Advait Risbud

Advait Risbud

Advait Risbud, the first student commencing from the Inter-disciplinary dual degree programme in Chemistry, shares with us a conversation filled with memories, moments, and his love for science & studies as he makes his way to the University of Chicago, looking forward to achieving a doctorate following a 5-year galleria of affection towards science and engineering.

Tell us about your journey coming here. Why did you choose IIT Bombay?

My schooling was done at an IGCSE school, which severely lacked the mathematical rigor and competitive atmosphere that is commonly found in ICSE/CBSE/SSC schools. RMO, NSEJS, NTSE, these words could just as well have been tables and chairs in Ikea. I was quite intimidated and filled with feelings of academic inadequacy when I joined JEE coaching, but an unexpectedly good mark in the first major test gave me confidence and put wind in my sails.

Such moments of confidence have, on several occasions, anchored my academic and professional life so far. I always wanted to study physics, but JEE landed me in MEMS. It wasn’t a bad deal, and I gaslighted myself into studying a physics-adjacent field and telling everyone “bhai isme bohot scope hai”. For any confused fresher, genuinely bohot scope hai lage raho!

What were your expectations before coming here, and how well were they met?

I had visited IITB for several Techfests with a friend from school (shoutout to Aman Mehta). Additionally, I had a cousin who was from Mech here, a decade ago now. I knew IIT was a place where “smart people” went, and I knew that people seemed to care if you went there. Come to think of it, my opinion of IIT was that getting in is a big deal, and then “life sort hai”. Sort of like a tunnel, but no insights on, or expectations of, what the journey is like.

Oh, my brother did say that you get “chaat” every day at 4:30 PM. He meant snacks in the mess, so you can imagine my disappointment when I learnt that there was no “all-you-can-eat” Haldirams inside the campus.

To summarise, my only expectation was unsolicited attention from people and pani puri. And since the chaat wala in Amul has opened, both of these expectations have been met. The chaat wala is very interested in talking to me. 

Which clubs or teams were you a part of? Did you have any hobbies or a stress-reliever while at the institute?

AUV. AUV. AUV. It was the most formative experience of my undergraduate life. Another anchor point comes in here, I was the only MEMS student selected that year, which made me feel as though I was in the company of my betters (which I was, but because they are all very lovely people) due to the “JEE rank induced” insecurity. So getting selected obviously gave me immense confidence. In my second year, I was a convener for the Group for Rural Activities (GRA), a quieter body that does excellent outreach work in the rural technology development space. Learnt a lot here. Post my second year, I was also an active member of Symphony, where I played the guitar.

I was a DAMP mentor in my third-year, and the D-AMP coordinator for MEMS in my fourth year, along with ISMP.

As for stress-busters, it’s important to introspect on what the stressors were in the first place. I found myself most stressed by not doing as well as I thought I could in academics. I felt like if my acads were better, nothing could stand in my way. So, most of my hair has turned gray worrying about what my SPI will look like before the summer starts. Personally, I have never found any recreational activity very relaxing because it always felt like I wasn’t addressing the cause of my stress (the obvious way to address it was studying).

I could play football for two hours, but still be thinking of an assignment as I take the free kick. So yapping has been my best hack. Talking with others who could relate to my stress-inducing experiences has worked for me in that past. I am a serial yapper. I would go to my wingie Ajay Tak/Mayank Panda’s room and just yap about random topics. I hope I get to do that again sometime.

Are there any changes that you observed in the insticulture while being here?

I don’t believe in having a rigid idea of what “insti culture” is. I think it evolves with each passing batch, and I look forward to complaining about how the “good old days” are gone when I return to campus as an alumnus. I think there is a lot of utility in reminiscing about the old days because it unknowingly compels us to be content with the present (it hits when you come back to your house after a hangout with the bros).

Yes, the glory of hostel culture has surely gone down, which very well accounts for our confused nods to hostel alumni’s thrilling experiences. In my view, this is because there are dozens of focal points for the attention of an average student today than there were 4 decades ago, which is a good thing.

I just went where my friends were. I went to hockey matches and football matches, and basketball matches. Now, of course, we were all there as friends from H6, but in the end, we were just there as friends. And friendship does not have a jersey. Oh well, the infrastructure has scaled positively for sure since I joined. I think the best days are ahead of us in this aspect.

How did COVID-19 interrupt your college life?

