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In this 44th edition of As We Leave 2024, Harsh Sharma, a Y20 student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, takes us through his memories at IIT Kanpur. He talks about the ups and downs he faced, and all the fun he had nevertheless.
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.
Yesterday, I saw the reel posted by Vox stating that the “As We Leave” series for the graduating batch starts releasing the next day, and I suddenly realized that it is time that I finally start writing my own. After all, my whole college life had been all about doing stuff close to the deadlines (this time though I crossed the deadline, not the first time doing so).
I have read many AWLs—some very emotional and inspiring, and others dull—and I always wondered what my AWL would look like. Like everyone else, I too believe that I have a lot of stories to share and am different from others, but deep inside I know that nothing in IIT Kanpur is unique to an individual. You always share experiences, and that is what made my hard days in college bearable- thinking that someone else would have been in the same position as me or maybe in a graver situation, and yet they survived.
I am not trying to inspire you, nor do I believe I am perfect or even a good person for that. I am someone whose trajectory you should never follow, but as I just mentioned, someone would be living the experiences I did and feeling the same things I did. My AWL is just a recollection of my life at IITK. Instead of just sharing my story in a chronological manner, I tried to express my emotions—not too much, for I believe that even though someone can go through the same situation as me, we can’t ever share the same emotions. That is what I call emotional prints, different for everyone, and your emotional print defines the person you’ll become after every situation. If you had a rough night sobbing and crying, remember I had been in your place too; maybe I cried a little louder or you sobbed a little too much, but we all do make it to the end, for the end is as beautiful as the people we had in life. Don’t give up; it is all part of a bigger plan, and your role is just to keep on moving. Moreover, if you still want to derive some motivation or moral values out of this AWL, just follow the lines I did: Never give up, and whatever happens, happens for the best.
My wingies with whom I had the best time on Campus, from L to R: Me, Saif, Prem, Mehul, Rishabh, and Navnee
Dull first 3 semesters
As I cleared JEE and saw my 3rd-standard dream of being an IITian turn real, I was elated and assumed the stereotypical lines of Bollywood movies “College me kaun padhta hai?” were true, and I have lived the stereotype to the fullest. Since the beginning of my Zoom days, I was always the try-hard kid—not the one who always tries to fit into different circles but the one who always wanted to try his hands at everything. Being someone who is not at all introverted, I quickly made friends in my department and with my wingmates, some of whom remained with me till the end of my time here.
The first semester went bizarrely fast with me trying to cope with courses like MTH101 and PHY102, but I eventually ended up getting a B in both and a D in TA101. After all, I am bad at drawing, and that is the best excuse (evidently not) for folks like me. I also got into the first relationship of my life during the first semester, and fortunately, it is still intact, even though maintaining a long-distance relationship for more than three years was pretty tough. By the end of the semester, I had made more friends by participating in various competitions organized by different cells and councils, and I knew that joining more of them would help me make my circle bigger, even though this was never actually a plan.
The second semester was dull and monotonous as the second wave of COVID hit the country, and the nth wave of procrastination hit me. I got addicted to helpful WhatsApp groups for passing the exams and eventually ended up dropping PHY103, afraid of the consequences after being caught cheating. This was the first blow to my studious life. From being admired for my dedication and hard work to dropping a course after being caught cheating, I quickly realized that college life was not going to be easy, and if I wanted to make the most of it, I had to be more cautious about everything I did here. I quickly resurfaced from it and started focusing on different clubs and activities. I joined Ecell, Udghosh, and Techkriti and tried to take gyan from seniors. I also got a summer project from the Astronomy Club, but the codes never fascinated me, and I eventually dropped out of it, realizing that this was not something that could hold me for life.
The first year ended, and I was still anticipating the campus reopening. At the same time, the secy recruitment for SnT clubs began, and I was keenly eyeing only one entity—IITK Consulting Group—since it seemed like the best place for a person trying to break into consulting. This was a decision I made very early in my college life. I would advise any junior to completely exploit all the opportunities on campus before finalizing a career goal, unlike me, and even better if you don’t stick to one but keep on exploring more, as it drives you to keep on learning forever. I got recruited and was glad. At the same time, I got involved in more places—joining Antaragni, Community Welfare Cell, and becoming a Student Guide and Academic Mentor by the end of the third semester. The campus reopened for resource-constrained students, and many of my friends went back. Since I didn’t get the chance to go to campus, I planned a trip with my college friends, during which I nearly escaped death after slipping from a hilly trail. I still owe my friend Rishabh a life for saving me.
