GSec GKeshari

I do not remember if I have written a post about my friends before; I have probably not. But this time it is special. The post is about my very close friend Govind, who celebrates his birthday today!

I have not been in IITB for days; first due to my prolonged illness and the actuarial science exams. The illness cost me a lot of days and I am having a hard time completing studying for the CTs. I am staying at home, and the saddest part about the CTs this time is probably that I had an exam today and I couldn't be in college to wish Govind. So I take this opportunity to say something about him and our friendship in this post, which I will probably never say to him in person. But if you are new to this blog, you must be wondering...

Who the hell is Govind??

Govind is my classmate in IITB. He is the General Secretary of our Math Department. He hails from Chandauli District of Uttar Pradesh. Govind is one smart chap. He is most of the time topping the class in the incessant tests and quizzes that are held every week or so. He is an NBHM scholarship awardee. No mean feat, that is (He bought a laptop with the money!). He is very witty and always has the class in splits with his jokes and has great timing too (His "Gappu ka Pappu peeche hai!" is legendary!). He is always dependent on Arun for solutions to math problems, but seldom realises that he is good at them too. That is one area where I have found him lacking-Self-confidence. If Govind develops that in him, it will be really great for him.

Govind and I during Freshers' 2009

But what makes Govind and me such great friends?

We share the same ambition. Govind wants to be an IAS officer. He is the first person I know who shares my ambition. I have found in him the friend I really wanted all these years. None of the people I knew before him, think like me. Govind has been through a lot. He is the first person from his family to study science and that too in an IIT. He has also had to face many struggles that a small town boy might face. He cracked the BHU entrance test and graduated in Math. And then stood 2nd in JAM to come here in IITB. He had to face many problems. He tells me he studied in the light of a kerosene lamp for his exams. His house was not too far away from BHU but transport was a problem. It used to take him four hours to cover just 30 km to get to his house. I can never fully understand his struggles and sacrifices, but I am happy and proud of him that he made it this far.

How the IAS became his ambition is another story. He had a divine revelation one day when confronted by his parents to leave his lady love. "Yeh tum kya kar rahe ho? Desh ke liye kuch karo," he said to himself. And he dumped his girlfriend. Just like that. Govind and I spend hours talking about the economy, the WTO, policy-making, state of our country... I am amazed by his maturity and awareness about issues and challenges facing our country and proud of his fire-in-the-belly to do something about them. We learn so much from each other. If you ask him, he'll say that he learnt a lot from me. But his experiences have been an eye-opener for me. They have brought to me stories of an India I never knew. "Tune desh nahi dekha hai,"he tells me. And it is so true! One thing I am happy about is, that just like he has come here to my hometown, even I have been to what we can safely call his hometown, Varanasi.

His marks have tumbled this term as he is bracing himself to chase his ambition after IITB. I am sure he'll crack the Civil Services Exam next year. He is working hard, and his knowledge is increasing exponentially these days. His grip over English has also improved. You can see that from his Tweets.

What makes Govind so special to me?

Like I said before, he is the friend I always wanted. I have many friends, but none like Govind. He has been an inspiration and I consider myself fortunate to be his friend.

To the only IAS Officer I personally know:

Happy Birthday Govind!

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The Karnala Conquest

Yesterday, the Department of Mathematics, IIT Bombay organised its first 'official' trip of the year to Karnala Bird Sanctuary, on the Bombay-Goa Highway near Panvel. We hired the 'official' IIT Bombay bus, to take us to Karnala. After a breakfast of 'Pohe' and tea; we began our climb up to the Karnala Fort within the sanctuary. Among us, were experienced trekkers like Arun, Siddharth, and even me! In spite of clear instructions to wear the necessary footwear, some people still showed up in slippers! The climb was arduous for some and many began to give up after walking only a few hundred metres. But the others egged them on. Ojas pulled a muscle and Abhishek fell on his leg, spraining it. He was limping for most of the trek. But Ojas and Abhishek both showed gumption and carried on steadily up the steep trail to the fort. Pappu and Navin were leading the trek and were the first to reach the Fort. I was trekking along with GSec Govind, Cult Secy Bunk, Ashish, Yogendra, Uma, Riddhi and Manoj for most of the while. We used to stop at various spots and soak in the view from my binoculars. Everyone used my binocs to see the sprawling Sanctuary below. The 450 metre Fort is reached through a 4km trail that has many perils along the way. This made it a bit 'risky' as Bunk put it. Due to the hot and humid weather, and inexperience of many of the trekkers, many were gulping down water by the buckets and we ran out of water as soon as we reached the top. Thankfully Arundhati had some water with her to give to Ojas, Siddharth and Abhishek as they at last made it to the top. The first and foremost principle of trekking is: conserve water.

The top of the Fort offered a breathtaking view of the Sanctuary below. The climb back down was more difficult than the climb up, as we had to negotiate some dangerous sections of rock cut steps. The trail was laid with loose stones and mud and that made it quite slippery. Many slipped, me too. But thankfully no one was seriously hurt. After we came down, we had lunch and whiled our time away playing Dumb Charades before we embarked on the journey back to IIT Bombay. Our class played 'Mafia' on the bus, and many of us are now hooked to the game. Poor Abhishek was the only big casualty and was left nursing his terribly sprained leg after we came back. A special mention has to be made about Bibek, who played football till 3am in the night before and trekked with us in spite of running a fever of 100F. Siddharth, Yogendra and Govind showed environmental consciousness as they kept the trail clean by picking up plastic bottles thrown away by others.

Below is a Picasa slideshow of photos of the Karnala trek taken from my cam. The pics taken by Abhishek can be seen on his Picasa site.



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