Neeraj's Take On.......

Whenever we move to a new city, a must-do list on our itinerary is to explore it. Beaches, Cafes, Restaurants, Sightseeing places and so on...  While studying in school, I came across a program called OMG! Yeh Mera India, which brings fascinating people, locations, and events from around India to the front. In one of the episodes, the viewers were introduced to Robot Themed Restaurant in Chennai. The restaurant's specialty, as the name suggests, is the robots. The robots move around the restaurant using a magnetic strip on the floor to guide them to the diner's table. Each table has a specific number, which the 'human waiters' would program into them. The diners could take the plates from the trays of the robots, or a human waiter, who will be behind the robot at all times- just in case something goes wrong- will serve the dishes.  When I saw this, I was intrigued. Maybe when I go to Chennai, I'll have to go to this place... And I did go to Chennai. Four years later...

When you get COVID and you have to quarantine, the thought of getting into isolation slowly sinks in. When I got down with COVID on Sunday evening, it was this same thought process that I was going through. When I returned home after finding out that I had COVID, the preparations for my quarantine started- my mom started packing clothes for the week. She gave me a separate plate and dishwashing liquid to wash it and separate washing soap to wash the clothes. But a surprise was due the next day... When I got up the next morning, I found my mom was coughing like I had used to the previous day. So my dad took her to the hospital. After about an hour, I found my mom bringing her supplies to my room.   I asked her, " You too?" "Yes". This isn't going to go well for anyone!! And then started our home quarantine together! The first few days were a bit too uneasy. I used to walk out of the door, just like I normally would, before realising that I was under quarantine an...

Two years into the pandemic, with people all around contracting COVID and some less lucky ones not making it, contracting COVID seemed inevitable. Even after all the precautions we take, from wearing our masks to sanitising our hands, we never know when and where we might contract COVID. But the end result is that we get COVID, and we stay home for a week possibly...  When COVID started, everyone, including me, witnessed the hardships those who contracted COVID had to go through, especially the part where patients couldn't move out of their rooms. The fear of having "nothing to do" made us extra vigilant about the precautions. But we never know where COVID strikes us from, and it sure does... Towards the end of January, on a Thursday, I thought of getting myself a haircut. It's been two months since I cut my hair, and it's really affecting my game ( I was playing badminton during this time, and I still am). So I walked to the city centre and got myself a haircu...

COVID-19, Covid, Corona... The virus, with its many variants, has snatched and is continuing to snatch something dear from everyone... It could be a loved one, the freedom to roam anywhere or a few cherished experiences...  Office goers may always look forward to the chats they have with their officemates, and for students like me, it's meeting up with friends and teachers after seeing (or not seeing) each other. We did get that chance, but it slipped from our hands really soon...  Our batch came back from IITM in March 2020 because of the Covid scare. We never foresaw the scare spiralling into a pandemic and the two-week "midsem break" turning into a two-year stay-at-home-and-do-everything exercise. At first, online learning was exciting... Can learn at our own pace and most importantly for a student like me, no proctored exams and a three-hour clock hanging above us within which we had to give our best answers, online assignments with choices and week or sometimes month...

Towards the end of October, I got an email from SAATHI or the Student Wellness Body of IIT Madras calling applications for the post of department representative. At first, I didn't apply, thinking that I may not be the right person for the job, but then I thought, No Pain, No Gain!!! So I applied.  The people at SAATHI (basically students) asked me to join a WhatsApp group to have my doubts about the positions and responsibilities of the position clarified to make up my mind before I submit my application. The thing is, I submitted my application even before they asked me to join the group! 😅😂😂 See, I like getting things done ASAP and not keeping them pending for too long. This was one such thing that I wanted out of my way. So about a week later, I was added to a different group created by the people at SAATHI for those shortlisted for the interview stage, and I could not find anyone from my department. When I joined the other group where I could have had my doubts cleared, I s...