Take Two at Bangalore

Eye on Singapore

As I was going about my preparations for the JEE, one fine day my art teacher at school suggested that I should aim for a foreign education. She told me about her nephew who was studying at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Handing me the information pamphlets and advertisements, she advised me to apply for the NUS or Nanyang Technological University (NTU) rather than the go with the stream. After discussing with my father and brother, I decided to apply just for the sake of it! After all, I already had a passport. I chose NTU and learnt about the application procedure from both their brochures and their website. After all, just one more exam along with JEE, AIEEE, BITSAT, TNPCEE, VITEEE and SRMEE!

Bangalore Beckons

Unlike the others, this exam was to be held only in Mumbai and Bangalore; an objective test followed by a subjective one. English, math, physics and chemistry were the subjects. The sample paper was easy enough. During the online application itself, I was required to write a short English essay on any topic of my choice that had an impact on me. I chose to write about the December 2005 tsunami! After my application for computer science or electrical science was accepted, I was asked to attend the test at Bangalore. Father and I took the train to Bangalore and reached Nataraj uncle’s house. I found the climate of that city to be much cooler than Chennai’s. After settling there, I prepared for my exam. It was to be held at the National Public school in Koramangala. On exam day, uncle took us on his old Maruti 800 and the trip was unusually long considering the short distance. Anyways, I met some of my coaching class friends there who were also taking the exam. The hall was huge with nearly four hundred students accommodated there. As I had expected, the exam was of a good standard, neither too easy nor hard. After finishing it, I had to negotiate with the autowalas to take me to Kamanahalli. As is the case with Chennai, they demanded exorbitant amounts, knowing that I was not a local. One driver even asked me, “Which country you from?” -while his intention was to know which city! Back home, I prepared for the English subjective test the next day, at the same place. Again, uncle dropped me at the school. The English exam was a bit long and I had to write a lot. Ultimately, this test also went on well.

Having finished the exam, we went sight-seeing around the city. I saw the Vidhana Soudha, the Writer’s building, Kempe Gowda stadium etc. We went window shopping on MG Road. One thing that was very apparent was the traffic congestion and pollution! We didn’t have time to visit the Electronic city and the IT campuses there. I had also wanted to visit the IISc campus. But we left as I had other works. After returning to Chennai, I received a call letter from the BARC in Mumbai asking me to attend a summer testing camp and the INChO. I had been qualified at the regional level and was to learn as well as compete with some of the brightest Chemistry wizards from across the country! But the starting date of the week-long camp almost clashed with my second stint at Bangalore!

Back to Bangalore

This time around, I had to attend the interview by a Singapore company SIA-NOL, who were ready to give full scholarship to a select few to pursue their UG in that city. But once again, the centres were Delhi and Bangalore. So, I packed my bags again for another day at the garden city but this time it was especially large as I had to go to Mumbai for the camp. Just like a TV replay, I traveled by the same train and reached at the same time, same place! Nataraj uncle was more than happy to have me there again and was glad to know about the camp. Not knowing what to prepare for the interview, I just double-checked all requisite documents and chilled out for a day.

On the big day, I dressed in neat formal clothing complete with a tie. Embarrassingly, I had to use my sports shoe as the cut shoe was, well, cut! After getting ‘compliments’ for my shoes, we started early and used the same old car. Little did we anticipate what lay ahead of us! As usual, the traffic in the darn city was painfully slow-moving and to make matters worse, it was unusually hot that day. The interview was to be held at a hotel called Windsor Manor but we had no ides where it was. After arriving in that area, we asked for directions from bystanders who answered in Kanglish, a funny mix of English and Kannada!

While waiting at a signal, we faced our fate. The car stopped in the middle of the road! With the vehicles behind us honking, we got panicked. My father and I got down and pushed the car towards the side of the road with a little help from the traffic policeman. An already bad situation just got worse as the road ahead was uphill! We learnt that the hotel was on the same road, the so called Golf course road. Nataraj uncle suggested that we two walk to that place while he gets the car fixed. So we set out in search of the manor with just 10 minutes left for my time of interview! Not knowing that we were just about a hundred meters from the manor, we ran towards the golf course and took the road that goes away from the hotel! Having missed the appointed time, we caught an auto but he didn’t know the place either. Full of tension, father started shouting at me and at the autowala. I myself had a panic attack and started to lose hope of attending the interview let alone get the scholarship!

At Last!

But thanks to goodness, we managed to spot the Windsor manor and immediately took to our heels, rushing to the hotel reception. After enquiring about the interview, we went to the hall where I met many other students. I was a good 20 minutes late! Some of the students had given the interview while the others were waiting for their chance. A lady there verified my documents and told me that I was next in line. Wiping the sweat off my face and adjusting my shirt and tie, I got ready for the interview. Father started chatting with the others present there. One student was from DPS and we had a nice friendly chat.

Soon enough my turn came and I was asked to go inside the room where the interviewers were. There were two of them and both of them looked like Chinese. After wishing them, I took my seat. As they studied my documents, they asked me about myself. A most difficult question! After that, they appreciated my academic prowess, especially my board marks. It seems they were really impressed by it. After a friendly chat, they came to the question that I was always expecting. “Would you choose IIT or NTU, once you get your results?” I was slightly surprised that they posed this question in such a stark manner! It was time for me to play the diplomat, trying to appease them and convince them. I told them that Singapore would give me a wonderful international exposure and experience. If I had said otherwise, my chances of getting the scholarship would have sunk. Careful not to denigrate my coveted IITs, I somehow convinced them that I placed NTU Computer Science as the first preference followed by IIT!

Impressed with my credentials and my answering, they told me that I could realistically expect to go to Singapore! Wishing me all the best they thanked me for choosing to study in Nanyang. After coming out of the room, I discussed with father about the interview. He recalled his earlier prediction about the question on IIT vs NTU! The other students also shared their experiences and they congratulated me for my board marks! The lady there told us that they would soon get in touch with me by email. Having salvaged a bad situation and converting it into an advantage, I was satisfied and started preparing for the long summer camp ahead.

Thanks, but No Thanks!

At the camp, father called me up and gave me the good news. I had been awarded the full SIA-NOL scholarship for UG in Computer science at NTU! This meant that an exciting international education awaited me in Singapore! I was enthralled. The camp went on well and I got a gold medal in it, though I wasn’t selected for the IChO. After returning to Chennai, I was seriously considering the prospect of a foreign education but not without knowing my JEE result. And when it did come, I was even more enthralled. An AIR of 352 meant that I could pursue EE in Chennai itself though not CS. This left me in a fix. Should I choose CS in NTU or EE in IITM? After consulting my coaching class professors, my brother, my father and many of my seniors, I thought over it for days and finally made the decision.

After all, my country and my family are more important to me than any international education. Anyways, who would want to go to Singapore and serve a 5-year bond for the scholarship after the UG? This was the right decision and I was happy about it and my art madam also wished me well! With a stern but candid email, I conveyed my reasons for turning down the offer of CS in NTU as well as the scholarship! Without being apologetic, I thanked them for the wonderful experience I had. I was surprised that they didn’t ask me to reconsider my decision but instead thanked me for the interest I showed in joining their institute and wished me well.

As I prepared for the JEE counseling, I reminisced about my two stints at this city that could have changed my life dramatically but instead ended up as fond and funny memories!

PS:

I eventually did a branch change in IITM from EE to CS!
If anything, the ‘Garden city’ is only getting less greener by the day!
By the way, Bangalore has been officially renamed Bengaluru!