Life After Joint

A Joint, More Intoxicating than Weed

What Does Joint Entrance Examination Mean?

In India, Joint Entrance Examination is synonymous to inevitability. If the faintest trait of studiousness is visible in you (visible only to the parents, generally) then it is highly likely that you are going to take up a science stream in high school, and a science student who has not sat for the Joint Entrance Examination, is a rare sight.

JEE is the channel through which you have to pass, to end up in an engineering or medical college. And these two courses are the most sought after ones in this country. Most probably because there lies a vague promise of large salaried job with low educational tension in them. So, every science student in this country study their brains out for two years to get into a college, where they do not have to study any more. Where the system itself will carry them inside the cubicle of a well-paid job.

My Interactions with the Exam

Recently, I took JEE. When I was younger, I aspired to be one of those rare science students who did not sit for the exam. But I failed to refrain myself from taking the test. But, I am happy to get it over with. Living with the thought of JEE being round the corner is sufficiently suffocating. In spite of the fact that the exam does not particularly attract me, a desire to crack it is inevitable. Thankfully, the load has escaped my shoulders and now, I can start living once again!

An attempt to draw myself in my JEE question paper (the eyes do not look like mine at all).

Since it is Over

After JEE, begins a new life. One once again starts recalling the things he/she likes, his/her passions.

My new life includes the new laptop I bought.

And my violin, which I am beginning to learn.

Awakened, I am, with a hope of light. And walk, I will, on the walk of life (and as far from JEE as I can)!

Farewell

Indian Equivalent of High-school Prom

The Homology of Farewell and Prom

Both farewell, in India, and prom, in the west, apparently originates from similar motives - remembering and enjoying the last official day of the school, generally with some celebration and overture. Today, on 22nd February, 2014, I happened to attend my High-School farewell. And it was quite an experience.

At School

We were given a red-carpet welcome, as we entered the school. We also received a standing ovation from the students of Class XI, while we were walking on the carpet laid for us. That, did make many of us blush, but we really did enjoy the welcome.

The attire I was in.

Outside school, with Soham Rudra, Titikhyu Dixit and Diganta Chakraborty (from left).

The singers of Class XI.

The nominees for the title of Miss D.P.S.

Mr. D.P.S. Ishan Sharma (no, he's not the bowler) and Miss D.P.S. Matam Manogna.

With Mr. Mrinal Kanti Sarkar (class teacher).

Beyond the Official Banner

With the closest friends, Titikhyu Dixit and Ayush Garg.

Sunandan Bhattacharya, the lazy, carefree genius.

 Sarthak Mohanty, best rapper I have ever met.

Aditya Bose, the perpetual sponsor (at the canteen).

Kanad Sinha, a guy with a particular attraction towards 'stone' (my classmates will know what I mean).

With Miss D.P.S. Lucky me!

Another group of friends - Indraneel Hazra, Ablohit Das, Risheen Mukherjee and Rajjeshwar Ganguly.

And, the craziness, our definitive property (I appear to have the jaws of a python).

The last look.

Bleh!

With school in the background.

The Well-known Couples

Debarati Sarkar and Soham Rudra.

Sourodip Mukherjee and Shreyasee Das.

Debjeet Dam and Ishani Mitra.

Food - The Ulterior Motive

The packet served at school.

The chicken pieces at KFC.

The hungry bite.

The post-lunch relaxation.

Closure

Well, the farewell, was certainly a event that we (hopefully, I have the authority of commenting on behalf of my friends) enjoyed a lot. This was most probably the last time, the whole batch assembled together and celebrated the upcoming separation. And this is the first time we found each other so well dressed and groomed. To our surprise, even our principal spoke with a smile in her face (we are appreciably afraid of our principal). So, overall, it was a event worth going to.

VIJYOSHI Camp, 2013

National Science Camp

Preliminary Information

Students from all over India, who have qualified KVPY in class 11, qualified KVPY in class 12 and are studying basic science, INSPIRE Fellows etc. are invited to attend the VIJYOSHI Camp. The camp is organized by the KVPY office of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc). I'm quoting what the authority has to say about the camp, below:

“Science & Technology are twin drivers of economic growth and development in any country. India is emerging as a major hub of global knowledge. Its strength lies in harnessing the power of a large S&T talent pool. The comparative advantage of India in terms of this vast pool of talent supply, demography and inherited knowledge systems needs to be converted thoughtfully into competitive advantage.

Similar to Lindau Meet with Noble Laureates for students from across the globe every year, a Program is formulated in India for selected bright undergraduate students of Science. Bringing these students and World Science Leaders together in a relaxed and informal atmosphere for intimate discussions on frontiers of science could help the students to take up science as a career. The program will also provide opportunity for personal contact between the students and the leaders of Science.”

For further queries, one may visit the official website of the VIJYOSHI Camp.

The Journey Begins

I headed towards Bangalore on the 6th of December, from the Kolkata airport, on a Spice Jet flight, scheduled to hit the runway at 7.15 am. Fortunately, there were few of my friends in the same flight, destined towards the same location.

