Freshers' Newsletter 6.2

ins ght Freshers’ Newsletter Issue 6.2

Freshers’ Newsletter is a property of Insight, the student media body of IIT Bombay. The views presented herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of Students’ Gymkhana, IIT Bombay Lorem ipsum

Summer Bucketlist

After being through two rigorous semesters of highs and lows,here you stand facing your 1st Summer at IIT-B. You obviously wouldn’t like to waste it, would you? Agreed that T.V. shows, movies, anime are tempting but there’s much cooler stuff to do! Have a look!

Tech, Cult and Personality Dev THE POETIC GIST! By Rajat Jain

With app/web development gaining traction, Apply for a SoC topic that garners your attraction!

There’s ML, DSA then IoT! Bring enthu to the fore!

(DSA-Data Structure and Algo) Try project under a prof if interested in core.

Gear up for your breakthrough in cult and sport, New languages, new instruments add up to your forte!

Insti ke bootcamps, online courses,travelling offer learning galore, Tech teams you can explore, Ofc mess food will be a bore SoS gives you deeper insight, helps you get all your concepts right!

Burn up the lamp within, ensure you don’t miss the opportunities “in sight”!!

New Era Techs IoT, Big Data Analytics, Computer Vision, Quantum Computing, Cryptocurrency and the list goes on.

Research and Tech projects in these fields have gained momentum & if you’re enthu enough, give them a go! Take up online courses (on Coursera, edX, Udacity, Udemy to name a few), refer books & ofc Google!

WnCC organizes bootcamps & workshops during summers for the same.

Infi Tech Enthu Though recruitments for (most) tech teams are already done, you can take up projects under Profs and also learn stuff used in Tech teams. Also, depending on your enthu you can learn enough and contribute to tech teams.

Cult School Want to be that ‘anybody’ who can dance? Or wanna be associated with music? IITB presents Summer School of Cult which starts during mid-May.With two-weekly sessions conducted by professionals,you have enough time to practice as well as manage other commitments! The beginning of June sees ‘Cult Not DiffiCULT!’, which includes workshops conducted by prolific seniors.

With sessions on VFX, photography, jammings, 3D designing, public speaking, script writing, musical instruments and many more you can try to fulfill whatever you’ve longed for!

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Freshers’ Newsletter

Siddharth Mehta Suman Mondal Athithyan P Shreshth Geevith Aditya Pawar Samyak Shah Rajat Jain C Nikhil Nandini Manwani Yashika Gupta Apoorva Agarwal

Online Courses The more you code,the more you learn decoding!

Several online platforms like Coursera, edX offer certified courses for various coding languages like Java, SQL, Ruby and other topics like ML, Deep Learning, Swarm Robotics, IoT which are very much relevant in today’s industry and give you an edge as far as placements, internships are concerned. You can also work up on hobby projects and they might also help in taking advanced courses within the insti.

If you find some of the specializations on Coursera too steep a price, you can apply for financial aid, and if selected, you get the full content(with certificate) for free.

Personality Development There’s so much more to life beyond CPI, Sports, Tech, Cult. This summer, make sure to work on your personality, in addition to your existing plans, through learning new languages, reading up about different cultures of the world, reading self-help books etc.

Take up dance, art or science classes for underprivileged kids through Abhyuday, NSS, NGOs etc. Along with supporting a noble cause, one is also recognised via a certificate for their efforts.

TAship Having secured a decent grade in some course and interested in teaching, improving your interactive skills, you can apply for the post of TA during summers. The forms are usually floated post endsems, followed by the interview round. The eligibility is to get a high grade ( usually 9-10 ) in the subject one wants to be a TA for.

There’s a generous stipend of around Rs. 6000 per month of tutoring, and one gets a great opportunity to connect with their juniors.

Sports, Fitness and Travel Sports The sports council’s Summer school of sports (SSoS) registers beginners and intermediate players while the Advanced Sports Camp trains potential Inter-IIT players.

This provides a great opportunity to learn a sport or gain proficiency in it.

You may try your hand at learning new sports that are hard (or expensive) to play outside of IIT-B viz.

Squash, lawn tennis and can learn an important life skill in the form of swimming, if you haven’t already.

Now you know where to sweat off this summer.

Gym and general fitness Get a month-long gym membership to stay fit. Summers are a great opportunity to burn the extra calories and the best time to get back in shape.

Have enough sleep; make an early-to-rise schedule, cycle, jog and inhale some fresh air. A (nearly) 3 month long summer is ample time to make a transformation to surprise your family,

your friends and you!

Tip: Do not forget to look for special student offers and discounts. IIT-B’s gym is well equipped, so don’t let fitness take a back seat even if you are in insti over the hols.

Travel and Adventure “Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times.”

To cater to your wanderlust, IITB Sports offers BMC/MAC. If your nerves get a thrill by looking at long ranges and the soothing aura there, this is the time for you.

BMC is 26-day long and MAC runs in 2 slots and is 15 day long. It is meant for those who don’t want much vigour, but want to become a well-trained trekker. The only prerequisite is an average fitness level!! For Photography enthusiasts, the natural beauty there, is pristine and breathtaking. Grab your camera, and try to go with your gang, though you can make one there.

It would be an experience that will remain for your entire life!

Cycling gives us some time to breathe and a break from work. Many cycling trips happen during summers that gives you adventure along with fitness.

