Life at IIT Kharagpur

“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.” 

-Jeremy Irons

When I look back now using the former of the two God-gifted machines, I find that last six months were truly one of the most enriching experiences of my life: academically, personally and socially. Like most of the software engineers, I was also leading a “Physically” comfortable and “Mentally” torturous life. When I joined VGSoM, things got reversed for at least first 2-3 weeks. In fact, the realization of the most basic thing that I was now enrolled in the coveted MBA degree from the most desired words on resume “IIT”, itself kept me motivated against the de-motivating forces of physical pain that I was to bear in the first 15 days.

These forces include:

• Hostel Rooms

When I was allotted the room: the cot was in broken condition; water was yellow in taps; walls were covered with spider webs; cistern was pissing; LAN socket had been raped; the speed of the ceiling fan was slower than the slowest rickshaw in Junglepur. It was almost going to be a remake of the horror movie, ‘The Ring’, had the tube light been not working; thankfully it was!

• Homesickness

This started when I consistently scored zero in Mathematical Models of Management Decisions (pronounced fondly as Triple M D) twice in the weekly class tests. Only Kamdhenu Diary’s milk could have helped me sail through this one! :(

• Jungle vehicle: A BICYCLE

Let me tell you that it is impossible to live and traverse on planet Junglepur unless you have a bicycle as motor vehicles are banned here for students. Though people flout these rules easily. 

Also, initially cycling caused my bum to pain, my legs to swell, my bowel movement to go upwards(:P) but believe me, in no time, everything became normal and I got used to it so much that I am thinking to take it with me to Delhi after the completion of the course.

• Food

Daily, we have dark-brown water (which is supposed to be sambhar); egg, bread-butter in the morning; Semi-half baked tawa rotis, rice, one vegetable (or Chicken for non-veg) and yellow water (which is supposed to be Dal) and curd (most tasty component of lunch) in the afternoon; edible snacks in the evening, and dinner similar to the lunch. Frankly speaking, I am not having issues with the lunch because I have seen how worse it can get esp. if you are a vegetarian. And yes, IIT Kharagpur is probably one of the biggest clients of Aquaguard.

Believe me, the above mentioned forces do not last for more than 15-20 days. After that, there’s more than everything to admire here. First, the 2200 acre campus is a self-sufficient ecosystem. It is so serene that you may even miss your partner (or would-be partner) here (though teachers usually make sure that the latter doesn’t happen). People from big cities will take a sigh of relief in this calm, beautiful and pollution-free ecosystem. In simple terms, it’s indeed heaven inside the campus.

Now, before you run your horses, I should make it clear that boy-girl ratio here is highly skewed. :( Though there are some nice maal (read: girls) in BTech but the issue is they remain in their nests the whole year and don't come out until Durga Puja in October or Spring fest in January. There is a sad story that says that earlier boys-girls hostel used to be combined but they were separated later by some @$$ %O^$.

Disregarding the availability though, still a few couples can be seen here inside the library or at Lover's point in front of the library. The institute's central library is one of the biggest libraries in India. It houses magazines, newspapers, journals, books, and lovers(:P).

With one CCD and more than 8 restaurants, you will never feel the need to go outside campus to “try” something new (:P). There are many small markets outside every hostel for the basic commodities. A techmarket is also there that houses shops for fulfilling all basic needs including a hot stuffed-Pakora shop that serves the yummiest green chutney in Kharagpur. 

For workouts, a world-class gym, swimming pool, tennis ground, badminton courts and football grounds are also there. You name a game and it is here.

Though all the above things are not unique to IIT but one thing that differentiates it from other colleges is DC++ which is a peer-to-peer file-sharing system that connects whole of the IIT and has data in excess of 152 Terabytes! From movies to documentaries, from serials to songs, from e-books to software, everything is available on the LAN. The high speed internet connectivity of 100 Mbps with no restriction on downloading makes this place a paradise for net savvy people.

Oh wait… I almost forgot that I have come here to study! So, let me throw some torch on life at VGSoM. Classes usually start at 8.15 in the morning and unlike other B-Schools, run only till 12:30pm except for Mondays when we subconsciously hone our oral or written communication skills in the context of business.
One thing I have not understood yet is that regardless of how many hours I sleep, I still feel sleepy in the class (If anybody knows why, please answer in comments section).

Nevertheless, in the first semester, we study the basics of all trades viz. finance, marketing, operations, IT and HR. The general mode of teaching is usually case study method coupled with theoretical insights from the books of renowned authors. It is a highly enriching experience to attend classes from the world class faculties who hail from institutes like London School of Business, University of Texas, IIM Ahmadabad, IIT Delhi, MICA, etc and have a long experience in industry & teaching. Their focus is primarily on building the conceptual clarity while making studies a fun and not on just completing the course and grades. For Example, in the subject, IT, we indulged in a very unique concept of examination this year where the students were asked to make either one movie or an online application using cloud computing in the groups of three. Also, we are asked to write a 12 page thesis on any innovative thing that has the potential to generate business but is not currently being practised.

To supplement our learning in classes, we also get to attend the series of guest lectures where the prominent industry leaders share their valuable industry experiences with us and provide us with the practical applications of the concepts in business.

So, do we study the whole day? Well of course not(:P). To supplement our learning in classes, we usually WATCH as many Bollywood flicks as we can!! ;-). Jokes apart, we take part in many student-managed committees and clubs for practically actuating whatever we learn here in theory. One such committee is Shraddha that works towards improving the lives of the underprivileged children through a school located within the IIT Kharagpur campus. Every once in while we go there, distribute goodies and celebrate festivals like Diwali, etc with the children. This gives a sense of peace in mind (that works as an antidote to the guilt of bunking few classes!).

All the above factors have contributed to a great deal in my personality development. Consider the fact that our class comprises of students from 19 different states of India. Where else do you get such diversity? I was allotted hostel with a south Indian Matka (slang for MTech here!) who doesn’t understand Hindi (though he likes Hindi songs and Katrina Kaif alias Sheila :P). But we are doing well. Sometimes, whenever he talked with his friends in Tamil:

Annaa, sapad pohiren...(Going for food, bro?)
Khanapurti Poda Poda, Ne muritiviten? (Moron, get lost, u are finished)


I used to feel that they were making noise because I did't understand Tamil. Plus, due to cultural differences between North and South, there were many adjustment issues. But then I realized, the only keyword that would work well here is "Co-operate-2-dominate".

It is this multiplicity of courses and diversity of people here that distinguish IITs from other institutes. The learning in behavioural aspects which I have got from here can never be taught in any class. Consequently, I am a more matured individual who knows how to deal with people from different backgrounds and how to manage the most precious resource called “time” to make myself “dedicated to the service of Nation”.