Exactly on this day, four years back, I was horrified at the sight of Hostel 10, IIT Bombay. With the paint coming off, the stuffy rooms, unclean corridors, grim looking - shrieking - and at times abusing [:D] - seniors roaming in the building, I felt it would be such a punishment to being admitted to B.Tech Electrical Engg, and having to stay in that.. something called a hostel, for four more years. Little did I know four years down the line, I'd cry like a child separating from its Mom when I left my hostel. Yes, that's probably why they call it alma-mater - mater being Latin for mother.
IIT is a world in itself - self-sufficient of sorts. In four years - the home away from home, the food unlike home food, the friends different from school friends, never ever seemed unfamiliar. There was always a feeling of closeness, oneness, togetherness which overcame the biggest of problems, deepest of worries and smallest of doubts about oneself. Whenever I remember IIT, everything flashes before my eyes - the main gate (which I never liked, it should be grand-er!), the trees on both sides of the road leading to my hostel, the faculty bungalows nearby, the INFI corridor (yes, it's actually infinite, thank the japanese for that :) ), the various departments (quite silent most of the times), the huuuuge playground (my first love at IIT ;)) and then the majestic hostels 12 and 13... this was it. The 600 acre awesomeness :)
Once at IIT, it's difficult *not* to fit in, in the campus culture, which appreciates everyone's uniqueness. You see the weirdest of people, the wisest of people, the lukkha-est of people, the gifted of people, sometimes the most rebellious of people and truly, the best of people. To be more correct, you adapt yourselves to the culture so well, it all becomes an integral part of you. I remember joining as a meek, serious, extremely sincere and quiet novice. I now laugh as I remember myself not talking to my roomie but reading books (well, not only academic, even others :P) or sitting quietly on the mess table, whilst packs of seniors tried to make us talk, or shying away from hostelmates I didn't know and so on. All of that changed in no time. My days after the freshmen year always began with waking half the others up for class, gobbling away plateful of breaker, scooting to class almost on time, only to sleep midway between and be woken by the person next to me, returning after a coffee at shack with Tf/Avanti/Music/random junta, lunch and either scooting to lab again or watching sitcoms :) Evenings were spent working for one of the aforementioned activities or playing baddy while nights were reserved for some of the most exciting of times - sharing experiences, cribbing (nah, I didn't say bitching!) about this-n-that and if unlucky, studying for the quiz the next day. Ah, I miss all of this so much now...
I miss the people, the familiar surroundings, the huge trees, the clear roads which only get crowded when there's a festival going on, the new and the old baddy courts, the playground (need I say more about it?), the helpful seniors and of course, my friends. I think it hasn't even sunk in properly yet. I am yet to realize what it's gonna be like to live in an apartment with 4 strangers, cook my own food, live on my own while holding on dearly to those exponentially decreasing number of notifications/mails/messages of my 'former' collegemates. Agreed, I will meet new people, my friends will meet new friends, we'll all be happy in our new worlds, probably never meet again (let's just hope the world is a small place and this never happens but anyway...) and everything will settle down. Life will go on.
What won't go, however, is the little place everyone has in my heart, the half moment I spend thinking of them when I do something I always did with them and the smile that follows this thought and the little prayer I say to God - to keep them all healthy, wealthy and wise.. well actually, to help them realize what's best for them, lead them to their dreams and most of all, keep them all happy.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
On the other side - of kids!
"Really? You look too young to be teaching LOGIC!" Pleased though I was at having looked 'young', I couldn't help telling the parent in a grim and confident tone "Well, I am a fresh graduate from IIT Bombay and will be joining a reputed University for my Masters in a month and that this is my temporary, part-time job." Yes, I have been teaching logic (mathematical) to the foundation batch for IIT-JEE at a JEE coaching institute in Pune. One of the finest experiences I have had in this long vacation :-)
The idea of lecturing JEE aspirants - for academics as well as non-academic stuff, had been on my mind for quite a long while. Especially while working at Avanti Fellows I went through the whole JEE-studying-times once again, and decided this needs to be given a shot in the vacations. I started with the noble agenda of guiding engineering-aspirants for various examinations - how to study, how to strike a balance between the numerous selection exams one has to give in the 12th std., how to maintain one's calm (hmm, look who's talking :D), and so on. I even diligently made a ppt about a step-by-step approach to effective and efficient studying for entrance examinations (it's available as freeware now, just in case :P) Of course, no famous class would be willing to trust a young fresh grad who can help for three months only, so I began looking at ads, calling up new institutes, talking to them.. but the outcome was similar - we can't allow you to teach, you can help us to counsel them and of course, no monetary advantage. Finally I called up my old, known professor and set up an appointment with him. Thankfully, he was happy to give me an opportunity of teaching, of course, he suggested I also help with the counseling, interviews of new students and so on..
