Geek Gazette – The Then IEEE Magazine

Amidst the boredom of mid semester examinations (date - 2^nd April 2012, the second day of nostalgia as Divy Vasal marks it), Yaadein recently launched and of course with no intention whatsoever to study, comes the second blog in the nostalgia series. I thought that I would pen down about my first student group – Geek Gazette, A.K.A. IEEE Magazine, as we used to call it then. Being a part of its “First” batch and seeing it evolve from what it was in 2008 to what is it today, I do feel proud of us and want to thank everybody who has contributed to it.

Sometime in September 2008 I got to know from Chandranshu about IEEE recruiting members for “some” magazine. Neither was there any introtalk, nor had I heard about it from any senior/ friend before. I thought I would give it a try, because I always considered myself a Geek and thought that there would be no place better than this to show it off. So there we were on the library steps ready for the recruitments. The first round was to write a review on any latest piece of technology, hence, I chose to write to write the laptop that I had bought then, DELL XPS M1530. Wrote a 2 page review on it and left for a Fresher’s Chapo at Divine. Later on had an interview and was informed that I have been selected. I was quite happy as this was the first group I had been selected for.

However, I was always confused; as to why was it called the “IEEE Magazine” (reminder: the magazine was given the name Geek Gazette much later and thats why the group is called the ieeemagazine). Were my articles going to be posted in the international some IEEE publication or what? Nevertheless, we had our first meeting, presided by Vidit sir and Bhumika maam. When I saw them, I did get a feel that someday I wanted to have their confidence, be leading a group as well as they do and much more. So then we were a small team of 30 members and around 12-13 of them in the Editorial Cell. In the first issue I volunteered to write on “Evolution of Mobile Communication”. This was my first try at writing an article for a magazine and yes my first draft was not quite worthy of appreciation. Then I further worked on it with Arnav sir on improving it and did somehow manage to produce a bit better article. At the same time in every meeting we had a good long discussion on choosing a name for our magazine. As far as I can recollect the final contenders were “Nerdwana,” “Geekwana” and of course “Geek Gazette” and somewhere in November we finalized that “Geek Gazette” it would be.

Then around February 2009, we had very few or almost no meetings. I started wondering what could be the reason behind it. However, it was not too far that we had a post on the group with the first draft of our magazine with my name in the “Editorial Section” and my article on Page 11 of the magazine. It was in April that we had our magazine finally printed and distributed.

Then came July 2009; time to start our work on the second issue. I had volunteered to work on 5 issues for this issue. I can recollect a few of them to be “Storage Timeline,” “IMEI Tracking” and “Technologies and Gadgets.” We did have a good start with this issue, but something seemed to be wrong in the magazine. It was later on that I felt that somewhere the feeling of group spirit was missing in this group. We did manage to see the then first years, however, only in chapos. We had Divyanshu sir working alone on editing articles and finalizing them, no one seemed to know about other cells in the magazine. Moreover, others reacting to Geek Gazette as “ye kya hai” disturbed me even more. Still somewhere within myself there was a Silver-lining that things would improve and that too fast.

Now fast forwarding to my 3^rd year, wherein we had with us Arnav sir, Gunjan sir, Ghanshyam sir and Gaurav, sir all set to change the face of the magazine. The word “group” started inculcating into GG members. We had chapos now, many more than what we used to have earlier. We started celebrating our joys together (the first one being Gunjan sir’s selection in Google and Arnav sir’s in ZS!). There were Solani walks, issue release chapos, canteen chapos and much more coming our way. We started printed more than 1000 copies of our magazine. And the semester ended with the first “GG Farewell” with the then second and first yearites working tirelessly to make it a memorable one.

Coming to the final phase of my stay at Geek Gazette, that is my 4^th year. Now there I was, as the President of this magazine, though a bit scared as to how only two 4^th yearites would be able to control a group which has grown from 30 members to mammoth 65 members, expectations doubled, a level of achievement set by our predecessors  to be taken forward and much more. Nevertheless, we set off for our 6^th issue. With group dynamics getting just better, more Solani walks, more bakar sessions, better interaction came the time when I started calling GG as “my” magazine and “my group”. The way all followed me to the C Class club to celebrate my birthday, it made me feel just too special. However, there were other things which needed attention. In the next semester, there was just one thing which made me feel that GG was short of being “the awesome” group – trip. We sat down in Radhakrishnan Bhawan at Rajat’s room pondering over the various options we had in hand and finally decided in for Nainital. The number joining us felled day by day to a meager 20. Yet we were determined to go and at the end of it words don’t suffice to explain the fun we had there. It was then that Mafia seeped into the heart and soul of GG! The Trek- when all (almost all!) had lost hopes and then while coming back down everybody walking together as a single unit with hands in hand and the joy when we finally reached our Hotel just can’t be expressed. Rose, just like a mother, cooking food for juniors, Ghanshyam sir, our dada-ji types loving senior, our family couldn’t have got any better. Finally, we also launched our own Website, kudos to the team for it! To wrap it all our rendezvous with Rasmus Lerdorf !

