I had absolutely no intention of choosing engineering. Although my family is one with too many engineers, I have never been personally inclined to be an engineer in my life.

I was someone who grew up aspiring to be a doctor. I was a NEET aspirant. I wouldn’t say my NEET went miserably, but my marks weren’t good enough for me to get admission into a good Government Medical College. My JEE main marks on the other hand, were somehow good enough to get me admission into NIT Agartala. They weren’t great but then they were good enough for me to get admitted here. So I thought that, you know, repeating another year wouldn’t be as safe of an option because I was not very sure after not being able to crack NEET. I think I am not someone who has the ability to stick to something. I’m someone who might lose determination and motivation if I repeat a year. So I realistically understood what kind of a person I am and took part in the CSAB counselling. I didn’t even fill the counselling form for JOSAA. I directly filled the form for CSAB counselling, and then I got into Production Engineering here. I was also getting Biotech engineering in Durgapur and Biomedical Engineering in Rourkela, but I was so frustrated with Biology as a subject because it had failed me in NEET that I had developed an aversion towards biology. So I wanted to stay as far away from Biology as possible because I was like, it’s either being a doctor for me or something, totally different from Biology. So I decided to pursue Production Engineering here.

I feel that after coming to NITA, I realised that I had been chasing the wrong goal. I feel much more comfortable in an engineering college than I think I would have been if I was pursuing medicine because I just feel like I am more at ease with this education. I think I might have aspired to become a doctor but that’s not what was actually within me. Maybe it was just the charisma of the profession which was attracting me and not genuine passion for the subject of Biology or the subject of human physiology, which was attracting me towards it. And I think, even if I ended up being a doctor, I wouldn’t be that great of a doctor because a doctor who doesn’t love his basic subjects would never flourish in life. So I definitely am grateful I ended up choosing BTech.

After coming here, I did face a decent amount of difficulties coping with the situation because I come from a metropolitan city and this being a non metropolitan city, was a major shift in lifestyle. The first major problem, which I faced was I felt like there is a huge transportation gap. There is a huge gap in basic healthcare facilities. Then, the power shortages here and the water. I just felt like it was very different from what I was used to. I am not saying that it is something bad, but I just feel like it gave me a different outlook and made me realise that everything at every juncture of time in your life will not be what you are habituated to or are expecting.

I think one advantage, which I have personally had is that I didn’t have as much of a cultural shock as others, because at the end of the day, the fundamentally core language, which people speak here in general, is the same as the language, which people speak back in my state. So the cultural shock and the language shock was lesser for me, than it was for other friends of mine. So I think this was a great boon for me. However, as I said - the major shock which I faced was in the difference of the way the city is set up and the difference in the way people think. Because, I think personally that the singular biggest problem, which I faced after coming here was that I felt that everyone in the college doesn’t have the same exposure, doesn’t have the same cultural upbringing, social upbringing, religious upbringing as me. I realised what kind of entitlements I had been subject to since childhood and the problem which I initially faced was that I felt like people refuse to accept differences. And I thought that the best way to deal with it was initially to counter but then I gradually realised that it was actually the worst thing you could do. Going into a head on collision with someone who has a different opinion and not ready to be open, is perhaps the most foolish thing. Now, I have personally learnt to make peace with people who think differently and not engage in a conversation about why my way of thinking is different from theirs.

So, the major clubs I have been associated with were : NLC in the first year and Physicus in the second year. It was in my third year that MUNSOC was formed and I haven’t been able to be an as active member of it as I would have wanted to be. So for the sake of my story, I would like to focus more on the first two clubs, which I have been more actively engaging in. NLC, I would say, has not only saved me as a person but I think NLC is what has given me a distinct identity in college because most of the seniors who I know in this college or the network I have developed in NITA is a boon of nlc. And I think I still am milking its advantages.

I still reach out to my seniors of the club for any kind of help or if I require any assistance - in terms of internships, in terms of how to build a CV or in terms of how to approach an HR. So, I think that the seniors who I’ve met in NLC were the biggest gift the club has given me. Purely in terms of skill, I didn’t build anything new in NLC because I was actively engaged in debating since 8th standard and it was just that I polished more on it and competed a lot at the national level. So I think I met good peers in this college, who pushed me to improve further on my skills.

And coming to Physicus: this is the club which gave me leadership roles twice, the club that made me take up positions which I was not expecting to take up in my college life. I was not someone who was expecting to take up positions of administrative responsibility.

