Heartbreaks & Dreams!
The Girls @IIT
Reviews
A light read that narrates the IIT story from a girls perspective.
Financial Express
Parul has done a neat job in keeping the interest alive till the last page. There are no shocking revelations or extremist views but Parul has managed to tell the touching tale with a lot of heart.
The Hindu, Metro Plus
Mittal hasnt minced the scenes, sounds and the subject of her book to make a repetition .... The classroom scenes in the novel are interesting.
The New Indian Express, Edex
This is a book for all those who could never imagine that IITs had girls.
The Week
The non- male has arrived in the literary world.
Mail Today
Told directly and honestly, in very simple words, the tale of Tanu and her friends is sure to drive you down the memory lane.
Desicritics.Org
Heartbreaks & Dreams!
The Girls @ IIT
Parul A. Mittal
Srishti
Publishers & Distributors
Srishti Publishers & Distributors
N-16, C. R. Park
New Delhi 110 019
First published by Srishti Publishers & Distributors in 2010
Copyright Parul Alok Mittal, 2010
4th impression, 2011
Typeset in AGaramond 11 pt. by Suresh Kumar Sharma at Srishti
Printed and bound in India
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers.
This book is dedicated to my mother and my father who
ignited and supported my dream to go to IIT.
Acknowledgements
There are several people who have contributed in one way or the other in making this book happen. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all.
First of all I would like to thank Sharat Singh, my ex-boss, for telling me that I can not continue to work reduced hours and helping me quit my job. Second in the order to be thanked is the now famous, my IIT-D batchmate, Chetan Bhagat for writing Five Point Someone. Ever since I read it five years ago, I have been itching to get a girls perspective out to the masses.
I would like to thank Amitabha Bagchi, author of Above Average, for reading through my very first draft and highlighting the basic flaws. Nirupama Subramanian, author of Keep the Change, who went through my manuscript revisions twice and gave me useful insights and suggestions. My very close friend, Sonal Bansal, with whom I discussed the progress of my book daily during our evening walks. Shivani (Singh) Kapoor and Pooja (Sharma) Goyal who regularly kept asking my books status and helped in proof-reading. If not for this book, I would be a partner today at Intellitots with them. I would also like to mention Puja (Kharbanda) Gupta, Chinar (Kapoor) Mittal, Ramaya Venkataraman, Harish Bansal, Anoop Sandhu and Amarinder Dhaliwal who went down the memory lane and recounted their IIT days for- me. My neighbour Reena who read my manuscript and was surprised by what all happens at IIT. I also want to thank Punam (Mittal) Gupta for sticking with me through my four years at IIT-D even though at times it meant she was boycotted by other girls in the hostel.
My brother Mohit Agarwal and his wife Nidhi for agreeing to feature on the book-cover and for being my loyal supporters. My mentors in the publishing world Pranav Johri, Sharik Currimbhoy,
Sujit Saraf, R Sriram, Anurag Batra and Kanishka Gupta. Sonu Mittal for designing my book cover and Rajesh Ramakrishnan for clicking the photographs for the same.
Lastly, I take this opportunity to thank my one and only husband Alok Mittal for his blind faith in my book and unwavering conviction that it will see the light of the bookstores. Not only did he lend an ear whenever I needed one, he also helped me visualize the male characters in this book. I wish he reads this book one day even though he doesnt read fiction. My girls Smiti and Muskaan who patiently waited for mumma to get out of the writers shoes and my in-laws for being there, while I was lost in the plot, the characters , and the story improvisations.
Realising a dream
I | had my aim clear very early in life. I wanted to outshine my father. Its very normal to think thus but I wanted to be different. I wanted to prove myself to the world. I wanted attention- something the middle child misses out many a time. |
I was only eight years old, when I saw his photograph in a newspaper cutting. He was from a small village in Rajasthan but that did not prevent him from becoming a state topper, the article said. The only graduate among seven brothers and no less than a genius for me....that was my father.
It was two years later, at a cousins wedding that I heard about IIT Delhi. Apparently this was Indias most prestigious engineering college and universally considered a hard nut to crack. I knew instinctively then, that this is where I was going to prove myself to the world.
I was born and brought up in Delhi but after fourteen years of living there, we moved to a small town in Vadodara, Gujarat. The initial euphoria of shifting to a new place evaporated soon enough. A new language, a smaller residential accommodation, and different schools...well, the change was palpable. It was here that I met Sandeep, my fathers colleagues son who was preparing for G.
What is G? I asked Sandeep out of curiosity.
Oh! G! Its the joint entrance exam for the five IITs across India, he said. I will be taking the test next year.
Really, thats incredible! I want to join IIT as well. I said.
It wasnt until a week later that I figured it wasnt G. It was JEE, the abbreviation for IITs Joint Entrance Examination.
With single minded determination, I started slogging it out for JEE immediately after the class ten board exams. The following year I joined a correspondence course which streamlined my efforts and helped identify my strengths. I had butterflies in my stomach the day the results were announced. My cousin called to tell me that I had accomplished an All India Rank of 212.1 was elated. When the official letter arrived, Papa and I made our way to IIT Mumbai to decide my major.
Based on my rank, I could either opt for Electrical Engineering (EE) at any of the IITs, or apply for Computer Science (CS) at IIT Kharagpur. Given my fathers preference for Delhi, the verdict was out. Before long though, I was on my way to IIT Delhi, realising my dream.
On my own
I was standing in the hostel courtyard looking lost when a pretty girl came up to me, Hi, I am Puja. First year Mechanical Engineering (ME).
I am Tanu, Electrical Engineering (EE). There was a tinge of pride in my voice given the fact I was clearly one up on her for EE meant a higher JEE rank. Puja gave me a warm, welcoming smile. I liked her instinctively.
Which room? she asked, looking at the bulky suitcase that I was carrying.
G2. You? I asked.
Cl 2, she replied.
These numbers didnt make much sense to me at that time, but Puja knew her way around. While she gave me the directions to G2, someone called her, and I went about trying to locate my new abode. Fascinated by Enid Blytons boarding school stories, especially the Malory Towers series, I had always wanted to experience hostel life. I craved independence and here I was, finally on my own in a hostel. What more could I ask for?
