Freshmen Newsletter

a small Sneak peek into your department

Abhilash Kulkarni, Dhruv Nigam, Nanda, Pallav Chaudhary, Rucha Walawalkar, Sagun Pai, Shreerang Javadekar,

s the first year of stay in the campus comes to an end, many freshmen might be curious about whats in store for them in their departments. While
terms like Minors, Honors and Electives are often thrown around by seniors and some acad-enthu batchmates, most remain unaware about the
exact details. The first year is more or less the same (academically speaking) for all departments, but the second will be all about getting to know
the individual departments in greater detail. Here, we look into the academic choices available to one when they enter their sophomore year - arguably, the
most formative year of their stay in IITB.

Aerospace:

Chemistry:

Electrical:

Important Second Year Courses:

Important Second Year Courses:

Important second year courses:

The curriculum is mainly divided into four basic

fields namely Aerodynamics, Control Systems,
Propulsions and Structures/Designs. The second
year covers one important course from three of
these fields - AE 209 (Solid Mechanics from
Structures), AE 214 (Thermodynamics from
Propulsions), and AE 216 (Fluid Mechanics)
from Aerodynamics.

Electives and Minors:

If you have an interest in Control Systems, SysCon

(System and Control Engineering) would be a
good Minor choice. Minors in Mechanical (for
Propulsions) or Electrical also prove to be helpful
in the long run. The Department also offers some
fascinating courses like AE 755 (Engineering
Design Optimization) and AE 625 (Particle
methods for Fluid Mechanics), which could be
opted for as electives.

Future Opportunities:

Aerospace is an upcoming sector and there are

good paying jobs at par with others if you go
for post-graduation in the field. The department
boasts of some highly experienced faculty
members like K. Sudhakar and Ashok Joshi.
Most professors are extremely helpful and are
ready to float projects, if shown willingness to
contribute.

Civil:
Important Second Year Courses:

Important sophomore courses include CE 205

(Fluid Mechanics) and CE 222 (Structural
Mechanics). Fluid Mechanics is particularly
important due to its varied applications in
Hydraulics.

Electives and Minors:

CS, Environment, IDC and CSRE minors are

some of the good minor options available for the
students.

Future opportunities:

The Civil Department includes some of

Indias best civil engineering faculty like S.
L. Dhingra (transport engineering), Alok
Goyal, Prakash Nathagopalan (famous for the
projects under him), Tarun Kant, Gopalrao
Patil (transportation). Interested students
can contact the respective faculty member for
research opportunities. Indias only Centrifuge
model, Sudarshan, is located in the IITB Civil
department under B V S Viswanadham.

The second year in MSc Chemistry mostly

revolves around two basic courses in Organic
Chemistry - CH 221 and CH 222.The first covers
frontier molecular orbital approach for several
reaction schemes and spectroscopy, whereas
the second covers carbonyl chemistry. Other
important courses include a thermodynamics
course, CH 211 and a course on inorganic
chemistry, CH 210. CH 210 is an interesting
course which goes into the applications of
Quantum Mechanical concepts in reaction
mechanisms and spectroscopy.

The Electrical second year has two important

courses - EE 204 (Analog circuits) and EE
214 (Digital circuits). While EE 204 focuses
on explaining the Analog part of EE 112, EE
214 gives a greater insight into Digital circuits
design using a hardware description language.

Electives and Minors:

Electives and Minors:

CH 576 (Statistical Mechanics) is an advanced

course which covers the chemical applications
of Statistical Mechanics and can be taken as an
elective.

CS and Statistics are good minor options for

Electrical students. Interested students can
also take up Math minor to strengthen their
mathematical basis. Microelectronics DDs can
take up Physics minor in order to get a better
idea of the physics involved in semiconductor
devices. EE 432 (Special Semiconductor
Devices) is an interesting course which gives
more information about semiconductor devices
in general, and can be opted for as an elective.

Future Opportunities:

Future Opportunities:

Pradeepkumar P I, Anindya Datta, B L Tembe,

Suvarn Kulkarni, R. B. Sunoj and Arindam
Chowdhury are some of the popular professors
from the department. Chemistry is a highly
research-oriented department, with applications
in molecular biology, biochemistry, drug design
and several industries. As a standalone degree, an
IIT- MSc is an excellent way to secure a good
PhD. However, for a good core job, one definitely
needs to have a PhD.

MEMS (Meta):
Important Second Year Courses:

MM 202 (Thermodynamics of Materials), MM

204 (Fluid Dynamics), MM 203 (Mechanics of
Materials) and MM 201 (Structure of materials)
cover all the important concepts required for
future courses.

Electives and Minors:

No electives are offered in the second year.

Colloid and Interface Science MM 409 is an
interesting Honors course.

Future opportunities:

Research at undergraduate level is highly

encouraged by the Metallurgical department.
Undergraduates can get actively involved with
a research topic and even go on to publish
research papers in the field. The department
includes stalwarts like N.B. Ballal and N.
Prabhu, who are working on a variety of cutting
edge research projects.

The department offers various opportunities for

students to be a part of the ongoing research.
Juzer Vasi, Vivek Borkar, H. Narayanan, D
Manjunath are some of the veteran professors
of the department. Newer faculty like Swaroop
Ganguly, Dipankar Saha, Udayan Ganguly,
Pradeep Nair are involved with some exciting
research projects in the department.

Mechanical:
Important Second Year Courses:

ME 201 (Solid Mechanics), ME 209

(Thermodynamics) and ME 203 (Fluid
Mechanics) are some of the important second
year courses with lots of applications.

Electives and Minors:

A Minor in EE, CS or SysCon can complement

the core Mechanical degree. Aerospace can also
be helpful in the long run, thereby making it
a good minor choice. ME 676 (Collaborative
Engineering) is a fairly interesting course which
requires extensive research work in product
development and integrated design.

Future opportunities:

Some of the eminent mechanical faculty

members include Professors Pawaskar,
Arindrajit Chowdury, SV Prabhu, RP Vedula,
Asim Tewari and Milind Rane. A lot of
the projects going on in the department are
postgraduate projects. However, students can
get involved in independent student bodies
like IITB racing, UMIC, Solar decathlon or
SINE lab, to get a better understanding of the
department.

ISSUE 1.2

Engineering Physics:

Computer Science

Energy:

Important Second Year Courses:

Important Second Year Courses:

Important Second Year Courses:

Classical Mechanics (EP222) and Quantum

Mechanics (EP307) are some of the important
second year courses.

Electives and Minors:

Electrical and Maths are a good minor options

as they provide a better opportunity to students
interested in pursuing a Masters degree. Second
year Honor courses are Non-Linear Dynamics
and Continuum Mechanics. Many students take
up General Theory of Relativity (PH 544) citing
its exciting course content as the reason.

Future opportunities:

The Physics department is known for taking

many students as research assistants in its projects.
Pradeep Sarin, Alok Shukla, P. Parmananda,
Sadhana Dash are some of the faculty whom you
can approach for research projects.

