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In the 13th edition of As We Leave 2026, Dipti, a Y22 student in the department of Economics, reflects on an incredibly heartwarming four-year journey at IIT Kanpur that was shaped entirely by the people who made the campus feel like home. From her initial days navigating wing culture and early winter morning sports quizzes to finding her true anchor within the E-Cell family and the basketball court, her college life was a beautiful tapestry of shared moments. Her narrative highlights a story of deep gratitude, personal growth, and the unbreakable bonds that turn a group of friends into a lifetime family.
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 yes, I’m back home now, and there’s this quiet sadness without them – my best people that IITK gave me – not being all around. The fact that we can’t see each other everyday anymore hits differently.
I left campus on 15th May being the happiest version of myself, with the hope of seeing them very very soon — and quietly wishing that all of us do well in this time ahead. Some of them left early, and it did make me cry. And who all could come to see me off (and even who couldn’t) – to be honest, I was smiling all because of them and didn’t cry at that moment. And I think that’s the whole point – I just light up with joy when they’re all around. I am soo soo grateful I got them in my life. (not me crying while writing this)
Disclaimer : So this AWL is less philosophical directly but more about all those people and the moments ( its always about the little things for me ) that made my life fuller, better, and made it feel like home in these four years. Without them, I couldn’t have been the person I am today. So yes, let’s begin. Can be bit long but worth the read 😀
First Year
As the first year was beginning, I had a little better idea of this place because my brother’s also an alum, so it felt kinda nostalgic coming to the same uni after my first visit in 2018. Was excited to meet new people as usual and make friends.
Met my wingies, and yes – met Manvi on the very first day in the wing, who then lived in the room next to mine. Then I met Pratibha, my SG aka Amma. I had a lot of fun already in the 10-day orientation week – making Harlem Shake videos and what not.
Down the line I met Divyanshi and Vidhi (we were from diff wings though) in the first sem through basketball trials. We kinda hung out during CPA or in fests, me taking help from Vidhi for coding assignments 🙂 or us going together to CHM labs.
Alongside, I was still adjusting in my own wing, getting to know everyone. Sometime later I met my now best friend Shubhangi (aka Shubh) properly, ( we truly were there for each other no matter what in all ups and downs all these years ) – we were just one room apart. Somehow through random campus walks and outings in Kanpur, along with her and Udbhav (still do what beef we have since first year), we bonded and had each other’s backs in every moment.
Another memory will be me failing to pass PE111 course despite being so active in sports but just missed a few early winter morning quizzes so yes that was another headache for the upcoming semester in second year…
I also joined dance club alongside basketball in summers (not the best decision, in hindsight). Enjoyed the rigorous pre-workout sessions and was catching up with the choreos being taught. Got to know some good pals from there – Nischay and Khushi ( again was grateful to him to help me in choreos, he’s like my brother in campus who i had enjoyed alot with and once had such fun playing a game sitting in BBQ and laughing endlessly along with Kshitij, shubhi, khushi ),
One fun memory – all of us secys along with our Y21 coordies went to watch Oppenheimer in the theatre. Next day then I went to watch Barbie too with Shubhangi and Udbhav. The two hyped movies of that time.. (Both were mid lol.)
Although as fresher’s orientation was approaching, I did feel a little out of place there – and also I wasn’t able to give my full potential since I was juggling basketball on the side. So I decided to leave it there. Basketball was something I’d played for seven-eight years, so I knew I had to continue that for now.
Also not to forget, I met one of my brother’s wingie, Sanket while he was in last year while doing 5 year course here, what he said first to me when we met around oat was “tu ekdum shubham ke jaisi dikhti hai”, had good convos everytime we crossed paths in campus, guided me like brother and good friend, ( he was the inspo for me to try choosing bsbe courses coz some parts of biology had always been of my interest though i couldn’t fit them in my so-fixed branch template ) and also very chappu person, be it in hockey or acads, tho then he left for SanDeigo ( glad we are still in touch )
Second Year — Courts, Cells & Canteen Runs
In basketball, we had some amazing Y22 girls – Aadya, Dharvi, Shruti, Nandini, Anshika – along with Y21 Vaishnavi and Y20 Yukkta( best captain and senior for me ), Akansha, Arushi, Jhansi, Shrutikirti. We truly had a very good time together – practicing, running around the PE ground, Yukkta motivating us for one more round, diff drills, gossiping while cooling down, listening to sir nag us every other day, celebrating each other’s birthdays.
