My list of 10 things to do before passing out of IIT Madras
Somebody commented that my blog articles are like Aamir Khan's movies - they come once in a year! For different reasons though. While the perfectionist Aamir takes a year to get his story right, I take my time to find a right story!
Being in the 5-year Dual Degree program, I always used to think that I have an extra year to do all the things that I ever wanted to do before graduation. Procrastination certainly gave me something to look forward to all the time. But looking forward now, I have just 3 more months and a lot of things to do before I complete my stay at IITM. This article will hopefully serve as a reminder and motivate me to start ticking things off my to-do list slightly faster.
Somebody commented that my blog articles are like Aamir Khan's movies - they come once in a year! For different reasons though. While the perfectionist Aamir takes a year to get his story right, I take my time to find a right story!
Being in the 5-year Dual Degree program, I always used to think that I have an extra year to do all the things that I ever wanted to do before graduation. Procrastination certainly gave me something to look forward to all the time. But looking forward now, I have just 3 more months and a lot of things to do before I complete my stay at IITM. This article will hopefully serve as a reminder and motivate me to start ticking things off my to-do list slightly faster.
- Deliver a popular talk. For me, a talk is popular if it is on a topic interesting enough to pull at least a 100 people to the venue. Ok, I'll be happy with 50 too!
- Write, compose and sing a song myself. This will be a tribute to all those who hold a broader understanding of music - that music is a way of expressing oneself, in whatever way it comes out, and not just making some words follow some sa re ga ma tune. And ya, by the way, I am not a singer!
On a related note, it is somewhat disappointing to see the kind of Bollywood lyrics that is selling these days. Even some of the better lyricists in business are making shady Aahun Aahun sounds, using Ishq Ka Manjan and selling Tinku's Jiya, Sheila Ki Jawaani and Munni Ki Badnaami. God save bollywood lyrics! - Resume stand-up comedy. Greatly inspired by over three seasons of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, I had started doing stand-up comedy myself, even reaching the finals of Saarang 2007 Multilingual Laughter Challenge and winning the Best Individual Performance award at the NCC Annual Training Camp 2006-07 at IIT Madras for a stand-up comedy act. I never really had the opportunity or the enthusiasm to perform again, but I am seriously considering a comeback.
- Write an article on How Not To Be a Bad Teacher. Having attended 187 credits of theory/lab classes at IIT Madras so far, I feel a strong urge to let the current/aspiring teachers know what are some of the things I feel they can do/avoid so as not to be dismissed as a bad teacher straightaway. Keep watching this space for the article; it's coming soon!
- Pull off a complete conversation in Tamil. Many people know that I had picked up reading and writing Tamil pretty early in my IIT life (2nd sem), but I have always struggled with understanding it, and more so, speaking it. I have had several conversations that have lasted for multiple lines, like the following:
Me (to shopkeeper): Idhu evalo?
Shopkeeper: Pathu rupa
Me: Aaru piece vennum. Irukka?
Sk: Ippo illai Saar!
Me: Seri, naan nalaikke same time varuven. Ok aa?
Sk: Seri ok
Me: Nanrri Saar
But I have always wanted to pull off longer conversations with more complete sentences, and I hope I will be able to do that atleast a few times before I graduate. - Get my pics clicked at 5 of the popular "restricted-access" sites in insti. Possible options currently include the top of a Gajendra Circle elephant, the highest water tank, Tifanys roof, Diro's chair and Jhun's scooter. More/better suggestions?
- Cheer India to a World Cup victory. Come February 19, and you'll find me more often in the common room than in my own room or department. With one of the strongest ODI teams ever, familiar subcontinental conditions and most of the squad in good form, if ever India had a chance to win the World Cup, then this is it! And I will play my part in taking India to the title.
- Resume drawing and painting. I used to be good at drawing and painting during my school days, and had won several awards and prizes as well. But the two years of JEE preparations ruined it all. Even after joining IIT, I never found any incentive or motivation to get back to the art. But better late than never; I think I should put my pencils and brushes to action very soon!
- Say a personal thank you to everyone who, during my stay here at IITM, has helped me, stood by me, made me feel special. I know it won't be possible to reach out to everyone personally, but I'll try to maximize my reach (Oh ya, I am solving an optimization problem currently for my Master's Thesis too!)
- Finish my DDP in time. Last but not the least. In my quest for completing the above 9 tasks before passing out, I should not forget that I need to complete this 10th task too to actually pass out.
What do you want to do before bidding do svidaniya to insti?
*The title of this article is a pun on the list of ten things that I want to do before passing out of IIT Madras, and is derived from the Russian phrase do svidaniya, meaning good bye. There also exists a Hindi film of the same name.
*The title of this article is a pun on the list of ten things that I want to do before passing out of IIT Madras, and is derived from the Russian phrase do svidaniya, meaning good bye. There also exists a Hindi film of the same name.