Chemical:
Important Second Year Courses:

CL
253
(Chemical
Engineering
Thermodynamics), CL 242 (Fundamentals of
Heat Transfer), CL 203 (Transport Phenomena),
CL 254 (Process Fluid Mechanics) are pretty
important second year courses.

Electives and Minors:

Electrical and Energy Engineering are good

minor options and are opted by many students.
Management is another good option for those
who are willing to go for non core jobs.

Future opportunities:

Mahesh Tirumkudulu, Supreet Saini, Jayesh

Bellare, Santosh Noronha, Ganesh Viswanathan,
Rochish Thaokar and Jhumpa Adhikari stand
out as the most popular professors among seniors.

Honors:
What is it?

Honors is an additional credential a student earns

upon opting for extra 30 credits in their own
department. Honor courses are a set of advanced
level courses in each department, designed in
order to give students more exposure to different
areas in their own department. The concerned
department specifies the course requirements for
earning the Honors.

Does the honors grade affect my CPI?

Just like a minor, when you complete an honor,

an Honor CPI will reflect in your final transcript.
If you have finished some of the honor courses,
but not enough to acquire an honor degree, then
those courses would be counted towards the
Additional Learning CPI. For DDs, compulsory
honors courses will affect their Core CPI.

Can I do a minor and honors?

Yes, if your CPI is greater than 8 (with no backlogs).

DD students have to do honors compulsarily as
these are considered as core courses for them.

Some of the core second year courses include

CS 213 (Data Structures and Algorithms), CS
208 (Automata Theory and Logic) and CS 207
(Discrete Structures). CS 213 is an essential
prerequisite for the upcoming CS courses. CS
208 is an important course from a research
point of view.

Electives and Minors:

There are no electives in the CS department

until the fourth year. Interested students take up
electives in other departments. As far as minors
are concerned, the general preference for minors
is the following: Statistics, Management, IDC,
Maths, HSS.

Future opportunities:

CS is a lab oriented department with a heavy

course load. Freshmen should try to know more
about the various parts of the department like
Natural language and Embedded Systems which
will help them choose their topic of interest.
Interested students can get valuable handson experience through summer projects and
research internships. You could also boost your
coding skills by participating in international
competitions like ACM-ICPC; however it
would require extra efforts from your side.

If you really want to do a

particular course (other than
minor or honor courses) and
dont want it to be reflected
in your Core CPI, you could
take it up as an Additional
Learning Course.

Electives:
What is it?

As the name suggests, electives are credited

courses which a student can choose, unlike the
core courses. In most departments, a student is
required to take two electives, that is, 12 credits
in total. Electives are categorized into two types,
namely Institute Elective and Department
Elective. An Institute Elective is a course which
can be taken in any department other than your
own department. A Department Elective, on the
other hand, is a course which has to be from the
same department as that of the students. The
major difference between electives and minors/
honors is that electives do affect your Core CPI.

I like the content of a particular course. Can I take it as an

elective?

Yes you can, provided that you fulfill the

prerequisites for that course. First year courses
cannot be taken as Institute Electives, and
some courses have pre-registration for Institute
Electives. These courses have limited seats and
the allotment is done on the basis of CPI. Minor
courses can also be tagged as electives.

Energy Science and Engineering is a relatively

new department and carries a lot of potential. EN
203 (Thermodynamics and Energy conversion)
and EN 206 (Power electronics) are important
courses.

Electives and Minors:

As most of the courses are related to power

consumption, Electrical is good minor option for
Energy students. SysCon can also be considered.

Future opportunities:

The Energy Science department lays a strong

emphasis on project work. Courses like Energy
Innovation lab and Materials and Structures
lab have been designed, so as to convey the
importance of research to the students. The
department has a number of faculty members
like Rangan Banerjee, Shiresh Kedare, Suneet
Singh, Santanu Bandyopadhayay and J.K. Nayak
who are actively involved in research work.

Minors:
What is it?

Started in 2007 as a move to provide a wider

exposure to the academically strong students,
Minor is an additional credential a student
will earn if they complete 30 credits worth of
additional learning in a department other than
their own. Each department prescribes a set
of courses and/or other activities like projects
necessary for earning a minor. A typical minor
program will have you take 5 courses to earn the
required 30 credits.

Who can take up a Minor?

B. Tech students who have not failed in more

than one course are allowed to opt for minors.
Dual Degree students are allowed to do minors
only if they have an excellent academic standing
(CPI greater than 8 and no active backlogs).

How do I register for a Minor?

Minor registration is done 10-15 days before the

regular course registration(during the vacations).
Students have to specify their preference order
for the courses they wish to take, following which
the courses are allocated based on the students
Core CPI (due to limited seats).

Will my Core CPI be affected if I take a Minor?

No, it wont. The grade you get in a minor

course only affects your Minor CPI. When you
complete your minor, a Minor CPI will reflect on
your transcript. Before that, the courses will be
treated as additional learning courses.

Why should I take a Minor?

Minor is a great opportunity for all those who

wish to pursue interest in areas beyond their basic
degree. A minor chosen to match ones interests
can speak volumes about a candidate. A carefully
chosen minor can complement a particular major
and thereby enhance a students placement
opportunity in a sector of his choice. It also
benefits individuals aiming for higher studies as
it shows the their willingness to go the extra mile
to achieve their goals.

Freshmen Newsletter

Freshmen Isolation and its Impacts

Anamika Agrawal, Parimal Chahande, Pradyot
Prakash, Utkarsh Kumar

The Freshie Survey

Q. Most of the seniors that interacted with you met you:

2009

After much hue and cry over the death of a student

caused by ragging, and a series of tumultuous
events, the verdict was finally out. Limiting
interaction between seniors and juniors in college
campuses was adjudged (by the Supreme Court,
no less) a definitive requirement towards the
prevention of ragging. Hence, aside from setting
up helplines for freshmen and mandating strict
punishments for offending seniors, it was also
made compulsory that all institutes have separate
living spaces for freshmen and seniors.

2013

The air of uncertainty still prevailed - were all

freshies going to stay in a separate hostel away from
the seniors? What was promised was delivered as
soon as H15 came up - a huge chunk of freshmen
shifted to this new hostel. But a significant chunk
was also allotted rooms in H4 - a senior hostel,
potentially capable of inculcating in freshmen all
the virtues interaction with seniors is believed to
cause.

Q. What are your fears related to ragging?

Insight Investigates
Much has been said and done after the decision
of segregation was finally enforced. Many freshers
now live in a land of their own - The Trident. It
is worth considering that all factors other than
the junior-senior interaction have remained
unchanged. While there are still a few freshmen
who live in senior hostels, any change in statistics
- from participation in cult activities to academic
performance (and sometimes the number of
laxmi-goers amongst freshies) - is generally
deemed negative by the student population, and
is attributed to freshmen isolation.
We met with several concerned seniors and
conducted a survey exclusively for freshmen to
debunk myths and to analyze the effects of this
change in tradition.