From a group of 30 students collected together to print a magazine to a family of 65 members working hand in hand to spread the Geekyness! Now almost everybody on the campus being aware of what Geek Gazette is, Any Guy being pissed of by the trip photographs being uploaded, the magazine being distributed equally amongst all branches as compared to the time when only CSE, EE and ECE used to get it, have our own website, having some of the finest writers, artists, 'netas' and finance guys of the campus, GG has moved on to be the amongst the best.

I am not sure if I have justified my role as a President of GG, yet I do hope that I give this group the best I can in the remaining 1 month I have in this institute. Yet, there is much more for this group to achieve and I am very much sure that the following generation of GGians would take this magazine to levels which I can’t even think of right now.

PS: This blog entry solely represents my views on this group and should not be generalized or taken as a fact.

A Journey through the years

I was in a perfect mood to sleep with the clock just about to strike 3 (AM), when it just struck me that this wonderful place, IIT Roorkee, where I spent the best 3.5 years of my life, was mine only for a mere 5 more months. So I started thinking of the life and time at IIT Roorkee; from the time when life at Roorkee just started and where it is today. All the awesome images that I have of my time spent here, still fresh and clear, would remain in images only. Hence, I felt that there couldn't have been a better time to pen down these thoughts so that these memories remained there with me forever and start with my first ever blog entry.

The story took ground on May 30, 2008 when the JEE result was out. With a rank of 807, I was quite determined to join IIT Roorkee with Electronics rather than opting for Chemical or Production at IIT Delhi. On June 30, 2008 my fate was decided with the Counselling result being out and I was alloted Electronics and Communication Engineering (R14) at IIT Roorkee. It was on July 31, 2008 that I stepped into this institute unaware of the times, happiness, challenges and the memories it would give me over the span of the next 4 years. It was the time when I saw our main building with awe and pride.

With my first encounters with mess food, having to get up every morning at 6AM by myself, climbing the then humongous library slope, washing clothes and most of all being away from Mumma didn't seem to excite me at all. To add to it, the NCC parades at weekends made me curse that time when I had stupidly enough filled up the NCC form instead of opting for NSS. However, at the same time it was the beginning of new friendships, being introduced to the two terms 'bakar' and 'chapo', meeting new people, learning new stuff and living in a totally new environment. Inspite of all this, my home sickness did force me to visit home twice in August itself.

If you ask any of my friend as to what I did in my first semester at IIT Roorkee, you are bound to hear something of this sort: “Wakes up at 6 in the morning, gets ready and attends all the classes, washes clothes whenever he finds time in between classes, studies and sleeps by 11PM.” Though true to a great extent but not wholely! Facing 7 exams in 3 days, preparing the Anchoring script for our freshers, my first birthday outside home, giving interviews for groups (and yeah getting selected for Geek Gazette, the then IEEE Magazine!), losing out kilos, being renamed as “Gargi” and finally the semester ending with me scoring a perfect 10! Those 4 months just seemed to have passed away.

My next semester saw me getting selected to IMG (I hardly expected this). I still remember seem to remember my interview quite well. How did I ever know that IMG would be changing in many ways, my sleeping hours, feeling of being a part of a group, nights out and much more. Also the launch of the very first issue of my magazine, Geek Gazette, with my article on “Evolution of Mobile Technology”, did add to my happiness. Moreover, placement chapos by seniors, issue release chapos, preparations for IMG farewell (I do remember Luv sir saying that we were lucky enough to have 3 more years in this institute, but time passes by too fast and probably I will be saying this line soon!) and yes after much convincing, the permission to go rafting with my friends. So, here my first year comes to an end.

My second year beginned with a positive note of my branch change. On the basis of my academic performance, I was alloted the branch Computer Science, so some more new friends and a new stream for me. Also this year introduced me with the idiosyncrasies of the E&C department. As we shifted to our new hostel, Azad Bhawan (situated in the Shehar), there were increased visits to IMG Lab and Nescafe. Visiting Alpahar for a Samosa between empty slots, handling the tortures of Mr. B.Chi.Chi, our lovely (actual word avoided!) BM-201 teacher, the first of convocation chapos, working on launching iFest website, Cracken and some parts of Cognizance website, the tortures of a 4 hour Digital Hardware Lab, Dominos lighting up our hopes of a comfortable stay in Roorkee, pleading the professor to not lodge a mass bunk on our batch, IMG trip (I do regret missing the first trip because of the NCC exam), staying up for whole two nights preparing scrapbooks for IMG Farewell and finally another trip to Rishikesh marking the end of my second year.

