Question: So Karan, you are amongst the graduated batch and were among the most active people in the So-Cult activities in KGP. How did it all start?
OK, I think. It all began when I was six years old. No, but I’m just kidding. So, it all started in school. I’ve been a kid who had always taken an avid interest in extracurriculars; say, it didn’t have to be So-Cult or sports; it just had to be something other than academics. So, I’ve always found extracurriculars as a sort of safe space for myself to grow and explore myself. So I tended to explore the same in school. My inclination was primarily towards the sports side, and the moment I found myself at KGP and joined Encore, I was like — Oh, nice. Cool. I have a platform where I can explore something entirely new to me. Why not try it out? And after that, it was just a series of opportunities stacked one against another, which engrossed me. So I think that’s how it all started; SoCult started with a mix of Encore and my general interest.
Question: When you say you started with Encore, did you specifically target getting into Encore, or did you also try for the other societies in KGP?
Yeah, I applied to almost everything but hadn’t gotten through many of them. I wanted to get into DebSoc — but then I realised that I wasn’t a very good debater because it turns out that: “Yes, you are right!” is a statement that wouldn’t stand in DebSoc. So, that happened, and then I got into Encore, which also turned out to be nice. I tried for Pravah as well and didn’t go through, and the same with the Robotix Society; so, you know, there are a lot of opportunities that I was looking out for but didn’t get into. But, as for my main goals. I was targeting some English, sort of, you know, “development” society that could give me a platform to explore it.
Question: As you said, Encore was the start of your so-cult journey in KGP. How has your entire journey in Encore been, from starting as a first-year to your third year and finally becoming a mentor to the members?
It was interesting, man. I would say that you get to know a lot of different kinds of people.
In the second year, we were supposed to grind and work and get all the bookings done, and you see all of the groundwork needed. I found my group of people that functioned the best on their own. And then there was this other set of people I could see in every match, which kept me going. And there was this one thing: I developed this idea of dramatics as I moved up the ladder. Why do I do it? Why do I do so? And what it means to me. I thought to myself, with a platform like the Governor of a society, could I propagate that essence of the society forward or not? And how would I teach the other members? Because first years are, you know, primarily empty palettes, and you can paint whatever you want, so it’s essentially the kind of example that you set.
Question: And I think you participated in 2 Inter-IITs?
Yeah.
Question: As everyone knows, you were the contingent captain in the second one. So what were the differences in participating as a participant and leader?
It made the world’s difference, man, the world’s difference. I mean, as a member of the cast in the filmmaking contingent in the second year, as well as a part of the improv group and a part of the stage-play group, I was involved in three things. I felt there was a lot to manage until I became the contingent captain. And after that, it is just too many responsibilities. Every day I woke up with a different problem at hand, be it the funds, be it mess food, be it people practising or not practising, right what are they practising for, the teams. There were certain things that we had to change in many events. The difference, I would say, was that I was being led, and then I was leading; that was a very sudden change for me. So, as the contingent captain, I had to learn and adapt to many things as I was going. And in my second year, I was just very curious. I used to go and watch everybody else’s practice. Maybe that’s why I knew what was happening in, you know, every part of what IIT Kharagpur, as in terms of So-Cult. But, as the contingent captain, things were a lot different.
Question: How did your experiences in the second year help you while you were the captain?
So something that was advantageous to me right now and in my captaincy is when I talk to my batchmates as well or even when I tell you, guys, as juniors, that there was a big gap between the last inter IIT, which was in December of 2019 December, to now. This sort of wiped the pallet clean. You guys were a very clean canvas. So I had certain ideologies towards Inter-IIT, or I had towards So-Cult. “How practices are supposed to be done, at what level of sincerity should we approach it with” were some standards in my mind, which I had the chance to execute and implement this time. People took selections very lightly, funds not being proper, and living facilities not being proper; I faced many problems in my second year, which I tried to work on in my captaincy. Not just problems, there were some things that I could continue, which were the winning legacy and how we had an approach towards things, so this was a chance for me to restart the culture as well. So, I thought it was a very important time; freshers were coming in and seeing what So-Cult is. There was a very good chance to show it to them as well because they’re going to be the ones to carry it forward next time.
