You're dirty and insufferable, and I love you.

It seems like a rite of passage that all bloggers who are also IITians go through. I am referring, of course, to writing about the place, the people and the experience in general. You can never get away with not having an opinion. This is my letter, from a slightly tramautised lover to IIT Kharagpur, my home for the last three years. 

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Dear KGP,

I have wanted you since I was 16 and living a cloistered life in up north in the Himalayan foothills in North Bengal. The promises you held were far too alluring for a teenage girl in a small town, looking for freedom and excitement in life. But of course, there were way too many people vying for you. It took two years to make myself worthy of your attention. When I packed my bags and landed here, life changed forever.

IIT Kharagpur Old Building (Feb '11)

It could never have been exclusive, you are far too attractive and popular. But really, the crowds that surround you drive me up the wall sometimes. Come autumn and you get down and dirty in the muck and rain. I can't take a decent walk without you covering my feet with some of the grime. The food places around pay scant attention to hygiene and I never know if you are privately trying to poison me, like one of those love crime mystery stories. While we're on the subject of love crimes, are you kidding me with 7:30 am classes? It is a crime to make someone stumble into a class, bleary-eyed only to be poked and prodded by the professor to solve questions that I'm too sleepy to care about. I'm so tired of the incessant peer pressure too. About six months ago, I was in Kolkata and a first year happened to stop by in the same neighbourhood.  He asked me how many societies on campus he should join to make sure companies considered him 'good enough'. Do you see what you do to people? Everyone I know has at one time or another declared how inadequate they feel here. I understand that you push for perfection, but mentally harassing people about it is the limit. I should also mention that I think you might be bordering on OCD when it comes to discipline. The constant threats of deregistration from classes, the overly protective attitude to first and second years, cordoning off the rooftops and worst, the firewalls on the internet that blocks online shopping too! Yes, I think its not fair you block Victoria's Secret just because they sell lingerie.

Foggy Nights on the 2.2, Jan 2011
Courtesy: Prateek Rastogi

I fly into a rage at your idiosyncrasies and stomp off, wanting to leave. Then the wind begins to blow and the smell of fresh coffee brewing in CCD reaches me on the 2.2. I hear my name being called somewhere. A couple of my friends are taking a round. Its midnight on a weekday and the campus looks like one big party. A couple of guys are strumming guitars on the Scholars' Avenue. It calms me down and I know what I love so much about you. I know it all the more when I'm away from you, at home or even abroad. No matter where I've been, it has always taken (at least) another KGPian to get the party started. With you, I've made memories for a lifetime. Walking around campus - every nook and cranny of it; watching the sun rise over the institute tower; admiring the light at the top of the tower while slightly tipsy/delirious; learning to bake; end-of-examination celebrations with impromptu treats and getaways to the beach and the accessibility to (probably) the world's best LAN. Admittedly, the "crazy" stories are undeclared since this is a public letter I'm writing. But you know all about them. You were there.

When I leave two years from now, I know you will move on. You've seen too many people like me, slobbering all over you. But it has been memorable for me. I love to blame you for everything, good and bad, but that is only because I love you so.