As We Leave #43: A Canvas of a Thousand Colours

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“This is where one starts to realise who they are, their likes and dislikes, their limits and limitations. The journey is never complete but this is the runway to your life – Fly High!”

In this 43rd edition of As We Leave, Snehal Kane a Y21 student from the department of Material science and Engineering shares the vibrant story of her transformative years at IITK. It took her from a shy kid who didn’t want to leave her home to a person who didn’t want to leave her hostel. It guided her from being an introverted girl to confidently addressing large crowds. And it saw her go from a person who didn’t dance to dancing her heart out. For her, every corner of the campus holds a memory of this journey. She extends her profound gratitude to the community and the countless opportunities at IITK that witnessed, supported, and shaped her at every step.

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

A strong wind continues. One by one clouds cluster over in the sky above and so do my thoughts. As the first drop of the last rain I’ll experience on campus hits the ground, my memories come flooding one after the other.
I realise it’s the best time to start penning down my AWL.

This AWL is divided into three parts. I’ll give a brief about each part and if you are in hurry or it bores you, you may jump to any part. Each part will have its share of take-aways and implicit or explicit advices:)

The first part is short and is about my unique journey of landing here purely by chance.

The second part is majorly about my personal journey and experiences here at IITK interspersed with some of my reflections and cautions for the upcoming batches.

The third and final part is more of something to ponder upon. If it can get you to action and I see the institute changing for good, I would be more than happy and grateful to our junior batches.

Worry not the end is still a happy ending just as everyone likes it and just as it is for everyone who passes out of this great institute!

Boarding the train to Unknownland

My story about choosing IITK has to be the most unique one and very few people know about it….

It’s the 3rd of April 2022. I arrive with my parents at the Hall 6 gate with nothing more than just one bag filled with essentials that would last me for a week. Yes, I intended to stay just for a week and gauge if I could manage the IIT Kanpur life (the chances of which were less than 20% back then).
The only perk that Covid’s online college commencement gave our batch was that many of us could enrol in different colleges as a backup. But choices come with the worst dilemmas. At the end of first semester I was standing with a bleak CPI (barely passing all courses) in MSE at IITK and with a good CPI in CSE at Maharashtra’s best state govt college. I was the classic example of Branch Vs College dilemma at its worst. Portraying my top-notch indecisiveness skills I decided to postpone my decision (of which college to go) even further. When IIT Kanpur called us on campus but the other college didn’t, I decided to come here and try it out.
I warn the readers that this is not how one should go about taking major life decisions. Nevertheless throughout all this my parents supported me wholeheartedly and never tried to impose any decision on me.

In those 7 days, IITK came out in all vibrant colours. I don’t know if it was the beautiful campus, the exhausting April heat, the newness of hostel life, the excitement of being at an IIT or the performances of Sunidhi Chauhan and Ritviz on my first Antaragni (it happened after 5 days of our campus reporting) that resulted in my decision to stay back. But now here I’m in my final days before graduation and I can say it was the best decision of my life!

After the turbulent and indecisive start, which cost me my first year CPI and friends, I was determined to give my all to the IITK life and live it to the fullest.

Aboard the train

My time at IITK was nothing less than a big rollercoaster ride splashed with colours of all emotions. As the offline semesters started in full swing the senior batches tried their best to inculcate in us the campus vibe which was lost due to online semesters. Every senior that I interacted with had one point to make – participate in as many activities as you can, get your hands dirty by trying out all clubs, sports and competitions and never stay in your room. I did exactly this and filled out all the secretary nomination forms which rolled out shortly after. With a poor CPI this was a bold move, little did I know the amount of time all these clubs and activities would demand, but I had blind faith in my seniors and looking back I know it was the best decision to make.

In my third semester I was walking a tightrope – I was secretary at GnS, E-cell, HSS, ShARE IITK and senior executive at Udghosh. To add to it I was part of the Institute Athletics team for High Jump and had to give 3 hours daily for practice. Also the first fully offline semester came with its challenges of adjusting with roommates, getting used to the mess food, emotional breakdowns with friends and coming to terms with the new found independence and responsible freedom.
Having made slow academic progress in my second semester I was on fire to study hard and increase my CPI for the upcoming intern season. Every day after classes I went straight to the library and studied until I had to go for practice. Spending those 3 hours on the ground was the most refreshing part of my day. Sweating made me think straight and maintain my calm in tough situations.