Q. Do you think having seniors in your hostels is a good idea?

Q. Your seniors helped you out with:

Acads ka kya scene hai boss?

Arey Freshies humare bina kya karenge? Who will
give them world-class fundae to manage Prof XYZs
classes and ace ED without studying?
- Random fundaebaaz sophie
MA105 and special relativity se difficult cheez kabhi
life mei nahi dekhi. Itna padhna hai IIT mei ye nahi
socha tha.
- Almost all freshies
Ye sab mei kya rakha hai. Sab moh-maya hai.
- Moksha-praapt senior
One of the key thoughts behind the idea of a
separate hostel for the freshmen was that the
seniors would no longer be there to distract them
from their studies. Did the idea actually work?

Atleast now
we know that we were
missed.
- Fundaebaaz Senior

ISSUE 1.2

The grading stats say otherwise. The grades

in almost all the courses have taken a beating.
The percentage of FRs in one of the most
fundamental courses, MA105, has jumped from
5.36% last year to a whopping 13.25% this year.
Another course PH107 (earlier PH105), now a
compulsory course for all departments, saw the
percentage of FRs rise from a mere 5.70% to a
whopping 15.42% this year. However, in other
common courses, percentage of FRs has remained
fairly unaffected.
In this regard, Meghna Sreenivasan, Overall
Coordinator of the Institute Student Mentorship
Programme (ISMP) says that seniors do not
affect academic performances so significantly,
with the formation of H15 being just one of the
factors that could be causing the increase in FRs.
Other causes could be collective grading in place
of the intra-division grading that we saw last year,
and the difference in course structures for physics
and chemistry. Also, despite the segregation,
there have been seniors advising freshies with
poor marks to fail the course and make up for
that grade in the summers.
However, she further added that mentors are
the only source of guidance in this new system.
A freshman relies on the word of his/her mentor
heavily since he/she has no other person to
contact during any immediate need. Due to this,
the decision making ability of the freshmen has
been affected to some extent.

Tech mei kya machaya phresies ne?

The segregation of freshies to H15 has adversely

affected the level of participation of freshmen
in the tech genre, and the number of negatives
far outweigh the positives. In this regard, Ex
- STAB OC Ashima Mittal identified the
absence of seniors in the freshmen hostels as
the principal reason. Seniors would have helped
freshmen develop interest and mentored them
for participation in tech events, at least for the
sake of hostel culture if nothing else. The initial
difficulty of contacting the freshmen due to lack
of notice-boards and active groups was soon
resolved. But it got harder to get them involved
actively in tech events with the passage of time, as
these newcomers lost the initial enthusiasm and
interest. Even the appointed tech mentors felt
reluctant to go to H15 on a routine basis, which
until last year wasnt required as these seniors
were present in their hostel itself.
Shardul, Tech Secy of Hostel-2 and Convener
of the Robotics Club, pointed out that the only
positive was that it was relatively easier to go and
talk to the freshies in a single hostel.

IIT-B mein aaye ho toh Cult kar lo!

Ye PAF god kyu hota hai? Ye Orientations mein kyu
jana hota hai? Ye seniors exams se pehle kyu aa jaate
hain events ke liye? Mujhe ED ka assignment karna
hai!
- Maggu Freshies
Why am I making paper rolls for PAF again? Last
year bhi toh yahi kiya!
- Cult secy in every hostel except H4

Kya hi macha lenge. Na tech room hai na dhang ka

tech secy hostel mei. Upar se koi enthu nahi andar se. I was second runner up in face-painting competition
- A sophie hostel tech secy in freshiezza. Abhi tak face se colour nahi nikla. Sab
moh maya hai.
H15 ja jaake meri haalat kharab ho rhi hai. Kyu
- Moksha-praapt senior
bana mai convener/Mentor
- An overloaded sophie convener/tech mentor The cult(urals) participation of freshmen has

differed from club to club, with most clubs

Maine bhi Tech mei participate kiya tha freshie year seeing a fall in the participation by freshmen.
mei. But make no mistake, sab moh maya hai.
Many Institute Secretaries are of the view that
- Moksha-praapt senior the Freshmen Orientation was a major step in

creating an interest in the freshmen towards

cultural events. They also attribute this to the
idea of appointment of Cult Mentors, envisaged
by the General Secretary for Cultural Affairs,
Deepak Sharma. The Cult Mentors were allotted
during the Freshiezza (Phase - I) to assist the
freshmen to plan and enact their ideas, in the
absence of other seniors to guide them. Though
most people appreciated the concept of Cult
Mentors, their role is obsolete after the first few
months as the freshmen are more than a semester
old in the institute and cannot be persuaded that
easily. After some initial hiccups, it became quite
easy and convenient for the clubs to advertise
their activities.
Pahul PSG the ex-IMS, however, was of the
opinion that it was mostly the freshies who
already had a knowledge of music before coming
to IITB who ended up doing well in the music
events. Previously, even those freshmen who
didnt know the Sa of music, were groomed well
by the hostel seniors and attained good skills in
music. In contrast to this, Ankit Khetrapal, exFilm and Media Secy, said that the participation
of freshmen boomeranged to more than three
times as compared to the last batchs. Arpit
Agrawal, ex-PFA Secy, also mentioned that a lot
of zealous faces turned up for the fine arts events
during Freshiezza.
Our team also met a few seniors from various
genres and almost all of them were of the opinion
that this was unfair to the freshmen as well as to
them. Their main concern was about the hostel
culture. No one comes to the insti with a tag on
their head saying Mujhe Dram me enthu hai!
The informal talk that one has with a senior helps
them choose their genre, be it dance, lit or dram.
Even big events like Mood Indigo have seen
reduced participation from the freshmen. There
were situations in MI when organizers were
required but the Coordinators and CGs were in a
fix to arrange for them. Getting to PAF, everyone
knows that PAF God hota hai. But why? Many
freshmen never got to know.

INVESTIGATING THE DELAY IN GRADE ALLOCATION

Anukriti Chaudhari, Kush Motwani, Kshitij Jayakrishnan

ue to various reasons, the grades for most

of the freshmen courses were allocated in
January, long after the Spring semester
began. Insight decided to dig deeper to unfold the
reasons that caused the chaos. It turns out that the
delay propagated at each stage - showing papers to
students, releasing grades to the Academic office
and the uploading of these grades by academic
office.

to vacate their rooms by the 29th of November

and 5 days was too short a period for professors
to correct answer sheets, hold crib sessions and
re-evaluate marks for nearly 900 students, it was
decided that the grades would be uploaded in
the first week of January, right after the students
returned for their next semester.

Why the early vacation of rooms?

