My Second Home

Had I got one more correct answer  in JEE or avoided a mistake, I’d have been pursuing my  B. Tech in IIT Gandhinagar (chances are, I’d have chosen it over IIT Guwahati as well; that is because although I’m from Guwahati my father had been working in Gujarat back then). Almost a year ahead, I feel that decision would have been a blunder, and ironically, I’d never have realised it. Firstly, my father has just moved to Abu Dhabi. Secondly there’s no IMG in Gandhinagar (or any other IIT for that matter).

Well, let me tell you something about IMG(Information Management Group). It’s a student body which manages all intranet and internet resources of IIT Roorkee. Back in the days when the University of Roorkee had just turned into an IIT, a few students requested the Dean to provide them with just a few PCs so that they could build a new website for the institution. Back in those days, it was called the Web Management Group. Over the years, the name has changed, the people have changed but the ideologies, with which the group was formed, remain the same!

It was during the winter holidays that I was thinking of how to ‘waste’ my time during the second semester, considering most of my time used to go in gaming. Little did I know that I was about to discover something that I’d be calling 'the home away from home'! It was during the first week of January that the IMG came recruiting. After a very encouraging intro talk, we had a written test as the first round (which was quite easy to get through as some 50 were shortlisted). Then we had the interview round, details of which, I am not going to disclose. Eventually I did get through (even though I’m not sure till date whether my interview could be termed as satisfactory or unpleasant?!?).

It was in IMG that I discovered that IMG is not about geeks; it is not about people who code all day long; it is rather about the normal IIT-R people; guys like you and me; it is only that we are a family! It was there that I have discovered that if you share a problem with someone, he'll consider it his own and won’t rest until it is solved… It is the IMG lab, that we consider our second home (the first being our actual home, not the hostel!) IMG is not just about programming or designing, it’s also about the values that we learn here over time, not to forget the discipline of working in deadlines and the managerial skills. It is after joining IMG that my knowledge has increased exponentially. In January, I remember, I could create just basic HTML pages(with just a bit of CSS), and now, I've almost finished my first application. Such is the extent of knowledge I have gathered!

'Deadlines amuse us'- that is one of our beliefs in IMG(my personal favourite, I can't help but fall in love with it!). Though we do work on deadlines, we usually accomplish it long before the scheduled deadline. In addition to that, we also believe in 'Work hard, Party harder'. From night outs to intense gaming sessions (it's more of AOE here; but myself being more of a FIFA guy, I'm fortunate to have found a like minded guy)- this is our life in IMG!

Two very important events in IMG are the annual trip and the farewell. Although I missed the trip due to some unforeseen events, I made it all up during the farewell. In IMG, there is a tradition of bidding aideu to the seniors in style. We've (secret) meetings for the same a few weeks before the event and on the days leading to it, the lab is shut off from the seniors as we do the preparations in the lab! Although it always seems that the last farewell was so well organised that it'd be difficult to surpass it this time, every farewell turns out to be better than the last one! Traditionally after each farewell, we have a get together at the main building(along with the mosquitoes and the dogs) where the seniors share their experience with us and hand over the responsibilities!

It has been only a little over three months for me in IMG but it already feels like I've been here since eternity. Such has been its impact in my life!