Pratik Poddar

Blog post written my Ben Jones, from the MIT Admissions Office, in 2006. ( Original Link ) As you begin your college experience, and I prepare for my 10-year college reunion, I thought I’d leave you with the things that, in retrospect, I think are important as you navigate the next four years. I hope that some of them are helpful. Here goes… Your friends will change a lot over the next four years. Let them. Call someone you love back home a few times a week, even if just for a few minutes. In college more than ever before, songs will attach themselves to memories. Every month or two, make a mix cd, mp3 folder, whatever – just make sure you keep copies of these songs. Ten years out, they’ll be as effective as a journal in taking you back to your favorite moments. Take naps in the middle of the afternoon with reckless abandon. Adjust your schedule around when you are most productive and creative. If you’re nocturnal and do your best work late at night, embrace that. It...

I have thought over this problem for hours and days. I am no big shot. I am no political leader. I understand that I am in no position to bring a big change. So, the answer is that all of us should change to make India a developed country. Fair enough. I reached this conclusion 3 years back. Now what? How can I contribute in my way? Any suggestions? I talked to many smart(er) people. Got some answers. But not complete. I think its still unanswered but most of my doubts are gone by the book "Ignited Minds" by APJ Abdul Kalam. This is not a review of the book. I am in no position to do that. This is just a compilation of the points I thought, points that came up in the discussions I had with a few seniors, discussion I had with my internship professor in Hong Kong, my lab mates during my internship at Paris and also the ideas from Ignited Minds. An attempt to answer the question on " How can people like me (young and educated) contribute to India's development? ...

Question to answer: Why do lots of IITians move towards finance? 1) Money: Finance companies pay way more than other companies. The average pay of a finance company is 1.5-2 times that of an average CS tech firm and 2-2.5 times an average non-CS tech firm. This probably is the single most important reason. More importantly the prospects of hefy bonuses which can surpass any salary in any industry. People flock to finance because of the riches/lores of traders/i-bankers who have earned a software engineer's lifetime salary in a few years. 2) No interest in Tech: Since most of us have the feeling that "acads to nahin hi hoga" or I am not born for tech, we have anyways narrowed down our choices to a few out of which most are financial services firms. 3) Analytical skills required:  This is perhaps the only field where they require analytical skills but do not pay much importance to your CPI. Proving that you are smart is more important than getting a hi-fi CPI. :) Th...

I have been asked by many people about tips on JEE preparation. Thought writing this on the blog might help some aspirants. Best of Luck!! I gave this interview once and thought of making the transcript public on the blog. 1.What was you rank? IIT JEE 2006 - All India Rank 3 AIEEE 2006 - All India Rank 2 2.Which books did you follow during your preparations? Physics: 1) NCERT 2) Concepts in Physics by H.C Verma (Two volumes) 3) Problems in General Physics by I.E. Irodov 4) University Physics by Freedman and Young or Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday, Resnick and Walker 5) Aptitude Test Problems in Physics by S.S. Krotov Chemistry: 1) NCERT 2) Numerical Chemistry by P. Bahadur or Numerical Chemistry by R.C. Mukherjee 3) Concise Inorganic Chemistry by J.D. Lee 4) Chemistry Principles & Applications by Sienko and Plane 5) Organic Chemistry by Solomons and Frhyle or Organic Chemistry by Morrison and Boyd Mathematics: 1) NCERT 2) Higher Algebra by Hall and Knig...

Targets Set at some point or the other at IIT :) Target                                 Did or Not                           Comments CPI 9.00  No Whatever.. Ditch :P English No :( Guitar No :( Job Yes :) Maths Yes :) Dram Yes Did basic level. Ended it with an awesome PAF :) Weight Yes Went to a terrible state.. But getting back now. Lost more than 7 kgs now. :) TT Yes Can play at a very basic level and win against a beginner. Blog Yes +80 followers and +120 posts on puzzle blog Euro Trip Yes :) Swimming No :( Debating No :( Novels No :( Publication Ongoing I need luck!! :) Sent BTP work Finance Yes Did a basic level reading this sem :) Goa Yes 27th Feb 2010 :) GF No :(

Adarniya sabhapati mahodaya, atithi vishesh shikshan mantri shri R D tripati ji, maanyaniya shikshagan aur mere piyaaare sahpatiyo Aaj agar I.C.E aasmaan ki bulaaandiyo ko chhu raahaa hai to uska shreya sirrf ekinsaan ko jaataahai - Shri Veeru Sahastrabuddhe Give him a big hand. He is a great guy really. Peechle buttis saal se inhone nirantar is college mein balatkar pe balatkar kiye. Umeed hai aagey bee karte rahege. Hamein to aashcharya hota hai ki ek insaan apne jeevan kaal mein itni balatkar kaisi kar sakta hai. Inhone kadi tapaasya se apne aapko is kaabil bunaya hai. Waqt ka sahi upyog ghante ka purna istemaal koi inse seeke. Seeke inse seeke. Aaj hum sab chaatra yaha hai, kal desh videsh mein fail jayenge. Waadaa hai aapse jis desh mein honge waha balatkar karenge, I.C.E ka naam roshan karenge. Dika denge sabko jo balatkar Karne ki kshamtaa yaha ke chaatro mein hai wo sansaar ke kisi chaatro mein nahiii. No other chaatra. No other chaatra. Adarniya mantraji! Namashkar a...

First 7 comic strips posted earlier here 8) :)