keyasdiscussion
the thirteenth and the most powerful God. This thirteenth God seems
to be
point. associated
This becomes with totality, completion,
pertinent considering and the attainment.
re-
•
gional imbalances, sub-regional identities and frac- the 13th step, it is assumed that your soul attains spiritual
The ladder to eternity has thirteen steps, on reaching
completion.
tured political constituencies in India. A trade-off has
• 13made
to be is a prime
between number, which bargaining
cooperative means it cannot be divided by any number other than itself. Hence, symbolizes
and mar-
qualities of incorruptible nature and
ket trading mechanisms as means to resolve conflicts. purity.
• In one of the most powerful civilizations of history, the Aztecs decided to have 13 days in a week as they
An considered
immediate 13 to to
step be be
an extremely lucky number.
taken is investment Each day was ruled by one God. And the God who ruled the
in in-
frastructure. 60% of water is wasted in distribu- and magic.
thirteenth day was associated with mystery, psyche,
•
tionAsdue
we all
to know,
unpaved 13 iscanals,
the agedistributaries
of change or transition
and ir- for every girl or boy. It is the age when children officially
become teenagers.
rigation channels. There is a need to improve all
• TheonUSmodern
these flag haslines
13 strips, that represent
to ensure the union
that whatever wa-of 13 colonies to fight the British rule, later these 13 colonies
ter became
we havetheis first
notthirteen
wasted states of United States
and optimally of America.
utilized.
• The Thai New Year (Songkran Day) is celebrated
In totality, we need to make a conscious effort to shift to on the 13th April. It is considered to be a day of washing away
all based
policy the bad omens,
politics by identity
from splashing andwater on people,
sentiment basedfriends, and relatives.
•
politics. All of us need to promote discourse about wa- on the thirteenth night of the Magha month, which is very
In Hindu mythology, Maha Shivratri is celebrated
sacred and a holy
ter management issuesnight for all
and give the Shiva
it our devotees.
time. Mere enr-
•
agement during an ongoing conflict and ad hominem Sahib”, the word “Waheguru” which means eternal guru
In the sacred book of the Sikhs, the “Guru Granth
appears
attacks on the13opposite
times. party will not take us anywhere.
The list goes on.
It is high time to ensure that “water, water every-
Being
where,a not
student of Mathematics,
a drop the first
to drink”, doesn’t thing Ireality.
become learnt was that for a phenomenon to be true, there must be no ex-
ceptions. The phenomenon must be proved for every single condition. The fact that we are able to find numerous
exceptions to this phenomenon is proof enough for it to be baseless superstition.

By: Divya Joshi

Mathematics (Hons.) H1A

4517
 Women of Mathematics

INDIA
WORLD
UNBOUND

UNBOUND
Until very recently society dictated that it wasn’t very respectable for women to be Mathematicians. In a patri-
archal society where the world was dictated by the likes of men, women were oppressed if they had an opinion.
Obviously, a woman establishing a theorem was unheard of. However, there were a few women who dared to go
against the flow and their achievements demonstrate that women have as much to contribute to Mathematics as
any of their male counterparts.

unfurled
It is hard to perceive who the first female Mathematician was. Hypatia was certainly one of the earliest. She was
born in 370 AD. She was the daughter of Theon, the last known member of the famed library of Alexandria. She
followed his footsteps in the study of Mathematics and Astronomy. She collaborated with her father on commen-
taries of classical Mathematical works, translating them and incorporating explanatory notes, as well as creating
commentaries of her own and teaching a succession of students from her home. A philosopher, a follower of
Neoplatonism, a belief system in which everything emanates from the One, Hypatia was highly popular among
crowds who listened to her public lectures about Plato and Aristotle.

Born in an Era of revolt and revolution, Sophie Germain was born in the year 1776. Paris was exploding with the
revolution when young Sophie retreated to her father’s study and began reading. After learning about Archime-
des’ death, she began a lifelong study of Mathematics and Geometry, even teaching herself Latin and Greek so
that she could read classic works. Unable to study at the École Polytechnique because she was female, Germain
obtained lecture notes and submitted papers to Joseph Lagrange, a faculty member, under a false name. When he
learned she was a woman, he became a mentor and Germain soon began corresponding with other prominent
Mathematicians at the time. She became the first woman to win a prize from the French Academy of Sciences, for
work on a theory of elasticity despite not having formal training and access to resources that male Mathematicians
had at that time. Her proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem, though unsuccessful, was used as a foundation for work on
the subject well into the twentieth century.

Augusta Ada Byron, born on December 10, 1815, (later Countess of Lovelace) was brought up single-handedly by
her mother after her father, poet Lord Byron was forced to leave England due to a scandal shortly after her birth.
Her overprotective mother, who wanted her to grow up to be unemotional and unlike her father, encouraged her
study of Science and Mathematics. As an adult, Lovelace began to correspond with the inventor and Mathemati-
cian Charles Babbage, who asked her to translate an Italian Mathematician’s memoir analyzing his Analytical En-
gine (a machine that would perform simple Mathematical calculations and be programmed with punchcards and
is considered one of the first computers). Lovelace went beyond completing a simple translation, however, and
wrote her own set of notes about the machine and even included a method for calculating a sequence of Bernoulli
numbers; this is now acknowledged as the world’s first computer program.

INDIA
Because Russian women could not attend university, Sofia Vasilyevna (1850-1891) contracted a marriage with a
young paleontologist, Vladimir Kovalevsky, and they moved to Germany. There she could not attend university
lectures due to societal norms, but she was tutored privately and eventually received a doctorate after writing
treatises on partial differential equations, Abelian integrals, and Saturn’s rings. Following her husband’s demise,
Kovalevskaya served as a lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Stockholm and later became the first wom-
an in that region of Europe to receive a full professorship. ‘She continued to make great strides in Mathematics,
winning the Prix Bordin from the French Academy of Sciences in 1888 for an essay on the rotation of a solid body
as well as a prize from the Swedish Academy of Sciences the next year’.

18
In 1935, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to the New York Times, praising profusely the recently deceased Emmy
Noether as “the most significant creative Mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of
women began.” Noether had overcome many hurdles before she could collaborate with the famed physicist. She
was brought up in Germany and her Mathematics education suffered a great deal because of rules against women
matriculating at universities. ‘After she finally received her Ph.D., for a dissertation on a branch of abstract algebra,
she was unable to obtain a university position for many years, eventually receiving the title of “unofficial associate
professor” at the University of Göttingen, only to lose that in 1933 because she was Jewish.’ And so she moved
to America and became a lecturer and researcher at Bryn Mawr College and the Institute for Advanced Study in
Princeton, New Jersey. There she developed many of the Mathematical foundations for Einstein’s general theory
of relativity and made significant advances in the field of algebra.

Despite being bound by the backward, orthodox societal norms, these women showed remarkable progress in the
field of Mathematics and Science. It is noteworthy how they achieved excellence in their respective fields despite
lack of resources and a prevalent chauvinistic society. It is undoubtedly true that we would have never achieved
the milestones of success in the field of Mathematical Science if it hadn’t been for these and hundreds of other
strong-headed women who decided to defy the society for good and push the world of Science into a more pro-
gressive stage.

By: Esha Awasthi

Mathematics (Hons.) H2A

"The best way for us to cultivate fearless-

ness in our daughters and other young
women is by example. If they see their
mothers and other women in their lives
going forward despite fear, they'll know
it's possible."

~ Gloria Steinem

45
53
19
 economics
Historical Note on Sets and Functions

INDIA
MAX
UNBOUND

UNBOUND
The concept of function has evolved over a long period of time starting from R. Descartes (1596-1650), who used
the word ‘function’ in his manuscript “Geometrie” in 1637 to mean some positive integral power xn of a variable
x while studying geometrical curves like hyperbola, parabola, and ellipse. James Gregory (1636-1675) in his work
“Vera Circuli et Hyperbolae Quadratura” (1667) considered function as a quantity obtained from other quantities
by successive use of algebraic operations or by any other operations. Later G.W. Leibnitz (1646-1716) in his man-
uscript “Methodus tangentium inversa, seu de functionibus” written in 1673 used the word ‘function’ to mean a
quantity varying from point to point on a curve such as the coordinates of a point on the curve, the slope of the
curve, the tangent and the normal to the curve at a point. However in his manuscript “Historia” (1714), Leibnitz

IMISED
used the word ‘function’ to mean quantities that depend on a variable. He was the first to use the phrase ‘function
of x’. John Bernoulli (1667-1748) used the notation Φ(x) for the first time in 1718 to indicate a function of x. But
the general adoption of symbols like f, F, Φ, ψ …… to represent functions was made by Leonhard Euler (1707-
1783) in 1734 in the first part of his manuscript “Analysis Infinitorium”. Later on, joseph Louis Lagrange (1735-
1813) published his manuscripts “Theorie des functions analytiques” in 1793, where he discussed the analytic
function and used the notion f(x), F(x), Φ(x), etc. for a different function of x. Subsequently, Lejeunne Dirichlet
(1805-1859) gave the definition of function which was being used till the set theoretic definition of function pres-
ently used, was given after set theory was developed by Georg Cantor (1845-1918). The set theory known to us is
given by Cantor and Dirichlet.
By: Himani Thakur
Mathematics (Hons.) H1A

0!
Maths - an incredible tale of numbers full of thrilling combinations, engrossing ideas, and musing questions.
I believe Maths is gripping because it reveals its cards when they are least expected. A few days back, I came to
know the story of 0!.This may not sound very tempting to Maths wizards reading this but believe me, I was totally
in love with Maths once again with this simple yet not so simple question.
So this exclamation looking symbol is a Mathematical operation factorial which means to multiply a series of
descending natural numbers.
For example 4! = 4*3*2*1=24
Now we take it as a fact that 0!=1 but what’s funny is that how can we decrease a number till 1 which is already less
than 1. So to decode this cipher let us all do a mental exercise. So let’s calculate what is 5!, 4!, 3!, 2!, 1!
So 5! = 5*4*3*2*1 =120
4! = 4*3*2*1 = 24

INDIA
3! = 3*2*1 = 6
2! = 2*1 = 2
1! = 1

and now if we look closely 4! is nothing but 5!/5 and 3! is 4!/4. Going on 2! = 3!/3 and 1!=2!/2 and leaping one
step forward we can get 0! that is 1! /1 and yes it results in 1. Isn’t it baffling that multiplying no numbers together
results in 1? But this is how Maths is. Beautiful.

