Skip to main content

One Summer Morning

This happens ever so often every summer. Well, wondering what? Here it is. You get up in the morning(and as usual you get up late), and you are in a real hurry to get to class. And as soon as you turn towards the washroom with your toothbrush in hand, you realize that there is no water flowing from the tap today. Then you run to the other wings in your hostel hoping that you will at least get to brush your teeth, let alone have a bath. After scouting 2 or 3 wings of your hostel you finally do manage to find the right wing(the wing that has water) and you see that nearly half the hostel has already turned up there. You somehow manage to get hold of a wash basin, quickly brush your teeth and wash your face because there sure is no way that you can have a bath, as it is already overcrowded, with everybody's buckets lined up, quite a scene like in Indian cities, where people line up their buckets and pots to fill water from the city tankers.

This is one of the most common scenarios one can find in every hostel in one of the most prestigious institutions of India, the Indian Institute of Science. So then to end that story, after you've already used half your energy in running through wings in search of WATER, you have no time left to go to the mess for breakfast. And yet, you reach your class 10 minutes late. Well, this is student life over here and every student here has got used to this. And obviously, in class you think about nothing but food, as you are really hungry after all the running. Well, this is how it goes about some summer mornings.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Looking back on the last 5 years: Dedicated to my students

IISER Bhopal Campus I remember my first day at IISER Bhopal on 31st Jan. 2019. I had just arrived, all jet-lagged and groggy eyed. I filled up all the forms, met the HOD of my department and was taken to my new office. Thereafter, I was asked to go to the Chirayu Hospital for a medical check-up, was asked to fill up some more forms upon my return to campus and left to my own devices. However, I did not have a bank account, a phone number, a PAN card and most importantly, good internet (hah!). Procuring all these over the course of the next 10 days led to varying levels of frustration with the Indian system. It was a reverse cultural shock in some sense and made me question my decision of coming back to India. I think it is fair to say that my postdoctoral experience in the US had left me drained and this new life here was not helping in making me feel better. I was like a fish out of water, not able to find comfort anywhere. The next few months of my professional life were a struggle w...

A letter to the "smart" students

To the students who think they're so smart that they can fool the instructor: Sorry to break this to you, but no, you're not fooling anybody! In fact, you are the fool if you think otherwise. So, let me tell you something that might shine a light on your otherwise dead brain. Learning is a two-way street. If you want to learn, I am willing to teach over and beyond what is expected of me. I will still teach even if you don't want to learn because that is my job. However, like they say, you can only bring the horse to the water, you cannot make it drink.  When you leave the class, I notice. When you talk, I notice. When you don't bring a notebook or a pen and pretend to be attentive, I notice. So, to reiterate, you're really not fooling anybody. I frankly don't care. I am happier teaching a small class of students who are sincere and want to learn. In fact, that's better for me. As then, we are in sync and I don't have to worry about the distractor...

Phrases that must never be used when talking to your PhD Guide

There are some phrases that must never be uttered when talking to your PhD guide. 'Coz if you do, then you might have to endure a lecture from him/her that will leave you wondering what got into you, that you said that!! "You said so earlier..." : Never ever say this. If your Prof. asks you to remove something from your presentation that he himself had asked you to add, you're done for if you tell him, "But, you asked me to put this in earlier". The standard reply you may get will be something like this- "I may have said so many things." Or worse, you may get a scorn for a reply that will instantly shut you up. "I didn't get time to..." : You should definitely steer clear from saying anything of this sort. 'Coz if you do, then before you even finish your sentence, you're bound to get a look that says, "What? You didn't get time?!!." Then your Prof. will ask you, "So, what is it that you do that you don't...