PhD candidates applying to IIT Bombay are

interviewed in the breaks between semesters.
The process goes on for at least 2-3 days during
which the candidates have to be provided
There exists an Institute rule that restricts faculty accommodation. Along with this, there were
members from uploading grades before showing placements (which were also held in Hostel 15)
the students their answer sheets and holding and fests that demanded rooms. The increase in
a formal crib session. Since the freshmen had the number of PhD applicants put stress on the

Events that led up to the decision to

delay grade allocation

HCU and the only viable solution was to ask the

freshmen to vacate at least a few before placements
started on December 1st.

Soon enough, its January

Even though the crib sessions were done with by

the 14th of January, within a week of the starting
of the semester, the grades could be uploaded only
by 26th. This was because post the official deadline
for uploading the grades, they had to be uploaded
manually by the academic office. Since numerous
other commitments arise at the beginning of
every semester (regarding registration), allocation
of grades took a backseat. The course instructors,
despite their best efforts, could not help the delay.

Freshmen Newsletter

ight from the beginning of the first

semester, every freshman is introduced
to the three main Independent Bodies
functioning within the institute, namely Mood
Indigo, Techfest and E-Cell. These bodies are
considered to form the top rung of the institutes
extra-curricular events, and most freshmen end
up working for these bodies at some point of their
first year in the institute. The actual functioning
of these bodies, however, is not made clear in the
first year, with gossip and glamour coming in the
way of the real deal, particularly for the muchsought posts of Core Group member (CG) and
Manager. We rarely hear much about the journey
of a person from an organizer to becoming the
brains behind the fest.

Orgie Ghodagiri:
Its a common idea among freshman, that
orgies in IBs are treated as mindless, unskilled
labourers, recruited only because somebody has
got to get the ghodagiri done. While it may be
true that the level of administrative work given to
organizers is very limited, its certainly not true
that orgies only get laborious work while working
for the body. The work that an orgie gets during
the fest depends largely on both department and
the coordie theyre working under. Orgies being
asked to drop off celebrities or anchor events is
just as commonplace as them being asked to shift
tables.
The reason for this lack of administrative work, is
simply the amount of growth the IBs have had in
the last few years. Scaling up has gone hand-inhand with extensive commercialization, leading
to extensive interactions with big companies and
sponsors. During such interactions, an individual
is representing not only the IB theyre working
for, but the institute as a whole. One misstep
could hinder relations with a sponsor for years to
come, which is why orgies are rarely given much
work in departments such as Marketing.

Interview Process:

Does their CPI really take a hit?

The IB interview process has attained near

legendary status in the institute, both for its
grueling nature and the sheer length of the
interviews. Interviews have been known to go on
for 8-9 hours, with the applicants coming out of
it numbed by the experience.

Time management is one of the key traits in

the personalities of CGs and Managers. It is
a common perception (mis-perception rather)
that the CGs and the Managers are unable to
find time for their academics. All the CGs and
Managers we interviewed confidently said that
your academic performance does not have to
take a hit. Though many agreed that it is hectic
at times because of the extra work load, its still
very manageable. According to Vishesh Sharma,
an MI OC, the fact that you have very little time
actually motivates you, to the extent that you use
the time that is available more effectively.

There is no real preparation required for it,

but a persons motivation for the post is a vital
parameter. As the first hour or so is usually
dedicated to figuring out why you want the post,
any lies youre telling yourself about being festenthu are easy to look past. The next few hours
involve the CGs/Managers/OCs putting you in
various situations that could arise, and checking
how you would handle it. Logical thinking and
decision-making ability are the order of the
day here. Lastly, its not uncommon to end the
interview on a discouraging note, which is why
most applicants feel theyve done badly when
they come out of it.

A significant amount of planning and visualizing

is done during the summers. Thus, over the course
of the semester, academics do not have to be
compromised on. The work is also organized in
a way to ensure that all CGs and Managers are
relatively free during mid-sems and end-sems.

Tips from the Experienced:

To a large extent, such a process is necessary to be

able to choose the correct Managers/CGs. The
ones chosen will have to represent IIT Bombay
and the IB they work for, and uphold its legacy,
for nearly a year. As the CGs/Managers will
themselves be busy during the fest, they have no
better way to check the coordinators decision
making under pressure, than by actually putting
them under pressure.

A tip to the freshmen was to not think of the work

as a burden, or be demotivated by the apparent
ghodagiri that one may have to do in their
organizer year. Enjoy the fest and have a good
time, because only if one connects to the fest and
likes the overall experience, will one feel motivated
to go ahead and actually work for it in the future.
The managers and CGs talked about delinking
the IB post from the idea of a non core job, or
a boost to ones profile. The journey is a period
of introspection and intense transformation, that
will provide you with qualities which will prove
useful wherever you end up.

The internal OC elections are quite different, as

the applicants have already proven their mettle.
The focus there is on deciding the attributes
which are most important for the benefit of the
fest in the following year, and selecting candidates
who have the required attributes. In the case of
MI and E-Cell, both of which have two OCs,
compatibility between the candidates is also an
important consideration.

So, explore all the fests, and multiple departments

of each fest in your first and second year, to get
a good idea of the sort of work that is available
in each IB. If you find something that seems to
come to you naturally and that you enjoy doing,
well then, go for it!

So
co
or ma
die n
s! y

ON
AS
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AT
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"I
sta mm
rtu a ru
p" n a
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/

Ch
be am
gin cha
s gir
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summer aug sep-nov

Sp
th am
re al
ad l t
s! he

"P
Wa aint
fre it, bal
e f wh l! C
oo er on
d? e's ce
"
my rts

dec jan feb

"L
Wa aser
fre it, tag
e f wh ! C
oo er on
d? e's cer
"
my ts!

jul aug sep

"I
ho wan
me na
" : go
(

Deepak Dilipkumar, Harshit Sahay, Mukul Jangid, Palka Puri,

Suraj Shourie, Vaibhav Bhosale

"R
ok oom
ay s
, I ar
gu e
es
s"

Int Fre
ro shm
du a
cti n
on

org A
ani new
zer
app
ear
IB
s

In their second year, coordinators need to

be groomed to take over as CGs/ Managers
and some risk is taken to give them some free
reign. Expectedly, coordies get more and more
responsibility as they prove to their CGs/
Managers that they can handle the work given
to them.

timeline of a coordinator

Infographic Credit: Narendra Parmar

ISSUE 1.2

How peace are the fests?

Pros:

Despite the amount of planning that goes into

these fests, when something of the magnitude
of MI, TF or E-Summit is executed, events are
unlikely to go exactly as planned. The schedules
of the IB members in the days immediately
preceding and during the fest go like this:

Despite the diverse nature of work available in

different IBs, the key positives that CGs and
Managers take away from their experience are
quite similar.

pleased about. In fact, most of them agree that

the work, in general, is gruelling, and if resume
points are your main motivation, then tumhara
give up ho jaayega.
The most important pros were also the ones
freshman rated lowest. Most of them talked
about friendship and bonding, recounting their
first treats with the Baap-Managers/CGs, not to
mention the unbreakable bonds theyve formed
with their own team members. The rapport and
support they found within their own teams and
in the coordinators was, for most of them, the
icing on the cake.

