IIT: Insufferable Indian Tribe
5 March 2008 by jaded_mind
There are two distinct tribes in India: the one that went to IIT, and the one that did not. If you are wondering, how to tell them apart, I have good news: you do not have to. They would tell you before you can finish your hello. At times all you need is a glance at them, and they are too eager to blurt out, “I am from IIT, and my name is Raju.” And in case you missed the introduction, not to worry. They would repeat the information like the stock ticker: I love Star Wars…I first saw it in IIT…my wife does not get it…she is not from IIT…one day we will have kids…I will send them to IIT…the same IIT I went to…did I tell you I am from IIT?…
The other distinguishing characteristic of this tribe: they are insufferable. So you want to avoid direct interaction such as talking. But as luck would have it, they are easy to spot from far as well - this is the recommended approach. Their tribal songs are everywhere: their license plates, their T-shirts, their coffee mug, their email signature, poster on their bedroom at home and cubicle at work. They are the only ones that put pictures of IIT moments on their desk instead of family photos. I am told while on travel, domestic or international, they would put IIT on their luggage tags. The warnings are everywhere.
The first thing you should notice is that there are two “I”s in IIT, and that is no coincidence. People from IIT have the most inflated egos. Like most primitive tribes, IITs have elaborate initiation rituals called ragging: it is a mixture of juvenile antics and grotesque vulgarity that are presented in the form of degrading and dangerous rituals. IITs claim to be the cradle of greatest minds and free thinkers, and yet its inhabitants adhere to these ridiculous rituals with religious zeal. Despite their inflated ago, and may be because of it, they fail to see the irony, and are extremely proud of it. They swell with pride when they tell about the golden days of glorious ragging to their grandkids.
They are also proud of the tribal name the fellow members gave them; the proper names used by rest of the lesser mortal are too complicated for them to remember. Like a tree dwelling primates in long captivity, they would get into frenzy and holler these names when they locate a fellow member in the wildness outside IIT. Once the eye contacts are established, they would launch into the rite of reciting the glorious days of IIT, no matter how old they are or what the social settings are. They would talk about their favorite hostels, roadside eatery, and all the nauseating details that no one but their fellow tribe members find interesting.
To non tribe members, the first thing they love to talk about is AIR (all India rank), and they are full of it. For IIT students, entrance to IIT is the pinnacle of success, the crowning achievement, and they never stop crowing about it. It is saddening to see balding middle aged IIT students clinging to their AIR past midlife crisis. By the way, IIT students do not graduate: they just pass out. They leave the precious IIT as soon as their oversize ego gets big enough to block blood circulation to their head. They live with that condition for the rest of their lives. They love to say “once an IITan, always an IITan.” I am afraid so: they get out of IIT, they get old, but they never grow out of it to be a grown up.
IIT students have three genders: male, effeminate male, and masculine female. All of them shy away from normal human contact, and feel out of place in a social situation. If normal social situation is crippling for IIT students then girls are their kryptonite. Any girl would do, they do not have to be pretty. This is the only time they cannot form a sentence: they stammer, they stutter, they slobber, they suffocate, but cannot utter a sound - not even to announce that they are from IIT.
If you can live with their arrogance which is annoying; even their ignorance which is irritating; the arrogant display of their ignorance would infuriate you. Here is a banner proudly displayed by IIT students: “Everyone is welcome to IITs…Only throvgh merit.” If that was true, then how did you guys get in? Missing the primary spelling classes must be a prerequisite for IIT entrance. Don’t you think of all English phrases, the phrase “only through merit” deserves to be free of spelling error?
I have seen IIT student proudly wear T-shirts with logos that is baffling. One T-shirt reads: “Former IIT college student. Current Yahoo! Big thinker.” Really? Where is this “IIT college” located? What did you think the middle “I” in IIT stands for? Which big thinker came up with that slogan? In my life, I meet a few MIT students, but never an MIT college student. But then MIT does not claim to be the bastion of big thinkers.
The incubators of great Indian intellectuals and scientific minds are scattered with inspiring words of wisdom. A sign in one of the campus reads “Don’t throw Pooja offering in the lake.” Do I need to remind you that the “T” in IIT stands for technology? I bet Pooja is the cornerstone of scientific principle. The principles of experimentation, observation, and deductive logic are just the western propaganda. I get it, the creation of scientific super geniuses need a hefty dose of superstition. And you need a sign to tell these super geniuses not to dump garbage in a lake.
Indians are proud of their IIT and its inhabitants. In the hierarchy of desirable grooms, IIT students rank third - slightly behind NRI, which is behind the breed of exotic hybrid of IIT graduate who is also an NRI. There are rumors that when someone gets admitted to IIT from a locality the real estate value goes up. I was told this was due to the rarity of the species given a nation of billion. Given the omnipresence of the species, I doubt that is the case. The admiration is deep rooted in the inherent inferiority complex of Indian psyche that equates intelligence with an entrance exam and confines education within the boundary of an institution. Though IIT students have no impact or influence outside IIT, the admiration continues unabated.
Do not get me wrong: IITs have done a great job of producing export quality engineering labors. IITs have continued the Indian tradition of generating migrant workers: mine labors during British rule, farm workers after independence, and now the skilled labors for high-tech industry. In defense of the IIT system, some claim that in this new brave world inflated ego is the soma of these deltas: given the life long tedious mind numbing work they are trained to do, it is only humane to inflate their ego that blocks the blood flow to the brain and dulls the pain. But, considering the second hand suffering the rest of us have to go through was it worth it?
So what is the future of this tribe? Originally, there were five IITs. Each of them claims to be better than the rest. Recently, a few more are added to the pantheon, and there is talk about even more. This caused a furor amongst the tribe: quality not quantity, they said. This is the only time I agree with them. They should stop expanding this hollowed franchise: the world does not need more of these insufferable IIT graduates.
[...] you might like this post. Or not. IIT students have three genders: male, effeminate male, and masculine female. All of them shy [...]
oh ! what kind of drivel gets published at desipundit these days!
It will be interesting to see how IITians deal with the dilution of the IIT brand. They never truly accepted Guwahati as a true IIT but Roorkee seems to have passed muster.
On the other hand segmentation is not new, it runs deep within the ethos. Kids on the SC/ST and the erstwhile DASA/NRI quota were always considered second-class IITians. Your “stream” is almost an alias for your AIR albeit with tragic exceptions, e.g. “He could have picked Aero but went for Metallurgy, what a shame”.
Not sure how the new ones announced in this year’s budget will shake out.
this is truly funny !
actually the tribalism boils down to the hostel bloc — you were a h8er …. i was in h6 …. and then the antecedents of everyone who lived in the two hostel blocs….
it sometimes reminds me of two grandmothers who meet and discuss what happened to their clan
[...] INSANELY lame can one [...]
as long as you are not serious about it…
all is fair in good humor…
i thought kuch propah comment likhoon but then it will all be yada yada blah blah yak yak yak, so well in short that post could have been proper funny but it seemed more like malicious tripe
This is a real good one, jaded_mind!
I particularly like the picture composition! I find it absolutely absurd to use car license plates with ‘IIT- city’ inscribed on it. They like the attention, especially in the US where most people have never heard of the IITs. Ironical.
When Scott Adams had brought out his series on Asoka (pronounced “Ah-SHOOK”
from IIT as one of Dilbert characters, he said, “I thought it would be a funny contrast to have Asok come from the most competitive school system in the world only to find out that intelligence doesn’t always help in the workplace.”
