The horror and pleasure of going back home during holidays

“Let’s call an auto to the railway station”,
“Do you have change da?? I will give you once we come back”,
“Why don’t you take food while travelling?? Fool”

Few statements which were paralyzing my mind, making the occasion of going back home a horror-filled affair. Even before my mind was analyzing these questions and doing a “google” search on possible alternatives, (Though the mind knows that this search returns Your search - “…” - did not match any documents through experience!!!!) the first question started pouring in. In front of me stood Gans, Saba and Thakkali – the trio with whom I was supposed to travel till the railway station. I returned the regular nod ‘Yes’ though I was questioning inside why Nagpur does not have other cheaper means of transport like local buses or trains.

Having done my college education 1500 Kms away from home, I return to my home once in a semester (app. around 5 months). The normal emotion that can be associated in such a scenario would be happiness. But in my case it was a mixed bag: A combination of horror, and pleasure. It’s a real pity to be in such a situation, but to be truthful to my heart, neither was I responsible for that nor was I willing to carry that emotion. To put it crisply – It was a pleasure for common sensical reasons: Meeting parents, friends, relations, free from work, etc., It was a horror for most simple ‘strategical’ reason: The weight of my wallet was not allowing me to answer the above questions and made me queasy.

Hundred Rupees was a fortune which I simply didn’t possess. I had around 70 Rupees (including all 1 rupee and 50 paise coins) in my wallet. Though this was really not a strange situation for me. Time and again, every semester break placed me in such dire straits. It is not a wrong thing to loan some amount from friends before leaving. But precursor to that I was helped by friends on various occasions and I did not want to trouble my friends by asking them. Moreover, my experience made me believe that it was not necessary!!

We took an auto to the railway station. I was alongside Ganesh. All along my mind was harped onto dividing the 70 odd money into my various possible expenses – Managing food for a day and a half, purchasing water on the way, and the final frontier, two buses from station to reach my home 20Km away. I was even cursing myself that I shouldn’t have nodded at first place. When we reached the station, the Auto owner scowled “Pachas rupya”. That sounded like a death knell on my ears. That takes off Rs.25 out of my 70 (a considerable amount really when I was expecting him to ask 40 rupees meaning 5 lesser!!!) if we divide it by 2. My mind was frightening me saying that even a single meal over the rest journey has become doubtful.

Just when my mind was analyzing these and calculating on how to manage with the remaining amount, Ganesh jolted me with the second question I shuddered about “Machan Do you have change da?? I will give you once we come back”. He doesn’t know my situation. (Why should he!!!) With time running we had to do something fast. I was slowly picking up all the ten and 5 rupee notes totalling 45 rupees. When I was picking up the coins which I had, suddenly out of the blue he plucked out a 50 rupee note struck somewhere inside his purse. (Inside my purse I would have groped at least ten times before starting and found nothing like that precious!!!). He handed it over to the Auto driver and started collecting his things. Then he said 'Machan we will adjust later' and walked ahead. I was thoroughly dreading that moment. I did not want that to happen but it did happen that way. Certainly the horrors of travelling back home came back to haunt me at full throttle. Right from the time I was inside the train, I was consoling myself, scolding myself, pacifying myself…. But the fact was I did not have a solution. Just when I was toying with all my emotions, my friends who accompanied me in the train asked “Why don’t you take food while travelling?? Fool”. That was like a Midas touch!!! I remembered in whatever deepest of plunges I am in, I still have the same 70 odd rupees inside my wallet which can cater to my one time meal at least.

Tightening the purse strings is definitely no easy task but what if there is just no money left inside that purse in order to fulfill the most basic needs of life. While it’s a hard situation to deal with I had my own ways of handling it. One time meal may sound cheaper but if not analyzed tactfully can extract the last straw out of the wallet. My one time meal was catered to at the Vijayawada station rather than at the train canteen itself. When I reached home, I still had around 20 rupees to carry an empty wallet!!! I thanked Ganesh but the horrors of travel kept haunting throughout the eight semesters at college.

I have strangely found that during every travel that happened like this, there was a small incident that was giving a twist in the tale. The next semester travel had a similar run up to the final travel. Around 70 rupees in the wallet and an Auto journey till the railway station. This time around I was going with Ezhil and not Ganesh. Again all along my mind was harped onto dividing the 70 odd money into my various possible expenses. When we reached the station, the Auto owner scowled “Pachas rupya”. When I was drawing out 25 Rupees out of my wallet, Ezhil jolted me with the second question I shuddered about “Machan Do you have change da?? I will give you once we come back”. But the difference was, Ganesh did not have the change, but this guy was not having any change at all!!! (If I am poor, then this guy is a beggar!!!) After giving out the 50 Rupee note, I was wondering about the tricks played by nature. The worst part now was an empty stomach journey. There were words from Ezhil that he would take care of food during the journey. (Pichaikaranukku security pichaikaranae!!! ‘Security for a beggar is also a beggar himself’) Till Chennai his words never came true. I understood his position, but he was a man who never had such horrors like I had. He was in fact happy that he had a partner alongside him.

