Dedicated to the Service of the Nation

This photo of Kharagpur is courtesy of Tripadvisor

One of the unambiguous epithets describing IIT Kharagpur is what is written across its main building - Dedicated to the Service of the Nation. I don't need to name the countless number of alumni of the institute who have done just that. It must be the countless times that we have crossed it while going to our classes that made us choose a life of service. 

I chose government service in the defence sector for 10 years. As I prepare to leave the service soon, I find myself invariably trying to find newer avenues to serve the nation; but this time, in the social/ development sector. After years of office and service politics, through which you have to navigate while enabling service to the nation, I have decided a little selfishness in mental health is worth the uncertainty and monthly credits to the account. One thing's sure: I'll be striving for a setup which converts my time for some money but not before I have explored the country that I have been and am serving and not before identifying where an IIT engineer can contribute to the upliftment of the country's people.

Thank you IIT Kharagpur for still inspiring me with your motto.

How ABG Shipyard Ltd reminded me why I wrote the JEE.

Department of Ocean Engineering & Naval Architecture is unique in that, for an internship, you need to give the choice of companies you want to intern in. And most companies in India that may take a naval architect or that needs the laboratories at IIT Kharagpur gives a number of trainees they can take in for that year. So, getting the intern/training was not the trouble. Choosing the best training for your career was the trickiest part. In fact, in the days when others in my batch were looking for different companies that come to campus or applying off-campus or abroad in universities, I was just looking at one option. The option of finding a foreign company that I could intern in. I knew it was a remote chance. But I tried nevertheless. Unsuccessfully.

I had already got a taste of the training I would have to undergo in a government shipyard, if I chose to do so. In my second year, I had gone to Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. The experience was disheartening, to say the least. I was constantly put down by the "knowing" remarks from some of the employees that I would leave the core discipline soon enough. When I had got into IIT KGP, I had had absolutely no clue what naval architecture meant. What I learnt from Google and Wikipedia after those initial days, had gotten me hooked to shipbuilding. Shipbuilding, as a discipline, was the amalgamation of the best technologies of different engineering disciplines. That, multi-faceted and economic thinking is required in a naval architect, is indisputable. Towards the end of my third sem, I was very happy that I wrote JEE and profusely thanked my first mentor who drove me to write it. But MDL showed me the typical snail speed in which any government body functions. Showed me how to delay projects & ask for extra money at the first mention of upgrading technology. Showed me why India is slow at accepting & assimilating new technology.

Throughout my third year, I was constantly reminded how India accounts for only 1% of shipbuilding and that Indian shipyards have a lot to learn and upgrade. Even the head of my department showed no effort whatsoever to make it look that we were getting into a benign industry. So you can understand my aversion to government shipyards when I filled up my priority list for an internship. To my chagrin, only one private shipyard had come this year for taking interns - ABG Shipyard Ltd. I filled up IRS (Indian Register of Shipping) - a high scorer's first option, and Cochin Shipyard (nearer my home and having an aircraft carrier in building). I was lucky enough to have no one, above my score, to opt for ABG. Especially so because my CG at the time of filling options was below 7. For a moment, I was elated. Then I remembered the statistics. 1%. I grew more and more apprehensive as I entered into Surat. I kept reminding myself that after interning at the biggest public sector shipyard, I am going to the biggest private sector shipyard in India, so it can't be too bad.

The locale around the shipyard and the gates of ABG did not helping the uneasy feelings. I got all set up for the training at the HR Office and was sent to the Design department for the first two weeks. I always liked talking to people with much more experience than me and the head of the department was kind enough to give me his time. But the best part was being accepted in the design office by other employees and being trusted with work that is done by them usually. That was what got me piqued and energetic to take up more and more work. 

One of the first things they asked me to do was to update existing drawings as-fitted in the ship. This gave me a good idea of how to read production drawings and made making drawings in later stages all the more interesting. I got to utilize stuff I learnt during theory and laboratory classes at college to real-life issues. I know that is what internships are supposed to do for you. But, my last internship did nothing of the sort and hence, when I did get all of those, I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, there was one day during the internship that I stayed in the office from 8 in the morning to 9 in the evening just to witness an inclining experiment being carried out on a ship. 

Another thing about ABG Shipyard is that it is located in Surat, Gujarat. Gujarat is a dry state. Also, it has absolutely no historic places nor many fun places for entertainment, for sight-seeing. I can imagine the sighs and the smiles that are turning up on your faces. Sighs from those who were thinking of ABG and smiles from those who weren't! But, I am happy that it was a dry state. Even if it was 2 months of no fun, it was worth it. Because I got to experience a true internship. A successful industrial training. Thank you, ABG.

Ships, Shipyards & Naval Architecture

Who can deny the beauty and majesty of a ship?

Yes, I have fallen in love. Twice, in the last 2 years. Ships were one of them.

One would imagine, a skeptic like me, would look at the downside of my industry. Think like some of my colleagues that we have no opportunity out there. That Naval Architects are not paid as much as they deserve in India. That working in India is the worst kind of punishment for an IITian.

I say to them, are you f***ing kidding me?

No other engineering branch can say with as much confidence as Naval Architecture that they are the most wanted, most lucrative, most satisfying engineering branch there ever was. Naval Architects are in huge demand throughout the world. There would not be a week without which an advertisement for a Naval Architect comes up from some random corner of the world. Demand causes the lucrative nature of Naval Architecture. With just 2 years experience, your paycheck is reading at least $40K abroad.

