The International Collegiate Programming Contest organized by the Association for Computing Machinery is one of the world’s biggest coding competitions. The ACM – ICPC is a 3 layered contest, with the first level being online, the second being regional rounds held at centers across the world. In India, this year it was held at IIT Kanpur and at Amrita University in Amritapuri, Kerala. The top teams of these regional rounds get to compete in the world finals. This year, our team (Rachit Mittal, Surendra Sirvi and me) got the chance to compete at the Amritapuri site of regionals, against some of the best teams from all over Asia. Teams from countries like China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Korea had come to compete, apart from India.
It was a frenzied carnival of fun, algorithms, competition, rivalry, and culture against the backdrop of the beautiful state of Kerala, truly, God’s own country. The Amritapuri campus is situated in the beautiful Kollam district of Kerala. It’s right next to the sea and therefore enjoys the most beautiful sights that the sea and the backwaters can offer. The Amrita University had been established by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, popularly known as Amma, and the Hugging Saint. Her ‘Math’ is located in Amritapuri on a small islet separated by the mainland by a thin strip of sea. The college is situated on the mainland. Our accommodation had been arranged in the Math only so we had to crossover whenever we wanted to go to or from the college. The place of accommodation was a 17-storied building. The roof presented an enthralling view of the mainland, crisscrossed with backwaters, which were spotted with fishing nets, and the majestic Arabian Sea, spread from left to right. On the day we went to the beach there, we were also able to spot dolphins jumping from the surface of the sea a little distance off the coast! The math is really a place to relax and enjoy the nature.
The Indian Programming scene has been pretty dynamic since the past years. Currently the top team in India, the KingsGambit from IIIT- Hyderabad has already qualified for the world finals from Kanpur. The runner up of the Kanpur regionals this year, Team CounterGambit, from the same college, had come with intent to qualify for the world finals from here. Other top Indian teams like DaretoCode and Phoenix had also come for the event, after succeeding in its online qualifying stage.
The contest started with much enthusiasm with a practice contest and a cultural program, mainly depicting the cultural heritage of Kerala along with some western dance numbers. The next day was for the main event. The five hour coding event began in the morning. All heads were bent trying to solve the ten questions which were set. As time progressed, it became quite clear that team CounterGambit would win the event as it was leading from the beginning. But team Oasis from Sogang University, South Korea turned the tables in the last half an hour, submitting two correct problems during that time and edging out CounterGambits to win the event here and also qualify for the world finals. They were cheered highly by the volunteers as they made their way out the contest arena. The award ceremony followed the event, in the evening.
The hospitality of the host college was great during our stay. They provided top notch stuff for everything, be it rooms, food or for any other help that we may needed. The enthusiasm of the volunteers (from first to fourth years) was contagious and it was them who made the trip memorable for us. The next day, after the event we went to a few beautiful places nearby, namely the Thenmala ecotourism centre which also houses an adventure zone for the adrenaline junkies. The Palaruvi waterfalls, the most beautiful in Kerala were really pleasant and refreshing sight. And where in India can you go from the seaside to deep into the mountains in just an hour! The varieties in nature were just awesome.
The best of programming teams, competition in the air and Kerala at its best. What more can a person ask for. It was a truly enriching event and would be cherished by us for a long time to come. As the train chugged out of the Kayankulam station we couldn’t help but think about what all had this short period of time with strangers had taught us.
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