Well, to get rid of the mundane topics as fast as I can. A description of our first classes at Kgp would be ideal. Classes at kgp are like classes anywhere else, boring and sleep provoking (Except certain Structural Engineering lectures). But, the first classes were ahem ahem, something different.
Strictly speaking, our official first class was on Friday, 30th day of July, 2004 in Vikramshila complex in V3. I don't recollect the name of our English teacher (Yeah, it was an English for communications class). But from her looks, expressions and talks she would have easily given the opera singers in Milan and Rome a run for their money. The 50 minute lecture started with the teacher trying to adjust the microphone. A lean spectacled man intervened and got it working finally. Finally she was satisfied and then it was Introductions flying around and a redundant discussion on how English was important for Engineers and moreover how important communication was (as if we didn't know). I was observing our section (read as class). Most of the guys had no interest in the teacher, rather were hungrily measuring the few girls in our class. The remaining confined their attention to staring all over the room. V3 had its own grace as one of the most modern classrooms in Kgp.
The next class on Monday was the actual herald to our Engineering career. It was a Mechanics class. This time the classroom was more filled up and People were expecting the professor any time. I remember, I was seated in the fifth row with the first two rows empty for keeping safe distance. A short man walked down the steps. He was unshaven, bald except for the hair at the side of the scalps. He was clad in a half sleeved shirt and trousers. Both required ironing. The shirt had a blob on the front pocket, presumably from the tip of a pen which must have been fixed without it's lid on. Footwear was even more simple in the form of Bathroom Slippers. Unshaven, He probably must have been straight out of bed.
We all ignored him. Most of us thought he was there to clean the board before the professor made his entry. But.. He settled on to the stage, didn't do any cleaning. Instead, He questioned,"How do you define a Vector? Or rather, what is a Vector ?"I am sure the whole class thought him to be mad for no one seemed interested in supplying in an answer. I was befuddled, did sweepers in IIT speak English and also know Vector quantities. I realised the ridiculousness of my thoughts and shook them off. Since he got no answer, He shouted," Don't any one of you know what's a vector? How did you pass the damn exam?"
Now it was getting serious. It then dawned upon us, this fellow was the professor himself. Phew, some start to the morning. He was or rather is from the Aerospace Department. I don't deem he requires to be named, for Kgp folks would recognize him any day from the above description. Anyhow, someone (A big fat guy from Manufacturing dept., who was to be Puneet's Physics lab partner, has his initials as BR) mustered up some answer. The lecture went ahead with trivial discussions on Scalars, Newton's laws and bla. Barely eventful, compared to what was to come next.
It was our first lecture on Electronics and it was one professor taking class for 4 sections, which means around 300 + students. We were shifted to an even larger class V2. The fun began next.
Prof. TKB descended down the stairs, How do I describe his gait ? You must have seen archives of the Presidents of the US descend from Air Force One and wave to the paparazzi. It was exactly the same here, only that Prof. TKB did not wave at the end. But, the 300+ crowd was in exuberance with a standing ovation for him (And this went on all the way till midsems) and ofcourse Tempo Shouts and hoots. He was overwhelmed at such a reception (Probably did't get the pun of it all). It didn't end here. Next the shutters rolled down to display a white sheet on which he was to project his lecture notes. Exactly, as it happens at the cinema hall when the curtains are rolled back, the audience didnot spare the chance to applaud and make a din.
He too took his time adjusting the collar microphone and giving looks as if he was addressing a White House meeting. Good God, He almost pulled off the same. His way of talking, his gestures, He might have been the President after all. He too clamoured on the importance of Electronics, this was falling on deaf years with people mostly indulging in chats and paper arrows being flung at the girls. At the end, he passed on an attendance register for us to sign our names. This was a futile effort as he realised later, as a mob attacked that register and would soon have decapitated it. He later was to adopt a strategy of random selection which too failed pathetically. One of his favorite dialogues was." you look it up in Sedra, you will find it". So much for him.
Perhaps classes at Kgp were not as boring as I have projected. Puneet later used to sit beside me and keep growling, wailing, yelling at the top of his lungs at Prof. TKB. This was really putting me in a predicament. It was amazing as to how diverse sounds could be produced by us.