Reaching IIT Kanpur
Finally, as the third semester ended, I cleared all my courses again, although I was expecting an E or F in ESO209. When the news of the campus reopening finally came, I started preparing for the new life I had always anticipated. I arrived on campus on December 29, 2022, and I felt proud of my hard work for making it there because the vibe was entirely different. The fourth semester began with a lot of fun. For the first time, I saw the places I had only heard about from seniors, met those seniors who shared their stories, and experienced everything with people as excited and eager as I was. The campus felt like home to me from the very first day.
Amidst all the fun and explorations, I met a whole bunch of new people, and my circle grew. Among all the fun, I also had to ensure that I studied well for the fourth semester, as I had to pass some of the most difficult courses like ESO202 and ESO201. However, those who knew me would tell you that I never cared about studies as much as I should have, so you should not follow my example. As I said, IITK is full of people doing the same forbidden things.
During the E-Summit, I had the opportunity to network with many startups and their founders. One such founder, Mr. Sumeet Mahendra of RTIwala, played a critical role in my life. I connected with him regarding an E-Summit competition, and eventually, the conversation turned to him seeking web development interns from IITK. Although I was never into technology despite being an engineering undergrad, I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity and asked him to schedule a meeting where we could discuss such prospects.
I saw this as an opportunity to secure a project for ICG, as RTIwala appeared to be a promising startup with government accolades. In the meantime, I prepared a presentation to convince Sumeet to give a project to ICG. What happened during the supposedly 20-minute meeting, which lasted two hours, is an altogether different story, but apparently, I convinced him.
The end of February also marked a significant moment in my life as I got the chance to work on an Inter IIT Tech Meet problem statement. The one-month journey changed my whole perspective on college life as for the very first time I realized that working on such challenging problems is what makes you an IITian for real and I would emphasize it in bold to anyone reading to try to participate in atleast one Inter IIT competition be it tech,sports or cult for it can teach way more than anything else on campus. Working on the problem statement, although very tiring and exhausting at times, was altogether fun. Thanks to all my teammates who bore me with my poorest jokes and all the seniors, who were ready to help me with even my dumbest doubts. Our hard work paid and we won the Gold Medal. This achievement gave me a sense of satisfaction as I remembered the lines I read somewhere “Agar IIT se graduate hote hue tumhari sabse badi achievement IITian hona hi hai toh tumne yahan aa kar kuch nahi kiya!”. With Inter IIT over, I again switched my focus towards RTIwala and started working as an intern with them. All three fests and their Pronites around the time came as a wave of celebration as I witnessed our college’s fests live for the first time.
The Tech Meet Gold Medal Winning Team
The end of February marked a significant moment in my life as I got the chance to work on an Inter IIT Tech Meet problem statement. The one-month journey changed my whole perspective on college life because, for the very first time, I realized that working on such challenging problems is what makes you an IITian for real. I would emphasize to anyone reading this to try to participate in at least one Inter IIT competition, be it tech, sports, or cultural, for it can teach you way more than anything else on campus.
Working on the problem statement, although tiring and exhausting at times, was altogether fun. Thanks to all my teammates who bore my poorest jokes and all the seniors who were ready to help me with even my dumbest doubts. Our hard work paid off, and we won the Gold Medal. This achievement gave me a sense of satisfaction as I remembered the lines I read somewhere, “Agar IIT se graduate hote hue tumhari sabse badi achievement IITian hona hi hai toh tumne yahan aa kar kuch nahi kiya!” With Inter IIT over, I again switched my focus to RTIwala and started working as an intern with them.
All three fests and their Pronites around that time came as a wave of celebration as I witnessed our college’s fests live for the first time.