3^rd year started with mixed feelings and tensions regarding internship. With me preparing my resume for the first time, trying to decide on my future career path, increased responsibilities from both groups IMG and GG being a 3^rd year, struggling through interview questions for internships marked the initial months of this year. The rejections from Microsoft and Adobe did lower my morale, however, the awesome way in which I was informed of my selection in IBM IRL covered up for everything! However, CSE chapos every now and then were a welcome relief. Moreover, I started learning dealing with the administration with continued visits to the Deans for IMG Work, though many a times frustrating but still a great learning experience. So finally I decided that I would pursue further studies and hence not so confidently, but after a lot of motivation and coaxing by Vinayak and Aditya I finally booked my GRE date. Hence, came the only time when I learned GRE words, during lectures. This did lead to Niyogi sir creating “the modulo n” theory and yeah also the first B of my academic record. Nightouts for the launch of Srishti website and Yaadein, completion of Film and Literature reports, never before did I complete my work so close to the deadlines !

Finally arrives the daddy of all semesters: “4-1”. Placements and courses both at their peaks. After returning to insti after internship, I can remember spending the first few nights in IMG lab only, holding discussions in the Inverter room as 4^th yearites! Moreover, being the President of Geek Gazette, I wanted to put in and every effort to make it a success. With already such a high pressure and load, even a small additional work seemed to be a behemoth task. I just kept praying for September to be delayed as it marked the starting of written tests fo Companies. However, written tests did start and we had Direct-I coming in first followed by Adobe. So preparations for placements aggravated and as time drew nearer so did my anxiety. The semester passed by so quickly, I couldn't really keep a track of what was going on. Then came November and also the written tests of all big shots, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Oracle. Then started the presentation season, we had to prepare a project or a presentation for all our courses (why in 4-1 only?). Then came the biggest shock of all, the BTP presentation, having not even finalized the topic, I had to present what all I had done in it.

Finally started my end semester exams with a feeling that the interviews are not too far. Then arrived November 29, 2011 the first day of placements and Facebook visiting the campus for recruitments. Although, I was not much optimistic about my selection I did try and gave it my 100%. So there was I getting ready with my suit and documents and left for the placement cell. The interview process started at around 8 AM in the morning and ended by around 5:15 PM in the evening. Crossing every round came as a huge sigh of relief and at the same time brought with it nervousness of what is going to happen next. After 3 rounds of technical interviews and a final coding round we were informed that the result would be out by 11PM. I along with Abhinav visited the mandir in order to pacify the ongoing thoughts in our mind, followed by dinner at Dominos aimed at the same. Finally, the result came at 1:15AM with me being selected for Facebook Inc, USA. For the first 10 minutes I just couldn't digest it. This was a time of utmost happiness for me with my parents coming to Roorkee the next morning just increasing my happiness. Followed by my friends getting placed, it just made me happier!

On this awesome note, the semester ended. After that completing the ANN project, I returned home for a time full of enjoyment and laziness. But the story doesn't end here, as per unofficial sources, I did manage to hit a perfect 10 this sem!

There is so much more I want to write about, the endless bakar in Divy's Room, Paul's dance, mine and Dua's addiction with Angry Birds, Bhatna's not so warming and friendly voice, friendly fights with Abhik, Guru ke lecture, Jhoolta hua Lalu, wakeup calls by Riju, Deeksha helping out with chocolates at the day of placements,  disturbing people (specially Bachi) while getting bored in classrooms ( O--("Q) ), rushing to DBMS class and returning if our name has already passed in the attendance, making fool of M.Techs in all lab exams, our sasta Chief and Sita, but probably will have more blog entries talking about them.

This institute has given me so much that a single blog is not sufficient for me express my time in Roorkee. Right from GG and IMG to IBM and Facebook, the unending dance in the chapos, bakar sessions, fights and much more which just cannot be expressed in words. Such a strong bond has been developed between me and this institute, my batch-mates, co-IMGians, juniors and everything related to Roorkee, that parting away from it will not be an easy task for me. So with this I close my first blog, and with a hope that my last semester would be a memorable one, full of enjoyment, happiness and laughter!