How and why I am an engineer?

For some odd reason, I never had any particular ambition while at school. Thanks to a few really good Maths teachers and Physics teachers at High School, I grew a good deal of interest in Science and Technology at a high school. Not to forget, my interest in opening up television sets, radio, calculators, other electronic items for the fun of it and / or repairing them. During my eighth to tenth standard, I had a group of friends who had similar interest in electronics and would make electronic items for fun and sale. So perhaps sub-consciously I had prepared myself for a career in Engineering.

My father was doing a business of raw materials for industries in Coimbatore. So names like KSB Pumps, ELGI, LMW, and other prominent industries in Coimbatore were quite familiar to us. During the long vacation after the tenth exams, I used to commute daily to Coimbatore with my father to his office for time pass and at times act like an assistant officer when he goes out. Then I had a dream of building that business once I am out of college.

But it is still amazes me how come I never thought of which group to take or even thought about the groups available in pre-graduate college till the tenth results were out. I had given Commerce as the second choice and Biology (II group) as third group since I had made my mind long back in sixth standard, that if at all I would ever have to do dissection of an animal, I would revolt, run out of lab, and abandon marks for practicals. Such a preference would give the least chance of getting in Biology group, Arts ruled out in any case. Luckily I did not have to create such a scene. Against the sky-rocketing 99.9% of State board students my humble 88% CBSE marks looked too meagre but managed to get me a first group in the grand old Govt. Victoria College, Palakkad.

The classes started somewhere in August 1999. The Engineering Entrance exams were my biggest mystery of all times. Unlike the current internet world of today, there were no such access to public information in 1996.. (hmm .. 11 long years, looks like it all happened yesterday). In the midst of the confusion some body infused into me the IIT dream too. I had to rely on whatever information was provided by friends. The faces of the college lecturers at Victoria College would turn red the moment someone mentions anything about entrance exams. I had been whining away my time during the vacation while most of my friends had joined coaching centres for entrance and tutions.

The initial weeks were like hell. I felt so unsecure about my future. Did I miss the bus? Will I ever become a Electronics Engineer? Classes at Victoria College, for that matter any Kerala college were time pass with strikes every alternate day. If it is not strike, it is the attitude of the lectures - "what if I don't take classes, these people must have enrolled somewhere for tution". Most of my friends would be discussing about the portions taken at their weekend tution classes. While i would be fighting a losing battle against differentiation, some of them would be way ahead in integration.

Faced with such a lack of information, I contacted a few of the well know names in the tution and coaching business. They added their bit of fear onto me stating that entrance exams covers a wide range of syllabus that is not covered in the university - something every middleman in India does. So enrolling in entrance coaching alone is not sufficient I need to enroll for the weekend coaching classes too.

Deluded I discussed with parents, they were equally clueless. Three things were hanging over my head. First, I knew that my father's business is not doing well. But parents were obviously not hesitant to invest as much money this would need. Second, this whole idea of sacrificing Saturdays and Sundays did not go down well into me. Third, my reasoning that if engineering entrance, (for that matter any testing of aptitude) is all about the engineering aptitude in us; it is either I have it or I don't. The whole idea of "coaching" seemed illogical. But inspite of all these I decided to go for it.

It seems a lot of important turning points in life are decided in a casual uneventful meet. One evening while returning from Melamuri I met a village mate and my senior in college. It was a casual meet but he went on to explain the nuances of the entrance exams, the professional secrets of the "coachers". He gave me a list of few books that are basically objective question banks in each of physics, chemistry and maths. His words were quite convincing, though he never addressed the carefree attitude of college lecturers in covering portions. It was dark when we parted but I was cleared of my confusions.

A week later I happened to visit my mother's cousin in Coimbatore who is in a reputed Christian Convent. She too voiced similar opinions which cemented my decision to do it alone. She also gave me address of a reputed Chennai based instution for correspondence based tutorial for IIT. I saw a few of their books at her place. I felt the content to be quite interesting as against a shortcut for success. So I enrolled.

The next two years were a race against time. The college lecturers had unfailing faith on the private coaching agencies that they took classes at their leisure and often taking an unfaithful dig at their private saviours. Strikes and college elections provided the much needed entertainment. While my classmates sacrificed their weekends, I spent some quality at home. It was not a tough job as such, since I used to return home by 11 am or 12 am everyday and spend the rest of the day learning the portions left out by lecturers. That was the best period of life though at times I would wonder if I had taken the wrong decision.

During the second year the attendance started to dry up by January end and teachers and students were boycotting classes mutually. And on one fine early February morning, there were only two boys, obviously I was one of them, in the physics class. We both went to meet the physics lecturer. He behaved like a reluctant government officer and asked us "Ningal enda tution poovaathathu?" (Why didn't you two go to tutions?)

That was humiliating. I had a last look at the room 94, our classroom for the last two years and left. The next time I was in college was for exams - I suppose.

The last days to the entrance exams were filled with fun, thrill, & anxiety. The village Ther festival was a week before the exams. I could not afford to sit and read my school books when so much fun is out in the temple. Adding to all my academic tensions, was the nuclear adventure of India. I was glued to the TV and newspapers following the world's reaction and all the double standards.

The mystery was finally solved on the Physics entrance exam. It wasn't really as big as it was all blown out to be. I was quite confident as l left the hall after the Physics exam. Maths was a washout, I would have managed to finish a face saving number of questions. During the last year I had a very dedicated Organic Chemistry lecturer at college, who made organic chemistry so interesting that I did all the questions in the Chemistry entrance confidently. A month later I went to see the results at the Civil Station along with my friend. I turned the page looking for the my rank, there it was - 2021. It was considered a "good" rank in those times. I heaved a sign of relief. We decided to go for a movie. It was raining heavily but who cares!!

The two year story will be incomplete if I don't complete the last casual uneventful meeting. It was quite sure that I will not get ECE - my fascination, atleast in Palakkad, NSS Engineering College with that rank. Most of my friends had decided to choose mechanical engineering. I kept swaying between mechanical and electrical. My arguement - EEE has an electronics in it so it will be a decent bargain against ECE. Way back in 1998, Computer Science had not become so popular. Inspite of all the advice from friends to opt for mechanical I was adamant on taking EEE. On my train journey to Thiruvananthapuram to attend the councelling, a group of college students from Bangalore joined us at Ernakulam. They had missed their train due to confusion of dates that usually happens with tickets booked on the zero hour. one of the boys was quite friendly and I picked up a chat with him. I explained my predicament. He said "Given a choice of EEE and ME, go for Mechanical. It is evergreen"

The next day, when asked for my branch at councelling. I said "Mechanical Engineering, NSS college of Engineering" I have never regretted that decision of mine.