“You travelled 36 hours just to make it to this interview. Do you plan to continue this journey for the next two years too?” the professor at IIT Gandhinagar (IITGn) asked me this question in my first interview. I replied in the positive. Hailing from Odisha, I started my studies at IGIT Sarang, and four years of dedication landed me in IITGn. This exposure to this professional and dynamic environment improved the ways I used to explore the world.

As the saying goes, Opportunity never knocks twice. Grabbing it while it’s still at your door is the best thing to do. One such splendid moment arrived in early February 2015 when our professor arranged a 4 day/3 night trip to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Research Centre (VSSC), Trivandrum. 3 years back, I wouldn’t dare step out, with only four boys to accompany me, to the southern states of India, but time had matured me and I accepted the opportunity.

The train journey from Ahmedabad to Trivandrum was 42 hours long. I had never travelled by the Western Railways until then. Shortly after Ratnagiri, traveling on the Konkan Railways over the Western Ghats, the mesmerizing natural beauty kept me spellbound for hours. The echoing horn of the train in the long dark tunnels ran a thrill in my nerves. Soon, we noticed the extended backwaters finding their way to land through coconut trees. The air around us freshened, and we realised that we had entered Kerala.

After getting out of the train, the first challenge we encountered was to explain where we wanted to go to the local taxi drivers. We kept looking around on the way to our hotel and saw that the city was in quite a festive and merry mood. We would later learn that the festivities were to celebrate Attukal Pongal, which would be 3 days after. That night, lying on the bed, looking past the coconut leaves fluttering outside my window, I felt very special indeed.

The next two days were spent working at the VSSC, speaking to India’s renowned scientists. Meeting the very people who are at the forefront of the country’s best research and development activities – this was an overwhelming moment for me. The labs, infrastructure, and the atmosphere, along with the scientists – the place was heaven for an inquisitive engineering student like me.

After we finished our work on the third day, we felt like walking around to get a good look of the city. One member of the group I had come with was a local, and we visited his family as well. The atmosphere outside was breathtakingly serene.

The long streets were lined with handmade brick stoves to be used for prayers during the upcoming Pongal festivities. Women, with their families surrounding them, were preparing for the puja with rice, water, and other ingredients to cook the offerings to be made to the deity. “They will start cooking together, to make the traditional payasam (sweet rice porridge) as per the instructions received from the Attukal temple in the city,” explained my friend’s father.

This inspired us to visit the temple, just a 15-minute walk away. The Padmanabhaswamy temple, where the lord is Shree Vishnu, laying in the Anantasayana pose. This large idol of Vishnu is never fully visible. It can only be seen partially through three doors in three different directions, a representative of the fact that all knowledge of the world is never revealed to one person. Bowing before the omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent lord, I spent some time in quiet prayer.

Visiting Kerala is worthless without a trip to a beach. We did not have enough time to spend hours frolicking on the sand, so we were glad to be able to visit the Veli Tourist Village & Beach, as it was close to VSSC. Standing close to the ocean, we enjoyed the orange glow of the seaside sunset, ending the day with a delicious dinner of rice and fish cooked the way locals do.

Three days later, our trip ended as we landed in Ahmedabad. My mind was still buzzing with the sound of waves, my eyes reminiscent of the swaying coconut trees. Our professor, who arranged the trip, was waiting to welcome us back. I was left speechless with the wonder of it all, and when asked about my experience, the only thing I could tell him was, ‘Thank you, sir, for the chance to go through it all!’ 

This article is part of PaGaLGuY’s innovative Internship programme for engineering students. Currently, two such programmes are on – one on Creative Writing, the other is a Certification on Digital Media. If you are interested in partaking and  bagging a certificate, besides learning the nuances of effective writing, mail us at [email protected].