Raising an Objection

So, there has been a quite an uproar over Palash Sen’s comments at Mood-I. Though I feel the situation was blown greatly out of proportion and I feel there should be ample tolerance for humor, it certainly raised an important issue of the targeted misbehavior towards the minority sex at IITs. Although most of my judgments are based on my experience at the Kanpur campus, I know for sure, such prejudice exists at other campuses too.

What I have observed over past three years is that an abnormally high percentage of boys don’t really understand the existence of a thin line between profanity and vulgarity. I am well aware of the fact that this phenomenon is a part and parcel of any existing social fabric but the proportion of such elements in IITs is concerning ( I, by any means, do not imply that most of boys fall in this category. They form a negligible percentage indeed. What I am focusing is on the comparison of negligibles.)  Coming back to point, using profanities against girls in private is somewhat acceptable but inciting a mob of over 200 juniors to publicly shower choicest indecent remarks on girls over petty things such as inter-hall competitions and ‘honor’ of one’s hall is ridiculous.

Another aspect that disturbs me is how extreme objectification of women openly in a co-ed institution is very well acceptable. The tradition of a particular dance form and the tone during GBMs are vivid examples.

I realize I might sound as a feminist but all I am trying to point out we guys should exhibit a certain level of respect and decency towards girls in campus (on a similar note to our behavior outside campus.) In fact, from my experience, certain girls from campus can be way cooler and fun than those outside campus. Just senselessly branding them is something I wish we can avoid.

Things I learnt as a summer intern

I was always under the expectation that my internship would be a fabulous experience. In fact, it was supposed to be a part of my eventful post-sophomore summer. Partly, it was because of rosy internships a couple of friends had in the preceding winter. But just a week into the internship, my expectations were boomed. It was a wreck-job and I just waited for the clock to tick and weekend to arrive to escape back into life. It just feels so enriching now that the misery is finally over.

But, reflecting over the last 50 odd days, there comes a realization that learning does not stop even in such difficult times. It might not happen in a direct manner but at the sub-conscious level, you do feel that the experience ingrained some knowledge in you. We need to work a bit on introspection but that 'hidden' knowledge would surely shape up in your observable world. Here's what I learnt -

• Passion is important. This is something I realized very early in my internship. Inspired by various popular science books on economics, I felt type of industry is of no importance as long as we are working in our field. Not true. At least in my case. Unless I am passionate about the industry I am working in, I won't find any meaning to the work I am doing. Henceforth, I will make it a point to only work in industries I believe in.

• Jobs kill ambition. I learnt this at the other end of internship. Towards the end, I got just a bit more accustomed to my schedule. The impending paycheck made me accept the situations and switch off my expectations. And then I saw people all around me in local trains (there were familiar faces by now) and I can look into their eyes how they have accepted every push and nudge that comes across as a routine. I know it's highly likely I would land up in a job eventually but I would surely find a way to fuel my ambitions relentlessly.

• Knowledge is all around us. Everyone knows how painful it is to travel in Mumbai local trains. And I did that. During peak hours. Six days a week. Let going the physical trouble, it was a treasure of learning. It was a wonderful opportunity to study behaviour of people in high stress situations. Though my first class coach sandwiched between a second class compartment and first class ladies only section, I observed several attitudes and nuances characteristic of a particular class. This in turn, gave me confidence to frame models that would not only increase revenues for railways but also provide passengers with a much better travel experience. So, yes, even from terrible experiences, with a right frame of mind, we can extract knowledge. My internship and this blog, after all, stand testimony of that fact.
    
• Reading between the lines. Till now, my conversations were largely dominated with friends, family and teachers who were very direct in putting across their point. So, even though I was already acquainted with this necessary worldly skill, it was only now that I actually put it to use. My superior was very secretive and knowing his vulnerabilities from reading between the lines gave me a psychological edge in subsequent conversations.
    
