The Shez n Hez of An Engineering College

Disclaimer
This article is based mainly on the experiences of students of CS/IT department. Any resemblance to life in any other department is purely coincidental but empathically understandable. It bears no offence to the top rankers and concedes to the notion that engineering is an equally enriching and rewarding career option as any other field.

Moving On…
Who is an Engineering Student??? Well, to put it in simple words… An engineering student is student who is supposed to be technical, is born natural but made to do supernatural tasks at the cost of four most wonderful and could-have-been-eventful years of his or her life.
Other than the definition, there is nothing to oppose the non-existing parallelism in the two categories of and Engineering Student… the She-eng and the He-eng.
No, I am not taking you to a Chinese Engineering scenario. The She-eng is a girl student of an engineering college whereas the He-eng is the boy student of the same. This is no gender discrimination but just a schism on the observed variance in the behavior of two students of the same institute.
Prior to joining the institute, we all are exhilarated with imaginations of a new life… the college life. The guys may dream of having cool gangs, night-outs, suttas and late night boozing. While girls may recollect the beatific scenes from bollywood flicks like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai , RDB n DCH ( well the last two can be counted for guys too) and may have retroactively vitalized their wardrobes. But reality hits them within two days of commencement of the first semester. The joy of cracking the entrance and joining an engineering institute, which obviously elevates your social status, slowly renders away and you are left gleaning the we-will-atleast-have-BTech-degree type feelings. Though, one later realizes that a bigger aim of getting placements is waiting ahead. And as soon as they get their first set of assignments or quizzes, they morph into the main leads of this article, the he-engs and the she-engs.

The She-eng:
• Give them assignments, you’ll have them done on time.
• Exams… not problem boss. Course almost (ALMOST) done till midnight.
• Maximum number of 9 pointers are known to belong to this species.
• Heavy circulation of movies, especially romantic and non-porno, is on till the network connection is alive.
• Gossips: Well, the content is relationship-centric. Who’s-with-who types. It may sometimes divert to the racking nature of the college system or unworkable solutions to lab assignments.
• Seldom get credit for any contribution to their project codes or such technical stuff. Well, this cant bring an argument as only a few She-engs are actually interested in coding and stuff. Most of them just do it for the sake of grades.
• No. of students pursuing engineering out of choice is much lesser than the no. of students pursuing the same due to parental or peer pressure.
• The victims of a “MYTHS”, “its easy for them coz they are girls”, “The whole system is feminist”, “they are here for a degree to get married off nicely, why do they need to slog??”, “blah..blah..blah..”. Give them a break!!!
• Hardly anyone of them plans for Masters in Technical stuff, they are not game to trip up again. Or even if anyone of them plans for MS, they can be found frisking for institutes providing less technical or non-technical courses.

The He-eng:
• Give them an assignment, then, give them the solution too.
• Exams!!!! No problem boss!!!! They’ll somehow manage to know the course till midnight.
• Technically superior species.
• Always accusing the 9 and 10 pointer girls for getting marks because of being-a-girl… and simultaneously busy in playing LAN games even when they have exams on the calendar.
• Heavy circulation of movies, especially pornos, is on till the network connection is alive.
• Always wonder what are girls doing in a technical institute but at the same time die for their presence.
• Always busy showing off their Technical Know-How’s and What’s-in’s, especially when they know that the receiving station is a dumb terminal.
• Using their technical skills in fetching proxies for “blocked” sites, which may lie in any category.
• Gossips: They may be chit-chatting about gadgets and stuff (to show who’s a bigger geek) but the content is girl-centric. Think of cheapest talks and you can have it from them. Though some sensible stuff can still be expected.
• Most of them planning for Masters in Technical stuff only.
• No. of students pursuing engineering out of choice is much greater than the no. of students pursuing the same due to parental or peer pressure.
• Generally, its hard for them to take it when a she-eng scores higher in a technical subject. So they just blame… “Oh.. she’s a mugger.. I can’t blindly mug things you see”.

Well, it go on like this. But I’ll stop here as its just about divaricating among engineering students. If you think that I am being a feminist, then, gimme points for the He-engs or if you think I missed out some points on the she-side, again feedback is most welcomed. You points will also be added. Hehe… enjoy.

5 Things we learn in our Lecture Theatre

1. Clemency

Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue; it makes it a requirement for survival.

