fetterlock: how mere conversations can change lives

It's hard to believe that one evening's casual but subtle conversations/discussions can change the course of lives. Fetterlock was mere a domain name purchased by my friend (I have no idea why the name). That evening, as usual, my friends were discussing about things in general. There may be very few topics on which we haven't still discussed. Unfortunately, I was absent from the meeting but the story took a turn which we never expected.
Lemme give you a little background. Roy and mittal, lived for 4 years in jwala hostel, iit delhi. Both from different departments and different wings. I'd say fate had something for them both. Mittal had started a company in his third year itself called mitbots. Due to some compatibility snags he had to withdraw from it. Roy, a cheerful, friendly and extremely resourceful young guy of our wing, met and came to know mittal when the latter was frustrated from politics and started visiting us frequently. Although we and him were of opposite sides but in final year, smart people lift themselves from petty politics and make friends rather than enemies. Now you know how Roy and mittal came along.
We had (actually we still have) a zone of "no embarrasment". That means we were all allowed to talk on any topic with any bias. This, I think, gives us an edge as we understand many things with possibly all angles. That evening, roy and mittal were discussing about the education system of India. Of course all past political regimes were blamed and cursed. Then mittal shared his experience about a college in Indore. He said, when he gave a lecture there (representing his previous firm), he noticed something strange. This was the wall of inequality between himself (an iitian) and normal engineering college student's skill set. His mind stuck on a single thing that how could this be. Are the students of those colleges are still paying the price for not clearing iitjee ? Or wether the education system is so blind that it ignores 90% of the students failing to qualify iitjee ? Is it being interpreted as an offense by the system ? So why are they not given the same quality education which we in iit received ? It'll not be a surprise if one notices the lack of even general awareness in them. To talk about other skills development is a total waste of time. To be very frank they don't even know how to make a resume! This took a toll on both mittal and roy and they decided to start fetterlock which aims at developing the skillset of any engineering student in varied vocational fields including web based entrepreneurial ideas. Today every firm needs an engineer. Any job which a doctor or a lawyer can't do, an engineer is game for it. So why shouldn't the engineers be trained in such a way that they stand out from a crowd? They started working on the model. Joined by some more guys gave them tremendous moral boost. I myself could only help them in "cheering up" department. It started from a mere thought which through our discussions got converted to concern and through hard work and brainstorming an idea got conceived. I think it has the potential to change the face of engineering education system in India. Consequently, they named the program as "better engineer", which I think is very relevant.

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an ode to my bro

had it not been for you, my bro
my iit days would be bleeding boring and slow

i still remember the first crime
we went places to be and to pass time

you inspired me to change my ways
cos dude, you have inherent nobility
and shine with supreme glory and daze

never telling me whats on your mind
but yet knowing whats on mine

there are secrets garrisoned in my head
but when we talk i have low gaurd
discussing through the memory boulevard

sharing a smoke after meals everyday
never paying for like a million ciggies
but always treating me lemonades at sassi's

booze being the "usual ones"
books being the "unusual ones"
gals being the "unnatural ones"
profs being the "unhuman ones"
i have never complained, but dude
now its time to part our ways for good
for now our time is coming to an end as it should
and eventually it would
for another bro will enter my life
with a new set of ideas and a new flight

here @iit time passes by so fast, yet so slow
had it not been for you, my bro
i would be a different star with a different glow
had it not been for you, my bro
had it not been for you, my bro

Quotes on IITians

“These guys are total studs. Just like me.”

~ Oscar Wilde on IITians


“I love those guys.”

~ Oscar Wilde on IITians


“Shhh....Meet me at the Mining department later tonight”

~ IITian to Oscar Wilde


“IIT is t3h l33t.”

~ God on IIT


“We are 'GAWDS'.”

~ IITians on themselves


“So am I.”

~ Douglas Adams on the previous quote


“We the IITians are like rockets. We never study until our ass is on fire.”

~ An IITian


“Fuck”

~ A girl on seeing the IIT-JEE question paper


“You think getting into IIT is difficult? Try getting out!”

~ disguntled IITian on IIT


“In IIT, department chooses YOU”

~ Russian reversal on IIT


“Oh, you are an IITian. You must be very intelligent.”

~ What every IITian wants to hear


“Couldn't you secure admission in ITI?”

~ What every IITian acutally hears from 'people having no clue'