Messages from SVNIT Alumni

Anjana Aravind was an M.Sc. Physics student at SVNIT and graduated in the Batch of 2019. During her college days, Anjana was an active member of Renesa, spending 4 years in the club from 2015-2018. She also served as the Chief Editor of Renesa for the 2017-2018 academic year. Along with Rhishabh Goswami and Nikita Prabhu, Anjana also co-founded the Madhatters English Theatre Club in SVNIT. She’s currently working as a Climate Researcher at the company “Wind Pioneers”.

It is a well-known fact in neuroscience that until the age of twenty-five, our experiences shape our way of dealing with life; but after that age, we begin to rely exclusively on our defence mechanisms. How much do you know about your defence mechanisms?

Collectively, we’re going through a lot right now, not just in our country but in the world, and I’m sure you didn’t need me to tell you this. I’m also sure that the final years are quite aware of the enormity of what they’ll soon be up against. While most of what we hear or experience might seem entirely out of our control, the way in which we choose to react is completely our own. It is a skill to be able to choose optimism over despair and I highly recommend the former.

While you venture forth, you might initially try to fit into the mould of what you’ve told yourself a graduated person should be doing, but eventually, you’ll question why that was ever the aim to begin with. Offering your existence at the altar of capitalism might not seem like the most fun thing to do, or even the most productive, to you, or the planet. When you do reach that point, I suggest you ask yourself the following questions to help you figure out a more, dare I say, satisfying path:

1. Do you have a community or cause that you really care about beyond its immediate connection to you? 2. Are there any areas of interest or expertise that you are/have been loyal to? 3. In response to the previous question, do you know anything that you believe could potentially transform the field(s)? 4. What can you do, practically, for any of the ideas mentioned in the previous response?

These are questions that can be asked at any point in your life. In my case, they’ve helped me stumble into turning my passion for climate change into a profitable career, just as they did for a friend who’s a photographer-turned-polar scientist. Something else that would help you to see all the possibilities this world has to offer is to take off your blinders; by that, I mean the prejudices, the stereotypes, the judgements, and the privileged thought process. If you can see a labourer’s life as having as much to learn from as that of your favourite entrepreneur’s, you have understood exactly what you need in order to do great things in life (if that’s your plan). Your defence mechanism is as much a part of your blinders as the other things; it prevents you from letting your standpoint be questioned, so it helps to be aware of when your guard is up. When life threatens you, do you roll into your shell like an armadillo or do you play dead like the opossum and let it wash over you?

Anjana Aravind

Former Chief Editor Renesa

Darshil Shastri was a B.Tech. student in the Electronics and Communication Engineering Department of SVNIT and graduated in the Batch of 2017. During his college days, Darshil was actively involved in Renesa, Literary Affairs Committee (LAC), and Suches. In his final year, he was the Convener of Sparsh and also the Chief Editor of Renesa. Recognizing the need to expand operations, Darshil started the digital arm of Renesa, named “E-Renesa”. After graduating from college, Darshil worked for ZS, then upGrad, and is now currently a Category Operations Manager in the Lifestyle vertical of Tata CliQ.

It is said that “May you live in interesting times” is a curse in China. Feels apt for this moment in time, doesn’t it? This was probably not how most of you envisaged your college life ending or spending the final year of college. There would have been dreamy plans of nights spent on the terrace of Swami Bhavan, of trips to Goa and Kasol, of confessions to be made, and of dreams to be achieved. Also, it will be no consolation if I tell you that this is affecting everyone in your batch, across colleges, and even people who have passed out and are busy in their careers. The pandemic has not discriminated against anyone, and if you are sitting in your home without mourning the loss of a beloved family member or friend, you should be counting your blessings. But that’s not what we want, do we? We are young, wild, and free. We don’t think this is the age to count our blessings; this is the time to create history, to make memories, and to leave our mark.

If you think that I have answers for you in the remaining message, you are mistaken. I can only offer some solace through words, not solutions. Our generation is probably the first in a while that is dealing with a pandemic. The first paychecks will be spent at home, not in a fancy club, not on a trip with friends. It will take time before you are introduced to offices and the small routines that develop when you live by yourself. If you are heading for higher studies, you might be grumbling about attending more lectures and events on Zoom than in real life. So then, why go through all this? What is the point? Well, the silver lining is that you are just starting out! You haven’t started a career path yet or a plan that cannot be reversed. There is flexibility in you and you haven’t faced enough setbacks in life to let the optimism in you die. You’re still the same people who, as recently as 2 months ago, would clear subjects by studying one night before the exam. There is energy, there is conviction, and most importantly, there are no scars yet. worse problems heading our way — from climate change and pandemics to the threat of global war. If this last year has taught you anything, it’s how to survive this. Maybe not come out of it like a warrior, with life goals achieved and things figured out, but just getting through. One day at a time, one week at a time. You see, we all like to believe that adults (your parents, your seniors) have things figured out. They seem to have answers to problems, to the confusions that gnaw at you every day. As you would have seen, no one does. And so, you can now unabashedly create your own answers. There will be no shackles placed on you that the pandemic has not already placed. So, you must try and put your own best foot forward in getting out of this. And the best part is, if you succeed, you will have done it your way.

If at all there is a meaning you’re trying to find in the events of previous years, let it be that at the end of the day, the bonds that we form in the most adverse times are the ones that last the longest. We all have been amplifying messages and requests of help for loved ones and friends. You may not have spoken in years, but you would’ve forwarded a message for someone in need, you would have prayed for someone, felt sorry for someone’s loss, or relieved and happy at someone’s gain. When the chips were down, there was always a network, a group of people you may not even know existed, to help you bounce back up. And it will be there, always. As Dumbledore rightly said, “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.” The way ahead is hard, uncharted, and unknown, but you’re not alone in it. For everything else, “lite hai yaar”.

Darshil Shastri

Former Chief Editor Renesa