And which designer cannot appreciate his own work after it's been made a reality. When I can experience joy by just creating a ship on Maxsurf, imagine the heights of self-pride and joy one would reach when you see it in steel. Basic Ship Theory describes shipbuilding as a cross between art and science, and I cannot agree more. In fact, it's a known fact that shipbuilding started as an art, then transformed slowly into part-science when many characteristics started making sense to the scientific mind. Even today, shipbuilding is at least 30% art. New and innovative ideas are still needed to make shipping energy efficient. Cruise ships need to be aesthetically appealing while at the same time, profiteering for the owners and affordable for customers.  Conferences are being held to discuss making warships affordable.

While trial and error were the tools of the past, we have computers to simulate every aspect of the ship. Wood has given way to Steel and Alumunium, Rivets to Welds, Steam to Diesel & Nuclear, Single hull to Catamarans & Trimarans. New additions that make shipping less costly on the environment, like bulbous bows & Zero Transom immersion, have only been possible due to science. And science has a huge role in making shipping a zero carbon-footprint industry.

If any of you are considering Naval Architecture as a career option out there, you can always ask me about it. Just comment below!

Back to Blogging

It's weird to get back to blogging after a more than a year. I just saw the last date on my last post and was wondering what I did on that date this year. March 8 - HOLI! Holi in a university is always awesome. If I have any international readers, Holi is a festival of colours in India celebrated mostly by Hindus to celebrate the victory of good over evil [referring to Ramayan].

So, Holi was a great experience this year. Comparing that with my first year in which I came out of my room for 5 minutes out of which, for two minutes I was unconscious after hitting my head on the wall, and my second year, in which I went back home, where we don't even celebrate Holi. This year, I woke with enthusiasm and went around my friends' rooms instigating them into throwing colours at each other and tearing each others clothes apart! I never imagined myself roaming the streets of my university, half-naked!

Another reason why I might have given blogging a break would be my commitment to a relationship. The yearning to spend every waking moment with her and the bad feeling in the chest when it isn't happening - all new experiences for me - so I am enjoying her company and cherish the relationship.

Whatever the causes, the main reason I am back to blogging is something way different. And this also looks like I am gonna drastically change the way I blog. It's been too personal till recent. It all started with an article I read in India Today about how blogging is changing the world and how everyday bloggers are making money out of ordinary posts only because it highlighted their expertise in the field. This made me think. If blogging is going to emphasise what my area of expertise is, why not concentrate on those only. Personal details of my life can go into my diary, after all. In fact, it has often been debated that the amount of personal details a person shares on the internet can expose him to more elaborate scams.

My next post will be about some of my findings regarding my department's prospects and futures that OENA offers.

Women's Day

To my Mother, who taught me Love is unconditional,
To my Grandmom, who taught me Love is blind,
To my Cousin Sister, who taught me Love is respect,
To my female friends, who taught me Love is worth fighting for,

Happy Women's Day!

May the Woman in you bring light into this dark world. May the pure heart be the cleansing of centuries of hatred by Man.

"To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven." - Karen Sunde

A. G. Nikhil - My experience through AIESEC

I know I would treasure throughout my life. I knew I wanted to join AIESEC as soon as I heard about it. It was one place I knew I would fit because I have had a diverse background throughout. From being born in Bahrain to doing my education in 6 schools across 5 cities in 2 countries, I knew I was meant for an international career and being in AIESEC will only catapult me towards that dream.

via blog.aieseciitkgp.org

The AIESEC Way

What is AIESEC?

AIESEC is a global, non-political, independent, not-for-profit organization run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher education. Our members are interested in world issues, leadership and management. 

AIESEC does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, creed, religion, national, ethnic or social origin.

What we envision?

Peace and fulfillment of humankind's potential.

Our Impact

Our international platform enables young people to explore and develop their leadership potential for
them to have a positive impact in society.

The Way We Do It

AIESEC provides its members with an integrated development experience (The AIESEC Experience) comprised of leadership opportunities, international internships and participation in a global learning environment. See more about the AIESEC Experience here

Our Values

Our values provide a way for the collective leadership of AIESEC to encourage common norms of behaviour across our global network. 

Activating Leadership
We lead by example and inspire leadership through our activities. 
We take full responsibility for developing the leadership potential of our members.

Demonstrating Integrity
We are consistent and transparent in our decisions and actions. 
We fulfil our commitments and conduct ourselves in a way that is true to our ideals.

Living Diversity
We seek to learn from the different ways of life and opinions represented in our multicultural environment.
We respect and actively encourage the contribution of every individual. 

Enjoying Participation
We create a dynamic environment created by active and enthusiastic participation of individuals. 
We enjoy being involved in AIESEC. 

Striving for Excellence
We aim to deliver the highest quality performance in everything we do. 
Through creativity and innovation we seek to continuously improve.

Acting Sustainably
We act in a way that is sustainable for our organisation and society. 
Our decisions take into account the needs of future generations.

Summers (China, JNC), back to KGP, MS, OP, Recruitment, IC & midsems

Life IS hectic. When you start living it fully, it is rarely that you get a chance to document it. But when you do, the memories you recollect makes it yet another great experience!

At the start of the summers, I was sure I would get bored at some point of time. But AIESEC always surprises you. The internship I went through in Shanghai taught me a lot of things. My job role was to teach English and basic information about the environment and the World Expo that was happening there. I was working under the project "Hands on Expo, Hands on Love!" The fact that I got to experience Chinese culture along with personal development in Shanghai, Suzhou and Beijing is in many ways thanks to the AIESEC team there - Mango and Cami from AIESEC in Fudan University were very helpful :)

I visited a lot of place in and around Shanghai. You can always have a look through of some of the pics in my Flickr album - www.flickr.com/photos/theworldendstoday/. Living a Chinese lifestyle with other interns from around the world - Malaysia, Poland, Mexico, Indonesia, Russia - was a humbling experience. Of course, the fact that all of them were girls did help in the overall greatness of the experience.

