RANJAN LAHA is a very good friend of mine . We shared the same college and had a great time the three years. After his stint at the elite IISc ,Bangalore, Ranjan is all set to study super symmetry ( I hope Ranjan I got that right?). I wish him all the success in the world….and yes he has a female room mate there so boss…..go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is an article he had written for me on my request.

LIFE AT IISc ……………. Part 1

“Here I am atlast writing about my experience at IISc and I am awfully late.

After spending 3 wonderful years at Presidency College, Kolkata ( you can always ask Pranay about the various funny incidents during the college days ), I went to IISc for further studies. Staying away from home is always an exciting experience and I was looking forward to the experience. Obviously the famed weather at Bangalore was also something I was looking forward to as I had never been to Bangalore before. But it was also a little sad as I had to leave the wonderful life in the City of Joy.

Life at IISc was a little bit more challenging than life in Presidency College. As one of my seniors said to me on the very first week , “You are back to school boy!!!!!!” He was referring to the homeworks ( we used to call them assignments just to show that we are different from the school boys )that was a part and parcel of the course work at IISc. The assignments had to be turned in within the due date and that led us to spend quite a bit of time doing them . But the good aspect of the coursew ork schedule was that during the practical sessions , there were no instructors, they only came when we were in trouble while doing the experiments. Hence we made full use of that freedom. Music was our constant companion duirng the practical sessions. Also the labs were open 24 X 7 , and hence we very often did the experiments at night while watching a film simultaneously. Mornings in Bangalore are quite chilly and sometimes waking up early in the morning to attend classes used to trouble quite a few of my friends and I also did not particularly like the idea of waking up early during those chilly mornings. People often felt homesick during the first semester but somehow one always found ways to keep oneself busy ( studying, playing or plain gossiping ) to get rid of the homesickness.

LIFE AT IISc …………………. Part 2

The second and third semesters were tougher than the first semester but being immune to the rigours of life at IISc , it feel that difficult from the first. Fourth, fifth and sixth semesters were the time for a research project and that was the first time, a young student is exposed to research. Although it is difficult to go through the research papers at first , but understanding them thoroughly is quite a satisfaction. Another academic issue on which we are trained at IISc is giving talks. Infact in three years , I have given 9 talks.

Although the academic life at IISc is tough, yet the non-academic life more than makes up for entertainment. We have one football ground and one cricket ground and the later was my favourite haunt during the evenings. The gymkhana also sports table tennis boards, a gymnasium , a non-academic library and badminton courts. One of the main places of gossiping is the dining table. There one can find all the students of IISc. Some of the discussions are of academic nature. But generally the topics range from films, music to how to propose to a girl/boy !!!!! Greenery is another aspect of IISc that people coming here cannot forget about. Infact , one survey found out that the average temperature at IISc is 1 degree celcius lower than the average temperature at Bangalore city.

One of the main celebrations that happened at IISc during my stay was the Centenary Celebrations of IISc. Many leading scientists ( including Nobel Laureates ) came here to give talks. That is one experience that I will never forget.

In all my stint at IISc was quite wonderful and something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. The many friends that I made also makes the place special to me. “