First Impressions - Episode 7

The next room in the hostel, Room 37, was populated by Aditya Balaraman and yours truly. When I started writing this series, I was not planning to write about myself. It was mainly because I thought it would be retarded to write about my first impression of myself. I have known myself for a very long time, and I don’t think too many people would be interested in hearing what I thought about the freedom of eating whenever I wanted, pooping wherever I wanted and still be considered adorable. In retrospect, I have revised this view. I am now going to take some time to effectively vilify myself using a more relevant timeframe, at least to show that I am not partial. 

My late school life was what you would typically expect from an overly ambitious IIT-tuition going nerd who actually had no clue what any of that was about. My weekly time was chiefly occupied with just about managing to get through school and eighteen grueling hours of classes in extremely sweaty conditions, and hence I really did not have much time to introspect. But for once the adage that “If you work now, you can rest later,” worked, and all this work got me into NIT Trichy at least. I finally had the freedom to do nothing. And my impressions of hostel life had their effects on me.

A person keeps changing. My route on joining college was more akin to that of a novice programmer’s source code. If you don’t get it right at first, just label it version 1.0 and scrap most of the stuff later. I won’t be going into details, but suffice to say, I like it and that’s all that matters. And it was all so ‘cool’, Except for innate geekiness, an internet addiction and a hardcore-gaming habit. They are actually not very hard to get rid of, comprising a single step really – let go of the mouse.

Another interesting fact, which somehow complements the earlier impression (well maybe not, but I am going to say it anyway) - it was when I entered NITT that I actually tried my hand at writing. I wanted to write something that people would relate with, make them react, scream and cry. I should have gotten a job at Microsoft writing error messages. But I didn’t realize it at that point and that dream went down the drain.

I did finally manage to stop studying, at least until the night before the exam. And I learnt several valuable lessons by doing that - classes were the time to get my day’s quota of sleep, I could know nothing and pass and that much of my education would comprise of studying copies of other people’s notes and that as long as I had company to do all of this, staying idle is better than working. But everything you like is bad for you in some way, so I wouldn’t recommend trying any of these.

This regression was mostly because I was not good at just studying any more, and somehow acquired this habit, that if you do something, either you do it well or don’t do it at all. That’s probably one of the reasons I did not get into any team sports (apart from the ones on the computer). Or maybe it was because the closest I got to actually playing was as a stand-in goalie for the first year hockey team, where my entire role comprised of wearing a lot of padding and still managing to stand up.

I did start doing a lot of other good stuff though, and I finally cultivated an interest in physical activity. And the constant power-cuts, water-cuts, dust and insects, generally bad food and internet access or lack thereof didn’t faze me, or stop me from having fun. That part did lead to a lot of close shaves though - constantly getting by in all semesters, labs and projects. People would not believe it if I narrated how we got all of this stuff done, but it all worked out in the end. So all of this generally boosted my impression of myself, that I was much more capable than what I gave myself credit for. So I truly believe that hostel life has changed me in this aspect, maybe for the better.

Coming to the end of this post, I never really thought I could pull off something like this. My actual thought was that who would be interested in reading such drivel, the ramblings of a jobless guy about himself. But then again, what are friends for?

First Impressions - Episode 6

Room 38, part two. Karthik G. The great. The gallant. 98.3G. The gentle giant. Guardian of the virgins. The etymology of his nickname - G - is in a microcosm the story of his reputation. Anyone looking at it from the outside would see a stylish acronym of his initial. It wasn't that. There is a line “I was staring straight, into the shining sun,” by Floyd. A portmanteau of that gleaming quality of GK's head and dripping honey evolved into his nickname. But it's only natural for anyone who first hears of him to form such glorious fantasies about his persona. If my introduction to him had been along the lines of the masses who worship him, I would have mostly been overawed. But it was not.

The first time I met G was when I shifted to the common room of Agate hostel. I had no clue who he was, despite his background. That very day, the warden had spent the evening repeating his speech about hostel decorum in all the floors. But the two of us ended up in VK's room well past the curfew time (the rule lasted three days), playing loud music and someone told on us. During this interval, I had gotten sleepy. So I had gone back to my room and was about to drift off when GK woke me up saying the warden was calling us.
I don’t remember what the warden said or what my excuses were. Most of it was reflex, while my mind was holding a debate with itself about how bad the ventilation in our room was. The warden got tired of our passive responses in the end and went his way, and now I woke up properly. As this was a quite an exciting occurrence, it had to be discussed and so the two of us went to VK’s immediately. He seemed to know GK very well and he started telling us about how the two of them got caught entering the hostel after curfew the first day.

