I am attending online classes, again!
A lot has happened since the last issue. Things have worked out in my favor for the most part. The Austrian authorities approved my residence permit and visa applications. That means my time here at IIMA is officially over except for completing certain formalities. All that remains is to pack my bags, catch my flight and continue my academic training at WU Vienna.
I consciously choose not to focus on the stressful part of the last three weeks and instead tell you what I am excited about. I have lived away from home before, but most things were meticulously planned out for me, and all I had to do was participate in activities, and I would be fine. In contrast, even though I have more flexibility and freedom now, it also means I need to get a good handle on my life.
I’ll need to cook my food, be mindful of my expenses, and make the best use of my time in Europe. Additionally, for the first time ever, I won’t be living on the university campus, so I’ll also have to take care of my commute. It is pretty scary when I think about everything, but I know it would be an invaluable life lesson, so I am mostly excited.
Other than attending my online classes over the last few weeks (until I make it to Vienna), I finished reading a book, watched S2 of Indian Matchmaking, and started writing an essay. I plan to publish the essay in a week or two. Make sure you are subscribed to the newsletter to know about it as soon as I post it.
Here is an excerpt from the essay:
I went to IIT Guwahati for my JEE counseling because that is the closest IIT to my hometown. I won’t lie here; IITG has a beautiful sprawling campus overlooking the mighty Brahmaputra. It is nestled between hills, and the natural beauty is breathtaking.
To add the cherry on top, they also have a huge entrance gate that creates the illusion that every old IIT must have a similar gate. In reality, after we crossed a railway track and entered a small gate, the guards on duty told us that it was the IIT Kanpur main gate.
I was very disappointed, honestly. It has been like that ever since - disappointment after disappointment. No, no. I am kidding.
I did not speak Hindi all that extensively before going to Kanpur. I understood what people said, though. I mostly learned Hindi from watching the hit cartoon show Doraemon. Before that, I spoke some Hindi during my high school years in Assam and to CRPF jawans returning from patrol duty.
When we lived in the village, we would watch them walk back to their base camp every evening after the day’s patrol. We would often salute them, and in the rare case that they asked us, “Kya chal raha hai? Sab theek?” I would reply, “Kuch nahin. Haan sab theek hai.”
That was the most Hindi that I spoke. Growing up, I mostly conversed in my mother tongue (Tripuri and Kaubru) and Bangla. They had scary long guns, and sickles and the other village boys and I would make sure to be on our best behavior. To their credit, we never faced any interruptions in our daily lives. Later on, in B-School, I would learn about the circumstances of their deployment and the legal provisions under which they function.
I also finished reading Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. It was a good read with a simple but captivating story. My favorite lines from the book are:
I could have done that…The hypothetical past perfect, the tense of missed chances. Tears dripped down her chin. No, she thought suddenly. I could do that.
It is a tragic story and narrates the different dynamics in a family: between siblings, between parents, between parents and children, etc. The one thing that stood out was that a stable and caring family could make all the difference in the children’s lives. And how keeping a family intact is sometimes tricky from the parent's point of view.
However, I did not like a few parts of the book where the author tries to depict scenes in a somewhat overly dramatic fashion. I thought the book would still be okay without those parts. I should probably get back to reading non-fiction.
I am currently reading Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, and I love it. Like the favorite line from the book, as mentioned earlier, it reminds me of the past. “I could have done that.” I have not been reading many books recently, but I think it is okay because I was caught up with other things. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get back to regular reading soon and write book notes.
The relief I felt knowing that things finally worked out was something out of this world. I even danced during Garba. I will take things relatively easy until after I reach Vienna: take plenty of rest, go on dates, drink good coffee, and watch a few good movies.
That is pretty much it for now. If you have not subscribed to the newsletter, make sure you subscribe. You will be the first ones to know when the new essay drops. Bye! 👋🏻
Oh, if you enjoy my writing or feel generous, you can buy me a coffee!
