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Researchers scour what is known to come up with a hypothesis of why blood clots can be a major problem in COVID-19

Driven by the mystery of the blood clots reported in both living and deceased COVID-19 patients, researchers from Shoolini University, India, dig deeper into the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and other similar viral diseases, looking for ways in which these clots could be formed. They propose a robust hypothesis, taking our understanding of clotting-related problems in COVID-19 one step further and opening doors to potential targeted therapies.

Soon after its emergence in December 2019, COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, rapidly spread worldwide resulting in a global pandemic within weeks and halting lives. Thus, early on, like most activities in the world shut down, attempts to understand SARS-CoV2 and COVID-19 kicked off in full swing.

SARS-CoV-2 was initially thought to be a respiratory pathogen, causing flu-like symptoms such as dry cough, sore throat, fever, and weakness. But over time several non-respiratory symptoms cropped up as well. One symptom gaining increasing attention was the blood clotting reported both in living and deceased patients. In several cases, the blood clots blocked normal blood flow, leading to stroke, organ failure, and even death. Yet, the mechanism of formation of these clots remains shrouded in a certain mystery.

As part of the continued attempt to clarify the mechanism, a team of researchers from Shoolini University, India, dove into the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2. Speaking of what inspired them, an assistant professor at the university and lead scientist in the team, Dr Pradeep Kumar, says: “Statements in the vein of ‘mysterious blood clots have been observed in COVID-19 patients’ were being made in newspapers and medical case reports. The blood clots were reported as mysterious because their cause is unknown. This fuelled our interest to dig deeper.” Their conclusions are published in Medical Hypotheses and make up the latest additions to the body of work that led to Parneet Kaur, a member of this study’s team, to be selected for the InSc Young Researcher Award. [A1] 

SARS-CoV-2 primarily enters through the nose and mouth moves to the lung. It binds to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on the cells of these organs and enters the cells. In the cells, it releases its RNA, which then initiates its replication process, leading to infection. Interestingly, the ACE2 receptor is also harboured by other cells in the body, such as the kidneys, heart, intestine, and endothelial cells (or cells lining blood vessels). COVID-19 has been known to affect these organs in some cases.

Based on this knowledge, the team from Shoolini formulated their hypothesis: Upon entering the body, the virus can enter our circulation system. There, it recognizes and interacts with the widely expressed ACE2 receptor on endothelial cells. As it enters the endothelial cells and begins its replication process, it causes infection, which triggers an immune response and therefore, inflammation. It also injures the blood vessel lining. To repair the blood vessel, clotting and coagulating pathways activate. However, in the presence of inflammation, these pathways can go awry, leading to the formation of clots within the blood vessels which can block the vessels at that site or travel down to other organs, such as the heart or brain, to cause fatal strokes and heart attacks.

Meanwhile, when the virus binds to the ACE2 receptor on the endothelial cells, the receptor is deactivated. Since the receptor normally protects endothelial cell function, its unavailability can help with the injuries and lead to an imbalance in the recruitment of platelets and clotting factors. This can enhance coagulation and clotting.

This hypothesis is based on a robust literature review of cases reporting similar mechanisms in relation to other influenza-like and respiratory viruses, and papers reporting post-mortem observations on COVID-19 patients. So, although it remains to be verified, it is an important step in unravelling the mystery of blood clotting in COVID-19.

Explaining the long-term implications of their study, Dr Kumar says: “Our work will help us to understand in depth the diverse manifestations and pathophysiologies of COVID-19, which can eventually direct us towards developing targeted therapies to treat it and allied viral diseases.”

Indeed, such analyses bring hope in these dark times.

Reference

Authors	Sourav Biswas, Vikram Thakur, Parneet Kaur, Azhar Khan, Saurabh Kulshrestha, and Pradeep Kumar
Title of the original paper	Blood Clots in Covid-19 Patients: Simplifying the Curious Mystery
Journal	Medical Hypotheses, Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection
DOI	10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110371
Affiliations	Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Himachal Pradesh, India Department of Virology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India

About Dr Pradeep Kumar from Shoolini University

Dr Pradeep Kumar is a post-doctoral fellow and assistant professor at the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University. He has completed his PhD from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, in Biotechnology. His research currently focuses on the bench-scale production of secondary metabolites, in relation to new drug discoveries and industrially important bioactive compounds, especially from the endophytic microbial diversity of the Himalayan region.

