For a Class apart :D

I've graduated now and college is over!! Its been a long time since I have written a post and I felt this was very apt time to pen down my thoughts and to write about the college and batch that means so much to me. I now prepare myself to reluctantly leave for the US with all mixed feelings( trust me: I am sad, happy, excited, anxious, reluctant, eager, scared all at the same time!) to embark on a new journey called research. I try now to reflect upon as to how beautiful these past four years have been and how much I have gained from the institute. I think I echo everyone's thoughts in our batch when I say that the past four years has given us many cherishable memories for the rest of our lives. Enough has been said and written about how awesome our batch is and this is just another humble attempt.

There is a saying I find very apt in this context. “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”- Dr Seuss
I am happy that you guys happened to me, that IITH happened to me, that these four years happened to me. I just want to say "IITH, I am glad you came". I don't mean to sound cliche but I guess choosing IITH four years back maybe was one of the best decisions I took and I say this without an iota of doubt. I say this because IITH means a lot to me. It was here that I made some acquaintances, met some very good friends and some who mean more than just friends. It was here I met guides in the form of professors whom I will look up to even for the rest of my life. It was here that I learnt lessons that cannot be otherwise taught from the sports I played, the events I took part in, the fests and clubs I was a part of and the random talks with friends. It was here that I grew.

As we step out of this cradle where we were taken care of so dearly and commence upon our next journey in life, I wanted to say this. Let us try to bring our institute, our second home glory and pride. Let us try to at least repay in part what we have got from it by giving our best in whatever we do. I am not trying to give advice because I neither have the expertise, the authority nor am I capable of it. But I humbly urge you to consider this. Let clearing JEE or graduating from IITH not be mine or your greatest achievement in a few years because frankly they don't mean a lot to the world or humanity. I really hope to see you guys soaring to newer heights. I wish you more than just success. I wish you all the happiness, love, courage and peace in life. I know it for a fact that many of you are going to achieve great things in life and am only happy that I happened to once know you guys. In the course of these four years I am sure I might have hurt a few of you knowingly or unknowingly and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

To my juniors I want to say this. You are now a part of an institute that is soon going to be among the best in the world, leave alone India. Take pride in being a part of it and grab every opportunity that comes along your way to learn and become better at anything and everything.

Sadly our roads part for now but I hope that they meet in the future and even if they don't, I wish yours gets as beautiful as it can be. To some of you this might sound like incessant emotional ranting but this is just a humble attempt to speak out my heart. I wish you a beautiful life.

Thank you and all the best. Comments welcome.

Internet anonymity

Recent happenings in IIT Hyderabad and the boring thought of approaching midsems have managed to force me into writing a blog post after a long time. A string of mails on the student mailing list and the recent outrage of anonymous confessions have only gone to show the flip side of Internet anonymity .

Internet anonymity has been a long debated topic with its own advantages and disadvantages. In forums like Quora, some of the most interesting and informative answers are given by anonymous users. On the other hand, anonymity can also lead to malicious verbal attacks as one is not held responsible for what one says. I am sad to see quite a display of the latter in the past few days. People in IITH have used anonymity to throw verbal bombs at each other. Some of them have even dared to name the other person trying to defame them publicly out of mere hatred or jealousy. These acts are not only demeaning but also a show of cowardice. With increasing craze in social networking, it wouldn't take a Zuckerburg to track down these posts. I am sure my parents could follow these posts sitting at home. I am sure that some of these people brag about their so called 'IIT tag' back home in front of their friends and family. What is the point of being an IIT graduate claiming to have received a degree from one of the best colleges in the country if you do not have basic moral values? I was reading an article and came across an interesting question I would like to ask these people. Are you so insecure about your own character that you’re too terrified to face the people you don’t understand and ask the hard questions out in the open like a grown-up?

Confessions in some cases are good, as they in some way take the load of a person's chest who is unable to publicly discuss his/her feelings. But it all gets ugly when they turn into cheap display of name calling and tantrum throwing. We are no doubt among some of the brightest minds in the country. But clearly we are not among some of the cleanest minds as shown by these posts and mails.

The fact that these posts are anonymous directly links them to the institute as a whole rather than an individual in particular. As an upcoming institute with the media waiting to pounce on us, we should do everything we can to at least not be known for the wrong reasons if not heard for the right ones. At least I am happy to see that some of the pages have been taken down before becoming public.

With power comes responsibility. It is up to us to act responsibly when vested with this power of anonymity- a double edged sword. As pioneering batches, it is us who should be setting trends to be followed by the upcoming batches. I don't want IITH to be associated with such demeaning acts. Do you?

Comments welcome.