Academic pariah

Venue: Dining Hall, Guest House, Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad.

Time: 13.00

A lively conversation about different Institutes of India and their campus is going on. Sorrounded by 1st year Msc  students of Mathematics, all strangers brought under one roof by their common love for the subject (attending Summer Programme in Mathematics, HRI) I am giving my views too.

Suddenly,

X (to me): So which Institute are you from?
Me: IIT Kharagpur
X: 2 year Msc?
Me: No, Integrated.

And with that, everyone recedes into an ominous silence.
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