By: Kritika Bansal

Physics (Hons.) H1A

20
 God’s Plan

DEC DED
We heard them say,” science and faith cannot co-exist; the voice of reason or the voice of faith, must drown out the
other”.So, what to choose and what to abandon? Well,I will not discard either. Instead I will say that I need both
science and religion, the former to help me invent wonders and the latter to bequeath me with moral conscience
to not misuse those inventions.
What is the largest number your mind can conceive? What is the size of the universe? The answer to both these
questions is the same. The answer is not infinity, it is zero. Yes! The size of the universe is zero, and so is the largest
number!
I know it’s difficult to comprehend but let me explain. For every positive number there exists a negative num-
ber in Mathematics. For every matter there exists an anti-matter in nature. This is the bigger picture. Therefore,
when you put everything together, the size of the universe is zero. Zero is thus simultaneously everything as well
as nothing. That’s why it’s called a whole number. You add or remove anything from this whole, it still remains a
whole.
So, this is where I am reminded of a famous quote by Albert Einstein,
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
The history of zero satisfies this quote brilliantly. In India, the Sanskrit word for “empty” or “blank” is sunya. This
sunya is transliterated, within the Indian system of numerology, as the idea of zero and indeed the symbol “0” as
we know it today. If we think about this circle “0”, it suddenly takes on an appropriateness to the notion of noth-
ing, even pictographically. For, at the centre of its circumference is a blank similar to the void in the centre of the
sky. This profound correlation between Mathematics and nature can be used to explain the evolution of religion.
Math and religion are fundamentally similar, as they both try to seek truth and use faith to find it.Maths proofs
have always lent a helping hand to explore nature allowing us to procure reasons behind religious beliefs.There-
fore creating more belief in both Math and religion.Progress in each allows a person to be more patient and faith
to discover more about unsolved mysteries of nature.
“ AN EQUATION MEANS NOTHING TO ME UNLESS IT EXPRESSES A THOUGHT OF GOD. “
- Srinivas Ramanujan

By: Komal Yadav

Physics (Hons.) H1A

21
 College Decoded
No Nobel for Mathematics
A Financial Analysis
INDIA
keting” as a good. The different Companies represent
UNBOUND

UNBOUND
Alfred Nobel’s last will stated that his fortune is used to create a series of prizes for those whose contributions in
buyers of this “good”. The money given by these spon-
the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace were the “greatest benefit to man-
of the Funding of sors is the “price” they pay. Their interaction in the
kind.” However, no Nobel Prize was designated for Mathematics. There are various speculations on the possible
reasons for this exclusion. Some of them are worth going through.
market leads to an equilibrium. The equilibrium situ-

Fests ation gives a sort of base price with which companies

It is often discussed that Nobel found Maths too theoretical. Since he believed that only practical inventions or
and societies can compare and evaluate various pro-
discoveries could benefit mankind, he might have disregarded this subject whose practical applications are often
obscure.theThe Economics
other (and the of Sponsorship posals before them. It could help them to understand
more dramatic) theory is an unfounded one. Rumours have it that Nobel disliked
the general trend in the market. However, an actual
By: Shreya Ravi
a contemporary Mathematician, Gosta Mittag-Leffler, with whom his partner allegedly cheated him. This made
price cannot be fixed due to many reasons.
him detest the subject too and moreover, he didn’t wish Leffler to win this prize (and the probability of this hap-
pening was quite
The months from high). The to
January other
March reason
wouldcanbebeempty
linked with an already existing Math award. King Oscar II of
Firstly, too many sub markets exist within the main
Sweden
for mostandofNorway
us if nothadforalready established
the various a prestigious
fests. The noise, award for Mathematicians and Nobel felt that instead
market, operating on different scales, with different
ofcolour,
duplicating
music,it,dance,
other fields
glamour,should be given
vibrancy andtheir due.
craziness
demands and amounts of money. They all can’t func-
Whatever
are what the reasonfor.
we crave be,Bethere
it theis rides,
no Nobel Prize
or cool in or
stalls Mathematics. However, there is another prestigious award
tion with the same price. Small companies or societ-
which
yummy is considered
food or theacelebrities
parallel toand theconcerts,
Nobel. Itthese
is thefests
Abel Prize. It was proposed by a Norwegian Mathematician
ies may operate in thousands, whereas big companies
Sophus Lie when he
have something forlearned
each one thatofNoble
us. Thehadfundamental
omitted Mathematics in his series of awards.
like EY and fests as big as crossroads deal in lakhs
requirement to make any of this happen is money.
and crores. They do not function on the same pedes-
Where does this money come from? Sponsorship, of
tal. There can only be a base priceBy: Ashmita
for each Rana
of them to
course! The most common sight one encounters on
know the trend in the market and take(Hons.)
Mathematics an informed
H1A
the days preceding the fest season is that of students
decision. Further, various other factors influence the
frantically walking on the lawns with their laptops or
decisions of the market players, apart from their direct
phones, calling up companies to ask for money. Let’s
The Divine Proportion
interaction in the market place, like personal contacts,
face it- no money means no fest. Thus it’s not at all an
pre-conceived notions, Etc. The market price becomes
exaggeration to state that sponsorship is the backbone
irrelevant in these situations.
of all college fests.
Do you consider Mathematics to be a subject just to pass examinations, having no relevance to the natural world?
Well, think again! Now that we know how sponsorship works as an eco-
Raising sponsorship is directly related to fest size,
A Fibonacci series is a group of numbers in which the sum nomic
of themarket,
precedingthe two
realnumbers
need of the
is thehour
nextis number
to under- but
celebrities, footfall, popularity, etc., while in fact, all
stand how to actually raise money
what is special about this series is the quotient of consecutive numbers which always turn out to be the same i.e. and how to create
this is actually directly related to the money raised
1.618. an efficient market.
through sponsorship. This creates a viscous cycle- one
Have we ever calculated the ratio of our height to the length from our bellybutton to toes or the ratio of the num-
leading to another. Colleges attract companies under
ber of female bees to the number of male bees in a beehive One of the
or the ratiofirst steps to bespirals
of consecutive taken on to amove as close
nautilus?
the context that their fest will be grand and successful,
Well, surprisingly all these ratios are the same i.e. about 1.618! as possible to is
This ratio any perfect
called PHI market is to attain per-
(Φ) in Mathematical terms
whereas their money is an important factor that de-
but in religion and occultism, it is called THE DIVINE PROPORTION! This ratio has a lot of occurrences inthe
fect knowledge (or at least try to). This holds for na-
cides the grandeur of the fest.
ture, symbolism, and art. sponsorship market too. The societies (sellers) must
PHI is generally considered as the most beautiful numberresearch extensively
in the universe and make
and perhaps thisa isdynamic
the reasondatabase
that the
To begin with, it’s very important to realise that com-

INDIA
pentagram star which is based on the same ratio has always been a symbol of beauty and perfection. PHI hastheir
of all companies even remotely associated with some
panies do not give free cash. They sponsor such fests
special properties- field, who could be potential sponsors. Similarly, com-
only because they get something in return- - majorly
Φ2=Φ+1 i.e. 2.618 panies must gather as much knowledge as possible
in the form of brand visibility, gaining recognition, or
1/Φ=Φ-1 i.e. 0.618 about various fests, their popularity, the legitimacy of
increasing sales. These fests give them far better mar-
different societies, etc. It’s not possible to have perfect
keting opportunities than any other ad campaign, in a
Supposedly, these magnificent instances of Maths in nature knowledge,
led to ourbutancestors
both sides must take
worship active they
it. Perhaps stepswere
to
short span of time and more economically. Thus they
aware of these intriguing Mathematics in nature and we are gain asfar
still much
awayknowledge
from them!! as possible, to capitalise on
are as interested in such sponsorship partnerships as
various opportunities that come their way.
the societies.
By: Ritika Verma
Just making a database is not enough. We need to get
Given that both the players have an equal stake, spon- Mathematics
money, and there’s a great psychological (Hons.) H1A
trick for that.
sorship is actually a real life market. The various soci-
The Prospect theory of Behavioral Economics shows
eties/colleges represent sellers and they sell “mar-

67
22
 Laurel for the Logician – Million dollar
Prize for the Solution to a Maths Problem
Take a standard chessboard and try to place two queens on it so that they aren’t attacking each other. Easy, right?
You just have to make sure they aren’t in the same row, column or diagonal. Now try to place another queen on
said board. Keep adding queens till you have placed 8 such pieces, that conform to the given constraint. If you
have just found a method to achieve this, how many more methods can you find? How many methods exist? This
is an example of a puzzle from 1850, called the eight-queen completion problem. In spite of it being more than a
century old, we have only recently discovered the inherent complexity of the riddle when it was scaled up allowing
boards of any size with any number of queens pre-placed on them – giving us a much harder version of the puzzle
known as n-queens completion. A paper by Chris Jefferson, Peter Nightingale and Ian P Gent published in the
Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research are what brought this to the world’s attention. Sadly, the solution to this
isn’t the one up for a million dollars.

The n-queens completion puzzle is a type of Mathematical problem that is common in computer science and
known as “NP-Complete”. These are an interesting bunch because if we can find a solution to one NP-Complete
problem we can use it to find all of them. That is simply their nature. Lucky for us, the n-queens complete is one
of the simplest NP-complete problems to explain, especially to people familiar with the rules of chess. The others
are not so easily ingrained into the minds of laymen.

The underlying issue though, is that nobody knows, even roughly, just how difficult NP-Complete problem is. To
put it simply, they could be as easy as alphabetically organizing a list of names or exponentially harder. Figuring
out which of the two it is, is the “P vs. NP” problem – one of the greatest Mathematical problems that have been
left unsolved. The significance of this problem is mirrored in the fact that the Clay Mathematics Institute is offer-
ing a prize of 1 million dollars for the solution of P vs. NP.

The paper by Chris J, Peter N, and Ian P.G shows that the n-queens completion problem is NP-complete. Anyone
able to show whether it’s an easy or difficult problem could then in turn potentially win a million dollars. Try not
to be under the impression that the difficulty of P vs. NP problem is less than or equal to the n-queens one. P vs.
NP is far harder and potentially unsolvable. We can have hope though because the word ‘impossible’ has never
stuck quite right with humankind.

Check out http://www.claymath.org/millennium-problems for more information about P vs. NP, or to find 6 more
questions, the answers to whom can make you a millionaire.

By: Karthika R
Mathematics (Hons.) H1A

23
 The Fibonacci Sequence: When Maths

INDIA
Turns Golden

research
UNBOUND

UNBOUND
Learn how to see, and realize that everything connects to everything else: Leonardo Da Vinci
Fibonacci Sequence has captivated Mathematicians, artists, designers, and scientists for centuries. Wondering
what’s so special about it?

papers
Let us begin with the history.
The original problem that Leonardo Fibonacci investigated (in the year 1202) was about how fast rabbits could
breed in ideal circumstances.
Suppose a newly-born pair of rabbits, one male, and one female are put in a field. Rabbits are able to mate at the
age of one month so that at the end of its second month, a female can produce another pair of rabbits. Suppose
that our rabbits never die and that the female always produces one new pair (one male, one female) every month
from the second month on. The puzzle that Fibonacci posed was...
How many pairs will there be in one year? Think!
No?
Let me help you.
At the end of the first month, they mate, but there is still one only 1 pair.
At the end of the second month, the female produces a new pair, so now there are 2 pairs of rabbits in the field.
At the end of the third month, the original female produces a second pair, making 3 pairs in all in the field.
At the end of the fourth month, the original female has produced yet another new pair, the female born two
months ago produces her first pair also, making 5 pairs.
Can you see the pattern here?
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34……
The solution, generation by generation, was a sequence of numbers later known as Fibonacci numbers.
Fibonacci Sequence is a set of numbers that start with a one, followed by a one, and proceeds based on the rule
that each number is equal to the sum of the preceding two numbers.
The Fibonacci numbers can be thought of as Nature’s numbering system. They appear everywhere in Nature, from
the leaf arrangement in plants to the pattern of the florets of a flower, the bracts of a pinecone, or the scales of a
pineapple. The Fibonacci numbers are therefore applicable to the growth of every living thing, including a single
cell, a grain of wheat, a hive of bees, and even all of mankind.
In the seeming randomness of the natural world, we can find many instances of a Mathematical order involving
the Fibonacci numbers themselves and the closely related “Golden” elements.
Let’s add one more interesting thing here:
If we take the ratio of two successive numbers in Fibonacci’s series, (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, ..) and we divide each by the
number before it, we will find the following series of numbers:

INDIA
1/1 = 1, 2/1 = 2, 3/2 = 1·5, 5/3 = 1·666..., 8/5 = 1·6, 13/8 = 1·625, 21/13 = 1·61538...
The ratio seems to be settling down to a particular value, which we call the ‘golden ratio’ or ‘the golden number’.
It has a value of approximately 1·618034 and we denote it by “Phi”.
Now, let’s get acquainted with some of the endless examples that make Fibonacci a wonder or ‘Golden’ sequence.
Flower petals: The number of petals in a flower consistently follows the Fibonacci sequence. Famous examples
include the lily, which has three petals, buttercups, which have five, the chicory’s 21, the daisy’s 34, and so on. Each
petal is placed at 0.618034 per turn (out of a 360° circle) allowing for the best possible exposure to sunlight and
other factors.
Seed heads: The head of a flower is also subject to Fibonaccian processes. Typically, seeds are produced at the cen-
tre and then migrate towards the outside to fill all the space. Sunflowers provide a great example of these spiraling
patterns.

