A yearly report of an about to become second year...

Before coming to IIT M, there were a lot of doubts in my mind as to whether to join this course or not, like many of you possibly do. My reservations were mainly an inability to trust myself alone, a reluctance to leave home and wanting to stay in an inertia… well, I haven’t gotten rid of the last one yet!! However, on seeing my local options and realising that they weren’t the best anyways, and on some good parental advice and counsel, I decided to cast my lot in with the Humanities department of IIT M. It has been a tremendous voyage through some rough seas of German (and French for the other half) the placid and dreamy oceans of History, the thunderstorms of Philosophy, the fast winds of Economics and many others.

I was expecting my friends to be good and they are for the most part GREAT!!! I am glad that I can call all my batchmates as friends, and for the first time in a long time I was one of many achievers… not the one of a very few!! You could compare me now to a fish being swept along with the tides and not one out of water. Many of you might be worried about the relations between the would-be engineers and us, well to say the least the relationship is one of mutual friendship and respect! Contrary to what many might think, many of the engineering folks actually are on very good terms with us, with few inter stream disputes or prejudices as such, some even say that we HS guys have our own charisma and feel and therefore , are like a breath of fresh air!!

One of the things you will have to get used to is TRASHY weather! Seriously Chennai’s climate makes you feel like you are in hell, being baked in an oven with steam pressure close to a 100%, and the recent lack of rain doesn’t help matters much either!! It made me believe that Mysore and Bengaluru were heaven, frankly!! (they were my hometowns, afterall ;) )

The outside of Chennai has a spectrum of aroma ranging from sewage to steaming masala dosa! In the IIT campus, however, it is quite pleasant – even the weather maintains a sense of moderation.

A truly good thing about Chennai id the MRTS (the metro)! It's almost comparable to the Old Faithful - practical to an astonishing degree, so much so that any other modes of transportation feel redundant! From the railway station, you can reach IITM by a few methods, but the MRTS is the fastest and the most convenient, by far and saves you a lot of hassle. It enabled me easy access via two stations -  Taramani and Kasturba. It's also the most feasible option for backpackers planning to go city hunting.

The professors who I met, have been better than any of the others who had taught me thus far. They have varied teaching styles and unique methods . The tid bits of wisdom I got from here is certainly a more mature view of the subjects I was taught in earlier classes as well as one that  helps in broadening my perspective.

Until now , I had no particular political opinion, but after coming , came to realise it is good and fine to have one. Which brings me to my final source of sorrow… the insane number of Malayalis!! I have nothing against them, but when you are surrounded by them in the department, you might feel quite like an outsider initially! With a lot of chatter out of the class being Malayalam, it can drive someone like me crazy, not being able to make out the head or tail of the chatter. Add to that, even many of the profs are Malayalis, making you feel like being in IIT Malayalis rather than IIT Madras , but once you get used to them , they make you feel quite welcome (which is rather soon)and can prove to be great friends.

Finally , it isn’t all academics here , you get to do a lot of stuff outside of the department too. The extra curricular activities I found here were quite good and competitive. I am a football fan , and the football scene here is amazing with fans of all kinds jostling for space. I took part in the NSO Football team (National Sports Organisation)  and the standards are high with a lot of emphasis placed on physical fitness , as well as skill with the ball. Adding the institute wide NSO is our own department based football tournament, which is an excellent event.

The department has all sorts of sports fanatics, so you won’t be missing out on much, if that is your worry.

All in all, I have felt at home in the department, and found it to be a great place for academics . I am sure all of you freshies and potential future freshies will find it to be the same too. Looking forward to meeting all of you, someday.

Simha.Y.N