I remember yukkta bringing her ukelele along with other of girls in team to my room with a cake on my birthday during dusshera break when most ppl were at home, that made my day, and yes shreya & manavjeet ( he’s also the delhi train buddy and has helped me alot in ways I couldn’t thank enough for be it in placements or intern season ) showed up too for late night coffee that night…made my day…..
We were also prepping for Udhgosh, got to play there, and were gearing up for inter-IIT in Bombay. I really wanted to be a part of it, but during the camp before endsems I got an injury in my toes – was nearly difficult to walk, let alone run. I still remember Yukkta and sir convincing me to come along. I couldn’t – and it wouldn’t have been fair to the team either.
Still, I was happy about how much I had improved by then, especially my shooting style. I didn’t step back on the court after November of second year. I miss that so much even now – being on the court gives you a different kind of energy, every single time.
On the other side, I was part of E-Cell too. One fun memory was when we hosted Upstart in Noida, which was another networking point for me.
In marketing, it used to be me, Edha, Ridham, Naman, Pawan, Pranav & Ram ( both treated me like a sister be it ram bringing me fav mithai from narnaul nd being there till last in placements time or pranav being also the delhi train buddy ), Anas( the partner in fun and work both ways, and how he brought us sewai around eid ), Gopal and a few more working together – celebrating each other’s birthdays, eating at DoAA canteen, me and Edha watching boys give each other GPLs, gossiping together, taking treats from our Y21 core team, listening to our marketing head Jitesh and Lakshy used to be so amusing every time.
Besides that, I gradually became friends with Sakshi, Saloni, Aditi (the OG trio at one point and coz of whom i started liking cold coffee gradually altho i like Iced Americano more sometimes and they call me crazy for it ), Ramji, Varun( the one with whom fun banters never stop ), Prabhat (netaji ofc ), Nishant ( helped me alot everytime i needed and ofc he loves gossip ), Keshav( the chillest ) , Akshat ( we had went to dentist few times together as we both had braces initially lol ), Vishakha, Shreya, Mudit, Surya ( he was not in ecell but the common friend, the GenZ of the grp ) and lot more and we hung out a lot together, from the E-Cell room to pronites to eating out to roasting each other. (Credits to Aditi and Saloni’s double room – jha pe kya kya nahi hua hai, hehe.)
One fun memory – it was me, Varun and Nishant alone got a 1k+ bill at DoAA canteen, and got Ridham to pay it just for fun. Humne bill itna badha diya tha order kar karke..
One thing that remains constant till today – how long Aditi & Shristi( we became roomies in third year and somehow had the best times discussing cases or seeing her funny acts literally ) takes to get ready. And how impatiently I used to say “jaldi chalo, pronite shuru ho chuki hai” during fests, because all I wanted is to dance to good music. We used to get late a lot of times too.
But getting ready together in one room was its own ritual – sharing accessories to clothes, them putting eyeliner on my eyes on demand, Aditi being lil lazy till the last minute, Sakshi and Saloni doing their makeup like pros and Shristi trying to do the same like lil kid and Priyanshi as always liked behaving as ctm 😂 among us as well and asking us all to hurry up, me also nagging them for being late, and them clicking my pictures and me photobombing aditi’s picture. It became a ritual every fest — and I loved every bit of it.
One ritual was attending Ganesh Pooja almost every day before Chaturthi, along with Shubhangi, Nischay, Ram, Pranav. It’s about peace more than religion for me. (I kinda love Marathi culture because of this only.)
Then Navratri — and my most favourite part was doing garba in Hall 10 with Smith, Ridham, Vishal ( pseudo gujju ) and Gaurang. We’d learn the steps quickly and then do it nonstop. It felt more peaceful than exhausting — and that’s the whole point, I think.
