An Interview with Mr. Saransh Srivastava, IIT KANPUR(AIR: 121, JEE ADV 2013)

1)      Hello. Thank you for talking to ComfiStay. How are you doing these days?

I’m doing good, still getting used to work life.

2)      Let’s start from the beginning. How was your academic and social life before you shifted to Kota?

My academic life was good by most standards; I was consistently at the top of my class in school, and it required minimal effort for me to maintain that. My social life was restricted to a few great friends, but was healthy enough.

3)      What was going through your mind when you were deciding on moving to Kota?

This decision was pretty clear in my mind for two reasons: I wanted to leave home and be on my own, and I wanted to study Computer Science at the best place possible. Kota would help me achieve that. I was not planning on looking back.

4)      What factors did you consider while choosing your coaching?

I knew I wanted to join Bansal Classes because they started it all, and they would know how to guide students through every scenario. I was so sure if this, I did not even sit for any other institute's entrance exam.

5)      What were the initial changes that you encountered when you moved to Kota?

I saw thousands of students walking the floors of the institute, it almost made me dizzy. I realized how many people are here to achieve the same goal as mine. I also learned to deal with terrible food. I remember one of my first meals at my mess, I couldn’t swallow the food and just went back to my room that night. I wasn’t willing to admit it but I was probably homesick.

6)      How did you manage to maintain the academic and entrance preparation simultaneously?

I enrolled myself into a school that only required me to sit for their bi-annual exams. This is fairly common in Kota. So all I had to care about was JEE preparation at my coaching center. The syllabus is basically a superset of the CBSE curriculum, so there really wasn’t much to prepare for school exams. Contrary to popular belief, the teachers at coaching centers teach concepts with sufficient clarity so as to be able to write descriptive answers.

7)      How was your social life at Kota? Do you want to give any advice to the thousands of aspiring engineers who come to Kota every year? What to do and what not to do?

I took a couple of months to open up with people in Kota, but after that I was pretty social. There were a bunch of social activities one could do there, ranging from sports to playing Counter Strike at dimly lit cyber cafes.

My advice to the people who come as aspiring engineers is to really think about it and be really sure that want to do this. A decent, hardworking student can always get into an IIT, but I’ve seen far too many IITians with absolutely no idea why they are there, and it’s not a good feeling. Also, remember that your parents agreed to burn a whole lot of cash so that you can get some good education, don’t forget that before you start your 10^th FIFA game of the day. If you should be attending a class right now, be there.

8)      If its not too personal, what was your lowest point at your life in Kota? How did you redeem yourself?

The lowest point of my life in Kota was close to the end of my time there, when my old classmates were graduating from school. Seeing their farewell pictures and memories all over social media made me question my decision of leaving home and coming all the way to Kota. It was some sort of existential crisis. There very only a handful of people left in my hostel by that time, and the feeling of loneliness didn’t help.

I came out of it by deciding that now that I’m here, I will at least try to finish what I started. Even if the decision turns out to be not worth it, at least I wouldn’t have wasted two years of my life.

9)      For majority of the society, you are a success story, thanks to the fact that IIT is your alma matter. What role did IIT play in your life? Or do you think IIT is just another milestone, albeit a better one?

IIT has brought about a great deal of humility in me. There are so many brilliant, passionate people working on great problems in all domains. From a social standpoint, I am aware that many people consider it to be a great achievement, but for me it’s just a stepping stone. IIT has surely made me well aware that there are many, many things to be done.

10)  What are the 5 commandments that you live by in your life?

I wish I had 5 commandments to live by. Surely would make my life a lot easier to organize.