College fests. Yay or nay?

For students of an uncompromising 8 semester course, a reprieve is much needed at the end/beginning of every semesters. A means to socialize with like minded individuals, a means to awaken their dormant artistic sides. Not all of our kind are engineers by choice. A few of us don't even know why we are doing it. In fact, most of the 4 year period is spent contemplating on the same. A college fest helps us free our minds from the monotony of having to go home, write assignments/experiments and go to bed dreading the same banausic web we have woven for ourselves. For once we get to be..ourselves. Cultural fests help us to discover that the shy guy on the second last bench in the last row is an incredibly gifted sketcher or that the awkward girl on the 2nd bench with 100% attendance looks really hot with her hair open. As overrated as they are, everyone enjoys treasure hunts, battle of the bands etc. Bob Marley said that one good thing about music is that when it hits you, you feel no pain unless of course a bathroom singer decides to take center stage and belt out a raucous sounding song. That of course is why most major festivals have auditions. These fests serve as huge platforms for upcoming talent. IIT B is home to Asia's largest cultural fest Mood Indigo. Its meticulous management, colourful themes and flawless execution attract famous artists from all over the world. And for those who have a knack for building things, there's the technical fest. In most MU colleges, 7 out of 10 entries for technical festivals are usually for LAN gaming. Why? Because everyone games, you get to go to your friends' college and the entry is cheap. I was the Marketing head for my college's technical festival. There, I observed that 10 people registered for a section of the LAN gaming event, out which only 3 turned up. So, to our disappointment and to the particpants' joy, the first round was in fact the final. During my time as Marketing Head, I had to really stick it to my sub-ordinates on occasion, something which I didn't enjoy but someone had to do it and also learnt a lot about how companies and enterprises manage and invest their money. I learnt a lot about people, in general. Leadership and micromanagement are the cornerstones of any successful festival. Here are a few things one can observe/learn from fests: - The core committee is always accused of scandalous money laundering activities, colloquially termed jhol. - Pre fest nights (reserved for putting up banners and other last minute preparations) are spent with a pint (or more) of your favourite drink. - Bunking lectures for 'fest meetings'. - Howling for attendance at the end of the fest. - Finally having a conversation of more than 2 sentences with seniors. - To Juniors "Abe, tu jaanta hai main is college mein X saalon se hu?" Lastly and most importantly, - Seeing your classmates, professors and seniors in ways you've never seen before. Other than IVs, fests are the only opportunity to actually know your classmates on a personal basis, do not miss the chance. After all you'll need that memorable fest story to look back and laugh about when you glance at your class photo a few years down the line.

The Chalk and the Blackboard

Legend tells us how Eklavya, an aspiring student of the great Dronacharya gets rejected by the latter on account of his caste. Eklavya, thereafter, goes on to achieve a level of skill superior to that of Arjuna, who was Drona's favorite and most accomplished student merely by using Drona's clay image as a means of inspiration, a catalyst to drive his enthusiasm and sheer dedication towards archery and martial arts. Most Engineering students like Eklavya seek such a guide to help mould their talents and guide them onto success, not only in terms of marks but also knowledge. With the advent of amazing technologies to aid students to grasp the most complex of concepts, teaching has become much convenient if not easier. A strong need has been felt for teachers to shy away from the conventional chalk and board culture. A picture can convey a thousand words. A well made power point presentation can interest even the most fickle minded of students. Khan Academy is a pioneer in online education and defies conventional teaching by educating thousands of students all around the world and not using a single piece of paper or a single drop of ink. Microprocessors and microcontrollers are widely considered by Engineers to be a huge monkey on the back. Prof. Bharat Acharya's avant grade teaching methodologies are unbelievably industry oriented and at the same time successfully fulfilling the average student's need of wanting to clear the subject. Power point presentations are a boon but when done in the wrong way can be exceptionally boring; even more boring than your everyday blackboard lecture where you at least have a minute or two to chit chat while the professor writes on the board. Teaching is NOT reading straight off a PPT presentation, nor is it translating the words on the slide into broken Hindi in a clearly stupid effort to 'teach' students who cluelessly stare into your deluded face. Many such professors were students not long ago and take up teaching in a bid to support their own education. I have nothing against them and neither do I doubt their intentions or their, but what I doubt is their ability to teach and sometimes their knowledge. A lecture is one where the first half raises a number of doubts and in the second half it all starts to make sense, like an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Teaching is an art. Much like sketching, where a few are blessed with the steadiest of fingers, a professor may hone his teaching skills over a few years but will still lack the flair that a certain natural educator possesses. Professors often make vain efforts to use pop culture as a means to reach out to their students. Lets face it, it becomes very awkward when such situations happen. Just like a bad singer won't accept the fact that his/her singing may be cringeworthy, a bad professor may find it extremely tough and upsetting to embrace the truth about his mediocre methodologies. A few us are blessed with an innate ability to memorize the full textbook a day before the exam, but for those of us who can't we need professors who can install a textbook in our brains to refer to in the exams.It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. That, readers, is the essence of teaching.