And thus spaketh the Lit Secy of Hostel 5 ...
Hi Freshman! This is your Lit Secy speaking. Hey wait ... don't run away. It will take just 3 minutes for you to read this and who knows, it may be helpful. So go on. I had been writing this for somtime and finally manage to do it. And Lo! here comes a sermon for you.
So, through JEE and right into your first year at IIT? That must be feeling great. Believe me, the most enjoyable and wonderful time (as all seniors would also tell you) during your stay in IIT is the first year. This is one helluva time of your life. You freak out the most and do a lot of things in your freshie year. That's because
1. There are lots of things that you can do.
2. You have time to do those 'lots of things'.
Freshie year is one time where you can pick up hazaar fundae and I am sure you will regret if you do not. You just cannot aford to let this wonderful time just pass by.
Now one wonders 'How is one suppose to pick up fundae?'
a. Go to a seniors room on Sunday morning and ask him "Bhayya, bhayya ...
kuch phunday de do."
b. Search them here ... search them there ... search them everywhere.
c. Decide that no fundae from seniors are required and formulate all of
them amongst the freshie batch itself.
d. Ask the Lit Secy for fundae (ahem ahem)
Well, the answer is NONE of the above. As a friend and a senior, I feel it is my duty to enLITen (forgive me for the atrocious pun) you how to pick up fundae. Mind you, I am NOT giving any fundae ... I am just telling you how to pick them.
1. MIX. The best way to get fundae is by interaction. Just mix. If you think, one fine day you can walk into a seniors' room and ask him "Hey senior buddy, Cool dude here! Give me some Phundae", I am sure you will get something you will remember. The best way to learn is by working with them. Remember ... MIX!
2. WORK. Work your ass off. No better way to learn anything than having a hands-on experience. Never ever be scared off hardwork. Learn to say 'yes' to work. And remember, there are no short cuts in life.
3. READ. Just read anything to everything. Read novels, newspapers, novels, magazines, novels, comics, novels, course books, novels ... Just read. That is the best way one can improve your Lit-giri.
4. LISTEN. Again from anything to everything. Listen to some good music, news ... Keep your ears open and absorb all thats happening around you. And yes, avoid cack sessions (this is one serious suggeston that is going to help you save a lot of time.) Use all your time that you might spend cacking in doing something constructive. Evaluate everyday of yours and ask yourself, 'What constructive work have you done today?'
Alright, enough of sermon-giri. Off you go ... but before you go let me tell you something. Now that you have just arrived with bundles an bundles of bubbling enthusiasm and energy, we better channelise them to proper use ... to learn, to fight and to compete. So lets get going to create a Cult scene thats possible not just in H2, H4 and H8 but also in H5!! Let us kick some a**.
Thats all from my desk. So long and thanks for all the fish.
Before you leave, here is a small list of "The Lit Secy suggests ..." A must read for all of you (to start of with):
Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
Love Story - Erich Segal
Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy - Doughlas Adams
Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
Foundation Series - Isaac Isomov
Asterix, TinTin, Calvin and Hobbes (my favourite)
PS: Save this copy and read it after 2 months. May be you will realise the importance of what has been said. And may be it will also help you evaluate yourself again.
Zishaan M. Hayath
Lit Secy, 2001-02