The famous words of legendary poets like TS Eliot, John Keats and Wordsworth reverberated all around during the poetry session organised by Belletristic, the literary society of the Department of English at Shoolini University. Undergraduate students from various colleges and universities participated in the online event.

The session was chaired by Delhi University Assistant Professor Nidhi Sharma. The panel comprised faculty members of the English Department — Manju Jaidka, Tej Nath Dhar, Purnima Bali, Neeraj Pizar, Sakshi Sundaram, and students from renowned universities and colleges.

The students recited the poems of their favourite poets. The participants were, Rutvi Shah and Priyanka Kumari Zala from Christ College Gujarat; Yotasha from MCM DAV College, Chandigarh; Sriea Chakraborty from St Bede’s College, Shimla; Tishya Chawla and Irene Saira Rajesh from Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, Delhi University; and Ayushi Rakesh from Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Delhi. From Shoolini University, the participants were, Vandana Chauhan, Vaishali Thakur, Rsvika Tripathi, Garima Faujdar, and Snehanjali Panicker. The poets whose work was recited include TS Eliot, John Keats, Sylvia Plath, Wordsworth, Maya Angelou, etc.

Highly impressed with the students’ performance, the chair of the session, Nidhi Sharma, appreciated the event. She also recited her favourite poem, ‘Velocity of Being‘, by Ursula K Le Guin. 

The head of the English Department, Prof Manju Jaidka, applauded the students for their commendable performances and encouraged them to be a part of such sessions in the future as well. 

Prof Dhar also gave some valuable remarks followed by the other faculty members, Purnima Bali and Neeraj Pizar. The students also added to the discussion with great enthusiasm. The poetry session concluded with a vote of thanks by Neeraj Pizar.

Belletristic will take a short break for the students’ exams but will be back again after two weeks with more interesting sessions.

To impart up-to-date knowledge on various aspects of Corona virus Pandemic and its implications among the students and people at large, a three-day International symposium is being organised by the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University, from today.

The symposium on “Understanding the Corona Pandemic and Its Implications”, has expert panelists from India, Sweden, and the USA.

The symposium has been organised to discuss various aspects of the pandemic like Epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, and socio-economic impacts. Experts will discuss the progress of vaccination, preventions and various aspects of COVID-19.

The inaugural session was addressed by Vice-Chancellor Prof PK Khosla and Pro-VC Prof Atul Khosla. Guest of honour, Dr Dinesh Singh, Mathematician and former VC, Delhi University, shared his views on future predictions on Coronavirus. 

Keynote Speaker Dr Narendra Chirmula, Ex Research Head Biocon and CEO SymphonyTech Biologics, India, discussed the search of a vaccine for Corona. During the panel discussion, stress was laid on the development of vaccine for COVID-19 and how Corona pandemic has changed the life of each and every one of us and also the way we live.

Prof Sourabh Kulshrestha, School of Biotechnology, said, “The symposium is free and open to all. The event is extremely useful for students and to all the participants, as the speakers have been invited from across the world and are experts in their own fields. Initiatives like this are extremely important in the academic world.” He also congratulated the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University, for the initiative.

Interested persons may watch on *youtube.com/user/shooliniuniversity, *at 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM

Once again, Shoolini University proved it is at the top of e-learning and collaborative research! EduWeb 2020, an international e-seminar series, was a big draw with extensive participation of 672 registrations, including 141 from outside Shoolini, faculty and students, both.?

The e-seminar was Inaugurated by Shoolini University founder and VC Dr PK Khosla with the message to all viewers to use this opportunity to innovate and explore. During the first session, Dr Chandima, CISIR, Sri Lanka, emphasised the role of Ayurvedic principles to boost immunity and combat COVID 19. Dr Ashutosh, AIIMS, Patna, presented a clinical study of COVID 19 patients in the second session and concluded that the virus lived in the GIT, lungs, and brain too.

In the concluding session, Dr Alice, Karuna Medical College, Coimbatore, gave a clinical perspective of drug development with case studies on medicines.