Four weeks into the internship, I got news that the most awaited national conference of India is coming up a week prior to my ETD (does that exist? Expected time of departure.) from Shanghai. So, I cut short my trip and went directly to Silvassa near Mumbai for another great experience! Our Local Chapter in IIT Kharagpur won the prize for Best Virtual Platform Utilization. Since, I was also a part of the team that brought it for IIT Kharagpur, I was overwhelmed with joy! And of course, I made a lot of friends there. It is when we interact with others that we get to really know the extent of our achievements and shortcomings. When we see that youth across the country is working towards the same goal of creating experiences, your zeal to work increases automatically.

Some other things I did which may be noteworthy of mention :

• I went back to Mom (she would have come to kgp and killed me if I didn't) and bro. Their stay in Chennai was getting more settled which I noticed after Mom started going out to the city ON HER OWN!!! 
• I met a good friend from Bangalore - Mohsin who seemed horrified that he's now living in Chennai and studying in Trivandrum. 
• My results came out too. Ya, I had passed but my marks were, to the horror of my parents (mind you, only my parents), one of the lowest in my batch. 

BACK TO KGP!

Megnad Saha Hall of Residence

I wasn't sure what I was expecting but my flight back to Kolkata and the road trip to Kharagpur filled me with excitement of the year to come. It gave me a feeling of belonging when I saw the gate and the building that will play a major role in my future. But I guess that was just me forgetting what was in store for me. You see, classes hadn't started. Nor had the famous OP or Orientation Programme. I had known that my new hall of residence was gonna be Meghnad Saha Hall of Residence and I was sarcastic of the general notion that you will develop an attachment for the hall if you are in a senior hall and that your hall mates will be your best friends. But then, I hadn't gone through OP. OP started and soon, MS became a term that will be engraved on my grave. Classes started too, but I soon learned that classes are not really the one thing that holds a KGPian to KGP. Hall activities and Societies, and of course, LAN, is what gives the KGPian, the KGP feel. That was what I was missing in my holidays. I can't believe that I missed KGP in the 2.5 months I was away. No wonder, seniors cry at convocation. (I never really understood why, before) But hey, I'm only 1 year down the road. What would I know?! Even hardened KGPians (dual degree) cannot say with complete confidence that they know KGP. 

The Entire LC at Information Seminar

For me though, AIESEC will always be an integral part of my life in KGP.  I firmly believe in its ideals and want it to succeed in KGP. That was one of the reasons of my involvement in the Organizing Committee of the recruitment process in July/August. And man, was that a great experience! It was my turn to implement my belief that a member who believes in AIESEC will work for it. Time to transfer the "tempo". And we did. We organized the best recruitments ever in any society's history in Kharagpur. It was fun to give "fundae" to juniors who had no idea about KGP. I was wonderstruck at how ignorant of KGP I was when I first came here. But at the end, I am proud to have got such enthusiastic new recruits into AIESEC.

Classes included 2 department courses and 4 other courses. The good thing was that we didn't have any labs and thus most of our afternoons were free of classes. But then, that is also a bane. Cuz, then we have 6 exams to deal with at the end.

After another few weeks of class came the International Congress 2010 which I wanted to attend so badly. One of the reasons was that we were conducting it in India for only the second time! I got selected as the Organizing Committee member of one of the events along with Ankit Jain - India Night and I got the opportunity to present Indian culture to the delegates which consisted of member from 107 countries! Since,  we had one a nation-wide campaign by AIESEC India, we also got the chance to send 10 other delegates. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we took it!

No, those aren't KGP girls. How can they be??

And of course, then came the next round of exams as promised by IIT KGP. Mid Sems were around the corner and we started the strenuous task of trying to study what we didn't for the last 2 months in 2 weeks. Admittedly, I did better especially due to the threat from my parents of allowing no other activity (read AIESEC) if I didn't maintain an agreeable mark range. (my grade point had dropped to 7.16)

So overall, I couldn't have hoped for a better 8 months. (Or maybe if I had gone as OC for NLDS 2010 which is going on now)

Thank you 2010!

After the exams, Chennai

The run-up to the end semester exams had the usual symptoms -

• the announcing of the schedule, 
• realizing you have very little time left, 
• finding to your horror that, the syllabus you thought was going to be tested, was only the tip of the iceberg, 
• postponing "studying seriously" to the last moment, 
• mugging whatever formula you could, and 
• writing the rest on your palm and finally screwing the exams.

 But then, it was another learning experience. I am trying to figure out what the minimum amount of study one requires to pass with an average grade is. I have a feeling I am reaching there. But then again, I thought my first sem was the minimum - I actually got 7.65; so more 'peace maar-ing' is in order.

 Presently, I am residing in Chennai (HOT is getting a new definition everyday) with my bro who suddenly decided he wanted to get into IIT too after he heard there was free internet and an intranet with just about anything you can ever desire. Cool, huh? Mom's decided bro won't study if left alone. Never knew he was destined to suffer 2 years like this.

 I would have loved to get back home in Kerala. I miss my relatives though I have only recently started to get to know them well. I did get a chance this weekend because my bro apparently forgot everything he learned in 9th & 10th and actually wants to go through the stuff from his texts which were back home.

End-result: An exciting roller-coaster ride from Chennai to Koratty (near Thrissur in Kerala) at the back of a non-A/C bus

 It would have been fun had there been any girls on board. But God doesn't work that way.

But, it IS good to be in Chennai. After all, I haven't left AIESEC and Himen (Team Management Head) set up a good network so that we could work with people from other branches i.e. I am now working with AIESEC Chennai - Juhi to be exact. Its always fun to meet new people and its a bigger experience to work with them. So, I'm having a lot fun - as I said "I LOVE 2010"!!

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RLDS – the unforgettable, once in a lifetime, conference!

