PART TWO- LIFE AT SRM
Life at SRM:
“Why SRM?” People ask me. I secured 92 percent in my 12th, I was ranked 10th in Kanpur, though I could not clear Advance, I cleared IIT Mains exam, I was getting multiple NIT colleges, also if I would have self-studied for another year, I could have cleared Advanced as well. The reason was simple. Firstly, Bhaiya obtained enough marks to get into SRM, secondly, mummy believed that if both of us stayed together, I could help bhaiya in his studies and ease his understanding of the subject matter so he could also graduate with proper marks and secure a decent job in the end. SRM is indeed a private Engineering college, a college for those who have a lot of money. All we knew during that time was that ‘engineering’ was the only door to attain jobs. So, we chose SRM. I enrolled in an Electronics and Communication course and strived to maintain my rank right from the very beginning.
After securing ninety-two percent in my twelfth standard, I garnered a full scholarship at SRM University in 2013. Bhaiya could not secure the full scholarship, hence my parent’s earnings went to his education. My parents had to move mountains to get both of us educated, somehow papa managed 2.5 to 3 lakhs for the 1st year to get us admitted to the college. He could not get a loan in the 1st year so he took out all his savings just to admit bhaiya at SRM. No government bank was ready to give us a loan for the second year because bhaiya did not secure a good rank. As far as the private banks were concerned their interest rates were too high. For the second year, we asked a private bank in Chennai, who gave us a loan at a 17 percent interest rate.
There is a saying that goes, “You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.” This is something that we both learned at SRM. We got 7000 per month from our father, out of which 4500 we reserved for the rent, the rest of the amount was kept for printing assignments, projects, and food. Since we could not afford to stay at college hostels, we rented a small room 4
km away from the college. The room was on the top floor. It was a life full of ordeals. The 1st struggle was the realization of the fact that we had to live and survive in the oppressive heat. Living in Chennai was itself a challenge for both of us, but choosing to live on the top floor so we could save money was no less daring in my view. The classes used to start at 9 and thus we got up early and walked for miles to reach the college. On the college campus too, we had to walk for 2 km and then climb the 9th floor to reach our class.
The 2nd struggle was regarding the food. We skipped preparing for our lunch, so we could save money to have dinner. We adopted a strategy to fill our stomachs during the day: My friends informed me about the mess of 1st-year students who stayed in the hostel. There was this crazy incident that happened with us there was no strict checking of ID cards of the students who came to eat at the mess, so bhaiya and I often went to the mess to have our lunch. One day, we both were caught and we were asked to pay the penalty. We were fined 1000 each, which meant we were left with not more than a thousand rupees that month. That month we even stopped having meals during the night due to the shortage of money. Knowing very well that papa would come under more mental pressure (he was already under the pressure to pay his EMI and he would have done anything to make sure we can cope with the shortage after paying the fine), we decided not to inform him or anyone for that matter. We planned to cut down our expenses in the best possible manner and survive with whatever that we were left with. So, we did everything we could to cope with the hunger that month- like eating alternatively, tying cloth to our bellies, marking the potatoes in our stock with the initial letters of the days in a week, and ensuring that we were eating enough to leave the rest for the upcoming days. It was like surviving on a deserted island.
When two of our dear friends (who also stayed in the same building and were also monetarily afflicted) got to know about our shortage they immediately provided us with some money so we could buy some vegetables and cook our meal. The nights were
unbearable because of the extreme heat. Bhaiya and I have seen and tasted almost every dimension of plight because of the dearth of money. The fact that we bravely withstood our tough times is something that will always stay with us.
My mother has been such an unshakeable woman ever since I can remember. Since rice and wheat were costly in Chennai, and since they grew on our small land, mummy traveled to Chennai from Kanpur in the unbearable heat with ten to twelve bags of cereals. Not to forget, it used to be a long journey and she traveled in a sleeper coach three times each semester, just to bring us food. Meanwhile, she gave us every single penny before heading back to Kanpur.
