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In this 26th edition of As We Leave 2026, Akshat Srivastava, a Y22 from the department of Chemical Engineering, reflects on a journey shaped by friendship, music, and self-discovery. From finding his place on campus and stepping out of his comfort zone to leading the Music Club through some of its defining years, he shares how IIT Kanpur transformed him in ways he never expected. Through the highs and lows of college life, Akshat reminds us that the most meaningful part of the journey is often the people who walk it alongside us.
Disclaimer:- The views presented below are the author’s own and are not in any manner representative of the views of Vox Populi as a body or IIT Kanpur in general. This is an informal account of the author’s experiences at IIT-K.
So here I am, one of the last among my close friends to leave the campus. I sat down on the pavement gazing at the green beautiful trees and bushes in front of G-bot Hall-1. During my 7th Sem it struck me first that my time here is coming to an end and since then I had wondered how this mesmerizing scene would feel on the last day? And there I was on 20th May, looking at the trees, peaceful chiruping of birds and those lush green leaves, each bringing back memories that I once lived. Yes another AWL, and to most this may seem to be another piece of ‘gyaan’ pori. I still remember the first AWL I read of a known senior and I felt the same. To all those who have known me, this is a chance to hear my side of my story living the IIT dream we all had dreamt someday. And to those who don’t know me, well this presents you a chance too.
Season 1: The Rudiments
(Rudiments are the essential patterns, the single strokes and paradiddles the starting point for drum lessons)
27th October, 2022 may be an ordinary date but is very special for our batch, for most this was the day we arrived at the campus but for me, this was the day where I was dropped down to a place full of chaos, pressure and fun at the same time. While most of us had already researched about the campus, had some grasp of what to expect, I on the other hand was completely unaware of what to come. For years I had worked hard for this day but the thought of passing the exam had occupied my mind to this level that I really never thought what lies ahead of it. Transitioning to the campus was easier than I thought thanks to my wing baapus – Akshay, Rachit, Pankajh, Sahaj, Chaitanya, I still remember the wing meets and ‘interaction activities’ we carried out. ‘Oe, white line pe pair nhi rakhna’, 45 degree angle, gap cover karna and then the peaceful sleep at Audi. Counseling Service (now CMHW) worked a lot for a smooth and fun transition.
Against the perception of most people that know me, the first year Akshat was very very different, shy, keeping to himself and yes now that I think may be weird too. The extrovert Akshat being declared ‘extremely talkative’ in his report cards was somewhere lost. This coupled with the omnipresent dream of branch change and CPI fear drove most of my decisions. After a long lockdown COVID phase, while most of our batch used to chill out at OAT and explore the campus, I on the other hand used to stay confined to my room. Within a few weeks into the semester, I found people with groups studying, roaming and enjoying together, while I lacked a person even to go to the mess with. While the lives of others were converging neatly within the ε-neighbourhoods of their chosen friend groups for every δ of belonging I could offer, there existed an ε of distance that never let me truly converge.
Many of you may have felt this at some point in your lives, and if you haven’t yet, perhaps someday you will. That feeling of being out of place, of searching for your own existence and wondering where you truly belong, is far more common than we think. Over the years, I realized that this struggle is not a sign of weakness or failure, it is simply a part of being human.But through it all, there is one thing you must never forget: never change yourself just to fit into someone else’s world. Never question your worth, your identity, or your capabilities because you feel different. Yes, you may have flaws, imperfections, and scars, but those very imperfections are what make you real, what make you human.
But you know someday some friends will induct you into a group and force you out of your comfort zone, always listen to them. For me these life changing people were Navya and Devank. The campus started to feel a bit familiar, with these people around. I then settled into the wing and the campus with myself getting to know my batchmates. Some of who have such an integral role in my life, I could never have even thought of it.
