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In this 79th edition of As We Leave 2026, Yash Giri, a Y22 from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, looks back on four memorable years shaped by executive leadership, hall culture, and deep-rooted service that turned IIT Kanpur into a home away from home. Through stories of navigating the Students’ Gymkhana, Senate dynamics, and life in Hall 5 and Hall 1, he reminds us that true fulfillment lies not just in savoring the campus experience, but in giving back to the community that helps you grow along the way.
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 IITK.
To all the readers,
If you’re here, it barely matters now if we ever cṛossed paths. My tumultuous yet joyful experience is now for you to breathe and take lessons – not to repeat my oopsies but to carve your own. Years of batches gracing this motherland and eventually leaving, all with their own uncanny tales of euphoria and plight, and this AWL captures some of those in my delightfully questionable stint.
With a myriad of feelings this heritage soil gave me, cherishing music was arguably the seminal one, and this piece is yet another musical for me, whose tunes took years to unfold, but I ultimately hope it is heard and revered by many.
Chapter 1: Live While We’re Young
“Yeah, we’ll be doing what we do
Just pretending that we’re cool, so tonight
Let’s go crazy, crazy, crazy ’til we see the sun”
The clock rolls back to 28th October, 2022; I arrived here with an ongoing battle with dengue. Indeed, my father was delighted with how ICS arranged the grand arrival of the inaugural post-COVID fully offline (& the greatest) batch – the Y22s.
Every air at each campus spot felt new, every opportunity seemed worth pursuing, and everyone seemed talented. With cloudy ambitions and almost zero clue about the “what” and “how” of IITK, I established a few basic rules for myself:
1) Try to meet as many new people. Embrace differences and learn to Respect.
2) If you doubt it, try it…..Enjoy all the damn endeavors that come along.
3) Live while you’re young !
My academic journey couldn’t convince me to be included here. However, the Orientation exposed us to this very intriguing, exciting, and low-key super cool thing called the Students’ Gymkhana.
With a promise of “Enthu” as the only pre-req, it was akin to a mini-Institute with a plethora of opportunities and fun, and man, Everything was equally attractive.
As it turned out, that one MnC Club piqued my interest, something I eventually joined and soon left 🙁 but made my mark in it, which lasted as my forever impression across the years – the Humour House and its Snoop Dogg….My chains and shades justified the same later.
Since my arrogant soul longed for a solo stage performance, the selection wasn’t a cakewalk lol. I was dispatched to the OAT Top and 10 divergent voices (Y21s + Y20s) thundered…”Abh Khol” …Took 3-4 attempts but eventually did it flawlessly. Undeniably thrilling, but I learned nothing is going to come for free in this Institute.
Yet again, I don’t wish to talk much about the first-quizzes and Mid-sem but Umm, you can see this:
Should we investigate the happening part of my first year – the General Elections (Aren’t they always very happening for me… iykyk)? So let’s not!
Galaxy, Freshers Inferno, and Takneek – participated with a podium finish in all But….
Did I actually follow my Rule 3? Did I Live While I Was Young?
Without a doubt !
I treated IIT Kanpur like an all-you-can-experience buffet with clubs, events, competitions, and performances. Guys, I sampled everything on the menu. Lived it, loved it. But then came the uncomfortable question:
Who benefited from all this? Me ?
Well… mostly me.
And therein lay the problem.
All this time, I had somehow confined my efforts to the noble cause of savouring my own IITK experience. Beyond my little universe existed an entire IIT Kanpur fraternity that I scarcely paused to think about.
The realization was shameful: I loved the idea of service far more than the act of it.
And I could not unsee it.
Living for myself had been exciting. Living for something larger felt necessary.
Whilst the first baby steps were unclear, how spectacular is the IITK Freshers algorithm that makes everyone voyage the same ship but with a multitude of different waves and weather, leading to different shores. Desirable or not, that ship was docked, and I was en route to set out on a new quest – the President’s Office !
Chapter 2 - One Thing
I don’t, I don’t, don’t know what it is
But I need that one thing
And you’ve got that one thing
At the dusk of this chapter, let’s decipher together – that One Thing.