Thus, it was as partners in crime that I came to know more about him. After that, we got bolder and started to frequent the Agate terrace, especially since it was out of bounds. And there, it was GK who was the main storyteller and I got to know more about him. Several night shows later, we were very good friends. At this point, I began to wonder whether anyone could be this awesome. I was cynical by nature and GK did not fit that mould. Thankfully, I was eventually vindicated. And since I have trashed the rest of my friends so far, I will play up this angle with GK as well.

It began with him wanting to 'slide' from Metallurgy to a different department. Over the course of the first semester, he had expressed his desire towards various departments, and his efforts led us to believe that he wanted to slide up all the way to ECE. In the end, the sliding concept was abolished, most probably due to this guy's incessant inquiries. Then, he started disappearing. He would be in the room playing cards with us one minute and wandering near the trees in the darkness with his phone for company the next. There were rumours, but very little concrete evidence to go by (at least until our first semester holidays).

By second year, we were roommates. At this point, we got to know the greatest problem in GK's life. Any normal person is always part of a certain peer group, two at most, and goes to the events of this group. GK, being the male equivalent of a 'Miss Congeniality' (just the very social part), was a member of every group, attended every event and reached all of them by the time they were winding down. We originally used to think that he reserved this honour just for his roommates, but we found out that we were not exclusive.

Then came the activities. GK wanted to do everything, and most of them would end in very comical situations. It started with one night of playing Mafia (a party game), when he really shouldn't have. Then, it was him playing DotA (a computer game). He was atrociously bad, and his team lost to a junior clan. The last was the clincher - poker. Effectively, it was a loss for the rest of the poker community when he played, with his infinite buy-ins. This was one guy who would not count his chips. You could even throw in his first day of football, when he got hit in the crotch and came limping back to the hostel room. Even quite recently, when he arranged a bus for people to return to Bangalore from the convocation. Town buses from Trichy to Thuvakudi at least have headrests. This one didn't. There were so many such incidents.

To sum up the narrative, my first impression of GK was as the cool trouble-maker, which burgeoned to a form of mild respect then promptly faded with familiarity. But imperfections aside, there is enough and more for any mortal to look up to him in awe (as many people probably do. We've received reports about how he is considered to be the 'cool senior' budding minds aspire to become). In conclusion, all kidding aside, G is great.

First Impressions - Episode 6

Room 38, part two. Karthik G. The great. The gallant. 98.3G. The gentle giant. Guardian of the virgins. The etymology of his nickname - G - is in a microcosm the story of his reputation. Anyone looking at it from the outside would see a stylish acronym of his initial. It wasn't that. There is a line “I was staring straight, into the shining sun,” by Floyd. A portmanteau of that gleaming quality of GK's head and dripping honey evolved into his nickname. But it's only natural for anyone who first hears of him to form such glorious fantasies about his persona. If my introduction to him had been along the lines of the masses who worship him, I would have mostly been overawed. But it was not.

The first time I met G was when I shifted to the common room of Agate hostel. I had no clue who he was, despite his background. That very day, the warden had spent the evening repeating his speech about hostel decorum in all the floors. But the two of us ended up in VK's room well past the curfew time (the rule lasted three days), playing loud music and someone told on us. During this interval, I had gotten sleepy. So I had gone back to my room and was about to drift off when GK woke me up saying the warden was calling us.
I don’t remember what the warden said or what my excuses were. Most of it was reflex, while my mind was holding a debate with itself about how bad the ventilation in our room was. The warden got tired of our passive responses in the end and went his way, and now I woke up properly. As this was a quite an exciting occurrence, it had to be discussed and so the two of us went to VK’s immediately. He seemed to know GK very well and he started telling us about how the two of them got caught entering the hostel after curfew the first day.

Thus, it was as partners in crime that I came to know more about him. After that, we got bolder and started to frequent the Agate terrace, especially since it was out of bounds. And there, it was GK who was the main storyteller and I got to know more about him. Several night shows later, we were very good friends. At this point, I began to wonder whether anyone could be this awesome. I was cynical by nature and GK did not fit that mould. Thankfully, I was eventually vindicated. And since I have trashed the rest of my friends so far, I will play up this angle with GK as well.

It began with him wanting to 'slide' from Metallurgy to a different department. Over the course of the first semester, he had expressed his desire towards various departments, and his efforts led us to believe that he wanted to slide up all the way to ECE. In the end, the sliding concept was abolished, most probably due to this guy's incessant inquiries. Then, he started disappearing. He would be in the room playing cards with us one minute and wandering near the trees in the darkness with his phone for company the next. There were rumours, but very little concrete evidence to go by (at least until our first semester holidays).