Time Management was perhaps the most

obvious and most quoted lesson, as balancing
the pressure of work throughout the year, with
no break from the academic session, forced most
to chalk out their priorities and be more vigilant
about the time they had been leaving unutilized
before. Confidence and improved decisionmaking ability was another key common ground,
with most of them walking away with a shrewder
sense of practicality. Being able to better
present logical arguments due to their improved
speaking skills were also changes they welcomed.
The IB work involves a significant amount of
networking,which is a big bonus, both in terms of
contact-building and improving communication
skills.

Cons:

Being a CG/Manager is not a walk in the park

and the post does come with its downsides.
There is the obvious issue of time management.
Though its not impossible, doing justice to
your acads and your responsibilities towards the
fest at the same time is no easy matter. Many
IB members say that they have had to make a
tough choice between the IB and their hobbies.
They also have to drop their internships and work
solely for the fest during the summer.

As one would expect, one of the most important

take-away was learning to work in a team. Being
in an IB with an entire organizational hierarchy,
the leaders at the top have to balance what they
think is right, with what the team wants in
general. Besides keeping everyone motivated,
learning how to think as a team, and putting the
team ahead of themselves was invaluable during
their tenures.

Managers agree that after having executed the

first day of the fest perfectly, the rest of the days
go by in a blur. Managers plan; co-ordies execute.
This doesnt mean that it is always smooth sailing.
But as the fest progresses, the managers become
more adept at handling such crisis situations..
They also have their Baap managers to thank,
who are there to guide them through the whole
process.

To some extent, your social life also takes a hit.

Having committed yourself to the fest, you rarely
have time to interact with people other than your
team members. Whether you like it or not, your
team members become your new best friends,
although to be fair, everyone we interviewed
found this to be pro rather than a con.

Although the last day is not very different pressurewise, it is important to ensure that the fest ends
on a high note. Emotionally, it is a big day for all
the team members. Its common for even orgies
and coordies to get a little teary-eyed. Seeing your
hard work bear fruit is an indescribable feeling
for anyone who has had the pleasure of working
for the fest.

ion
!

The last day of the fest

Fr
at ee f
las oo
t! d

"E
ac very
co th
rd in
ing g
to wil
"N plan l go
!
ac oth
co in "
rd g i
ing s g
to oin
pla g
n!"

OF DRE
GR AM
EAT S
NE
SS

Contrary to popular perception, resume-building

features are not what CGs/Managers are most

Jan Feb Mar Apr

O
OF NE H
A R ELL
IDE
!

ull

Mar

D
sen evelo
se, ped
ma bu
na sin
g e
Em emen ss
Fu oti t s
lls on kil

ls

feb

yth ti
a
i m dy
If t ng p eline ?
p im lan ,
He ieces elin ned
lp! - " e g
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ap s to
ma
Ev
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COMMON FOR
ALL THREE

al

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um
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my
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(
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acc oes
ord any
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at

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dec
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PLA
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at ee f
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t! d
Th
en e re
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pp
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Af
to ter
-_ o la Inte
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itc "Is
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dec

"E
ac very
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n!"

In
ph tros
as pe
e ct

The days during the fest

Re
I'm sult
aw s: "
es Yes
om ss
e!" !
:D

According to most managers, these days are far

more stressful and crucial than the actual days
of the fest. This is the time they realize that
irrespective of how much they plan, certain things
are just beyond their control.
The most unexpected problems crop up. For
instance, this year, the headlining band for
Mood Indigos Liverwire night cancelled at
the last minute, leaving the managers in a
lurch. A few years back, there were unexpected
accommodation problems as some flats werent
ready, and participants had to be accommodated
in hostel lounges. Unless you remain calm and
composed while handling these issues, youll only
aggravate the problem.

Ru
CG n fo
/M r
an
ag
er

Day (-n) -

Freshmen Newsletter

A day in the life of a Freshman

Anukriti Chaudhari, Charvi Rastogi, Shreya Gupta

he wildly popular Freshmen Newsletter, by the freshmens own admission, is their best source to know everything about the insti culture,
fundae, polt and gossip. Everything, apart from their own doings. And so, to break that myth, the makers of this article set out to investigate the
life of a freshman. Or more precisely, a typical day in the life of a freshman.

Ek khaas class

Contrary to the popular notion that students hardly attend their classes, we found that a whopping
82% of the freshmen attend their classes regularly. Whats even more interesting is that the maggu
junta (defined as those who study more than for more than 5 hours a day) form a mere 4% of the
total freshmen population. Perhaps others spend this time on.

ED Enemy in Disguise

Afternoons are generally occupied by further classes or labs. Of all the subjects, we found that ED took up an
integral chunk of a freshmans day. Apart from the regular ED lectures and labs, almost 40% of the freshmen
spend more than 5 hours a week on their assignments.
The ED assignments were a real downer for all. As challenging a task as any, they could have put the Triwizard
Tournament setters to shame. Most wingies gathered in the common area at a pre-decided time, and then the discussions
followed, occasionally interrupted by random KPK talks. The night before an ED lab session, desperation ran extremely
high. One could find people running around the hostel trying to jugaado completed sheets; large groups sitting with
their ND Bhatts, trying to make some sense of the ever-so-annoying auxiliary planes, while the few chosen ones skilled
in the art tried to explain to the rest how perspective projection really works and failed miserably (its still a mystery to
many even though theyve officially completed the course). Countless hours were, and still are, spent de-mystifying the
workings of engineering drawing.
- Anonymous freshman, whos been-there-done-that

Extracurrics an identity

Illustrations: Parimal Chahande

Thanks to the wide range of extracurricular activities that the institute offers, the evenings
provide a refreshing change from the monotonous academic routine. Not surprisingly,
these are very well utilized by freshmen. Whether it be sports, cultural activities or tinkering
with technology, there remains none who hasnt participated in at least one of these. In fact,
the Institute Salsa Night was the event with maximum participation, followed closely by
Line Follower and XLR8.
The scene outside academia is incredibly overwhelming at least initially; and these interests
deeply influence the batchmates and seniors one interacts with during their stay in and after their
graduation from the Institute. The one persistent question on everyones mind is - Theres so much
to do! How will I ever have enough time? and with the plethora of activities at their disposal,
most people excitedly try their hand at everything, not wanting to leave anything out.
More than one semester in, participation in events dips with people having found their favorites
from the countless options, are less enthusiastic about their getaway here. In fact, the whole task
finding the one thing that brings a six-mile wide smile on ones face is a huge learning curve in
its own way!

The lukkha-aap tradition!