Undoubtedly ‘Brand IIT’ is popular.However, I feel that the very reason behind creation of IITs has been defeated. The objective was to train scientists and engineers, with the aim of developing a skilled workforce to support the economic and social development of India after independence in 1947. Instead, USA benefited from subsidized education in IITs at the cost of Indian taxpayers’ money.
Brain drain will not stop, but subsidies can. And the money can be used for better projects in India.
Keep up the good writing. I enjoy your blog a lot.
If this was supposed to be funny, then I am sorry but you have failed miserably and it was a whine and nothing more.
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Please learn to spell properly. Before you make fun of ‘throvgh’, please learn that a person who _graduates_ from an IIT is an ‘IITian’ and not an ‘IITan’ as you have written.
This post is perfectly enjoyable as long as it is written in good humour. I hope it is not the case of sour grapes.
Cheers.
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Hey,
I reached this post via DesiPundit.
I’m surprised by the extent of IIT bashing/speaking the truth-whichever way one looks at it.
With respect to professional education, all graduates from premium institutes wear their love for their alma mater on their sleeve-IITs (engg), IIMs (b schools), AIIMS (medicine) etc. In fact, in USA people keep harping about their sororities and fraternities, not just the college they graduated from.
I do believe that institutes of excellence should strive for quality and not quantity and we don’t need any more of them. The problem lies in the poor quality for middle level institutes and vocational training institutes.
If intelligent students who’re professionally successful have a chip on their shoulder, so what??? Successful people from most fields (entertainment, sports, media, medicine etc)-all keep talking about their achievements.
About masculine females-you’re just magnifying the stereotype that girls who do well academically/are in engg are masculine or not pretty or that beauty*brains=constant. Thats utter nonsense.
W.r.t poor social skills: Indians litter, spit, urinate, defaecate in public; expect dowry; rarely use words like please/thank you/excuse me (or the vernacular equivalent)-they simply push and shove.
Again you are magnifying the stereotype that people who “so called” study a lot, have poor social skills; are unable to interact with people outside their own profession etc. Again, not true.
I really wonder where you studied and what is your day job…
Knowledge is power and a good education has up lifted India’s economy. Think of the kind of jobs middle class grads get after passing out from IIT/IIM and how their entire family is able to move up a social class.
Your post aren’t funny. You just talk of things you can’t accept to appreciate, like the inscrutable India one.
this is perfectly tru! I just love it, I am advocating a 300% rise in the fees for IITs. Fund the institution completely from fees,
coz they dont serve the country, so no tax payers money, or bring in rules like china, where they are made to compulsorily serve once u pass out =)
spat in the face for IITians or ans or whatever….
ppl who say this is whine! are clueless about their demeanors!
not only IIT, although I agree its a very gud school, the output has its own standard deviation from the good ones!
Dear insufferable writer,
What started as a piece of humour has turned in to ranting.
It seems you failed in several ( n>2?) attempt to get through JEE and are now jealous.
Most (Possibly all) of what you wrote is pure drivel.
I am an IITian and I do not behave the way you describe IITians behave.
Niether do most of my batchmates with whom I am in constant touch.
So here is a free advise.
Even if you do not belong to the tribe, it is not the end of world for you. Keep trying your hand at writting some thing good about somebody.
u poor heartburnt creature, jaded_mind.
cribbing about iit-ians, not even able to articulate your crib in a cognizable way.
calling yourself jaded (=>worn out or wearied, as by overwork or overuse, dissipated, worn-out, broken-down, worthless, or vicious horse. a disreputable or ill-tempered woman … : check dictionary.com) mind.
better go to doctor quack arjun singhjee - another Jaded mind - maybe he can do something for you.
To Divya: I have a feeling that you were not thrilled about the post. Oh no, what am I going to do.
To Prateek: Yes, the division is always there. We will see what happens. But does not Indian always think of other Indian as second class citizen?
To Harini calamur: Thanks. No disagreement about the clan thing. The only difference is that the when grandma does it she is so charming.
To Supersonic: Thanks for the linking a lame post.
To Raj: I shall never take or talk about IIT or its inhabitants seriously. You can be rest assured.
To Nishant: Point taken. But what is wrong with malice? If bastardization of language is considered sign of literacy, why malice is not magnificent?
To No Name Girl: Privileged brats may not like your comments. Be aware. But thanks.
To Shrey: Sense of humor is subjective. It is all right if you did not get it.
To asianwindow: Thanks for the link. You two are doing a wonderful job. Nice idea for a blog. I like the name too.
To Anon: Since you have a smile face, I would go gentle. “IITan” is not even standard English word, so when it comes to spelling we do have to use common sense. You will see IITan is more appropriate than IITians.
• If you take it as its full form then technology ends with y: residence of Italy becomes Italian not Italyian – y changes to i, you do not add ian, just an.
• If you take the sound of the abbreviation, T ends in “e” sound. Now say it loud and show me what the “i” is doing there. Unless, of course two I’s were not enough for you and you just wanted another one.
Do you have to know intension of the writer to enjoy it? As for sour grapes, I love them: they make great jam. Also, try sour cherry.
But to be honest, personally I do not care about spelling at all. Even a machine can correct them, at least if one uses Standard English. Typos do happen, not big deal.
To frmad: Thanks for the info. We shall check it out.
To Neeti: Thank you for the detailed comment. It is a matter of perspective, and your last sentence is telling: it is all about moving up the social class. I guess that is saddening. I wish it was about education and contribution to society. But I understand your point.
To Suresh: I gather you do not find the post funny. I get it. Not sure about the other comment. What is wrong in talking about things that are irritating?
To VJ: Be careful, there is always an IIT graduate who is ready to get offended. Thanks.
To Prashant Srivastava: You may be right, I am jealous. I cannot be clever enough to write (n>2?), I still write (more than two?). You may improve your interaction outside your clan if you learn to language and mathematics – yes that wrong use of variable. If you do not get it, let me know. I shall explain high school algebra to you.
I can understand why IITians (correct?) have been pained. But then jaded_mind did warn us about the expected reaction, didn’t he?!!
Well, I feel there is nothing wrong with being in love with your alma mater. All of us are. But there is definitely some weirdness attached to IIT culture/ lifestyle.Even graduates from Stanford/ MIT, etc do not carry license plates with school-city on it.All the observations made are so true, and we see it everyday! Congratulations, jaded_mind! Bravo!
However, on a serious note, given the high standards of IIT education alumni, IITians have not done justice to all the money India spends on them only to see them migrate to US and work to promote US economy. Perhaps Indian Government should bind all IIT students in a contract to work for at least 5 years in India before they can migrate to US or elsewhere.
Well, about the humor in the post. As Indians don’t we know that all things in the limelight have to bear the love-hate relationship with rest of us! So all IITians (correct?) out there- just suck it up with a smile!
I would suggest enjoy the post as is. And all the IITians out there- this is your chance to come up with a take on us now!
To d: Thank you for the advice. I went to dictionary.com, here is what I found under the ward crib:
crib /krɪb/ noun, verb, cribbed, crib·bing.
–noun
1. a child’s bed with enclosed sides.
2. a stall or pen for cattle.
3. a rack or manger for fodder, as in a stable or barn.
4. a bin for storing grain, salt, etc.
5. Informal.
a. a translation, list of correct answers, or other illicit aid used by students while reciting, taking exams, or the like; pony.
b. plagiarism.
c. a petty theft.
6. a room, closet, etc., in a factory or the like, in which tools are kept and issued to workers.
7. a shallow, separate section of a bathing area, reserved for small children.
8. any confined space.
9. Slang. a house, shop, etc., frequented by thieves or regarded by thieves as a likely place for burglarizing.
10. Building Trades, Civil Engineering. any of various cellular frameworks of logs, squared timbers, or steel or concrete objects of similar form assembled in layers at right angles, often filled with earth and stones and used in the construction of foundations, dams, retaining walls, etc.
