B.I.T - Bit by Bit

by Triloki Nagpal

BIT - Bit by Bit is an autobiographical story of a young boy fresh from school who gets into an Engineering College where life is totally different from the protected environment of his home. He is exposed to all kinds of worldly experiences, no holds barred. This is the story of how he emerges into a mature and responsible person, groomed to take on the world, and build a career for himself. He meets a girl and falls in love… that transforms his life. The book is a tribute to the great institute, the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, which was the catalyst of his metamorphosis. The book has been written in a lucid and simple language and is spiced by day to day events and incidents of hostel life in a typical residential institute in India.

212 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2014

Reviews

[Pankaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a masterpiece, a great book in its genre. Many people have written books commemorating their hostel days (most notable recent book being Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Five Point Someone’) but this one takes the cake. Personally I find this book even better than Bhagat’s book. It is after a long time that I found a book so ‘unputdownable’ that I read the book in one go.
The story is very cleverly told, without any clutter. The love interest is introduced quite early in the book (pair of eyes in the night train) and sustained in a subtle manner throughout, culminating in marriage at the end of the book. There are a large number of characters, a whole class full of boys, but these characters have been handled beautifully, developing each character only to the extent required by the story. Each incident is narrated in a clear and succinct manner and dovetails into a unified picture of life at one of the better known engineering institutes in the country.
All readers who have lived and studied in a hostel in India in the last century will experience a strong sense of déjà vu. This book is a must read for everyone.

[Ajay Ajay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though, it was Sunday, I was in for a sweet surprise! B.I.T.- Bit by Bit was delivered by Amazon at about eleven in the morning. After a hearty breakfast, lazily, I laid down and started to turn the pages, slowly immersing myself with my senior and the author of this work, Shri Triloki Nagpal, in a journey to the days that he lived in BIT Mesra. While the pepper of pages were enticing, the scenes were mesmerising. It was, as though, I was reliving those wonderful moments of BIT Mesra with him. Being myself from BIT, I could feel as if those flesh and blood running and gossiping right in front of my eyes.

In two straight sitting, I finished reading it.

The narration is very nice, and thus it propels the work as to be a very well written book. However, I'd have preferred had Triloki Ji put in some nice conversation in the novel. Those can be small anecdote, finding place in quotes and unquotes. I also wish a more characterisation would be attempted to know about Varsha Ma'am, her feeling, emotions and her POV about Triloki Ji. That could be woven in the story, where train journeys are taken by both. I believe the second edition will surely find them.

The language is simple and flow is fantastic. I can see the umbilical chord that gets attached between the author and the campus of BIT. I can also see the POV of a young, bright boy wandering in the corridor, with a bit of uncertainty, when he was accompanied by his father at the time of admission, and then slowly turning into a confident young man, going out for Bharat Darshan. A man, an engineer, who came out to conquer this world, is no body, but our esteemed senior and author of this work Shri Triloki Nagpal. I can see in this work the value of the friendship that the author still cherishes. Truly, such things make a man--a complete man.

I salute my senior to have written about BIT and transposing all of us to our those golden moments. I wish him, Ma'am and everyone he knows, the very best in life.

My dear BITans, Friends and friends of friends, and everyone, please pick this book and read it. I'm sure you will love it as it'll caress your sweetest memories. The present student boys and girls will surely find an instant connect with this work. Don't wait! Just go ahead, click a few tabs, and grab your copy.

[Triloki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Triloki’s first book and is written as a tribute to his alma mater, Birla Institute of Technology (Mesra, Ranchi, India). This was the place where he arrived as a seventeen year old and spent five years of his life experiencing a lot of unknowns like ragging, planchette, encounter with a ghost, a hunting trip, fun trips to Agra, Calcutta and McCluskiegunj. In five years of hostel life he learnt to live life on his own without the protection of his parents.

The narrative of the book is interesting. It is an easy read and is sure to take its readers down memory lane as everyone will be able to relate to a lot of incidents that have been written about.

There is a hint of romance in the book too, as Triloki meets a girl on one of his journeys on the Indian Railways. Triloki has written all this after having entered the portals of B I T fifty years ago. Yes, it is the story of half a century ago and yet it is fresh, and very refreshing even today. Not much seems to have changed, except that today we have the internet and then he had snail mail.

[Gs. Subbu · Rating 5 out of 5]

What astounds me is that Triloki Nagpal has bit by bit reconstructed all the details of those wonderful formative years he spent at BIT Mesra without missing any of those various escapades which went a long way towards making the man he is today. What I liked about the book is that it is written in a simple and honest manner without any pretensions and without resorting to sensationalism. But like I said in the very beginning, it is the attention to detail that is truly remarkable. This book is recommended as an excellent read for all of us who aspire to relive our own passage through those formative years. The book also serves as a window to those of the present generation to have a peek into the student life as it was during the sixties. For me it was ‘Nostalgia’. For full review read in http://subbusg.blogspot.in/2014/08/bo...

[Susmita Sinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Triloki Sir being among one of the most active alumni of BIT, does full justice to the college life we never imagined would be so much fun back in those days!
Having read all the blog posts which led up to this book, i thoroughly enjoyed this compilation. Hope all college students get to read this and plan their hostel lives in retrospect :)

[Anchit · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. It's written in a simple language and brings out the author's college's experiences. While reading this book I kept feeling nostalgic about my own college days.