People might think that taking on the responsibilities of a smaller club would be easier because there’s less workload to handle in new or smaller clubs. But then I realised that those clubs are the ones which are hard to handle. I have been part of a club, which is very established and with a large network. I have been part of a club which is relatively new and is trying to establish its network in the campus. So, the difference is that I think being a part of a smaller club and then administering it is comparatively harder because you have a smaller workforce. So, getting people to be a part of your club or holding any form of event, as a smaller club or administering it, or talking to the Gymkhana or going up to the authorities of the college as a representative, a smaller club teaches a lot. It teaches you how to execute something with almost zero resources or zero chances of pulling it off. For example, when I was in Physicus and trying to pull off Jamshack- the online hackathon we had decided to organise, we had to do a lot of paperwork, there were a lot of internal intricacies. However, the fact that I, along with my team, was able to pull it off, convince the deans, talk to the Gymkhana and coordinate everything and finally, bring out success from the event is so powerful to me. I think that Physicus, at the end of the day, is the club which made me learn, and taught me how to take up responsibilities. I think that the difference between NLC and Physicus in my life is that NLC gave me a network and Physicus taught me how to deal with the network.

With me personally, the seniors I met have been older brothers to me. They have protected me from being bullied by other seniors. I have been sheltered by seniors from NLC against bullying by seniors of other clubs. I have numerous memories of enjoying in canteens - laughing and chilling in groups of seniors where I was the only junior. Yeah. I was obviously the one who was targeted and bullied by a group of maybe 10 seniors from nlc, but then, yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed it. And that’s perhaps what will stick to me after I have passed out. I would like to specifically mention Anawil bhaiya. I think he has been an absolute elder brother to me. He has been someone who has opposed me in almost everything I have done not because he was against me, but because he just wanted me to be more open to different perspectives. It was, he who taught me how to accept people with different mindsets. So, I think my relationship with my seniors has been pretty vast and not restricted to the club or academics or let’s say, just making merry. My relationship with my juniors have been pretty similar. I have tried to be to my juniors what my seniors were to me. The fundamental thing I try to keep in my mind while interacting, with any first or second years at the moment is that they shouldn’t think of me as their senior. They should think of me as an elder brother. LLC I have personally always tried my best to make my juniors feel comfortable in every possible situation, which has ever arisen but then I am very conscious of the fact that there have been times when I might have been a little strict with my juniors in the clubs, and I have apologised to them later on. And I think that’s an important parcel of growing up.

If I were to give my past self one piece of advice, I would say- ”Don’t over socialize.”

I would go on to the extent of saying that I am very conscious of the fact that me over socializing has been the reason a lot of people think that I am a “Casanova”. And I wouldn’t want any of my juniors to go through the same experience. I wouldn’t want any of my juniors to be either slut shamed or get called out just because they are socialising and I think this is one of the differences and cultural shocks I felt here. One of the fundamental differences which I was talking about, coming from a metropolitan City is the exposure. People here tend look at things a bit more stringently than people living in bigger metropolitan cities with more exposure. I was someone who was immature and not very conscious of the fact and didn’t realise it. I completely ignored it and went on making friends. And yeah, I mean I am not asking my juniors not to make friends but I would rather advise them to be conscious while making friends because I think I was and am still severely judged just because I’m an extroverted person and I think this is one of the biggest problems with NITA. It is not yet friendly for extroverted people. It’s not yet welcoming towards extroverted and outgoing people who are okay with friendships of opposite genders. Another thing I would want for the campus is that I would want relationships to be more normalised. I think if you are seen with a certain person once, almost everyone assumes that you are dating them. And it’s pretty obscure because you might just be friends who are hanging out together.

My personal opinion on balancing academics and co-curriculars is that you should never balance it. You should always prioritize one over the other. I mean, I think first year is the time which is kind of tricky if you want to slide a branch, if you are considering sliding a branch, you should 100% focus on academics and not on clubs. But then I think first year is also the time you should join a club. Even if you are not very active, you should join a club. At least one. And then I think second year is the time you should completely focus on clubs. I think personally, I would say, second year is the time when you should prioritise clubs. And I think third and fourth year is the time when you should prioritise academics. I think in general first and second is a time when you should prioritise co curriculars and third and fourth is a time when you should prioritize academics. By prioritizing, I don’t mean ditching academics altogether.The biggest misconception I find is that when I ask my juniors to prioritize, whether it’s academics or co-curriculars, they think I’m telling them to completely abandon the other. The truth is, co-curricular activities are fundamentally as important as academics. This becomes clear during placements or internships. Your CV will look pretty bare without any co-curriculars. In fact, I’ve been helping a few friends develop their resumes for internships lately, and I’ve noticed a pattern. Many students with stellar GPAs have nothing else to showcase on their CVs besides education and work experience. These are things everyone has. What makes you stand out is what you write after those sections. In my opinion, having an 8.0 CGPA with exceptional co-curricular involvement is better than having an 8.5 CGPA with a completely blank CV.