When the senior members of my LC (Local Committee), AIESEC IIT Kharagpur, enthusiastically called for new recruits to attend the RLDS (Regional Leadership Development Seminar), no one had any idea about how much fun and they were gonna have there! Three of us volunteered to attend the RLDS while two EB (Executive Board) members went for the NTC (National Trainer’s Conference).
The seminar was in Shakunt Resort, which was on the Delhi-Jaipur highway. We had to take a train from Kharagpur to Kolkata and then to Delhi. It took us more than 24 hrs just to reach there. Luckily, we had taken an A/C berth. Every LC had to present a ppt about themselves and then show the LC Jive (a set of dance moves unique to the LC) and Roll Call (a moralizing shout unique to the LC). We, 5 of us – Himen Doley, Ninad Sancheti, Subhadeep Mondal, Charudatta Nirmale and A G Nikhil, selected our song and made the dance moves in the train with our laptops. (You should have seen the faces of the other passengers!) Later, we took a bus to Paota (the nearest town to the resort). In the bus, we started practicing our Jives and naturally got threatened by the conductor to throw us out! At Paota, we found a café to download our LC video from our VP C, Shubhanshu Mishra. Totally unprepared, tired and anxious, we entered the resort. After refreshing at our rooms, we went downstairs.
What met our eyes were not the boring sleep-inducing lectures. What met our eyes gave a new meaning to the word “conference”! We saw a bunch of about 40 guys and gals dancing to their song! And that was just the delegation of one of the other LCs! We presented our video about our LC, AIESEC IIT Kharagpur. Everyone gave us a positive response! Our Jive could have been better though ;) It was a treat to the eyes to watch other LCs too performing with enthusiasm.
After lunch (which was great, by the way), we had presentations by Kamal Seth on the State of the World in which we live, the History of AIESEC and the AIESEC Way. On the whole, it was an enlightening session and made us think in different ways. We even had a game (a sort of treasure hunt) in which we were divided into teams and made to decode different puzzles which were related to the AIESEC Way! The best part was the Jives we did in between the presentations. Everyone would dance to the music. Everyone’s favorite was the song Jugni from Oye Lucky! The new recruits learned dance moves from the seniors. It was a completely different experience from our Local Congress as there were many more people to have fun with ;) Then we had a Wrap Up in which the facilitators (Faci’s – basically consisting of senior members) explained what to expect from that night and the next 2 days. We were surprised to know that the party on the second day would admit only couples! We were forced to start asking for dates! The Faci’s increased our interest by Speed Dating in which quite a few of the Faci’s were “sold” to the performer with the highest support!
After dinner, we had a delegation meeting. We had our meeting with AIESEC Kolkata as we were an extension of Kolkata when we started. Our head asked us to find dates soon! Later that night, we would go through Skolling! For those of you, who don’t know, Skolling is an AIESEC tradition that consists of two teams competing in a drinking competition! One of the team members had to necessarily be a girl (or dress like one!). Since, RLDS was a dry conference, the organizers (AIESEC Jaipur) whooped up a brownish, disgusting looking drink. Later on, I came to know it contained old dal, lassi, lots of salt, chili flakes and sauce (YUCK!). Believe it or not, I was one of the few who kinda liked it! It reminded me of some vague dish of Kerala!
After that, we had a Monster-themed party! We had to come in Monster costumes to be able to attend it and outside the venue was a stall with a face-painter! I painted my face and had a hell of a time, dancing with everyone!
At the end of the day, we didn’t realize that we had gone through a 24 hr long journey because the fun we had negated all that and made us fresh! I realized that this is the power of the youth. We were enthusiastic about everything and had a lot of energy at our disposal!

The next day started with the news that we would be divided into 20 FLCs (Fictitious LCs) and would start working with them, later in the day. We woke to a presentation about AIESEC Xperience which was followed by 2 inspirational presentations about Gen 2010 and India. The love and care we had for our motherland was evident in many faces in the room. We vowed to never rest till India is at her best and to promote world peace.
After lunch, we were divided into our respective FLCs. Every FLC was a mix of members from all the LCs. There was a Faci assigned to every LC. They taught the new recruits about the functioning of the OGX (OutGoing eXchange) department. We had fun in making our own Jives and Roll Calls. Of course, we made promises to keep in touch. We also had to elect our FLCP (FLC President). The candidates had to prepare a speech for the final day and had to present them in front of the other members of the FLC.
The official part of the day ended with another delegation meeting in which we consoled the ones who didn’t have dates ;) and congratulated the others. We also helped each other on our speeches for the FLCP election.
The Date Night was a blast. There were couples all over, dancing with each other oblivious to the others! The dates had a lot of fun too!

The next day started with the FLCP elections. The 20 elected members were honored for their oratory skills! We had a session called “One Day in the Office of the LCP” in which the FLCP conducted meetings and noted points to present them in front of the other FLCPs as they had to come to a consensus. The members, in the meantime, watched an inspirational speech by Apple Founder, Steve Jobs.
As we broke for lunch, AIESEC IIT Kharagpur must have seemed the unhappiest bunch, as we were leaving the conference after that. We bid our farewells. That’s when we realized that Subhadeep was missing! We searched here and there. We found him having a last Jiving session with the others! We were so reluctant to leave the conference!!! Throughout the return journey, we talked about the fun we had in the conference and how we could improve our LC and make it the best!

In the conference, we got to meet AIESEC delegations from north-western region namely, Delhi IIT, Delhi University, Chandigarh, LPU (Lovely Professional University), Kolkata, Jaipur, Indore and Surat! On the whole, about 250 people came for this conference and all of us (yes, ALL) had a great time.

