As We Leave…#22

Kshitij Yeotikar is a final year undergraduate in the Mathematics and Scientific Computing Department. Let’s have a look at his journey at IIT Kanpur and live the nostalgia and reminiscence with him.

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. 

Over the past several months, with the pandemic looming over the entire world, the hopes of enjoying the last semester at IITK also got dashed. I was hoping for IITK to reopen soon and let me have those last few golden days again and was desperately looking forward to the last bulla session, the most awaited photoshoot, the exciting football matches, the last meal at Barbecue Nation and millions of other things. Maybe, it just wasn’t meant to be. While writing this article, I became nostalgic thinking about the wait I sensed four years ago. I was excited but as they say “new place always troubles”, so I’m a bit tense as well. 

With a good enough JEE rank and MnC as my branch, B318 Hall2 was the place where I first landed. The first two days were really tough but soon I got accommodated as the orientation program proceeded and Harlem shake marked my first wing interaction. Attending lectures at the huge L7, getting up on Saturday mornings for the coolest CPA “NCC”, attending GBMs started my journey at IITK, definitely memorable. For those who don’t know me, I am an extrovert, and I am seldom found alone in my room. Soon I made some great friends, didn’t realize they would become an integral part of my life by the end of these four years. This is something I wish to tell to the coming generations of IIT Kanpur, that the person sitting next to you might be way more interesting than games and movies on your laptop. So don’t simply sit inside your room, go out and explore as many things as you can.

B318 was not a triple-sharing room anymore but accommodated a lot more than that, and thus became home to the best memories of my life. Not even over were the night outs of takneek, and fights in inferno, when the midsems came. Libraries filled with students on and off the chair. I recall how upset the hall was after the MTH101 mid sem marks. However, this feeling of despair didn’t last long when Antaragni brought with it its energy, the euphoria that could blow away anyone’s mind. Excited to work in a fest, I started as a hospitality volunteer in Antragani, and later on as an MnP executive in techkriti. This is when I found MnP was the most appropriate place for me, and so I continued working as an MnP executive in E-Cell and later on as a manager in Antaragni.  

The Second year started with a major setback. Many of my friends with whom I used to hang out with most of the time were suspended. One from the left, and one from the right of my room, it was a quite depressing time. The complete spirit of our hall and maybe of the whole campus was demolished. Friends who were a part of my routine from the last one year, who used to accompany me to the lecture halls, canteen, and OAT suddenly disappeared. That was a tough time for me, but soon I comprehended that it’s not the time for me to cry, some of my closest friends needed support. After a couple of months, I realized, there will always be “tough times”, at every stage of your life, but positivity is the key. Perhaps try to find solutions by yourself or try reaching out to your people, talk to them and if nothing works, just hit the pause button and let it sink in.

This incident made me learn a lot and made me believe that “tough times don’t last, tough people do”. I was lucky enough to have amazing friends, and in the coming years, all of us realized that discussing problems helped a lot. The next semester started on a low, with less number of friends. It included two torturing math courses and one grade drop for no fault of mine. The questions kept popping inside our heads, why the MTH courses and grading policies were not like other departments. I, along with many of my friends were at a stage where we were retrospecting our decision of taking the MnC branch. But that misconception was soon cleared in the coming years. During this semester, I, along with two of my friends organized the Hall-2 Football League. I used to play football regularly but this tournament was the path that led to the great football family I have at IITK. I can’t remember a single game that ended without a fight, but the fights only lasted till the match was not over. There was a time when we were so engrossed in football that despite playing in IFL and other institute tournaments, we used to have tournaments with different halls, and even with Y15 of our own hall. Football was something that I loved and it always kept me engaged. This institute provides ample facilities and one of the best campuses in India, and so try as many new clubs or sports you can, and then finally find something that you enjoy a lot or makes you feel good. Learn new things, discover your hidden talents, or explore something that diverts or relaxes you during tough times. For me playing football did the same thing.  

The third-year started with everyone focusing on internships. I was not well prepared and that completely reflected on my tests. Quite upset, but I was glad that I had friends to discuss my problems with. That incident taught me many things, better time management, how to handle things maturely when nothing goes your way, and a lot more. It was at the end of the fifth semester that we decided to study in groups. These group study sessions were a huge success and thus resulted in almost every group member scoring a nine pointer in the sixth semester. These group study lessons had a special place in our hearts and so we named these as “Raids”. These sessions were a gem for students who were last-minute readers. It then continued, and during the seventh semester around half of the MnC batch was studying together in a single room. 

Not even over with the summer internships, started the placement semester. One of the most paramount things, why a teenager works hard to get into an IIT is due to its amazing placements. Most of my friends were either not opting for the placements or had received a Pre Placement Offer. I still remember the times, when despite receiving a Pre-placement offer, some of my friends used to give tests with me, so that I continued working hard. Soon giving those company tests became a habit for the next two months, and NCL became my workplace. But that was just the trailer, the real pressure scenario started just one week before the interviews, with around twelve of my friends sitting with me the day before the interviews started. I still remember, they distributed themselves to various panels so that I don’t miss a single interview due to clashes. Exhausted after lots of interviews in a single slot, I went back to the room with two of my friends, the rest of them still outside the panel. After a couple of hours, the interviewer came outside and was so delighted to see so many people waiting for the result of just one. Finally, I got placed at Myntra, and the interviewer called me and said ,“Congratulations! We are really very happy to see that you have great friends.” That day I realized, the most important thing the college gave me was great friends and they would last forever. Despite all the struggles that MnC gave us, one realizes that it’s worth every bit of it during the internship and placement sessions.

I am not graduating with a great CPI, or huge POR’s but yeah, these four years at IITK have changed me to a great extent. The teenager entering B-318 of Hall 2 and the adult leaving A118, Hall1 are two completely different people. Everything has changed, the mindset, the maturity level, way to handle things, and much more. I still recall the question we were asked during our first GBM, what’s the difference between a normal college and IITs? True, IITs have great facilities and even exposure, but the most important thing is the students who get into IITs. The students here make this institution great. You are surrounded by the brightest and sharpest minds of your age group. Interact with them, you can learn a lot from them. 

Whenever I discuss these four years at IITK, I can count thousands of mistakes I made, but yeah this is how you learn. Everyone makes mistakes, but it depends on how you handle them, how fast you learn not to repeat those mistakes. It’s perfectly fine to make a mistake as long as you learn something from it.

The last sem on campus has a completely different environment. Everyone is trying to live these last four months as much as they can. Hall-1 is filled with all sorts of emotions, everyone trying to relive these four years. Soon the countdown began, with 100 days left, but we never knew it would be so much less than that. It was the 8th of March, excited for the goa trip- locked my room, but never realized these might be my final moments in this beautiful journey. And this is the thing that hurts my batch the most, we didn’t receive a chance to say a proper goodbye.

Written by:- Kshitij Yeotikar

Edited by:- Aryan Pandeya