Around the Country:> Chadar-Frozen River Trek, Thar Desert-Camping under the Stars, Rishikesh-Camping and Rafting, Bike Trip to Ladakh, Paragliding in Solang Valley, Cherrapunji-Trek on Living root bridges, Lohagarh Fort and Gokarna (Karnataka).

Prakash Sarkar, a Meta PhD gives us some tips from all his travels and photography adventures.

“Morning is the best time to capture. Give enough thought about the subject before getting a photograph. Try retaining the original essence of a picture i.e. do not perform much editing on it. Experiment with the manual settings of your camera and understand all about shutter speeds, apertures and angles. Carefully evaluate the photographs of professionals and learn from them, the pattern and the techniques.”

Knowing thyself and Entrepreneurship Corner Have you ever wondered of branding yourself or making a living by enjoying what you do? Or had an idea which might change the world or maybe, just change yourself? Well, this might be the best time to explore things which could get the world and yourself in a progressive path!

Think outside the [comfort] box.

Go ahead and get an internship. Internships shouldn’t always be dedicated towards some technical stuff. One important aspect of learning involved is the development of soft skills that are crucial wherever you wish to apply in the future, like office etiquette, time management, pressure handling, conversation skills, and whatnot.

Some more ideas!

1. Volunteer at an NGO and participate in helping the world become a better place.

You never know what you might learn.

2. It never hurts to set a high bar for oneself, try joining a startup where you get to interact with like minded, spirited people.

3. Instead of ‘Netflix and chill’, one could start creating YouTube videos and vlogging. Just start contributing information from your perspective to the world (use your IITian tag!).

4. A lucrative option would be to conduct surveys or doing freelancing in the stuff you are experienced in, if not, you can work your way to a freelancer’s knowledge.

Know yourself better - Take a MBTI (Myers–Briggs Type Indicator) test , know yourself and learn a skill which might boost your personality. This test might help you accept your imperfections, believe me it works.

- Make a documentary on a topic you would like to share with the world. Who knows, you might win the best documentary award.

- Join meetups with people who have common interests with you and get to learn a couple of new skills.

- Vipassana or Art of Living camps, this might seem too boring or spiritual but this isn’t some strange magic stuff, it’s basic science which helps you strengthen yourself mentally and grow up into a better person.

- Sometimes solitude can help you a lot, so take a solo trip or maybe visit a buddhist monastery and get to grow and spend the summers with great people.

Some Non-Stereotypical Stuff - Read stuff which could improve your attitude towards life. Like The Alchemist, pick up any book from the top international sellers and get a better look of life by those stories.

- Open up different technical objects and try to join them and make then work again. (Reverse engineering, like Rancho in 3 Idiots) - Try joining debate clubs and try give speeches looking into mirror. This will significantly boost your self esteem.

- Go on a wanderer’s trip (Something like traveling without a plan and with less budget), learn frugality. It will help in valuing what you have in life right now.

- Learn playing a musical instrument, it helps in destressing. It also helps in understanding empathy, it is a great deal to understand that.

- Yoga and Meditation. This might be something which you would love if you consider your body as your life partner.

- Learn a new language maybe the one which will help you during your internship. You can also engage with people easily in a new country.

- Learn basic life skills and also small motor activities which help in concentrating. These day many youngsters suffer (you might not be knowing at all) from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome), so this is good for life growth.

- Podcasts are great, the future lies in the audio stuff.

They can help you get introduced to some fresh amazing content on internet.

- Take up SOS (summer of science) and learn something that you’ve been meaning to.

- At the end of the day, family is all we got. Do consider going on a vacation or just spending time with your family All the above activities just need interest. In today’s well connected age, there’s no dearth of information. Just interest in a topic and a working internet is enough to set your journey into your desired field. We may be apprehensive to start or think of our interests as something not useful or foolish, but let that not suppress our desire or enthusiasm. In the words of Colette “You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm”.

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UN’HEAL’-THY Akshat mall Athul CD Cherub Kapoor Mahima Sethi Aryan Rushi Kalantri Rishi Rathi Bhushan Shinde Guttu Sai Abhishek Fathima Zarin Faizal Vedant Bang

Flashback Remember the 23rd of July 2018? The day when you, along with hundreds of your batchmates, huddled with a nervous gait into the convocation hall, eagerly waiting with a twinkle in your eyes for the next speaker to enlighten you about what lay ahead. Recall that feeling of being HERE(!) - the hope to fulfill all your dreams and the sense of achievement of being amongst the the best minds of the country (sees the CSE department, takes a selfie, *faints*). Didn’t you just want the world to lay at your feet, or maybe make it bend to your will?

Is There a Problem?

Fast forward by nearly two semesters to today. It’s been a long journey since then. You’ve already met some truly intimidating people whom you’ve subconsciously branded as “Maggus” or “Extrovert 100”, figured how arrogant the cows can be, and probably even managed to gauge your interests and grab hold of some opportunities. But what we urge you to now focus on is how you’ve evolved in the journey thus far. Introspect not on whether you’ve been able to live upto the advice of that senior who suggested you to “try out as many things as you can”, but on how the past one year has changed you as a person. Have you given in to the lifestyle, or are you still standing strong?

To gauge this, we conducted an extensive survey among the freshmen, and the responses we received, though anticipatable, were alarming. The data used in this article is based solely on this survey, which received over 250 responses, suggesting a confidence interval of 95%.

Physical Health “After coming to IITB, my self-discipline has deteriorated (back at home I used to bathe, exercise and have my meals regularly and adequately, but I rarely do them here). I almost never find an urge to study or attend lectures even if I have nothing to do. I am surely very disappointed with myself”, revealed a brooding freshman.

