Air-con from the Earth

摘要

It's a brave location for a university, 120 km from Delhi, across the Rajasthan border, where temperatures cross 48 Celsius in summer and drop below five degrees in winter. As I exit the Delhi-Jaipur highway, the modest NH8 gives way to an eight-lane 'expressway'. I'm in the Japanese industrial zone at Neemrana, Rajasthan, a short way away from the famous fort and palace in the Aravali mountain range, driving into the spanking new NUT University (NU). The fort spans 25 acres; the university, a 100-acre 'green campus' at the foothills of the Ar-avalis. A sculpture of a Mobius strip, that symbol of elegant seamlessness, illustrates the Anaadi Anant motto-no beginning, no end. The 'seamless' campus will have 54 buildings, and accommodation for 5,000 students and 500 faculty members, costing over Rs 1,000 crore over 10 years.