A Conference in Bangalore

Some of you might have heard or read this joke. I thought I have heard it before. But hearing my colleague, Sanjay telling it in his version with his Indian slang and spices, tilting head and enlarged eyeballs was as good as hearing it the first time. So this was how Sanjay presented the joke as I recalled it, more and less...

There was a conference in Bangalore, attended by all kinds of top engineers in the whole India. They discussed a hypothetical topic which is, if God is an engineer, what kind of engineer he could have been when he created human beings.

An electrical engineer was the first to say, "He must be an electrical engineer. Just look at the veins all over our body. They are like the electrical wires, which only electrical engineer could understand. So he must be an electrical engineer". His fellow electrical engineers clapped their hands to support.

One electronics engineer was next to add, "He must be an electrical engineer with good knowledge in electronics. Otherwise we are all blind and deaf without sensory and control devices to see, to hear, to smell, to feel and to react accordingly". This remark created a huge applause. The mutual respect among the electrical and electronics engineers was visible.

A mechanical engineer was all out to disagree. He reasoned that, "Human beings are active, reactive and can be pro-active. The human anatomy is supported by excellent motors work, powered by strong and complex structures of bones, joints and muscles. This is definitely the work of a mechanical engineer!!". The team of mechanical engineers were on their feet with their hands up in the air and making the wave of supporting sounds.

A chemical engineer got up from his seat and started his argument. "Ladies and gentlemen, this morning, we all had great breakfast of paratha, puri and masala dossey, veg and non veg, as we like. The food and water we consumed are all processed and converted to energy to make us do our things physically and mentally. Now tell me, who can handle a process better than we do?". There was a soundless moment of reflection. The chemical engineer sat down, satisfied.

It was not long enough that a civil engineer stood up to break the silence. He first mimicked the chemical engineer's word. "Ladies and gentlemen, this morning, I had 4 pieces of paratha with egg masala. The breakfast has been processed and now must find its way out. Now tell me, who can handle the drainage system and solid waste pipeline all the way to my manhole, as well as we do. So God is a civil engineer. Anyone has problem to deal with this?". Apparently, nobody.


When I was in the college filling up the enrolment form that required me to list my selection of engineering school. My first choice was chemical engineering, followed by electrical & electronics and material engineering. Civil Engineering was not in my list. I enrolled to the school of my first choice and did all my things. All this while I was rather ignorant about civil engineering. It is only when I set my feet in Dubai, I see the powerful contribution of civil engineering work that makes the right first impression, creates opportunities, accommodates the mass community and ensures sustainability. If only the prospect of their career can be as strong as what they have built and as sustainable as what they have contributed.

I dedicate this entry to the civil engineers and their constructions workers who had left Dubai after the completion of their projects. Some of them have to leave unexpectedly and unwillingly as their projects were cancelled or pushed back due to the lack of funding. Some of the lucky ones are here to stay and continue the legacy of their civil work in Dubai.

Image from Google - The aerial view around Burj Dubai under construction months ago

Image from Google - One of a civil engineer's duties is to ensure safety at sites

Image from Google - The less happening sight of a construction site now

The unhappy face of a construction worker probably worrying about the future of his family

(Photographed by Paul Keller in Flickr)