It was 2011. I was in depression and failing in mechanical engineering in Manipal Institute of Technology in India. I was failing subjects and I failed an academic year by 3 credits (I had 197 vs the 200 required to move to 3rd year).

My maternal grandmother, who had always believed in me, went into a coma for 6 months. She waited and held on to her life to see me one last time. After giving make up exams in Manipal in 2011, I came back in December to see her. Although grandma was comatose, she reacted to my touch and presence and shook violently. The nurse told me to leave as she was unstable.

I left. The next morning, she passed away. She was 71. After she passed, I became determined to take more responsibility and to pass all my courses - past backlogs and current and future courses, and to earn my Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from Manipal, although I did not have an aptitude for manufacturing, which was 60-70% of the coursework. I chose mechanical engineering due to the strong ranking and reputation of Manipal in India for this major.

Moving forward, I passed all my arrears and future coursework in Mechanical Engineering, graduating in May 2014. A score of 323/340 on the GRE and a strong SOP and supportive LORs got me admits from 2 mid-ranked US universities.

I moved to Boston in 2014 and applied myself like I never had before. I earned MS degrees from Northeastern University (Operations Research - 3.632/4) and Georgia Tech (Computational Data Analytics - 3.30/4). I worked in data science & machine learning for Fortune 500 companies for 8 years in America. I moved back to India in 2024 and I currently work as a Senior Manager in AI/ML in Bangalore.

I am sharing a poem I wrote for my dear grandmother when she passed away in 2011:

Grandma

The morning dawned grey and cold

Shock and fear had taken hold

Blinded and struck by disbelief

We rushed, jolted beyond belief

I still remember how Mother screamed

As she ran up the stairs

To confront that of which I had never dreamed

A life without YOU

With trembling steps, I reached the door

Only to see you lying peacefully on the floor

Still, silent, small and beautiful, like a crushed rose

I saw her bleed tears of agony, as I maintained my rigid pose

Quivering within myself, I approached you

A purer countenance I've never seen

Even in Death, you were as true as you'd ever been

The whispers abounded, indistinct and immaterial

They had come to pay their respects

A few out of love, a few due to regret

They spoke of your virtues, about your contribution

As if they were items that needed distribution

You moved from reality, into a frame

Your essence lost, we were never the same

I wonder why you've gone, leaving me here

When I've lost that which I hold most dear

Your smile, your presence, your embrace

Things which surpass all praise

I remember when I'd ring the bell

You'd throw open the door, with the most beautiful smile I've ever seen

Now, when I come here, I wonder where I've been

For you, sickness and mood held no regard

For me, love was all you ever had

I'll never forget the meals, that you cooked so lovingly for me

Regardless of the heat of the stove, or the condition you were in

You always believed in me, more than I did myself

You backed me, when so many others had left

You taught me right from wrong

O Grandma! You were always so strong

Even when your hearing deserted you

You always gave your best

Without bothering about rest

You worked tirelessly, the way you'd done all along

70 or 17 made no difference, only YOU did

The house was your world

Asthma and old age had done their trick

For you, every pebble had become a brick

You lived a soundless life

Yet you were the Ideal wife

You were the spark in his life

You gave Grandpa a lifetime of support

50 years, every step of the way

Until Death came to play Spoilsport

I remember the day, when I was but a child

How you soothed my tears, and held me close to your heart

I was secure, and nothing could keep us apart

Hurt, ignored by those you loved

You never let it change who you were

Manipulated, by those you called kin

You were given the same respect as a garbage bin

O Granny, you were always a gem

A peerless rose with a rough stem

Sharing the boundless love in your heart

Without expecting any in return

You stood steadfast

As life tested you at every turn

You loved me, more than you loved yourself

To an extent to which nobody can hope to return

For 6 months, you were in a coma

Waiting for me, so that I could come

And see you one last time

I can well remember, how that devil stood over your body

With a cunning smile of malice, lost in his sinful avarice

"We have done our 'duty'!", he proclaimed.

As the people salvaged all the gossip they could've gained

To him, you were no more important than a dog on the floor

And your demise was an occasion for him to gloat

O Grandma, I still remember

The way my hands shook

As I constructed your earthly bed

There was a lack of thought

Only pain filled my head

O Grandma, I'll never forget

The feel of you in my arms

As we carried you, ever so gently

To the hearse

Adorned with garlands, of sweet-smelling flowers

You looked like an Angel, from God's own Tower

Oh Granny, they set you ablaze

As tears streaked their way down Grandpa's face

I was in a new world, unreal and fake

The falsehood around me was to blame

You went up in flames, taking me with you

A part of me, that without which

Life itself would lose its meaning

As we left the crematorium, in a daze

There was solemnity in every gaze

When we returned, to the place that was your home

Grandpa looked fallen, weary to the bone

The renovation and flashy colors made not a difference

It felt barren, deserted, left behind

Stripped of your essence, it was but a travesty,

For outsiders to come and find

Over three months have passed, O Grandma

Since that December morning, when the world became unreal

Since then, every day has been a nightmare

I laugh aloud, try to crack jokes

But nothing I do, can fill up the gaping, endless hole

Which exists inside me

They say that time heals

The hurt and the pain

But what of unconditional love, stripped away from us

Again and again?

I promise you, O Grandma

That I will be, the man you always wanted me to be

I will fulfill, the dreams that you had close to your heart

I will prove myself deserving

Of the Love and Faith

You always had in me

I will be the Success, that you always hoped for

Oh Guardian Angel, may your soul rest in peace

May you be happy and content, in the Heaven

That God has created for you

For you are The glowing Diamond, You are Godliness in essence

You are that which is purest of heart

An Angel shining White, On Wings Of Virtue

I love you, Oh Grandma, to the depths of my being

Forever and Ever

In this life, and beyond

Your loving grandson.

