When you are at IIT Madras

I had written this poem in my first month at IIT Madras, after the first quiz week. Discovered it today, and hence publishing it.


What do you come to know?
When you are at IIT Madras
that Madrasis are not just Madrasis
but Tamil, Telugu, Mallu and Kannadigas
that ideas of caste and community
thrive along with theories of unification
out of the hostel, anywhere anytime
you can go without any application
That the NCC parade commander
is a very fit mechanical professor
that the computer science topper
is a champion swimmer, short putter
that the junta is enthu about baski
cricket, footer, volley, athletics and hockey
They play drums, keyboard and guitar
along with tabla,veena and sitar
that the rock can co-exist with ragas
and in the library
quantum journals with puranas and shastras
that there are albino black bucks
as white as milk
there are more butterflies here
than in the entire Great Britain
that the dogs may kill a deer
not for fresh flesh
but for bonding in the pack
that the spotted deer
looks, eats, walks and runs like a cow
that the Bhopal was a tragedy
but students still love Dow
that the countries best and the brightest
often sleep in classes and flunk the quizzes
that there is twelve hour unlimited LAN
along with 8TB of hard core & soft porn
that there are debates discussions
on Islamization and Saffronization
on Globalization and Colonization
even as everyone dreams of Californication
you come to know
the philosophy of Anaximander
and the theory of error
yet I know so little still
What more I have to know?
till I am at IIT Madras.