From Physics to Everything Else

It started with a mediocre student staring at the screen for hours waiting for the JEE result
and in a moment his life changed as he came to know that he had secured a rank in spite of
all the mess-ups in the last 2 years and having a very modest economic background. Being
a ‘bright’ student in a low-middle class family in Mumbai, I always had an intrinsic hatred
towards corporates and businesses that are considered to make you ‘filthy’ rich and was
very adamant that I was going to pursue research as a career. Born and brought up in
Mumbai I did not want to go to any other city and with IIT Bombay being considered one of
the best institutes in India, the institute of choice was clear.

The process of choosing a branch was very different for me from the standard, where you
look up to all the branches that may be available to you depending upon last year’s cut-offs
and evaluate the best. I directly opted for Dual Degree Engineering Physics as my first
option and was awarded the branch in the first listing without any problems. Now the
problem was that most of the things that JEE aspirants have learnt during coaching as
physics is not what you'll be learning here. The mathematics is a lot more rigorous and the
applications far less intuitive. If someone is drawn to basic mechanics. I'll suggest against
opting for E.P. and would tell you to go for something like Mechanical or Civil Engineering.
‘END OF STORY’

But for me the story had just begun and I started struggling academically by the end of first
year itself. Although I was not unable to understand the concepts, my interest started
dwindling with every passing day and eventually I started feeling worthless as an academic,
more so because of how good all of my friends and classmates were doing. (Know more
about the Big Fish-Little Pond effect here)

So? What next? Did I just dropout? No. By the time my interest in physics and academics
was monotonically decreasing, I was gathering a stockpile of knowledge about the world
everyday through the internet and the seniors around me. “One thing that sets IITs apart
from the competition is that the crowd and the environment around you makes it very difficult
for you to graduate without gaining anything”. I taught myself how to design graphics, in
which my aesthetic and fine arts background helped a lot. And I eventually started making
enough money through it by the end of my second year that I started considering it as a
serious career path. Meanwhile, I learnt how to make films and animate stuff and a lot more
about the creative processes that I would have never been able to comprehend, if I was not
at IIT.

My faculty advisor and Head of Department helped me change my curriculum to a BTech

one, no questions asked. The best thing about physics department at IITB is that they are
equally supportive of those who have lost their interest in Physics as they are of their best
minds. Today, with my friends, we have started a digital solutions firm that helps corporates
and start- ups with their design, development and other needs, all this with one year of
student life left with me. And this would have not been possible without my professors,
friends and acquaintances at Physics department, IIT Bombay. Last 4 years have had an
infinite number of crests and troughs but in the end we all alight ashore.