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Journalism of Courage
I was in Class 9 when I first heard about the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and decided to study there. However, when I started preparing, I realised it was a tough cookie. After giving the exam, I just wanted a decent college, and thankfully got IIT Mandi.
I was selected for Mechanical Engineering but switched to Electrical Engineering in my second year. I plan to work as a software developer but I am going with the flow and may change my plan in the coming years.
My brother is an alumnus of IIT Mandi; interestingly, he was also from the same branch. I was getting electrical in other IITs but chose IIT Mandi because I wanted a better college. In my first year, I worked hard to switch my branch.
I spent most of my first year at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I came to college only in the middle of the second semester. The time my day starts usually depends on the lectures. On some days, I have lectures at 8 am, so I would wake up around 7.30 am and attend the class first till 9 am, then have breakfast, which is there till 9.30 am. This is one of the most hectic semesters; we again have classes after breakfast. Then, we have five labs every week, so the whole day is packed. We get one hour break in between for lunch; then I have labs from 2 pm, and it goes on till 5 pm. I have labs five days a week.
By the time I come back, it’s snack time. After having snacks, I rest for a bit. Then, I chill with friends and have dinner. Dinner is from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm. Once dinner is over, we all go for a walk; the weather is pleasant these days.
My first year was mainly spent at home, but when we came to college, classes for all branches were held together as we studied the same syllabus in the first year. The classes were held in a giant classroom. There were over 300 students in our class.
I have joined the Photo-making and Movie-making Club (PMC). I am a photographer and the club provides a camera (DSLR). In our first year, the college held a freshers’ learning week where after teaching you a bit, the seniors see what and how much we have learned. I came second in my batch last year. Then we have projects as a club. We have a team, including editors, moviemakers and photographers.
We have four fests; the literary fest is called Ruvaan, the cultural fest is called Exodia, the sports fest is Rann-neeti and the technical fest is Xpecto. Exodia is our biggest fest; I am in the event management team for Exodia and am very excited about it.
Some days I sleep early, but on some days, if the whole ‘mandli’ is there, then we sleep at 4 am. The entire night is spent talking and chilling with friends. On some days, I wake up at 6 am and go for a walk or a run; on some days, I go to play squash. We have badminton, basketball and have full-fledged sports clubs. Apart from the regular recreational and academic clubs, we have a hiking and trekking club and a mountain biking club.
Our college has two campuses — North and South. There is a mountain between the two campuses and we have to take a bus to travel from the North campus to the South campus. It is merely a 15-minute journey. All BTech students stay on the North campus, all academic buildings and labs are also on the North campus, and it becomes a bit congested. The South campus was built first; it is more open and has a huge cricket ground and basketball court.
All PG and PhD students stay on the South campus. There are fewer buildings on the South campus and a river flows by the South campus. You can actually hear the gushing waters. It is very beautiful, picturesque and serene.
There are many trekking options — Kandi Peak, Griffon Peak and Khanahr Peak. Sometimes the college organises the trek. Otherwise, we can go on our own as well. Kullu, Manali and Kasol are also nearby, so many people go to any of these places on weekends. I have been to Kasol and gone trekking quite several times; I even went on the Kheerganga Trek at Kasol as well.
I have been home a few times since I came here as I had to fix my braces, so I don’t miss home that much. I have friends from all over the country — people bring all kinds of delicacies from their native cities, from laddoos to pickles
I don’t know exactly how many boys’ hostels there are, it would be somewhere around nine hostels for boys and three hostels for girls on the North campus. I don’t know how many hostels are there on the South campus. I generally eat at the hostel, but on Tuesdays and Fridays, the dinner is not that great, so on those days, I don’t eat dinner. I eat at the canteen on those days, as it has more options.
One thing I have realised is that people here are extremely talented, they do so many things — sports, cultural activities, fests, academics and manage it all. It isn’t easy to balance everything but people do it and excel at it. My biggest learning is to manage everything and understand my path.