Well, the work kicked off, and we raced through initiatives with relentless enthu. Within weeks, I discovered the peculiar agony of an executive. The invisible hours, the endless expectations, and the constant pressure to deliver. Thought about Dhwanit—he got a life, too. Well, he didn’t agree.
Leadership, as I learned, looked like authority from a distance and accountability from up close.
Having toiled with substantial sweat for my pool in GC, shifting to the parent hall felt like a return to the roots, to our identity, and to the long-lived legacy whose first glimpse came when we noticed Dr. K.Vijayraghavan (Hall 5 alum, Google later) clicking pictures outside his room in F-bot, Hall 5. Seasons passed, and F-110 became the epicenter of all madness.
F-110: the unofficial focal point of the incoming H5 HEC, the strategy HQ, the courtroom for petty fights, the airport-like common smoke room, the dreaded room for Y23s, the store room for Scratch Apparels, but finally, my abode – my motherly shelter and my nest for chaos.
Amidst our continued disappointments in GC events beneath that roof, I never realized when and how – mere H5 hall mates became my family, an inseparable force in me, and a source of unending happiness for me. They’re all famous (or infamous) enough to not introduce them. Hall 5 was no longer just an abode; it was soil we aimed to contribute to and discover bonds in its bustling walls, which shall echo for generations to come.
However, the serene days of IITK’s Fall semester gradually began to dwindle into long hours at the DoSA Office, Senate Hall, and SAC. We poured ourselves into work, driven by an invisible force that seemed to whisper constantly from within. Don’t know what it was, but with every task completed and every initiative taking shape, I found myself cherishing my time at the President’s Office. I had begun to enjoy the simple act of getting things done.
9th February, 2024 — I lost a major election for the position of Parliamentarian, Students’ Senate. Perhaps that path was never meant for me, but the defeat stung more than I had expected. Tears, after years.
Yet, that very election gifted me Ramswaroop Bhaiya. Through conversations on research, astronomy, IISERs, and Senate affairs, he lovingly steered my wandering soul towards research opportunities that transformed my journey. Even today, I am still astounded and speechless as to how he left us. He will forever remain my first guide, my bhaiya and his demeanor will be ever-inspiring.
The Manifesto, as I always mused, is a sacred promise you make to your people, and I vowed to get all those promises done. Yet I couldn’t do it all, but people benefited, and I was close to the answer.
It was Janhvi (Y20, Gender Cell Nominee) who trusted me with the responsibility of the Gender Cell. Somewhere along the way, I finally found the answer to that One Thing.
It was Campus Upliftment.
I spent months working on it before realizing I had fallen in love with it. For the first time, joy came not from achievement, but from making life a little better for someone else.
Chapter 3 - Perfect
If you like to do whatever you’ve been dreamin’ about
Then, baby, you’re perfect
The third year was perhaps the closest this place came to feeling perfect.
Kicked off with a decent Intern on Day 1, and more profoundly, I found families, not one but plenty. I-mid became the first. It remained infamous for obvious reasons.
Through the Gender Cell and the Students’ Senate, I was graced with opportunities to add meaningful bricks. Days finally started to carry purpose, and I felt less useless. On some days, life was a Cadillac driving on Route 66 Motel, while on most, it was racing on the Monaco Circuit with no pit stop. Life was busy, chaotic, and henceforth Perfect.
Takneek’24 is still deeply etched in my brain cells, as Ayan made me the Chief Astronaut and handed over all Astronomy PSs as if by instinct. My crew didn’t disappoint and delivered.
How could everything be so perfect? Where was disappointment, and where was agony ? It’s nearly unfathomable for me to comprehend, but I soon realized the hard truth—everything I am living now is barely persistent and so short-lived. Once the 4th year unfolds, 221218 will again become useless, and the path to continue taking responsibilities will come with costs I thought I was ready to bear. Later did I realize, nobody can.
The GC think tank did its job, and I continued my imperfectly perfect life. My mind and temperament in Senate hall began to fire up – I asked the tough questions and eventually chose that path—the lost candidate in Parli elections contested for Chair, SS….Who’d believe in him ?