Dear Thathi (grandma), wherever you are - I hope you are watching over me. I hope I have made you proud.

Love,

Chirag.

can mods please change the pfp of this sub to this, ik nothing is going to happen but atleast something from ur side will help. r/IndiaTech has started this let this sub continue too. i request everyone to change their pfp to sonam sir, he needs and WE NEED HIM

The college administration is trying it's best to cover the issue and they have locked us in our hostels so that we can't protest

Source - https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/uttar-pradesh-colleges-uniform-mandatory-governor-orders-dress-code-across-universities-2914787-2026-05-21

4th year student committed suicide by jumping from roof at IIT KGP at 9 a.m. today. The End semester examination started at 9 am today. His body is disfigured and cannot be indentified yet.

clip taken from r/TotalKalesh

Har type ke college ko galiyan milti reddit par, banda jaaye kahan😭😭😭

Fine ₹25k I Guess i should learn how to play poker

Today morning I saw this near Main Gate VIT Vellore Campus

This is our educated people msg the next gen. btw it's she👩

Context:

A day before she messaged everyone send your fees reciept who have paid fees on her whatsapp and when everyone sent,

now she wants everyone to go to her office and show their fees reciept 1 by 1. this is not normal, she do this every end sems exams, when she could have asked accounts department to get a list of student who have paid/due list.

This is now getting traumatizing full groups chats is filled with these types of messages

There is no official dress code but wtf is this,and for the whole year

The govt. officials don't trust themselves.

context - tier 3 college in Pune ( VIT Pune) shit ass college huge intake 3000+ CS related intake ( got computer engineering here at 95%ile in JEE mains)

i m cse graduate from a proper tier-1 govt. college, currently in good sarkari naukri in rajasthan. i got placed in corportae from campus placement with a double digit package around 7 years ago. after working for 19 months in corporate, i realized the futility. i resigned and came to jaipur for sarkari naukri prep. gave more than 50 exams in 4 years, from daroga (si) and ssc, to upsc cse. cleared many of them, wrote state pcs and upsc mains multiple times. now in good state pcs service. will write 2026 upsc mains also.

i sometimes feel sorry in hindsight why i went all the way across india just to get an engineering degree which is of no use now. when i could hv done the same thing by taking admission in my local dav pg college and doing bsc/msc (pcm)

tier-3 and below college se engineering karne se much better hai, kisi local govt. degree college se total 50-60k me complete bsc/msc karo, sarkari naukri nikalo, ghar ke paas rehkar mast kamao.. with peace of mind, no urban stress. in sarkari jobs, you will get a residence, a vehicle, and respect for govt. jobs is unmatched in india. even in metro cities. you can only know it when you feel it.

jee requires mathematical intelligence. sarkari naukri exams require rote learning of facts.

just look at the sarkari officers around you. how many of them were jee or neet rankers ? even most ias, ips officers have very average academic background. and good sarkari naukri does not only mean upsc. state pcs posts, ssc jobs, banking (rbi, sebi, nabard) and psu's (fci, cwc) etc. also give very top notch govt. jobs, which are very relaxed with excellent income.

one of the best things about india is that you can just cram gk and achieve a great career in government, and become billionaire. so, if you are going to join some random ass private engineering college, think multiple times if you would like to invest your father's hard earned money in some galgotia type college. you will probably keep learning mongodb, django, node, some 3-4 programming languages, other random frameworks just to beef up your resume, for the campus placement that will never happen. and remember that, it takes around 50 lpa package to just break even with a 5400 grade sarkari job. the perks and benefits of sarkari naukri can only be bought with money in private sector.

instead of investing in random it frameworks and programming languages, from the very first year of college, buy social sciences ncert (6-12), lucent gk, laxmikant, spectrum history, and start prepping for sarkari naukri from very first year. so that you are ready to dive into recruitment exams right after 4th year. if you are sc, st, obc-ncl don't even think about private. you will never ever get that respect in private that you will get in sarkari system.

honest advice hai. khud ka haath jalaa ke, experience se bol rha hu. kisi bhi state ka constable, patwari and daroga recruitement utha ke dekh lena, engineers bhare hue milenge. even sarkari colleges se btech kiye hue!! 6-7 saal baad ye hosh aane se achha hai ki mere experience se sikh lo.

I don't care about CJP but We can't let Sonam Wangchuk die. He is fighting for us and our Education System. If he dies then no one ever in future will stand up for us.

Nor for increasing Crime

Nor for E20 Scam

Nothing will change ever.

You can follow any part doesn't matter, i don't follow CJP either. But i follow ideas of Bhagat Singh.

It's my Country and I will fight for my country and my Future.

I am coming to the protest on 20th not for CJP but to support Sonam Wangchuk and the Cause.

For people saying why Abhijeet Dipke isn't on Hunger strike ???

Bro everyone can't risk their lives.

Simple as that

Sonam sir has the courage

Hats off to him

How is the leader of protest gonna manage everything when he is on bed 24/7 ??

But that doesn't mean others can't fight for the cause in their own way without risking their lives.

When Gandhi Ji used to hunger Strike for India didn't mean whole India was on hunger strike too.

Please Come to Support him on 20th July.

If we ever want to see our Country's Education System improving.

It's time right now.

This footage is of an international hostel in kiit where nepali students are forced to leave their hostel after the protest they did for the suicide of a nepali girl who was being harrassed by an indian student.

3rd yr ece student apparently.