24
 Pratyaksha Hastaantarit Laabh (PaHaL) Scheme:
which views water as a good to be accessed by all, the
“doctrine of the riparian”, which gives rights to the
owners of the A landmoveabuttingtowards
the river, and fixing India’s broken subsidies regime?
the “doctrine
of prior apportionment”,
Authors: Rituparna whichSanyal,
limitsShraddha
these rights Shrivastava, Payal Priyadarshini, Enakshi Panda
to the party which has used the resource in history.
Institution: Miranda House, University of Delhi
More importantly, it is necessary to analyseDepartment: the water Economics
problem on various grounds such as promoting sus-
tainable conservation, curbing pollution, andI.better Introduction
management of available water resources, through
the existing bodies set up to resolve these conflicts.
“If the JAM Number Trinity can be seamlessly linked, and all subsidies rolled into one or a few monthly
transfers, real progress in terms of direct income support to the poor may finally be possible,” stated the
The subjectivity of each of these conflicts have to be
Economic Survey 2014-15. It acknowledged that price subsidies are often regressive1. In a move to eliminate
recognised and the intervention of the centre needs
leakages in subsidies without reducing the amount of subsidies themselves, the JAM (Jan dhan, Aadhaar, Mo-
to be need
Likewise, basedspiraling
similar rather than being a prerequisite, in and vegetables like pineapples and cauliflower.
bile) Number Trinity waspatterns
extendedcan to be foundtransfer
directly on fruitssubsidies to LPG customers, and is being considered
order
Snail to reduce the number of parties involved. In-
for food and kerosene subsidies as well. The Trinity can cutasthe
shells and nautilus shells follow the Fibonacci pattern, does the cochlea of
government’s the inner
subsidy ear. by
burden It can also be seen
25-30%.
corporating stakeholder groups other than States
in the horns of certain goats, and the shape of certain spider’s webs. in
tribunal’s adjudication process is a key discussion
The Indian government has been providing LPG subsidies since late 1970s, in order to make clean cooking
point. This becomes pertinent considering the re-
fuel affordable for Indian households (Jain, Agrawal, & Ganesan, 2014). With the rise in LPG consumption
gional imbalances, sub-regional identities and frac-
and prices, the overall annual subsidy burden on the government has more than tripled over the last 10 years,
tured political constituencies in India. A trade-off has
from INR 10,246 crore in 2005/06 to INR 36,580 crore in 2014/15 (Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell,
to be made between cooperative bargaining and mar-
2015). In order to target the rising burden on the government, among other major issues, direct cash transfer
ket trading mechanisms as means to resolve conflicts.
of subsidy and targeting the beneficiaries was recommended. In line with the recommendations of the 2010
Expert Group, the Government of India launched the Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG Scheme in 2013.
An immediate step to be taken is investment in in-
frastructure. 60% of water is wasted in distribu-
The PaHaL (DBTL) Scheme for direct transfer of subsidy to the LPG customers, which was earlier launched
tion due to unpaved canals, distributaries and ir-
on 1st June 2013, and covered 291 districts, made Aadhaar mandatory for the customers to avail the subsidy.
rigation channels. There is a need to improve all
A modified version of the scheme, re-launched in 54 districts on 15th November 2014 in the first phase and
these on modern lines to ensure that whatever wa-
on 1st January 2015 in the rest of the country, removed the requirement of having an Aadhaar number. With
ter we have is not wasted and optimally utilized.
effect from 15th May 2015, all LPG customers obtain cylinders at market price and only those who enter the
In totality, we need to make a conscious effort to shift to
scheme receive a one-time permanent advance and subsidy directed to their bank accounts on the purchase
policy
Not based politics
surprisingly, from identity and sentiment based Fibonacci pattern.
of each cylinder.spiral
As ofgalaxies
Januaryalso follow
28, 2016, thescheme
the familiar covered 149.7 million domestic connections (more than
politics.
Faces, bothAll of us need to promote discourse about wa-
90% of the human and user
total active nonhuman, abound 2015).
base) (MoPNG, with examples
PaHal is of
nowthethe
Golden
world’sRatio. The
largest mouthbenefit
subsidy and nose are each
transfer
ter management
positioned issues
at golden2015). and
sections give it our time.
of thetodistance Mere enr-
betweenand theweed
eyes and the bottom of the chin for a supposedly perfect
scheme (MoPNG, It aims curb diversion out fake/duplicate connections.
agement
face. during an ongoing conflict and ad hominem
attacks
Also, on theatopposite party our
will fingers,
not takeeach
us anywhere.
Ourlooking
study aims the
to length
analyseofthe overall efficacy section — fromwhile
of the scheme, the tiphighlighting
of the base to
its the wrist —and
challenges is larger than the
providing
preceding one by roughlytothe
our recommendations ratio of awareness,
overcome phi. availability and administrative hurdles. We also wanted to
It is high
Speaking of time tobees,
honey ensure
they that
follow“water, waterinevery-
Fibonacci other
study whether the beneficiaries are able to access theirinteresting ways. The male bees develop from unfertilised
money easily.
where, not a drop to drink”, doesn’t become reality.
eggs of the queen bee. The male bee technically has only a mother and no father. The first generation has one
member (the male).
In this paper, we start Oneoff generation
with reviewing backexisting
also has one member
literature on the(the
topicmother). Two generations
and outlining back are
our methodology. Wetwo
members
move on to talk about the existing banking scenario among the poor (especially urban poor) and give a brieffive
(the mother and father of the mother). Three generations back are three members. Four back are
members.
overviewThat of theis,LPG
the numbers
market ininIndia.
each generation going back
Finally, we discuss are 1,1,2,3,5,8...
the scheme in detail, its limitations and our sugges-
Hence, we see that the
tions for its improvement. ubiquity and astounding functionality of Fibonacci in nature suggests its importance as a
fundamental characteristic of the Universe.
1. Meaning, a rich household benefits more from the subsidy than a poor household (97% of LPG is con-
The Fibonacci of fun thus continues forever and ever.
sumed by the richest 30% of households; only 9% of the subsidies go to the poor).
Fascinating, isn’t it?
By: Shivani Hooda
Mathematics (Hons.) H2B
25
 Research Papers
Why do we Study Mathematics?

INDIA
II Review of Existing Literature
UNBOUND

UNBOUND
Because it is the base of all sciences, it is the tool which helps us in understanding the world. In this world around
Over
us, the past
wherever wefewsee,years, many reports
in whatever we see, and wearticles have been written, reviewing
find Mathematics-fractals in nature,the functioning
Fourier of theinDBTL
transforms mobile
scheme.
phone signals, linear algebra in search engines, banking, finance, computing and the works. So yeah, basically the
base of everything is Mathematics.
The go
“You Economic
deep down Survey
into(2015-16)
anything and examines
you will thefind
firstMathematics”
variety of JAM—the PAHAL scheme of transferring LPG
subsidies
Yes. That isvia DBT.
true. ButThe whyPahal
do YOU schemeneedhas been aMathematics?
to study big success. The use of Aadhaar has made black marketing
harder,
Are all ofandyouLPGgoingleakages
to become haveengineers,
reduced by about 24
scientist, per cent with
researchers limited Are
or teachers? exclusion of genuine
all of you going tobeneficiaries.
take up science
However, diversion of LPG from domestic to commercial
in 11th, 12th and even if you do; are all of you going to use Mathematics everywhere? sources continues, because of the differential tax
treatment of “commercial” and “domestic” LPG. In other words, the One Product One Price principle is still
No.
beingofviolated.
Some you are bornDespite huge improvements
to become artist, dancers, in singers,
financialactors,
inclusion due and
lawyers to Jan‘n’ Dhan,
number theofJAM preparedness
non-Maths professions.
indicators suggest that there is still some way to go before bank-beneficiary
Of course, you need to know your basic fractions and arithmetic to calculate your bills or do your taxes. But linkages are strong enough to why
pursueyou
should DBT bangwithout
your headcommitting exclusion errors.
with integration, differentiation, trigonometry-sin theta and cos theta?
Well, maybe you don’t have to!
A Government
That is why we have Committee
the option (May,
of not2014)
taking hasMathematics
examined the infunctioning
11th and 12th. of the DBTLDon’t
So cool! scheme takeinMathematics
depth by after
meeting all stakeholders to understand
10th. BUT it is compulsory until the 10th standard. Why? every aspect of the scheme and the difficulties encountered by the
I stakeholders,
mean the basicprimarilyMathematics LPG consumers.
used by any After human a detailed
to do taxes study,
andthebillscommittee
involved basicstrongly recommends
arithmetic that which
operation the
DBTL
can scheme
be done by abecalculator
recommenced right?as it is ifa very
Then you to efficient way to disburse
buy groceries you needsubsidies.
to know However,
fractions it andhasconversions
suggested say
several systemic changes and enhancements to mitigate
from kilo gram to gram, while doing taxes you need to know percentage and ratios. the hardships reported by the LPG consumers.
So: arithmetic, fractional, decimals, ratios. All this is taught to you by the time you reach the 4th-5th standard.
Thestill
That Council
leaveson5 Energy,
years of Environment and Water (CEEW)
compulsory Mathematics, Why has is our
one education
of India’s (andboard South
kept Asia’s) leading think-
it compulsory for kids to
tanks with a vast scope of research and publications. CEEW
solve linear equations, find roots of quadratic equation, learn the basic trigonometry? Why? addresses pressing global challenges through an
I integrated
used to believe and internationally
that these yearsfocused help us approach.
in choosing CEEW conducted
our career path. an But,independent
now that I see performance
kids so afraidevaluation
of Mathe-
of the modified DBTL scheme (April, 2016), with a focus on assessing the
matics, I feel why put these little kids under so much stress? Maths anxiety has become such a big word, it scaresefficacy of the scheme against
meitsand
stated
makes objectives
me curious.and itsWhyimplementation
does a potential process, as wellTendulkar
12-year-old as the experiences
or Mary Kom of keyhave
stakeholders
to scratchwith thehead
his/her
scheme’s implementation
with Math problems and get stressed? and impact. The study also unravels the difficulties faced by different stakehold-
ers and
There hasputsto beforward
a reason. suggestions for reforms. Finally, it provides insights into the lessons learned from the
scheme’s
There implementation. Besides achieving its objectives to a significant extent, the DBTL scheme elicited
is a reason.
high levels
Imagine a small of consumer
kid, who satisfaction.
goes up to his Moreover,
mom andallthis theiskey
thestakeholders
conversationexpressed
he has: a positive outlook towards
the “Mummmaaa
Kid: scheme, exceptMujhe the banking
khelna personnel.
jaaanaa h” (I want to go to play outside)
Mom: “Kahan khelne jaana h?” (where do you want to go to play?)
Kid: “bahaaaaaar” (Outside) III Methodology
Mom: “Acha jaa!” ( Okay, go)
This
Try paperthis
asking is based
kid why on adoes
household
he wantsurvey coveringto100
to go outside play,urban
he may households
not haveinhad theany
capital city oforNew
reasons, evenDelhi.
if he does
With an aim to evaluate the modified DBTL scheme and assess its efficacy,
they will be the funniest ones, little kids are so cute when you ask them why to anything they want to do. They we surveyed urban poor house-
holds with
cannot reason anwith
averageyou income
that well, of can
Rs 7,365
they? per month. A purposive sample2 was chosen to see whether the