(I had always admired Gujarati culture even as a Rajasthani. I wanted to have Gujju friends — and yes, I did get them here. They introduced me to so many things — thepla, saalan pak, undhiyo, dabeli, khakra, my favourite khajoor pak which even Ridham used to bring after vacations, gathiya and gaurang letting us have mohanthal outside lib. I loved all of it. Bas jalebi fafda reh gaye hehe.)
Also — Smith and Ridham used to motivate everyone to join raktarpan blood donation camps. The first time I went was on Diwali that year. I could never actually donate after that — either my haemoglobin wasn’t enough, or timing didn’t work out. Did volunteer once on Republic Day though — fun seeing people get a little scared, and also us getting freebies at the end.
In between all this, I got to know Ramji through E-Cell — and he became my confidant in no time, just like a brother. He’s listened to all my rants, joked at me a lot, preshan bhi kafi kiya hai, but has also cared a lot. My favourite thing used to be when he’d come back from a break and bring homemade papaya ki barfi and other things — it was always too good. Will miss that surely.
Also got to know Manoj (aka Manoj Manager) in second year because of ramji. It used to be him ramji smith nd me many times eating in h12 mess together …
Once, on Yukkta’s birthday, it was us basketball girls and her ERA friends over the L19 foyer — dancing randomly and having quiet fun. Got to meet Shubham there, who had dance ka bhoot so real. Also met Nishi and Ayush — Ayush being vegan, actually the first person I met who was (and still is, I think) a core veganism supporter on campus.
Used to have so much fun with Yukkta and Shubham — whenever we’d run into each other on campus — with Shubham telling every time how he broke his finger on literally day one of playing basketball, and how Yukkta was not a good captain. (But Yukkta was the best. <3)
As the second year was ending, I decided to go for the E-Cell core team along with some teammates — and honestly, it was the best decision. More than being a cell or a club, what matters most is that you might find your people there — people you want to carry along for life.
Intern season was also approaching, but I hadn’t really prepped seriously then. I wasn’t sure about direction either (though was sure it would never be SDE). Decided to stay back on campus for summers.
Joined Prayas as a volunteer — best decision again. Teaching kids, playing with them, seeing them full of joy and excitement was so so good. They had such pure love in them. Even after summers, we’d greet each other happily whenever we crossed paths on campus.
On the other hand, while everyone was juggling resumes and coding hackathons for intern prep, I was still searching and exploring (dived a bit more deeper nto ML that summer — and still found it very interesting). When tests began, I gave them, but wasn’t getting shortlists — either branch, or CPI, or maybe just luck. It didn’t hurt that much though. I was more focused on helping and hoping for friends who had better chances.
I remember all of us girls going out to Mocha (my favourite cafe in the city) on the first day of interviews — not because it was a happy day, but because things got a bit gloomy after both Saloni and Aditi couldn’t get through one interview they both really wanted. And yes — at the end of the day, it’s your people you go to when things in your world don’t seem to be going quite right.
Third Year — Tenures, Late Night Chaat nd what not
As third year started and E-Cell tenure really kicked in, we had moments of big fights (obviously Mudit is fighting buddy, hehe), roasting each other every other minute while working, playing Scribble or ONUW (Legendary game — including a legendary fight because of it), watching movies on Devank’s screen, Saloni making us all Divyam paglus, multiple DoAA canteen runs throughout the day, laughing with DoAA wale bhaiya — who always asked “idhr permanent account khulva hi lo ab toh” — us taking their plates inside and bhaiya nagging us for that. (That tomato triangle chips there in the canteen used to be my favourite.)
It also became an unspoken rule — whoever went outside campus had to bring momos or something for everyone. We celebrated each other’s birthdays, and I always got the best cakes — and yes, got credit for it every single time ( i have gotten some level of expertise in deserts i believe ) ( Try Bakingo’s strawberry custard cream cake, its best if one like berries )
One time — me, Anas, Ridham, Sakshi went out for a few marketing meets in the city and then sneaked off to the Games Zone in Z-Square after eating, without telling anyone in the team. Sneaking out for fun alone was its own kind of adventure.
