Final year at IIT Kanpur : first half

It all started with gloom of many hues. It ended on a positive note. While it was clear at the outset that it is going to be a very different year of my academic life, it turned out to be the best year. John Keats said, “Heard melodies are sweet. Those unheard are sweeter”. Clearly this melody was sweet. I wait for sweeter ones.

This year was preceded by departure of many of my friends with whom I relished talks ranging from topics as apart as economy, foreign policy, politics and cricket. Of course we discussed something about academics too. Dual degree programmes at IIT Kanpur have one drawback, though not necessarily of their own making. For four years we are put in a wing (a column of rooms) with inmates from different departments and different programmes. So it is quite natural that you make friends with students enrolled in 4 year programs. Sometimes they turn out to be your closest friends or cronies!!! One can't stop oneself from cursing this design of academic structure. But then, not all whines are for legitimate reasons.

I entered the new Hall of Residence (that's what we call hostels in IITK ) which is at least a km away from academic area. This distance looked more arduous due to necessity of marking attendance everyday. However, things started getting better from second month onwards. The September last year had the best weather I have ever seen in my life. Add to it the rustic surroundings of Hall 9. The wing structure in Hall 9 suits smaller wings. And we were left in just that number in our final year. The bonds grew stronger. The stipend and quality of Hall 8 canteen meant that we were able to spend more on food. Four of us became frequent visitors to that place. My interaction with department also increased due to allocation of a workbench and duties of Teaching Assistant. So much so that the guy with whom I had only formal conversations for first four years, leg pulling and banter was part of every meet.

October brought with it some tension. Yes, the placements were approaching and even if you try to remain oblivious to the fact, your surroundings wont let you do so. The spate of PPTs and concomitant tests meant that the importance of the event dawned on us. Add to it the aftershocks of recession last year. November went off very quickly and perhaps it was the single largest month of the year in terms of tension. Luckily for us the placement of Computer Science department was very good. Overall placements also improved. Most of us got placed before our expected date. And some of us got their choicest sector. With this our first semester concluded on a happy note.

Any remembrance of life at IIT Kanpur should not end without mentioning the weather and beauty of the place. Early winter months are very pleasant in Kanpur. Hall 9 is very well placed with vast open space behind it. Few stunted trees dot it but more or less it is a grassland. The view is breathtaking at evenings and during cloudy days. Vacant backyard also means the wind speed is relatively high. The final year provided us with many spare hours to enjoy natural beauty and contemplate. And one thing which I can say with confidence after living there is that plains can be as beautiful as hills.

P.S. I plan to write about remaining months but I am pretty lazy in putting my thoughts in my blogs, so that may take some time.