Let’s start out small. What was there for breakfast today?

Oh wait, you woke up 10 minutes before the lecture started, so obviously no breakfast! From having 4 full meals a day at home or hostels, it has become a regular routine for us to grab that banana, join the general melee of people competing for the rickshawalla’s favour, and hopefully put attendance a minute before it ends. When asked the reason for the same, It’s not uncommon to hear someone say “It’s okay to miss a meal, it’s not like I haven’t eaten for a whole week.” or “Mess ka khana kaun hi khata hai?”, or just plain laziness to go down to the mess at the right time.

Responses revealed that on an average, a whopping 17.9% of the students have less than 2 meals a day, and another 34.7% between 2 and 3 meals. Skipping meals slows down the body’s metabolism, making your body think that it’s “rest time”, hence decreasing efficiency and concentration. Accumulated hunger could make you overeat (that too mostly junk food), which could lead to serious diabetic issues owing to the sudden surge in blood sugar levels upon consuming such a meal. What’s more is that you’re missing out on the right balance of nutrients might end up developing some serious deficiencies. Just taking out 5 minutes of your busy schedule to have at least a paratha before

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LIFESTYLE

you rush out can go a long way in keeping you healthy.

And the one thing that even your mother warns you before stepping foot here: ”Beta, roz nahana”. Most people who used to bathe everyday end up taking time outs that can go as long as weeks. Not only does it lead to increased diseases, infections, itchy skins and blemishes, but also psychological effects, such as bringing down the mental state and zest. Trust me, you’re not much of a favour to water conservation, given the woes that the person sitting beside you is going through. In the rush that has become our life day in and day out, we forget to remove time for taking care of our body’s basic needs. One can try to follow a timetable where you set a specific time for all of these.

But there really is no point bathing thrice a day if your room is as messy as your welding job (hopefully it was bad?). A clean room can really help in bringing about a positive mindset.

42% of students confessed that they do not engage in any physical activity other than going to classes. In no institution would you find such stellar sports facilities, workshops and events, and it’s a shame that they are being taken for granted.

Avoid using autos and E-shuttles and walk or cycle everyday to classes, use the stairs instead of the lift, go to the gym, and try your hand at some sport or extracurricular activity that you always wanted to learn. Needless to mention, but it’s also a duty of the fitness freaks and sportsmen in the institute to motivate and encourage others to do the same. Make this change today - Set a goal, hustle, and don’t give up!

“I sleep for around 6 hours, if sleeping during lectures is counted.”

Think of all those days when you find it hard to concentrate, nay, keep your eyes open.The survey suggested that nearly 36% freshers admitted to sleeping between 2-4 AM on a regular basis and 26% said they sleep for less than 6 hours.

All of us are aware the importance of sleep in our body’s daily cycle, but have we ever thought of the serious repercussions that sleep deprivation can lead to? Risk of heart diseases, memory issues, weakened immunity, insomnia and diabetes are some amongst the many sufferings that this silent disease causes. Sure, we all have had situations where we had to have a night out to complete an assignment, or even probably chill out with newly made friends, but this at no cost should become a habit. We need to consciously avoid falling into this vicious circle, and work towards not only increase the number of hours we sleep every day, but also make sure that we do it at the right time and in a healthy fashion.

Mental and Social Health Mental health issues are less conspicuous than the physical ones but much more common and difficult to deal with. It is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken”. A majority of issues pertinent to college life stem from mental health issues and therefore, addressing them is of utmost importance.

As we come here we become “The common among the rare”. Many of us find it hard to digest. Suddenly coming out of a shell and to get so much freedom isn’t handled well by most as we tend to forget that it also comes with a responsibility. Right from the day we enter the college, we need to face this abrupt change in lifestyle. The fact that there’s no supervision and that we have all the freedom to make our own choices,

often worsens the matter, given that we are absolutely new to this independence.

What are the causes ?

“Sometimes it’s very good but sometimes it’s very hard. I feel like I should go home and spend some time there, just to set my schedule right.”, responded a fresher when asked about the life here.

Minor and seemingly harmless changes such as in sleep time and meals quickly turn into habits that get too difficult to mend. Attending lectures seems futile and procrastinating with wingies for hours at a stretch becomes a norm. Add to this, the never-ending list of orientations and events, and that’s a perfect recipe for disaster. Under the pretext of trying out various stuff, freshies convince themselves that they are doing something productive, only to later realize what a waste of time that activity was. And of course, who would not want to make use of some high-speed internet, except that it’s most abused.

Effects “Life here is very fast everyone is running but we don’t get enough time to understand ourselves and our state of mind. Sometimes I need time for myself and to think what I want“, one student opened up.

Most students knowingly or unknowingly undergo something called “identity crisis” where we just go with the flow and there is no distinctive identity that separates us from the mass which leads to lack of motivation to do anything productive.

This naturally leads them to feel tired and stressed most of the time, owing to which they are neither able to focus on academics, nor on other activities. Most freshies tend to feel a sense of failure when they aren’t able to meet their own goals and end up in this vicious cycle of self-loathing. To make matters worse, they often end up comparing themselves to their ‘machau’ counterparts, who themselves are sailing in the same ship, but hey, the grass is greener on the other side right!

All of this, combined with the infamous RG culture of our insti, certainly makes life tough.