Question: So you said that in school, you were mainly into sports as an extracurricular activity rather than So-Cult. Did you pursue that again in KGP?
So my main sport is swimming. I’m actually coming back from a swimming session right now. So in my first year, I was giving NSO trials, I was in my swimming costume, standing at the pool, and the sir said, “You cannot enter the pool because you’re an NCC student.” So I was like, “Big deal. OK, fine.” I used to like basketball, so I was also giving NSO trials there, and they’re like, you’re in NCC. You can’t be in both. And then there was this, I think, freshers’ tournament for swimming, that I came fourth in. So I think the coaches noted my name and roll number but never contacted me. So I started thinking that maybe NSO is not for me. So I started looking for other opportunities, and if you remember, NSO and all happens way too early on the campus, like before society selections happened, so I gave it a shot. Maybe it wasn’t, you know, it wasn’t meant to be. And then afterwards, when I finally got the time in my final semester, I participated in swimming GC, and we won certain medals. Like I got involved finally, but not to the extent I could get involved in school.
Question: So apart from your extracurriculars, we’ll move towards academics. So how would you say that your academic journey was?
Luckily for me, it was a ride up. If you were to objectively think about my grade point average, it has only gone up. I was not a very sincere student in my first or second semester. Did badly with academics. I think I’ve almost had a 2-point jump in my grade point average to what my grade point is right now to what it was, to begin with. So with regards to that, if you’re objectively looking at numbers, then it’s, you know, a fairly interesting journey. Because as I said, I was not a bright student and have a decent grade point average now. But in terms of learning, the Department of Biotechnology has given me good courses, so I have a very good exposure to, you know, what would make a fit in the future, or what foundation it lays for me.
Question: You said your CGPA has increased since the first year. Yeah. So how did you manage your extracurriculars and academics?
So luckily for me again, I got involved in my department as well, from my second year onwards. I started liking the courses. I saw applications to them and this sci-fi stuff happening in biotech. You can edit genes and stuff. Because of that, I started taking an interest in understanding how things were happening, and then it just became, I don’t know, common sense. When it comes to this, what is this pathway? Or what is this? So, the questions are really basic. If you just read it, you know one or two days before the paper and attend classes. So I think that’s where you know, understand.
Question: Given that you were on campus before and after the lockdown, and you saw KGP change. For example, the Biotechnology Department changed from a shady building to this brand-new high-tech glass and all. How did you see KGP evolve in your time?
I will start answering this question from the perspective of me and my batch, and then I’ll move on to what I thought about other batches and KGP as a whole. So my batchmates and I were second-years, effectively on campus. And then, when we left campus after that, there were not many responsibilities we could take upon. There were not a lot of hardships apart from how are we going to adapt this to online, and you know, how are the current first years going to learn from us and what are they going to learn from us? So these are some challenges that we faced. But then, something that is important is this transition that you get from being the second year to being the third year and then being the fourth year. This transition also includes you having seniors to go to and nag and cry about. These people just disappeared the moment we were in lockdown because it was all online, and the moment we were back, we were the only people on campus. Like fourth-years, it was just my batch and +1s. If you were to ask me, this wasn’t a very smooth transition because there were many challenges we had to face ourselves. And again, we pulled through somehow, but then it was not a very smooth transition. I think the current 3rd years have gotten kind of nice.
Question: One thing everyone has spoken at length about is what the negative effects of the lockdown were on KGP life. Do you think there were any if at all, positive effects of the lockdown on KGP life?
You know, COVID was not an easy time for all of us, either with our family issues or with our issues ourselves. People were facing career problems. There was CDC in the new format. Nobody knew, so everybody was scared. Nobody was certain what was going to happen. And you’re all sitting for it, all together. Despite being physically very far away, we somehow kept in touch and supported each other, which just ended up showing that, you know, you don’t have to be there. You just establish your presence somehow. So I think that’s that. One difference I noticed in other batches, especially the junior batches, was that it’s a good thing and a bad thing in a way, that they’ve become a little too career objective. And the reason for this being they only saw academics or other people doing projects in an online semester. There were not a lot of people talking about what was happening and where to go, a play happening there, an event here. All of that did not happen in the online semester. Andre Ng had greater publicity than we did. So, people started looking at So-Cult and other things not as an investment but as time being taken away from their main goal. That was something that I noticed and something that I had to tackle as the contingent captain as well. Because many people were questioning the idea of participating in Inter-IIT, I can do an internship as well, right? An intern would pay, but Inter-IIT won’t.