The memories are endless and undoubtedly hilarious. But there are other matters of importance. IIT life lies not in the classes but outside them. I end this topic here, and delve into my pensieve prying for topics in my day to day hostel life in the first year.
Strictly speaking, our official first class was on Friday, 30th day of July, 2004 in Vikramshila complex in V3. I don't recollect the name of our English teacher (Yeah, it was an English for communications class). But from her looks, expressions and talks she would have easily given the opera singers in Milan and Rome a run for their money. The 50 minute lecture started with the teacher trying to adjust the microphone. A lean spectacled man intervened and got it working finally. Finally she was satisfied and then it was Introductions flying around and a redundant discussion on how English was important for Engineers and moreover how important communication was (as if we didn't know). I was observing our section (read as class). Most of the guys had no interest in the teacher, rather were hungrily measuring the few girls in our class. The remaining confined their attention to staring all over the room. V3 had its own grace as one of the most modern classrooms in Kgp.
The next class on Monday was the actual herald to our Engineering career. It was a Mechanics class. This time the classroom was more filled up and People were expecting the professor any time. I remember, I was seated in the fifth row with the first two rows empty for keeping safe distance. A short man walked down the steps. He was unshaven, bald except for the hair at the side of the scalps. He was clad in a half sleeved shirt and trousers. Both required ironing. The shirt had a blob on the front pocket, presumably from the tip of a pen which must have been fixed without it's lid on. Footwear was even more simple in the form of Bathroom Slippers. Unshaven, He probably must have been straight out of bed.
We all ignored him. Most of us thought he was there to clean the board before the professor made his entry. But.. He settled on to the stage, didn't do any cleaning. Instead, He questioned,"How do you define a Vector? Or rather, what is a Vector ?"I am sure the whole class thought him to be mad for no one seemed interested in supplying in an answer. I was befuddled, did sweepers in IIT speak English and also know Vector quantities. I realised the ridiculousness of my thoughts and shook them off. Since he got no answer, He shouted," Don't any one of you know what's a vector? How did you pass the damn exam?"
Now it was getting serious. It then dawned upon us, this fellow was the professor himself. Phew, some start to the morning. He was or rather is from the Aerospace Department. I don't deem he requires to be named, for Kgp folks would recognize him any day from the above description. Anyhow, someone (A big fat guy from Manufacturing dept., who was to be Puneet's Physics lab partner, has his initials as BR) mustered up some answer. The lecture went ahead with trivial discussions on Scalars, Newton's laws and bla. Barely eventful, compared to what was to come next.
It was our first lecture on Electronics and it was one professor taking class for 4 sections, which means around 300 + students. We were shifted to an even larger class V2. The fun began next.
Prof. TKB descended down the stairs, How do I describe his gait ? You must have seen archives of the Presidents of the US descend from Air Force One and wave to the paparazzi. It was exactly the same here, only that Prof. TKB did not wave at the end. But, the 300+ crowd was in exuberance with a standing ovation for him (And this went on all the way till midsems) and ofcourse Tempo Shouts and hoots. He was overwhelmed at such a reception (Probably did't get the pun of it all). It didn't end here. Next the shutters rolled down to display a white sheet on which he was to project his lecture notes. Exactly, as it happens at the cinema hall when the curtains are rolled back, the audience didnot spare the chance to applaud and make a din.
He too took his time adjusting the collar microphone and giving looks as if he was addressing a White House meeting. Good God, He almost pulled off the same. His way of talking, his gestures, He might have been the President after all. He too clamoured on the importance of Electronics, this was falling on deaf years with people mostly indulging in chats and paper arrows being flung at the girls. At the end, he passed on an attendance register for us to sign our names. This was a futile effort as he realised later, as a mob attacked that register and would soon have decapitated it. He later was to adopt a strategy of random selection which too failed pathetically. One of his favorite dialogues was." you look it up in Sedra, you will find it". So much for him.
Perhaps classes at Kgp were not as boring as I have projected. Puneet later used to sit beside me and keep growling, wailing, yelling at the top of his lungs at Prof. TKB. This was really putting me in a predicament. It was amazing as to how diverse sounds could be produced by us.
The memories are endless and undoubtedly hilarious. But there are other matters of importance. IIT life lies not in the classes but outside them. I end this topic here, and delve into my pensieve prying for topics in my day to day hostel life in the first year.
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