11. a barrier projecting part of the way into a river and then upward, acting to reduce the flow of water and as a storage place for logs being floated downstream.
12. a lining for a well or other shaft.
13. Slang. one’s home; pad.
14. Cribbage. a set of cards made up by equal contributions from each player’s hand, and belonging to the dealer.
15. a cheap, ill-kept brothel.
16. a wicker basket.
17. British, Australian. lunch, esp. a cold lunch carried from home to work and eaten by a laborer on the job; snack.
–verb (used with object)
18. Informal. to pilfer or steal, esp. to plagiarize (another’s writings or ideas).
19. to confine in or as if in a crib.
20. to provide with a crib or cribs.
21. to line with timber or planking.
–verb (used without object)
22. Informal.
a. to use a crib in examinations, homework, translating, etc.
b. to steal; plagiarize.
23. (of a horse) to practice cribbing.
[Origin: bef. 1000; ME cribbe, OE crib(b); c. D krib, G Krippe; cf. crèche]
Could you tell me, which meaning you had in mind when you use it two times.
rotfl. i was waiting for some real backlash, since this was on DP, but looks like iitians (my fellow iitians: there we go) have matured after all ;-), apart from some whose egos feed on their sense-of-humor.
i remember long back someone writing a critical article on sulekha, and she was virtually hounded off the site. i wasn’t proud of that as an iitian (there we go again)
some of your observations are just too funny and on the dot. i cannot but chuckle, even as an ex-iitian (there we go once again, although there is no such thing as ex-iitian, as you rightly say) but “masculine females?”. surely you know a gender called non-males? no? tch.. tch…
u’re a riot. only criticism i have is, you dragged it too much. if you wanted to be serious, you dragged the first half too long. if you wanted to kid, you dragged the second half too long. if you wanted to do both, well, it’s a fine art to master.
cheers,
asuph
To asup: Thanks for the comments. As for dragging, no argument. I can only invoke Pascal: my friend, if only I had more time…
This link is for you
http://sr-itbhu.blogspot.com/2008/03/sour-grapes.html
To Shashank Tyagi: Thank you for the link, but sorry I do not have time to read it. I hope you had fun writing it.
Thanks for the free publicity. Just when I think we need to start doing some real work to keep the fire of hype that burns may I say, throughout the country, burning, somebody from outside come along and contributes a large mass of fuel to it, and the smoke rises high, and it catches people’s attention, and they come from near and far, and spend quite some time and passion thinking about us. We, meanwhile, feeling very light now, rise to the very highest fumes, and lie relaxed on our backs there, our hands crossed behind our head, breathing fresh air from the top, while everyone below is working hard to keep the fire hot and the smoke dense enough. We are happy, because we are reminded once again, that till the fuel for the hype is coming from outside, we can afford to relax and enjoy the finer stuff of life.
You have dehumanized us quite a bit in this post, but you still recognize us as being a separate category, and in fact a quite extraordinary one. We are aware that we aren’t considered superior outside, nor do we want to be, but as long as we’re getting all this attention and dedicated posts without even trying hard, we are sure we’re still kickin’ it.
Pal, no offence but can’t you right something positive and still make it sound funny. coz like most of the people you only have sarcasm to work for you. Be different. I hope you aren’t such in your real life. Think positive. Criticism isn’t a bad thing but it’s not always asked.
Come write something good. Would be waiting.
“…considering the second hand suffering the rest of us have to go through…”
So, it’s a whine after all, isn’t it?
Tell me any college student who doesn’t cherish his/her college days? More so, when in a group/reunion.
FANTASTIC!
I am from IIT, and cannot help but congratulate you on making such apt observations about us.
Your writing is a fine blend of humor and sarcasm, and must say you have hit the point - dude, its a bull’s eye.
It was funny…like a lot of things on News Channels these day where they take things out of context and talk incoherently. I am not a big fan of the way English is written. I do not know if the V in throvgh was intentional but here is some thing to look at (see Page 5)
http://www.spellingsociety.org/journals/books/dialects.pdf
and also since you mentioned MIT in your post just do a google search with
MASSACHVSETTS INSTITVTE OF TECHNOLOGY
and you will be surprised.
PKP
Hi,
I agree with the general idea of IITians being obsessed with their alma mater, their AIR and stuff. But some things I don’t agree with:
1) That old classmates getting nostalgic when they meet and discussing old times is bad. Also, the details they discuss are obviously boring to an outsider, but come on: you’re talking about old friends meeting after a long time!
2) If you have ever heard of the nicknames IIT Madras students give each other AND if you have been able to understand them, you wouldn’t whine about it.
3) You’re actually missing the point and crossing over to “whining mode” when you’re talking about the spelling on some banner, the caption on T-shirts and stuff. Yeah, I agree IITians act like they’re perfect intellectual beings and all, but they never claim to spell every word perfectly. Besides, about the “IIT college student”: here the word “college” is not intended as a part of the name of the institute, but as part of the description of the position the person held there: “college student”. It’s like “IIT prof.”, “IIT grad student”, “IIT research scholar”, and similarly “IIT college student”. Get it?
4) What’s that crap about technology and pooja? Do you mean to say the spirit of technological advancement has any connection with faith and pooja? And when you say pooja offerings are garbage, you don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not a matter of superstition. It’s faith and culture. Has nothing to do with technology.
This blog is laudable for writing down what I’ve witnessed about IIT-attitude all my life.
I have observed - other than study in IIT, migrate to US with some ‘regular’ job, and have Reunion partys year after year, there is nothing else that one hears about IITs these days.
I know people who are in their sixties and still endlessly rant about their days in the IIT. Come on- when will you grow up, man? Do they even realize how pathetic they sound at times?
I am surprised at some of the comments from IIT people- they are not able to take even a small dose of slight criticism. And we suffer their ‘clearing one exam- JEE’ all our lives.
Keep up the good work! You made my day.
An awesome post. Love it.
WTF do IITians do to India. They(we) just get into IITs without even knowing what they are going to perceive!
I’m an IITian and I know about people who do that shit (boasting brand name). Living with that tag.
Hilarious read! One of the best posts I have read in the last few weeks.
In defence of IIT spelling skills, “throvgh” is actually correct, but only if capitalized. In the Latinized script, V and U are the same. It is the same reason that Mount Vesuvius is actually pronounced “Usuvius” in Latin (which, by the way, had only capitalized alphabets). So I give those blokes full marks for effort, but low marks for result.
But one must remember that V and U are only the same when the letter is capitalized. Not otherwise. Interestingly, the facade of MIT reads “Massachvsetts Institvte of Technology” (in capitals, of course!)
But yes, this article is tripe.
Among all the sour-grapes bullshit that u were belching out, i found this starkingly stinky. The signboard regarding pooja offerings, I suppose is from IITB, cos we do have a few of them around the Powai Lake that borders the campus. Do you have any idea how an IIT campus looks like ? Do u know that it a large township in itself that houses students, faculty, non-academic staff, and other temporary support staff. This sign is meant for non-academic staff qaurters located in the so called lake side region of IITB campus. With the level of immaturity that you possess, I am sure you dint guess that throwing offerings in to the lake can pollute it and hence the need to notify the residents.