Another time — us girls only had a shopping day out, telling the boys in team ki “kuch kaam se ja rahe hain” — and then roaming around the whole city full day, Saloni introduced us to this chaat corner shop on Motijheel — a lil pricey but made more hygienically. Tastes well enough; can try. ( I made shubh nd manoj try it too but they didn’t liked it nd shubh keeps hyping agra ki chaat everytime )
Also, shreya once bought vada pav for all of us all the way from bombay and it was the best one i had so far…
Also it was Sakshi and ridham coz of whom i got to try kfc chicken popcorn nd kinda liked it and did ate along them few time around that time ( but now again am on path of being pure vegetarian as i always was and maybe will try to be vegan someday if things work out for the good )
Once — all of us went to that same chaat shop late night on Christmas Eve, then roamed the city looking for a church and trying to find rum cake. Couldn’t get the cake tho. 🙁
Everything was so wholesome with them throughout the year — never a dull moment. Dancing our hearts out in fests, the pre-booze before, going out to clubs, cooking food in the E-Cell room together — it was all a part of the best times we shared, good enough to realize that we’ll be like a family…
One time during Rang Barse in March — I had Varun’s part of bhaang mixed in Amul Kool ( it was (not) deliberate ). Enjoyed a lot after that ( one must try bhaang atleast once, in limit though ). Usko nahi mil paai, and aaj tak vo taane maarta hai iss par. It was genuinely so fun.
Also around this time, I was exploring the product as a field, got some momentum there, and searching for off-campus internships. Did get an offer from Deloitte Gurgaon. Somewhere I wanted to go to Bangalore, even got an offer from one though I stayed back, perspective abt blr has changed quite a bit since then. Decided to stay back in Gurgaon near home — more time for placement prep. By the end of third year, I was fairly clear about what I wanted to do in the short term.
The year ended with lots of parties — clubs, pools. My best time was at E-Cell’s pool party, the last one before going home for summers. Long warm conversations with Y21s, all of us enjoying like a family. It was a little bittersweet too — our seniors were leaving, people who’d been there to help us at every step. The parties were lively because of them, from prebooze to dancing to the beautiful chaos in between. We loved all of it.
Fourth Year — The Last and Best of Everything
Final year started with excitement — and a certain undercurrent of competition too. But equally, you need people around who support you genuinely, not ones who get jealous of shortlists or interviews. I was lucky to have exactly those kinds of people.
Coming back to campus, everyone was running on deadlines — submitting resumes, chasing up on something or the other. Meanwhile I was also juggling the most unwanted course — ESO207 — somehow survived it because Rohan kept saving me with last-minute coding solutions.
Me, Sakshi and Shristi initially joined the gym in the new SAC, though I dropped off — it felt too constrained in four walls. (Strength training is important though — I just didn’t feel the kick for it.)
Our routine was: studying for placements in rooms after lectures, then gossiping in Sakshi’s room after dinner — that used to be the best part of the day. Making sure we didn’t miss any campus event — Ganesh Pooja or janmashtmi, with me getting modak for everyone and Smith being mithai paglu trying to eat it all.
Once it was me, Udbhav and Shubhangi making tacos and dimsums in the room — worth it to cook and eat together, even if we messed up the whole room. Over four years we became kind of a constant trio — many rounds of ordering food together, or Shubhi bringing our most favourite dal bati from Indore.
Once she brought dal bati, we all ate together in H1 and had chaas after (if a chaas paglu then must try namaste india’s masala chass), and then went to DES602 class in L20. The kind of sleep that hits after a full ghee loaded meal is unmatched — somehow survived sitting through that class ( kch alg hi nasha tha dal bati me for real )
DES602 – I’m so so grateful for that course. Met some of my best friends there — Sukhda, Dhruv, Ved, Manoj — and Shubh, Ridham, Smith, Ramji, Manasvi ( she and I sharing same fondness for Jaipur gets me everytime too excited ) and Riyanshi ( the girl who’s laugh is enough to make me laugh, hilarious ik ) too, as we all used to be in lib after this class most times. All of us claimed the last row in L20 — it was OUR row. Gossiping, playing Scribble, studying, passing snacks mid-lecture while sir quietly noticed. This was one lecture I genuinely used to look forward to — because of them.
Other times, Sukhda kept inviting us for Maharashtrian food around Ganesh Chaturthi and other festivals throughout the year.
