Went to IIT KGP to test the waters at VGSOM.... written keeping in mind my fellow batchmates who havent been able to drop in there before the course. A good read for anyone... anyways :)
DISCLAIMER: This is the authors viewpoint of things around him. You may or may not agree with it. It wont matter to him :D
Part 1:
Kolkatta: Its chaos!
Rite from the time you step out of the flight/train to the time you get into another one... you dunno whats happenin man!
Its not tht its too fast or something... its different yaar. Anyways... u will understand once you go thr.
Getting to Kharagpur from Kolkatta is a nightmare. You easily get a local train ticket (abt 20 odd bucks), which gets u there in abt 2 hrs 45 min or so. But can be difficult to manage if you have good amt of luggage. Alternatively, you have an "express" train (120 for reserved sleeper berth, or 45 for nreserved tiket) which can get you there in abt 2 hrs, but wud require prior bookin. Or else you need to pay the touts/agents there to get the work done.
Or the best way is if you have 2-3 ppl with you, just take a cab (prepaid) from the airport or train terminus. They charge about 1800 (which is bloody exhorbitant, as a matter of fact it is much more expensv per KM than the flight from mumbai to Kol)
Nahin toh, just take a direct train to KGP... tension hi nahin.
Part 2:
KGP: A huge place with only 2 things important - the railway colony and IIT obvsly.
Take a cycle rick from KGP station or a cab to IIT. Rick will be about 30 bucks or so. Cab wud be 100-150 (dunno). Initially you will feel bad to see the poor chap pulling you and your luggage in the scorchig sun. But i guess you wud get used to it. Luggage jayada ho aur do se adhik log ho... so kripya cab lijiye.... for the simple reason... u wont fit in.
Part 3:
IIT KGP: Think IIT, think BIG.... really really BIG.
Its got that characteristic IIT feel to it, infact its probab one of the most undiluted ones around, coz u dont have metros like Bbay or delhi to affect it.
A huge campus, some really amazin facilities, about 4000 odd students, an equally big, or more support staff, a township around and in it and Cheddi's. Right.. cheddi's ... still cant blv that dude has closed down only 2wice in his 42 yrs of Dhaba-dom and not once in the past 2 decades.... wow! ... n the typical stuff u get there... Tinku, Jassi, Mohile.. .not some soap serial characters... these are burgers.. .innovated by IITians some eons ago... more on this when we meet thr.
Part 4:
VGSOM: apna mai-baap for the next 2 yrs and after tht too..
We saw the max we could... the lab, the library, etc etc.. the bldg is not as big as it looks. But it has everything you need or will need. Its a bit far from the hostel, but i guess all of us wud have a cycle atlst, so tht wud not be an issue. Infact, some of us who wud like to reduce a bit... its a golden opportunity... hehehe.
Part 5:
Hostel: MMM hall - SDS block
Crazy place, no one knows kya chal raha hai. 2 am at nite, ppl playin circket, someone celebrating someone else's bday, someone studyin, someone discussuin sm assignment or case study... lotsa lotsa lotsa stuff.
One thing though we cud not get a chance to see was the real life.. with tonz of workload and endless nite-outs. woh toh hum first hand dekhenge udahr jaake... seedhe rolling start!!
But the hostels are gr8. Beautiful (originally, not after u shift in) rooms, quite spacious. abhi toh LAN bhi hai. plus every room has a balcony. You have a novel concept here.. .tht of a "Loomie".. coz u share a loo with the room next to you. 2 ppl = 1 loo.
Part 6:
JUNTA - public... very very imp part of life there.
You are goin to spend almost the entire 24 hrs wid them. Its very very imp to find ppl who have a similar thinkin n wavelength as urs. It is very imperative to grow and succedd in and after VGSOM.
Our seniors, esp the group I was wid, Shubhu Hemnt Anshu Rachit Swaroop are gr8 guys... they are xtrmly helpful and went out of their way to show us around. Moreover, they really seem to kno each other pretty well.... n thz imp .. tht will tk sometime after we get thr.
Part 7:
YOUR PRIORITIES - get them rite..
There are infinite resources and activities. And you have 24 hrs. Eliminate, select , plan execute - thts the mantra. You need to really decide what u wanna go for, not bcoz smthng sounds happenin or imp.. its whthr u fit in. Also bcoz, whtever you do is goin to affect the entire batch and school in some or the other manner... so pls act responsibly. Also there have been cases of misfits being dropped off committees.. so take a cool decision
Also.. one very very imp point. Please leave your respective jobs with all possible cordiality. We need all possible contacts in the industry, esp big names like lehman, etc... mainly for placemtns n also guest lcturs etc .
so pls get all poss contacts u can wid ya.... bahut kaam aayenge.
Guys.. i guess bahut gyan de diya maine...
pls do a lot of thinkin on how you would go abt the 2 yrs at VGSOM. Some hard thinkin now will propel your course to a different level altogether...
signing off for now...
Kunal Nagar aka
theginsoakedboy ...
), assignments, 'x'plans (x=variable {A..Z}), volleyball, night canteen, adding mass to body (otherwise called eating), presentations, reports and ... uhmm.... mmm... studies 
