Batch: 1996 to 2001
School roll: 8
House: Nilgiri
Current address: Jakobstrasse 21
Aachen 52064
Germany
Phone: +49 176 8325 0723
Aachen 52064
Germany
Phone: +49 176 8325 0723
Email: kumardeepu@gmail.com
Current status: I just started a Ph.D program at RWTH Aachen University here in Germany. I am working on increasing the Solar-cell efficiency by using the tools of nano-technology. It feels good to be working towards making this world a better place considering all the alternative energy sources we can get. My Ph.D program which I started a few months ago is fully funded and I have so much freedom to work on the topic. My professor is really nice and all my work colleagues are super friendly. I know a bit of German but I am working hard at the moment to become fluent in it so that I can contribute towards my scientific research even more.
Life after JNV : I think most of you already know how my life started after our beloved JNV. For people who don't know or have forgotten, here are all the details:
Left JNV in 2001 to go to the UK by getting the scholarship from Pestalozzi International Village based in England.
It was a painful experience for me to leave JNV after class XI as it was an abrupt departure. After getting my visa for England, I had to leave JNV with tears in my eyes as my fellow mates were still in the school. After this the journey of my life began:
Life in England (2002 to 2004): To start with, i had a big cultural shock when I landed in England. At the same time considering my spoken English was not so good, it took me some time to get used to the british accent. Slowly, I managed to make many friends and they all helped me along my way. Coming back to the cultural shock, things were so open and different than the place I had come from that I used to feel embarrassed seeing people kiss in public or even in the classrooms. Compared to JNV it was a place which was totally different when it came to interact with girls. Now I had friends who were girls and it wasn't like anybody cared if I talked to a girl at whatever time of the day/night. I learned quite a lot after coming here. I was living with students from different countries around the world under the same roof. I got to learn about different cultures and traditions from around the world. It helped me develop an unique view of the world where I learned to respect diversity and started considering myself a global citizen. This actually helped me leave my previous Indian prejudices behind me and I started to be as unbiased as possible. My judgement became clearer and I stopped judging things without knowing about it.
Well, enough of the cultural differences and now about my studies. I was doing a program called "International baccalaureate (IB)" which is compared to our class 12th but it gives students more freedom to chose different subjects and also it is very highly regarded. I was taking Maths, Physics, Chemistry, English, Business & Management and Spanish as my subjects. After two years, I graduated with the IB diploma and it was time for me to choose a college to start my Bachelors. I had few offers from England and the USA but after much considerations I chose to settle for Jacobs University Bremen in Germany.
Germany/Deutschland (2004 to present): When I was choosing to come to Germany few people suggested that it might not be a good idea for a dark skinned Indian to go there considering Germany's history. To be honest, before I came to Germany I also had some doubts in my mind about certain things like racism. On the contrary, Germany welcomed me with open hands and I felt like home here. Jacobs University become my home away from home. Here students came from 80 or so different countries around the world and due to this unique place I have friends from unimaginable places. I can literally say that I have close friends around the world and it fills me with a warmth just to think about it. Well, I can keep going on and on about it but it will take so much time, but if you are really interested to find out more about my experience abroad then you can always chat with me and I will be more than happy to tell you more about it. Below are my educational career:
B.Sc and M.Sc.: So I finished my Bachelors in Physics after three years. It was tough but an enjoyable experience. After this I was thinking about getting a Masters degree. I started with an M.Sc program in "Environmental Physics" but after one semester only I realized that it was not for me and I did not want to continue. I was at the crossroads and I couldn't decide what exactly I wanted to do further in my life. At the same time let me remind you, its very hard to get a good job after just a B.Sc. degree especially in physics. After losing almost a year I had made up my mind. I got a very good offer from Technical University Munich (TUM) in the field of "Engineering Physics and Nano-technology". To be honest, it was my dream come true experience as I really liked the course and also TUM is like the best university in the whole Germany. I finished my M.Sc with flying colors and got my thesis published in a very respected journal APL.