Among all the sour-grapes bullshit that u were belching out, i found this starkingly stinky. The signboard regarding pooja offerings, I suppose is from IITB, cos we do have a few of them around the Powai Lake that borders the campus. Do you have any idea how an IIT campus looks like ? Do u know that it a large township in itself that houses students, faculty, non-academic staff, and other temporary support staff. This sign is meant for non-academic staff qaurters located in the so called lake side region of IITB campus. With the level of immaturity that you possess, I am sure you dint guess that throwing offerings in to the lake can pollute it and hence the need to notify the residents.
heh heh! my gawd! awesome reaction chain your blog-flog has generated! congratulations, jaded-mind.
iit-ians should learn ways of cheap publicity - instead of introducing themselves as IIT-ians as you claim they do, they should rather just put up ludicrous hate-mail like this on blogs around. much cheaper (really cheap!) way to be the centrepoint of attraction amongst masses!
by the way, i have yet to meet an iit-ian who mentions his alma-mater out of context let alone in the beginning of an introduction, and i have met over a thousand iit-ians till now. i be ashamed of being an IITian when iit-ians have to attract attention with an “i am an iit-ian” in the beginning of an intro. just where did you dream up about IIT-ian luggage tags and all that junk?
you yourself seem to beat iit-ians at what you primarily claim in your blog that they possess - high-handedness. look at the “i don’t have time …” responses you have posted in response to various comments to your blog.
you checked dictionary.com for the meaning of “cribbing” - and as expected of a iit-ian hater, missed the key point - the one meaning “: a vice of horses characterized by gnawing (as at a manger) while slobbering and salivating” which led to the current slang for whining.
i and all those blog-responders have fallen victim to being drawn in this cheap street brawl you started. may the almightly forgive our sin. i now go for penance.
I am unable to understand why people cannot take a joke as a joke. I think that is where we differ from rest of the world- we cannot laugh at ourselves and our own absurdities.
I cannot help but notice that all the people complaining on this post are the ‘IITians’ themselves. Sour grapes, umhh! Undoubtedly, the ‘double II’ ego has been punctured. If we can bear with their inflated ego, we can also bear with their punctured ego.
After all it is not the first time somebody is making fun of IITs. People who are not even aware of the history or traditions of IIT, even they cannot help but notice these points.
Lets take the writing in the stride it is meant to be and keep it at that.One can always read and interpret the way one wants to.
Good job, jaded_mind. I enjoyed the post thoroughly.
To All: So it turns out the tribe has two distinct subgroups: one that still can have a chuckle and those who cannot. It is amusing to observe that those who associate merit with a single exam, also think a single spelling error questions their collective intelligence. Those that equates greatness with an exam even lack the ability to imagine what greatness is. I am not sure how many exams Ramanujan, Tagore, or Jamstji Tata had ever passed. Given that I am talking to students of IIT, I do not want to go outside these simple examples. To paraphrase a philosopher: A obsession with a foolish exam is the hobgoblin of little minds.
And do not forget, engineering by definition is mediocre science at best. Try to come up with a name of a great engineer and you will see how far short it falls from a great mind. And yes, you can go outside IIT system. Thank you.
Well well well…. This is the first time I am seeing an outburst of full frustration and malignity towards the best brains in India… Don’t u worry dude It happens all the time and with many… people are not ready to accept the brand IIT and the success they get… You know what… Indians take pride when Bush says to American youth…” beware Indians are coming” but you know what?? This prestige is all because of IITs… the technopreneurial ventures have been the most successful in Silicon valley…. nd most of them are from IITs… you know something that all the top universities in the world MIT, Caltech, Harvard, Wharton or whatever have finally realized that Indian breed is actually a powerhouse of intellectual thots and sheer brain… Credit goes to IITians… U r cravin here coz u think that IITians discuss all that Tech father and family stuff… u know somethin these days are unforgettable for me as well… while other students remain at there home and attend college as day boarders… we IITians ( where Hostels are compulsory ) burn ourselves in those hostels and we share a bond with each other which is much stronger than nythin else… we r the guyz who live together, cry together, learn together, slip together, rise together…. nd the list continues…. Its easy to crib and blame others… what appears an ego to u … is just the brand IIT building phenomenon… everybody publicizes its brand… nd we too have the freedom to do so… After all the present era is of good marketin… u have wrapped ur grievances in a really well knit wordnet… nd i liked that… but u need a deeper insight in the IIT system … what u r talkin about is just the surface observation… Dive a bit nd u will know its depth…
@jaded’s last comment: well people will only chuckle when its meant to be funny. not when someones whining. and btw i am chuckling at your frustation
.
and yeah i had a nice time writing it…wasnt getting anything else to write since long. and it would be good for you if you read it. atleast you wont write senseless posts again.
dont point out any spelling or grammer mistakes to me cause i concede my english is poor…
sorry for double post forgot one point…
ramanujan was a mathematician.
tagore and tata were more of a leader..people with vision….never an engineer
i dont know whether you got an opportunity to visit an engineering college or not but in IIT’s as in other colleges only technical stuff is taught. they dont and cant make leaders.
as for getting involved in mathematical concepts is concerned, maths hons from university is a better option for that. waise there is course called mathematics and computation which is somewhat similar to maths hons.
now please done say next that why no good artist or doctor comes from iit. they are only involved in engineering.
and yes you can go outside iit system.
but those who are inside the system have already proved their worth and can do away with such useless criticism of yours…
please dso go through the link: http://sr-itbhu.blogspot.com/2008/03/sour-grapes.html
you need it
zxc
To Aditya above:
Certainly what’s mentioned in the post is not ’surface observation’. There are serious issues, that need to be tackled.
And where do you want others to ‘dive deep and see the depth’?
About your ‘living together’, ‘crying together’, ‘friendship bonds’?
Are you(we, the IITians, or IITans) the only people in India who live together? cry together? and etc. Certainly not. These things are not worth mentioning here, because we’re not the only people to do them.
Moreover, Bush warns the American youth about incoming Indians. Don’t you think that is a surface observation? You never know what’s in their minds. Maybe you’re falling an easy prey to their false adulation, just as when they recognise that these incoming Indians are serving them, and not developing their own infrastructure. So, boasting of such a reputation isn’t the first thing that must be done.
I seriously think that working towards the development of your own country, and giving it back what it has been giving you for 4 years of B.Tech would be more rewarding, and we’ll win the praise of the entire nation, not just one Bush.
I am an IITian (or IITan, whatever you may call it), and I hope the post is absorbed by all IITians (or IITans) positively.
Ciao !
You are frustrated !!!! poor chap,
grow up, be a man accept the competition given by the IITians…
and please don’t knock around with this shitty nonsense
Give us a BREAK!!!!!!!!
^ Amit
Whom are you addressing?
waz addressing to all those who are baffled by the success of the iitians….
they are ignorant coz they don’t know of how much importance we guys are to them and for the society(m not exaggerating)
and for all this we are and we will be arrogant coz thts the way we are and if you are jaundiced coz of this we can’t help.
and if you really have brains and balls why don’t you show those physically rather inking out shit and frusto towards us.
This is true for IIM students too……… write one for them too…. Enjoyed reading it
My former boss (an ex-IITian
once said: “They never make films about engineers. They make films about lawyers, doctors, politicians, businesspeople, actors, singers, teachers, scientists, mad scientists, farmers, beggars, boot polishers, clerks, police, even thieves and murderers. But never about engineers. And if they do make one, it is always about a civil engineer who goes to a village to build a dam.” Guess they just don’t get engineers. (When I was in IIT :), we used to have a Tshirt that said “Love an Engineer”. Should have added a ‘please’. “Please always helps” said Phineas Nigellus.
leliye bhae tumne IITians ki..great
How amusing :-).
Sad to see the condition of the top 2% brain of the Indian youth. If they think this way, and fail to realise their negatives, surely there’s no scope of improvement.
