A dream worth dreaming , A life worth living- Part 1
I would like to begin this post by sincerely apologizing for the
long gap between posts in this blog. Now that i have addressed
the elephant in the room , we can move on to the true purpose
of this post which is to describe my first 2 weeks at IIT Madras.
I would like this post to serve as a motivation for all students
who aim to get into the IIT's .
Firstly , i would like to say that IIT's are all that a student dreams
of and much more. It has something for everyone who steps
through its hallowed gates.
Let us go through my experiences in a chronological order.
1. IIT orientation - The day of my dreams had finally arrived.
My first official day at IIT Madras. In front of me, was a
panel of the finest teachers, scientists and engineers in the
country.
Being the cynic that i am and having read several articles that
criticized IIT's and its professors , i have to admit that i
feared being dissapointed. However , my fears were
unfounded and by the end of the day , i went home looking
forward to the next 5 years.
With their brevity, wit , knowledge and wisdom , the panel
captured the attention of students and parents alike. Students
were assured that they had complete freedom in all facets of
their college life ( except class attendance !!!) . The panel
had a favorite phrase " With freedom comes responsibility".
Now , time for an anecdote illustrating the freedom provided.
On 10 Aug 2016 , the president of INDIA was addressing
students of the premier institutions from 12 : 30 p.m onward.
The auditorium at IIT M was empty . Surprised by this , the
president's secretary asked the director where the students
were. Here comes his epic reply "At IIT M ,we do not force
people to do anything. They have been informed about the
event , they will come if they want to ".
Secondly and perhaps more impressive , was the importance
given to extra -curricular and co - curricular activities.
The list of these activities is endless and i will cover it later.
The professors unanimously agreed that all students must
actively take part in all activities and if possible try to
concentrate on academics too.
The IIT M campus is probably one of the most beautiful in
India ,if not the world. The mess food was better than expected,
deers , black bucks and monkeys were on full view and the
weather was surprisingly pleasant. Everything seemed to be
perfect(except the hostel rooms which seem to have been built for single occupancy !!!) . I was in seventh heaven.
2. My first week in IIT - Firstly , i would like to tell you that
I was equally busy in my first week as i was during JEE
preparation . DON'T PANIC. The difference was that i
could do all the things i loved and missed doing rather
than just study all the time.
Classes began at 8:00 a.m and ended at 5:35 p.m . However,
class times varied everyday and several slots were free in
between.
I spent my time exploring the vast and beautiful campus and
fell in love with it. The library was a massive 4 floor building
with books on every topic i had ever heard of and many more
on topics which i had never heard of. The clincher was that
it was fully air conditioned and had free Wi-Fi!!.
The teachers were friendly and helpful and even taught us
how to co-exist with the monkeys. They explained the
credit system and grading system and asked us to be
regular in academics. This is a piece of advice i found really
important as it ensures you do not lose confidence in class
and understand what the professors teach.
My evenings were spent at the tennis court, rediscovering
my game which had rusted due to my self imposed exile
from it. I watched, enthralled and a bit fearful as my seniors
exhibited talent which i could not hope to match. However,
the great thing about IIT M is that the seniors take you
under their wing and help you hone your talent.
The nights were interspersed with orientation sessions ,
club sessions and speeches by famous individuals. In my
first week , I joined the internationally recognized
TOASTMASTERS club which is a forum for improving
one's public speaking skills. We had an orientation session
about Saarang, the famous cultural fest of IIT M which also
dealt with the cultural events in the institute. The next day ,
a cultural weekender had been organized where all the cultural
clubs showcased their talents.
These clubs ranged from music and dance to quizzing and
word games. It was my most memorable day in IIT M till
date. I realized that people here were supremely talented
at everything they did, be it academics or sports or culturals.
I tried my hand at almost all the clubs and thoroughly
enjoyed myself. The best was yet to come. In a stunning and
magical display of talent , the music club enthralled us with
a 2 hour performance, the likes of which i had never seen
before. They had left their mark on us freshers and i slept
that night dreaming of leaving my mark on this wonderful
institute.
This was my first week at the institute. That was a mistake.
This was what i remembered of my first week. There were so
many events that i attended , so many wonderful people i met
and so many dreams that i dreamt of. All i can say is that i am
on top of the world right now and am looking forward to see
you - the reader, with me, in this wonderful institute.
IIT M - It's not just a college or an institute . It's much more.
The culmination of years of work. The realization of an
Indian Dream. The gateway to many a success story. The
Stanford of India. Heaven on Earth.
But for me it's something more than all this-
It feels like HOME