By second year, we were roommates. At this point, we got to know the greatest problem in GK's life. Any normal person is always part of a certain peer group, two at most, and goes to the events of this group. GK, being the male equivalent of a 'Miss Congeniality' (just the very social part), was a member of every group, attended every event and reached all of them by the time they were winding down. We originally used to think that he reserved this honour just for his roommates, but we found out that we were not exclusive.

Then came the activities. GK wanted to do everything, and most of them would end in very comical situations. It started with one night of playing Mafia (a party game), when he really shouldn't have. Then, it was him playing DotA (a computer game). He was atrociously bad, and his team lost to a junior clan. The last was the clincher - poker. Effectively, it was a loss for the rest of the poker community when he played, with his infinite buy-ins. This was one guy who would not count his chips. You could even throw in his first day of football, when he got hit in the crotch and came limping back to the hostel room. Even quite recently, when he arranged a bus for people to return to Bangalore from the convocation. Town buses from Trichy to Thuvakudi at least have headrests. This one didn't. There were so many such incidents.

To sum up the narrative, my first impression of GK was as the cool trouble-maker, which burgeoned to a form of mild respect then promptly faded with familiarity. But imperfections aside, there is enough and more for any mortal to look up to him in awe (as many people probably do. We've received reports about how he is considered to be the 'cool senior' budding minds aspire to become). In conclusion, all kidding aside, G is great.

First Impressions - Episode 6

Room 38, part two. Karthik G. The great. The gallant. 98.3G. The gentle giant. Guardian of the virgins. The etymology of his nickname - G - is in a microcosm the story of his reputation. Anyone looking at it from the outside would see a stylish acronym of his initial. It wasn't that. There is a line “I was staring straight, into the shining sun,” by Floyd. A portmanteau of that gleaming quality of GK's head and dripping honey evolved into his nickname. But it's only natural for anyone who first hears of him to form such glorious fantasies about his persona. If my introduction to him had been along the lines of the masses who worship him, I would have mostly been overawed. But it was not.

The first time I met G was when I shifted to the common room of Agate hostel. I had no clue who he was, despite his background. That very day, the warden had spent the evening repeating his speech about hostel decorum in all the floors. But the two of us ended up in VK's room well past the curfew time (the rule lasted three days), playing loud music and someone told on us. During this interval, I had gotten sleepy. So I had gone back to my room and was about to drift off when GK woke me up saying the warden was calling us. I don’t remember what the warden said or what my excuses were. Most of it was reflex, while my mind was holding a debate with itself about how bad the ventilation in our room was. The warden got tired of our passive responses in the end and went his way, and now I woke up properly. As this was a quite an exciting occurrence, it had to be discussed and so the two of us went to VK’s immediately. He seemed to know GK very well and he started telling us about how the two of them got caught entering the hostel after curfew the first day.

Thus, it was as partners in crime that I came to know more about him. After that, we got bolder and started to frequent the Agate terrace, especially since it was out of bounds. And there, it was GK who was the main storyteller and I got to know more about him. Several night shows later, we were very good friends. At this point, I began to wonder whether anyone could be this awesome. I was cynical by nature and GK did not fit that mould. Thankfully, I was eventually vindicated. And since I have trashed the rest of my friends so far, I will play up this angle with GK as well.

It began with him wanting to 'slide' from Metallurgy to a different department. Over the course of the first semester, he had expressed his desire towards various departments, and his efforts led us to believe that he wanted to slide up all the way to ECE. In the end, the sliding concept was abolished, most probably due to this guy's incessant inquiries. Then, he started disappearing. He would be in the room playing cards with us one minute and wandering near the trees in the darkness with his phone for company the next. There were rumours, but very little concrete evidence to go by (at least until our first semester holidays).

By second year, we were roommates. At this point, we got to know the greatest problem in GK's life. Any normal person is always part of a certain peer group, two at most, and goes to the events of this group. GK, being the male equivalent of a 'Miss Congeniality' (just the very social part), was a member of every group, attended every event and reached all of them by the time they were winding down. We originally used to think that he reserved this honour just for his roommates, but we found out that we were not exclusive.