Addictions Being away from home and starting out in college gives students newfound freedom to try out new things, which quite often includes drinking, smoking and drugs. Students are eager to fit in and do what everyone else is doing. Movies and television also play a part in glorifying alcohol and smoking in colleges. These substances may help you have a good time and provide an escape from reality but you won’t even realise when it will creep up stealthily and lead to consequences. Frequently drinking and/or smoking to have more fun leads towards addiction and things spiralling out of control. To be brutally honest, substance abuse doesn’t make people cool or popular but triggers a chain of problems. Young minds often succumb to addiction which can be fatal. Apart from health issues, substance abuse and underage drinking is strictly prohibited and may lead to a DAC and legal consequences if found out. But there are numerous ways to get help for someone admitting to addiction. Students are encouraged to reach out for help without fear of judgement or punishment. Contacting the counsellor is a great step forward to help you get rid of the problem.

Not to forget the TV or web series and video games addiction.

Students spends hours and hours watching a series on laptop, without a break. Similarly, a group of students spends a whole night or day playing video games. This addiction i s not only bad for health and body posture but also for the mind and social life. Our minds get tired more instead of getting refreshed. It’s always better to get up early and enjoy a sunrise instead of staying awake the whole night playing PUBG. Social media is another addiction that students fall in the trap of, especially when they get such great internet services. Our lives are more active on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter than in reality. Students scroll their social media feeds every time and everywhere - be it classrooms or bathrooms. Not to cut out social media completely, but we can always work on minimizing using social media and checking our DMs every now and then.

What can you do ?

“No matter how social you are, At the end of the day you are alone.”

“Finding good friends is difficult. Not having some close friends troubles me a lot” - A freshie.

Are these habits impossible to change? Certainly not. All of us know what to do but the lack of motivation or the lack of control is what takes us away from well being. The first step towards mental/physical well being is to acknowledge the problem.

It’s perfectly OK to be “Not Fine” sometimes. We all have our own good and bad moments. Experiencing negative.emotions are as much part of our self care as experiencing positive emotions.Accepting that neither we nor others are perfect makes forgiveness easy.

You need to feel free to share your problems with people you trust. Consult the SWC or your mentor and understand that they are experts and have been trained for this very purpose. When ‘I’ is replaced by ‘We’ even illness turns into wellness.

The more you keep them to yourself, the more detrimental they become.Meditation for some time is also a good way to get back on track.

Learn from the past and move on. Surround yourself with positive people. Figure out people who can help you out, make informed decisions about who to ask help from .Try to stay away from negative peer pressure. Understand what you’re doing thoroughly before doing it. Sometimes a good friend can give you a bad advice. Be diligent while choosing whose advice to follow.

Editor’s note Albeit this discussion, we are absolutely sure that all of you had a great fresher year. It was a journey altogether by itself, the one which you will cherish all your insti life. But a larger part of the journey is still about to come, and we hope that this article gives you an insight about what you need to change about yourself, what you want to still continue and what you need to improve. You all can always start afresh - start by getting up early, eating breakfast everyday and going to classes regularly - that’s a bare minimum to inculcate in your habits, and believe it or not, this small change will lead to greater improvement in your insti life. Talk to people around, explore new activities, indulge in the chocolatey delicacies of BnB with your friends, make a million memories and give the best to your acads.

There’s a lot to look forward to in your upcoming years and we hope you are yet to have the best of your college years!

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#10monthchallenge

Kushal Yadav Amogh Gawaskar Ameya Mittal Sanjeet Sahoo Abhilaksh Kumar Pranav Patel Arsh Khan Pratik Solapurwale Diptashree Banerjee Shivprasad Kathane Parth Sastry

The 10 month challenge article is one which deals with the changes experienced by freshers in various facets of their lives over the 10 months of their first year. This compiles the most important ‘orientations’ they have attended and attained over the ten months. Written by your batchmates themselves, we assure that you will find numerous relatable moments! The article covers 5 major aspects of the challenge :

GPL !

“Beta you’ll learn a lot of new things at IIT and interact with all sorts of people there.”

This is an account of how the posterior of a freshie interacts with all sorts of footwear and the most valuable thing that he “learns” in the first few months of his stay is the fact that he should wear extra underwear on his birthday!

An integral part of the hostel night-life, GPL is the tradition of transforming birthdays into memorable midnight ceremonies (replete with publicity through posters and announcements) that leave a lasting “impression” on all those involved as innocent newcomers go from eagerly awaiting their first birthday in IIT to dreading the final countdown as the clock strikes 12 on the b-day (read: d-day). Here at IIT, every visitor to the birthday is entitled to a slice of the cake and a swipe of the chappal!

We shall not delve too much into the details of the act itself here, for fear of turning this into the script of a low budget “slapstick” action flick, but (don’t!) rest assured that creatively fashioned maneuvers like the “Full Swing”, “Passing The Parcel” and the ever terrifying “Circular Trampoline Kick” are best experienced first hand!

Participate at your own peril, because the GPL often ends up being open season and guests never leave without their return gifts!

Quote from an interview about GPLs at IIT Bombay: “Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives.” - Thanos

A Day In The Life (Excerpts from the diaries of three freshmen) Fresher 1 (Guy): As I pen down my thoughts at 4AM in the night (?!), my roommate is in some other room of the wing, screaming after missing an easy kill in PUBG. College kids are nocturnal by nature, save a few outliers. And boy, does that seem a big change from where I was 10 months ago. Late nights back then meant going to bed at midnight for a good 8 hours of sleep. Late nights don’t even remain nights anymore.