Season 2 & 3: Ghost Notes of Backhodi
(Ghost notes are those subtle, quiet taps between the main beats that give a rhythm its “feel” and confidence: you don’t always hear them, but they define the player)
The next thing I know is the foundation stone of the group ‘Parai Crow’ (as the name suggested, acads were never discussed here :). The group was nothing but those ‘bhailogs’ Navya, Devank, Sujal, Pranav, Rishav and Sofiyaan plus me, or as Rachit would like to say, ‘I was adopted into their family’😂. Exploratory excavations onto the building terraces, Wing’s day out to Bithoor, the advent of the bi-semester Baba Jaan visit, Bakchhodi in D304 (the centre for Parai Crow, Navy’s and Devank’s place), wing TA sessions by goat Anshul and Navya, MTH rr, teaching each other in CC labs….with all this I never realised but there was a rise of the a new version of myself. A version who was now more open and confident and most of all got to know myself better. We had Antaragni and Techrkiti back to back during our asynchronous sem. Those first experiences of concerts, becoming volunteers for an ID card that seemed to have a lot of importance, unplanned late night walks in the campus till sunrise and still pushing the body to attend as many events as possible. I was living the dream I never dreamt of.
With all of this going on, there was one major event that was going to change my life forever. Freshers. Owing to my self-keeping nature, naturally my skill of being a drummer was not known by many of my wingies too. But still I gave that audition. I played horrible, I would have rejected myself back then, being out of practice for 5+ years. I don’t know what Rajit (Y19 senior) saw and selected me. Even for the years to come, he always presented me with opportunities to upskill myself. But this incident brought me into a place for which I can trade anything in life to get back, Music Club. This not only because it resonates my passion for music and culture but this has given me some of the most precious people I have. It’s very funny that although I had met these people, the quiet me found it very hard to reach out to them. Hilariously, this was to such an extent that I was accidently left out of the Y22 group that too completely unnoticed. 😂😂 (I was later added upon after the discovery of the century by Riya).
To all the Y25s reading, the second year is perhaps the most chill phase of college, most peeps have built friend groups, people have known each other for quite some time, you open up and become confident individuals. There are also no responsibilities, no career stress and intern-placements are a mile away. At this time it’s just you and your people. I tried out various things, Antaragni, Techrkiti, E-Cell, Music Club, SG and AM. Having cherished every bit of orientation myself, it was now my time to be on the other side and having 6 bacchas and me being their baapu was a pride back then. The family culture at IITK is the core of the institute that is not just for 1 year being a formality, but a relationship that has even stayed after the campus. (I sometimes miss me in my first year and Y21s as our baapus). Be it just a mere coincidence allotting six random Y23s to me, but we all shared a bond as a real family…..although still haven’t done the math for how much have I spent on parties given to them 😂.
The sem was a new learning experience for me, how to get rid of secy duties, surviving on coffee and boomer, pulling out one of my first nightout for ESO 201 quiz. Coupled with this, staying in H5 has it’s own advantages and miseries to deal with..sinking being the top most 😂. After a crazy wing separation story (reserved for some other day), it happened to be the second most biggest accident in my life sharing a room with Sujal. My interactions with Sujal were very limited in the first year but I never knew a random choice made out of compulsion (honestly) would turn out so well that defying the odds of preferring a single room in the 3rd year, we continued into the double. Numerous 3am LTS trips, grand H10 dinners with about 20-25 cult peeps, Ganga Barrage Cycle trips and a lot more, I enjoyed myself to the fullest this year.
Season 4: The Paradiddle of Priorities
(A paradiddle is a foundational drum pattern that switches between hands—Right-Left-Right-Right, Left-Right-Left-Left)
By the fourth sem, I had narrowed down my engagements to MClub. For the record this was the pinnacle of my academic life at IITK. One of the most hectic sem yet very high CPI (not the highest though) but toughest yet very fun. The best part, a random impromptu call to a friend, Manas with whom I had not talked enough but still ended up into a 2 hour long convo. I may still not be able to solve the complex equations of boundary layers but we surely had cracked the differential equation of CHE with a singleton solution of pulling each other to each and every class. (This extended till the last day at college too and proved extremely helpful especially during the placement season). Mass Transfer was the best course I attended, perhaps among the very few where I actually referred to the reference books. I went to all extra classes that too with no attendance criteria which were apparently nearly every Saturday. I must also thank Prof Soumik Sir here. He made the lecture so easy and charged sparks of curiosity inside me.
