As We Leave…#23

Siddhant Bhushan is a final year undergraduate in the MSE Department. Let’s have a look at his journey at IIT Kanpur and live the nostalgia and reminiscence with him. His writing style is unconventional and the editor has attempted to keep it original.

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. 

I’ll let you know about my journey at IITK so that one may (preferably not) resonate. I joined in July 2016 and will graduate hopefully by 2020. In the meantime, I spent 9 months of summer and 3 months of winter being extremely (un) productive at my house. I didn’t opt for intern or placements or any undergraduate research and stuff, nor was I into extra-curriculars. You might be questioning my existence by now, so let me address that. I’m one of them (Apparently).

1st year was bliss, from sessions at “Quad” to whining during exams to hiding in under construction Hall 12 washrooms and covert missions on Hall 11 rooftops. We had our times that we’re not proud of. Come 2nd Year, and reality dawned upon us with our horrible CPI’s that was to get worse in the meantime.

Then, there was enlightenment(Courtesy: my roomie) that our (engineering) scope is limited, unlike our demands and ambitions. So, I started with my efforts for (un)conventional endeavors here spanning various dimensions like spirituality, academics, etc. However, the main thing that I’d like to narrate and vouch for is relationships. Firstly, you have Friends, a rare species found in the following type of fixes:

“Chal bhai badminton khelne. kal 2 quiz h bhai. chal le na. aa rha hu!”

“Kya karna hai bhai report ka? bhai mil gayi hai report chaap dete h jaldi se, takle ko pata nahi chalega!”

“Bhai ek ladki hai class me mujhe achi lagi. gets the list of students in the course. student search. done.”

They are your lifelines! Then we have acquaintances. In my case, they constitute the majority. Recently, to help me out with a task, an acquaintance of mine did something for which I had to wipe off my social media. It was not just on his part, and I had a fair share of trust in him even after his mess-ups. The same guy saved me from a backlog in my second year, which was solely my doing.

Hence came the (sad or happy) involvement into an unconventional career choice. The choice warranted significant reading. Consequently, I spent my 2nd and 3rd year, mostly studying in the library, all alone. Now it may sound pathetic, but it helped me develop my reading skills as it involved reading books ranging from academics to Neil Strauss’s “Game” to whatever I felt like(No judgments please). I was engaged in books to the extent I preferred to read rather than doing anything else. A strange occurrence, but immensely beneficial.

Now the question is, is it wrong to be secluded from everything that is conventionally established as a fun activity and engage in something as dull as “reading”? Perhaps not.

Yes, it felt strange at times that I’m not involved in anything, I don’t like to party in the general sense, and I don’t tend to engage with people (even friends!). What’s going on in my life! Why am I alive? Such thoughts eventually faded off with time. In retrospect, I can say with absolute conviction that I enjoyed every bit of it: The strange moments, wondering if I’ll succeed or not, breaking down the dogma of enjoyment, of fun, of relaxation, of chilling out, over mugging in the library!

No problem, that’s my way of life.

It is absolutely perfect and joyful to embrace solidarity if you happen to enjoy that. Moreover, it helps the much-needed retrospection that enhances clarity of mind, giving directions in the seemingly infinite potentialities. That was my case in point, though.

You…you’ll find yours! Relish the anxiety and thank the almighty for the struggle in disguise! However, to convince you that I am no alien species, I was back into all the (fun) stuff in my final year. At that point, I realized how important is the scarcity of something to actually appreciate it fully!

Enjoy life at IITK, it’s your achievement, your turn to make the most out of it 😉

Written by:- Siddhant Bhushan

Edited by:- Hemant Kejriwal and Akshat Goyal