I LOVE 2010 (part #### - who cares?) AIESEC

I had heard about AIESEC about 3-4 months back when they first conducted a recruitment drive for first years.. But i couldn't attend it due to my Appendicitis Operation :(... I guess God wants me to be part of this sort-after organization! It seems AIESEC IITKGP is on an expansion mode and wants more members! Hence, there was a Internship cum Recruitment Seminar on Feb 3. The way they presented themselves immediately moved me.. It was obvious that they were proud to represent one of the best T-schools in the world and be a part of its growth here..! What i found most striking was that even though they were all students who conducted it, they were professional too!!

In the seminar, there were foreigners who had come to Kharagpur to do their internship. There were Philippe and Sandra(from Mexico) doing their project on the "Go Green" project (ya, they're basically saving the planet with their work!) and then there were Vanessa(from Brazil) and Lucia working in Barnmale(a NGO based in Kharagpur and working towards awareness of HIV/AIDS). It was inspiring to hear them talk about how different their culture is from ours and how they are enjoying!

Then there were videos of guys n gals who had already attended internships offered by AIESEC. Later on, Shubhanshu Mishra and Sachin (Local Committee President, btw) started talking about the various benefits of joining AIESEC. In short, I was mesmerized by the plethora of experience opportunities that they were providing. The internships they offered were also varied. It wasn't limited to technical matters either! Even though I had told a lot of my relatives that I would be coming to my hometown this summer, I was literally brainwashed into trying for a development traineeship and being an AIESECer! I, of course, applied for the interview and group discussion that was to be held the next day.

The next day, at about 2030, they registered our names and I waited for my chance at the group discussion. They were calling us three-by-three. It was only because there were a lot of familiar faces at the waiting room that I didn't go mad with excitement! At the group discussion, we were asked questions I wouldn't have expected at all! I mean how am I supposed to know, why they made their logo so?! But the concept was nice... Normal people become individuals and emerge from the crowd when they are through AIESEC. (check out the logo here!!)

Overall, I had a great experience. And yes, I did get selected! YAHOOOOO!!!!!

I LOVE 2010! - (part 1)

Yup, work at deco team, SF was grueling. BUT, who cares??! The amt. of fun we had drawing, painting and cutting thermocol(that IS the spelling, right?) was unparalleled!! The best part was using the fevicol to stick up whatever that came into our hands... There wasn't a single day that I didn't go back without a load of fevicol in my hands! At the end of everything, we had to carry our stuff all the way from the gymkhana to the arena (near Comp. Sc. Dept. - that's almost half a km ppl!). Couldn't be helped.. After all, we stuck most of the stuff onto thermocol! The kshitij deco team had it easier, their arena was near vikramshila and they did the work there!
Anyway, on the eve of the SF, we were poised for night-out. We hadn’t finished arranging the arena. There were a hell lot of stuff lying around and we were wondering where to put them… Then comes ….. …. Abhirajika! Our one and only, Jika to save the day and boss us around!! We were 3 first years (initial strength = 30 odd.. they just disappeared one-by-one citing one reason or the other) and a load of 2nd years (who by the way were in-charge) left to stick up the caricatures onto the charts (again, we had to make them). Jika, her antics and her fights with others, were our only form of entertainment (if u r reading this, please don’t kill me and ‘thank you!’).
By morning, most of the stuff was done. We just had to put up some boards. We came after our morning classes (ya, we still had classes… I lost count as to how many times we cursed the Profs that day!) and labs (I bunked one.. attendance will be a big criteria for grades.. I heard later... Bugger).

My volunteer work was in Netaji Auditorium. For those who were not in Jnan Ghosh or Netaji OR the photography team > LOSERS! The inauguration itself started in Netaji. The main attractions were Centrifuge (the dance competition), Two for a Tango (yes, as the name suggests any two ppl could dance to glory) and Sargam (the eastern band competition). I made a lot of friends… the type I can keep for life! The work was minimal too. I was, for the most part, the waiter boy (got drinks and stuff for the judges). Before you scoff at me (I know you already have), I got to have a hell lot of stuff free! That is, because the judges didn’t feel like eating them (for the authorities ;) ).
SF, in a word, simply rocked. We did have minor setbacks with Skid Row backing out due to an accident and Jal quitting at the last mo’. Instead we (doesn’t include me of course.. all accolades to the organizing team) called Preetam, who was kind enough to accept.. Turns out it would have been a better idea if he was coming in the first place!! The crowd enjoyed him and his group. Some other good stuff that happened were the Hasya Kavi Sammelan (HKS!), Dance floor (Perpz) and Drama (Thespianage – we had some great plays).

heyy! (ya, hi is not my usual way of greeting ppl)

Sorry for keeping you waiting for the next entry in my blog (I hope enough of you WERE actually waiting). I have been quite a busy chap with the end-sems and the holz thereafter.. Of course the holz can’t be wasted for trivial stuff like blogging. I have to sit around and do nothing which is much more important 'cause I almost never get to do it. ;)
So ya, I have been putting off. Here's what happened in the last month or so.

Well, NCC was almost exactly as I expected. The instructors gave us physical training with breaks from 0600 – 1800. Of course, there were a thousand and one complaints from the 400 odd guys who camped there but I would say the camp went quite smoothly. One big disappointment was that they didn’t give us shooting training after all the promises. It was one of the only things I was looking forward to… Even so, it was good that I got selected to be the leader of my flight (a group of 30 odd air cadets) and later on, into the Guard of Honor (supposedly the best marchers – YO!). The Guard of Honor guy made us train real hard because we were the ones, the chief guest (some military guy, ‘course) and it soon got nicknames like “g**nd of honor” and the “guard of honor without the honor”. The second name was because we never got the guns that we were supposed to hold when the guy came… So it was a big bummer when he announced it after all the training… I swear I would seriously have kicked his ass if he was our age!!! Anyway, it made us realize the importance of all the facilities we are getting! Most of the guys in the camp were complaining about why they had to go through the camp! There actually was a session on the need for NCC camp in IIT Kharagpur! I mean, why debate it when you are already in the camp!!! If you are about to embark on it and if something IS going to be done about it, THEN its fine. ;)
I liked the food there though. It was prepared by a cook in the camp itself… bathing was in open air which made us realize why gals weren’t there. Toilet was actually half a kilometer away. So if you wanted to use it and not wait for it, you had to go at 0530 in the freezing cold with cold water. The best part was washing our hands in the cold water. It went numb every time I tried. Without fail!