I sat for his lecture about a week after joining the class. Felt awesome to be with little kids, to solve class tests and to hear jokes about - all girls being beautiful and all boys being lazy. Noting down the concepts in the lecture as well as the style of presentation, kind of language used, speed of covering the concepts, the non-chalance/informal-ness of the Professor, I began getting a little worried about if I'd be able to be even 50% of that. I 'studied' for my lecture that night.. writing down notes like - use hindi to make the atmo light, crack jokes related to models, actors and sports, give the students a break after an hour or so, ask puzzles to reduce boredom, ask 'Are you with me, is this clear' at least thrice after covering a sizeable portion... I was afraid it wouldn't come to me naturally as I was new!
But lo and behold! I was surprised to find myself quite confident and informal with the students from minute 1 :) I lectured with confidence and a smile on my face and naturally executed the little notes I had written for myself - at one time, I also used marathi to catch attention and make the class silent. It was a happy feeling when I finished and the students commented they had fun, some asked me my name again, some asked me doubts, some asked me if I'd be coming the next time, too, some asked me what books to refer to (alas, I dinno :P) and others said 'Bye bye, Miss'... Couldn't believe it had been that easy, although had a sore throat for a while after the class! After that, I lectured two more classes on the same topic and my reaction after the third class - which was the most dramatic of all, thanks to super enthu kids, the loooong classroom which made me shout 'junta', 'yaaron', 'Aika ho aika (marathi for "listen to me") till the students themselves began addressing themselves by these words every time they thought I was about to say it.. and until finally someone suggested I call them 'bacchon' :D - was: It gets better by the day :)
Well, it is fun to be on the other side. Of course, it's a huge responsibility too. I had been a judge for auditions at college but this was a different ball game altogether. The students trusted me. They asked me small doubts and expected me to explain as wonderfully as their old prof would have. They told me they were bored after a while. But also jumped up to solve puzzles. They (thankfully) laughed at my planned jokes. It wouldn't have been so great without them... No doubt this was a small class at a very small level. But I am very thankful to them - for making me realize how difficult (mentally) teaching is, and that it's not too difficult once you really want to do it. I am also thankful to the coaching class and the Professor. Indeed, one of the finest experiences I've had in this vacation :)
The idea of lecturing JEE aspirants - for academics as well as non-academic stuff, had been on my mind for quite a long while. Especially while working at Avanti Fellows I went through the whole JEE-studying-times once again, and decided this needs to be given a shot in the vacations. I started with the noble agenda of guiding engineering-aspirants for various examinations - how to study, how to strike a balance between the numerous selection exams one has to give in the 12th std., how to maintain one's calm (hmm, look who's talking :D), and so on. I even diligently made a ppt about a step-by-step approach to effective and efficient studying for entrance examinations (it's available as freeware now, just in case :P) Of course, no famous class would be willing to trust a young fresh grad who can help for three months only, so I began looking at ads, calling up new institutes, talking to them.. but the outcome was similar - we can't allow you to teach, you can help us to counsel them and of course, no monetary advantage. Finally I called up my old, known professor and set up an appointment with him. Thankfully, he was happy to give me an opportunity of teaching, of course, he suggested I also help with the counseling, interviews of new students and so on..
I sat for his lecture about a week after joining the class. Felt awesome to be with little kids, to solve class tests and to hear jokes about - all girls being beautiful and all boys being lazy. Noting down the concepts in the lecture as well as the style of presentation, kind of language used, speed of covering the concepts, the non-chalance/informal-ness of the Professor, I began getting a little worried about if I'd be able to be even 50% of that. I 'studied' for my lecture that night.. writing down notes like - use hindi to make the atmo light, crack jokes related to models, actors and sports, give the students a break after an hour or so, ask puzzles to reduce boredom, ask 'Are you with me, is this clear' at least thrice after covering a sizeable portion... I was afraid it wouldn't come to me naturally as I was new!
But lo and behold! I was surprised to find myself quite confident and informal with the students from minute 1 :) I lectured with confidence and a smile on my face and naturally executed the little notes I had written for myself - at one time, I also used marathi to catch attention and make the class silent. It was a happy feeling when I finished and the students commented they had fun, some asked me my name again, some asked me doubts, some asked me if I'd be coming the next time, too, some asked me what books to refer to (alas, I dinno :P) and others said 'Bye bye, Miss'... Couldn't believe it had been that easy, although had a sore throat for a while after the class! After that, I lectured two more classes on the same topic and my reaction after the third class - which was the most dramatic of all, thanks to super enthu kids, the loooong classroom which made me shout 'junta', 'yaaron', 'Aika ho aika (marathi for "listen to me") till the students themselves began addressing themselves by these words every time they thought I was about to say it.. and until finally someone suggested I call them 'bacchon' :D - was: It gets better by the day :)
Well, it is fun to be on the other side. Of course, it's a huge responsibility too. I had been a judge for auditions at college but this was a different ball game altogether. The students trusted me. They asked me small doubts and expected me to explain as wonderfully as their old prof would have. They told me they were bored after a while. But also jumped up to solve puzzles. They (thankfully) laughed at my planned jokes. It wouldn't have been so great without them... No doubt this was a small class at a very small level. But I am very thankful to them - for making me realize how difficult (mentally) teaching is, and that it's not too difficult once you really want to do it. I am also thankful to the coaching class and the Professor. Indeed, one of the finest experiences I've had in this vacation :)
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