Mr. Swapnil Kumar is a dual degree program student in Mathematics and Statistics department from Y14 batch. Take a look at his journey at IITK.
When I was young, mathematics seemed to be the most interesting subject because at that point it was all about problem-solving, needless to say, this thought process of mine continued through my 11th and 12th grade as well. It ultimately made me choose Mathematics and Statistics as my branch after JEE. Little did I know that all my expectations with my branch were about to collapse. Cue MTH101 in the first semester and MTH102 in the second semester, and I had started entertaining thoughts about branch change because by then, I had realized that Mathematics and Statistics were more than just about problems. There was a significant portion of it, which was about theorems, derivation, and proofs. I developed hatred and negligence towards academics. But the situation got better a while later.
It started with the Inter Wing activities and then continued onto a bigger level. Takneek, Galaxy, Spectrum, and what not. I was so enthusiastic about these activities that I dedicated almost the entire first year to them. Working for my hall, Hall 10, was a gratifying experience because of the feeling that coursed through my body when Hall 10 was announced as the holder of the third position, in a GC event, and the entire OAT laughed, including a few from our hall itself. We knew we were better than this, and we are going to be the ones who change the fate of this Hall. It was this feeling that made me join the HEC next year as the FMC secretory, and made working for my hall one of the most significant aspects of my college life.
I wish I could have said that I studied seriously for any exam, but sadly, that is not the case. I still remember how leisurely I had spent my first end sems, the beginning of fun was on the night before PHY103 exam, we were singing songs with the phone in the center and all of us around it. And the song? ‘Tu Jaane Na.’ The other exams (and the next seven semesters) saw a similar fate.
It would be a lie to say that I regret those days because truthfully I do not regret what I have become, and those days, working alongside my friends, shaped me to be who I am today. I spent my entire first year making friends in my wing and hall. We were unique and had a different history, mindset, and opinions, but that is what made our bond so strong. This is something I wish to tell to the coming generations of IIT Kanpur, get over your laptops and cell phones because the person sitting right next to you might be way more interesting and unique than you could ever imagine, and might end up becoming an intricate part of your life.
Exams came and went, but I was just never motivated enough to study. I suppose it was then that I learned my first great lesson about letting go. You see, life gives us tons of opportunities, and it is our job to get a hold of them, but at times we hold onto it for so long and so hard that we forget about everything else. This has been the story of a lot of us.
My first family was my wing. A wing is a miniature portrait of the outer world, and here you learn to connect with people and prepare yourself for the future to come. You learn to accept your friends with all their flaws and mistakes. It’s with them you’ll end up creating lots of memories for life.
I became a part of Dramatics Club in the first-year summers, and some of my most fond memories stem from there. I remember cycling to LHC Foyer one day humming a random tune, and Mandle who was with me, joined in. In no time we had the tune for the song, which we performed during Antaragni’15 and scored the second position. Apart from memories, Drams also gave me a family. We have always been close-knit and had a common interest which worked to bring us closer still. This ‘family’ is not bound by the senior-junior relation, but the passion for doing better in anything that we do and ‘word hard, party harder’ :p. So here is the second lesson. When you look back to your campus life, you MUST have a ‘family,’ of sorts. Life takes unexpected turns, and these would be the people who would be there for you, no matter what, and you have to with them as well.
In my third year, I had started applying for internships at various places and, sadly, couldn’t get it anywhere. Till then, life had been mostly ‘roses and sunshine,’ but after that, I started losing hope. It was then that I finally realized the importance of academics and the balance needed between all the activities. But things again took a turn. After being a part of so many groups that worked in different spheres of life, I started thinking about society and the problems related to it. It wasn’t long before I realized that I wished to work in that direction. I applied for NGOs and other organizations which worked in society and secured an internship there.
Later that year, Gymkhana elections were held, and I applied for the position of General Secretary, Cultural. But again, things took a turn, and I was handed the charge of the Films and Media council as well. So, by the end of my tenure, we had 12 clubs and two hobby groups in the council. But it was worthwhile, especially after we organized our first inter IIT cult meet. We were ten people who had no idea how to organize an event, let alone an event of that scale. We had to organize an event with no pre-existing model, and we had zero ideas about fund management, hospitality, and marketing, etc. Planning 26 events for 18 IITs, I think it’s safe to say that we were quite satisfied with the hard work we had put in.
One specific event that I remember is this one time when an event was going great, but we had to shut the music because it was 10 pm. I almost had tears in my eyes because it was the first event I organized in my tenure. Later that day, A R Harish Sir, then DoSA, came to me and said that many such sacrifices have to be made when you have this position of responsibility, and you will learn to manage it. It was a piece of advice that I took to my heart for the rest of my tenure. Many people believe PoRs are just for personal benefits, but a PoR comes with their own sacrifices, own disappointments, and their own pressure. You have a thousand variables in your work, and the only constant is your effort, a difficult equation if you ask me but isn’t life the same?
So here is the final bit of gyaan from me, never stop putting efforts in anything that you do. This way, you can work without regrets. You might not be the best, but why not make an effort to be so. You might fail, might procrastinate at times as well, but get up and tell yourself, I can be better than this. No one can convince you the way you can.
In the fifth year, the entirety was spent in preparing and appearing for placements. My PoR of GenSec bore its fruit as it ended up being one of the reasons I got placed as a BA at Auctus Advisors. The kind of workload you deal in such a PoR, it teaches you time management, networking, and working hard. After my tenure, I never got scared of interviews or talking to new people. I learned how to manage events and work with people. On the contrary, there is only one word that can describe my last semester, CHILLING! :p
All said and done, my five-year-long experience in IITK is one of the most valuable things of my life as of now. I have had the privilege of working with people from Y10 to Y18, and they made me who I am today. The friends I gained, and the memories we made are the things that I take ahead with me. अलविदा!
Written by:- Aditi Bajpai
Edited by:- Avisha and Ankur Banga