But it was all worth it 'cause the feeling we got after the camp was over was just priceless!! I remembered the saying our yes+ course teacher told us... "Without experiencing sadness, no one can experience the joy of happiness!" We wouldn't know what hit us!!!

Then came the much awaited holidays!!! YEEEAAAHOOO!!! Some guys booked their tickets for an hour after they were released!! Was fun to watch them running and packing stuff up!! I went two days later to Kolkata and then to Abu Dhabi via Dubai using Emirates Airlines. The flight was great. When i first came across individual screens for each passenger, I was shocked that they provide them!! It was on the first flight to Bangalore that I first saw it. I wanted to make my brother jealous and went and told him the first thing I got there. (CRAP!) That's when I learnt that it was getting quite common.

The holidays were good. I got to see my parents and bro (of course) and a few friends. Raunaq (an 80-kg giant and a friend) suddenly about 10 - 15 kg after spending just a few months at hostel!! Then as in all holidays, I got to spend all the time playing and watching movies. I didn't spend as much time e-socializing as I normally would if I was in college. The worst habit I got out of the vacation was a game called ... wait for it... Pokemon. Ya, the child game. Anyone remember it being a hit about a decade back? I donno why. I just couldn't stop playing the dumb game!!! Then of course, mom and dad wouldn’t leave me without new clothes. Got a new mob (nokia 6700 - ya guys, be jealous) and an exchange for my old lappy.

But the holz were soon over... Back to the best t-school in the country (yo kgp - it was voted for the third consecutive time). Back to staying up till 3 in the night watching movies. Back to goofing around! At least that's what I thought. Turns out kgp had different plans for me. I will be staying awake till 3 but only because I got selected in an interview at last!! (Volunteer and Decoration team member of the socio-cultural fest of IIT Kharagpur) YEEESSS!!! So now, no time to goof around with half an hr of studies everyday, 10 - 3 of deco team work, yes+ work and eating and sleeping! Actually I am just coming back from the initial briefing for deco team. Starting tomorrow, I am really busy guys!! So chow for now! Take Care!

Exams Galore

At last I got a reprieve to write something in my blog! The last 3 days were directly from hell. I had a PDS lab test (ok.. not exactly hell there) followed by Engg Drawing and Math, the next day and Phy lab test (purely hell) today. I still got phy test day after... but then again its day after. (I'm sure its pretty much this attitude of mine that made hell - ya i DO know it but it takes a lot to implement it)

Anyhow, the world wide web doesn't need to know the procrastination of a teen - its just too common! Ok where was I?? Well, I don't seem to remember much of what I have not told about earlier but if I do remember I'll tell along the way! Now, almost everyone's in exam fever.. I said almost cuz i know i am not! We were playing badminton just a few minutes back. Its weird really... Exams are one thing that brings all IITians together. Boys love it greatly cuz they get a genuine reason to talk to gals and gals love it cuz they don't have to show off anymore to get boys attention! ;) Ok jokes apart, it really makes more than half the students more social partly cuz they like telling each other who has studied the least and appear cool, partly cuz they really haven't studied anything and feel it would be good to have the company of those who are like him/herself, and also partly cuz they know that socialising is wasting time and time ain't precious... (ya i know.. i am going lame - must be the subconscious tension of exams - if you meet me now you wouldn't find a livelier person!!)

Speaking of gals, did i tell you that this place is a heaven for them?? The ratio's like 1:20... Really frustrating for me. I was thinking of having some fun after coming here.. I guess I'll just have to wait till the despos try their luck. ;) But anyway its good to have them as friends. They are usually very helpful. USUALLY - mind you. There's this gal in my section who only thinks of her.. She haven't got any friends either. I mean its just the first 3-4 months and basically everyone's your friend at the moment - how DID she manage to alienate herself so fast?? If she was a maggu, I would have understood but she ain't getting the top marks either! phew.. An exact opposite to her and one of her only 'friends' is this hyperactive (in a good way) and friendly gal! But she ain't so good in pds.. I would have been happy to help but she isn't asking much after the first time. Ya I DID try to teach two gals, programming. Was fun in a way. But this other gal wasn't really interested in learning! ;) Ok that's too much already.. If you wanna know more, contact me. I got elders listening on to this blog!

The internet is soooooo helpful to keep in touch. The best thing i like about it is the social websites. FB, twitter and orkut are everyday activities already. Having internet and lan connection directly to the room had to lead to this. But i don't regret this. I don't think i would have got in touch with my old pal Ashutosh any way else. He's in Toronto now and we just got in touch after SIX YEARS!! We were best friends for six years before that!! I do blame myself for not continuing contact then but i was also an idiot then and a gr8 maggu. The biggest lesson I have learnt in life is that without friends, life is hell. You have to shut your mouth and that is something i have learnt to live without. I give the credit of that to my two years in Bangalore. My friends Saketh, Suhail and Mohsin taught me that studying isn't everything. If it wasn't for Saketh's constant bickering about the system (i miss what he did best - shout at the principal), and Suhail's and Mohsin's indifference, I wouldn't be the super - active guy i am now. But i am digressing off the main topic.. Oh by the way my efforts to publicise my blog are slowly paying off.. Thank you twitter, fb, gtalk, linkedin and wherever else i have mentioned my blog!! (i have already started forgetting!)