Day two of the informative and educational e-seminar opened many doors for pharma graduates. Dr Amal Kumar, Drug Controller, Government of India, asked pharma graduates to take the opportunity available at the drug regulatory authority. Dr Hardik, R&D, Vasu Research Centre, Vadodra, deliberated about the application of herbal drug technology for ancient Ayurvedic products, a practical aspect. Concluding the second day of the e-seminar, IAS Sujal, Collector and Magistrate, who did B Pharm & M Pharm, asked the youth to ‘Follow your Dreams’.

On Day three, Bharat, Abbott, provided the practical aspects of a pharmaceutical production unit and validation in every batch produced. Dr Maiko, University of Pennsylvania, USA, presented her research involving modern tools of evaluation in neuropharmacology for Dementia in AD. The amazing e-seminar came to an end with Dr Harsh, Creighton University, USA, sharing the basic concepts of solubility and its modern evaluation process.

The Valedictory Session was presided over by our guest and Shoolini University founder and Director Vishal Anand, who shared his views about the evolutionary changes pre-and-post-COVID 19 times.

The three-day International Symposium on ‘Understanding the Corona Pandemic and Its Implications’ continued with expert panelists from India and abroad demystifying the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and ways and means to combat it. The symposium is being organised by the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University. 

The speakers for the day were Dr Yogesh Shukla, Director Healthcare, mHospitals, Sweden, Dr Parmjit S Panesar, Professor & Dean (Research & Consultancy), SLIET, Longowal and Dr Suman Preet Singh Khanuja, former Director, CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow, and distinguished Professors from Shoolini University, Solan. 

Dr Shukla started with a brief introduction about the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Talking about the two patients of Covid-19 from Mumbai, who had succumbed to death due to lack of proper hospital infrastructure, he emphasised the role of technology in the field of Medicine. Dr Shukla shared that mHospitals in Sweden (his current workplace) was focused on utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop an app that could be used by patients for primary consultations with physicians in developing countries like India. A complete database of hospital infrastructure in a particular geographical area will also be made available. Through live consultations, he shared, patients would be guided to the best available medical resources in their geographical area. 

Dr Parmjit S Panesar enlightened the audience about the immunity booster foods, which were the need of the hour to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. He explained the different ways to improve immunity, which included a balanced diet, exposure to sun, good sleep, limited sugar intake, avoiding alcohol and acidic foods, staying hydrated and exercising. He talked about the role of gastrointestinal tract (GI) in host defense and emphasised on maintaining a healthy GI tract by consuming a nutrient-rich diet. A healthy diet supported the functions of immune cells and nutrients had a specific role in the development and maintenance of an effective immune system. He further explained the role of proteins, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, dietary fibres and Omega-3 fatty acids to improve immunity. Various food groups have immune boosting properties. Citrus fruits such as orange, lime, grapes, lemon, mosambi and mandarin increase the production of white blood cells in the body. Fruits, including kiwi, apple, papaya, pomegranate, berries have ascorbic acid and polyphenols that boost immunity. Vegetables, including tomato, garlic, broccoli, bell peppers, gingers, spinach, and carrot contain various polyphenols that impart the property of immune enhancement. Wholegrains such as oats, barley, millets, rye, and corn are a rich source of dietary fibres, iron, magnesium and polyphenols that can boost our immune system. There are pseudo cereals like buckwheat, quinoa and wheatgrass that are also rich in antioxidants and boost our immune system. Fermented products such as cheese, yogurt contains beneficial micro-organisms like Lactobacillus lactis, etc. Probiotics are living micro-organisms, including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, which exert health benefits like elimination of lactose intolerance and immunomodulation. Herbs and spices including amla, tulsi, blackpepper, flaxseeds, chia seeds also boost immunity. Beverages such as green tea, kombucha and ginseng tea are rich in antioxidants. He emphasised that vegetables, fruits, protein and wholegrains should be included in meals.  