Then came the activities. GK wanted to do everything, and most of them would end in very comical situations. It started with one night of playing Mafia (a party game), when he really shouldn't have. Then, it was him playing DotA (a computer game). He was atrociously bad, and his team lost to a junior clan. The last was the clincher - poker. Effectively, it was a loss for the rest of the poker community when he played, with his infinite buy-ins. This was one guy who would not count his chips. You could even throw in his first day of football, when he got hit in the crotch and came limping back to the hostel room. Even quite recently, when he arranged a bus for people to return to Bangalore from the convocation. Town buses from Trichy to Thuvakudi at least have headrests. This one didn't. There were so many such incidents.

To sum up the narrative, my first impression of GK was as the cool trouble-maker, which burgeoned to a form of mild respect then promptly faded with familiarity. But imperfections aside, there is enough and more for any mortal to look up to him in awe (as many people probably do. We've received reports about how he is considered to be the 'cool senior' budding minds aspire to become). In conclusion, all kidding aside, G is great.

 

First Impressions - Episode 6

Room 38, part two. Karthik G. The great. The gallant. 98.3G. The gentle giant. Guardian of the virgins. The etymology of his nickname - G - is in a microcosm the story of his reputation. Anyone looking at it from the outside would see a stylish acronym of his initial. It wasn't that. There is a line “I was staring straight, into the shining sun,” by Floyd. A portmanteau of that gleaming quality of GK's head and dripping honey evolved into his nickname. But it's only natural for anyone who first hears of him to form such glorious fantasies about his persona. If my introduction to him had been along the lines of the masses who worship him, I would have mostly been overawed. But it was not.

The first time I met G was when I shifted to the common room of Agate hostel. I had no clue who he was, despite his background. That very day, the warden had spent the evening repeating his speech about hostel decorum in all the floors. But the two of us ended up in VK's room well past the curfew time (the rule lasted three days), playing loud music and someone told on us. During this interval, I had gotten sleepy. So I had gone back to my room and was about to drift off when GK woke me up saying the warden was calling us. I don’t remember what the warden said or what my excuses were. Most of it was reflex, while my mind was holding a debate with itself about how bad the ventilation in our room was. The warden got tired of our passive responses in the end and went his way, and now I woke up properly. As this was a quite an exciting occurrence, it had to be discussed and so the two of us went to VK’s immediately. He seemed to know GK very well and he started telling me about how the two of them got caught entering the hostel after curfew the first day.

Thus, it was as partners in crime that I came to know more about him. After that, we got bolder and started to frequent the Agate terrace, especially since it was out of bounds. And there, it was GK who was the main storyteller and I got to know more about him. Several night shows later, we were very good friends. At this point, I began to wonder whether anyone could be this awesome. I was cynical by nature and GK did not fit that mould. Thankfully, I was eventually vindicated. And since I have trashed the rest of my friends so far, I will play up this angle with GK as well.

It began with him wanting to 'slide' from Metallurgy to a different department. Over the course of the first semester, he had expressed his desire towards various departments, and his efforts led us to believe that he wanted to slide up all the way to ECE. In the end, the sliding concept was abolished, most probably due to this guy's incessant inquiries. Then, he started disappearing. He would be in the room playing cards with us one minute and wandering near the trees in the darkness with his phone for company the next. There were rumours, but very little concrete evidence to go by (at least until our first semester holidays).

By second year, we were roommates. At this point, we got to know the greatest problem in GK's life. Any normal person is always part of a certain peer group, two at most, and goes to the events of this group. GK, being the male equivalent of a 'Miss Congeniality' (just the very social part), was a member of every group, attended every event and reached all of them by the time they were winding down. We originally used to think that he reserved this honour just for his roommates, but we found out that we were not exclusive.

Then came the activities. GK wanted to do everything, and most of them would end in very comical situations. It started with one night of playing Mafia (a party game), when he really shouldn't have. Then, it was him playing DotA (a computer game). He was atrociously bad, and his team lost to a junior clan. The last was the clincher - poker. Effectively, it was a loss for the rest of the poker community when he played, with his infinite buy-ins. This  guy just would not count his chips. You could even throw in his first day of football, when he got hit in the crotch and came limping back to the hostel room. Even quite recently, when he arranged a bus for people to return to Bangalore from the convocation. Town buses from Trichy to Thuvakudi at least have headrests. This one didn't. There were so many such incidents.

To sum up the narrative, my first impression of GK was as the cool trouble-maker, which burgeoned to a form of mild respect then promptly faded with familiarity. But imperfections aside, there is enough and more for any mortal to look up to him in awe (as many people probably do. We've received reports about how he is considered to be the 'cool senior' budding minds aspire to become). In conclusion, all kidding aside, G is great.