Post JEE results every year, almost every IIT student has to go through the ordeal of counselling enthusiastic new JEE qualified kids and their over enthusiastic parents. Your distant aunt or uncle brags to their distant relative who knows someone distant whose son/daughter cleared JEE. And thus your contact number travels around unwillingly.
They call you up, they introduce themselves and ask about your well being as if they have known you for ages. While you are bored and wondering how long it is going to take this time or is it the first of many calls to come.
It is interesting to talk to the kid who is supposed to be the one making decisions, but 9 out of 10, the chances are you are stuck trying to convince a worried Dad that people who study anything other than CS and IT also get jobs.
They ask you all sorts of questions. Some of them regular, some unexpected and some to which you won't have a reply. One parent asked me if his son should take tuitions for the aptitude test taken for students who fill Architecture or Design in their choice sheet at the counselling. What do you say to that?
Some parents are very bright. They do their homework. They find out. They google. They know what the status quo is. But they probably want an inside opinion. It is nice talking to them. It is a change.
Some kids just desperately want to convince their parents that they aren't making the wrong choice. These parents would rather listen to a stranger (whose only qualification is to have cleared JEE and managed to stick around to whatever course he took in an IIT) than believe in their son/daughter and let them pursue what they want. My case was similar. I had to track down someone (Pratyush Kumar, 'bhaiyya' as I referred to him henceforth), who thankfully managed to convince my sister to let me take an "MSc" course in IIT Kgp. Weeks of inconclusive debates with me and one phone call, barely 15 minutes, and she bought it, whatever he said.
Anyway, the reason behind writing this post was not this. All this stuff just came out.
While chatting with a friend, he mentioned that some friend of his was asking him about Mechanical Department of IIT Kgp. His friends brother just cleared JEE and wants to choose between IITD civil/chemical vs IIT Kgp mech. What I said in reply was interesting, almost like a revelation.
Kovid: IIT D/K civil/chem vs IIT-KGP mech
Am I right? Or was that just a remark to justify my change of opinion?
Kgp campus life does reek of a lack of any other normal life. And everything - Illumination to cut-throat competition in Inter Halls, poltu in elections - they all seem like an overcompensation to believe that Kgp life is oh-so-fun.
They call you up, they introduce themselves and ask about your well being as if they have known you for ages. While you are bored and wondering how long it is going to take this time or is it the first of many calls to come.
It is interesting to talk to the kid who is supposed to be the one making decisions, but 9 out of 10, the chances are you are stuck trying to convince a worried Dad that people who study anything other than CS and IT also get jobs.
They ask you all sorts of questions. Some of them regular, some unexpected and some to which you won't have a reply. One parent asked me if his son should take tuitions for the aptitude test taken for students who fill Architecture or Design in their choice sheet at the counselling. What do you say to that?
Some parents are very bright. They do their homework. They find out. They google. They know what the status quo is. But they probably want an inside opinion. It is nice talking to them. It is a change.
Some kids just desperately want to convince their parents that they aren't making the wrong choice. These parents would rather listen to a stranger (whose only qualification is to have cleared JEE and managed to stick around to whatever course he took in an IIT) than believe in their son/daughter and let them pursue what they want. My case was similar. I had to track down someone (Pratyush Kumar, 'bhaiyya' as I referred to him henceforth), who thankfully managed to convince my sister to let me take an "MSc" course in IIT Kgp. Weeks of inconclusive debates with me and one phone call, barely 15 minutes, and she bought it, whatever he said.
Anyway, the reason behind writing this post was not this. All this stuff just came out.
While chatting with a friend, he mentioned that some friend of his was asking him about Mechanical Department of IIT Kgp. His friends brother just cleared JEE and wants to choose between IITD civil/chemical vs IIT Kgp mech. What I said in reply was interesting, almost like a revelation.
Kovid: IIT D/K civil/chem vs IIT-KGP mech
me: Mech in Kgp is goodvery good profs
IIT KGP mech I would say
if the guys wants to learn anything
10:15 AM Kgp isn't much "fun"
Kovid: hmm
ya
first year me to tu bahut bolti thi
:P
ki bahut vibrant campus life hai
me: It is too vibrant
10:16 AM Overcompensation for a lack of life
Am I right? Or was that just a remark to justify my change of opinion?
Kgp campus life does reek of a lack of any other normal life. And everything - Illumination to cut-throat competition in Inter Halls, poltu in elections - they all seem like an overcompensation to believe that Kgp life is oh-so-fun.
It does seem a lot like it. I really think people in Kgp have stereotypes about what fun is or can be -- which in itself doesn't sound really fun.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I would have just told the person: Flip a coin and you decide unless you really have a preference towards either one. In any case, leave me out of it!!
PS: Didn't have the patience to follow the long thread on Facebook. So, I might be repeating a few things!
'lack of life' you mean in academic terms? if not then do you imply that big city dwellers have a better life because there are many more hedonistic avenues out of campus and more innovative ways to blow the parents' money eh? it would be more enlightening if you explained your viewpoint ..
ReplyDeleteBy 'lack of life' I mean both academic and hedonistic.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how this vicious cycle began but the moment students enter campus, they are grilled with concepts of hall tempo, OP, GC, elections. They are forced to believe that their responsibility to academics got over the moment they cleared JEE, that now their success, the worth of their CV depends solely on these extra-curricular activities. They are brain-washed, manipulated, misled to the point that most of them are alienated from academics. Now like their seniors, they need a purpose, a motivation, a sense of worth, an avenue to spend time basically. And as hedonistic as city life sounds, it is way better than what an average Kgp'ian indulges in. It begins quite harmlessly with with TV Series, Porn, Counter Strike, Call of Duty which, with seniority progresses into various "societies" or worse - sheer sadism. Only people with a definite 'lack in life' will make first/second years do the heinous. unspeakable things which are commonplace in OP here. If people had things to do, it would take their mind off useless campus politics, hall sento and similar crap. They would rather go out bowling with friends than sit in a common room and enjoy juniors strip.
Not to mention, the most obvious lack of life, for guys here is female companionship. In places like IIT Delhi and Bombay, guys are not limited to the abysmal sex ratio in their own institute and have the option of meeting girls outside campus.
ReplyDeleteAn article by a friend on something similar -http://sumeetmohanty.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/hall-tempo-ed/
ReplyDelete