They ask us to become a man, and compete with them (IITians).
The competition stays between IITians and non-IITians, especially when it should be between India and rest of the world.
Even I am an IITian. But I never think so, coz I am fortunate to be among those few who are able to realise the drawbacks of a system from within.
I really feel pity on the youth mentality today, and they say we are gonna become the super-power of the world. Shit !
They boast of economy and GDP, but none’s there to think of social and political condition. They claim to be brainos, but ask how many of them would like to contribute to the R&D of India. They would teach at Stanford, Princeton, and work at MSR, and claim to make a big name of India. But no one would DO ANYTHING for India. Sadly, they end up being nothing more than mental slaves.
‘They’ : Used for all those IITians who refute the above post, calling it crap & shit.
I am also an IITian, and I’ve seen all this happen. Agree to it or not, but that’s the story of many (not all) IITians. With such a scenario, it’s no wonder that the country’s fate is bound to doom.
Sorry, had to be harsh.
@maverick
what positivities do you see in the post. please do point them out.
second being in iit does not mean that you are perfect in every aspect. you may be among few ones who are not only good in studies but also keep an interest in affairs of the country and really want to do something for it. its good if you are one of them. but that does not give you a right to look others with disgust.
and why do you believe that country’s fate depends only upon the iitans???
and what does doing anything for india means..especially in engineering? what other field is open except for defence.
i concede that being in iit is everything but also feel that this post is just personal frustation and targetting someone
who are somewhat famous. famous is not the exact word but due to my limited vocab i can get the exact word.
and lastly i dont believe researching at princeton or stanford is in any way bad cause its better to live above your country…there is whole human race..
@ Maverick
Man blv me … u r frustrated… u r frustrated with the system around u… u r frustrated with IIT system… coz its too harsh and competitive…
Well when I say togetherness I mean that we don’t have our mom dad here with us to talk to in despair… we dont have them when we are happy… so these are our frndz which forms an integral part of our life… Don’t u take it personal… If u r n IITian then u will surely miss ur frndz once u r outta ur college… nd if u don’t, I pity u… coz u r not able to make gud frndz…. frndz for lifetime… nd blv me
..nd man don’t talk of brain drain… y r u guyz rumbling so much on this… put ur hand on ur holy book nd swear given the opportunity won’t u go away abroad and make a gud career… well if u say no … great chap u r …coz u r a true patriot…
One more thing… its not about goin outside only… u need to have the right perspective… Once people go out…nd get successful… they bring in money to the country… y do the state govts organize this “Pravasi Bhartiya Sammelan” nd get crores and arabs of Rs for development… Numerous examples are there… ” Its easy to say that Money doesn’t matters… but u need to have a lot of it to say that”… don’t u think that we can serve our country in a much better fashion if we have resources, money, exposure to the latest techno trends etc… why are u gettin so sentimental…
Are the so said political leaders doin there job… they get huge salaries… Tax payers are investin so much in them… y is there so hue nd cry over brain drain… ppl r cmin bk to serve their country… tell me what do u want …. u want us to go on Anshan Satyagraha… I mean its as gud as is … stay in India get a hand to mouth job… and keep fightin system… ??/ If this is ur way of servin country man we have serious opinion differences… nd I never like the idea of inflictin my opinion on others… u hav ur own ways nd opinion nd u hav every rite to differ… I can tell u smthin… Man! Take a chill pill
Well I have a small question for u JADED… take it in the most possible humorous way… u defined two types of people … one is IITian and the other to be Non IITian… ( correct me if I m wrong)… then u desvribe all the typical traits of an IITian… and then I presume that all the good traits like humbleness, non snobbish behavior etc in the other fraternity….
Where will u put this maverick guy :D…. I mean actually he is an IITian but the problem is that he reckons that he doesn’t show the typical IITian traits…
Plz enlighten us….
Nd I really liked the way amit took it…
( Nd just to tell u again Jaded… u wrote a gud post … nd blogs are really meant for personal outburst… its just perfect… u r a good writer… keep up the gud wrk… consider me a regular visitor of ur blog fromn now onwards./…
To Shashank: It’s sad that you still cant see the positives. The realisation IS ultimately gonna dawn upon you, sadly when it will be too late.
To Aditya: You’ve been repeatedly using ‘ure frustated’, and I am starting to hate it. So please, refrain.
To Aditya, Shashank
It’s not that I am week in acads and inclined towards social issues. Fortunately, I am in CSE, and branch rank 3rd. It’s not that I am frustrated, it’s just that the pros and cons are visible to me, and am able to decide in accordance with them. I DONT believe that the country’s fate depends ONLY upon the IITians, but certainly they form an important part and have an important role to play and a responsibility to fulfil, being the top brain of the nation. There is enough proof in the post that keeps it far from any kind of personal frustation and all. Yes indeed researching at Stan of Prince isn’t bad. They’re top notch instt. But researching there, and not participating in the R&D, education of your own nation(which provided you means to climb to the level of Stan n all) is certainly not good either.
I am not frustrated coz the IIT system is hard and competitive(being an IITian, I have myself qualified it). But because after qualifying, guys fail to realise their responsibilities which they are supposed to.
I dont want to talk of get-togethers and togetherness and nostalgia coz every collegiate feels it and so I dont take away that from him. Even I would feel it. Those bonds and all…true.
“put ur hand on ur holy book nd swear given the opportunity won’t u go away abroad and make a gud career”
The above is where the problem lies!! Everyone is concerned with making a ‘gud career’. Big pays! Robust n flamboyant life! But no one even thinks of staying back or coming back to contribute to the education system/research of the nation.
And please, get your concepts of Brain Drain right. Outflow of the brain is a serious issue, even if it results in an inflow of money, coz money (economy, as already mentioned) is not the only thing required for development. We need a robust political system to exploit the money n resources, which you and I know, we dont have. So it’s better to prevent the brain drain than to allow it attarcted by inflowing money. If brain stays, money n resources can yet be generated, but vice versa is not possible.
“we can serve our country in a much better fashion if we have resources, money, exposure to the latest techno trends”
The above is yet another problem. Yes of course you can serve your country in the aforementioned fashion.But then you’d ONLY EXPOSE the new technology, NOT BUILD any. So, the choice is yours, as I think it is clear enough.
And please dont cite examples of the politicians. They’re the most irresponsible people in whose hands the country is. So they dont deserve to be taken as examples. Moreover, if the politicians are not doing their job, doesnt mean that IITians too shouldnt. I am speaking about IITians here coz the post is about IITians, not politicians.
“tell me what do u want …. u want us to go on Anshan Satyagraha… I mean its as gud as is … stay in India get a hand to mouth job… and keep fightin system… ??”
It’s really difficult to explain here on the net what I want, and what the country is desperately in need of. I just wish you were wise enough to have understood it all by your own.
No offences meant. At last, views are personal. I dont impose my views on anyone, nor do I expect anyone to follow me. I just want everyone to clearly be able to understand what India needs - money? or brain?, resources? or intellectual human as resource?
The choice is yours!!!
Ciao
Dear Jaded Mind,
If the ‘IIT tribe’ is so insufferable, arrogantly ignorant, out of place in social situations, has-done-nothing-for-India etc. etc., can you please only answer some fundamental questions?
Why does the collective wisdom of all those ‘not from IIT’ - which includes the rest of the world - appreciate its brand value so much?
Why does the Indian government want to clone more and more of the ‘IIT tribe’? Why does it not happen with colleges/ institutes (other than IITs, IISc and IIMs)?
Can you tell the percentage of IITians who boast that they are IITians on their license plates, coffee mugs, T-shirts etc., discuss their AIR many years later?