And as I resign myself to sleeping at 5 AM for the 237124th time in this institute, I also resign myself to avoiding breakfast for the 237124th time in this institute. In ten amazingly short months, we, as proud college freshmen, have taken the concept of breakfast and ignored it like one ignores the Terms and Conditions text of any software.

Fresher 2 (Girl): The day begins in a panic-stricken daze at 8.15 am as an 8.30 am class tauntingly beckons. Gone are the days of bathing and wearing an ironed shirt, this freshie is quite comfortable attending classes in tardy casuals now. As I grab a banana and

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start pacing to the lecture hall, I get some respite from the long queue of auto rickshaws preying on our haplessness.

Rickshaw fare - 20 bucks; Marking attendance on time - Priceless After successfully catching up on my sleep in the cool comfort of the lecture halls (that seemed like a forbidden fruit 10 months ago), I trudge back, eager to get some food in my belly only to be disappointed for the 237124th time by my mess.

Fresher 3 (Guy): This is one of the opportune days that I decide to take a much needed bath and tidy up. Sadly, unlike at home, the room here, the person in it and his clothes, all fail to stay clean and tidy for very long. That sweaty and pungent pile of clothes on the chair which keeps growing with every NSO session is begging to be washed again. But the hostels keep just one washing room per floor (which rarely works smoothly) and trips to the laundry room feel like treks. And now forget about the clothes, water to wash our own selves has turned into a rare luxury, so we adapt, improvise and overcome by not bathing! Bonding with my batchmates has increased as we suffer together in the serpentine queues at the washrooms.

Here at IIT Bombay, a simple stroll turns into an obstacle course as we try to avoid our dear bovine friends and their droppings.

10 long months since joining, though, we have mastered the art of not giving a crap (yes, water shortage pun!)

Fresher 2 (Girl): We try to have three meals a day, and breakfast and snacks never feature among them. If not for that decadent trip to the canteen for a pack of chips, that small bottle of a cold drink, and a quick fix frankie, we would probably lose weight faster than we lose our motivation to score a dassi. But all these woes aside, the night is when the hostels come alive and friends get together for some much cherished gossip and gaming, with canteens providing the necessary refreshments.

And as these shenanigans run deep into the night, my eyes grow weary as I prepare to sleep off another long and eventful day and tumble through the next one!

IITB - Lingo Coming into IIT Bombay, one would think students would talk in a way that was good and reflected smartness of every individual. The expectations, however, were quashed in the first orientation itself (we did have numerous) where instead of students or people, the anchor shouted out ‘Juntaaaa’ to address the students! Well, coming to terms with the lingo seemed cool and so knowingly or unknowingly, we adopted similar ways of speaking. Let’s create some variations maybe? (those who agree put a +1).

Here we compile some ‘honest’ definitions of usual lingo terms which we learnt and more importantly, applied.

Machaana (alt. fodna) : Your friends can say this word anytime they want to get attention or when they want to

sound funny, even when you haven’t done anything that they should call you ‘machau’ or an achiever.

Craxxxx/maxxxx/infi : These word are mostly used to over-exaggerate almost anything (quite literally).

Usually, these words precede Machaxxx, and show the extent of how much the person has achieved (more like a PR stunt though) Chill Hai : Usually said for something that is not ‘chill’ or easy to handle, but is said just to relieve some pain.

Pain/dukh/BT : The tiny problem with which some random guy is obsessed. It does not necessarily bother the universe, but bothers him.

With many more lingo terms being used by seniors, we do not know how our language will be when we pass out from our insti…

A Freshie’s Advice ‘Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.’ And dreams should be infinite right?

Sometimes it feels like we’ve restricted our dreams to 3 letters. First it was ‘IIT’, ‘JEE’, then once you come here, ‘CPI’ and then ‘POR’...

The grains of sand spill from the fingers at an alarming rate.

So, despite being so caught up in all the work, ranging from academics to POR’s, do become a freshie occasionally and enjoy life, with your friends whom you stopped meeting. Create time and space, for yourself, so as to exist beyond the world of IIT, as life neither starts nor ends in Insti. Let’s broaden our horizons, and by more than an epsilon amount.

Extracurriculars The irony of one of india’s best ‘technological’ institute is that most freshers do a lot of things other than ‘tech’. Freshers aren’t pushed enough to try and watch and learn different things when it comes to tech. The cult and the tech people seriously need to trade their persuading and pushing skills a bit :p The Hypothetical Freshie: My sleep aiding in procrastination and in general ruining my life is disturbed by a sharp rap on my door. Thinking it’s my roommate, I open it, still half asleep. To my surprise it is someone I’ve never seen before.

You’re coming to PCSA for XYZ orientation, he informs me. No, I am not, I enlighten him and close the door. In hindsight not the smartest move but I was taught to never give up on my dreams.

Cribs and Acads Now coming to the “1 in the 10000000” speech we all got during our first day in the institute, we first are given this herculean formula to calculate our SPIs and CPI, the very intelligently thought out grading system, where you have to do arithmetic at +2 level just to figure out the credits a subject has. That is until you are faced by the fact you will have to study biology in your first year.

And that is the tip of the iceberg.

The first day, when you get a minute late catching the last tum-tum e-shuttle to see the whole class full, and you get the 3rd to last bench. But don’t worry. In a month, these will be the benches you’ll be craving for. Which is not helped by the fact that the AC temperature is perfectly set to induce sleep, especially after consuming a hearty lunch. And sooner or later, your notebooks will be replaced by you mobiles (for both acad/ recreational purposes.), and your right-hand index finger becomes your most prized possession.