Through my time at the music club, I grew fascinated with event organization, production setup and management responsibilities. The music club had become personal to me and with the close bond I shared with Chitresh and Arpit (y21 seniors), I wanted to apply for coordinator. However, not being part of the Inter IIT contingent and recognizing how skilled my batchmates were, I had some doubts. However, I also enjoyed my time as SG. This was not just limited to having 6 juniors who called me their baapu but rather this experience taught me something more meaningful, empathy and the ability to step into their shoes. This not only helped me to understand people better but helped me to become a better human. Unable to decide, I applied for both CTM and coordinator. How things work at MClub is, during Acoustic Night, all prospective candidates are expected to step up and take more responsibilities. Though this was not easy handling galaxy POC work, these new responsibilities, preparation for the ppt, long CTM forms and quizzes to bottle up the situation. I don’t really know how but internally I knew what I wanted. I then became the coordinator with Samprit, Anisurya and Norah.
Season 5: The Chaotic Fill of the Coordinator’s Chair
(A drum fill is a complex, high-energy passage that bridges two sections of a song; it requires intense focus and often shows the skills of the drummer)
While the responsibility of MClub had its load of problems and struggles, it led to the third major accident of my campus life, meeting one of my closest friends, Samprit. Before I could step into the role of the coordi and understand what needs to be done, we were hit by perhaps to the best knowledge the biggest challenge the club had faced in recent years. The mixer was already beyond repair but to add-on the main PA speakers on which basically everything depends broke down leaving behind only a single speaker with only one input. What’s the big deal, buy new ones…but that’s what the issue was. The combined cost of only the mixer and PA equivalent to about the total budget of the club for the next 4 years. I was exhausted by knocking every door possible to reach out for sponsors, restructured the summer workshops with doubling the total revenue, started work on the Original Compositions, managed Orientation practices and with all this was my intern preparation. I had to do way extra unplanned work during the summer owing to the critical conditions at the club that exhausted me to the brink of collapse. I started my DSA prep but never got very far. Half way down the summer I started ML too. I had done a few projects earlier and DSA was starting to feel out of my league. I was very much rooting for techno managerial roles in core companies, having a good CPI backed with a semester fueling interest in the core, I was very confident that DSA or ML roles were just a backup.
However, I guess destiny had a different path for me. And as many would know resume shortlisting specially the intern one has a lot of luck factor. Sadly I was not shortlisted for any of these companies and the roles I thought were backup, became my only option. Juggling between the intern stress and test I restarted my ML preparation. Along all this hustle, managing the coordi’s responsibilities were getting tough day by day. Each day presented itself with new difficulties, many of our skilled players either just graduated or opted out of Inter IIT due to some or the other reason leaving us very alone. Somehow, all four of us sailed through the sem. By Antaragni I had completely lost the hope of getting an intern and started to focus on the sem and other aspects. Competitions in Antaragni, Junnon and Synchro were just on the head now. And out of nowhere, I got my first two shortlists at ICICI Bank and Citi Bank. I still remember, it was the day of Junoon. I stayed up all night oscillating between preparation and practice. Thanks to my friends both in Antaragni managing team and SPO, I juggled my time slot in both places. Special thanks to APC Gupta (Aditya Gupta) after an hour long interview I finally got an offer at ICICI Bank. How peaceful I slept that night, a feeling only a few can resonate. The 5th sem was clearly my hardest sem both physically and mentally.
