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In this 47th edition of As We Leave, Ritam Acharya, a Y21 student graduating from the Department of Chemical Engineering, takes us through a rollercoaster of politics, placements, and personal growth—stitched together with laughter, late-night Zoom calls, and long walks across Hall 13 corridors. From his first campus step on 3rd April 2022 to his last-minute train dash in May 2025, his journey is one of resilience, chaos, chai-fueled grind, and spiritual pit stops.
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.
It all started with a call on 23rd November 2021, from my Baapu—Vaibhav. That one call set off a chain of events that I now look back on with equal parts disbelief and nostalgia. First semester was online, Zoom bullas and late-night laughter held us together. Our wing was a small one—just 18 of us—but we were a unit, a band of brothers. And it was in this chaos that the netagiri ke keede bit me.
January 2022 – General Elections. Mujhe neta banna tha. WhatsApp voice notes, personal calls, wing ka full support—and I won the senatorial elections. Tab se ek hi demand thi: Offline campus chahiye.
And it came. On 3rd April 2022, I entered IIT Kanpur campus for the first time, walked into Hall 13, wide-eyed and full of dreams. There was no summer break—2nd and 3rd semester were back-to-back, but I didn’t care. Main toh azaad tha. Koi padhai ke liye daantne wala nahi tha, aur bas wahi chahiye tha.
Classes? Bhool jao. Labs? Skipped. Attendance? LOL. I only showed up for 2–3 lectures, including the ones where attendance had marks. Still, I didn’t fail—but I racked up enough D+s and Ds to drop my CPI to 5.6. At that time, I was just happy I passed.
Then came the winter break. Seniors scolded me: POR chahiye toh 6.5 laa, company chahiye toh 7 CPI is the minimum. From 4th sem, tables turned.
From chilling to disciplined lecture regular, I became that guy who rarely missed class. And to my surprise, attending lectures made a huge difference. I started understanding things better—felt like I had a grip. I also applied for Hindi Sahitya Sabha coordinator. Didn’t get selected. Interview went badly. But today, I smile when I remember it. Kya din the!
By the end of 4th sem and summer, CPI increased. Not enough for a solid intern, though. I kept applying—on-campus, off-campus—rejections all around. 5th sem ended, Phase 2 started, and still I struggled.
Then came May. Intelenergi called. SWE intern. 2 months. Chill startup. Parthjeet sir—my mentor—was so generous that when the stipend was delayed, he personally Paytm-ed me and said, “Aa jaaye toh wapas de dena.”
After the summer, tension hit. Hard.
Placement season. I put my head down—quizzes, classes, placement prep, tests. Belief tha: Day 3 ya Day 4 tak toh ho hi jaayega. But 1st December 2024 came with zero shortlists. Hall 13 felt like a war zone. Day 2 onwards, I started getting calls. Har company mein final tak pahuchta tha… but final selection? Nah.
On Day 4, I nailed one interview. HR round also went great. Felt like this was it. But result—rejection. I was crushed.
Missed my own sister’s engagement on Dec 13th because of interviews. But end result? Still unplaced in Phase 1.
I had no Plan B. Only one focus: placement. And that was the worst part. Walk-in interviews were like crows fighting over one piece of meat. It really was a “struggle for existence”.
Then came 7th February 2025. A 10-hour hackathon. HCLTech. They hired me.
And my friends’ reactions? Legendary. “Ek raat ke liye tu 10 ghanta serious kaise baith gaya?”
Toughest time of my life. But I never smoked, drank, or thought about giving up. Maybe because almost every weekend from 4th Semester, I did puja and kirtan at Vipul Sir’s home. That one ritual kept me grounded.
After placement, the old me returned. Missed lectures. Played cards. Bonfire nights. Netflix marathons, Manali trip, Holi, Techkriti, nightouts, and finally the farewell season—testimonials, Sahitya Sandhya, scribble, tears.
My gang—Abhinaba, Monika, Aniket, Harshit, Abhishek, Saumya and all—weren’t just friends. They were family. I found my startup co-founder Aryan right here at IITK. We dreamed together, built together as much as possible.
Then came 11th May 2025. The day I left. Thought I’d cry. But I was lazy, late, and in such a rush to catch my train that I forgot to cry.
But IITK never leaves you.
I walked out of those gates, but I carried with me my best days, my worst nights, and all the people who made it worth it. Not just the learnings, or the degree, or even the PORs—but the IITK lingo, the “chill hai” attitude, the resilience, the random jugads, and the people.
So yeah—officially, I’m gone.
But truly?
IITK is forever.
