Right, you have cracked the mother of all
examinations at the +2 level with a good rank and now have the choice of
choosing the institute where you want to go. Mechanical at Bombay? or
Electrical at Delhi? or CSE/Electrical at Varanasi? Chances are you would look
at the third option with a low confidence level as its VARANASI and not some Indian metro/city. Even the nosy aunty next door or the ignorant
uncle (We encounter them a lot these days, right??) will tell you, “abhi Banaras jakar kya karoge? Mandir me
pooja paath karna hai? Bombay Delhi jao bhale kuch bhi ho.. unka toh naam hai.
Banaras me kya rakha hai.” Some
might amaze with their height of ignorance that Varanasi even has an
engineering college??? Some of you might have subscribed to IIT Confessions
already and would have seen posts like “am from 7 original/old IITs”. That is
one of the most amusing starts I have encountered. Heck, we were more than 40
years old when the second IIT came up in this country with the quality of
education that has always been second to none. The only thing that doesn’t work
in our favour is supposedly our location. Trust me, you need to know better
about this city than the stereotype that might have been fed into you all these
years by people who despite being “educated” were ignorant themselves.
Varanasi is perhaps one of the most
enigmatic cities that you can ever be in while staying in India. The city has
the capability of amazing a wide variety of people and going by the sheer of
non pilgrim tourists that I have met with in my 4 years, they all seemed
delighted and amazed and did have intentions on coming back to this place
again. Let me give an example:
Varanasi is a place to be for those who always
had some interest in ancient Indian history and tradition. It is India’s oldest
city having supported mankind for more than 5000 years as per available
records. So this is the only city in the entire country where you can see
lifestyles of people representing millennia. This diversity adds a flavour of
its own among the people who have lived here. In fact, the legendary English
writer Mark Twain said of Varanasi, “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” True, it’s so old that some of the places put you in a surprise as
to how did it survive so long? The number and diversity of events that Varanasi
has seen can invoke interest even in the hardest of History-phobic people.
For those who were touched by the heart
wrenching stories of IIT Confessions involving social service and success
stories like the Super 30, the demographic diversity in this city gives you
ample scope to be involved in opportunities to touch the lives of those
not-so-fortunate people. Will definitely help you in scoring some brownie
points during your job interview as all companies now have a recent statutory
requirement of Corporate Social Responsibility. Your interests will be seen as
an asset to your profile and might help you bag that coveted job!!
Okay, now let me address the normal IIT
student who is much more concerned about the life in Varanasi and opportunities
for recreation. You will be surprised by the depths that it has to offer. True,
Varanasi is not a very fast paced city, in fact its pleasingly chaotic with no
major night life and more by-lanes than roads. In my experience, I called
Varanasi a huge labyrinth of by-lanes!! However, the city has more great sights
to see. Be it the mighty Ganges over a number of Ghats, the early sunrise or
the famed evening Pooja at Sunset on these Ghats while sitting on a boat, each
sight is a visual treat. The mall culture is fast catching up in this city so
the diversity just increased by another level!! The people in Varanasi are
extremely hospitable and caring in their own way. You will find such
experiences during your 4/5 year stay here. The cost of living in this city is a
fraction of those in other cities so your extra monthly pocket allowance can be
spent on your interests rather than paying for necessities!
For self proclaimed foodies in your batch,
the cuisine in Varanasi is something to gorge upon. From unofficially, the best
hostel messes, among all IITs, to the famed Katchories, Chaat,
Jalebi, Lassi and the famed Banarasi
Paan that are available practically throughout the city. Add to that, the
city has a number of decent restaurants even the most upscale ones in Varanasi
see the IIT guys as their damaad/bahu
and are generous enough to offer you special discounts that even the other
faculties of the university didn’t enjoy in our time irrespective of the
frequency of you landing up at their place.
Lastly, you might have heard some of the
most preposterous comments that IIT (BHU) might not see placements of the scale
of Bombay or Delhi. Placements, with regards to number of companies, will never
be an issue as they operate all the broad mindset that all IITs are equal so
all major companies visit our campus. Your placement will be the result of your
individual efforts, the CPI and how you use the institute facilities for your
development. You will all end up in Delhi/Bombay or any class A metro city at
some point in your life. So more than anything else maybe, this is the only time
when you can explore the depths of sleepy chaotic towns and hospitable people
along with some serious academics and fun. Come to IITBHU and your life will never be the
same.
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