Me and my friend Ananjan Bhattacharyya in the flight.

When the flight neared Bangalore, the undulating landscape of the south was found peeking through the clouds.

Post Arrival Events and Lodging

We (my friends were with me) went straight to the J. N. Tata Auditorium, IISc, Bangalore, to get ourselves registered and the get our rooms for the stay.

Me with my friend Upamanyu Bag (to the left) and Pratyay Sarkar (to the right) near the registration area.

All of us (fortunately) got our room (I did not add the 's' behind 'room' because we ended up in the same room, rather suite) in a complex, known as the Platinum City, which was located pretty close to the Yeshwantpur Railway Station.

Ananjan Bhattacharya, Navneet Agarwal and Pratyay Sarkar outside the building we were in.

We were somewhat astounded by the arrangement made by the authority, since our past experience had trained us not to expect much from the Indian Government (well, the whole camp and the scholarships we will eventually receive, if we join a basic science course, are totally funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India). The suit, the beds, even the toilets were awesome.

Navneet (my roommate) attempting (without much of a success) to read Thermodynamics on his bed. That attempt was never repeated in the rest of the stay.

The students in our room. (From the left) Pratyay Sarkar, Navneet Agarwal, Prabaha Gangopadhyay (that would be me), Akash Adhikary, Upamanyu Bag, Ananjan Bhattacharyya, Rohan Das.

Inside the Auditorium

The auditorium is where the lectures were delivered. Listening to them, interpreting and clearing our confusions in the topics discussed was the real purpose of our visit to the camp.

Outside the auditorium.

Dr. Anil Kumar, the ex-convener of KVPY, addressing the students.

Mathematician (specializing in geometry of surfaces) Prof. Frank Morgan at the podium (to the left).

We discovered that Prof. Morgan, in addition to being a mathematical genius, is also a dancer. The link directs to a video (a rather funny one) of Prof. Morgan dancing (most probably with his mom).

With Prof. Morgan. The guy to the extreme left is Arghyadeep Paul.

 Prof. Satyajit Mayor delivering his lecture on the structure of the cell membrane.

We, the audience.

Outside the KVPY office.

The group photo.

And, if you are wondering where I am (though it is highly likely that you don't give a damn).

The Talks of Nada (Indo-Western Fusion Band)

On the second eve, the authority had organized a cultural program. It constituted Amith A. Nadig (Flute), Vidwan Mysore M. Nagaraj (Violin), Vidwan K. U. Jayacandra Rao (Mridangam) Vidwan Giridhar Udapa (Ghatam) and Vidwan B. S. Arun Kumar (Drums and Percussion).

I would have added a video, but the size is too big, and the audio quality is not very appreciable.

Food (Something that Holds us Together)

The food served was quite good in taste and quality and most importantly, was served in a huge quantity. The days we spent in the camp, helped us discover the ogre that rests within us. We literally devoured food. Gulped all we can through the thin oesophagus of ours.

The morning coffee.

Lunch. The guy to the left is Ritam Dutt.

At the dinner ground, near IISc Gymkhana.

At the last night of our stay at Bangalore, the day the camp ended, we went to the restaurant in the ground floor of the building we were in. We did not consider the food given to us at the last night of the camp to be 'edible' and we were more than happy to buy ourselves some food.

Waiting for the food.

Caught in the act of devouring.

My dish, before finishing off the remnants.

The Fun We Had

Cricket at midnight (with an umbrella and a sponge-ball).

Shout for "Out".

Quite the bowler, eh?

The ensemble cricket players.

Creativity with a lemon.

The rapper.

The photo-bomber (look at his eyes!).

Sleeping beast (no, not beauty).

Clear streaks of craziness.

Way Back Home

I returned to Kolkata on a train. Some of my friends took different modes of transport, like flights and buses. So, we got separated in our return journey. But, we made new friends too.

Pratyay with Spandan Das (quite a photogenic guy) at the Yeshwantpur waiting room.

Engaged in a game of cards (Bridge, to be more precise).

Bhubaneshwar station (well, the station is not much visible in the picture).

Resting at night.

Last Words

To sum it up, the camp was a wonderful experience. We met lot of good students from across the country, shared our views about different aspects, discovered new interests, new perspectives. Many of the students I met may end up being my classmates in college. The huge campus of the Indian Institute of Science holds wonderful professors, who are knowledgeable and helpful. The volunteers, who were primarily IISc PhD students, were also very helpful and talking with them cleared a lot of confusions about our future prospects and about life in research.

The people who delivered the lectures are renowned world-class scientists  and being under the same roof with them, listening to their lectures were quite the experience. Their calming nature, humour, and lack of pride was overwhelming. We even got scope of personally interacting with the professors, over tea, and at a special dinner thrown in the second day of the camp.

We also had a lot of fun, which is evident from the pictures posted. Overall, it was a camp worth going.