Facing defeat for the first time:
I was very confident about securing the leader position as I had put my best foot forward to prepare for the role, talking to seniors and my fellow secretaries to gather more insight into the workings. I was also putting in my best efforts to work with RTIwala to gain credibility from their end as well. At the same time, I offered two summer projects on behalf of ICG, one in collaboration with others and the second one alone. To handle all these things and to prepare well for the intern season, I decided not to retake PHY103, which I had dropped earlier, as I was aware I would not be able to put much effort into studying it, and my grade would be low—something I didn’t want for the intern and placement season.
Having done all my preparation, I appeared for the interview, and when the results came, I was lost. I was not made the leader. I couldn’t understand why it happened, as my intentions and efforts were all for the best. I introspected into my 20-year-long life until then and realized that whenever I worked hard for anything, I never lost. So, why now? I wanted to be the leader not just to hold the PoR but because I wanted to harness the full potential ICG had. I thought it could give me a portal to work with amazing startups, startups that had fascinated me since the time of TVF, making me realize that “Mein beer hu.” I firmly believe that as a leader I would have done my best for ICG, but I also totally respect the panel’s decision not to make me the leader, as I believe they would have thought, just like me, the best for their group. At the same time, I also think that if I had been made the leader, maybe I would have taken it as yet another easy win and would not have done the things I did because I was not made the leader. Today, I am thankful that it happened the way it was meant to, for God’s plan is better than ours.
To revive myself from the blow, I went home, channeled my energy, and came back to campus. I am really thankful that my home was just an overnight journey away, so whenever I felt low, I went back home and talked with my family members—not about the problems in my life. I don’t remember if I ever shared any problem in my life with any of my family. I wanted to learn to fight things alone and always viewed these problems as insignificant to be shared, no matter how big they seemed at the time. Eventually, I realized this practice helped me learn that no problem in the world is bigger than you perceive it to be. I just talked with them and thought about how I have people in my life for whom I have to do something. Settling down easily isn’t an option as long as I can keep going.
At the same time, the nominations for the manager of the Outreach Cell were out, and it was the last third PoR remaining to be filled at the time, as far as I remember. So, I applied for it as I was eager to gain a shortlist with Bain and BCG, which were supposed to be coming for the intern season for the first time. I’ll keep this part short: I applied for the PoR, got it, and didn’t make it to the shortlists of either company, thanks to my low CPI and my foolishness in forgetting to mention my Tech Meet Gold Medal on the resume I submitted to Bain. Not getting shortlisted was a bit disappointing, but only a bit, as I was not really expecting the shortlists.
Phase 1 of the intern season was not very happening for me, as I only got one shortlist, and that too for a machine learning role, thanks to the online assessment. How I wish the interview was also with the video turned off. By the end of Phase 1, I was without any internship from the campus.
PMIG and Nevermind
But on and off campus, I was trying my hands at different things yet again. A new society was in the making—Product Management Interest Group—and one of the Y19 founders, Kritarth, knew me well from the Inter IIT time and asked if I wanted to join. Being an opportunist and eager to work for such a society, I said yes at once. I started helping them organize boot camps and workshops while also gathering insight about product management as a field, which looked like yet another domain where I could try my hands.
At the same time, I saw a post on LinkedIn from a Y18, who I only knew by name, hiring marketing interns for his startup, and it was unpaid. I scrolled past the post. As the first two months of Phase 1 had already passed without me having any internship, I spent time on Workday and LinkedIn searching for opportunities. One day, I saw the same job opening for the unpaid marketing intern again. My gut feeling told me to download the app “Nevermind.” My inner voice said it truly holds what I want to do, an odd but intriguing name. I explored it briefly, closed it, and opened Instagram to procrastinate, but Nevermind opened instead with a question. Then I understood their USP—every time you open an unproductive app, you first have to solve a habit-building question. It was this eureka moment that led me to text the recruiter, Sriram, on LinkedIn, telling him I wanted this intern position. We got on yet another supposedly 10-minute call, which turned into an hour, with him telling me everything about his startup and saying, “Yes, we need someone to handle our business aspects, but for that, you need to prove credibility.” I started working hard to make the best use of this opportunity, from devising and executing strategies to gain downloads to leading pitches with VCs.