Throughout those 48 hours of long, inconvenient journey, mummy maintained to compromise with her requirements and managed with the last hundred rupees that she used to keep after giving us all the cash. Mummy has played a pivotal role in shaping our identities. Mummy had enrolled in a proper music course as a student, she made us sing and dance when we were kids. If there has been anything that gave us comfort during those tough times, it is our love for music. On a lighter note, playing tabla was a cakewalk for me, I enjoyed every minute of it. We listened to the music played on the radio while having our meals. Even now, I can properly code only when I am listening to music.
In my first semester, I secured a 9.95 CGPA. I was the university topper in my first semester. One of the professors was assigned to keep all the records of my performance and based on that feedback the university continued to give me scholarships. I consider myself a life-long learner, the idea of exploring and evolving in the best possible manner has been my motto ever since I can remember. I participated in all the college events and joined multiple clubs but that eventually started hampering my performance to some extent.
In 2015 I was in my 4th semester, and one day, the college professor who kept my records called me and alerted me to tackle my marks prudently so that I can sustain my scholarship. Surely, this alarmed me because I knew that we are not in a position to take another loan. The next day he called me and asked me to help a medical professor from SRM Medical college with his project. The project aimed at developing a system to detect breast cancer. This required a thorough knowledge of python and machine learning. I was left with no choice but to assist him if I wanted to continue my scholarship. All that came to my mind during that time when I heard the term ‘python’ was a species of snake.
If there was one thing that never appealed to me during my years of education was ‘the computer. ‘As I never had any access to computers while growing up, I was so perturbed when I was recommended to provide technical support to him. Having no access to computers since childhood was one thing, another was that I always had this deep-seated fear of damaging computers if I touched them. I never in a million years thought that computers could be my cup of tea. My college application was also filled by a guy at the cybercafé. Physical education was the subject that I opted for instead of computer application in my high school. During my college days, my classmates would easily do their assignments and case study using their laptops and computers, whereas, I struggled a lot with basic technical skills. So, I did everything manually.
I told the medical professor that I might help him with statistics and probabilities (I was good enough to get super grades in all six subjects in every semester exam) however, I needed some time to meet his demands. He saw in me, the zeal to learn, I was a bright student and I wasn’t backing down and so he decided to stick with me even when I lacked the necessary knowledge of what he was looking for. I informed a friend about my task and my infirmity with computer-related things. He took me to the college library. The College library was my go-to place, there was a provision to use the computer which had an excellent internet connection at the cost of five rupees per hour. I was introduced to google YouTube and other websites for the first time. That was one of the turning points in my life. After my classes, I sat for 6 hours in the library- I started devoting my hours to learning python language, meanwhile. In short, I devoted myself to learning this new language through and through. Indeed, eventually, I got a good grip on it. For a technically challenged person like me, it was a life-changing experience. I even understood how to leverage statistics for practical purposes and many more.
Semesters came and went and I kept learning everything I could get hold of through the internet. My linear progress took a backseat during the last year of my college life when every other person that I knew in my college had a job, save me. It was partly my vanity that caused me to land in such a situation. My cut-off was sky-high. I felt I deserved better. I was allowed to sit for all the companies that came to my college but I neglected almost a hundred mass recruiting companies such as TCS, Wipro, Infosys, and Tech-Mahindra. I knew python, which was new to many but others knew eight to ten languages. I believed that knowing one programming language was enough to work in companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Little did I know that I was under a great delusion because these companies were looking for more than what I knew. I was quite restless after that and even devastated during those days. Bhaiya on the other hand could not qualify for the aptitude round. We both went back home after our seventh semester.
This is Sumit Shukla’s real-life story shared in his own beautiful words with storyofsouls.com
Sumit’s story link to part one:
https://www.storyofsouls.com/a-story-thats-worth-sharing-sumit-shuklas-real-life-story/
Sumit’s story link to part three:
https://www.storyofsouls.com/a-story-thats-worth-sharing-sumit-shuklas-real-life-story-3/
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