Well, his friends did, his seniors did, his juniors did, the House did, and the Senate did.
Perhaps, Senate101 is a lore for my 10th Reunion in 2036, but this is exactly when every ounce of my body changed, and this time, the vow was not to some, but to all – everyone who is called a GBM here !
24th April, 2025 – The new Students’ Senate took Charge!
Chapter 4: Night Changes
“Everything that you’ve ever dreamed of , disappearing when you wake up.”
It is famously said that your final year is a mosaic of grind and glee, with placements looming over your head and the eventual heroics we do in our preparations. Mine was a story with thorns & scars, shouldered with the three Ps—Placement, Padhai, and Position…Oscillating between these unstable equilibria taught perseverance; however, I was losing the treasure I had carried with me all along – the time with my friends.
Hall 1—it needs no drumroll, for it is the greatest force of character development across the Institute. Music Volume ?? You bet! No wing decides to back off. Random noises, our busy canteen, tranquil bird-watching from balconies in monsoon, and certainly, the birthplace for greatness. Those who lived here, those who will, are entitled to script history. No offence to other halls.
Nights changed forever, and the final chapter was about to conclude. Rightly so, Everything I ever dreamed of—the fun, the sports, the frisbee games, and my flute – disappeared with time. Perhaps, an inverted rainbow, unlike most.
8th Sem – Last chilling winters of KNP, and with every week that passed, the challenges grew scarier. Grind became a daily routine; where was glee? Where, even in the 8th sem? The responsibilities and the legacy of B201 cannot be underestimated. But, I realised, you are free to choose b/w – Get busy living or Get Busy dying.
Every Senate meeting that I chaired, every initiative that we crafted, every Senator whom I met, every individual whom I talked to, and everyone who appreciated or criticised – this AWL presents nothing but a debt of gratitude to you. All this time, I never realized how every single interaction made me light-years better.
You, my friend, are the truest inheritance of your institution. And you must stand up for yourself, for your people, for your hall, for your pool, for your rights, for your institute, and for your country. You can do it whilst having the best fun of your life.
Some undeniable facts you cannot debate:
Campus D-Shop deserves a separate fanbase. What a coffee!
Mama Mio is a legendary place after 12:00 AM
Campus walks are not going to come back. Dump cycles
Sunset from the DJAC terrace is unmissable
PoRs give you a family too (if you aren’t de-ratified)
Academics is a garden everyone has to plough.
Elections are ugly.
L18-19 ground with mild sunshine is Peak in winters
Giving 100% for your GC pool is not bad at all
You’re not uncool if you don’t smoke/drink
Avoid proxy attendance. Befriend Biometric wale bhaiya
Never miss any pronite.
Taking up one sport/Gym/hobby is real fun
For Movies: Rave Moti >> Z square
Crunchy Frappe will never be available in CCD. It’s been 2 years.
Prof. Nitin Kaistha is the greatest boon for the student community
Final Chapter - The Story of My Life
The story of my life, I take her home
I drive all night to keep her warm.
The final ride was bittersweet. This place was more than an institution now.
Countless moments when I stumbled, failed, and was losing hope. But this place and its air silently whispered that you cannot relax, the Show must go on. It never promised an easy path, never promised success but it always promised – second chances.
It challenged me, developed me and, for the good, humbled me. We never realize this ecosystem never asks for anything but gracefully gives – memories, friends, experiences, team spirit, lore, opportunities and most importantly – betterment.
I doubt if one can love a place as deeply as one loves a person. But,
I realized it was “her”. It was IIT Kanpur.
It is our destiny to give her the warmth, and respect she deserves.
No matter how good or bad you are, she will still love you for the ages. She will bless you immensely and never ask back.
The story of my life is not merely that I studied here.
It is that I belonged here. I am blessed.
But you, my champion. Can you do a thing for me ?
For all that you can, Give back to the Campus!
Until then,
Goodbye, folks !
Written by: Yash Giri
Edited by: Moksh Dalal, Anandan Iyer