So far as I am concerned, I try not to mention it myself that I am an ex-IITian (except in the CV or job interview), unless prodded leave apart mention of the AIR!!! And so is true with most IITians whom I have met in life, To me it is a past achievement - what matters is what I achieve today and tomorrow and so on.
Many times I was asked the question - what differentiates IITs from other Engg. colleges? My simple answer was IITs conduct a highly competitive entrance test to select their candidates and put them through a system which is based on problem solving approach (rather than theory based approach most engg. colleges seem to adopt) which attempts to make us capable of tackling real life problems. The institutes are autonomous, so the professors can impart the latest knowledge to their students and test them rigorously through continuos evaluation process. That is all that differentiates an IITian from other engineering graduates.
Success needs to be celebrated - the degree of success can vary for each person and so does the celebration. Passing JEE is tough no doubt and the amount of pride an individual takes from it depends only on an one’s maturity and cannot be generalised. And getting out of IIT is not everything - life is a bigger race and being an IITian doesn’t guarantee success in that race.
Someone has already mentioned about the ‘marketing’ of the IIT brand. There is nothing wrong if brand IIT is being marketed - it sells. The fact is acknowledged by the character of Asoka in Dilbert cartoon. It does not mean we should not create more brands and sell them. India has successfully sold the ‘IT Consultant’ brand also to the world (though it is a generic brand - not associated with a particular institution).
As regards the much taked about brain drain - there is a huge reverse brain drain which is hapening today - thanks to better living and work conditions now available in India. I know several IITians who have returned to India for good and many more who are probing the possibility of a return.
And why should we target IITians only for the brain drain? Don’t we know how IT companies are struggling to get experienced Software Consultants and Project Managers to work in India? Educated and qualified people will migrate in the absence of basic social/ employment security and IITians cannot be singled out.
Aditya:
“Where will u put this maverick guy :D…. I mean actually he is an IITian but the problem is that he reckons that he doesn’t show the typical IITian traits”
Too offensive, but too insignificant for me to talk upon. Just as I was about to start replying at this blog, I was about to use my name. But suddenly I used ‘Maverick’. Check out the meaning of this word.
Maverick itself means independent in thoughts and opinion. I dont want to show any typical traits of IITians, as what many might love to. I dont care if the ‘typical IIT traits’ (as you are calling them) are good or bad. I just wanna be myself, carry my own traits. I dont want to belong to either of the groups - IITians and non-IITians. Coz this is one thing on which I dont agree with Jaded. Such a binary division is never possible.
Please unnecessarily don’t argue on this poll coz its meant for outraging people and at the same time the author is enjoying the show sitting in the “Royal Box”……. the poll is biased and so are the comment…
Each one feel and thinks his own way so no point in canvassing over it coz i am sure neither of the side will accept the other side…….
we respect feelings of all….. of course country comes first but career has importance too…
U know smthin guyz I hav started njoin this… This maverick guy is a real social worker yaar… He will turn this country around… Gud great deal dude… start doin smthin coz u hav a long way to go….
U r just a stubborn prat who is not even ready to accept the clear things… Wat u do is pick some shit out of prevs posting nd start ranting… gud for u… nd one more thing… everbody helps…. in some way or other… When Bill Gates donate lotsa money to AIDS foundation he makes it big to headlines… nd when a small man does that by offerin his services … nobody hears that… even if he does serve to the cause… everbody likes his country nd wanna serve it… we dont need some ranting bloggers to remind us of our moral nd social responsibility….. We rembr that… its just that the way of serving nation is different… u cannot go hostile over sm1 by writin repetitive nd long posts nd tht won’t help… it just shows ur “FRUSTRATION” ND “APATHY” towards the system… u might b a nationalist or socialist but rembr my dear ki India is a democracy nd Soviet Russia fell long ago…
I again say… stop growling nd take a chill pill
P.S. who told u to answer tht question… tht was to Jade… chill man
nd now sersly to Abhijit ( Maverick u can skip it)
That’s wat I m tryin to tellin these guyz… I think Jaded have understood that things cannot be generalized on the basis of behavior of some arrogant bullying prats… to abuse the whole human race becoz some people murder nd rape…. now thts not wisdom… i liked ur serene view abhi…
Grapes are sour my friend.. for a person who is not a member of the “tribe”, it must be painful to watch “idiots” of the “tribe”, who cant even spell a word right, bagging salaries a middle class person can only dream of in his life.
And as far as the phrase “once an IITian, always an IITian” goes, you have to be a member of the “tribe” to really appreciate the meaning of it. Otherwise, you are just a little fool babbling meaningless crap.
I did not understand the point of posting this link in the IIT Kharagpur Community in Orkut. Is it cheap publicity that you desire? Or more comments in your stupid post?
Well, if you were intending the latter, then, Congrats! You got one more comment!!
So it boils down to this: IIT is a brand that sells well, and IIT students get more salary then average Indian. Did I miss anything? When graduates of other universities — MIT, CMU, and Stanford to name a few – building global empires and humble about it, IIT students are busy boasting about their above average salary in a country that ranks 118 for per capita income. I thought IITs were founded to pursue knowledge and their motto tend to run along the line of Knowledge is The Supreme Goal. But I guess selling brand is what higher education is all about for IIT students these days.
As for achievement, I am not sure when it comes to engineering IITs have done much: none of the advancement of recent days came from India. Computers, mobile phone, Internet – are any of them from India? What are the great achievements of the IIT students? I mean besides supplies of cheap labor for multinational corporations: either body shopping or outsourcing. And do not confuse between working for one and building one.
It just struck me that the two big names in the world of technology never finished college: one of them never finished high school and the other took a few under graduate classes. The latter recently said to a graduating class: Stay hungry, stay foolish. I bet IIT graduates are too full with their AIR, and too smart to learn anything. And they wonder why people find them insufferable.
Well, your problem stems not from the fact that IITians are smarter or more successful than the average Engineer in India but the fact that you expect an IITian to be this super-human, ascetic person who would have practically no vices; who would spend his life or talent (or the lack thereof) in doing something better for everyone around him/her.
Fact: that is not true. Every IITian is as much of a regular human as you are. Some of them are worse because they are actually in a position to change things for the better but do not take the responsibility. The average IITian, like any other, would brag (if he is successful), will fear defeat and humiliation, will shy out of things he is not particularly good at (btw, social interaction is _not_ one of them; most IITians end up staying in a closed circle of like-minded people, that’s all. They are not shunning _you_, they just don’t care what you _think_).
Bragging is not limited just to IITians. The fact that you are sitting here on a pedestal passing sweeping judgments based on a fairly small (and badly chosen, if I may add) sample space is a testament to that.
Having said that, the article seems like a mish-mash of factoids and tabloids. It is amusing and is surely a funny read but I hope you don’t keep on obsessing over IITians so much. The ones that actually make a difference are the ones you’ll never hear of.
./w
Excellent article, most of it is true. I am from IIT and I must say I have done many of the things that you wrote about in the article. Your article is a wake up call for IIT graduates to grow up and move on. However to be fair to IIT guys, I must say such cocky behaviour from IITians is at least partly explained by the vast mediocrity present throughout the Indian education system.
Aditya: It quite seems to me you have never had a good discussion on any topic, coz of the way you go about shouting your points without listening to others. Anyways, thats your problem, not mine.
Okay! If you dont want to take it, dont. Coz I dont have the energy to keep stating obvious things to stubborn intellectuals. The realisation is ultimately gonna come down on you, some day, although I am not sure if your rational faculty will be capable of comprehending it.
As ./w says: “The ones that actually make a difference are the ones you’ll never hear of.”
