Okay, I admit that this is still not exactly “regular” updates, but in fairness 4 months is still better than 6 months. And this one’s going to be a long one. This has been a very eventful time of my life; I’ve divided each month into some rough chapters outlining the major occurrences. This is by no means exhaustive, but it should still provide you a glimpse into what life’s like for an ISI student.
September 2022
Mas Fresco 2022-23
As I alluded to in the last post, we had a freshers’ welcome to organize. In keeping with ISI tradition, the event was christened – Mas Fresco 2022-23, and was held on 6th September. While it was really hectic, we had a lot of fun organizing everything and getting to meet so many new faces in the process.
I would like to thank all our juniors for entertaining us, and my batchmates for making this event possible in the first place. Also for bearing with my terrible anchoring. A special thanks to 70 for covering for me on stage.
Here’s a few select snaps from the entire ordeal:
And finally, some of us. Top picture, left to right: Swapnamoy, Rudrashis, myself and Naman. Middle and bottom pictures are just a glimpse into the chaos that was the food packet distribution counter.
Coming to the second half of the event… [REDACTED]
Midsems
With Mas Fresco done, it was time to focus on the upcoming mid-semester exams. Now, Semester 3 has a reputation of being the toughest semester of undergrad at ISI Kolkata, and oh boy is it ever well deserved. A lot of blood sweat and tears went into this. Especially because we had relatively easy-going professors in the first year, who were much more liberal with the grading. Took us a while to adjust. The Statistical Methods IV exam was one of the worst I’ve ever had in my life. Analysis III was surprisingly nice considering the difficulty of the course though. Still, most of us managed to scramble through this without losing our sanity completely. Then, it was time for a বাঙালি’s most awaited time of year…
October 2022
Durga Pujo
Durga Pujo (aka Durgotsav - দুর্গোৎসব) is not just a festival to Bengal and to Bengalis. It’s an emotion. Though the পুজো itself only lasts 4-5 days, the entire phenomenon is atleast 2 months long, beginning with pujo shopping in preparation for the grand celebration. The festivities begin with Mahalaya (মহালয়া) - a new moon (অমাবস্যা), then the pujo itself from Saptami (সপ্তমী) to Nabami (নবমী), ending with Laxmi Pujo (লক্ষ্মী পূজো) on the full moon (পূর্ণিমা).
You would find Kolkata to be a completely different city in these 2 weeks than at other times. Pandels and people everywhere, a relentless storm of light and color. Oh, that’s to say nothing of the ubiquitous symphony of the dhaak (ঢাক). Even the most stuck up and formal of people let go during the bhaashaan (ভাসান) dance. The aroma of delicious food everywhere, as hawkers and roadside stalls struggle to keep up with the insane demand. It’s truly a sight to behold.
This year, pujo came early in October. I chose to spend it in relative peace and quiet, not going for much pandel hopping. Instead, I wanted to reconnect with a lot of childhood friends I had left behind once I had moved to hostel, and spend time with family. Also fulfilled a longstanding goal of trying my hand at running a food stall. Here’s a few select snaps!
Me and the boys – Ashtami 2022. No we aren’t from Bajrang Dal.
With Didiiiiii…
Overall, this was one of the best pujos I have experienced so far. This happiness was only compounded when shortly after, on 12th October 2022, my little sister made it to her dream college, IISER Pune. And in honor of the second academician in the family, I decided to throw my friends a party. Here’s a few pictures from that. Don Giovanni’s is pretty economical, considering that it’s just off Park Street. The food was awesome, though my friends, unfortunately, didn’t seem to have a taste for spaghetti carbonara.
An Octuplet of Idiots – Myself (awkwardly holding the camera), Kundu (awkardly half standing up), Naman (awkwardly staring from the corner), Abdur (white shirt chad), Amarjeet (barely peeking into frame), Shreyansh (getting a neck massage), Manas (giving the neck massage), Avijit (avoiding the neck massage).
Park Street was beatiful.
Diwali @ ISI
Ah, the festival of lights. This was the first time I spent it at ISI. Words can’t really do much to describe the night of 24th October 2022. All I can really say is that I had a lot of fun organizing things with my seniors and juniors. Didn’t take a lot of pictures, but here’s a couple…
Rather proud of this one.
However, even on that day, the mess food was absolutely disgusting. I pretty much never eat from the mess since then.
A couple days later, on 27th October, we had our own little picnic in the hostel, as we (mostly me and Chontida) cooked polao, chicken kosha and butter chicken for ourselves and our friends.
The royal spread.
November 2022
Batch Treat
Apart from the regular freshers’ welcome, it is a tradition at ISI for the sophomores to “formally” induct the freshers into the ISI family with a huge feast, as getting treats from seniors is a big part of the culture at ISI. We threw the party on 1st November 2022, at BBQ Nation, Esplanade. Would totally recommend for large groups, by the way, the staff were awesome - quick service, accommodating of our myriad special requests, prompt resolutions to even the most minor issues that came up. The food was absolutely delicious too, with an absolutely ginormous spread of choices in appetizers, entrées, and desserts. We had an absolutely amazing time that night with our juniors - pictures attached!
The Group Photo
Those who know, know.
Myself and 70 (Sevantee Basu), Mas Fresco 2022-23 and Batch Treat.