INDIA
poorimagine
Now, had access a 5thto class
the subsidised
kid going up LPG tocylinders.
his mum: Our focus was on the customer only, not on the other stake-
holders 3
. We carried
Kid: “Ma! I am going out” out the surveys in Timarpur, Vijaynagar, Patel Chest Institute area, Burari and Adarsh
Nagar“Where?
Mom: in NorthWith Delhi, and Dhaula Kuan and Chhattarpur in South Delhi. The areas were selected based on
whom?”
our convenience, in terms
Kid: “With friends to play cricket” of proximity and access. We also interviewed a few support staff in our college.
(now his mom is going to ask why)
Mum: Why?
2. A purposive sample is a non-probability sample that is selected based on characteristics of a population and the objective of the
Kid: I have done my homework, my friend got a new bat and the weather is so good.
study. It is a non-representative sample of some larger population, constructed to serve a specific need. Purposive sampling is also
You see
known as the reasons you
judgmental, giveorafter
selective you grow
subjective samplingup a little. Logical reasoning becomes a part of your system.
Who taught you the art of reasoning?
Did youstakeholders
3. Key have any include
specialconsumers,
classes fordistributors,
that? oil marketing companies (OMCs), banks, and the Ministry of Petroleum and
Natural
No. Gas (MoPNG)
You might think that you learnt this all on your own, with time, but your brain was taught the art of reasoning,
76
26
way back in your 1st and 2nd standard.
Those classes were none other than “Mathematics classes”.
Now, hey! Don’t get shocked, I will explain my point in detail. We personally interviewed the
Do you remember the time when the variable x was introduced in Math classes, respondents and prepared a compre-
Now look at this: hensive questionnaire for the same.
“If I don’t go outside to play, Interviewees were asked about their
Then I will be at home awareness of the scheme, whether the
Then I will play Xbox” payment of subsidy was regular and
“If 2x = 10 whether they had any difficulties in
Then x = 10/2 accessing it, among other questions.
Then x =5” The questionnaire was designed to
The “If-then” function in your brain has been taught to you by these simple understand consumerThe
Math equations. awareness,
logical part of
the brain interprets both these reasonings in a similar manner. their perspective and their experience
Now, let me get a little more crazy: of the scheme, as well as the issues
So as you went to a higher class, a variable y was also introduced and we used they to
faced.
solveWe also tried
equations into elicit the
2 variables:
2x + y = 10, given y = 2 users’ views on how the scheme has
Then 2x + y = 10 affected them.
The survey questionnaire is provided in appendix 1.
Since y = 2, then 2x + 2 = 10
Then 2x = 10-2
All the interviews were conducted in September-October 2016. (Note, the survey was undertaken before the
Then 2x = 8, then x = 4
government’s demonetisation move.) The paper was written in January 2017.
If I don’t go out to play, given my mom is at home.
Then I will stay at home
Since my mom is at home, then I won’t IV Financial
play Xbox. Inclusion and Literacy
Then I will have to study.
As given
The LPG coverage expandsyinisrural
value of variable areas,
similar to thethegiven
subsidy
factprogram
that yourcould
momcreate additional
is at home. The barriers
brain took fortheeconomi-
same mes-
cally
sage. weaker strata of the society. These could be in the form of no bank account or the distance the person
Sotravels
you seeto as
have access
a new to banking
variable services. While
was introduced in Math theorPradhan
life, theMantri Jan Dhan Yojana has increased the
result changed.
number of rural households with bank accounts, we need innovative
As you go ahead in your life, these variables are going to increase, you will be facing payment approaches to fill the
one problem butgap
youofhave a
last mile things
thousand access toto consider
banking services.
before youOur makesurvey that was conducted in urban poor areas gave the result that
a decision.
onlynot
I am 12% of theyou
asking households
to model knew when
them and the Math
solve subsidy is delivered,
equations while
to solve 22%
your knew theNo!
problems. amount
That isofnotsubsidy
how itde-
goes.
livered. Our inference from the data is that though banks are located close to households,
But your brain has to be trained for such problem-solving. This training of your logical brain is done by Mathe- they aren’t used at
frequent intervals and very few people keep a check on their bank account activities.
matics.
Do you exercise to keep your body fit right? How to keep that logical part of your brain fit? Mathematics.
DoOfyouthe realize,
sample in urban
lower poor population,
classes, with all only 1% did
the other not have
subjects youahave
banktoaccount
learn butandin4% did classes,
Math not have youanhave
Aadhaar
to un-
card. Reasons of not having
derstand, interpret and then apply. an Aadhaar card included distance between people’s homes and the enrolment
centre and the inconvenience of the process. We assessed the scheme’s efficacy in terms of the extent to which
Soit Mathematics
could achievehas its stated
helpedobjectives. Closejunior
you since your to 71 % of thetoconsumers
classes become the enrolled
logicalinperson
DBTLyou reported
are, but receiving
why should
their subsidy
you study ahead? in their bank accounts. However, issues such as non-receipt of subsidy and lack of informa-
tion about the subsidy transfer need to be resolved urgently to ensure that the subsidy reaches all deserving
I households,
am not saying notthat
only if for
youeconomical
don’t studypurposes,
Mathematics, but also
you in thebequest
will for providing
making the worst clean fuel in
decisions across
life. the
Oh nation.
no no! I
Thus, the DBTL scheme could help accelerate PMJDY, the financial inclusion scheme,
know a lot of successful people who hate Mathematics but are doing extremely well. All I am trying to say is it to cover the unbanked
households.
has helped youThis verywould also improve
importantly in yourthelifeoverall outlook
in those juniorofclasses,
the scheme
if youfor theitpublic
give at large.
a chance, it might help you in a
beautiful manner.
Being a Mathematics student, I can say with V Thefull LPG Market
confidence, in India
studying Mathematics does affect your thought pro-
cess. It has brought clarity to my thinking; it has made me practical and probably a better person also.
The rising preference for LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) for domestic consumption has been witnessed
through
Again theto
I want expanding
stress, notcustomer
everyonebase
needsof Mathematics
the LPG market in India.better
to become At the same time,
decision as our
makers data suggests,
or smart, it is just a8%
tool
of the sample still uses coal for their cooking and heating needs, whereas another 8% uses LPG along
because I know not all people are meant for studying Mathematics. I am not meant for singing or dancing, a danc- with
er is not meant for solving a differential equation but of course, if I give a chance to dancing or singing I might and
probably will discover a “feel-good” happiness. Similarly, if I request that dancer or singer to give Mathematics a

27
a chance, of course, it might scare them a bit but if they are taken through the beauty of Mathematics with easy and
interest, I hope that one day they also realize how beautiful it is and that is much more than just numbers, that it
is an art which is as beautiful as any other art and hence doesn’t need comparison, that it is equally important for
mankind as any other subject we study or it is equally beautiful and amazing as the art we see, feel or express to
make ourselves and the world happy. So in the mixed words of John Lenon and Nishika Bhatia: “All we are saying
is, is give Maths a chance!”
By: Nishika Bhatia
Mathematics (Hons.) Alumna, Batch of 2014
First Published in: Sciensation

The Man Who Knew Infinity

This is the story of a mathematical prodigy and his proclivity towards the subject despite having a life of pover-
ty and neglect. His amazing ability to understand messages and meaning lying in numbers and his genius and
extraordinary brilliance in number theory and pattern of the number brought the focus of entire world towards
India.
The effect that words have on a poet and emotions on a lyricist, was the same that the Principles of Mathematics
had on S. Ramanujan. According to him-
“Mathematics is not about numbers, equations, computation or algorithms: it is about understanding."
Let’s begin the life story of this legendary being. S. Ramanujan was a largely self-taught pure Mathematician hin-
dered by poverty and ill-health. His highly original work has considerably enriched number theory. December
22nd is celebrated as National Mathematics Day as he was born on that day in 1887. He lived a short life of only
32 years as he died on 26 April 1920.
We can’t control everything that happens to us. But we can control how we respond to things that we can’t control.
He is recognized as one of the greatest Mathematicians of his time. However, S.Ramanujan had no formal training
in Maths. He used to always write on a slate with chalk and when one of his friends asked him to write on paper.
He replied-
“When food is the problem, how can I find money for paper? I may require four reams of paper every month.”
He was the second Indian to be inducted as a fellow of the royal society, which is a fellowship of some of the
world’s most eminent scientist. For him education was not just a preparation of life, education is life itself.
It is said that the numbers 1-10,000 were his best “personal friends”. He could effortlessly tell their factors, divisors,
how the number can be split & each part of number can be squared /cubed etc. to produce interesting numbers,
and much more. One time, G.H. Hardy (professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University) was paying a visit to
Ramanujan, who was ill and undergoing treatment. Hardy mentioned to him that he rode a taxi cab, whose num-
ber was 1729.Hardy said to Ramanujan,”the number seems to me rather a dull one”.Ramanujan on this comment
replied, "No Sir, this is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways-
1729 = 1^3 + 12^3 = 9^3 + 10^3"
Later, 1729 came to be known as RAMANUJAN NUMBER. He discovered many other interesting facts. viz a viz,
a solution of infinite root equations and the sum of positive numbers is a negative number-
1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+...= -1/12
It was his insight into algebraic formulae, the transformation of infinite series and so forth, that was amazing. In
his short lifetime, he prepared almost 4000 proofs, identities, conjectures and equations in pure Mathematics. His
theta function lies at the heart of string theory in physics.He used to say-
“An equation for me has no meaning unless it represents a thought of GOD”
One more interesting thing about Ramanujan is-he discovered so much, and yet he left so much in his garden for
other people to discover.
‘’SUCCESS IS NOT JUST A MEASURE OF HOW BIG YOU CAN DREAM. IT IS ALSO A MEASURE OF HOW
MUCH YOU CAN DO”

By: Alka Yadav

Physics (Hons.) H1A

28
 A Touch of Madness, The Stroke of Genius

Throughout history, the greatest scientific minds have not only demystified the world with their discoveries but
helped shape it too with their ingenious inventions. John Nash, one of the great Mathematicians of the 20th cen-
tury, has made influential contributions to pure Mathematics and Economics. In 1994, he received Nobel Prize
for Economics for his landmark work, first begun in the 1950s, on the Mathematics of game theory. In 2015 Nash
won the Abel Prize for his contributions to the study of partial differential equations.

In addition to his hard work in Mathematics, what makes him so inspiring is the strength with which he coped his
mental illness on his own and won a notable award for his work despite it.

In 1959, Nash began showing clear signs of mental illness ‘schizophrenia’. Nash was certainly delusional and evi-
dently hallucinated as well. He filled the blackboards of Fine Hall at Princeton with indecipherable scribbling and
wandered about the campus in an apparent daze. He became known as “The Phantom of Fine Hall.” Over the next
several decades, he was hospitalized several times and was on and off anti-psychotic medications. After 1970, he
was never committed to a hospital again, and he refused any further medication. His condition improved when
he stopped listening to the “voices” in his head.

Dr. Nash died in car accident while returning from a trip along with his wife. His death comes over two decades
after he won the Nobel Prize, and just a week after he received the Abel Prize. It was a tragic end to a very tragic
yet beautifully meaningful life.

“People are always selling the idea that people with mental illness are suffering. I think madness can be an escape.
If things are not so good, you maybe want to imagine something better.”

By: Komal Yadav

Physics (Hons.) H1A

29
 The Origin of Algebraic Number Theory:
Kummer’s Contribution
The theory of complex integers (Gaussian integers) is a step in the direction of a vast subject, the theory of alge-
braic numbers

Neither Euler nor Lagrange envisioned the rich possibilities which their work on complex integers opened up,
neither did Gauss. The theory grew up out of the attempts of proving Fermat's assertion of the equation xn+yⁿ=zⁿ.
The theorem asserts that the above equation has no non-trivial integral solutions for n ≥ 3, where n Є N.

Many people toned it for different values of n. it was taken up by Ernst Edward Kummer who turned from the-
ology to Mathematics, became a student of Gauss and Richlet and later served as a professor in Berlin. Kummer
took xp+yp where p is a prime and factored it into (x+y)(x+2y)…(x+(2p-1)y) where 2 is an imaginary pth root of
unity which means 2 is a root of ap-1+ap-2+…+a+1=0. This led him to extend Gauss’ theory of complex integers
to algebraic numbers as numbers of the form

f(2)=a0+a12+…ap-22p-2 where ai is ordinary (rational) integer. In algebraic number theory, an algebraic integer
is just called an integer whereas elements of z are called ordinary integers.