It sucked, or tell me a more superlative degree to use. I couldn’t study at home, and made sure I didn’t have to stay at home as much as possible once I joined back.I did not do too well in my first year. I blame it on the online semester. The most hilarious experience I can recall is how one time, a Kishore Kumar poster beside my camera in an exam was identified as an actual person in online proctoring on CodeTantra. Which is probably a curiosity for batches after 2021.

Apart from this,  there is a certain kind of amnesia, a lost connection of graduates of 2020 and earlier with us, which again is a basis of how things have evolved, and an obvious erasure of culture that we were never actually aware of.

How did the academic pressure overall affect you, or in a way, affect your mental health?

I sometimes did not enjoy certain courses, and that led to some frustration. I did not inherently mind courses, but I questioned the way some of them were taught to us in our department. I mean, to begin a course with the most niche examples of phenomena that are detached from reality does not aid comprehension of the subject, and almost always leads to discouragement right at the beginning of a course.

Engineering is everywhere, and to appreciate it in things ranging from the human body to the moons and stars should be the very essence of it. I think Prof. Parag Bhargava from MEMS did a great job of making this point in our department introductory course MM 152.

I like to study. Well, I guess everybody likes to study. I love science, like really love it.

 I think trying to study a subject you don’t like is a bit like rock climbing. You need to find a hole in the rock to plant your foot in, basically to get hooked on the subject, then you can swing yourself to where you need to be (anywhere past an FR on most occasions). There have been times when I have gaslighted myself into liking a course with a passion, just for a better transcript on ASC. I think every subject is fantastic, it is just the delivery that can be hit or miss.

If there was one experience that you could relive from your life at the institute, what would it be?

Not one but two.

The first time that the AUV seniors took us to the lake and I had never been to the boat house prior to that. Another one that I’d definitely relive was the night when we were working in the Old AUV Lab- all covered in fungi and out of nowhere, a sudden urge to test who could do more pushups filled in amongst us, followed by fun and gossip.

If there’s one thing that you could change about your life at insti, what would it be and why?

 Nothing. 

You’re the first person to initiate the IDDDP Program with your Master’s in Chemistry alongside your undergraduate program. What experiences would you like to share for this feat?

I remember finding courses here in IITB on a similar tone with my research internship in physical chemistry, when at one point in time, I also considered doing a Dual Degree extension in MEMS itself. It was my flatmate during the internship, Aryan Gupta (Bhopali), the UG representative in the Chemistry department at the time, who suggested I go for a Master’s in Chemistry, even though an IDDDP in Chemistry did not exist. Aryan and the then DGSec Sarthak Jain said they’d make it happen.

Subsequent meetings (sounds much easier than it was) with the DUGC & the authorities led me to sit here where I am today, having pursued my passion for chemistry. This decision came after closely sidelining my even bigger obsession with Physics and MEMS itself for the same purpose. Funnily enough, my PhD will be in biophysical chemistry. Reminds me of the song “mera joota hai japani, meri patloon inglustani, sar pe laal topi rusi phir bhi dil hai hindustani”.

How have you changed/evolved as a person in these years?

I think I have become much more confident in who I am. I also don’t shy away from adversity now. Come to think of it, I can’t put it any better words than have been done by the media for decades. IIT has made me a better problem-solver in my personal and professional life. (Sometimes a problem creator, but come on! Give me a break).

Any piece of advice for the Juniors/ people of the Institute?

Robert Frost said it best, Take the road less travelled. You might come out scruffier, but it’ll be a great story.

What is the longest duration that you have stayed awake for and why?

It would be for 24 hours, probably with no better reason to justify than the shenanigans that my friends and I must have pulled off.

Rapid Fire Round 

Fav Food Joint

H2 Canteen: Chicken Crispy and Chicken Tagda Frankie never disappoints. I’m also a Diet Coke paglu.

Fav Hangout Spot

Either of the following people’s rooms: Kalp Vyas/Shashank Balaji, Aabir Lal Biswas, Pulkit Paliwal, Kushagra Mishra/Advait Mehla, Ajay Tak/Mayank Panda, Vedang Gupta, Mehul Vijay Chanda/Sagnik Banerjee.

Fav Professor(s)

There are many, but off of the top of my head: Prof. Anindya Datta, Prof. Arindham Chowdhury, Prof. Nityanand Prabhu, Prof. Pradeepkumar PI, Prof. Amber Jain, Prof. Gopal Dixit.

Fav Course(s)

CH 546: Introduction to Biomolecules

CH 605: Chemical Dynamics

Fav semester

Even semester.

Will your little self from the past be happy to see you where you are today?

100%.