Question: You talked about juniors being career-oriented, whereas you chose to pursue research. Given that KGP has the mentality that “getting a good package is the goal”, how did you go about realising you want to pursue research, going against the curve?
Even if you win the rat race, you’ll still be a rat. That’s the whole point of it, isn’t it? You know, you can be at the top of your game in a lot of things, but personally, I prefer the impact that I could impart on people’s lives rather than earn bucks for myself and just take the long weekend off and relax. Luckily for me, my family conditions were well off, and I never really thought about the money part of doing it, and it’s all very condition based. So, I’m not demeaning any other career. I chose research because I saw good potential and could reach out to others. It’s helping mankind progress in terms of evolution and stuff. So it’s already sci-fi, it’s all playing terms that made me happy, and I got into it. But against the crowd and people who think CDC is the main thing. I think once you go through it, you’ll realise how random it is. And then you’ll understand that it’s not the only thing. You have to go through it to understand it, no matter how many times I tell you, “It’s not the sh*t. It is fine. You can apply off-campus. You have billions of other roles.” Even as a researcher, I thought a PhD was one of the only roles for this. There are so many other roles in research. You can review articles, you can be in research administration, you can form projects, and be a part of a funding agency that funds biotech companies specifically. We are not aware of so many things going on that once you go through it, only then you’ll understand.
Question: So, any advice you have for juniors? As you said, the juniors have become too career aware.
Yeah, man, I mean, it’s just it’s not about that. It’s very good that you have become career-oriented, and it’s very prestigious to have a good job or package and leave KGP with the full shebang. But then, it’s not all about that. KGP has so many things to offer. You know it will make you an engineer by the end of the day. But that’s what everybody is doing right. It’s not what you’re there for. I could explore so-cult, and I got the opportunity, and KGP welcomed me with open arms into so-cult. So it’s more about what you can learn from it, what you can teach and what you can impart, how you can set a culture, and what kind of mentality you have. As a governor, I had a platform. So you know, if you’re sitting in your room on a weekend, just there, you’re doing something wrong. Step out. Take a walk on 2.2. Talk to people. Laugh. Like, use KGP. It has so many things to offer. If I were to give an example, it’s how the lakeside benches are prettier than the benches on 2.2, whereas 2.2 benches are more efficient to make. But that’s a loss of design, and there’s no beauty in it. Your journey should be beautiful.
Question: Given that Inter-IIT So-Cult is happening in our home town next year, what do you expect? You’ve been to enough GCs, and you’ve been to enough Inter-IITs. What do you expect? What are your hopes? What are your concerns?
I expect a lot of fights. I expect very long board meetings to go on. I expect you all to dominate. I mean, I think it’s a fair expectation to have. I expect other IITs to be disappointed with the food. I expect sincerity, which I thought I’d bring along. I expect you to really work hard for the art and not, “OK, this is an event which is gonna give us six points, and we’re gonna leave.” We have to know it’s not about winning or losing; it’s about how much you can learn. In my time, the stage play was a very different practice, and right now, it’s a very different thing. You know, what we learn and understand, to what we can teach. I know I’m a little centric towards dramatics because that’s my background. How you practise and how sincere you are also play a role. KGP most definitely does not lack talented individuals. Just sincerity is needed, which is the whole point. Yeah, that’s what I expect. It’s going to be fun, though. I expect a lot of video calls from you all.
Question: So, I think we’ll wrap up with the final question. So overall, like everything including so-cult, sports, academics and whatnot, were you satisfied with your KGP life?
Oh, perfectly! It has been an absolute pleasure. KGP has given me the world, and I am and forever will be indebted. So, you know, it’s something that I never expected to learn. It was something that I was certainly open to. It has been a wonderful journey. Every year, every semester, I’ve learned a very different lesson. It has made me into something that I am right now, and I would not be here if I would not have taken those steps. It’s not like I regret some of the mistakes. I’m glad I made them so that I understood one way or the other. But you know, you just have to be open to that understanding part. So yeah, I’m pretty satisfied. 13 on 10, recommend!