Reminiscence

Now that I am done with my DDP thesis submission and expect that the review committee would not see any hope of improvement in my incompetence and let me off the institute, other avenues like blogging await the show of my worthlessness. Today, I wish to recount a curious incident which happened in the first year of my college and how it affected my life.

It was a usually dull sultry afternoon of Chennai. I was in high spirits, the kind one is in when he's recently cracked the JEE and knows nothing about the placement season that awaits him in his final year, which in my case was 2009. One very 'influential' senior caught me, he lived on our floor. The seniors in our first year used to catch freshers generally to get water, get xeroxes, catch other freshers etc. Only the very 'trusted' got the privilege to be sent for booze, cigarettes and the other important items. I fell in the 'trusted' category I reckon for I was sent for cigarettes many times. But, that particular day, I was sent for getting some A4 papers, with the usual cigarettes of course.

I was unexpectedly fast at getting them. The senior was 'impressed'. First, moved by my sincerity in getting the stuff, he offered me the much coveted vol-ship for Shaastra. But, when I seemed uninterested, he lit his recently gotten cigarette in Godfather style, and started, as we call the phenomenon here, 'putting me fundaes'.

(To the readers who have read till here, I respect your forbearance and request you to not write any discouraging comments). I was confronted with a philosophical question, often addressed to one when one is new at IIT, 'What have you come to do here? Mug?!'. Be it for the interest I had in Physics, which I later realized was bogus, I was astounded. I gave a diffident 'Yes' as the answer. In the 15 min monologue which ensued, was all the wisdom, that one needs to become like my dear friend Shammo. To tell the least about Shammo, he having got 'influenced' by this 'influential' senior, started believing too much in the fact that Carbon is the second most abundant element in the human body, and started to add it in copious amounts to his lungs, body building you see.

Now patient readers, I have this habit of disregarding advices when they come very strongly and mocking them wholeheartedly. I acted myself. After the long monologue he asked the question again, 'Phir, Vol banega kya?'. I beamed and said 'Nahin'. The senior was frustrated, and asked my to f**k off.

Insignificant though the incident might seem, it had a very profound impact on my life and career. That day, I took a resolve that I won't do any activity which can be possibly classified as extra-curricular in my five year stint here. Blame it apathy or the resolve, I kept it. I found nothing wrong in that before my final year while applying for companies. Still, the latest point in my 1 page resume under the head 'Extra-curricular activities' is about something I did in my class X. :D.