• Being shameless. Other than being secretive, my boss was also an asshole. Most of the interns were first-timers and initially there was a natural reluctance to voice objections. He would use that to his advantage and make us work overtime over menial work while not following any work ethics himself (would almost always arrive only by lunch hour and disappear for hours to get a haircut). Now as interns, we were ready work our asses off, but only if work was meaningful which was not in this case. And then we turned shameless. We would leave office dot in time and would flatly refuse to stay even a minute longer. He was playing games even for paying stipend and then again, this quality of being shameless prevailed in the battle of egos.  

So much for introspection. Yes, there was a lot to learn from this experience. Much of it could not even be documented for lack of realization. But still, the experience was not pleasant. And yes, I did wait for the check to clear before publishing this rant!

Mind Uninterrupted

I wrote the following piece when I was not really in the best of my moods. I sat on it for a few days before publishing it because of the completely unorthodox phrasing of the post. There's absolutely no continuity but it has a kind of different charm, atleast for me.  

    Well, I have already written about all the shit I wish to do but I have not at all said a bit about myself. So, as everyone reading this knows, I am Aman Pandya(just a formality). I study at the much-hyped Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur(there will be seperate blog about the 'much-hyped' part). I am from the city of dreams, Mumbai. And here comes the first irony - people come to Mumbai to pursue their dreams and I am the asshole who has run away from it. But, as I have realised, my life is full of such ironies and I have adapted myself to plainly ignore them. Or so I feel. For if that were true, I wouldn't be writing this piece in the middle of a night after a heck of a day with an 8 am class which I just can't miss(fuck this wieghtage on attendence). And yeah I am also listening to these songs which I normally don't give a damn. Hmm, this realization makes me feel pathetic. Getting back to ironies, I am doing a Bachelors in Science majoring in Economics- a Humanities thing from the nation's supreme technological institute and moreover I am really happy doing it instead of engineering. Well, a change of track, and I wonder how much music influences human psych. Damn, this psychology course is really getting over my head. Jumping to Mumbai, I really love my city and really find it painful to exist anywhere less urban than it. Why the heck did I write that line? Perhaps I find it amusing to mock all other places of India or it's just that I really wanted to use the phrase 'less urban than'. I am writing arbitly. If I were speaking this, perhaps I would have been drunk. Was there alchohol in the Tropicana pack I last gulped? Oh, now I get, this is how it seems when you bring out every thought of yours and this also gives a title to this post. Obviously, I can't imagine to talk so much shit in normal life but that's the brain dominating mind thing I feel. This track is really amazing, do listen it - In the presence of enemies by Dream Theatre. Now I am really sleepy. Later folks.

The Bucket List

   It has hit me hard, not completely sunk in too, but for sure with all this uncertainty over what I wanna do, I am in all probability just left with three years of student life.  It's a pretty long time as such but considering how my freshie year passed by, I seriously think I need a to-do list. One which keeps me from not being a student till the time really arrives. And here's how it compiles:


1. Spend 24 hours at a stretch at the P K Kelkar Library.
Status: Missed a great opportunity this sem. But I have 4 more left.
Closing Remark: Spent 16 hours once. The retro furniture definitely needs an uplift.

2. A 24 hour gaming session.
Status: I was somehow disoriented this sem on gaming scene. I will be back stronger.
Closing Remark: Incomplete. I am yet to decide if its a good thing or bad.

3. Get a 10 pointer.
Status: What was I thinking when I wrote this?
Closing Remark: Again. What was I thinking when I wrote this?

4. Hit on some IITK prof's chick daughter.
Status: I am told all of them study in colleges outside Kanpur. And when they are here, I am home. So, chances are bleak.
Closing Remark: Well, I am no longer that silly teenager who wrote that line.

5. Indulge in a full-on physical contact fight bang in the middle of LHC.
Status: Who's up for a fight?
Closing Remark: Incomplete.

6. Travel without a reserved ticket on a long distance train.
Status: Can say I did that partially. A friend without a reserved ticket tagged along with me. So, pretty much got a feel of things.
Closing Remark: Done.

7. Go on a date.
Status: Seriously, am I that bad around girls?
Closing Remark: Done.

8. Be a part of car-race on the lanes of IITK.
Status: Really tough. But as a consolation, had a cycle race from Main Gate to OAT.
Closing Remark: Just. Too. Ambitious.