Then come the tutorial sessions, a blessing for you, as you hastily try to scribble every word that the TA has uttered, or written down on the blackboard. Or if the TA is super nice, he

will share the solutions right after the tutorial saving a lot of hassle. Of course, profs have this very nice habits of giving short quizzes in tuts, which becomes free marks for you as you identify whom to sit with during these.

Some people wrongly proclaim the best way to make friends in the institute is to join insti clubs, attend orientations, have a wing culture. Nah. This is very easily handled by the lab courses you are offered, where ED labs take the cream of the pie.

No longer than a week you realize the best socialization happens when you and countless others surround the ED god who tries to explain all the questions (basically the best social service he/she can do, apart from joining NSS) Amidst all this, you’re hit with the sad reality of your exams.

Where you initially are proud of yourself on completing your whole syllabus in just a matter of hours (or as they call it, nightouts), and repent it quickly as the first thing you remember after looking at the question paper is that ‘07 bollywood hit song. But that is not the least of your worries. Some exams insist you make a correct index on the start of the paper or face a penalty, which allows people to achieve the rare feat of obtaining negative marks in a paper.

Also note that it’s important to associate only with machau junta in case one catches a severe case of maggu-itis. Symptoms include delusions of IITB actually being an educational institute and strong urges to study without an examination lurking around the corner.

And to wrap this off, you have the crib sessions. Where either you fight for nearly an hour to get a 0.5 mark raise, or return with double the marks you previously had (Error 404 not found), or make the TAs so angry that they have to cut your marks instead. No wonder MA 105 has the distinguished honour of being the first, and more importantly last crib session students attend, with attendance shooting up after every midsem /new semester with the hashtag new_sem_new_us trending all along, which dies down faster than your interest in club orientations.

And after all of this, some people even think of BC. Salute _/\_

10 Months Later?

At the end of a highly eventful introductory year in the institute, we look forward to what lies in store for us as we enter our second year!

Hostels: The bad news is that it only gets worse in terms of living conditions. The good news is that we will have great interaction and bonding with our seniors and batchmates.

Mess: Depends on who you ask! But the general consensus is that both the mess and the canteen will improve greatly.

Academics: We shall now get a taste of why everyone calls our branch chill/hectic! And interact more with friends from our branch. Friends from other branches in the first year will now become acquaintances.

Extracurriculars: We explored everything in the first year, now we shall commit to the activities, clubs, PoRs of our choice and interact with new people who are involved in them along with us, and finally get to make false treat promises to the new batch of freshers!

Intern: Core? Non-Core?! We will find out for ourselves as we make our resumes for the first time!

But one thing is for certain, we will be reading this article 10 months from now and wish for the ability to give fundae to our freshie selves!

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Sem-Ex for

When to opt for Sem-Ex? : So, now that you know how to apply for Sem-Ex, “when” would be the immediate query that comes to mind. With lots of IITB students spanning across various branches going abroad under semester exchange program, there is no dearth of valuable opinions and information on how to decide on a semester (or two) for the same.

Most departments generally have an unofficial preferred semester (or semesters) in which a large number of of students apply for exchange. This is largely based on the relative ease by which one can manage the academic commitments required by IIT Bombay. Transfer of credits followed by carefully replacing assigned IITB core courses with the corresponding courses available in the Foreign University is the single most important way of figuring out a favorable semester for you. This process is termed as “Course Mapping” and is essential to convince the Faculty-Advisor of the academic viability of the exchange. But fret not, there is already a comprehensive “Exchange Mapper”

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Freshers’ Newsletter

Pushkar Lohiya Lovesh Gupta Tanmay Goyal Raj Savai Lalit Kumar Rishabh Sharaff Ashita Yedida Aishwarya Putta Anuj Agrawal Parth Tawarawala Piyush Agarwal

Sophies

created by Academic Council to assist you with the same.

While those from established branches like CS, Elec, Mech, Civil, Chemical, etc. have a well functioning course mapper, newer departments like Maths, Economics, etc. lack this structured mapping despite the large number of MoUs with universities available for them. However, IR office provides all kinds of assistance to anyone looking to map the semester courses manually.

Although everyone has their own opinions and reasons to choose a semester, there is valid logic behind commonly preferred semester for some departments like: CS: 2nd Semester of Second Year is preferred due to lower academic load and easy course mapping.

Electrical: Any semester of Second Year is prefered by many students as it gives them the freedom to manage any unmapped courses later. However, 3rd Year Sem-Ex is also opted by some.

Mechanical: 3rd Year and 4th Year are more suitable as the students are already exposed to the basics of Core Field and start to explore specialized fields of study. Moreover, 3rd & 4th year have less lab courses which makes mapping easier. Relatively, second semester of third year is favorable due as internship process is already completed.

Engineering Physics: Both semesters of 2nd & 3rd Year due to similar academic courses and easy cours mapping.

Chemical: Most opt for 3rd Year Sem-Ex but some go in their sophomore year as well. So, course mapping is easily available.

Civil: 4th Year is most common due to mapping constraints in 3rd year. Some 2nd year students has also opted for the same but the number is relatively low.

Aerospace: 3rd & 4th Year Spring semester is favored among undergraduates MEMS: Autumn semester of 3rd and 4th year is preferred by students but spring semester is not that uncommon.

Overall, most students choose 2nd year Sem-Ex if they want to develop their social skills and get a taste of independence without much hassle of course mapping. Core electives in 2nd year are generally universal courses which can be easier to map. Alternatively, 3rd year sem-ex focuses more on building a research profile students can choose from a bigger pool of courses.