C216 in hall 1 became our designated study spot – giving tests daily, studying together, roasting each other, sharing stories. My favourite part was eating together in mess ( weirdly hall1 mess had really good pineapple raita and kebab paratha at times ) and scamming the mess wale bhaiya for the coupon – yes, they didn’t even care enough, hehe. (Also try – BR’s banana caramel ice cream found at H1 mess too. Uniquely good flavour. Must try.)
Between prep, it was Shubh making us listen to his unique music finds and singing along well. Me convincing Shubh that butterscotch petha does exist in Agra. Shubh and Vishal’s constant tagline — “tumne yeh movie bhi nahi dekhi” – to me, some oll-jalol discussions in room or them telling some weirdly good stories and having a good laugh…
Ramji made bhelpuri in the room for all of us many times. Ramji’s habit of leaving mess-wale banana to rot in his room for days — everyone was equally annoyed, every single time.
Also started playing LinkedIn games after lunch every day— and us competing over who cracks Zip fastest. And Vishal being serial baat-paltu 😂 — I distinctly remember him eating H1 canteen ki behlpuri the very next day after telling me “idhr ki toh boht bekar hoti hai, Kon hi khayega”…..
Placements — The Chapter Nobody Fully Prepares For
As Day 0 approached, it was about brushing up resumes, late night chai at canteen, mock cases/ interviews, Vishal and Smith helping everyone print copies of resumes, them bringing us MT ke samose in the morning.
So on day 0, Ridham got sorted first — chaap dia tha — and as people got placed one by one, they switched to helping the rest. I didn’t have shortlists for Day 0 or 1.1. Tried walk-ins,
nothing came through. Got interview shortlist on 1.2 – pure tech role, no hopes there. A lot of places showed a lot of bias, and we really can’t control that.
At that time it felt deeply unfair. And it was. But later you realize – you can never control how unfair the world is to you, can just find your way through by being good at what you can be, and waiting for your moment to shine.
My friends kept me going. I remember crying on Day 2 – grateful for who all were there in the moment, told me to stay back in H13 nd give it one more try. I did. Gave few more interviews on day 3 — again one company took through personal connections, another was all GK in NwN — I did quietly let go of hopes ( also after how much efforts i did put in, i was sure that i didn’t wanted to settle for koi bhi xyz company ), so shifted focus to helping whoever still remained from my circle. Most of them were sorted by Day 4/5. I was genuinely happy for each one of them.
I never felt bad about not getting placed – one, because I always try to stay positive no matter how things are going in my world, and two, because my friends never made me feel lesser for it. They hoped for me. That means everything.
After placements, days went by watching movies recommended by Vishal, shubh or manoj ( the pros when it comes to music, movies, memes ), watching Ramji, manasvi and Anurag cook while mostly everyone else just ate, hehe.
Last Semester – Soaking It All In
We returned for the final semester with a kind of gentle urgency — to live it all before it ends
Rejoined the gym for a month and managed to be regular enough. Our routine again shifted to random bakchodi, badminton, cards, Scribble, stumble guys, movies in Cmid or seeing anurag nd shubh play guitar nd sing along — and making plans that stayed in group chats, as always,
Or other times it used to be always me n shubhangi binge watching some movie in her room while eating, or her doing nail art on my very smol nails and just gossiping together, going to h6 canteen and then regretting abt it lol…and laughing on my silly jokes…nd yes other times it used to be me n udbhav fighting for reasons idk …..
Being part of E-Summit as ex-core was a good time — interacting with a few industry people, meeting alums, and then having the most wholesome crazy party after with juniors in VH ( one could get the best sleep in VH anyday if got a chance to sleepover )…
The lib squad became constant – me, Dhruv, Ved, Riyanshi, Sukhda, Smith, and many times Manoj Shubh and vishal too – with Vidhi at CCD. Every winter evening, the RM canteen chai run before classes became a ritual.
Also, me and Dhruv had same HSS, so it was all abt asking everyday at 10:30 ki ‘class jana ky’, and whenever we went, it was all about cracking jokes and laughing in between lecture until sir notices one of us ( mostly it was me who was pointed out lol ) and ask questions then..