By 1843, Kummer made appropriate definitions of integers, prime integers, divisibility and then make a mistake
of assuming that unique factorization holds in the class of algebraic numbers that he had introduced. He pointed
out while transmitting his manuscript to Richlet that this assumption was necessary to prove Fermat’s theorem.
Richlet informed him that unique factorization holds only for certain primes. Incidentally Cauchy and Lame
assumed the same for algebraic numbers. In 1844, Kummer recognized the correctness of Richlet’s criticism. To
restore unique factorization Kummer created a theory of Ideal numbers in a series of papers. However, Kummer’s
ideal numbers do not belong to the class of algebraic numbers he had introduced. Moreover, these ideal numbers
were not defined in any general way (an Ideal number is an algebraic integer which represents an ideal in the
ring of integers of a number field). As far as Fermat’s theorem is concerned, with his ideal numbers, Kummer
succeeded in showing that it was correct for a number of prime numbers. In the first hundred integers only 37,
59 and 67 were not covered by Kummer’s demonstration. Then in a paper in 1857 he extended his results to these
exceptional primes.

These are really great contributions of Kummer in algebraic number theory. Later on Mirimanoff, Dedekind and
many other Mathematicians continued to work further and algebraic number theory was developed and nurtured
in this way.

By: Mahenoor Ali

Mathematics (Hons.) Alumna, Batch of 2016

30
 Branching Through the Miranda Roots!
The clock strikes 6:30, snooze, 6:40, snooze, 6:50, snooze again! A voice in my head spoke, “Can’t miss the 8:40
class again, get up, you need to board the 7:30 metro!” Reaching for the 8:40 class on time always gave me a sense
of achievement. I have gotten late for lectures so many times that rushing through the Miranda corridors or lawns
created some of my most treasured memories. But, without a doubt, the most precious moment is the day I un-
derstood and fully comprehended my first Mathematical proof.

Alon Smith, a famous Math educator once said, “When you find, or compose, or are moonstruck by a good proof,
there’s a sense of inevitability, of innate truth. You understand that the thing is true, and you understand why, and
you see that it can’t be any other way. It’s like falling in love. How do you know that you’ve fallen in love? You ac-
tually just do it”. I resonated with Alon Smith’s thoughts for the first time during my first year at Miranda Library,
just before a Real Analysis tutorial - and this memory has always helped me sail through difficult times during
my studies. Particularly, when it took days, weeks and sometimes months to understand some Mathematical con-
cepts, this memory made me patiently wait for that moment of eternal bliss when I finally understood it. These are
just one of the many memories from Miranda House that have strengthened me and prepared me for the world
outside. Another memorable moment is - when I was first introduced to the application of Mathematics in the
real world.

We discussed the use of calculus and differential equation in computer programs to solve problems in an automo-
bile, infrastructure, healthcare and more. Miranda house always gave us the freedom to explore, but with an insur-
ance of carefully providing us with just the right nudge. The regular Mathematics-related seminars conducted at
the university were very helpful in enhancing a broader knowledge. Around the second year, in a seminar, we got
to know about optimization theory. Optimization theory uses Mathematical tools to devise best possible decisions
to solve the most complex problems. The science of decision-making has many synonyms such as - “Operational
Research”, “Operational Management”, “Industrial Engineering” or the lately famous “Data Sciences”. Data is in-
creasingly becoming the most important asset and to manage it efficiently we need strong computational tools.
Strong computations are developed through elegant Mathematics. These are just some of the many influential
subjects whose roots lie in the field of Mathematics. And likewise, even though I study management science, my
roots lie strongly in the Mathematics department of Miranda House. Had it not been for the three years at Miran-
da House, I would have never discovered the power a Mathematician holds, to not changes, but better the world.
Field medalist Michael Atiyah said once, “People think Mathematics begins when you write down a theorem
followed by a proof- That’s not the beginning, that’s the end.

The beginning is to create a picture of various things, turn them over in your mind. You’re trying to create, just as
a musician is trying to create music or a poet. There are no rules laid down. You must do it your own way. But at
the end, just as a composer must put it down on paper, you must write things down in forms of theorems. But the
most important stage is understanding. A proof of a theorem by itself doesn’t give you understanding. You can
have a long proof and no idea at the end of why it works. But to understand why it works, you must have a kind
of gut reaction to the thing. You’ve got to feel it!” And trust me! the day a Mathematician feels this super-power
within her, she can model the harshest problems of the world with just her pen, paper and most importantly, her
beautiful mind. Cheers to all the beautiful Mathematical minds at Miranda House!

By: Nishika Bhatia

Mathematics (Hons.) Alumna, Batch of 2014

31
 Mathematics is Everywhere!
By: Mr. Manoj Rawal
Mathematics has been around us from the beginning of the time and it enters in our lives as soon as we enter in
this world, for instance, we get our date of birth first and also get a mandatory Aadhaar Card with a number hav-
ing a dozen digits. Since our birth, we have lived surrounded by numbers and wherever there are numbers, there
is Mathematics and numbers are everywhere, Mathematics is also everywhere. To support it let's recall Galileo
Galilei's quote that “Mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe."The planets go around
the sun in a precise orbit and sun goes around the universe in a precise orbit. Days becomes nights and nights
becomes days in a precise order of time.

Is Mathematics being used only by people who have eyesight? No, of course not. Let me share with you my own
experience, during my college days my chess captain who was visually impaired used to identify chess pieces by
touching and distinguishing them geometrically within seconds. In fact chess game involves Mathematics at every
move of its pieces and chessboard is an 8×8 matrix with 64 squares. Chess originated in India in the 6th century by
none other than Mathematician Sessa who gave the very famous series problem to Mathematically unaware king
"The wheat and chessboard problem" which states that If a chessboard is to have wheat placed upon each square
such that one grain is placed on the first A1 square, double on the second square A2, four on the third square A3
and all the way to 2^63 on last square H8 .How many grains of wheat would there be on the chessboard at the end?
In fact, no sports can be imagined or played without the help of Mathematics.

Coming back to specially abled, did you ever think about how we communicate with our deaf friends, yes with the
orientation of fingers which is not possible without the help of Mathematics. Therefore Mathematics plays a vital
role in communication for deaf people as their language. Also if you notice, an ordinary person walks keeping
the Cartesian Coordinate into the mind as he can see and knows the exact location but on the other side a spe-
cially-abled who cannot see walks keeping Polar Coordinate into the mind where he always keeps direction and
distance in his mind at every step with his hand stick.

It is Mathematics only which gives sense of comparing or sense to distinguish and it is not only in human being
but it can be noticed even among animals, for example suppose in a forest an animal has five children and sud-
denly one of them is missing, then do not you think the mother will start searching for the child? Does it mean
the mother knows counting? No of course not but certainly she has the sense to distinguish. Animals also have
the sense of distance and numbers, suppose in a forest there is a lion and a bunch of deer, then lion may not hunt
deer but if there is only a deer, then lion must run towards deer so understanding Mathematics is the difference
between life and death! Similarly, if you ever closely look at a sequence of ants, they walk in perfect harmony with
equidistant. So if animals were to have any language then it would be Mathematics only!

Mathematicians do amazing things. They discover hidden beauty in the natural world. Mathematics can also be
seen in nature, we like flowers so much and Mathematics can be seen around them as we know through polar
transformation the number of petals. In Mathematics Fibonacci sequence is one of the most famous and useful
sequences of integers. Fibonacci Spiral is the spiral when in polar coordinate both angle and radial distance vary
simultaneously. Now question worth asking is do we find Fibonacci Spiral in nature, yes in the sunflower, the
display of its florets are always in a perfect spiral of 55,34 and 21. The fruit lips of the pineapple make the same.

32
Next time when you visit the ocean and if current moves through it and the tide rolling to the shore, then you can
visualize that the waves that bring in the dyed turn into a Fibonacci Spiral only.

In this digital era, internet banking is becoming more and more common but there is a chaos with regard of safe
transactions and there we fully depend on Cryptology, the study of protecting our information using the codes.
The reality of instant loan would not have been possible without Mathematics enabled mobile apps. These mobile
apps quickly analyze our aadhaar number with pan card number and bank statement. Therefore, reducing time
and effort and delivering public service quickly. We all have mobile and every day we love to take pictures but do
you know your picture is nothing but your homomorphic image whereas if there is an identical twin of you then
it is going to be your isomorphic image.

GPS has become very important in our lives as it tells us routes with the exact location which is just possible due
to the geometry of relativity with help of four satellites. We easily get to know about weather report of the world
at home through TV with the use of level curves.

Mathematics helps a lot in policy formulation. The government collects data about its citizens and statisticians
analyze it to formulate the right policy. Right calculation can lead to positive results like job creation and growth
rate in our GDP but a wrong calculation can result in negative. Similarly, a good knowledge of prime numbers can
equip a Mathematician for hacking. So Mathematics is like a double-edged sword. It can cut both ways. Therefore
we need "Well Defined" Mathematicians in policy-making team everywhere.

Have you ever imagined that what would be life like without Mathematics? It is going to be impossible and un-
imaginable, in fact without it life is not going to be systematic and it is going to be full of chaos. So it makes our life
easier by preventing chaos. Mathematics in life is as important as music to songs or internet facility to digital In-
dia. It is needed at every step of life and without it, we cannot move even an inch be it be knowing that how many
alphabets are there in the word "Mathematics" itself. Everyone needs Mathematics in their day to day life without
realizing it ,be it an astronaut, a farmer, an army man, a sportsman, a shopkeeper or tea vendor, an economist or
was it the architect Walter Sykes George who designed the beautiful red bricks buildings of the two colleges Mi-
randa House and St. Stephen's College which had a collaboration till Stephen’s became coed in 1928. Whenever
Stephen’s would need women actors, they would get them from Miranda House, whenever MH would need male
actors, they would come from Stephen’s. It means relationship was “Symmetric”. Could Walter George imagine
this beautiful structure of Miranda House without the use of symmetry or can we feel even today the beauty of
building without having the symmetry in its pillars or stairs? Life without Mathematics would be like the building
of Miranda House without students!
“I see it but I don't believe it” Georg Cantor

33
 Origin 2018
This edition of Origin on 19th March 2018 saw a plethora of
events ranging from The Principal Argument (a debating com-
petition) to the most awaited Scavenger Hunt. It was an oppor-
tunity for the “Maths Whizz” enthusiasts who got their grey
cells to work as they pushed themselves “Off Limits” and used
their “Principal Argument” before they got an adrenaline rush
for the “60 Seconds Dimension”; they raced against time for
“Maths Relay” and embarked upon a journey as they unraveled
mysteries for the “Scavenger Hunt”.

We had the honor of hosting Dr. Aparna Mehra (Professor, IIT

Delhi) for our inaugural lecture. She assisted us in expanding
our horizon of knowledge and made us dwell deeper into the
fascinating world of Linear Algebra as we explored its applica-
tions in statistical learning.
Maths Whizz 60-Second Dimension
Mathematics is truly an exercise for our 60 seconds dimension comprised of com-
left-brain. Maths Whizz required the pleting given tasks within 60 seconds.
Maths enthusiasts to get their grey cells Each game was played in groups of 3 or
to work. It comprised of 3 rounds of quiz- 4 and one winner was selected from each
zing, at the end of which the winners were group. There were 15 games in all among
declared. Teams did their best to prove which the best 3 games were: Draw on
their worth and grab the first position. Fi- the balloon, Maths charades and Scissors
nally, the team from St.Stephens grabbed and Coins. The event was a success since
the first position while the students from participants liked the games and enjoyed
IIT Delhi came second. them very much.

Maths Relay
Off-Limits A team game, with participants in groups
The game, played in pairs, was about of 3, Maths Relay consisted of each mem-
guessing the Mathematical jargons with a ber having to solve a question and pass the
list of Taboo words, the use of which was answer to the next member in order for
forbidden. It was a treat to watch people them to solve their question, and so on.
use their skills to play the game. We re- The final answer and time taken is then
ceived a great response and the winners noted and the team who solved the ques-
were from our own department. It was tions correctly in the shortest amount of
very well executed. All the volunteers had time wins. The game was thrilling with
put a great amount of energy in the event. enthusiastic participation by all.