The viewers were mesmerised as Dr SPS Khanuja shared his profound knowledge and expertise about plants that were the reservoir of metabolites, phytoceuticals useful in preventive health care. He recalled the words of Normon E Borlaug, “Plants do not speak, they just whisper! Therefore, you have to be real close to them to understand them”. He highlighted the importance of pharmaphytoceuticals, also called secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, glycosides, saponins, etc., that can be used for the treatment of various diseases. Among all categories of phytocompounds, terpenoids contributed the most in manufacturing plant-derived drugs, followed by glycosides and alkaloids. 

Dr Khanuja emphasised the importance of preventive healthcare as a viable and long-term strategy to fight against Covid-19 and prevent any future pandemics. Natural products (flora and fauna) should address the issue of immune enhancement, co-morbidity, stresses, metabolic status, age related factors and other undefined factors. He explained about plant resources to take up the medical challenges in the form of curative as well as preventive healthcare. 

Dr Khanuja emphasised on amalgamation of green, white, and red shades in our food, explaining it with the example of a Mediterranean diet, which helps to control cholesterol levels. Functional foods have become an important part of the meal with health benefits and better delivery. He explained the formation of various functional foods and R&D scope/challenges associated with their formation. Millets revival could help in solving the problem of malnutrition in India. He also shared information about industries like Nutri-helix, and Nutri Planet Foods producing functional foods in pasta, cookies, and bars. 

Dr Khanuja has created a FloraFauna Science foundation, working to enable entrepreneurship in villagers through science. He concluded his talk by acknowledging the efforts of all his team members for their support and invited all students, research scholars, and general people to join their hands and minds to become good researchers, good technologists and good entrepreneurs.

The talk was followed by a panel discussion on the role of food as immunity boosters. The main highlights of the discussion were role of eating healthy food, exercise, and healthy lifestyle in preventing diseases by boosting our immune system. Dr Panesar stressed on eating foods rich in antioxidants. Dr Khanuja talked about Tinospora cordifolia (giloy) containing effective antiviral metabolites.

Prof PK Khosla appreciated the efforts of Dr Khanuja in encouraging students to take up entrepreneurship in the current scenario. He underlined the importance of peace and happiness in boosting immunity that can be an outcome of Meditation and Pranayama Yoga. He said high value cash crops should be grown in the Himalayas. 

Dr Khanuja said that farmers should “earn life” and not just “livelihood”. He emphasised on shifting to growing neutraceutical plants. Dr Yogesh Shukla said neutraceuticals did not have a role in acute illness. He said that in general, smokers were more prone to any type of infection, as compared to non-smokers. He again talked about the importance of AI in Medicine in a country like India.

Prof Anuradha Sourirajan mentioned the launch of mHospitals in rural areas and villages of India for better healthcare facilities. Dr Shukla said mHospitals was planning to collaborate with district and regional hospitals in India to extend medical services through AI. Prof Saurabh Kulshrestha talked about convincing people about the utilisation of Moringa Olifera as a rich source of all essential nutrients in their diet.  

Dr Khanuja added that industries should be identified to buy the raw materials and gave example of Biovillages. Dr Suman Khanuja and Prof PK Khosla highlighted the importance of growing neutraceuticals crops in the Himalayan region in order to improve the economy. 

Prof Khosla concluded the webinar by stating that cultivation and processing should go hand in hand in order to increase the economy of farmers. Prof Dinesh Chatanta thanked Vice Chancellor Prof PK Khosla, Pro-VC Prof Atul Khosla, Prof Saurabh Kulshrestha, all speakers, faculties, reporters, and participants for their valuable contribution in making the symposium a great success.

A team of scientists from Himachal Pradesh based Shoolini University has been offered a grant through Microsoft Artificial Intelligence for Health Programme to conduct research on finding drugs to cure and prevent CoVID19.

The project has been funded through High Performance Computing (HPC) Consortium and the team led by Dr Gurjot Kaur, Associate Professor, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, will have access to Microsoft Azure credits for the next six months to perform work using Microsoft licensed resources, that is, online platform and virtual machines.

The team will perform much-needed screening of phytochemical constituents for anti-viral activity through interaction with CoVID19 specific targets using molecular modeling studies. Indian medicinal herbs have same or similar phytoconstituents and do show great promise as anti-CoVID19 drugs. This project will directly influence the anti-viral drug development for CoVID19 and thus has high impact.