Well back to classes.. So the first sem is about to reach its close by next week... The highlights have been PDS and Mechanics. I would really miss PDS.. I am thinking of using the video library available over the lan to continue studying programming and web designing. I am guessing we will continue with mechanics in the second yr - so not so sad abt that.. it IS really interesting. Math could have been interesting in the hands of a gud prof but i guess i just havta mug it up along with physics.. Physics is even worse actually.. I mite even have a backlog in it if i dont study. The tv shows and movies over dc are just too overpowering in attractiveness!! :D Don't worry i am not about to fail! (that's what everyone says around here but many do fail the first exams)

That's all for now. I'll probably give you good news after the exams which get over on 26th. I got NCC camp after that.. Did i tell you about ncc?? oh well.. later! a bientot!

<-life goes on->

The saying 'time flies' is just too true when you are enjoying yourselves. And that is exactly what I have been doing these 3 months!! Enjoy, enjoy and when i have sometime - enjoy! It is already the best 3 months of my lifetime!

Well, where to start... I left you just after the admission procedures, right? Thereafter, I learnt that there were quite a few guys from kerala whose rooms were near me. These guy - Jerin and Joseph (who incidentally are almost always together) - knew a second year from before. And another - Saneesh - got a room near some keralite M.Techs. Hence we got in touch with the group - Tech Keralites. But all that was in the social scenario.
The dean (or dosa as we so 'lovingly' call him) made us a week full of orientation programmes to get us acquainted with the system. It was quite interesting to learn all the facilities available to us. But I learnt soon that it was almost a waste of time 'cause we could have learnt all that they said ourselves better. The only good thing out of that was the contacts we got which we could have got from a brochure!

Then came the classes. I had high expectations for the professors and their methods of teaching. I don't remember what my first class was but I soon learnt that the fame the teachers got outside IIT was only because of a few professors like my mechanics sir : Prof. B. Maiti and pds sir : Prof. Rajib Mall. My physics and math professors couldn't have made the two most interesting subjects in the world more boring than they have done now. Staying awake in class was a dream that even hard core maggus find it difficult to make real.

In between all the classes, we had selection procedures, workshops, interviews, etc. from all the societies in iitkgp. There was dance, drama, singing, literature, robotics, entrepreneurship, sports, interviews for representing iitkgp in certain fests and for volunteering... I went for the dance workshop. I was quite a beginner in dancing. I hadn't really danced since 2nd grade!! But i liked the concept.. So the seniors were impressed.. but they settled for selecting those who already knew a bit of dance... Since drama workshops were going on along with the dance, i couldn't try them out too! Of course, i didn't go for the singing. I don't even know one full song!

The most popular society was without doubt the Robotics Society and mainly KRAIG (which was its technical division). After all, we came here to become engineers. Its but natural that we are attracted to robotics. But I didn't get selected into either the Robotics team or the KRAIG team.. For KRAIG, there actually was a written test and it had to be conducted in 4 classes with a strength of 200 each!! I didn't listen to many of the robotics lectures anyway. So it wasn't much of a shock...

Then the next best thing was the selections for Kshitij and Springfest, the two big fests - the former technical and the latter social and cultural.. We heard a lot about it from our seniors as to how much fun they are.. They were both in January and the promotions and preparations were starting soon.

But before that there were the midsems... They were, in short, a nightmare.. With all the happenings going on, I never did do much studying except for the beginning of the sem. I would put a lot of blame on dc++ though. DC++ was THE best thing to happen in iitkgp. In iitkgp, we have the largest lan network in asia connecting all the laptops and computers of the students from every room. I have not yet found something that cannot be found in dc. Movies, tv shows, stand up comedies, e-books, softwares, music, bhajan (u know what i mean and if u don't, i ain't gonna explain), video lectures, comics... the list goes on forever..! So who in the right mind would not check it out and thus waste hours on it?? I must have watched atleast 30 movies after reaching kharagpur apart from the ones the show every saturday at the Netaji Auditorium (which anyway has poor sound quality)!
Well anyway, I did do some mugging towards the end. My habit of understanding the subject while in class itself paid off in the end and i just passed in physics. Got a respectable grade in math and did well in comp. Our mech prof still hasnt told us how bad we did in his subj. I presume it would have to be VERY bad for him not to reveal it to us. or VERY good. Who cares??

Then came the Durga Puja Holidays. We got abt 10 days of holz. And so i decided to go to kerala. I don't remember well but i think mom did call me to go meet her instead.. Oh by the way, i call my parents everyday. Most guys think that's not necessary or its childish.. but i love them so and mom would freak out if i didn't anyway! ;)
So i had a good time in kerala being nice to my relatives and vice-versa.. But i was craving to spend more time in kgp..

Ok, after that came the selections to become advertise SpringFest in various colleges.. I think I did well to the point that they heard that i wasn't going to kerala for my winter holz. They weren't very interested to publicise in colleges of UAE!! The same thing happened in an interview to publicise GES - 2009 (Global Entrepreneurship Summit) except that this one was almost a sure selection till that point. Oh then there was this interview for selection into Space Society which was in collaboration with ISRO.. I really wanted this one to work out.. I donno why i didn't get selected.. I think i lacked self-confidence then. Anyway my friend Kelin got selected by bragging about himself (or so he told me). He told he had skills he didn't have and is in quite a fix now!!