The only time I felt I truly experienced college life was when I went to a festival at another college. I don’t know if that counts, but regardless, I’d say the best experience of my college life has been at IIT KGP, as a whole. It’s been a mix of crazy highs and lows, but that’s what makes it special. I wouldn’t say there’s one singular event that stands out. Instead, it’s the constant stream of unexpected happenings that makes college life interesting. It’s not about one special moment, but the everyday experiences that make it unique. For example, at an institute like an IIT or an NIT, your daily life is just way more happening than the life of a person who is not at an IIT or NIT. There’s a different level of energy here. Today, for instance, I stepped out of my room at 8:30 AM and haven’t been back since. It’s the unexpectedness that makes college life interesting. You might be exhausted, but a friend could randomly ask you to go grab a cup of tea, and you’d still go. That’s the beauty of it – you do things simply because you can, because that’s what college life is about. In my opinion, college life shouldn’t be remembered for individual incidents, but rather as a whole, a collection of memories.

I don’t want my juniors to just see me as some senior they have to respect from a distance. I want them to feel comfortable reaching out to me, like an older brother. I don’t want them to hesitate to text or call me anytime, day or night, to talk about their problems. Forget being a college senior, I want to be a brotherly figure in their lives. Now, speaking about how they’ll remember me, I want them to see me as someone who had immense self-confidence. Not the arrogant kind, but the kind that fuels you to achieve things that might seem impossible. You see, even my mentors at NLC have told me I focus a lot on being assertive and confident, almost bordering on a “god complex” as they put it. But in a competitive environment like this, I believe that’s what works. It’s what sets you apart. It gives you the confidence to take on challenges without letting ego get in the way. So yeah, I want my juniors to remember me as someone with immense confidence, but without a shred of ego.

There’s no single song that perfectly captures my college experience, but if I had to pick one that hopefully doesn’t, it would be “Channa Mereya.” Lately, I’ve been on a hip-hop kick. I realized that slow, soft music brings out my gloomy side and pulls me down. When I’m in that mood, I get less work done, study less, and generally feel pessimistic. So, I’ve started using music more as a tool to uplift my mood rather than just going with the flow of the emotions it evokes. My taste in music has definitely shifted from mellow, soft songs to something more energetic. Not exactly party anthems, but maybe hip-hop.

I think I am starting to develop a deep loathing for a few attributes of this college. There’s definitely a bunch of changes I’d like happening. First, getting rid of the day scholar system. It creates a big divide between students. Ideally, everyone would live in hostels, even if it means shared rooms. Building more infrastructure would definitely help. Cultural divisions exist in every college, that’s understandable. But here, I’ve seen fights erupt over something as trivial as which language song should be played! It’s like people are stuck in their own bubbles, defined by their region, religion, or culture.

Another thing I’d like to address is the lack of a vibrant nightlife. Honestly, the campus after 7:30 PM looks like something out of a horror movie. We need a night mess facility. The food quality needs to improve drastically. Having been to other NITs and IITs, I can tell the difference. We deserve better food for the fees we pay. At the very least, it shouldn’t be crawling with cockroaches. There just aren’t enough options available. Other campuses have a wider variety of canteens and shops offering things beyond just fried rice, biryani, and chow mein. There are also very few vegetables served. I even calculated the calorie count one day and realized there’s almost no fiber in the food. It’s just a lot of potatoes. Another major issue is the frequent power cuts. Having power cuts this often in an NIT is unacceptable. Once a month is understandable, but once a week, especially twice a week in the summer, is ridiculous. The administration should have a backup plan or invest in a power generation system for the campus. Ideally, all students at NIT Agartala, regardless of their JEE Mains score, should be considered part of the same community. To be honest, I’ve become so introverted in the last year that I actively avoid human interaction. I think it’s because I feel misunderstood here. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame people entirely. There’s a misconception that people from metropolitan cities are either “playboys” or “spoiled brats.” This kind of thinking is destructive. Finally, the weather here is extreme. It’s freezing cold in the winter and scorching hot in the summer. There aren’t many places to hang out nearby either. On a positive note, the one thing I’ll take away from this college is the network of friends, juniors, and seniors I’ve built. I know I can reach out to them for help even after I graduate.

Piece written by - Harshita Shankar