Apparently, in a few days, the founders agreed to settle me as their co-founder and to let me lead the business and growth verticals. At this crucial step, I again pitched to Sumeet to help us as a mentor in our startup. His advice helped us a lot, and we reached out to multiple VCs across India, trying to gain some funding. While most of them liked our idea, and we managed to win Upstart’23 and also secured a pitching round in an international trade conference, we were not able to secure any funds. Still, we thought of implementing some strategies.
By the end of 2022, I had no internship but only Nevermind in hand, and our core team decided that either we secure some investments by the end of March or Nevermind should end. I forgot to mention earlier, but in the fifth semester, I was also seeking projects with foreign professors to gain international experience. Although I got two such projects, one with a professor from Wharton, I decided not to continue with either as they were related to a domain I was least interested in—Web Development. It was tough for me to turn down such an opportunity, but I was firm about not doing something that didn’t fit my interest. It isn’t a decision I am really proud of, as I gave up something without really trying it, but deep down my heart told me, even if you try and make something out of it, would the journey be enjoyable? This was a question I always carried with me: if it isn’t about the destination but the journey, make sure it is happening and enjoyable. No worries if it is chaotic, but make sure you surf on the highest tides if there are any. But I know this is not for everyone reading. You might not be fortunate enough to neglect your responsibilities and just keep on following your passion. If you are not, just try to make what you do as enjoyable as possible; otherwise, the going gets tough.
It might look like most of the things I did were to build a solid resume, and I won’t shy away from saying that indeed a few things I did were to give a boost to my CV—after all, no pursuit is without a cause. But some of the things I did were purely out of interest and passion—Nevermind and Inter IIT Tech Meets being two such things. Apparently, I got yet another chance to do what I love the most: work on another Tech Meet problem statement. This problem statement, although barely a week long, was more hectic than the last one, as I had to work more than 14-15 hours daily straight for nine days. Thanks to amazing seniors and the sweetest juniors who were ready to sit and work for as long as I did. Yet again, we won the Gold Medal, and I felt a sense of relief amidst the chaos in my mind, as Nevermind was still bootstrapped and the scholarship amount we secured from SIIC was on the verge of being completely burned.
Another Tech Meet, another Gold Team
The Call
In the middle of February, I received a very unexpected phone call from Sumeet Mahendra. He told me they were about to raise a round from a UK-based VC and wanted me to join them after graduation on a full-time basis in a leadership position. The proposed salary was good, the ESOPs were more than good, and the equity I was offered was beyond my imagination. I had two days to respond to the offer, as they had to submit my name to the VC for due diligence. I talked with as many people as I could about this offer, and while most said I should go for it, I turned it down.
I thought, if a startup’s CEO, who has known me for barely a few months and has never met me in real life, has this much conviction in a third-year student, why should I settle for less? I knew there was a high possibility that Nevermind would not gain the expected funding and might shut down, and also the possibility that the placement I might get would not be as lucrative as the offer in hand. But I still decided not to go for it, as my gut feeling said my destiny was not there. Reflecting on my life, I see many decisions I made were based on my gut feelings, and somehow the trajectory I achieved through them turned out fine. I really believe decisions made from the heart and intuition are more inclined toward your best interest, as your inner voice would never let you choose something that could cause you unhappiness. Always listen to yourself before others, for you know yourself the best, and others know only a version of you. The 8 billion people in the world live different notions of life every day, and it is your notion and perspective of yourself that should matter most to you.
By the end of March, Nevermind was history as we couldn’t secure any investments. It was another heart-wrenching event in my life, but I was prepared for it and thanked God for the learning experience. It was at this time that I started becoming serious about internships and summers. Around the corner, PMIG was also formalized as a group, and I saw yet another dream of establishing something for the campus community come true. I put in genuine efforts to do as much as I could for the group and the campus junta through it, and I am grateful to my co-leaders Ayush and Bhavya for having the same mindset as me. I wish to see the society grow in the coming years and students benefiting from it.
Around the same time, I applied for the position of Overall Coordinator of Outreach Cell, but as destiny had it, I was not made the OC. This time, I was not sad about not getting the position, as Gitika and Utkarsh, who became the OCs, did complete justice to the position, and all of us managers from Outreach Cell are still the best of friends.