Well, after that I got this Ph.D. offer and wish me luck so that I can get a Doctor degree after few years and contribute something towards the wellness of our world. :)
Most memorable memories of JNV: Here are a few which I can recall at the moment:
Near future goals I am working on and how: As you already know by now that I am pursuing a Ph.D. career and in a few years I will get my doctors degree. I think after that I might come back to India and work there for a few years at least. I cannot tell you exactly how many years from now it would be happening but I hope that it would happen soon. People talk about me getting married but I don't see myself getting married in coming few years. Let's see what is there for me in the womb of time. If something changes I will report to you guys for sure :)
Lines from me to my juniors (still in JNV): There are so many things I would like to say to you guys. First, never think that you are worse in anything compared to anyone. If you are doing bad in your studies then work really hard and the fruit will be there for you. Follow your heart when it comes to making decisions and don't just let others decide what is best for you. In India its always somebody else's business to shape your future, but at the end of the day its you who is going to live your life. Success in your lives is not going to be presented to you on a silver platter, you have to snatch it by yourself. In order to do so, you have to make sure that you have enough strength to do that. You have to set an example for the juniors if you are senior and be nice to your seniors if you are a junior. Life is not so hard in JNV, you just have to learn how to enjoy it.
I don't want to write a book here but if any of you have any questions regarding any outlook for your future then get in touch with your seniors or alumni. I am sure one of us will be helpful to you in some way after all we all have gone through what you are going through now. So fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride of your life one step at a time my brother and sisters.
Life after JNV : I think most of you already know how my life started after our beloved JNV. For people who don't know or have forgotten, here are all the details:
Left JNV in 2001 to go to the UK by getting the scholarship from Pestalozzi International Village based in England.
It was a painful experience for me to leave JNV after class XI as it was an abrupt departure. After getting my visa for England, I had to leave JNV with tears in my eyes as my fellow mates were still in the school. After this the journey of my life began:
Life in England (2002 to 2004): To start with, i had a big cultural shock when I landed in England. At the same time considering my spoken English was not so good, it took me some time to get used to the british accent. Slowly, I managed to make many friends and they all helped me along my way. Coming back to the cultural shock, things were so open and different than the place I had come from that I used to feel embarrassed seeing people kiss in public or even in the classrooms. Compared to JNV it was a place which was totally different when it came to interact with girls. Now I had friends who were girls and it wasn't like anybody cared if I talked to a girl at whatever time of the day/night. I learned quite a lot after coming here. I was living with students from different countries around the world under the same roof. I got to learn about different cultures and traditions from around the world. It helped me develop an unique view of the world where I learned to respect diversity and started considering myself a global citizen. This actually helped me leave my previous Indian prejudices behind me and I started to be as unbiased as possible. My judgement became clearer and I stopped judging things without knowing about it.
Well, enough of the cultural differences and now about my studies. I was doing a program called "International baccalaureate (IB)" which is compared to our class 12th but it gives students more freedom to chose different subjects and also it is very highly regarded. I was taking Maths, Physics, Chemistry, English, Business & Management and Spanish as my subjects. After two years, I graduated with the IB diploma and it was time for me to choose a college to start my Bachelors. I had few offers from England and the USA but after much considerations I chose to settle for Jacobs University Bremen in Germany.
Germany/Deutschland (2004 to present): When I was choosing to come to Germany few people suggested that it might not be a good idea for a dark skinned Indian to go there considering Germany's history. To be honest, before I came to Germany I also had some doubts in my mind about certain things like racism. On the contrary, Germany welcomed me with open hands and I felt like home here. Jacobs University become my home away from home. Here students came from 80 or so different countries around the world and due to this unique place I have friends from unimaginable places. I can literally say that I have close friends around the world and it fills me with a warmth just to think about it. Well, I can keep going on and on about it but it will take so much time, but if you are really interested to find out more about my experience abroad then you can always chat with me and I will be more than happy to tell you more about it. Below are my educational career:
B.Sc and M.Sc.: So I finished my Bachelors in Physics after three years. It was tough but an enjoyable experience. After this I was thinking about getting a Masters degree. I started with an M.Sc program in "Environmental Physics" but after one semester only I realized that it was not for me and I did not want to continue. I was at the crossroads and I couldn't decide what exactly I wanted to do further in my life. At the same time let me remind you, its very hard to get a good job after just a B.Sc. degree especially in physics. After losing almost a year I had made up my mind. I got a very good offer from Technical University Munich (TUM) in the field of "Engineering Physics and Nano-technology". To be honest, it was my dream come true experience as I really liked the course and also TUM is like the best university in the whole Germany. I finished my M.Sc with flying colors and got my thesis published in a very respected journal APL.