-----Celebrations of Life

Tolerance is actually a requirement for survival. I mean, who can understand this better than a student who has short attendence and so he or she has to sit through the drag. In fact, almost all the students pay a visit to this place for attendence only. I can bet that if suddenly our lecturer starts teaching in spanish, none us would mind. Rather we would blindly continue nodding our heads!!!

2.Endurance

“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.”

After reading point (1) you must have understood the rhythm of this blog and so you can very well comprehend what I mean by endurance here. But its not just sitting through the lecture. There is a constant war inside you. Sitting in the lecture theatre, one is at constant altercation with self. The questions like, " Why did I come in when my friends were planning to go out?", "Where is this lecture going to take me?", etc. generally pop up in one's mind and the outside view from the window garnishes the resentment. But this is the test. You've got to sit and keep sitting. Fight your thoughts. Parry the sluggishness in you, for if you sleep and the teacher catches you, you will be chucked out without attendence and your sole purpose will be defeated.

3. Team Work

No, I am not talking about the synergy between student and the teacher but that between the student and the fellow mates. All of us are here for the common aim. So it is our duty to prevent the other person from sleeping by occasional pinching or prodding. Keep them busy in topics such as latest gadgets, teacher's diction, crush-list etc. Do it for the sake of humanity. And yes not to forget, show full cooperation in case of surprize tests or proxy checking. This is the essence of life in the Lecture Theatre.

4. Discovering our hidden talents

During the lecture, we may resort to drawing strange figures on the back of our notebook, which may even be a cartoon sketch of the teacher. By the end of the lecture you may end up unearthing the hidden artist in you. You may proudly add one more hobby in your CV. Not only drawing, you can also discover the hidden writer in you by penning down your jeremiads like me!!!

5. Optimism

You witness the live example of the quotation After the darkest night, comes the dawn. This is when your frustation reaches the ultimate level and you are about to drop dead, the lecture is over. See... It came to an end na. Besides, lecture theatre provides a romantic ambience. Everthing becomes still, clock stops ticking, you can hear your heart beat and blah blah... so its a nice chance to daydream for a full hour or to keep looking at your crush in the class, if any.

This was what I learnt. I am sure your experiences must have been equally enriching. If you got enlightened on some more aspects than those written above please share through comments. I will include them as well, with your name.

After all Lecture Theatres are not that bad!!!

"I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains. "

Staying Alive

College days are the Golden Days... crap. When you are in JIIT, it becomes the greatest challenge for you to survive through it. After all the lectures, assignments, minors and not to forget, the gruelling projects, you can actually feel each and every nerve of your brain pumping. Yet we stand nowhere... thanks to our curriculum. So, to abate my miseries as a JIITian, I am here to share a few of my experiences with all the readers. All the engineering students may actually empathize with us.

(Psst.. the names are changed)

Languishing in Prof.Kumar's lecture at thirty five past two, post lunch, I was wondering if there is an Almighty who is watching us struggle against the most apathizing lecture of our life.

I appreciate the great effort and perseverance of my colleagues who are here to share this life-time experience with me. All of us now surely have a story of survival to tell our kids. If there is anyone who could understand us in this whole lecture hall, its us. All for one and one for all.

I could very well understand what my fellow mates are going through by their helpless expressions. Arti flaking off, Priya sitting in front of the prof and trying her best to read her novel. Kiran and Adi, on my left, were trying to salvage themselves with music, it was Kiran's ipod actually. Dev on my otherside is fighting to crack problems on ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS!!! Sitting calmly, I am trying to capture this desolating moment in my diary, trying to cash up my vocab. This is just about the five of us. But the air of boredom truely permeates through the hall.

There are some people who are a real pain in the neck, like, Ms. Doubtfire. She had an ulterior motive in coming to this lecture and listening to it.... Oil-firing the torture. That female is actually putting up her doubts!!! Well, I too had a doubt.. What the hell are we doing here???

I guess, we, the students, must always be prepared for this slaughter since the day we join this institute.

While I was about to spill some more ink on this paper, the scheduled 50 minutes of the lecture were up. This rose our restlessness to leave the lecture hall. Just then Arti shouts, "Time up", though in a low-fi, but loud enough to bring a sigh of relief to everyone.

BUT BUT BUT... Kumar still refuses to give up. Its his race against time. I feel like yelling "Is there a MAN in this hall who can stop this inhumane execution of our emotions???". I think I know the answer...

Its ten minutes since the lecture's time got over and we are still here. Helpless and appalled.