GC
Before the end of the th semester, two crucial events took place. GC happened, and I became the pool captain for Takneek, a pun to my identity of having no interest in tech. But this was something I genuinely wanted to do for Hall-3, not for the sake of improving my resume, as I already had many things on it. I can’t contain myself from saying that the entire GC was full of biases, especially against our pool (Aryans), and anyone who witnessed it couldn’t counter that. Long story short, I was impeached from my pool captain position mid-Takneek, as was the Aryans’ Galaxy pool captain. But by then, the Hall feeling had gone beyond any position or name. Everyone, especially our group “GC wale Launde,” neglected everything to win the GC for Hall-3. Although we couldn’t win any of the GC events, thanks to the organizing teams and their bias towards their favorite halls, the friends I made during GC are still very close to me. All the seniors, batchmates, and juniors developed a mutual feeling of respect for each other, and I am pretty sure that anyone who participated on behalf of Aryans in that GC can never forget the efforts we put into winning the cups.
GC wale Launde
During the end semesters for the 6th semester, I had no intern in hand, and my startup didn’t exist anymore. Suddenly, Accenture visited the campus to hire interns for a role where coding was not a prerequisite. I thought this might be my chance but wasn’t too hopeful, as I had had the same thought more than ten times before. But it happened—I was shortlisted after the test, thanks to my friends, and my interview went decently well. Summer break was meant to begin on May 4, and on May 3, around 8:30 PM, my roommate Mehul told me that someone he knew got into Accenture and asked me to check if I managed it. Although I was pretty sure I would face defeat yet again, the moment I opened the mail to find SPO’s congratulation mail, I told Mehul, and we both shouted at the top of our voices. Fast forward a few weeks or months, I went to Mumbai for my internship, explored the city, met new people, and worked. I knew I was not going to get a PPO, as the company had already announced it in the first meeting itself, yet I worked in the hope of getting one. As announced, no one got a PPO, but I still managed a LoR from my manager and some praises from the senior leadership of the company for my work.
By the end of summer, back on campus, I started preparing for product roles, as my resume was more inclined toward it, and consulting looked like a far reach since my CPI was not in the safe bracket. With the semester starting, I was enjoying the peace of a single room and the vibe of Hall-1. One day, while sitting in the canteen, a friend I made during GC in Hall-3, Avi, who was now Udghosh’s festival coordinator, approached me and asked if I wanted to be the Head of Media and Publicity of Udghosh. I declined, saying I wanted to focus on my placements and, as I had no idea about the vertical at all, I might screw up. But he convinced me to think about it for a few days. I was sure to turn down the offer as I didn’t want to shift to B-bot, leaving all my wingies behind, and I wanted some peace during placement sem. Still, one day I contacted Anand Patwa, who was the MnP Head of Antaragni and worked with me during the Inter IIT Tech Meet, to ask what I should do, and he said to go for it. I blindly followed his advice.
I can assure you that joining Udghosh was an amazing decision in my life as it taught me the real meaning of management. The Core Team was wonderful, and being a novice to the vertical, I got much-needed support from them. The two months went by bizarrely fast, and the fest concluded well. Now, it was time to switch gears again as companies had started approaching for placements. The companies I was targeting the most were Flipkart and Groww. I worked hard on Flipkart’s PS, but as destiny had it, I didn’t make the shortlist. So while working on Groww’s PS, I was very reluctant and hopeless, completing the submission within 10 hours or so, not expecting a shortlist. But this time I did manage a shortlist. Fast forwarding to November 30, I had a single shortlist in 1.1, four shortlists in 1.2, and no other shortlists after that. I was pretty sure I’d manage an offer in 1.2, as two of the shortlists were for product roles, and I knew I had prepared well.