Adding to my responsibilities, our junior batch of Y22s arrived in October. Being a SG I actively participated in their orientation and supported my bacchas in settling down and getting accustomed here. Those initial meetings were the key to forming a lasting bond with them, being an Amma is something I’ll always cherish.

In the end things worked out and I got a good enough SPI of 8.7 but still my CPI was far from the 7.5 mark. It was in this semester that I realised how important one’s first year CPI is and it dawned upon me that my low first year CPI will always be the dead weight pulling down my CPI. Throughout my next semesters at IITK and even now, I have regretted my indecisiveness and lack of focus in my first 2 semesters.
But all the running around in my third semester taught me an important lesson. Being involved in extracurriculars does not hamper your academics but only helps in getting better at it. A hustling bustling third semester gave me the confidence in academics and time management I needed the most! I believe this was the runway to my beautiful flight at IITK here on.

At every cell or club I met a different set of people and my horizon widened, I learnt new things and shed some old ones. And I also met some of my most precious friends there.
To all the juniors reading this, take this as an advice – if you want to make the most of your college life, shed your inhibitions and interact with as many people as you can and the clubs here provide you with an avenue exactly for this.

Admiring our Y19 CTMs from the very beginning of online semesters and enjoying the interactions with juniors, I wanted to become a CTM. In the following semester my dream came true. At CS I met amazing people, some of whom were to become my close friends without whom enjoying and surviving the tenure wouldn’t have been possible.

A Y18 from my department, Anshika Singh (the then Gensec of GnS) had given me an advice to try out projects in core with MSE profs and gauge my interest in it. She suggested that I take up SURGE. Also Surge projects are good if you are trying for consulting, was a general rhetoric. Having dual benefits and thinking ki ‘core try karte hai’ my friend Shruthi and I took up Surge under Prof. Kaustubh Kulkarni in the area of Diffusion in Solids. Two weeks into it we realised we had no interest in it. Having low interest and skills in coding, my friend and I decided consulting was the only way to go. I was naive enough to believe that consulting firms won’t bother about my bare cpi of 7.5. It was because of Shruthi’s accompaniment that the hot summer stay in Kanpur became enjoyable and our Surge got completed.

In the summer, along with Surge my new CS journey unfolded. The CS tenure was a crazy roller coaster ride in itself. I realised it was true when Deepanshi had said ‘being in CS is a thankless job’ but I also realised that this job gives you satisfaction like no other. With multiple highs and lows, sleepless nights, long talk sessions, multiple walks around the campus, sometimes where I comforted others and at times when I had to be comforted, sometimes where others shed tears and at times where I cried with them – CS gave me a lot. It gave me juniors and seniors with whom I formed priceless bonds, it gave me a sense of purpose, a sense of gratefulness for being able to give back. I would like to thank Yashvardhan, our coordinator who supported our team at every step and who answered my calls whenever I was overwhelmed and comforted me.

Before my tenure started a friend of mine had told me that CS changes you, it either makes you too emotional or a little cut off. In my case by the end of my tenure I changed into the latter one. I started craving for some me-time, I couldn’t balance my friends and my emotions well and this reflected in my relationships with them. Once my tenure had ended, it took me some time to take note of all this, make amends and fall back to my normal routine. But through all this CS taught me about myself, my own limits and limitations. Even now when I think about certain instances from my tenure I am filled with happiness and satisfaction.

Till now the reader must have understood that multitasking is not exactly my hobby but more of a coping mechanism to the circumstances I generally find myself in on campus. Another such circumstance arose when I got an interview call from American Express while I was in the midst of our Orientation. I still remember the incident so well, with multiple sleepless nights before it was the 7th day of Orientation. I had just reached Audi with 2 lines of Y23s after shouting ‘cover the gap’ at the top of my voice. Just as I took the podium mic to announce something, Pankajh (my fellow CTM) called me saying that I have an interview in 2 hours! With no prior interview experience it was mad rush; calling seniors, parents, friends everyone to help me out in those 2 hours. Looking back, I think the confidence I gained from conducting Orientation played a significant role in my interview, though I believe above all it was God’s grace.

Interns and Placements are a different ball game altogether which defy logic in all forms. The chances of a person with no intern landing a good placement is just as high as a person with a good intern not landing a decent placement. As luck is a major stakeholder in placements all that we are left with is preparing for the best and the worst. A piece of advice from a person like me – who has always hid behind the banner of ‘prepping for analytics’, sheltering her ‘fear of coding’ beneath it – is to never ever ignore coding skills. SDE roles constitute the majority of the roles and you never know where your luck might shine. The route I took of prepping for just one role is a very risky one if not an escapist one. So to all the juniors reading this please be courageous and face your fears. The iitk lifestyle gives you ample amount of time and opportunities to explore all options and to pick up fundamentals of all roles.