Backing to the social scenario again, I still have keralites to be one of my best friends yet. Saneesh, the gr8 sleeper, Govinda, the lazy, and Jerin, the super lazy were in my section and we often go to class together... Oh, except for Jerin who starts bathing when the class is supposed to start..! Then there's the bookworm Joseph, the funny-n-witty Abhinav, the pj-cracker Kelin, the hot(he's muscular - just to clarify that i ain't gay - yet) Atul, the serious Jerrin Joy (ya we have two jerins - one with a double r though), the super-duper serious Jijin and rival-to-Kelin-in-pj-cracking Anirudh. That's basically the ones i am usually around with when it comes to keralites. Then there's Rishabh (got to meet him cuz he was Joseph's roomie but he's a member of HTDS - one of the cool societies), Abhishek (the pervert roomie of Abhinav), Saurabh (the less pervert football freak living opposite to Joseph) and Vishnu (who knows malayalam, telugu, marathi, hindi and english - jack of everything, king of none - so he's the butt of a lot of jokes). That's a small list of those who i know but these are the ones i see most often..
One of the greatest traditions in iitkgp is GPL -> Gaand Pe Laath. If you have had the unfortunate luck of revealing your b'day to anyone in kgp, u r in for a series of nightmares in the nights preceding your b'day. But one of the funniest incidents happened during my b'day... The group came to gimme my share and Joseph was talking abt him being a black belt which incidentally i am too and so is Govinda, and on his first kick, i clenched and he goes "OOOWWWWWW!!!!" :D I mean, what the hell???? He kicks ME and HE goes "OW"??!! He's still the butt of certain jokes regarding that... Anyway, the most recent one we gave was to Joseph itself. He had not told us that his b'day was on 7th Oct and we decided to celebrate it on 7th Nov with more macho. We roused him from his sleep, gave him a gud GPL, got some water (in the meantime he started running), i chased him, splashed him on his butt (after all it needed cooling!) and ya it was all my idea! ;)

Our hostel is a 10 minute cycling from the class. We have classes mainly in Vikramshila (V4)(with A/c) and some tutorial classes (taken by PhDs or MTechs) in the main building(without A/c - damn). So if you woke up late some day, it is quite difficult to summon your butt from your bed, to the showers and then take a cycle till class. So we do proxying. Easy and simple. Though some have found it to their chagrin that it isn't SOO easy that you can put a completely different sign! Akshay (a friend of a friend from abudhabi) was a victim to mech sir once.. When i think of punishment in iitkgp, it is inevitable to think of disco (Disciplinary Committee before you spit out your coffee). Abhishek got caught for writing 'If you are the Abhinav i know, you are pissing me off!' in the IIT site meant for "study purposes only!" His parents got called and he had to do some work in the library.. but I gotta appreciate his nerve.

My first foray into the best engg college in india!

I was in Abu dhabi before reaching Kharagpur.. My father works there as a sales manager in Ajecobond.. I had to take a Gulf Air flight via Bahrain (which by the way is the place i was born and i was going back there for the first time after i left the place... i have absolutely no memory of bahrain if anyone was planning to ask me about Bahrain) to Mumbai and then another flight to Kolkata... It was a grueling schedule but we managed to make it just on time for all the flights... What i noticed first about Kolkata were the amount of cycle rickshaws there! I was shocked to see them as i had thought they were the minority nowadays... I took a vow then and there that i wouldn't travel in a rickshaw pulled by a human... (But of course, that vow was broken pretty soon as my parents weren't that sensitive to this matter when they saw the size of IIT Kharagpur and the daunting task of getting from one place to another made them hire a rickshaw.. But i am sure that whenever i am not under my parent's direct control, i won't hire one.)
We reached Howrah railway station with a pre-paid taxi from the airport. As soon as we got out, we were surrounded by porters.. Father finally agreed to a person who said he would get us a seat in a train to Kharagpur... We booked the tickets and almost rushed into the compartment our porter was leading to when Mom noticed that it was for the disabled.. Dad started protesting and we waited for the TTR and by giving him a handsome bribe, we got to travel in a A/C compartment. We got seats beside a boy and his father. We soon learned that he was also headed to IIT Kharagpur. His name was Anshul and he was coming from Chandigarh. {"So HE is my first acquaintance in IIT"} Dad and his dad started talking and soon we were talking about "what not"..... of course, most of it was Hindi and my mom and brother had a difficult time understanding it. But i don't think they got bored 'cause the scenery was breathtaking. All the fields and stuff were exactly like what we usually see in Kerala. I was amazed to find that there were so many similarities between West Bengal and Kerala...
As we got out of the station at Kharagpur (which is the longest railway station in the WORLD) by noon, we had a IIT provided bus waiting for us... I soon learned that Kharagpur got its name only for its IIT and railway station.. Most would say that they got a grand feeling when they entered IIT campus.. But i was feeling okay.. maybe a tad excited.. that's all...
As expected by us, my family didn't get a decent place to stay in and had to crowd around in my room for the night.. My roommate had already arrived from Gurgaon without his parents (which turned out to be good for us!!). That night we bought stuff like bucket, bed, SIM, etc. required for the room. Next day, I went through with the admission process which turned out chaotic with all the parents hovering over their children and giving advices.... [i think they would have given them advices 24/7 if they could..] My parents had the sense to stay away from the main procedure as much as possible... But of course, there were 2-3 calls asking what was going on... But everything went smoothly for me (or as smoothly as possible in india!)...
My parents got a plane to Kochi that night and i was surprised to see that mom didn't have much advices left for me at the end... (she had a lot when i went to Bangalore for IIT coaching 2 yrs back) Then i realised that my roommate wasn't being silent 'cause my parents were present.. It was 'cause, he WAS like that always!! Unless you ask him anything, he won't reply!! And by asking, i learned that he drinks and smokes too... Luckily he won't do that anytime soon.. 'cause its difficult to find alcohol and cigarettes here... and by the time he finds out, we will be in second yr and may change roommates by then...