The homies. <3
The rest of November was spent worrying about endsems, with punctuating breaks in the form of inter-batch sports tournaments and Ripples, the unofficial fest organized in the hostel every year. They provided us some valuable respite from the looming danger ahead of us…
Endsems
Our end-semester exams began on 28th November 2022 (24th for those taking the Microeconomics elective) and went on till 07th December. While the papers didn’t get any easier, we had an idea of what to expect by this point. Plus we had gaps in between to study, so overall not a terrible experience. I managed a decent-ish score of 75% this semester despite flunking Algebra and Statistical Methods IV. No back-papers though, thankfully.
December 2022
The endsems finally ended on 07th December 2022. With that, we had a month to do whatever we wanted! So what did I do with my free time?
Well, with Andor (definitely the best thing to come from Disney Star Wars, btw) being over for the time being, this left me with a gaping hole in my heart, that could only be filled by a show of equal or higher caliber… I had been watching House for a while now. And I binged the last two seasons in a week. Oh man, I really do not have enough praise for both of these shows.
A lot of time also went into working for Integration 2023, which is our annual techno-cultural-sports fest, organized for and by the students of ISI Kolkata. Definitely check out the page to learn more and participate in the events!
The Birthday Party Spree
In the period 14th December 2022 - 17th December 2022, I probably spent more time outside my home than in. It can only be described as a singular party spree punctuated only by meals and sleep.
It all began with an outing with Tuhin, one of my classmates, on 14th, for some work regarding MTRP 2023 (a maths talent search exam organized as part of Integration). But you don’t go out with a friend and just work, do you? A satisfying lunch at Calcutta Bistro, Jadavpur was in order. Thanks Tuhin for the treat!
On my birthday, that is on 15th, me and my old buddies from school went to Park Street for my treat, and then to South City Mall, where we went bowling. Though I’m absolutely abysmal at it, we still had a lot of fun! We were also joined briefly by Anwita (aka Annie), one of my closest friends from back in school. :)
Left to right: Prasun, Me, Annie, Onko (Ankit), Sappy (Saptashwa), Sanko (Sankalan), MIT (Mitadru)
The next day, we got back together for an outing to Nicco Park. This is probably one of the few times when I won’t complain about having to get up early! It was a fun-filled day, followed by pizza back at my place (we came together for a Hackathon which got cancelled lol). And I achieved something - filmed our entire ride on the Cyclone, the dreaded roller coaster. Sappy’s commentary was legendary, unfortunately I can’t put that publicly.
On the 17th of December, I was off to FIITJEE South Kolkata for a get-together with friends from IIT Delhi, and meeting our former teachers. Also got an opportunity to interact with a lot of juniors from the JEE 2024 batches.
In the classroom.
Sadly a few of us had to leave.
That evening, I went back to South City to watch Avatar: The Way of Water, and it was… Well, a worthy successor to its era-defining 2009 predecessor. I’m not going to spoil anything, just go give it a watch. This is a film for the big screens, in IMAX 3D.
With this, my crazy run came to an end. But I had a different kind of craziness to look forward to…
Surgery
I had to undergo a minor surgical procedure on the 21st of December. While it wasn’t anything too serious, it still warranted an overnight stay.
My hospital experience was bizzare to say the least. The procedure only mandated local anesthesia, so I could pretty much hear everything that was going on. I was still under a heavy dose of painkillers though, but to the doctors’ and nurses’ dismay, not enough to knock me unconscious, only to make me blabber without thinking. It must’ve been a hard day for them. But thanks to their expertise and God’s grace, everything went smoothly. The whole thing was quite painless too, the IV insertion hurt a lot more. Hospital food wasn’t inedible either.
Though I was discharged on 22nd, I spent the next 5 days sleeping a lot as I recovered from the surgery.
Capping Off
To end the year, I got back to my old passion, cooking, with pancakes on Christmas. 70 inadvertently turned it into competition, as, it turned out, she was making pancakes too. And, though I hate to admit it, I think she won.
70 on top, my entry at the bottom.
On 28th, I made my signature dish, noodles! Judge for yourself.
And, to finish with a flourish, koraishuti’r kochuri, a Bengali delicacy, on New Year’s Eve. Ate it only a few hours ago as of writing this. Followed a recipe by Bong Eats, I think the results can speak for themselves.
And with this, 2022 came to end. There are 11 minutes left on the clock while I’m writing this. For those reading, a very Happy New Year!
Final Thoughts & What’s Next? - Looking ahead to 2023
Overall, 2022 has been one of the most eventful years of my life so far. It has had its ups and downs, twists and turns. First year of true hostel life, college events, long outings, etc. Truly enjoying the newfound freedom accompanying college life. The struggles too - fights with friends, which sometimes got hideous, academic tensions, worrying about KVPY scholarship as we shift to INSPIRE, etc. And at the global level, in my opinion, this year too has been pretty much in keeping with the rest of this perhaps-cursed decade, with war, recession, and a COVID resurgence looming at humanity’s doorstep. I hope 2023 delivers a pleasant surprise in this regard.
Back at the individual level, I’ve got a few more things to do, and a few more meetups to have before I go back to college. Classes begin on 09th January 2023. Here’s to hoping that Semester 4 is easier than its predecessor! I’ll try to keep this blog updated every couple months or so. I’ve also been thinking of including some math content on here. Let’s see what the future has in store. For now, it’s back to prepping for Integration!