9. Attend a rock concert. (The big ones I mean, not the kind at college fests)
Status: Missed a couple of ones for want off company. But I wont be missing one again, even if it means I am head-banging all alone.
Closing Remark: Poets of the Fall visited campus this year. I couldn't ask for anything more from my last semester at IIT-K.

10. Mess mai breakfast, every day for a week.
Status: Done.
Closing Remark: This was a common occurrence during the past 2 semesters. Might have done this for 6-8 weeks easily.

11. Let's make it even more interesting, every breakfast for that week in a fresh pair of clothes.
Status: Done.
Closing Remark: Just once. Too much effort.

12. Attend every lecture for a fortnight.
Status: Done. Man, I am on a roll here!
Closing Remark: Honestly, this is feasible only in the beginning of the semester. Or you happen to be that ultra-sincere academically focused chap.

13. Barge into a GBM and shower profanities on the HEC members.
Status: Wingies were part of this year's HEC. So, next year maybe.
Closing Remark: Who gives a fuck about GBMs?

14. A night-out in Cawnpore.
Status: Still searching for some lively hang-out places in the city.
Closing Remark: Kanpur is a sad city. Period.

15. Canteen mai doston k saath table bajake karaoke session.
Status: Well, I upgraded that to a real karaoke.
Closing Remark: I almost performed in Bon Voyage. And the karaoke session did happen with department people after a few beers.

16. Play football in the quad on a rainy day.
Status: Now that there's a dedicated football space, let's ignore this one.
Closing Remark: Ignored.

17. Attend a protest rally.
Status: Have been trying to mobilize a anti-mess rally in H3. Successful only in phases.
Closing Remark: Actively protested the Institute Blues' issue. Part of the core group that led the protest.

18. Go to a costume party.
Status: Unlikely in student life. Maybe will attend a marriage ceremony (I regard that as a costume party for older folks).
Closing Remark: Department photo-shoot. Department farewell. Batch video shoot.

19. Collect all the question papers of the semester, make paper planes out of them and go all the way to airstrip to fly them.(The lazyass that I am, I would need some company for motivation)
Status: Bless my laziness. That says it all.
Closing Remark: Boring.

20. Go to a student senate meeting, raise up some lame issues in a serious tone and witness the jugheads debating over them.
Status: Done.
Closing Remark: I had planned another round. But the item never got into agenda.

21. Get a makeover.
Status: I almost went bald last December. Epic Fail.
Closing Remark: Experimented with a new hair-cut in the final sem. It went well.

22. Finish a book during end-sems.
Status: Tried that this sem. But both books were drag.
Closing Remark: Done.

23. Wrap up a video-game during end-sems.
Status: Oh, I need to start gaming again.
Closing Remark: Incomplete.

24. Try out every eating place in the campus.
Status: Perhaps just the mess and canteen of GH-1 & 2 are due. Mainly because it's a bit awkward to eat there without some girls accompanying us. Ladies, are you reading?
Closing Remark: Except for the GHs, every other place tried and tasted.

25. Cycle all the way upto Lucknow.
Status: I trust Bumpy Trailers for this.
Closing Remark: We did Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary (~75 km). And a 100 km ride needs a little more conditioning.

26. Foodie trip across the city.
Status: Done with a couple of circles. Two more to go.
Closing Remark: This has been one of my favorite activities. I could probably shame a localite in this aspect.

27. Learn some new sports.
Status: Water-Polo, Volleyball & Touch-Rugby down. Lawn Tennis or maybe, Squash next.
Closing Remark: I regret not playing Hockey and Tennis.

28. Survive a day just on sweets.
Status: Gonna happen soon. Really soon.
Closing Remark: Done.

29. Sing in front of a large audience.
Status: Yaar audience jugaadne k suggestions?
Closing Remark: Ditched at the last moment. It was too complicated.

30. Learn a musical instrument.
Status: Already started with drums.
Closing Remark: Probably the biggest regret of my college life.
 
This is all I can think of right now. But, if you can think of some really ridiculous suggestions, do share them with me. In all probability, we would be partners in act. Thanks for reading my first piece on net and feel free to criticize every word of mine. Cheers\m/!