We did went to lucknow also for a short road trip ( i love road trips lil more ) , nd if visiting lko its really imp to go to Royal Cafe, best chaat i had till now and kanji vada too ( altho kch log gira dete hai but anyways ) and yes there are many other food joints too…
Then other time it was us attending the classical music event which was effortlessly the best demonstration of elegance and art, dk what to call it more but it felt so so good ( tho some did still missed it closely)
Midsems approached — more fun than study, obviously, with chill courses.
Then home only to get back quickly — with farewell plans, cringey reel ideas and photoshoot plans. I tried painting again after a long time, with Sukhada — she’s so good at it, and it was calm amidst all the farewell shenanigans yet chaos.
A few days were all about taking slots and shooting videos — evenings, early mornings, nightouts, then going to Pehlwanji for mattha (the only worthwhile thing there for me), DoAA ki dal ki kachori for the last times ( can try it, fairly good enough ) . Then came the last fest – four days of all of just being together be it in the hall or events ground, dancing at pronites last time maybe.
All of us went bowling (Ridham, Varun, Mudit — clearly the best at it), managed to get back Pradnya’s new travel tag from the trash (literally) at Z-Square after so much mehnat.
Also between all this, I finally joined swimming along with Sukhda, Riyanshi and Ved – took a few days to readjust the strokes. Sukhda motivated us every day. It was so so calming — recharging, not exhausting. Will definitely continue, thanks to her..
Then the OG E-Cell pool party — warm, chaotic, memorable. What happens at the party stays there ( along with so many videos and photos, lol )
Then came the Farewell and also the dance — we kind of ruined it but had fun anyway, including dancing with our profs on stage. My branch didn’t give me very close friends, but there were people who showed up when it mattered — Rohan in DSA, Navya during courses and placements, sharing notes and ranting abt some course constantly with Rhut became a thing ( nd him also adding up to my list of gujju friends i had on campus ), and ranting with Mayank (we had the weirdest course possible but IDC607 classroom discussions were oddly fun), Mudita (we became wingies in the last year, lol)— also Pragati, Sameer, Adwik ( had many fun moments from going out on eco peep’s movie day with them to night walks ) , Aadi & Stanzin ( they both are my wingies for whom i got excited upon first meeting when got to know we all are from same branch when we got to campus ), Aadish, tanishq, Rohit, Vaibhav ( we knew each other since dance club and learnt farewell dance choreos too together ), Mayur, Naman, utkarsh, divyanshi and many more ( it was just 50 of us lol 🙂 )
Aabha became my friend because we both kept ending up alone in courses full of MSc students — both of us ranting, sharing notes, helping each other especially in even semesters. And Vasudha and Harshita — two very cool branchmates I got to know more properly a lil too late, but them hyping me for the dance was genuinely so sweet.
Then came DE performances – practice was more fun than the actual stage, but I enjoyed it. The realization that college life was ending was hitting harder on some days — even when surrounded by your people, it was becoming heavy to absorb. I am glad for one who was there and listened to me so patiently.
Other time it was us having yet another Og ecell nightout, nd its never abt where we go but who all we go with, also try out budhsens’ hot crispy jalebi – rabdi and chilled chaas, its to die for if u have sweet tooth and if u r chaas paglu like me… nd then crashing on bed after coming back…
In between all this endsems happened but they became less significant but yes did studied for one last time in college…also i got one off campus offer around this time in the role i wanted to be in, which i also said yes to…
Other time it was the crazy party ( with the lib squad ), the series of events that took place on that day in club and city roads at midnight was unexpected but it will be a core memory…
Also to mention the conversations I had with Rashi in mess or in wing last year, were always so sweet…
it’s always the people with whom you can talk while being on same frequency and sometimes they just get the point…she was one of them…nd seeing her so active on hall group lol..
Once, it was sakshi banging my gate at 6 in morning ( had slept around 4 ) to wake me up to ask “kachori khaani hai ky”…altho didn’t got at first then i got know that smith was finally taking us all to jalebi fafda place in kanpur only to not get it that day 6am in morning…so then went to some recommended place for khasta kachori ( vo shop ki condition kch zyada hi khasta thi fr but can try still ), then went to vaidyam had hearty brunch there, ( south indian is all time fav ) nd – best was ghee podi dosa and pineapple cheesecake…also if u r in kanpur, u must try thaggu ke laddu ki Badnam kulfi, its too melt in mouth nd full of flavours…..