Despite more freedom and privacy than ever

before, the freshmen have easily followed
the footsteps of their seniors. With 55%
of the freshmen having lost count of the
number of movies they had watched since
they came here, it is easy to see that DC++
has been a primary source of lukkha. We
also found that 25% freshmen were into
late-night gaming while 33% said they go
out more than once a week.
With most of the time spent walking, wandering is yet another form of lukkha. Not surprisingly, the more aimless our walks are, the happier they make us.
Roaming around in the Insti exploring the little nooks and corners to replace our favourite addas back home; but its also about finding the people whose
company transforms the time spent in these otherwise insignificant places into fond memories.

ISSUE 1.2

Performance of Hostel 15 in GCs

Aaditya Taparia, Himanshu Mangal, Sahil Dhingra, Siva Chaitanya, Vaibhav Bhosale.

oon after entering the hallowed gates of IIT Bombay, most freshmen are left wide-eyed by the opportunities available to prove and develop themselves
be it in the fields of sports, cultural activities, technical activities or their academics. This year saw the inclusion of freshmen in inter hostel general
championships in some genres for the first time ever. These championships, commonly known as the GCs, serve to nurture a sense of unity among
the residents of each hostel, as every individual toils for perfection while competing for the honor of the hostel they belong to. Over the years, the Inter
Hostel GC Cup has become a matter of pride and dignity for which the hostel councils strive round the clock. Despite so much importance attached to
GCs in the institute, Hostel 15 this year wasnt allowed to be a part of all of them.
Until last year, freshmen were concentrated in hostels 1, 2, 3 and 4. To prevent these hostels from getting an undue advantage, they werent allowed to be a
part of the GCs. With the coming up of Hostel 15, however, it was expected that this would change. The inter hostel GCs can broadly be categorized to
three genres: Cultural, Sports and Tech. While freshmen were allowed to be a part of the Sports and Tech GCs, the Cultural GCs this year did not permit
freshmen participation.

Cultural GCs

Sports GCs

Tech GCs

Cultural events account for a major chunk of

the activities occurring in the institute, and
can be broadly split into seven genres: Music,
Photography & Fine Arts, Speaking/Debating,
Literary Arts, Dance, Dramatics, and Film &
Media. While the high prep GCs requiring
about a months time of practice - like Gyrations
(Dance), Main Dram GC (Dramatics) and Goonj
(Music) - did not allow freshmen participation,
low prep GCs like Debating and Literary Arts
GCs were open to freshmen participating as
open entries. Though it seemed unfair to leave
Hostel 15 out of some Cultural GCs, there were
valid reasons to do so. The rationale behind this
was that in the freshmen year, one cannot be
expected to perform at such a big stage without
proper amenities for practice sessions and
without the guidance of experienced seniors. The
overwhelming participation of freshmen in some
of the GCs was noteworthy.

Unlike the cultural GCs, the freshmen were

given an opportunity to represent their hostel
in the Sports GCs. The Sports Council felt
that students might have pursued some sport
and garnered the skills to compete with people
on campus during their schooling. This year
witnessed freshmen participation in the Sports
GC for the first time in recent memory. Their
participation helped increase interaction with
senior players while earning them recognition
for their outstanding performance. All in all, the
enthusiasm and performance of the freshmen
was commendable and the girls were rewarded
with a runner-up position.

The Tech GCs play a vital role in deciding the

General Championship cup. This year, we saw
an increase in the number of Tech GCs from
6 to 8 and the new competitions that were
introduced were low prep GCs to increase the
participation of students. Further, the weightage
was increased from 20% to 30% in the overall
general championship.

For creating awareness about and exposure to

the cultural events in the campus, the Institute
Cultural Council appointed cult mentors who
tried to ensure that freshmen participated
in Freshizza. Further, with the cultural clubs
functioning round the clock, there were enough
activities that the freshmen could explore. The
Cultural Council, encouraged by the Cult mentors
success this year, is now ready to strengthen it
by having a few third year seniors heading the
program to ensure more participation and make
sure that all the freshmen can benefit from this
scheme. For ensuring a better experience and a
suitable place for practice, a music room and a
dance room have recently been allocated. These
are expected to greatly benefit those hostelites
who will wish to practice for these events.

In our interview with the ex-GSSA Harmin

Shah, we were told that the selections and trials
for the teams were fair. The freshmen, however,
felt that in some sports, the NSO students were
preferred over others despite their performance
not being up to the mark in the trials, which
were held during practice slots. The council,
while taking responsibility for the same, has
assured us that this would be avoided in the
future. Moreover, despite there being over 800
students in the hostel and the various means
of publicity employed, the number of freshmen
actively participating in the GCs turned out to be
low. The Ex - GSSA suspects that the freshmen
lacked enough motivation, although their overall
performance was appreciable.
The Ex - GSSA said that the freshmen would
be a part of the next years GCs too. In addition
to that, the Sports Council is about to propose a
team of Sports Mentors comprising of third and
fourth year students, which would serve to foster
better interaction between the Sports Council
and the freshmen. To overcome the lack of
grounds in the hostel, the morning practice slots
in gymkhana grounds on every weekend will be
reserved exclusively for freshmen.

The Tech GCs this year included problem

statements related to electronics, logic,
aeromodelling, robotics, coding and Math n
Physics either individually or a combination of a
few of them. Upon the Hostel GSecs insistence,
freshmen were allowed to be a part of the Tech GC
this year even though they were not considered
for the overall Tech GC trophy. This was meant
to provide freshmen with a better exposure to the
technical scenario in the campus. The Overall
Coordinator of STAB, Ashima Mittal suggested
that the appointment of a representative from
Hostel 15 for technical activities would definitely
boost the efforts involved in getting freshmen to
participate in the GCs. There is already a Tech
Room available to freshmen in their hostel for
the GCs.

To sum up
With the freshmen being allowed to take part in
the GCs this year, it seems to have been a great
experience for those who took part. Performance
at such a big stage just in their freshie year
also helped spur their overall development and
increase their confidence levels significantly,
something which could not happen until the last
year. Those who couldnt find the time or lacked
sufficient interest would be well advised to shut
down their laptops for a while, as not doing so
might be regretted later..

Freshmen Newsletter

What is senior Hostel life like?

Abhijit Tomar, Devang Thakkar, Mansi Sood, Niranjan Thakurdesai, Pranav Shrivastava, Shantanu Thakoor, Shreeyesh Menon

ime flies, they say. As the first year draws

to a close, most freshmen have already got
various glimpses of the myriad facets that
make IITB life what it is - a beautiful campus,
hostel life, an exciting cultural and sports scene,
academics and various other pains. All this has
to have left them exhilarated and wanting for
more. In a matter of a few months, freshmen
will level up and set off to their allotted senior
hostels as sophomores.
While theyre still in H15, these senior hostels
serve only one purpose engendering excitement
and endless speculation. So, we decided to go
to each hostel and gather some input from the
respective residents. In addition to individual
hostel traits, we also find out what a PoR entails
in the sophie year, what kind of events sophies
bear witness to in senior hostels and the types of
seniors they are likely to encounter.