Well, after that I got this Ph.D. offer and wish me luck so that I can get a Doctor degree after few years and contribute something towards the wellness of our world. :)
Most memorable memories of JNV: Here are a few which I can recall at the moment:
- I will tell you one thing before anything is that I am who I am today all because of JNV. I come from a very poor background like the most of us and it feels like a dream to me that I am here today. I owe everything to our JNV and I wish to give back as much as I can one day.
- It all started with our batch at the old jail campus where things were so different than now in our own campus. We were so young and foolish to start with, but slowly we started to grow as a team. I don't remember much of my childhood but the childhood memories of JNV. Volleyball (in front of the mess), cricket between the classrooms and badminton on the concrete at the old campus...oh those days.
- House competitions, where we used to fight like Spartans in order to get any points we could get. I remember writing poems in Hindi for house competitions. I got so many prizes for our house (which don't count for anything now and have lost most of them along the way) which meant the world to me then. I miss those simple but educating times a lot.
- Inspiration from girls as we used to call them "glucon-D" in those times as we used to up all our activities when they were around. I would really like to thank them all. Call it a puppy-love but it was really important for us to show-off as much as possible.
- There were always some gossip going around especially about girls and boys. I remember starting few rumors myself which I will not share with you guys but it was really fun.
- Friends are very important in my life and I have made lifelong friends there. Friends whom I call them after years and years and we start off where we had left the last time. I feel so fortunate when I think about all the friends I have from JNV.
- Juniors back then were considered lower in status compared to seniors. A lot of juniors were very good friends of mine, but when I was there I didn't have this idea back then. Now that I can think of it, I consider them my close friends too. I am sorry if I was harsh on anyone :)
- Before I became school captain, there wasn't so much power in the hands of a school captain. I had to fight for the rights of the students and one of the incidents was the 17th September 2001 which I don't condone but was necessary from every aspect. I will never forget the time when few other students and I masterminded the so called "revolution" in the heat of the moment. I think the outcome of it was that our school became much better but we also had so many ugly things to deal with afterwards. To be honest I am not really so proud of it.
- The best Holi (or any Holi to speak of) memory I have is of our JNV. All the cultural programs, pua/puri with aloo-dum, rang and abir, lots and lots of Bhang...the list goes on and on. Its sad that its been like 10 years or so since I had celebrated any Indian festival in my life, but I will always treasure those moments in my heart and nobody can take that away from me.
- The trip to Bokaro city for our final 10th exams. We used to be so scared and nervous that we could not even fall sleep on that long ride. I am so glad that its behind me now, but somewhere in my heart I do miss those moments.
- I miss Nilgiri house and all the students belonged to that house. Not only that, I miss my batch so much. There was something about our batch which made us different. I know when you all read this you think the same about your batch, but to tell you the truth, there were some exceptional characters in my batch. To name a few: Ritesh, Rakesh, Khalid Dharmendra, Shashi, Vicky, Manoj, Namrata, Chandana, Pooja, Sudha.....(many more). These people are all very talented and unique in their own way. I have learned quite a lot from all of them I am so proud that they are part of my memories. I honestly feel privileged.
- I miss some of the teachers such as S.P.Sir(our history teacher) who motivated me the most, Munda Sir (who can forget him), Balister sir (kaha tani na...ka karai tare re...)...I can keep going for another half an hour if you like. Considering that they have to teach middle/high school students, they are very competent and they are shaping the classrooms to lead the world one day. I am so proud of them.
- I miss morning exercises as they were very helpful to keep myself in shape without even thinking about it. Now it feels like work if I have to go jogging or to the gym. On the same note, I was heartbroken when I heard about our P.E.T sir. May his soul rests in peace!