The Principal Argument Scavenger Hunt

Give your brain a chance to fight This year the theme for the scavenger
Try to prove what you think is right hunt was JUMANJI. Various Mathemati-
The Principal Argument, a debating com- cal puzzles and logical riddles were used
petition, witnessed enthusiatic partici- as the key to unlock the subsequent lev-
pation from numerous colleges. Debates els in the game. The teams consisting of 5
took place on various social issues as well members were each given a character to
as Mathematical and scientific matters. play resembling those in the real Jumanji
This 3 round event concluded with two movie. The teams had to first decode the
finalists taking the podium to battle and clue and identify various areas of the col-
win the final prize. Accolades were also lege and then solve a puzzle to get the next
given to the best interjector. Our judges clue. Origin 2k18 witnessed a huge turn-
as well as all the participants enjoyed im- out for the game. Around 20 teams partic-
mensely. ipated, and gave their best to win.

Contributions by: Aparajita S, Aishwarya K, Akansha S, Bhagyansha J, Diksha, Inayat C, Ishani C, Jhankaar D,
Kaushiki B, Krati M, Meghna B, Mitul C, Mrittika D, Niyati S, Priyanka, Snigdha B, Tanya J,Vanshika S
34
 Department Trip

Shimla, a destination everyone was excited to explore. It was after several requests and lot of per-
suasion for more students to join us, that the trip got finalised, but it was all worth for in the end.
It was an overnight journey. We did everything that we could to keep ourselves entertained for the
whole night. Singing together, playing games and gossiping about everything under the sun kept us
busy the whole time. Little did we know that this would be a journey to remember.

The picturesque location, lush green surroundings and less population was worth witnessing as
the disturbing heat of Delhi was left far behind. All were really charmed by the beauty of Shimla.
We headed straight to Sankat Mochan Temple located amid the lush green and tranquil locals of
Himachal Pradesh. Our next destination was The Mall, which is lined with shops and restaurants.
We walked around and enjoyed the scenic views of nature while slurping ice creams in that nippy
weather.

The next day we visited Kufri, a small hill station and rode horseback to Mahasu Peak (the highest
peak in that region) that restores your faith in God. The ride was no less than an adventure because
the track was all muddy and swampy. The funny part was that horses started competing with each
other and pushed other horses to get ahead. Once we reached the peak, it gave us majestic views of
the entire surroundings. The walk along the thick forests and deodars felt amazing. Adventurous
rides, yaks, amusement park sum up this amazing land.

The unforgettable memories, infinite pictures, horse rides, DJ party at the hotel, delicious food,
these countless moments will always be with us. The whirling zig-zag road gave us a chance to
observe nature through different angles and to feel it in full length. Shimla is indeed a queen of hill
stations.

-Krati Morandani
Mathematics (Hons.) H3A

35
 Freshers
Most fuchchas (as freshers are commonly called in DU) are
victims of acute homesickness in the initial days of the col-
lege. Having just left home, parents, family, friends and a lot
more, it is hard for most of them to overcome nostalgia and
get on with college. Freshers party comes as a nirvana as it
makes a great ice breaker.
Our freshers did much more than that. It not only gave us
a delightful glimpse of what these 3 years have in store for
us but also bounded the new members of the Mathematics
Department closely with everyone. The theme of our fresh-
ers held on 23rd August 2017 was 'fusion'. The freshers came
dressed in sync with the theme. From pairing kurtas with
shorts to wearing crop tops with ghagras, the freshers did ev-
erything to fuse. Our seniors welcomed us very warmly. The
CRs from first year cut the welcome cake. Seniors present-
ed dances, songs, games and short enactions which kept us
entertained throughout. Interesting awards like 'highest heels',
'longest hair' and 'maximum hair pins' were given as well.
The Miss Freshers title competition was the most awaited
segment of the party. The contestants had to participate in 4 The results were as follows :
rounds in which only the top scorers proceeded to the sub- Miss Freshers : Ashmita Rana
sequent rounds. The first round demanded the participants Miss Talented : Aparajita Shah
Miss Well Dressed : Ujjwala Kaushik
to introduce themselves in an audience engaging way. The
participants which qualified for the second round had to
The day concluded when all the students
showcase their talents. It was amazing to see the talented girls
took to the dance floor and enjoyed each
of our department at their best. The third round was an inter-
moment to the fullest. The first years were
esting one. In this round the girls had to advertise an accesso-
extremely grateful to their seniors for this
ry and convince the buyers turned audiences. The fourth and cordial welcome.
final round was a question-answer round. -Ashmita Rana
Mathematics (Hons.) H1A

Teacher's Day
Teachers are the cornerstone of students’ future and there’s nothing
worth enough to gratify them for their selfless service and commit-
ment.
Department of Mathematics, Miranda House celebrated Teachers’ day
with great gusto and gaiety this year. The celebration commenced with
the cake cutting ceremony by the faculty members of the department.
The day continued with songs, dance and mimicry performances by
students to denote their love and respect towards the hard work put
in by the teachers towards their development. The celebration came
to an end with the student council presenting token of thanks to all
the faculty members on behalf of the students of the department. All
teachers enjoyed and appreciated the program.
-Diksha Gupta
Mathematics (Hons.) H3A

36
 Research Papers
Appendix 1

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
Objective: To study issue of Cash flow, Awareness, Availability and Administration of the PAHAL scheme under the Jan Dhan

1st row (L-R): Dr. Jyoti T, Dr. Rekha G, Ms. Bhawna B.G, Dr. Shashi A, Dr. Sunila S, Dr. Manjari S, Dr. Ritu G, Ms. Apeksha V
Yojana

2nd row (L-R): Dr. Meetu B.G, Mr. Bikram S, Dr. Durvesh K.V, Mr. Manoj R, Mr. Naveen G, Mr. Mohit K.M, Mohd. Sarik I,
PART 1
Name
Age
Address
Contact
Occupation
Faculty of the Department

Income (per month)

No. of people in the family

PART 2

Mobile phone: yes/no

Aadhaar card: yes/no
Bank account: yes/no
LPG subsidy: yes/no
PART 3
1. Do you know how to open and operate a bank account? Yes/No
2. Any barriers to opening an account (eg. Lack of documents such as residence proof)
3. Are banking services easily available in your locality
4. Do Gas Distribution Agencies accept all bank accounts?
5. What factors do you look for before taking a gas connection?
a) Price (b) safety level (c) delivery time (d) brand (e) package deal (f) other

6. Have you adopted LPG in your house? Yes/No

If no, reasons ___
7. Are you aware of the process of getting a connection? Is it a hassle-free process?
8. Challenges to access, if any
9. Is there a distributor in your block? Yes/No
10. How many times a year do you refill the cylinder
11. Is the delivery system customer-friendly
12. Are you aware of the government’s PAHAL (Pratyaksh Hastaantarit Laabh) scheme, where LPG subsidy is transferred directly
into your bank account? Yes/No
13. How did you learn about the scheme?
(a) Word of mouth (friends, neighbours, relatives)
(b) Newspaper
(c) Advertisement (radio, TV, poster, internet)
(d) Directly by distributor
(e) Call/SMS from Oil Marketing Companies
14. Do you know the DBTL enrolment process
15. How many visits did you make for the enrolment
16. Instances of corruption, if any
17. Do you know when the subsidy amount reaches you? Do you have easy access to it?
18. How much money (of the subsidy) is returned
Ms. Shweta G

19. How many days does it take to reach you?

(a) Less than 2 days (b) 2-4 days (c) 4-7 days (d) More than a week
20. Any changes observed in comparison to the previous system (pre-Direct Cash Transfer)
21. Which do you prefer?
22. Overall satisfaction with the scheme (in increasing order from 1 to 10)

THANK YOU!

85
 Batch
Research Papers of 2020
Appendix 2

1st row (L-R): Kirti, Nidhi, Manisha, Neha R, Preeti, P.Samanvitha, Priya, Kanchan, Ashmita, Ayushi,
Chitra
2nd row (L-R): Rajni, Parul, Preeti, Neha Y, Nitika, Seema, KM Jyothi , Lata, Aparajita, Manisha, Kriti
3rd row (L-R): Ritika, Shagun, Shriya, Ujjwala, Vidhi, Sneha, Roopali, Rashi, Rachana, K. Sai Vyshnavi,
S. Sai Jyothi, Bhawna, Babe, Aripra, Karthika

Batch of 2019

1st row (L-R): Sweta, Priyanka, Supriya, Nikita, Nidhi, Andin, Khushboo, Sonal, Bidyalxmi, Shivani,
Rakshita, Renu, Yashwi, Shikha Y, Nirmala, Ayushi, Nikita, Khushboo, Anjali, Roli, Shubhi, Prashasti
2nd row (L-R): Rashmi, Arpita, Bidhushi, Anisha, Khansa, Mahima, Gulshan, Radha K, Vanshika, Swati,
Shivani , Sanjana, Shikha, Shikha, Geetika, Swikriti, Vaishali, Ritu, Rhythm
3rd row (L-R): Radhika, Zainab, Esha, Divya, Hena, Radha, Shivani, Jhanvi, Simran, Bedkaur, Kanika,
Anjali, Asmita, Arushi
 Batch of 2018

1st row (L-R): Lehak, Akansha, Baby, Diksha, Aditi, Archana, Anuradha, Tanu, Uplabdhi, Komal, Kalpa-
na, Kavita, Priyam, Kaushiki, Akansha S
2nd row (L-R): Inayat, Jigmet, Ankita S, Aarti, Kaushal, Himanshi, Rajnee, Neha, Shivani, Srishti, Kirti,
Akansha D, Neetika K, Neetika S, Anita, Mrittika
3rd row (L-R): Vanshika, Tanya J, Niyati, Tanya K, Rupashi, Sanskriti, Neha P, Sapana, Pooja, Priyanka
G, Rachna, Shweta, Prerna S, Kalpana J, Krupa, Ankita, Jhankaar, Aishwarya
4th row (L-R): Neelam, Pankhuri, Stuti, Kavya, Ishani, Neha J, Udita, Snigdha, Priyanka, Divya, Divya S,
Kanchan, Aparna, Diksha G, Meghna, Mahima, Krati, Bhagyansha

"Education is the most powerful weapon

which you can use to change the world."

~ Nelson Mandela
 Research Papers Try it Out
in Mathematica
off who has been in continuous service with them for more than one year. It is by far the most comprehensive
piece of legislation on the Indian labour market and accordingly, has also been the recipient of the harshest
criticism from right-wing economists.