December 1 to December 5
I would also like to share a fact here that my sister, my very own sibling, was meant to be married on December 4, thanks to my father who didn’t ask me before finalizing the date. So, I slept through 1.1 as the company I was shortlisted for didn’t call me for an interview. 1.2 began with Groww’s interview, which went fantastic, and in the meantime, I appeared for the Tata1mg interview, which also went quite well. The second round for both companies was at the same time, and a senior from Tata1mg said it was my call where I wanted to go. At that moment, I chose to go for the Groww interview. The second round was better than the first one, but apparently, Groww had rejected all the interviewees after the second round, including me. I rushed to Tata1mg for a chance but couldn’t manage one as I had “made the choice” to go for Groww. Meanwhile, I missed the GD for Palo Alto Networks as I knew I had no scope there, and Groww and Tata1mg interviews were more promising. Then I went for the Indus Insights interview, but by the time my second round began, people were already getting offers, and I knew right from the beginning of the second round that they were doing it just for formality. Day 1.2 was over, and I had no job in hand. Day 2.1 was about to begin in a few hours, and I had no shortlist and had to reach home for the wedding. I didn’t pick up calls from anyone at home and avoided any messages. I prepared myself for Day 2.1 and sat there for 4-5 hours straight without any walk-ins. 2.2 was no different, except I mistakenly picked up a call from my father, and all he told me was not to worry and do what I felt like. I got back to my room after 2.2 and broke down in my room after midnight on the call with my girlfriend as I had no shortlists the next day either.
Amid all this chaos, the only thing constant with me was my friends—Mehul, Rishabh, Avi, and Daksh—who all had a bunch of copies of my resume for walk-ins. I woke up on the 3rd morning to find I had a shortlist from Niva Bupa, and the interview began in an hour. Although hopeless, I still gathered the courage, prepared the introduction, and went for the interview. Mine was the first interview. I entered the room, and it went well for about 45 minutes. I came out expecting to hear updates about the following rounds, but there were none. The company took as many as 100 interviews, and it was already 8 PM without any result. I was frustrated, depressed, and hopeless. I went back to my room and couldn’t think of what to do. My sister’s wedding was the next day, and I had no clue if I should go home or stay. I broke down again—for the first time in my life, I broke down that way. Then suddenly, I got a call from my friend that the company’s HR wanted to meet me. I raced at my highest speed and reached Hall 12, and I managed an offer. It was the most relieving and comforting moment of my life, for I knew now I could go and fulfill my responsibilities.
I left for home at the earliest and attended the function. On December 5, when I woke up after a tiring previous day, I got the most unexpected result of my graduation life—I got a backlog in a DC, in a course I never thought of. I tried reaching out to the course instructor, but he ended the call after hearing my name. I was tense again for the whole of December, trying to find a solution to the problem of degree extension and ranting about no compartment exams, etc., to my fellow friends who also failed. By the way, around 25% of the department failed the course. As I couldn’t find a way out of it, I thought of letting it be, for it was meant to be. Out of all the semesters I spent at IITK, the 7th one was the only one where I wasn’t expecting a backlog, and I managed it eventually, so life always has ways to bring you the unexpected.
I spent my last semester doing everything I could before my college life ended, went on trips with friends, went on a solo trip, tried different “stuff,” and many more things. The semester ended with me passing all the courses, including PHY113, a substitute for PHY103. Yes, I did it with Y23s, so what? :’) Slowly, everyone started departing, and the realization that the faces of some of the best people would never be seen again hit me. So that’s how college life ended—not for me exactly, as I am still doing the modular DC in which I got an F.
Rightly phrased: It’s never Goodbye!
If this article is published before June 15, 2024, you might find me on campus, and I allow you to question me, “Bina campus se gaye As We Leave likh diya?” So, yes, for me, the leaving date is a bit later than others, but sooner or later, everyone has to leave.
At the end, I sincerely want to thank all the friends I made here for coming into my life at the right time, fitting in just like the pieces of a jigsaw. I have been privileged to have the company of the best people in my life, and the only question I have in my heart as I’ll be leaving this place is whether I have been as good to the people here as they have been to me. I hope that as I leave this place, I leave a mark in the hearts of at least those who mattered to me.
That was my journey, a collection of stories through the semesters, where I had no control over the upcoming challenges but still managed to survive, knowing that it was a phase and it would pass, and the best was waiting for me at the end. I embraced whatever I got as the best. Still, I would seriously suggest any junior reading this not to follow in my footsteps, but I know someone as foolish and opportunistic as I am would be at the same crossroads. Down the line in a few years, another AWL with more or less similar content will be published.
Written by : Harsh Sharma
Edited by: Satvik Gundapaneni , Aujasvit Datta, Nandini Vaid
Designed by: Sanyam Shivhare
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