There was a person opposite to me holding a banner carrying many quotes. There was a quote ‘Every man has his own quirks and twists’. Just when I was questioning the validity of the quote, Ezhil called me and said that ‘we can go and purchase a biscuit packet’. He had a 5 rupee note in his hand and I got the meaning of his words ‘I will take care of food’. The train started moving and we were hurrying at the shop. In a strange quirk of fate, for Rs.5 the shop keeper gave two biscuit packets actually worth Rs.20. This is when Ezhil smelt a golden chance (To be honest he is worse than a dog in smelling such chances) and asked me to rush soon. I came back to my senses and realized what had happened but those were one of the days when my hunger got the best of me. We got back into the train with the happiness that we have filled our stomach with just 5 rupees. This time around, I still had the horrors of travelling haunting me but more than that, I had the pleasure of not burdening anyone (like Ganesh, the earlier time). The man opposite to me with the banner was closing his manner when I read the last quote “When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart”. I was figuring out, why this time around the horrors I dreaded did not haunt me as they usually do!!!!

No state quota at NITs: Right or wrong??

Being a part of National Institutes of Technology -NITs (formerly REC's) , I had a proud tag on my resume. The reason being NITs are a standout for India's cultural diversity among other colleges for around 40 years since its inception. The present step from the government to remove the State -wise quota would take its sheen and make them no longer 'diversity-studded' NITs as we knew them to be. I had personally been through the emotions of being in these institutes and sailing through the various kinds of cultures that India boasts of itself to the outside world. I am not undermining the purpose of this step, as this is supposed to have proper merit-based entry into the system. Its true to its purpose but its causing an alarm elsewhere.........Where???...........Its mocking at the very purpose of why these NITs were formed in the system.

For some reason or so, I felt our politicians just after Independence had more clarity of thought and vision than our "old” politicians of the "new" age. Jawaharlal Nehru had clear purpose when he formed IITs to stand out for Technical excellence (Which they were until recently, till a gentleman from HRD ministry infused India's age old practise of grouping people based on their virtual portfolios) and NITs or RECs to stand out for an "all-India" character (With people from all states forming a small chunk of the total pie at every NIT) and churning out intelligent people for serving the nation in successive five year plan periods. Every NIT were functioning with 50% of students from the same state and rest of the 50% comprised from other states. The motive was plain and simple: people from various states and various cultures should mingle so that the memory footprint of every student there expands from his "own" state to "the entire nation" on the whole.

I cherish the four years in a college like NIT. The entire mood then was very refreshing. Every department had at least a guy from each state. Each state had an opportunity to organize their regional festival at the college level. The overall feel was one can constantly interact with people from various cultures. In doing so, the mindset improved. From whatever I have seen very few others in India get this opportunity to break the cultural divide in their minds. I am not saying this is there in our minds due to a harsh reason but this is partly due to ignorance and partly due to vast geographical stretch in the country. And NITs were serving as a terrific play ground to inter twine these complexities into one, to take some geographical barriers out of our minds….. It’s a feel which I hope most NITians would agree. The real platform for all these to happen was through having a state-wise quota.

The admissions till few years back remained as: State wise entrance exams. State wise rank holders get into the NITs. Looking at the current developments after RECs were Christened as NITs and the admission processes changed from state wise entrance exams to All-India entrance exam. The effect: Not many state folks are seen. Certain states with higher standard of education have a major crunch of people at every NIT. Students are mostly filled with 4-5 states. Major chunk is coming from the same state itself. NITs have been christened as “National” but in actuality became “regional”. Breaking the very purpose can never be a solution to a problem.

Continuing with the state-wise quota remained logical though it had a flip side to it. Having an All India entrance exam for admissions into NITs sounded both good and bizarre to me, good becoz the standard of exam for all the students is the same and bizarre becoz underlying higher secondary exams at various states vary from the lowest to the highest grade relative to the AIEEE exams. So naturally there were some states whose highest ranker would be standing some where closer to the last ranker of some other state......This was bound to happen as not every state board has the same level. This ended up with ranker 50 say getting paired with 15000 in the same group. A sort of serious mismatch in numbers but not in quality as I have seen and as many would agree. In fact, there was never a mismatch actually felt with the original system either through state-level exams.

The problem came up here as one, not becoz of the original state-wise quota (This had a very strong motive to be in place) but because of having a common exam of a certain standard and having various standards at the underlying level itself. This is now a sensitive issue as it could lead to a discussion of why to continue with vastly varying rank nos, or why to compromise on standards and stuff… I am not insisting on any of these. The only underlying concern that I have we are missing the infusion of various states at one place.