Hostel 2 - The Wild Ones

Rooms:
H2 has one of the biggest rooms in the institute
for sophies. Well equipped rooms with proper
spacing between beds, a medium-sized balcony
and sufficient storage space would make the
shift from H15 to this hostel a great experience.
Though there is a prominent mosquito menace
faced by the residents of this hostel, steps
have been taken by the council to combat this
problem.
Infrastructure:
Freshies would be disappointed at the state of
the washrooms. Puny sized toilets with leaky
taps and cranky faucets are likely to greet the
incoming students in most wings, though the
overall infrastructure seems to be in a good
condition. The Wild Ones pride themselves on
having one of the biggest TVs in the institute
in their lounge. Other highlights include a
well furnished pool room and an excellent
music room. Though the computer room is not
commendable, this deficit is made up for by the
well-stocked tech room.
Mess:
A hostel mess in IITB is no gourmets delight,
but the experience isnt as bad as it is commonly
projected either. The H2 mess might not be
the best mess in the institute, but it surely is
among the top ones, with a regularly updated
menu, high hygiene standards and gala dinners
every semester. The canteen also has a variety of
choice and is open to boys and girls until 2 AM
every night.
Hostel culture:
Over the years this hostel has churned out many
Lit heavyweights and is often referred to as the
Lit Powerhouse of the insti. As for sports, H2
is known to outperform most other hostels in
Table Tennis and football, with a respectable
performance in all other sports.

Council Structure:
Hostel secretaries and other sophomore PoRs:
After getting a peek at the complete spectrum
of ongoing activities in the institute, it is time
that the to-be sophomores formally take
up responsibilities for their favourite club/
organisation in the capacity of a convener or a
secretary. Sophies do the bulk of the work in
all organisations, whether they are Independent
Bodies like Mood Indigo and Techfest or the
hostel and cultural councils.
In the hostel council, sophomores are eligible to
apply for posts of hostel secretaries. With around
20 secretary posts in each hostel, there are ample
opportunities for everyone to vie for these spots.
The primary work of a secretary is to cater to the
needs of his/her specific genre. For instance, a
music secretary organises jam sessions, conducts
workshops and looks after the preparations for
the music GC. In addition to this, secretaries are
actively involved in organising the celebrations
for various festivals and contributing to the
preparations of PAF.
The election procedure for secretaries lays huge
emphasis on groundwork. The candidates are

Hostel 3 - Vitruvians
Rooms:
Spacious, well-maintained rooms will make the
move from H15 to H3 not so tumultuous, with
the balcony being the icing on the cake.
Infrastructure:
When it comes to infrastructure and facilities,
H3 stands pretty high in the rankings with all
rooms in proper shape. The music room is bigger
and better than ever after its recent renovation,
while the lounge, too, is decent with wifi routers
installed. The gym is well furnished and the
hostel has their own gym trainer as well. The
washrooms are clean and well maintained and
the absence of a laundry room is compensated
for by the washing machines on each floor.
Mess:
The mess is doing a good job as the inmates seem
to be quite satisfied with the quality of food
being served. The menu is changed frequently
to cater to the demands of the students.
Hostel culture :
Dramatics has been the pet cultural activity of
the Vitruvians and they have been consistently
dominating this field, making them strong
contenders for this years Cult GC. In sports,
this hostel has been the leader in Lawn Tennis
and Crossy over the past few years and has a
good standing in the overall tally as well.

expected to meet seniors in their particular field

and formulate a statement of purpose. Following
this, a soapbox is conducted in which the
candidates have to present their SoPs to seniors
and answer questions posed by them. This is
followed by the elections, in which all the students
residing in the hostel have the prerogative to vote.

Hostel allocation:
We had a talk with some HCU members to
get to know the procedure by which the hostel
allocation was carried out this time around.
According to former ISHA Abhijeet Pawar,
each floor was divided into 4 groups :
1. Consisting completely of B. Techs
2. Consisting of 20% B. Techs and 80% DDs
3. Consisting of 20% DDs and 80% B. Techs
4. Consisting completely of DDs.
These were then made into chits. Next, the G. Sec.
of each hostel picked around 3 chits depending
on the availability of rooms in their hostels. This
arrangement was done to ensure some uniformity
in the composition of wings. Care was taken so
that floormates ended up in the same hostels.

Hostel 4 - Madhouse

Rooms:
This is one department where H4 is found
wanting. Rooms are tiny and those moving in
from the spacious H15 and H4 (new wing)
rooms will definitely feel the pinch. Bunk beds
have been introduced in some rooms to mitigate
the crisis. They, however, have brought in new
problems - like air circulation for the lower
occupant and hassle of climbing for the upper
occupant.
Infrastructure:
H4 boasts of indoor games facilities like table
tennis, foosball and pool. Outdoor enthusiasts
might be disheartened to know that basketball
court is the only well-maintained court. But
with close proximity to the footer field and the
SAC, it is not a deal-breaker. There is the notso-well-maintained computer room (who uses
it anyway?) and a TV room that overflows with
sports-enthusiastic inmates whenever theres an
international fixture.
Mess:
The H4 mess used to be, what the H15 mess
is, a complete mess. Years of prayers for better
grub were finally answered last year and H4
got a new private mess. Decent food, along
with occasional gala dinners means that the H4
mess is currently among the better ones in the
institute.
Hostel culture:
ENTHU is the word that best describes Hostel
4. Famously known as Madhouse, H4 is the
liveliest and the most enthu-loaded hostel in
the institute.

ISSUE 1.2

Hostel 5 - Penthouse

Rooms:
Lets face it- if theres one thing the freshman
batch is dreading about the shift to senior hostels,
its that they wont enjoy the luxuries they are
experiencing in H15. Even by the standards of
old hostels, H5 has very small rooms. Adjusting
to these will be one taxing task.

Infrastructure:
The open design of the hostel will be a breath of
fresh air after H15s closed-off design, though.
The bathrooms in all the wings have recently
been renovated, and the hostel in general is quite
clean. They have dedicated PAF, music, and
dance rooms, a decent tech room, and a library.
Mess:
Around a quarter of the freshman batch had
been messing at H5 for the first few months of
the first semester. Those freshmen will testify to
the fact that H5 has perhaps the best mess on
the campus, with monthly menu changes. The
negatives? Older students say that the mess food
becomes boring after a while, and theres a lot of
rush during peak hours.
Hostel culture:
H5s cult scene has improved over the last few
years, and it stood third in last years cult GC.
H5 also does well in Tech GCs, having won last
years edition. Its performance in Sports GCs
is a bit lacklustre, though - with H5 currently
placed fifth - and it might be up to the freshies
to turn it into a hostel to be feared on the field.

