- Sudhanshu Mani, the man behind ‘Vande Bharat Express,’ stresses on making high speed train without waiting for Japanese technology
- ‘Moon Man of India’ Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai appeals young engineers to focus on Space Science too rather than Information Technology
Mysuru: Former General Manager of Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, Sudhanshu Mani, the force behind indigenously built maiden Vande Bharat Express train in the country has said, “After having achieved the feat of making Vande Bharat, a semi-high speed train, we should go for building a high speed train also on our own, without relying on Japanese technology.”
Mani delivered a talk at a flagship event titled ‘Illuminate: Celebrating Engineering Excellence’ organised by L&T Technology Services (LTTS) in association with National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysuru, at the Convocation Hall of Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) this morning.
“It is not difficult or impossible, but can be achieved by spending on infrastructure,” said Mani, thrusting on making the high speed train possible on our own.
Mani, who is credited for the success of Vande Bharat that was on track in a record time of 18 months (that was precisely why the train was earlier named ‘T18’) explained how he was driven by the famous lines of former President of India and Space Scientist Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam — Dream is not the thing you see in sleep, Dream is that, doesn’t let you sleep.
With the help of slides and alliterations, Mani with his deep baritone voice, recalled the journey he embarked on, with the challenge of executing the project of Atmanirbhar (self-reliance), within 21 months into his retirement.
From crossing bureaucratic hurdles to building a team on the basis of empathy and passion, dealing with the lethargic workforce with an iron hand as 165 people were sacked (at Integral Coach Factory) during the course of building the coaches, while women numbering about 29, all from Chennai were involved in fabricating the coaches, it was a combination of many forces that finally made Vande Bharat a reality, explained Mani.
“It’s a train made by Indians for India,” said Mani adding it was “a sheer joy to relive the story.”
Amidst this, Mani also had an appeal for the gathering especially youngsters, “Love what you do and love your organisation.”
Moon Man of India
Space Scientist Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai, known as the ‘Moon Man of India’ for the successful Chandrayaan-1 project and several others later, during his 36 years long career at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), succinctly said, “We have to start working from schools to kindle the interest towards space science among the students.”
Dr. Annadurai, who is the Vice-President of Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology (TNSCST), with the help of a video showed how the project of encouraging budding minds has been taken up at school level in his home State.
Dr. Annadurai (whose real life role is said to have inspired Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar in reprising the role on screen in ‘Mission Mangal’ which hit the screens in August 2019), appealed to the youngsters present among the gathering to take interest in Space Science too, as Information Technology (IT) sector is not the only stop for engineers.
Following the talks, Delivery Head of LTTS Shylendra Srivastav moderated the interaction programme.
This post was published on February 11, 2023 8:27 pm