Season 6: Dropping the Sticks
(The abrupt silence that follows a sudden slip, reminding you that even the most prepared performance can fall apart in the blink of an eye)
The 5th sem was going to end and all I could think of was Inter IIT. Right from August I along with Anisurya, Samprit and Norah worked day and night for it. Having won the silver cup in the 6th edition, hopes were high this time. While we were on the stage we knew we made a few mistakes but we enjoyed ourselves up there. After working hard for months, it’s natural to make expectations. Even though we may have a rough start, by the end we all knew we were on the right track, at least that’s what we thought at that time. Last afternoon there at Patna, all of our contingent were there down in the common area silent. Everybody knew the results, and someone had to say something. We had a lot of first timers that time with us and I couldn’t see those unsatisfied and unhappy faces. I gathered myself, put up a smile and talked them out of the loop of what went wrong. We all made a promise to work harder the next time and win again (we did win the silver cup in the 8th edition). This was the hardest thing I had done that year not because results were not as we expected but because what was the reason. I contemplated for months on this and came up with a few reasons but still never got satisfied with those till date. Anyways, although the club had moved on and conducted Acoustic Night and Galaxy with enthusiasm as every year, I lost interest in most of the club’s activities for the semester. Did well for my part as the coordinator but personally I barely participated in the events to come.
With academic and POR responsibilities, I think I got more reserved and spent lesser time with my friends. That year was mostly spent at the club or the library. While I may not have realized this then, I was privileged to always find my friends Parai Crow, Manas and Paaritosh with me. With time and a very long drunk convo, things got back on track. While all of this was going on, a new friend group without which we still don’t know what to call emerged, without them I don’t know how I would have survived placements.
Season 7: Rimshots and Rushes
(A rimshot is a sharp, aggressive sound that cuts through the mix—exactly what those high-stakes placement interviews felt like)
After my intern was the 7th sem, litmus test for placements. After years of hall separation, all of us were back into one hall. It felt like the old H13 days yet now you know the people even better. All this with the most beautiful open areas, Hall 1 is very close to my heart. Unfortunately Parai Crow didn’t manage to get into a single wing, yes that’s because I could not win the Isec elections (filled with political masala and entertainment, I must say). But I finally ended up with the Wingist – Manas, Paaritosh, Samprit, Raunak and Naman. I loved my time at hall-1, perhaps the only time where I actually spent time in my room. With a blink of the eye it was the time for the last Antaragni, then the tests and then day 0. Unlike intern time, I had prepared well this time. I was sure about which roles to focus on, and had practised a lot. But you see, specially for placements, you should never keep yourself attached to a company or role.
I had a screening round, then the buddy round and even an AI-bot interview (yes, I was thrilled too) after which I was even on the hotlist for one of the companies. 30th Nov, was very hard to pass. For months you have been grinding for this and when the day comes, you don’t know what to do: rest, study, revise your resume, brush up some HR questions, puzzles or something else. Amidst all this chaos, I lost my confidence and cool. In this nervousness, it was 11pm I went into the room and I blew up my first interview with an easy case that I had even done before. I knew I wouldn’t be called for the next round but I still waited there till 3am, clinging on to a tiny ray of hope, ‘Kya pta utna kharab na hua ho’. From what I have seen, this wait is the hardest thing to do. Thinking of this mess, I blew up my only other two shortlists for the day. We all know placements are unpredictable, a lot of luck, be confident, don’t overthink, this and that. We all will know these things, but when you’re experiencing them it hits much harder. I was up all night and hence told myself that I should rest for a few hours before the next day starts. I knew I needed sleep to leave things behind and focus on the next day but I just couldn’t. After realising I was on the hotlist, I almost internalized my shortlist there. If it was up to me I think I would have blown the next day and the day after that too. It was Manas who brought me back to my feet again, got my confidence back and I got back to preparation again.
