New Delhi:
(Abhimanyu Rana studied Biotechnology and graduated from IIT Delhi in 2005. He has previously worked with the National Knowledge Commission and now runs a chain of restaurants in NCR.)
"Meet Abhimanyu. He's an IITian." That is how my friends always seem to introduce me to people. In a country plagued by horrible, sparse higher educational infrastructure, IIT has become a caste of sorts.
I went to IIT Delhi in 2000, when there were about 2000 seats for over 1,20,000 applicants; the deluge of new IITs had not hit the country yet. This meant that student quality was at an all-time high.
Also, the economy was not doing too well. There were only a few select companies that recruited on campus, and hence most of the students went to the USA for higher studies. (Poorly equipped labs and non-existent research did not help either, but that is another story.)
For a batch where most had never done anything beyond academics, it was the perfect recipe for fierce pressure-driven competition.
An incident from my first minor exam in the first semester stands out. Four of us, all in our late teens, were settling into a close friendship and would hang out together. That day, we were sitting on the steps to the library studying at the last minute before the exam - two papers on the same day.
Three of us had missed a class, thanks to sheer laziness, and now asked the fourth for notes. He refused point blank and said "if I share the notes with you guys, you may score high and get graded higher".
First exam, first semester, first year. I was shocked.
Needless to say that man isn't one of the many lifelong friends I made during my stay at IIT.
Then there is self-induced pressure to catch up on the life most had not had so far - reading (Atlas Shrugged was popular), a jab at strumming the guitar, dabbling in theater and other such activities.
But the worst of all is the pressure to find your calling in life - M.S., or a job, or an MBA (most IITians walk into IIMs), or may be a start-up. There are so many things we are confident of doing, and there is zero career counselling. I feel this was the time I felt most clueless in my life.
Life for IITians remains a high pressure situation after campus. There are expectations from all for us to do better than average our entire lives.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this blog are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
"Meet Abhimanyu. He's an IITian." That is how my friends always seem to introduce me to people. In a country plagued by horrible, sparse higher educational infrastructure, IIT has become a caste of sorts.
I went to IIT Delhi in 2000, when there were about 2000 seats for over 1,20,000 applicants; the deluge of new IITs had not hit the country yet. This meant that student quality was at an all-time high.
Also, the economy was not doing too well. There were only a few select companies that recruited on campus, and hence most of the students went to the USA for higher studies. (Poorly equipped labs and non-existent research did not help either, but that is another story.)
For a batch where most had never done anything beyond academics, it was the perfect recipe for fierce pressure-driven competition.
An incident from my first minor exam in the first semester stands out. Four of us, all in our late teens, were settling into a close friendship and would hang out together. That day, we were sitting on the steps to the library studying at the last minute before the exam - two papers on the same day.
Three of us had missed a class, thanks to sheer laziness, and now asked the fourth for notes. He refused point blank and said "if I share the notes with you guys, you may score high and get graded higher".
First exam, first semester, first year. I was shocked.
Needless to say that man isn't one of the many lifelong friends I made during my stay at IIT.
Then there is self-induced pressure to catch up on the life most had not had so far - reading (Atlas Shrugged was popular), a jab at strumming the guitar, dabbling in theater and other such activities.
But the worst of all is the pressure to find your calling in life - M.S., or a job, or an MBA (most IITians walk into IIMs), or may be a start-up. There are so many things we are confident of doing, and there is zero career counselling. I feel this was the time I felt most clueless in my life.
Life for IITians remains a high pressure situation after campus. There are expectations from all for us to do better than average our entire lives.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this blog are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
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