The Excited State: Editorial

Editorial marking the end of my time with The Excited State, our departmental magazine run, by the Chemical Science and Technology Association.

It’s been a ride!

I would like to thank the entire team - for working tirelessly through the pandemic, for keeping up to date with the outside world to maintain the quality of our pieces, for managing their own lives and expectations while working throughout periods of discomfort. The circumstances have been exceptional, and mere words don’t do justice to how proud we are to be releasing this issue.

Our professors have always been our support system and there is no doubt that their well wishes and cooperation have been crucial to our functioning. We extend our deepest regards to them, for all the guidance and all the encouragement they have constantly showered upon us.

As the editor in chief, I would like to share an anecdote - one that I repeatedly go back to, one that will always be close to my heart.

In July 2016, I entered IIT Guwahati as a wide eyed fresher with (what I’d call today) a few too many aspirations for a child that young. On orientation day, the department of chemistry invited all freshmen and their parents to a meet-and-greet session of sorts. Many professors from the department were present there that day, many of whom I hope are going to be constant voices of reason in my life. In 2016, however, all I wanted was to change my department. “Upgrade”, as it is called in IIT G. What’s more surprising is the fact that I said that out loud in front of all our professors, my peers and everybody else present.

I’m here, which makes it obvious that I didn’t manage to move out and honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I couldn’t be more thankful for how things turned out and I’m confident that all of my peers will agree, in the context of their own lives.

With this magazine, we hope to show to current batches and prospective students the multitude of opportunities our department offers, and shift the spotlight from the hierarchy of departments that JoSAA counselling imposes on the incoming batch to a more wholesome picture of how to make the most from spending 4 years with the wonderful department. And of course, for the love of chemistry, we give our two cents about the developments in the field and swoon over Nobel laureates’ works.

To all our juniors, and the many many generations of CST grads yet to come - we will not ask you to fill our shoes. We implore you to try your own luck, test your limits and continue defying all odds!

I conclude with some lines from my favorite poem, Song Of Myself, by Walt Whitman.

“A farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman, sailor, quaker,
Prisoner, fancy-man, rowdy, lawyer, physician, priest.”

Very Invictus-y indeed. Happy reading!