I choose to be silent now. And just wish that the blindfold on your eyes be untied ASAP. The day that happens, you’ll be the man India needs.
Goodbye!!
Oh my my… never mind maverick… take any gud reader nd get both our post scrutinize … nybody can tell that who is shouting and who is takin all that lightly ( with smiley signs )…. .. Nd y r u takin it so personal… ” I haven’t had a gud discussion on a topic… Oh my my..” Coz now if i tell u the type of corporate discussions I have attended then u will screw me accusing me of snobbish behavior etc.. I already mentioned that its rather subjective how a person serves his country … It doesn’t require to be ur way ( or even mine)… Wat do u want us to make realize ?? That we don’t serve our country… then my dear friend I already told u …here we have an opinion difference… I hav my own ways… nd u have ur own… People do social service some do for cancer patients some for deprived children.. u can’t accuse the one helpin the cancer patients sayin that u don’t have ny love for children… u don’t care for them… etc.. He has his own reasons nd belief… no religion is better than other for similar reasons…
And as some1 said … we are not superman… we r just guyz next door… we hav our own problems nd we will help our country for sure… But citin smthin like we get good salaries… we don’t pay back the amount the govt invested on us etc etc… To I just wanna make it clear that we are not indebted to the govt for our whole life… we had help nd we will return it in manifolds…. but in our ways… nd once we become establish enuf to extend a helpin hand…. ( You know smthin even the saftey warning they give in flight travels… ” Please wear ur own Oxygen mask b4 helpin others “…
I stop my clearances here… I don’t need some bloggers to ” Jagaao my antaraatma “..
And as for Jaded mind… My dear friend how many IITian do u know… One of the top innovatin companies “Google” has got n IIT grad sittin at one of its top positions… “Vodafone” who is introducin new service provider reforms has got n IIT Kgp alumni as CEO… Similarly “McKinsey”, “citigroup”, “SUN Microsystems”, “Unilever”, “Shell”… Indian ginaata hoon .. “IOCL”,”IFFCO”, “BPCL”, “RIL”… aur bhi hain…
U better go nd do some research b4 pointing finger in such a rude fashion …
I again say… u raised a gud point… nd did justice to it… ur tone was harsh but thts ok…its ur blog….
hey jaded_mind, i’m an iitian (yes that proves your post right), you’ve tried to AND failed to clear the JEE (yes that’s just too obvious from your rants), and you are mad enough at yourself to be writing meaningless crap… (did you notice?my english is not that bad after all!!! pssst, i don’t have a thesaurus beside me). go take a break my friend… and don’t sledge us poor guys… most of us are just about as normal as you are (and also as angry at you as you are)…
(yeah in brackets, i’ve written the things that you may have missed coz you may not know how to read between the lines)… the best part is, i won’t come looking for your reaction! how sad
hey jaded_mind, i’m an iitian (yes that proves your post right), you’ve tried to AND failed to clear the JEE (yes that’s just too obvious from your rants), and you are mad enough at yourself to be writing meaningless crap… (did you notice?my english is not that bad after all!!! pssst, i don’t have a thesaurus beside me). go take a break my friend… and don’t sledge us poor guys… most of us are just about as normal as you are (and also as angry at you as you are)…
(yeah in brackets, i’ve written the things that you may have missed coz you may not know how to read between the lines)… the best part is, i won’t come looking for your reaction! how sad
u ppl a just assholes
Dude what a nice post da but even though i couldnt read through the whole post (was filled with hatred for IITians ) I can understand u it is often difficult to digest ur failure at jee, its oaky we @ iit just look at ppl like u and smile poor pppl cant even make through one easy exam and start making fun of the ppl who could make it through…… though i dont support iitian branding… it is actually nice to see some one to waste so much of their time just to whine at some thing they coulnd get… dude better luck next time .. (seems like u need lots of luck as u dont have any talent)
Dear Jaded Mind….
I could not stop myself from writing a reply.
To qualify an exam (including JEE), to be a Branch Ranker 3 in CSE, etc etc doesn’t mean that someone is very intelligent.
Some of your points are very right. I agree with you (like the classification of genders). I also agree that some iiteans (around 40%) becomes arrogant. But dont you feel that you are in the same league of arrogant people?
If a history scholar says that Einstein’s theory of relativity is a bullshit and wrong, then the entire world will laugh on him/her. Similarly if Einstein says some comment about literature (like Kalidas never wrote a play) then people will again laugh on him. This is because before giving our judgements about something we have to have an experience about that. We have to feel it and understand it.
But you have not. You are just like above history scholar. And that is the difference between you and an IITean.
Try to be more diplomatic and judicious in your posts next time.
(I am not from any IIT. But I have qualified JEE, I studied in ITBHU, have lived in 3 iits for many months and experienced their environment, and currently working in a company in which 98% of the fresh recruits are from iits. Hence perhaps I understand iit better than you.)
Don’t talk about spelling when you cannot spell, you fool. Its …logos that ARE baffling… and labourers.
they posted a link to this article….
on ORKUT IIT COMMunities….
u’ll get more replies like som -ve repls above…..
anywaze i enjoyed this article…..
well written…. n true!!!
keeep up!
@Kapil,
Are you working in Mackinsky? If yes Job lagwao na yaar wahan per.
What started as a funny take on some characteristics of IIT-ians (or, IIT-ans as you would like it to be spelt) turned downright ugly in to IIT-ian bashing without any rhyme or reason. I have seen quite a few IIT-grads and i didn’t find in any of them the characteristics you have said.Some of the things you said are true but you make them sound unnatural and superficial,which they aren’t.
I agree that few of them are always ready to tell you that they graduated from IIT but you make it sound as if all of them are this way. Won’t you be proud of something you have done that opened new avenues for your future and won’t you like other people to know that? If not, you are either too successful to count such things or you haven’t ever done such a thing.
As far as ragging goes, it is everywhere - in almost all the colleges and if you think ragging makes you tribal then there will be very few “civilised” people in the world.
What would you do if you saw one of your college friends on the street someday? Won’t you call out his name, or his nick name if you were that close to him? Won’t you talk to him about your college days (if you enjoyed them,which I seriously doubt)? Won’t you recall all the places you used to go to? If you won’t, I certainly won’t want to be the friend you met and neither would most other people. If you think people talking about their youth and the good time they spent together is rubbish, you’d better read something about human psychology.
As for pooja offerings, what’s wrong in a little theism? Is it compulsory that people following technical education be atheists? Are you SO sure that all famous scientists were atheists or do you want to say that this should be the norm? Moreover, the campus also houses the families of the staff and, as per normal Indian standards, you have to remind people not to throw garbage wherever they want.
Seems the rumour “that when someone gets admitted to IIT from a locality the real estate value goes up” has been spread by some real estate agent hoping to dupe you into buying a piece of land for more than the deserved price. Don’t fall into the trap - I assure you that I haven’t seen any such case in at least a hundred examples. Tell me where you live, because the only place I’ve seen where IIT-ians are omnipresent in an IIT campus.
I sincerely hope you have some good answers because otherwise all your writing boils down to resentment with a funny touch to it.
To All: Thank you for reading the post, and especially taking your time to comment. I really appreciate all the feedback, irrespective of your point of view. You gave me enough material for another post, and this time I do not even have to spend time on Google. To be honest, some of the responses really made me chuckle, even if that was not your intention. So thank you all.
[...] especially if it happens to be IIT can elicit passionate reactions as Jaded Mind found out when he dissed the IIT tribe albeit in a lighter vein [posted by [...]
