Hello everyone!

This is Roshni and Angana.

As you might have guessed correctly, you are headed towards a mind-numbingly boring blog post introducing the two new Editors of Gymkhana, who, being mind-numbingly boring human beings, have been procrastinating writing this for a while now. We thought we'd eventually come up with something interesting to write about, only to realise that the KGP confessions page has better stuff going on than our lives. Needless to say, the pandemic encapsulated our lives into scrolling through our Instagram and Facebook feeds, only to spiral deeper down into the rabbit hole of existential crisis; looking around for the ambush of assignments; and in our free time, offering Josaa counselling fundae to our neighbours and cousins (IITian at heart, you see).

Good ol’ KGP introductions to our rescue

I am Angana Mondal, a third year undergraduate from Instrumentation Engineering. I have been a part of Debsoc, TLS and Scholars’ Ave. In my free time, I can be found indiscriminately binging all sorts of shows and films, and jamming to indie music.

I am Roshni Kar, a third year undergraduate from the Department of Chemical Engineering. Being a true ML enthusiast (that's my lame attempt at being sarcastic to sound funny), I have been a part of KDAG and the Inter-IIT Tech contingent. When I am not procrastinating, or making a 10-minute conversation last an hour by ranting about extremely random things like how enticing the Zomato alerts are, I would curl up in a corner with a crime thriller and something to munch on.

Naturally, we were bursting with exhilaration when we were offered the post, and we braced ourselves to dive straight into our responsibilities. Little did we know that our bubble was about to burst as quickly as it did with the realization that we wouldn't be returning to KGP on 31st March 2020.

...Right. Let’s elucidate on what we actually do as Editors.

We are responsible for the communication between the Institute and the student community; the different teams involved in TSG, and within the student community. The Editors have worked on revising the official Gymkhana Constitution and are recognised as the heads of the editorial for the Illumination Magazine as well as the annual Gymkhana Magazine. You must have figured out by now who formulates the official content in the Institute and conducts the Gymkhana's literary competition. And the best part, we have access to all the insider gossip!

As Editors, we strive to put forward the collective opinions from the student bodies in the best possible light- their complaints, concerns and opinions about everything going on. After all, we are all in this boat together - sailing through the glorious (*cough cough*) IIT KGP experience - be it those impromptu 2.2 breaks, HJB or eggies at 4 a.m., escaping from Illu duties, patting ourselves on the back for attending an 8 a.m. lecture, ranting incessantly about CDC, and...Let us not go overboard with the nostalgia. It is always these little things that stay with any KGPian.

On a separate note, we both feel that the pandemic has either been unnecessarily romanticised or excessively trivialised on social media. To curate some KGP exclusive content emphasizing that there is beauty in simplicity and that people enjoy reading or simply glancing through relatable anecdotes, we came up with the idea of "Facing the Pandemic". Without any fabrication and bounding of scope on the entries, we wish to consolidate the diverse content from the student community and present it to everyone. Submit your entries at https://forms.gle/hRjgezHze4xrRKoR8 by 3rd October.

Lastly, a gentle reminder to not let the trying times get the better of you (Jim Halpert agrees).

Stay tuned for more juicy content from us, and never hesitate to approach us in case you have any queries/concerns. Take care!

Signing off,

Angana and Roshni.

P.S.- Meme credits - Us. Rant credits - Us.