According to Dr Gurjot Kaur, the current number of infected CoVID19 patients is on a rapid rise. While the government has implemented social distancing and a month-long lockdown, these are not good long-term solutions for the spreading pandemic.

A more viable idea would be to invest in development of medicinal drugs both for prophylaxis as well as treatment of patients already infected with the virus.Many existing anti-viral medications are being tried in the hope to slow or even cure the severely affected patients and thus, decrease the morality rate.

Unfortunately, none of the current medication strategies are optimum and vaccine development will take more than one year, she added.

Shoolini University Vice Chancellor Prof P K Khosla, lauding the project undertaken by Dr Gurjot Kaur, said that the University would extend all its support for the project. 

Priyasi Parmar

Celebrated TEDx speaker Vivek Atray, ex-IAS officer and author of ‘Finding Success Within’, talked about success and enhancing various life skills that contributed towards architecting a successful person.? ?

He started the webinar by comparing how a chef derived greater joy in preparing a meal if a client chose his favourite dish. The same, he said, was the case for him, as he addressed one of his favourite topics, ‘Inculcating Human Values in children’. At the onset, he mentioned how degradation and deterioration in the environment would adversely affect the future generations and was bringing down our own as well, and the intense urge to find the right balance.

Dwelling on the values and ethics one must inculcate and work with for the rest of our lives, he talked about the ‘Basic Human Values’ that were depleting at a fast rate, as youth mostly preferred survival at all costs and prioritised material benefits, materialistic success, ran after money, prosperity, fame, power.

Today’s kids were deep into the rat race and were ready to employ all kinds of shortcuts, be it dishonesty or treachery. Somewhere, he considered his generation responsible for such activities, as unfortunately, they encouraged such malpractices and told their children to win at all costs, and those costs were human values. One should always remember that success was secondary to values, peace, and happiness, he emphasised, highlighting on building truth and honesty from within. Our actions might be influenced by others and the environment, but dishonesty was always a conscious decision. “We always make a conscious choice in such matters and move forward intentionally,” he said.

Instead, he inspired the audience to move forward with other skills like forgiveness, which required a lot of strength. “Carrying grudges and hatred will lead us nowhere, only burden our minds and hearts in the end. We must mentally forgive people, no matter how long it took to do so,” he outlined.

He discussed maintaining calm and balance in every situation and not giving extreme reactions.

Another profound quality to inculcate was Humility, he said while giving examples of great personalities like former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and President APJ Abdul Kalam. Irrespective of their great accomplishments in life, they were very humble and down to earth. Greatness comes from humility.

Moving forward with another skill, Creativity, that provided a great platform for everything and changed our perception about everything around us, Vivek Atray said a creative person was a far better human being. Last, but not least, came Self Restraint. We must be responsible for our own actions and be ready to pay the consequences that follow, he concluded.

Priyasi Parmar

Every Raga defines a mood; it can be sad, happy, emotional, or romantic! An accomplished composer can use it to portray different kinds of timelines, tempos, and articulations.

Anirban Bhattacharya, an accomplished vocalist and musician, a gold medallist and mentored by none other than the Gods of Raga themselves, Pandit Ajay Chakrabarty and Pandit Birju Maharaj, majorly spoke about how “Bandish” came into play, what was Raga and how it defined any music composition and Indian Classical Heritage.

Enlightening the audience at the Yogananda Webinar, he began with sharing that Raga was a principle that bound all musical notes in a scale — in simple words — a visual, an imagination, and an emotion. Seasoned musicians realised the potential of Raga but they were of the view that it could not be passed on to the generations, as there was a vast variety of Ragas and every Raga had a different relationship between notes. The question was, how to pass on the knowledge that had been gathered through generations and keep it alive forever? This is when “Bandish” came into play.

“Bandish” has been derived from “Band”, meaning close, but Anirban preferred to call it a closest, just like a safe, where essential qualities and principles and the essence of Raga was preserved.

“Bandish” was like another sound but it carried all the qualities and essential rules that a particular Raga preserved into it, and indeed, all true properties of Raga were presented by “Bandish”.

At the start of the Indian film industry, music and film directors recognised the true and exact potential of “Bandish” and started making more sound sequels of it, so as to spread the richness of the great Indian Classical Heritage. This was how “Bandish” became a part of films and music composition. Giving an instance, Anirban conveyed how great films like Rani Rupmati (1957), Sur Sangam and Amar Prem got instant fame through the composition of “Bandish”.