Navigating the currents of each semester, it was my friends who were my anchor and made every moment unforgettable. While the whirlwind of new experiences brought many amazing friends into my life, I also lost touch with a few close ones along the way. Though it was difficult, this mix of gain and loss helped me grow, reminding me to cherish every relationship, communicate thoughtfully, and nurture patience and empathy.
By the end of it everything had fallen into place. The roommates I once struggled to adjust with became my lifeline, the constant doubt-solver turned into my closest friend, and the shared journey through ups and downs gifted me many new friendships.

The last semester was the cherry on the cake, I think it’s true for everyone. If all the first times are sweet, all the last times are 100x bittersweet. The last fest, the last dance, the last card game, the last night out, the last walk, the last bulla, the last meal, the last hug and the last goodbye… I don’t think there are words to express this feeling.

The memories of last sem wali bakchodi – the late night walks with speakers, talks on chhats, gossip sessions at OAT, shakes and dahi kabab at mama mio, the mafia nights, the legacy of ‘3 kamre’ and our chhat will forever be ingrained in us long after IITK becomes a distant chapter in our lives.

As I alight this train to board another….

As I leave there are certain concerns which have plagued me as a student and will continue to plague me as I become an alumni. These concerns revolve around the administration and hostel management. Our student community which is so active and vibrant in all domains from tech to cult, severely lacks in hostel administration. The zeal to work which is seen in all por holders in different clubs, cells and gymkhana is nowhere seen in the HEC of many halls. It might be more apt for the GH, but overall I don’t find anyone on campus who is happy either with the mess food, quality of tables or chairs or with the promptness of the hall office staff. Initially these things bothered us but slowly the glittering and charming life at iitk took over, we grew tolerant and we all forgot about our deprivation of basic necessities.

We had to fight to get something as basic as purified drinking water on our floors that too in a prestigious institute like ours. Why don’t our complaints for malfunctioning fans, unclean toilets at OAT or LHCs get addressed in a reasonable timeframe? Do we as students or the HEC which is also composed of the students, have so much time to carry out a detailed followup of these things? If we have to complain and then keep on getting a followup on Pingala then what is the work of the hall office, is it just set up for the sake of no dues clearance and lock-key distribution?
The hall managers need to be under students direction, currently they just function like any lethargic govt offices passing the buck. They put half of the work on pingala and tell us to contact various offices and put the remaining half on the institute for not providing them enough funds. Some of my friends have stayed in their rooms without a fan for a couple of days in the scorching heat of May while the electricity dept kept on saying they don’t have spare fans. Can a central institute be so devoid of funds that it can’t have a spare fan?! I don’t know where to put a finger but the administration is sinking deep down day by day and the concerned authorities and the Deans have to take note of it. And they won’t take a note of it unless we, the students and our representatives make up their minds that they want their living conditions to be improved. Something which is upto the mark of the high fees that we pay to the institute. Student bodies like Vox, who although have other interesting topics to cover, can still shed some light on these topics to create some pressure and to make their own lives better.

Most of us don’t complain much, not because we are fine with the current living conditions but because the process is too cumbersome and the chances of something substantial happening are negligible. But I think it’s time we put a limit to our tolerance and take steps towards actual change.

With all its shortcomings I am immensely proud of my institute and will be forever grateful to it for shaping me into what I am today. IITK provides us with limitless possibilities, it is up to us to grab all that we can and make the most of it. The campus is colourful and scenic throughout all seasons, thanks to our gardeners who take care of all the green patches decorating the place. The pink bougainvillaea, white jasmines, yellow marigolds and the iconic crow, all against the backdrop of the legendary red brick buildings make me fall in love with iitk all over again. Every moment spent here transforms one into a better person.

Reiterating that this campus is great not only because of its grandeur and status but because of its people. Each person is a different colour, when you leave what makes your personality richer is how many of those colours you have on you. Interact with every senior, junior, professor and workers because this is gonna be the last place which will not judge you but teach you, where your failures and bad decisions won’t be setbacks but stepping stones, where your legs won’t be pulled down but pushed up higher to grow more and more. Make the most of it!