Rest days was all abt playing poker or manasvi insisting for playing badminton very sweetly like every other time..or any oll-jalol discussions in cmid with everyone around…with no deadlines.…( most times they all used to have ugp or project deadlines even in last sem )
For last time finally, had the ecell house party, shreya being the host for it, wandered around campus, danced on roads, almost had a night out, only to sleep coz we were tired not coz we wanted to…..it became a habit to sleep late at night or in early morning coz of some plans or just the longing for spending more time in this campus living it all…
Then came the hall1 ki baraat and also the scribble day, and also between all this began writing testimonials which made me emotional at some point while writing nd also reading for what others wrote for me…
Once at night, it was me shubh vishal manoj abhinav together on oat nd abhinav engaging on philosophical debates from one topic to another nd it was quite good intellectual discussion with us adding points or listening to each other, so that was memorable sendoff for him too as he was leaving on next morning i.e on 14th….
Then the awaited Abhinandan ( that evening before dinner was all about juggling those emotions, packing, no dues, what not ) – the best last night. Everyone I wanted was around, clicking photos, good food, jamming, playing games, holding my tears a bit and us just sitting in the ground until the lights went off.
I was leaving the next evening — 15th May. Packing was almost done, but I didn’t want to sleep. Most of them were already asleep, so only me, Riyanshi, Ved and Dhruv were awake — and we pulled off one final night out together. Listened to songs, roamed around campus, discovered that the pond behind Environmental Sciences isn’t there anymore (it’s been a while apparently lol — sustainability school is under construction ). Had DoAA ki kachori for the last time. Walked to OAT for sunrise, clicking photos in between.
Then finally back to the hostel — people were beginning to leave.
First goodbye was to Riya who left very early then on 15th morning it was Devank. Then Riyanshi. Then Aditi. Then Sakshi. All of it made me too emotional.
Then it was me — and I kind of left smiling. (Though I had thought I’d be crying.) Grateful for all of them. Just… grateful.
Coming Full Circle
Truly — now that I’m back home and have joined the office — I miss all of them every day. Earlier, not a moment went by without laughing, roasting each other, joking around. Now it’s all just memory — with the hope of seeing them very soon, as we all settle into this new phase.
Many of us would feel like how we’ll survive out of clg without our loved ones around everyday but that’s the point of growing up — learning to build a life beyond these walls while still carrying those people with us.
Now, as they say — it will all be about individual choices on how you want to spend your time, and how much effort you make to sustain the bonds formed in college. I hope we all grow in the bond not out of it, even years down the line. ❤️
As someone who got into IITK (having always dreamt of IITB) – a lot of unexpected things have happened since then for which I wasn’t ready but sometimes it’s those experiences which gives you a better understanding of the world at least in my case. ( I may not have mentioned few instances just coz i don’t want to remember those in longer run, after some years, those will be irrelevant as compared to the bigger and better moments i got to have )
I did have outgrown some friendships with whom I had some of the best moments, neither of us were at fault its just we were not the same person anymore that we used to be, and am still glad who all came along and made my life better in ways I can’t type it all out here, so yes change is the only constant and it’s better to hold onto things or bonds of any kind which matters truly and not on what you have already outgrown.
Have grown a lot as a person, navigated various nuances of the world, adjusted along well. And I’m happy about who I’ve become and still becoming.
Being here for four years let me experience and explore everything I didn’t know I would get to – be it academics or non-academics – choose wisely, every step you take is accompanied by a conscious choice, and if doing something, do it with full heart no matter what it is so that no regrets remains – time’s just feels too less to hold back out of fear or judgements, be bold for your decisions, don’t let anyone let you down, and yes just be yourself, you’ll get through it in a very beautiful way….<3
At last — I’m very very grateful I got to spend four years of my life here.
Written by: Dipti Yadav
Edited by: Shubham Singh, Suhani Joshi