He further spoke about “Raga Smaj” and its arrival in the Hindi Cinema by giving the most prominent example of Kishore Kumar in the film Amar Prem (1972). “Kuch toh log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna, Choddo bekar ki baton mein khahin beet na jai Raina”.

Nikita Shahi  

Shoolini Academic Progression Scholarships (SAPS) scheme, initiated by Shoolini University for its students, has evoked keen interest among the students and has led to a jump start in admissions for the next academic session. The University has already moved its new admissions procedure online through which prospective students can apply and register for admissions.

Despite the lockdown, more students have registered for admissions so far this year than during the corresponding period last year. The admission team, led by Shoolini University Vice-President Avnee Khosla, giving details of the SAPS scheme, said these scholarships were meant for the currently enrolled students who wish to pursue higher education in the University.

“We give scholarships to the existing students and offer them opportunities to enrol for higher studies within the University,” she said and added that the same scheme was applicable to the current students of Shoolini Institute of Liberal Sciences and Business Management (SILB) located in Solan.

Avnee Khosla said in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, getting internships and jobs are going to be very difficult and students should invest this time in pursuing their Masters and Doctoral studies, thus preparing for better opportunities in future. She said the response so far is good. More than 50 students have already registered for the scholarship and half of them have already taken admission. The last date for MBA SAPS is *May 15, and for all other Post Graduate programmes, the last date is *May 30.

During these challenging times, Shoolinians maintain positivity of mind and spirit with meaningful activities

Manish Malik

During these challenging times, when the entire world has come to a grinding halt, our fellow Shoolinians are not sitting idle at home. They have found something meaningful and constructive to engage in. From working out at home to cooking, they have been busy trying their hand at all kinds of new activities that they always wanted to do but could never make time for. Here, Shoolinians share the new hobbies and skillsets they have picked up to rejuvenate themselves from within.

Abha Soodan, a BSc Physics (second semester) student from Jammu, aiming to be a theoretical physicist, is learning to play the guitar. She finds it very exciting to play with the chords for the first time. What’s more, she can already play a handful of tunes to perfection.

Shruti Rana, a student of BCom Honours (fourth semester) residing in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, said she hasn’t picked up a new hobby as such but is doing regular workouts, which keep her positive and mentally strong as well. She wants to be an accountant.

Sarthak Bhardwaj of Shimla, pursuing BBA (fourth semester), said he wants to try his luck in either banking or being an artist, as he is “extremely good” at Mandala Art. He has been busy learning to bake and fry food as well. This is not all, he is practising Yoga and painting also.

Nitika Sharma, a BCom Honours (fourth semester) student from Solan, is working towards setting up a clothing business of her own. Along with working out, she spends her time writing blogs on her account ‘Light the World’. She wants to make the best use of her time, packing each day with fruitful activities.

Anamika Verma, an MSc Biotech (fourth semester) student, wants to be a scientist and contribute to building the world. She completed her BSc from Chandigarh University and is doing her final semester here. Thanks to Shoolini, she has already been placed at Roots Analysis, Mohali. Adding to her skillset, Anamika has learnt to make delicious pizzas and has completed reading her favourite book ‘The secret’ during this lockdown.

Arshit Dhir, another student of MSc Biotech (fourth semester) from Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, is looking to make waves in the Biotech industry. Good at academics, he is ready to take on the world. A gym freak, Arshit took full advantage of the lockdown to keep himself in shape more than ever!

Abinesh Raj VM, a B Tech (ME) (second semester) student who has come to Shoolini all the way from Kanyakumari, is spending his time practising Auto CAD software for 3D designing. A lover of bikes, he has quite a few mean machines in his garage back home. His passion? To design an engine for a superbike.

Adarsh Singh, his fellow mate from B Tech (ME) (second semester) belongs to Delhi. His dream is motor designing for Auto Expo and running a motor company of his own. Now, he is using his free time to read ‘3 Mistakes of my life’ by Chetan Bhagat. This new hobby keeps him fresh in the mind and spirit, he smiles.