This is an article that talks about the happenings and behavioral changes that occurs to a fresher as the time passes in their first year at IIT KGP. And this article mostly concerns the UG population of KGP which are majority here.

Freshers’ Welcome

This is the place, “The Main Building” from where your journey starts with freshers’ welcome in Netaji Auditorium where you are assigned a new tag other than being IITian, yes I am talking about being KGPian. At moments during the presentations, you feel like being a shooting star, out on the verge of the rest of your life. Now comes the series of nights when society people leave no stone unturned to woo the freshers to get in their Introductory Seminar, giving them a variety of reasons to come. The most interesting reason that I remember is,

“aa jaana yaar, bandiya aa rhi”.

Even if you didn’t care about “bandiya” earlier in your school days, the male-female ratio at this place and the environment around you tempt you to explore the existing opportunities.

There are certain pre-existing factors that mainly decide your future actions as a fresher and they are namely,

• if you are a DepC(Department Change) aspirant.
• if you are single.

Incidentally, the majority of the freshers lie in the above-mentioned category.

Durga Puja Vacations

As the semester proceeds and you try to settle down, you unsettle yourself with the contrasting “fundae” that you get from every new senior you meet especially the society guys who try their best to make you feel the importance of CV over CG and so-called “Position of Responsibility”. As a result, many people enter various societies and others who couldn’t get in curse themselves. As the DP vacations approach (first vacation after coming here), you see the brisk sale of college t-shirts with many interesting things printed on them, e.g.

“I worked very hard to wear this t-shirt.

#IITian”

This is also the time when the treasure hunt for freshers is held by the Azad Hall. By this time, as guys are well versed with DC++ and its dark secrets, they start appreciating it. Now the time comes when you go home for the first time after coming to college and also you get the opportunity for the ultimate show off that you were craving for, these many days.

Lingo

By this time you must have started noticing the increasing use of the word “Peace” by yourself. This is very obvious for you as you have lived in “KGP, The Land of Peace” for a considerable amount of time.

Illumination Fest and End of First Semester

After coming back to campus when you are overwhelmed by the adulations at home, you are greeted by KGP with yet another grand event i.e. The Great Illumination Festival during Diwali. Also, this is the time when you come to know more about “The Hall Tempo” as people work all night to make the best illumination among all the halls.

Now as the end-semester exam gets nearer, you learn the art of scoring marks just before few days of exams given you little experience in mid-semester exams. It is worth mentioning here that the subject called Electrical Technology must have made you toil really hard if it was a Chem-Sem.

Spring Fest and Kshitij

When you are back from home after the winter vacation where you got your results of the first semester, it is upcoming fests which revive your subdued tempo. Also, guys are excited about the mass visit of “bandiya” in the campus in hope of some favor as they have realized their fate being in the campus for these many days. Spring Fest and Kshitij is the time when you live one of the best moments while being in KGP and you will cherish it throughout the year. The visit of eminent personalities and performers of the country and the world is particularly fascinating for the majority of us as this is our first such experience.

Holi and Hall Day

The beauty of KGP is that here we celebrate the ever existing festivals in a unique way and every academically loaded time is followed by some exciting event to keep up your tempo. As this is totally new for freshers, it’s a great experience for them. Now it’s time for Holi, most part of which is literally played in the Gyaan Ghosh Stadium.

Hall day is also one of the most sought-after time every year and for a fresher, it’s totally a new concept. Perhaps introduced to enhance the inter-hall (particularly male-female) interactions among students, the objective is hardly met given the male-female ratio at this place.

Elections and General Championship Results

The year finally ends with these two major events mainly associated with your hall tempo. For many of us, this is perhaps the first opportunity to vote. Many of the freshers participate actively in these as you see largescale campaigning with the candidate during hall days or change of display pictures on Facebook with the candidate standing in the election. The negative conception about typical college elections changes, given the well-organized election system we have at this place.

The End

Now if you remember yourself before coming to this place, you realize your transformation in every dimension of your life. The memories that you make in this first year you’ll remember for the lifetime and always cherish it.

This article was originally published on my medium page and can be found here too.