I am not against the opinion of increasing the standard of education in the country. But it cannot come at the cost of losing diversity in institutions like NITs. There are certainly other educational alternatives to the one that is currently taken.

Mess at IIT Delhi - A complete mess!!!!

IITs are considered our nation's pride in terms of imparting quality technical education (Whether it is true is itself a big debate which I am not doing now). I consider myself 'partly' lucky and 'seriously' unlucky in being part of the IITD life. This is nothing to undermine the amount of knowledge gained at IIT which is at par to the best. But more than that, the very IIT system and the general campus life for students was below par (I am generous in saying that) as compared to other IITs. The most funniest part of every student's every day life at IITD is at the mess in hostels. The very fact that one pays around 20-22K every year for the sort of food that he gets at the mess itself sums up the tragedy.

There are lot of loopholes in the mess functioning which makes the entire mess system very sloppy. A bird's eyeview at every mess shows that they are clean, neatly arranged and they remain so. Coming to the set of loopholes that one can see here (as compared to other mess at colleges of decent standards). The mess timings have been the most inexplicable thing to me. Its fixed from 8 A.M. to 9 A.M.,12 PM to 1:30 PM and 7 to 8:30 PM. What happens after this is that the remains are thrown out. A simple solution would be to keep them separate so that any late comer can take them in a plate and have them. Another worst part is the extra menu that is pretty common in most of the mess at hostels in other colleges. There was as such nothing as extra menu (One has to be content with eating the hardest tandoori roti with aloo's which approximately costs Rs.25!!!) initially which later was implemented for two days/week. And guess what was there on extra menu - So called fried rice, and anda bhurji.

IIT have always been patenting their new ideas and discoveries. And it can be no surprise if they patent the following menu items - Fried rice on the extra menu (Heaps of oil + rice), The machine rotis (The most artificial rotis one can think of), The continental menu on fateful thursdays (A complete pack of useless snacks packed with the worst possible quality noodles or Macroni's makes one feel what fate has done to him), The ill advised Kichchdi (Normally given to ill people but served with great pleasure to everyone on Saturday afternoon), etc., The list can go on.

What an IITDian finds hard to digest (Besides the food of course!!!) is why is per-day meal of such standards is costing him Rs.60 around. But still IITDians who question a lot in class rooms always surprise me at their inactivity in the hostel mess. They do not question the double pricing of items on the extra menu (Ex: Egg which is purchased out of common bill has to be again purchased with a coupon), the quantity or quality of items procured (Ex: Most students do not check the weight of items purchased and sign the bill, Some days rice is of such bad quality that it looks like a Rs.2/Kg rice), the efficacy of the Mess-Secretary or the Mess-Committee (The Mess-Secy begs for votes during elections and in response makes everyone beg for food henceforth, The Mess-Committee members are seldom known to anyone in the hostel), the closing of mess timings before schedule on days on food shortage (Then the mess workers and other dignified persons like our STD booth owners take all the items and the poor IITian has nothing but Chaval and Dal), the actions of the mess-workers (Some serve in the most rudest manner, many a times there all mess-workers are inside so that a student gets fed up and goes), shortage of utensils (Spoons, glasses are always given on first come - first serve basis) and lastly the great mess supervisors.

However most active minds which finds no liveliness in the food served, tend to balance it out by either eating outside in hotels, or canteens or ordering Pizzas. Some poor fools like me do skip food. There are also some happy days for the IITDian like the Freshers day, STIC dinner, Hostel day when there are special dishes made (So called). Most of the days its the dish names which sound good than the dish itself. And besides these come at unknown costs (Meaning no one knows how much it costs but every student's account is debited a bulk amount for 5 dinners/year). Typically 3-4 meals out of 14 meals in a week (excluding breakfast) has 80% of students having food and on remaining occasions the nos hover around 40-60% (even lesser have been reported).

There was one thing in every meal that satisfies every IITDian. Atleast water coolers are cleaned regularly as are the glasses and many days four to five glasses of water fills up the stomach. Wait!!! They cooled the water-coolers but what about water itself. There were a couple of occasions when 'most clean' sewage water mixed with drinking water and IITDians were lucky enough to get this "Theerth" for 3 full days. Though sequence of health tragedies made the mess authorities realize that there is something wrong about that. To top all of this in IITD there was no night canteen in the hostel area which means from night 8 PM till 8 AM one has no other choice than Nescafe Coffee.

More than the sem to sem struggle with papers and projects what every IITDian faces is the bigger threat from the day-to-day struggle in the mess. I struggled for two years (Accomplishments : Jaundice, Malaria, Dysentry and visting most top hospitals at Delhi). Every IITD Alumnus can be proud that he has succeded in facing one of the biggest threats that he faced in day-day life. All survivors be proud to be an IITD Mess Alumnus!!!!