In the outside
world, congratulations is given by a handshake or a hug, which is pleasant and
agreeable. But at IIT Indore, it is done by whacking the successful person on
his bottom.
Sahil Mittal who scored a 99.95 percentile in CAT 2015 was an undisputable candidate
for one such event.
Mittal who is a
native of Meerut, is currently a final year Mechanical Engineering student at
IIT Indore (IITI). Mittal’s family was hopeful about him scoring well but did
not expect a 99.95 percentile score.
He told PaGaLGuY, “After
completing my GD\PI classes, I returned to the hostel by 11:30 pm on January 8.
I anticipated the warm welcome I was about to receive, so I brought some snacks
to celebrate. It was painful but I managed to stand straight when it ended.”
Mittal’s friend
Shantanu Rajput said, “He was going to be whacked no matter what he scored. GPL
is a practice, this is how we congratulate each other. We don’t give a
permanent injury, but there is enough pain to remember it for a lifetime.”
GPL is a fraternity
celebration in most engineering colleges of the country. And the intensity of the
celebration is in proportion to the achievement. This traditions takes place on
birthdays, students are whacked when they secure jobs, or if they crack a tough
quiz. It should not be associated with ragging, because it is the way success
is celebrated by these students.
Mittal continued, “It
started at midnight, five-seven people were holding me aloft and around 20
people were standing in line to whack me. They had all sorts of sticks; wooden,
plastic, some of them had slippers and shoes in their hand. My flatmate whacked
me with a belt.”
IITI students stay
in a residential township called Silver Springs, which is shared by people
other than the IITI community. Mittal further added, “A guard came to warn us around
1 am because the other residents were getting disturbed. I tried to escape with
him in a hope to hide somewhere in the township, but failed miserably. I ended
up being whacked till 2 in the morning.”
Mittal’s flatmate
Praveen Bhardwaj, who whacked him with a belt, said, “It was not that bad him
for him, he slept alright after it ended. But the GPL tradition will continue
for about a week. Even if his bottom get sore.”
“Sahil also goes by
the name Sir Mittal, because he doesn’t work consistently, does not participate
in events, but whenever he does, it is efficient. For example, he will study a
night before the exam and score well or whenever he takes up a task, he
completes it,” added Mittal’s flatmate, Bhardwaj.