I firmly support this post.. what he has said is firmly true!
the response from IIT grads..
werew amusing..shows how immature they are …
boast on ur own skills..and then IIT..
i know morons who have come from IIT, best part I have seen them get insulted in front of large audiences coz of their arrogance
every one is good in their own rite..
passign JEE does bot make anyone god..lets not even go into how ppl pass those exams..
there are lots of ppl who do not fall in this category..
there is a reason for such an outpour, dont claim IIT blah..blah..coz the reason is IITs were created, funded by common millions of rupees not for morons like u to boast, walk around like this.. contribute to the talent pool of the country.. which is not hapening, do not accuase others of leaving the country, when ur the one eating massive quantities of common mans salary! be aware of that..
i think we shud scrap IITs and leave it to private institutions..its hasnt solved teh purpose of creation!.
not create another caste of IITans. who denegrate every one else, its like the caste problem, which shud be nipped in the bud!
IITans in google, and other institutions? thats the funniest reply! so far..
so what i know ppl from home town engg colleges who have done that..
i beleive they are smarter than u guys, coz they didnt put so much effort as u guys..=)))))))))))
even when somebody died in bihar, some engineer, they were saying he is from IIT and there was a big noise,
what crap, millions die in bihar every day, even durnig death there is preferential treatment for IITs?
what crap..
i have great respect fro ppl who have passed JEE, coz of their perseverence and effort!!
IITans have not produced any more than the avegrage btech guy have done, silicon valley and all are bull shit,
i know ceos from IIT who have commited fraud!..do u want me to list those..
u guys dont get the point, dont push things to a irritating level, it doesnt have to be IIT, any thing will prodice negative results
I have had oppurtunites to interact with IIT students good and mediocre ones, a small few who had attitude and arrogance problems were put down firmly!..
then they come to senses!
I completely agree with jaded_mind.
He has told the truth of what IITs real are.
Its like a mediocre thing wrapped in a nice gift paper.
I am myself studying in an IIT right now and have cleared the so called tough exam JEE.
In all above posts all those issues which jaded_mind had raised have been discussed except one which I feel the most important one.
The issue is “Ragging.”
Ragging may be having different names (alaises or code words) in different IITs. But still the methods of haressment are the same everywhere.
As being an IITan (or IITian doesn’t matter anyways) we are considered the cream brain of the nation. The people who are invited in IIT calls us the future of country. In schools the teacher always gives example of bright or students who are the cream of the class.
People may deny even the management of IITs would deny that there is NO RAGGING in IIT but it exists.
jaded_mind has used the right terms such as juvenile antics, grotesque vulgarity, degrading and dangerous rituals etc. Many students have a very sick and obnoxious mentallity and taste.
Since we are (considered) best in the country (This is a very subjective statement I personally disagree it!!)
we must set an example for the so called non-IITians to follow. But 9 out 10 times we fail. Many people swell while telling ragging episodes involving them. If they can’t stand against such a small thing, will they stand by their own country ??
I may be wrong but thats what I feel!!
Above someone had said that ceos of vodafone, Mckinsey etc are IITians, but what have they done for the country?
Take Laxmi Mittal (a non IITian ofcourse) who is opening industries in the country.
We say an IITians murder creates a lot of air in the country.
Remember Satyendra Dube (IIT Kanpur Civil Eng grad) murder case. Unlike many IITians he had taken up a government job and sacrificed his life for the country.
What happened to his case the criminals may be still roaming free. Will justice be made? We boast ourselves as strong minded breed but we fail to live up to it !!!!!
In above posts many have termed jaded_mind as a chap who couldn’t clear JEE (remember n>2).
But my guess is he is an IITian, thats why he knows the system inside out.
### jaded_mind please confirm me.
Clearing one exam does not define someones life.
For some people IIT is the end while for some its a new beginning (but they are less in number).
I has just became a job minting machine.You come take a job with heavy package, marry (or live in) with a nice gal enjoy or IIT lingo “chill”. The original objective has been lost.
Finally kudos to jaded_mind for telling the reality.Keep the good posts coming.
I think I have dragged it too much but thats what I feel.
Comments are welcome.
Ok - first of all - the IITs spend very little money on the undergrad students. Most of the money goes into PhD and masters work/equipment. So you shouldnt go on ranting about how an IIT undergrad (who actually is the one making brand IIT famous) owe India their lives and souls.
Secondly, being an IIT student myself, all I can say is that all the branding IITs have got is not the doing of the Indian Govt. or the Indian people - its the achievements of the IIT alumni in various fields abroad (esp US) that has created the so-called brand value. IITs are veyr famous in the US - not so much in Europe etc becuase of the alumni residing in the US. The IITs are a government instituion and function exactly like any other public facility - lots of lazy money hogging administrative staff! They do little for the brand image - its all the work of the students. So, once again stop telling us what we owe all of you.
Third, taking pride in your achievements is a great way to continue achieving. If great explorers, artists, scientists and sportsmen didnt feel pleasure in their achievements, I doubt they would ever work hard enough to reach any of their goals. I need not metnion how many times people are labelled eccentrics because of their inflated sense of achievement - but then again its necessary. A person who wants to remain socially adept and mix-in is a person who NEVER stands-out either. Im sorry to say so, but genius has a hint of eccentricity to it. I dont think we will remember Einstein for his spelling or haircut
Finally, I think you should realise that the modern capitalistic scoiety works on the principle of branding and inflating your perceived value. Thats how any modern instiution survives. A bit of inflation is expected - be it the IITs or even a sport like cricket. I would really urge you to please present a more balanced point of view and not accentuate only the negatives - Im sure the IITs have done a lot in putting India in a respectable place on the global scenario. Plus, the country has many more problems to worry about - the IITs dont really eat so much money as to prick you the way it seems to have done so.
Oh and btw MIT does say its the bastion of great minds - in case you dont know this, please visit their ‘prospective students’ section at http://mit.edu. The US is the land of branding and inflated egos - but just look at how well it works in a capitalistic market!
LOLZ at the complete article… Nit -picking on small things, you seem to be a granny here. Except that when grannies nit-pick they arent cute. And just what is wrong about asking the residents not to throw pooja offerings in the lake??
As for the bumper sticker thing, I personally havent seen one proclaiming their IIT affiliation, but its more of an indian phenomenon then a particular IIT trait.
You would obviously find the talk of IITian’s boring but give me a break, they are talking with their old pals. And yes there definitely must be something right with the alumni interaction system because we seem to get alumni donations far exceeding the budget of whatever college you went to :P.
As for wearing your IIT afiliation on the sleeve, again its more of a cultural thing in India rather than a particular trait. Please understand that most people who come to IIT come from the “not so privileged class as you” and they have different ethos. You cannot complain if they are not so culturally sophisticated as you. In fact its laughable to accuse IIT’s of elitism because studying here, I would vouch for the fact that most of the ppl here have better rooms here than they would have at home. (IIT rooms are bad btw)
Neways carry out your rantings. But please be better informed next time.
I have nothing to say :-). I just wanted to increase the count. That’s grabbing some attention.
my god…u got guts to publish this!!!
hmm…the only iitian i know…doesnt have an iit t-shirt(except one old one of his hostel), you cant make out from his face that he’s an iitian(!!), he never ever talks about it in front of non iitians and is a sweetheart!!!
so..there are exceptionss…
and neway, i think this post is more suitable for a person out of IIM..and again…for a small percentage.
mazak karta hai be….
If this post was written intentionally to make IITians to be looked down upon then a shame on the writer. If this was written for fun then three cheers for him.
But as far as i think the writer needs to come to IIT and stay with me for a month to get to know why we people are so boastful.
Thanks to Digvijay (hope he is our diggie da) for bringing out the true facts.