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Also in reply to sid0 below - ok, so it seems I've maybe picked the wrong term saying it's "realistic". Obviously, the book is a novel, and on top of that partly a comedy. Hopefully no one believes that crashing into a professor's home and wearing his shirts is everyday life at IIT.

However, would you not agree that the general atmosphere, such as the hostel life, the exam pressure, going out for ice cream to check out the girls, their conversations about the future, and all this is pretty much the real thing? It's how it felt to me, but then I'm a foreigner.

> hostel life

Eh, a bit, but not really.

> exam pressure

Again, a bit, but a lot of people are quite unconcerned about their exams.

> going out for ice cream to check out the girls

I don't know anyone who has ever done that here.

> their conversations about the future

Yeah, pardon my French, but most people don't give a fuck about the future. Most people just want to get their four or five years done with and then get out of here. There are a few people who genuinely care about the future, but you won't find them discussing anything in the manner given in the book.

That's funny, my memories must be all fantasy then? Pretty arrogant to tell me what I can and cannot have found at IIT. I have found all of the things mentioned above, and they were more the norm than the exception.
You asked

> However, would you not agree that the general atmosphere, such as the hostel life, the exam pressure, going out for ice cream to check out the girls, their conversations about the future, and all this is pretty much the real thing?

My response was to your question. My point was that I disagree with your assessment of IIT life. I didn't make any claims about your experience anywhere. Maybe your experience wasn't representative. Maybe my experience isn't representative. Maybe it differs across IITs (I'm in IIT Kanpur). Who knows?