- Even now I play quite a lot of sports and I am not so bad in most of the common sports. Its mostly because of our JNV. I miss playing volleyball, cricket, TT, Basketball, Kabaddi, Kho-kho on a regular basis. This reminds me of the "Cluster" and "Regional" meets. We started a tradition in Kabbadi when we were there. I think we won like 3 Kabbadi trophies in a row or something.
- I miss getting out of the campus on sunday evenings to grab snacks from the local market.
- Kichindah where the water used to be dirty but we didn't care when it came to jump off the cliffs to the water. There were so many scary stories about kichindah.
- Believe it or not, I miss the morning and evening prayers. Even now I sing some of them to myself while I am walking home from work.
- Rice fry: I have tried rice fry from so many different places, even tried to make it myself but never got close to what we used to get. I still starve for it.
- Mess people who were always there for us if we missed any of the meals. They always provided us with brain food one way or the other no matter what time of day or night it was.
- I miss my beloved juniors who always took care of me especially when my parents were visiting, they even made my bed without me even knowing about it.
- I miss those white tennis shoes and the school uniform. I never got a chance to wear them again. Its hard to find those tennis shoes in Germany, never saw exactly those here.
- I miss the second sundays when our parents came with snacks and we used to tax all the juniors :P
- I don't miss the beatings from the teachers in order to get us disciplined. I think it was a brutal and ineffective method. Sometimes I wonder if the teachers were taking out their frustration on us. We should never be the trash cans of personal frustrations of our teachers.
- I don't miss the cleaning of our uniforms on every sunday. I was so glad to have the washermen coming to our school for it.
- I think there should be an effective feedback system between the students and the teachers/principal. A student or a school captain should not be scared to voice out his/her opinion especially when it came to represent other students.
- I think there should be a proper communication system between the outside world and our school, where students can update their knowledge by reading/watching/listening to things from outside. A newspaper is not an enough source, but I heard now there is Internet which makes me happy.
- Ragging should be eliminated and there should be mutual respect between juniors and seniors. A senior should behave like one and should understand that respect is a two way process.
- Our school is supposed to be a co-educational school, but there is barely any communication between boys and girls. Boys aren't any danger to the girls and people should know that. There should be a healthy communication between them. I think this is one of the reasons why someone graduating from our school faces many challenges when it comes to interact with opposite sex. We should know that the real world is so different than we perceive it.
- There should be a platform for the alumni who can be and should be the inspiration source for the future batches. I think its so vital for the aspirations of the juniors. From my understanding, everyone wants to give something back to our school, its just that there isn't any proper system to milk that opportunity yet.
- I think students should be taught skills which they can apply in their practical lives just in case their educational path fails. We have to accept the fact that not everyone is going to be an engineer or a doctor.
Near future goals I am working on and how: As you already know by now that I am pursuing a Ph.D. career and in a few years I will get my doctors degree. I think after that I might come back to India and work there for a few years at least. I cannot tell you exactly how many years from now it would be happening but I hope that it would happen soon. People talk about me getting married but I don't see myself getting married in coming few years. Let's see what is there for me in the womb of time. If something changes I will report to you guys for sure :)
Lines from me to my juniors (still in JNV): There are so many things I would like to say to you guys. First, never think that you are worse in anything compared to anyone. If you are doing bad in your studies then work really hard and the fruit will be there for you. Follow your heart when it comes to making decisions and don't just let others decide what is best for you. In India its always somebody else's business to shape your future, but at the end of the day its you who is going to live your life. Success in your lives is not going to be presented to you on a silver platter, you have to snatch it by yourself. In order to do so, you have to make sure that you have enough strength to do that. You have to set an example for the juniors if you are senior and be nice to your seniors if you are a junior. Life is not so hard in JNV, you just have to learn how to enjoy it.
I don't want to write a book here but if any of you have any questions regarding any outlook for your future then get in touch with your seniors or alumni. I am sure one of us will be helpful to you in some way after all we all have gone through what you are going through now. So fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride of your life one step at a time my brother and sisters.
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ReplyDeletei mean. u have such kind of love for navodaya like we have for the things of our own. u want to return back for whatever u got there in any way, this will be a novel thing to do and for that i will following u in every manner. i personally got a lots of inspiration from u. please don't think in other way. my mistake. i m sorry if u got this meaning from my statement. it was not really that.
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