NCERT books, makeshift campus, cricket with boys: Mohit Bansal recalls his days in IIT-Guwahati’s first batch

Mohit was a student of IIT Guwahati’s first batch and is currently the institute’s alumni association president. He bagged a seat at IIT Guwahati for BTech in Electronics and Communication Engineering and graduated, hoping to pursue a masters.

‘Cracking JEE was tough in ’90s too’

While Mohit already knew about IITs, it was in high school (in Roorkee) that he got to know about IIT Guwahati. “I knew there was a University of Roorkee, but back then, I had no idea that IIT and Roorkee (university) were two separate entities,” he said.

He also recalled that in 1995, there was only one entrance exam for IIT, unlike now when there are JEE Main and JEE Advanced.

First batches of IIT:  IIT Delhi | IIT Kanpur | IIT Madras | IIT Bombay | IIT Kharagpur| IIT Roorkee

“We only had IIT-JEE, which was conducted to get admission in six IITs. We used to write the exam in one sitting — a three-hour long paper — for physics, chemistry and mathematics. From what I remember, the minimum eligibility was passing marks for 10 + 2,” Bansal recalled.

Was the IIT exam considered as tough as it is these days? “JEE was always very tough. And especially when you look into the early 90s papers, the exam was pretty outrageously tough for physics, chemistry and math. Also, it used to be very subjective (instead of the MCQ system). So you needed to have a thorough understanding of the subject to be able to answer those questions,” he explained.

NCERT books are what I relied on,a nd I think those are the best study material available for JEE aspirants right now.

Unlike the majority of JEE aspirants these days who rely on coaching centres for preparations, Mohit relied on self study and cleared JEE on the first attempt. “Back then, there were no online resources, and we had to rely on whatever books we had access to and what others were sharing with us. My school library had a CSR competitive success magazine that used to publish interviews of the toppers. That introduced me to the IIT brand and kept me motivated.”

Makeshift campus

IIT Guwahati was the sixth IIT, established in 1994. However, the first batch was admitted in 1995 on a makeshift campus. Mohit recalled that since it was the first year of the IIT and the campus was yet to be made, some hotels were converted into makeshift hostels in the middle of the town.

From the classroom at IIT Guwahati. (Source: IIT Guwahati)

“Our classes were held in the building of the Institute of Engineers. For our practical sessions in the first year, we used to go to Assam Engineering College as well as Cotton College. But as we progressed to the second year, we needed an electronics lab etc. So, IIT Guwahati built two or three floors in the Institute of Engineers building.”

Mohit also fondly remembered how his campus was one of the rare ones to have a ping-pong table and desktop computers in the hostel. “We used to have classes from 8 am till afternoon, so the ‘late nighters’ were the folks who were playing computer games or ping pong,” he added while talking about the late-night culture of IITs.

He also recalled how the bus ride to the campus used to light up his day. “I don’t know about now, but north Guwahati back then was completely untouched, so we used to see beautiful mountains and very nice scenery,” he said.

Teamwork makes the dream work

IIT Guwahati started the first batch with nearly 65 students who came from different states of the country. Most of them were living away from their families for the first time. Meeting and living with people from different cultures was a ‘unique experience’ for Mohit.

“This helped us all create a bond with each other. Within a few initial days itself, it started feeling like we were one big group and not people who had met a few days ago,” he said.

Reminiscing about the time spent in the hostel, Mohit shared an incident from his “good old days”.

“Since there was no campus, we used to just play cricket outside the yard. It was a small yard, and there was a little water body (more like a drain) near that area. Our ball used to fall into that, so we used to bounce the dirty ball on the hostel wall to remove the dirt. The wall became so dirty that our warden confiscated our bat and ball and told us that he would return it only after we cleaned the wall. All of us pitched in Rs 5 to buy some paint and then within an hour, we painted that portion of the wall,” he recalled with a smile on his face.

He also reminisced about celebrating Holi and starting new clubs and initiatives with his batchmates.

During IIT Guwahati’s first Convocation. (Source: IIT Guwahati)

He also added that since it was a small batch and all of them were growing together, they could see how some students had leadership qualities, and some had entrepreneurial skills. “Alcheringa — IIT Guwahati’s cultural fest — was set up by our batch, which is one of the most talked about events of the town every year. It was in the third year when we first did it, and we used to run around asking for Rs 500 for sponsorship,” he recollected. Mohit also added that several other clubs were already set up by the institute, which his batch started handling and also learnt a lot from.

Discipline, the key to success

Unlike some other IITs, IIT Guwahati had all Indian professors from the get-go. The institute appointed some senior professors who helped the first batch understand the curriculum and gain life lessons.

“One major learning from IIT was the importance of discipline in life. It’s a sense of discipline that you see amongst everyone there. Even if someone is playing games for 15 hours, you will realise they are serious about achieving something in your life,” he said, adding that he passes on this life lesson to his sons, too.

Another learning that Mohit had from his IIT Guwahati days was hard work and smart work. Even though IITs are known for being rigorous now, Mohit believes it helped him grow into a disciplined human.

“Studies at IIT are rigorous — from the first to the final year. The kind of effort you go through daily is intense, and we are taught a lot of advanced things. But that prepares you to be successful in your chosen career path,” he said. Mohit also added that whether or not the IIT brand name helps in getting a job, the skills one gains from IITs are like priced jewels that one can treasure lifelong.