Owing to the help of Samprit, Manavjeet, Navya and many more I cracked just the next company. Not to mention the efforts of numerous juniors, Nikhil, Devesh,Yash, Akash and many more who ran floor to floor with my resumes. Shift after shift I constantly ran for my friends helping to sort them. I still remember that H13 victory celebration we had late evening after all our friends were placed. A tough phase where I saw some of the toughest calmest people lose their cool, saw some of my closest friends at the lowest, yet I must say it was a time that I guess I’ll remember. Although not more than a few days, but it still taught us lessons that even years before had not.
Season 8 :The Final Decay
(The lingering vibration of a cymbal strike, capturing the quiet, beautiful fade of memories as the final echo of my time here settles into the silence)
After all the placement chaos, entering 8th sem feels relaxed and nostalgic too. But before the sem would start, comes one of the most hectic yet most memorable 5 days, Inter IIT Cultural Meet 8.0. For years I had seen the club prepare and even led it for the 7th edition but it was different this time, 23 IITs, 4000 participants and a big load of reputations to put up to. I was the Events Head managing Musical Arts. One day before the contingents arrived I remember how chaotic and stressful the situation was. All of us were gathered in the Hall 1 TV room and things were so out of track. I had a sleep of about 5h and this is for all 5 days combined. Managing vendors, BT of contingents, judges, scheduling, phone ringing every 5 minutes it was a position with such high stakes. Where every other CL roaming with cameras waiting for just one wrong word from my side to use against us. Arguments with CLs and Gensec at venues, last minute adjustments, endless contentions and yes Malai Chaap at events ground with Murunmay to rant about all that was happening….I will miss all of it.
With this I entered the final semester…random plans, zero logic, no academic pressure and the return of the first year energy marked this sem. After seeing 4ANs and 7 MEs, it was now time for my last time at OAT. A group that started with Bandish Blues during our secy tenures first performance, including me, Pavani, Anisurya and Himanshu, we decided to perform Cloud 8.9 live with juniors Kavin and Vedant. Being a tough song, we came a long way from doubting the chances of this going on stage to recording a nearly perfect last runthrough. My last performance at OAT was not what I expected, the song came out decently good but I loved sharing my last time on stage with these people. The thought of leaving the campus really hits after the end-sem. The last 15 days, omg were on the next level. I didn’t know whatever plan I was going to, whichever group or person I was enjoying with who knew that could be the last time doing that. Baccha party, Mclub Pool Party, Family Photoshoot, countless Mama Mio treats, Group Outings, Hall 1 Baraat, Scribble Day, Abhinandan and the last drinks with my people. Every day was like a gem, every moment brought recollection of times we shared together. All those random walks, last of the DoAA outings, LTS visits with ‘Tujhe yaad us din kya hua tha ’ it’s this carefree bematlab ki bakchodi that I’ll miss about the campus.
And as for the question, how would that tree look on my last day…it felt colourful, happy, vibrant and so full of life I could see all my memories, DCBM at canteens, CBD at H10, Popcorn shake at Mama Mio, deep convo in ander wala room, Blurry Fest nights and most precious of all the genuine lifelong connections I made during my time here. Jate Jate just two pieces of advice for the junior batches: First, It is never late, no matter what you lose, no matter what situation you are in there is always a way out. And second, surround yourself with people who you genuinely care about. You may have fights, arguments but it is these people who will have confidence in you even in those times when you lose it over yourself. Still there are so many stories, so many incidents that I had to remove from here. My stay at IITK comes to an end. 220104, signing off.
‘Musafir ho tum bhi, musafir hoon main bhi,
Kisi mod par phir mulaqat hogi.
Chale hum jidhar se, wahi raasta hai,
Na tum ruk sake ho, na hum ruk sake hain.
Kisi mod par phir mulaqat hogi’
~ Bashir Badr Ji
Written by: Akshat Srivastava
Edited by: Amirtha Sreya S, Shriya Suravarapu