Exchange Mapper: https://gymkhana.iitb.ac.in/~ugacademics/exchangemapper/

Univ-Intern vs Sem-X A Univ-Intern is a brief stint of about 2 months during summers when one can work under a professor on some research project, generally abroad. Univ-Intern are basically more technical,tuned in for those with deep research interests.

One gets to work with sophisticated instruments, work with real-time data values and explore significantly on an academic note. But in many cases, the interaction of the student with facilities or people outside of his or her own research field becomes limited. Financially, Univ-Interns may get funded by their guides, a facility, not enjoyed by an exchange opportunity.

Exchanges,on the other hand, are open for all, and lets one explore all the fronts the University can offer. Exchanges also offers an opportunity to interact with students from different places, from different backgrounds of academia and develop a better understanding.

Each one of them has it’s pros and cons but the important thing to note is that both opportunities are not mutually exclusive of each other in the sense that a student can choose to do both if he so wishes.

Reasons & Perspectives: Now that we have figured out the what’s, where’s and how’s, let’s focus on the Why! There is no clear reason as to why so many students opt for sem-ex. The reasons can be manifold and all applicants have their own perspectives.

Most of the students stated that being subjected to a cultural exchange between students from so many different nationalities was worth experiencing. It is great to liaise with such a diverse populace. It is refreshing and enlightening to perform all the necessary chores by oneself as domestic help is too expensive. IITB offers almost all the worldly facilities such as mess, room-cleaning, laundry etc. All these things need to be managed by oneself abroad because of the steep prices.

One might analyse the differences in the course-curriculums and try to get a measure of the kind of research that is being pursued & the problems that are prevalent in that

particular region or country. This can also help in determining whether the you wish to come back to that university/country in the future to pursue higher studies or perhaps, even for job prospects.

Some students have more materialistic intentions. They are lured by the prospect of living by themselves in a foreign country. The experience is certainly valuable on the exposure front and many students stated that they started viewing lives on a whole different plane altogether.

It is not all hunky dory though. Sem-ex is a difficult choice and the struggles (managerial, financial, lingual or perhaps even racial!) each student faces are very real. It is not a dreamland where you are given a magic wand and can just conjure anything out of thin air to satisfy your needs. You need to fight it out while not forgetting to have the time of your lives!

Finances: All being enthusiastic and motivated going for Semester Exchange, but what about your expenses? Sorry to disappoint here, IITB doesn’t have any mechanism to support exchange students financially. There are exchange agreements with some universities which include a funding but a few. You may not be lucky enough to get one. You can always apply for scholarship or loans to finance your travel, all this have to done by yourself. Information about these scholarship can be found on the websites of respective universities. Also, keep an eye out for the GPO mails from Dean IR as they may contain crucial advice and facts about how to apply for the same. Other than that, some universities allow students to work on in on-campus opportunities including research projects as well.

With an institute under MoU with IITB, you only have to pay for academic fees here. Well, read the MOUs very carefully and discuss with senior who went earlier to that university, before trying yours hands for the university. You would also be saving upon the IITB hostel and mess fees providing a much needed relief to your pockets. Plan your finances very carefully, as it will to decide how pleasant your time will be there.

Tips & Common Mistakes: Looking at it from wide point of view, it all seems promising and tempting, but if details are missed it can go haywire quite easily. Best way to be safe is to learn from experience of others.

We collected some of the crucial advice for you.

‘Make absolutely sure that the courses you opt for are the ones that are actually running in the university. Wrong mapping may have serious implications.’- Priyash Singh (5th year DD, Eng Physics) ‘Look out for any off-campus accommodation present nearby as it might be relatively cheaper than the one inside. Cooking your own food is another effective way of keeping your expenses down.’ - Rugved Navandar (Electrical, Sem Ex: KTH University, Sweden in 6th Semester) ‘Be careful and smart. If you want to apply for 3rd year Sem-Ex, you can keep your semesters free by opting for some basic level core electives in 2nd year itself.’- Akash Chikhalikar (Institute Secretary, International Relations 2018-19) We urge you to avail of these opportunities as travel to other universities gives us exposure to different ways of learning and working, interactions with people from many cultures, networking for your future career goals and many other benefits. We hope to see you at the IR Office with any queries regarding international opportunities. - Prof. Swati Patankar (Dean IR) References: www.ir.iitb.ac.in

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Sodabottleopenerwala Hungry Heads Nirvana Hakone Lakeside Promenade

Madeira & Mime Furtados Cavalry the Lounge Le Paan Suzette Hamster Comedy Chaayos Keventers

Theobroma

99 Pancakes

Jugheads

Powa Culture map Vedarth Choski Sucheta Ravikanti Yaduka Digvijay Chand Raj Savla Shreshth Geevith Mukul Goyal Shrita Singh Pushkar Lohiya Akshat Mall

Escapology R-City Mall

Eateries Non-Eateries

Eateries : Keventers Love milkshakes?

Savour a wide hotchpotch of delectable flavors to satisfy your belly. Make sure you don’t miss the thick shakes and take home an aesthetic bottle with cute quotes on the cap making the visit even more worthwhile.

Hungry Heads Got bored of the canteen-wala maggi?

Experience maggi at a whole new level ranging from cheesy pizzas to maggi toppings on french fries to spicy Indian flavors.