Hostel 8 - Woodland

Rooms:
The room size of the hostel is on the better
side. Painting is in progress, so the sophie batch
coming in this year are going to get decentlooking rooms. Hostel 8 is definitely a hostel
vied for due to its great location near the footer
field, the tennis court and proximity to the
Campus Hub and the academic area. It also
houses one of the most popular hangout spot in
the institute, Brewberrys.
Infrastructure:
The washrooms are not in a very good condition.
But a renovation is on the cards this summer.
Recreational facilities include a table-tennis
room, a pool room and a music room. While the
overall sports facilities are up to the mark, the
basketball court can be better.
Mess:
The recently privatized mess has been doing a
satisfactory job and has been highly responsive
to the residents demands.
Hostel Culture:
Intra-hostel sports events see huge participation
from the residents and it also hosts events like
the WooFLe, or the Woodland Football League,
one of the most fun football events in the
whole campus. It also holds the annual hostel
fest, known as Junglefest. The special studness
quotient of the hostel, according to the seniors,
is its prowess in debates.

Hostel 6-The Vikings

Rooms:
The rooms here may not appear as the biggest
(after all, you are coming here from H15), but
are big enough for two people to live with
reasonable comfort.
Infrastructure:
H6 boasts of a great lounge area and one of the
institutes best music rooms. The recreational
space also includes a gym, along with basketball,
football and volleyball courts and a table tennis
room. A renovation of the washrooms is also
on the cards this summer, so that the incoming
sophie batch gets top-notch facilities.
Mess:
The general opinion about the mess food is
very positive. The inmates seem happy with the
private mess whose menu keeps getting updated
periodically.
Hostel Culture:
The hostel events include the annual Hostel fest
and Gala dinners. Also, H6 is definitely high on
PAF, with a team of enthusiastic veterans that
really packs a punch. Film and dramatics are the
forte of this hostel. In sports, the hostel excels in
squash and tennis. H6 also leads the tech scene
among the hostels, with pole positions in recent
years in the Tech GC.

Hostel 7 - Lady of the Lake

Rooms:
The rooms are a big let down with such a tiny
space and inmates will take some time to adjust
to such a small setting. Even so H7 is right
up there in the wish-list of freshmen soon-tobe-sophomores, being located by the verdant
locales of the serene Powai lake and whatnot.
Infrastructure:
The tech room, gym room, and TV room are
state of the art and the hostel has decent sports
facilities, but the maintenance is lax and the
general standard of cleanliness around the hostel
is also not upto the mark with debris from the
renovation not being properly cleared.
Mess:
H7 offers one of the best messing facilities in
the institute with tasty food and occasional
gala dinners forming a part of the package. The
mess is one of the USPs of the hostel with good
reviews from the inmates and high standards of
cleanliness.
Hostel Culture:
H7 has been the sports powerhouse for the
last few years. They have performed admirably
and consistently in all sports, and the GC
statistics completely reflect this. As far as cult
is concerned, the hostel is doing well in fine arts
and film and media. However, it needs to catch
up when other genres are considered.

Hostel 9 - Pluto

Hostel 10

Room:
The size of the rooms will be a huge let down
when the sophies move into the hostel since the
sense of space crunch is palpable. But the rooms
have been recently painted and refurbished,
making the experience more bearable.

Rooms:
Sophies moving to H10 this year will be
allocated rooms on a triple sharing basis. The
rooms are of a decent size but it would be a let
down for freshies coming from H15 used to
living in much more spacious rooms with just
a single roommate. Do also note that H10 is
strategically located between the main gate and
the academic area.

Infrastructure:
Facilities are excellent with the highlights
being the full length basketball court and the
spacious and well-maintained super lounge. In
general, the maintenance has been great after
the recent renovation. New washing machines
have been installed in the toilets and there is a
high standard of cleanliness in the hostel. The
only downside is the under-equipped gym.
Mess:
After years of waiting, the mess has been
privatized last year and it has improved by
leaps and bounds. The mess menu is still being
finalized but the mess is on the right track with
inmates opinions being looked into and general
positive reviews about the mess.
Hostel Culture:
H9 has consistently performed well in cult GC
and PAF over the years, with debating, dance
and dramatics being the strong points. The cult
scene is very active but the same cannot be said
about sports where the hostel is lagging.

Infrastructure:
All the sophies will be moving into the new wing
which boasts of a huge set of infrastructural
facilities. Overall, the hostel is very well
maintained with excellent hygiene conditions
and all the requisite facilities. Bonus point:
Elevators.
Mess:
H10s mess is counted amongst the superior
ones on campus. Its a privatised mess which
serves good quality food. Tea parties and gala
dinners are hosted here every semester.
Hostel Culture:
H 10 is undoubtedly the best girls hostel when
it comes to the cult and sports scene. Exciting
events are conducted every now and then, all
major festivals are celebrated here with a great
deal of enthusiasm.

Freshmen Newsletter

THE 6 TYPES OF wingieS YOU WILL MEET IN IIT-B

RG nahi! Im just lukkha during exams.

Aur bhai? Kaisa hai bhai?

His High-ness

GC machao! PAF machao! Enthu dikhao!

<Chirp, Chirp>

Illustrations: Parimal Chahande

Haan! Hoon mai maggu!

meet the team

Credits

Top Row: Shreeyesh Menon, Mukul Rahourei, Deepak Dilipkumar, Sagar Sheth,
Sagun Pai, Anamika Agrawal, Anukriti Chaudhari, Niranjan Thakurdesai, Kshitij
Jayakrishnan, Prakhar Singh, Siva Chaitanya, Kush Motwani.
Middle Row 1: Pranav Jain, Shantanu Thakoor, Suraj Shourie, Devang Thakkar,
Pallav Chaudhary, Shreerang Javadekar, Rutuj Shah, Abhilash Kulkarni, Jivraj
Karwa, Khagesh Kumar, Vaibhav Bhosale.
Middle Row 2: Jay Mardia, Rohan Jain, Mihir Bhosale, Shardul Vaidya, Niranjan
Jha, Nikhil Allamsetti, Akash Kishore, Pradyot Prakash, Parimal Chahande,
Utkarsh Kumar, Sahil Dhingra.
Bottom Row: Mansi Sood, Aishwarya Chandrasheker Amuda, Shreya Gupta,
Harshit Sahay, Chirag Chadha, Anshul Avasthi, Pranav Prakash, Abhijit Tomar,
Palka Puri, Rucha Walawalkar, Charvi Rastogi
Not pictured: Aaditya Taparia, Ashish Nanda, Dhruv Nigam, Himanshu Mangal,
Pranav Shrivastava, Sahil Khanna, Shudhatma Jain.
Design & Layout: Narendra Parmar

Signing In...
Hello all,
The Freshmen Newsletter has far exceeded our own expectations in terms
of, both, the popularity it enjoys among freshmen and the utility it provides
to their daily lives. With this edition, Insight has finally produced an entire
print issue with a team of panelists almost entirely composed of freshmen
a feat that would have been unimaginable in the past. We do hope that
you will enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed creating it for you. Please
feel free to contact us for feedback or suggestions by dropping a mail to
insight@iitb.ac.in
Wishing you happy end-sems and happier summers!
Anshul Avasthi - 9833355238
Chirag Chadha - 8879006151