Over the past four years, I have walked a path that has been anything but linear—from almost giving up on JEE prep to becoming one of the top rankers, from skipping placements to pursuing an academic route, and from playing table tennis as a kid in Mumbai to becoming the Chairperson of the Student's Senate.

Here’s my story.

🏫 Early Days: Less Books, More Basketball
I grew up in Mumbai, and school for me wasn’t so much about studies—it was about sports, debates, quizzes, and basically doing everything except academics. I was fortunate to have access to great facilities and was always involved in swimming, table tennis, basketball, you name it.

And then JEE happened. Or rather, almost didn’t happen.

🚧 The JEE Dilemma
Though my elder brother had pursued engineering, I had serious doubts about doing the same. Even though I have been really fond of maths and sciences, the first few months into my JEE prep were demotivating—I didn’t get physics, felt underconfident, and told my family more than once that I did not want to continue. At one point, I even started learning German to plan a way out.

But my father didn’t let me give up.

With some pep talks, teacher support, and a shift in mindset, things began to click aroundafter mid-11th grade. Eventually, I emerged as the top ranker in my coaching institute for both JEE Mains and Advanced, with an AIR of 168 in JEE Advanced.

🎓 Why IIT Kanpur?
Despite being two kilometers away from IIT Bombay, I chose IIT Kanpur. It was a well-researched decision based on the CSE department’s reputation, curriculum, and student culture. The debates at home weren’t easy, but I stuck to what I believed in—and I’ve never regretted that.

🏛 Life at IIT Kanpur: Enlightening, Intense, Involved
My time here has been a mix of deep introspection, intense learning, broadening perspectives, and crazy involvement—from being a Senator and then Chairperson of the Student's Senate. It has been a highlight bringing about changes through the self governance atmosphere, like drafting the new UG manual and contributing to policy reforms like increasing the summer graduation credit cap (which saved many from paying an extra semester’s fee).

One thing I truly appreciate here was how much student opinions mattered—something I realized through direct interactions with the Director and various committees.

📚 Academics & Beyond
I’m a fan of rigorous math and love courses that push me to think. My favorite ones?

Probabilistic Machine Learning with Prof. Piyush Rai. I have loved his extremely rigorous mathematical approach.
A research project as part of our course evaluation was very interesting for me. 
Mathematics for CS with Prof. Nitin Saxena. He forces us to think and has a very nonchalant way of teaching.
Prof. Baswana is also a very invested and passionate teacher. His courses have also been a great learning experience.

I have had an interest that spans over cognitive science, sociology, and computer science. I am interested in how people think and how societies at large behave, leading me to take up courses in these streams, as well as pursue a minor in Statistics & Data Science.

Largely I feel academics are not that hard if you can identify successful patterns for yourself. I completely blank out everything right before the exams, and that has worked for me.

🏆 The Aditya Birla Scholarship
In my first month at IITK, I was shortlisted as one of the top 20 JEE rankers and later selected as an Aditya Birla Scholar—a humbling experience, made more special by a live-streamed announcement I watched with my parents.

Last semester I got to attend the scholarship's 25-year celebration in Mumbai—connecting with scholars who are now civil servants, VCs, entrepreneurs, and more. Truly inspiring.

🔬 What’s Next? Research, Reinforcement, and Robotics
I’ve chosen not to sit for placements, which, as many said, is “unorthodox.” Instead, I’ve applied to MS+PhD programs abroad.

I’m passionate about robotics and reinforcement learning—fields that let me explore the intersection of cognitive science, sociology, and computer science. To me, human learning itself is a form of lifelong RL—we try, fail, get feedback, and iterate.

🎙 Looking Back (and Forward)
From aimlessly attending fresher events to shaping academic policy—IIT Kanpur has been a wild, wonderful ride. The only thing I would look back and regret would be not joining any clubs or sports.

What has been most rewarding, though, is realizing that you don’t have to follow the default path. If you’re curious, committed, and open to the uncomfortable, there’s space to chart your own course.

Looking ahead, robotics and reinforcement learning is what really interests me. And that is something I would like to research about.