The IDA was amended in 1976 and 1982 and made more pro-worker. In 1982, for instance, it was made
mandatory
Spiral forWonder
into the firms employing more than 100 workers, instead of the earlier 300, to obtain the government’s
of Mathematica:
With[{f = {Cos[3 x] + .3 x Sin[2 x] , .3 xor
permission for retrenchments, layoffs closures.
Cos[2 Fallonx]}},
x] - Sin[3 and Lucas (1993) noted that this amendment dis-
couraged firms from expanding
Graphics[Table[{Hue[t/(Pi), 1, .9],and adversely affected discipline on the factory floor (by reducing the fear of
job loss) Normalize[D[f, x]] + f}]} /. x -> t, {t, -4,
2.
Arrow[{f,
3 Pi, .06}], Background -> Black]]
Bhalotra (1998) countered these findings by showing that employment actually rose in factories with 100 to
1,000 workers
Spread Some Lovein the period
with 1979-87
this 3D Heart:in India. He also states that the degree of inertia of employment should
reduce after the (-1/10)
ContourPlot3D[ amendment if restrictive
x^2 z^3 - y^2 z^3labour laws
+ (2 x^2 + posed
y^2 + az^2
significant
- 1)^3 ==impediment to changes
0, {x, -1.7, 1.7}, {y, -1.7,in1.7},
em- {z, -1.7,
ployment.
1.7} However
, PlotPoints -> 60this was not
, Boxed the case—the
-> False, Ticks ->inertia of employment
None, ContourStyle ->did not change significantly
Directive[Opacity[0.9], Red], after the
amendment.
Background -> GrayLevel[.9],
AxesEdge -> {{-1, 4}, {-1, -3}, {-1, 2}}, AxesLabel -> Automatic ,
The work ->
LabelStyle of Fallon and LucasBold],
Directive[Blue, is also vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it ignores the political and le-
gal developments
AxesStyle of the period
-> Arrowheads[{1, under consideration, most notably the 1975 Emergency, which could’ve been
1, 1}]]
the cause of the ostensibly shrinking emplocharjea, 2006)3.
Keep the Doctor Away with this 3D Apple:
Rigid labour market regulations
ParametricPlot3D[{Cos[u]*(4 have also been said to hurt employment growth by inflating the real wage.
+ 3.8*Cos[v]),
Ghose (2005) notes
Sin[u]*(4 + 3.8*Cos[v]), that real wages rose in India in the 1980s largely because of the amendment to the IDA in
1982. This
(Cos[v] analysis,
+ Sin[v] too,+isSin[v])*Log[1
- 1)*(1 fallacious in that it doesn’t
- Pi*v/10] take into account potentially important omitted vari-
+ 7.5*Sin[v]},
ables
{u, 0, 2 such as -Pi,
Pi}, {v, changes
Pi}, in aggregate demand or technological advancement. It also fails empirically, as shown
by Nagaraj (1994).
Mesh -> None, Boxed -> False, Axes -> False, PlotPoints -> 100 ,
PlotStyle -> {Green}]
Several influential economists have concluded, nonetheless, that India’s protective labour laws have hurt
growth
Turn thatand
Frownefficiency
Upside(Ahluwalia,
Down: 1991; Basu, 1995). They contend that rigid labour laws deter firms from
entering labour-intensive,
ParametricPlot[ {2 {1 + Cos[t],low-skilled sectors
1 + Sin[t]}, {2 - because
Cos[t/2],they don’t feel confident that they can lay surplus
workers off under adverse economic conditions.
2 - Sin[t/2]}, {1 + Cos[t]/10, 3 + Sin[t]/10}, {3 + Cos[t]/10,While there is considerable merit in their arguments, they
often overlook the
3 + Sin[t]/10}}, fact
{t, 0, thatPlotStyle
2 Pi}, the per unit cost of labour is substantially lower in India than in most emerging
-> Thick,
markets, including China, Korea and Mexico
AxesLabel -> (Style[#, 14, Bold] & /@ {x, y}), Axes (Roychowdhury,
-> False] 2014), which should at least partially offset
the higher compliance costs in India. Roychowdhury concludes his paper by stating that “It is simply wrong
to the
Let argue that Indian
Butterfly Spreadmanufacturing
its Wings: is becoming uncompetitive in the world market due to high labour costs
and then
PolarPlot[ blame labour laws for such high costs.” Moreover, many other developing economies have already
become the
E^Sin[θ] first
- 2.4 movers
Cos[4 in the said low-skilled
θ] +Sin[θ/12]^5, sectors, and automation in the developed world implies that
{θ, 0, 24 Pi},
the window of opportunity in these sectors
PlotStyle -> {Thickness[0.004], Black}, PlotPoints -> is fast closing.
150] This casts doubt on the notion that reforming la-
bour laws will trigger a significant expansion in India’s low-skilled manufacturing (Ram Mohan 2016).
Watch the Colours Blend:
2. Besley and Burgess (2004) make very similar claims about the untoward impact of the pro-worker amendment on 2 investment,
LineIntegralConvolutionPlot[{{Cos[x^2
employment and output in registered manufacturing.+ y], Sin[x - y^2]}, {"noise",
500, 500}}, {x, -3, 3}, {y, -3, 3}, ColorFunction -> "BeachColors",
LightingAngle -> 0, LineIntegralConvolutionScale
3. Bhattacharjea’s paper -> 3,
also calls into question the econometric model of Besley and Burgess by highlighting the role of 3 several
omitted->
Frame variables;
False] he is consequently agnostic about the robustness of their Index of Regulatory Measure. The index classifies all
Indian states as either ‘pro-worker’ or ‘pro-employer’ on the basis of amendments passed by them. However, on taking account of
the degree of enforcement of these amendments, the labelling for some states gets reversed (World Bank, 2004). Gujarat and Maha-
rashtra, for example, are classified as ‘pro-worker’. But the very weak implementation of the ostensibly pro-worker amendments in
these states makes them more investor friendly and less responsive to workers.

88
40
 Careers in Mathematics
Statistician careers
Statisticians are specialists in statistics – that is, the collation, analysis, interpretation and presentation of statistics
and quantitative data. Statisticians’ skills are required in numerous industries, ranging from healthcare to govern-
ment and from finance to sport. You'll be tasked with managing, collecting and arranging data by means of sur-
veys, experiments and contextual analysis. With your findings, you may then be called upon to create reports and
advise clients/colleagues on possible strategies, for example in order to make good financial decisions to further
business goals. As a statistician, you'll have expert analytical skills as well as solid communication and IT skills

Careers in banking
Opportunities in banking range from the world of retail banking to corporate investment banking. Both arenas
deal with financial assessment – public and private – with opportunities to specialize in areas such as mergers
and acquisitions, bonds and shares, privatization, lending and IPOs (initial public offerings). Duties can include
market research, creating new business opportunities, and developing financial models and solutions to present
to clients. Math careers in banking can be lucrative, but, professional qualifications in finance will be needed for
some roles.

Actuarial careers
As an actuary, you will be evaluating financial risk in order to manage and advise clients. Combining risk analysis
skills with in-depth knowledge of economics and business, actuaries are at the heart of business strategy, ensuring
sound investments are made and commercial/business goals fulfilled. New actuaries will most likely be working
within pensions and insurance, a relatively low-risk area, while in the future you may get to work in banking,
healthcare or investment. Actuarial roles can be client-facing, as with consultancies and pensions/insurance com-
panies, and all actuaries will require the skill of communicating complex data and analyses to non-specialists.

Careers in academia and research

While it’s now clearly understood that careers in Maths go far beyond the realms of academia and research, these
sectors are still very popular among Mathematics students. This route may appeal to those who want the challenge
of driving forward the next series of discoveries, theories and applications of the field – as well as the prestige of
following some of history’s greatest Mathematical minds. Academic and research-based careers in Maths can be
incredibly wide-ranging, and will depend on what area you wish to specialize in.

Teaching
In addition to academic roles with a research focus, many rewarding Maths careers can be found in teaching.
Numeracy is always a high priority within primary and secondary education systems, making highly numerate
graduates with an interest in teaching highly sought-after. In order to teach in most countries, you'll require a
formal teaching qualification. To teach at university level, a postgraduate degree is often required, in a relevant
specialism. If you choose this path, you may also get the chance to pursue your own academic research.

---
Other common Maths careers include; intelligence analysis, operational research, statistical research, logistics,
financial analysis, market research (for business), management consultancy, IT (systems analysis, development
or research), software engineering, computer programming, the public sector (advisory capacity as a scientist or
statistician), scientific research and development (e.g. biotechnology, meteorology or oceanography).

Numeracy, the ability to understand and work with numbers, is extremely sought after and high in demand.

41
 Research Papers Activity
Sharma (2006) articulates this point eloquently when he states that it is the complexity of labour laws, and
not
This is their contentpuzzle
a crossword or intent, that make
without wordsthe labour market
-- numbers are thehard to negotiate
answers instead for both employers
(a single andsquare
digit for each workers
in the
since it promotes litigation instead of resolution of industrial relations problems.
grid). Unlike a crossword puzzle, deductive logic based on a knowledge of Math is needed to work out the an-
swers from information provided in the clues. A little trial and error solving may also be necessary. (Bold black
Assuaging
lines the concerns
in the puzzle of labour
grid separate assumes
entries in the even
samegreater
way as importance against
black squares.) a backdrop
Additional ofthere
clue: insufficient
are no jobs
zeros in
in the economy.
the completed grid. The employment growth rate decelerated from 2.8% in 2000-05 to 0.5% in 2011-12 (Srija &
Shirke, 2014). The sectoral composition of employment is also changing for the worse: in the organised sec-
tor, the share of informal employment rose from 48% in 2004-05 to 54.6% in 2011-128.
ACROSS
1 The firstlight,
In this two digits are a prime
the proposed number;
labour reformsthereflect
second thetwo
larger reality of Narendra Modi’s procapitalist gover-
arenance,
the next lower prime number
which, drawing from the Gujarat Model of Development, has consistently prioritised the creation of
5 Abusiness
perfect cube
corridors and National Industrial and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZ) over labour welfare. This leaves
6 Aworkers
multiple of theand
restive cube root of 4their
aggravates DOWN; suma of
distress, digits which not only violates economic and political pru-
scenario
is 6dence, but also compromises with inclusivity in growth, an ideal our democracy holds in such high regard.
8 The sum itofisthe
Finally, first noting
worth two digits
thatequals the sum
the social costsofofthe
thelast
proposed legislations are far-reaching. For example, one
twoofdigits equals the middle digit
the amendments seeks to practically make child labour legal in ‘family enterprises’ if the kids are employed
9 A‘after
perfect cubehours’. The number of occupations restricted for child labour has been reduced from 83 to 3
school
11 (Nair,
The square
2015).of the cube root of 4 DOWN
12 The product of 10 DOWN times III.6 Lessons
ACROSS from international experience

DOWN
(a) France’s Experiment with Labour Reforms
1 AFrance
number in which
adopted each digit
a highly is one lower
contentious than
labour billthe pre- 2016, which Prime Minister Manuel Valls forced
in July
ceding digit
through Parliament without a vote, ending months of strike chaos and violent protests. The reforms, which
2 The
manysum of thehave
suspect digits is two-thirds
been pushed down theFrance’s
productthroat
of theby the European Union under the veil of ‘economic
digits
governance’ (Corporate Europe Observatory, 2016), give individual companies greater freedom to make deci-
3 The product
sions on pay,ofworking
three primes;
hours,the firstand
hiring 10 larger than
firing of the without being constrained by collective bargaining.
workers,
second;
theThe
second 10 larger
socialist than theled
government third
by Valls believes that the reforms would help alleviate France’s stubbornly high
4 A10%
perfect cube
unemployment rate and stimulate the economy which has proved slow to recover. The reforms would
7 All evenFrance
bring digits;closer
each different
to Germany and the UK in the World Economic Forum’s rankings of most competitive
9 Acountries
perfect cube
(Henley & Inman, 2016).
10 A prime number

Riddle Me This
The reforms have been heavily criticised by the CGT Union, students and protestors on the left - who see
them as an unconstitutional attempt to undermine union power. Though initially hailed by several free-mar-
What
ket iseconomists
the smallest
andnumber that,
business when divided
associations, the successively by 45,
reforms are now 454,rejected
being 4545 andeven
45454, leaves the remainders
by employers, because the4, 45,
454, and 4,545 respectively.
government has had to water them down substantially to gain popular support.

Buns
Thewere being
nearly sold at three
unanimous prices: one
disapproval forlabour
of the a penny,
bill two for a penny,
in France and three
is instructive for a penny.
for India, which Some children
has been trying(there
were
to as many
push veryboys as girls)
similar reformswereofgiven seven
its own. pennies tothe
Interestingly, spend on mentioned
above these buns,WEFeach rankings
child to receive
includeexactly
Sweden, the same
value in buns.
Norway andAssuming
Finland atthat
some allofbuns remained
the top whole,
positions. Thesehow many buns,
countries offer and of what types,
employment did each
protection child
similar to receive?
There are several
France, books
indicating thatonattracting
a bookshelf. If one
foreign book is the
investment and4th from the
creating jobsleft andmore
takes 6th from
than the right,
merely how many books
attacking
areworkers’
on the shelf?
rights.

What number composed of nine figures, if multiplied by 1,2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, will give a product with 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3,
2, 1 (in that order), in the last nine places to the right?
8. Computed using unit level data of NSSO various rounds
On a clock, how many times a day do the minute and hour hand overlap?

