The Tree of Knowledge

(Photo courtesy : Wikimedia)

I first saw it from the first floor of Main Building ( on the corridor to the Cash Section to be precise) , nearly an year ago when I came to pay the first year fees.
At that time , I was over-awed with everything here @ IITB and didn't give it a second glance. But during the year, every time I saw it, I wondered and stared and then wondered some more :-P ... but try as I might, its meaning eluded me...
In this past one month, I walked past it nearly twice every day... and I was still clueless as to why it was there or what it stood for...
Finally, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to ask my enlightened friend (you guessed it right - Google :-) ).
Well, all I could gather at first, was this wiki page, which said that this was a wrought iron sculpture and was called the "Tree of Knowledge".
hmmm... I could now see light at last! The tree of knowledge depicted the various "branches" (and quite literally at that! ;-) ) of knowledge @ IITB. And it blended just perfectly with the IITB motto "Dnyanam Paramam Dhyeyam" (Knowledge is the Ultimate Goal) .

My friend also came up with yet another pic of a similar sculpture (and by the same name too) at the University of Vermont, USA and another one at Yellow Springs Public Library, Ohio, USA.

IITB is indeed a forest of knowledge and this is just ONE tree in that vast forest (and it took me more than a year to grasp its meaning!! ) ... hoping to discover and understand many more by the end of two years here ... :-)