Potato Twisters with L paan In the mood for food with a Twist? Check out these two neighbouring eateries. Spicy and salty twisters garnished with luscious cheese and piri piri toppings coupled with the sweet and fresh aroma of the paan is worth every buck and is a worthy thing to get ticked off on the to-eat list.

The J Want a break from bland mess food and looking for a cheesy, flavorful, deep fried snack to make your day better? The J is the place for you! Delivering a Bang for your buck, THE J offers you a generous helping of golden-fried Fries, plus an added bonus in the form of a range of customizable toppings; what’s not to like! If you stop by here, do sample their Banana fries!

99 Pancakes The tiny bite sized pancakes are too scrumptious to savour.

Customizable and flavorful, watching your pancakes being made in front of you, and having milkshakes from a syringe make this a unique experience. Although slightly on the higher price range, we recommend 99 pancakes. If you drop by, do taste their strawberries with cream pancakes!

Chaayos Can never get enough of chai? Barge into Chaayos and experience the herbal and green teas brewed to perfection.

Chaayos boasts of an amazing ambience and great décor. If you’re a tea enthusiast, then do visit Chaayos, however, it won’t be easy on the pocket Madeira & Mime Do you find the task of placing your order irritating? Speaking out what you want and making them note everything! Well, then just use your hands to make gestures and your food will be served on the table. The waiters here are speech and hearing impaired and are trained well to understand your gestures. (The menu shows up the menu for various gestures as well!). Pretty ambience and amazing service awaits you here!

Theobroma “Food of the Gods”, Theobroma provides a heavenly experience for those having a sweet tooth but don’t want to compromise on quality. Relish the captivating chocolate desserts and red velvet brownies. The place is a little crowded with a bit high service time owing to its huge popularity and small space. The bakery comes a bit on the expensive side but with a satisfying value for money.

Suzette Creperie & Cafe Visit this place on High Street to experience the creaminess of genuine French Desserts. The soft French music and ambience adds to the experience.

Jugheads Try the sizzling assortment of fresh vegetables and spices served with smoky and aromatic sizzling taste here! Oh and do try the Quesadillas and lip smacking Calamari rings.

Cavalry The Lounge Located in the Heera Panna shopping mall in Powai, Cavalry is the place for you if you want a taste of Mumbai’s night-life.

Apart from the various international cuisines and the dance floor, they host a number of events not limited to live entertainment, live music and sports screenings.

SodaBottleOpenerWala This iconic restaurant lives up to the dying legacy of Irani Cafes in Bombay. With a creatively named menu and exquisite ambience incorporating numerous vintage elements, a meal at this place turns out to be a memorable experience.

Non-Eateries : Powai lake promenade Looking for a place to stroll after a stressful streak of work?

Saunter along the exquisite Powai lake promenade and feel the gentle winds caressing your head like a mother with a picturesque scene. Take a friend or two and have a great chat and food!

Furtados Are you a music enthusiast and wish to sway your body brushing your fingers off producing acoustic tones? This is one-stop shop for a wide segment of musical instruments and urge to meet the ever-growing needs of the musicians retailing a various kinds of musical instruments and standing at a noticeable location in the Galleria shopping mall.

Hakone Has the gruelling schedule taken a toll on your mind? Don’t worry, because Hakone brings you the perfect way for you to chill with a bunch of friends. It hosts several activities such as paintball, bumper cars and go-kart among others. With a moderate price range, it definitely is a value for money too.

Nirvana A wonderful place hidden away behind a deceiving exterior, Nirvana is the perfect place to attain “Nirvana”. With lots of hidden nooks Nirvana is a carefully landscaped park, having machaans, gazebos, ponds, streams, bridges, cobbled paths and lots of greenery. Looking for a spot away from insti to have a quiet evening with your special someone? Look no further than Nirvana park. Also do not miss out on the Falooda vendor right outside if you’ve had a good time. “Kuchh meetha ho jaaye?”

Hamster Comedy “I get enough exercise pushing my luck”. Who wouldn’t want to get their funny bone tickled? Hamster Comedy creates content and conducts Open Mics (stand up comedies) and other events related to humour. Laugh at their jokes or at their attempt at making a joke.

Escapology Wanna rack your brains ? Immerse yourselves in Escapology, RCity and delve into an alternate reality. Perfect place to hangout with friends or family! Try to escape the room with the cryptic clues given to you. Do not worry about the age groups as it has been designed for all the age groups!

11

The Team

Hey freshers, Your freshie year, with all your experiences, highs, lows, achievements and mistakes, must have been memorable for you. We hope you took it all in and grew wiser over the year, and are prepared to face the next phase of your insti life!

Via this newsletter, we have attempted to present your past years’ experiences concisely, hoping that you feel a rush of nostalgia peering through those pages. Additionally, we have provided in it a brief outlook on your future life in the institute, starting with the summer vacations of your freshie year ( Enjoy your summers while you have the time!) and then further ahead. We hope you have as much fun reading this as our team had in creating it.

A big thank you to all the freshers and seniors who enthusiastically took up the task to ensure this project gets to its completion. In case you think there’s anything that we missed out or anything that you felt we should have covered in an alternative manner, feel free to ping us personally, or at insight@iitb.ac.in.

In case you ever feel there’s an issue on the campus that matters, or if you’re interested to report on that issue as a student journalist, don’t hesitate to reach out to us, the Chief Editors, or to the Editorial Board of Insight. We would really appreciate your ideas and suggestions and would love to discuss them with you.

Cheers!

Saman and Varun Chief Editors, 2019 - 20