90
42
 Corner
Did You Know?
Abacus is considered the origin of the calculator.

12,345,678,987,654,321 is the product of 111,111,111 x 111,111,111. Notice the sequence of the numbers 1 to 9
and back to 1.

Plus (+) and Minus (-) sign symbols were used as early as 1489 A.D.

An icosagon is a shape with 20 sides.

From 0 to 1,000, the letter "A" only appears in 1,000 ("one thousand").
A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

'FOUR' is the only number in the English language that is spelt with the same number of letters as the number
itself

In a group of 23 people, at least two have the same birthday with the probability greater than 1/2 .

Among all shapes with the same perimeter a circle has the largest area.

Among all shapes with the same area circle has the shortest perimeter .

In 1995 in Taipei, citizens were allowed to remove ‘4’ from street numbers because it sounded like ‘death’ in Chi-
nese. Many Chinese hospitals do not have a 4th floor.

The word "FRACTION" derives from the Latin " fractio - to break".

Laugh Out Loud

After a talking sheepdog gets all the sheep in the pen, he reports
back to the farmer: "All 40 accounted for."
"But I only have 36 sheep," says the farmer.
"I know," says the sheepdog. "But I rounded them up."

Q. What happened to the plant in Math class?

A: It grew square roots.

Q: Why wasn't the geometry teacher at school?

A: Because she sprained her angle!!

Q: How do you make seven an even number? A: Take the s out!

Q: Why did I divide sin by tan? A: Just cos

Q: Why did the mutually exclusive events break up? A: They

had nothing in common.

43
 Answers To The Riddles:
The smallest number that fulfills the conditions is
35,641,667,749. Other numbers that will serve may be ob-
tained by adding 46,895,573,610 or any multiple of it.

There must have been three boys and three girls, each of
whom received two buns at three for a penny and one bun at
two for a penny, the cost of which would be exactly 7¢.

989,010,989 multiplied by 123,456,789 produces

122,100,120,987,654,321, where the last nine digits are in the
reverse order.

44
 22 times: 12:00:00, 1:05:27, 2:10:55, 3:16:22, 4:21:49, 5:27:16,
6:32:44, 7:38:11, 8:43:38, 9:49:05, 10:54:33. Each twice a day.

Answers To The Puzzles:

45
 Batch of 2018
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Aishwarya Kukrety
Aditi Shukla
Aarti

Always push yourself to bask in new op- "It's your life you decide, make your own They hate us coz they ain't us.
portunities, explore and identify yourself way. Don't wait around looking for some
in that process and evolve everyday; how- magic to happen, Get your sparkle on,-
ever to face life's dilemmas, going back to show this world where you belong, all it
your authentic self and your roots keeps takes is a little faith and believe."
you strong and grounded.
 Akanksha Singh
Akanksha Dixit
Akanksha

Every morning when you wake up, say to If the feelings of farewell could have Look for the opportunities around you,
yourself looking into the mirror -"Only I moulded in a word then it would have got they are all yours to seize!
can change my life, no one can do it for no sound at all. In this world of black and white, Be your
me " own color of beige!

Ankita Singh
Anita Yadav

Ankita

You understand how much you have College is the best place to enjoy life Hap- There is nothing either good or bad but
changed with the time spent in college. 3 pily .The friends You Make here will be thinking makes it so
Crazy years and you stand out as a com- the friends forever in your life and You
pletely different person, you are today..I'll will love them
always miss these memories..

Archana Bhoria
Aparna Brahma
Anuradha

One funny thing about college is that: If you don't do wild things while you're Miranda House became the turning point
Teachers make you sleep during day and young, you'll have nothing to smile about of my life. The wavering steps in my first
friends don't let you sleep at night. Now I when you're old. year were followed by a confident stride
understand why they say the friends you in the next two years where I realised the
make in college are your friends for life. value of the friends turned to family and
the amazing faculty.
Bhagyansha Jain

Bhavna Singh
Baby Gill

When writing the story of your life.. don't B.Sc.(Hons) Mathematics, Miranda Learning is not attained by chance, it must
let anybody else hold the pen House- A short journey of life that ended be sought for with ardor and diligence...
with great decisions and precious friends. Thank you MIRANDA!
 Diksha Gupta
Diksha

Divya
Working hard is important, but there is Being from a Co-Ed school, I was skepti- Life is the art of drawing without an eras-
something that matters even more; be- cal about an all-girls college but Miranda er, so live yours in colors.
lieving in yourself. shed all my doubts and gave me an amaz-
ing journey and tonnes of memories

Inayat Chaudhary
Divya Singh

Himanshi

When life changes your centre of gravity, This red bricked institution has given me “Shoot all the bluejays you want , if you
just find a new way to stand. the dearest friends I know I'll cherish for can hit ‘em , but remember it’s a sin to kill
life. I'll miss our department and every- a mockingbird.”
thing about it.
Ishani Choudhary

Jigmet Ladol
Jhankaar

You’re mad. Bonkers.. Off your head... but Success is never final, failure is never Source of strength and satisfaction lies in
I’ll tell you a secret... all of the best people fatal. It's courage that counts. the eyes of gratitude and appreciation,
are . rather than in the eyes of desire and ex-
pectations.
Kalpana Jaiswal

Kanchan Tiwari
Kalpana

"All the real education is the architec- Only I Can Change My Life. No One Can Do things out of your way. Come out of
ture of the soul"- William Bennett Do It For Me. your limited shell and shock everyone by
discovering yourself.
 Kaushiki Bansal

Kavya Chandra
Kaushal

Everything about Miranda House is won- Be loyal to the royal within you If I can graduate with over 150 absences
derful; from its canteen and our depart- throughout college, you can too. 
ment to my friends. This place has most
importantly taught me that staying true
to myself will let me cross all my hurdles.

Komal Chhabra
Kavita
Kirti

Who says that stones don't have feelings? How lucky I am to have something that Learning Mathematics is really fun in the
I bet these walls will cry in lonely nights, makes saying goodbye so hard.. beautiful atmosphere of Miranda. I love
and surely I will also be missing everyone. and will miss all my teachers. All are su-
perb.
Krati Morandani

Krupa Maria Jose

Lehak Narnauli

From freshers party to farewell, we made "Be happy for this moment. Let's have a toast to the good life
thousands of memories that I hold so This moment is your life."
dear in my heart. How lucky am I to have - Omar Khayyam
something that makes saying goodbye so
hard.
Mahima Arora

Meghna Basu

Mitul Chawla

Chalo ab jaane bhi do, Meme Queen Extraordinaire When I stumbled, stumbled not back-
Kya karoge dastaan sunkar! Chandler Bing is my Patronus word, but forward. So when I fell, I fell
#FingerGunsAndPuns into grace. Thank you MH, for the trans-
formation.
 Neelam Bista

Neeti Saxena
Mrittika Das

Among all the things that Miranda has When the going gets tough, just remem- Thanks to Miranda House College for
offered me, the best thing is that it didn’t ber that if p divides the order of G, then G making me brave enough to cope up with
change me a bit in all these 3 years. This has an element of order p. the crucial situations and to live life to the
is the best since I love the way I am and beat of my own drums.
hope to remain the same cheerful always.
Neetika Kaushal

Neetika Sagar

Neha
Wish to go back in life again, not to There is no regrets, only learning. Thank you Miranda House for transform-
change anything but to enjoy couple of ing me, thank you for giving me such
things again. #MirandaHouse good friends and such a lovely family... I
will never forget this journey of my life.

Niyati Srivastava
Neha Patawari
Neha Joshi

Not all your college memories will be You can't go back and change the begin- It is MH I have to thank, for the woman I
phenomenal, but at the end of the day, ning, am today. Thank you, for the love, bonds
you are who you are because of all of but you can start where you are and and Pam cheese burgers. <3
them. change the ending.- C.S. Lewis
Pankhuri Khare

Pooja Prajapati

Pragati

"The days we spent within thy walls, My Experience was very good at Mi- Best three years of my life!
our hearts with memories  fill, and randa House. I learned a lot from here.
when we're gone where duty calls, those Viva La Miranda!
thoughts will linger still!" Thankyou
Miranda House for filling me up with
the optimism and confidence to look
ahead and succeed in my endeavours.
 Prerna Goswami

Priyam Yadav
Prerna Sodhi
"College is not just a place where we'll The circumstances of one's birth are irrel- Smile! Because you have the most amaz-
learn answers to a lot of life's problems,  evant, it is what you do with the gift of life ing smile. Smile! Because there are many
but also a phase which will make you that determines who you are. reasons to worry about. Smile! Because
question a lot of life's answers..."  life is too short. Smile and spread smiles.

Priyanka Gupta

Rachana Yadav
Priyanka

Proud to be a Mirandian. I just love this A big thank you to majestic red bricks, Now I can prove that zero is smaller than
college, the lavish green atmosphere, dis- teachers and friends for giving me the one.
cipline, and the positive vibes. The teach- most enthusiastic, bubbly and dynamic
ers are very hard working and friendly. three years of  life!
Miranda, you will be missed a lot.
Rajnee Shikha

Richa Sharma

Rupashi

I m heartly thankful to miranda house We love to do what's easiest of all. Never When the last bell rings, I might actually
for building up my self confidence let the 'smaller you' become the veil for miss this place.
and giving me so many frnds and un- the 'bigger you'. Don't just fly, soar high.
countable memories...
Sanskriti Bhakuni

Sapana Jaiswal

Shivani Awasthi

“You have three years to be irrespon- I stand at a dichotomy between the grief Beginnings are usually scary and endings
sible here. Relax. Work is for people of ending this beautiful journey and the are usually sad, but it's everything in be-
with jobs.You will never remember joy of starting another on towards my ca- tween that makes it all worth living
class time but you’ll remember the time reer. Miranda has give me values I'll re-
wasted hanging out with your friends. member for life. Thankyou
The work never ends, but college does.”
 Snigdha Bhansali
Shweta Vashisth

Srishti Patel
It it be a sin to covet honour, I am the Thank you Miranda House for all the Sometimes it's the journey that teaches
most offending soul wonderful experiences and friends. you a lot about your destination!
The three years in MH have passed in the
blink of an eye and the journey has in-
deed been an exciting one. Glad to be a
part of it.
Tanu Yadav
Stuti Sinha

Tanya Jain
"Believe in love. Believe in magic. Hell, "We didn't realise we were making mem- Came here as I was good but now I’m
believe in Santa Clause. Believe in oth- ories.We just knew we were having fun".I much improved. Mathematics made me
ers. Believe in yourself. Believe in your am greatful that I got the opportunity to fall for beauty of small things, Can't thank
dreams. If you don't, who will?" be a part of Miranda House enough for the treasure this home has
- Jon Bon Jovi given me.
Uplabdhi Dauhliya
Tanya Kapoor

Udita Rawat

If there's one thing that you know you "Sometimes you will never know the value Birds fly, Planes fly, Miranda lets women
can do, then spare no time in doing it! of a moment until it becomes a memory." fly.
After 2 or 3 years may be this is what i will
think about my college life.
Vanshika Sharma
Vaishali Yadav

One thing that made me stronger in the I am almost the same as you, except I can
past three years was learning the truth rock the dance floor, own you in a meme
that everything here has a purpose, it’s all competition and beat you in almost every
about knowing and acknowledging it. It’s grub fest. (And no, I won't teach you how
already half done if we know the ‘why’ of to do any of those, so don't ask)
everything that we do. 
 The Editorial Board

Meghna Basu Editor-in-Chief

Pankhuri Khare Editor-in-Chief

Editors
Aparajita Shah Karthika Radhakrishnan
Ashmita Rana Ritika Verma
Ayushi Sai Jyothi
Chitra Gupta Shivani Hooda
Esha Awasthi Subhi Yadav

Covenors: Ms. Apeksha, Mr. Manoj Rawal

Front and Back Cover: Lehak Narnauli
Layout and Designing: Meghna Basu
We would like to thank our Sponsors
Ms. Sangeeta Thakur & The Mathematics Society