I Me Myself

Some random notes that might help you understand me better.

Historical Note

I grew up in Delhi and Bhopal. My mother is from Allahabad and father is from Delhi. My parents are now settled in Gurgaon. I was based in Bangalore till 2005. Now my wife Namita, my son Nilay and I, stay with my parents in Gurgaon. Who I am was largely shaped by my upbringing at home and at my school in Delhi. Much of what I do and who I know is thanks to my college, IIT Madras, and my favourite city, Chennai.

My Idea of Fun

People. I love spending time with friends and family. My idea of a fun evening is everyone getting together at home and chatting, or going for a drive, a movie or dinner.

Hobbies

Computers used to be my number one hobby, but that's rapidly changing. I have enough of being a nerd at work: don't want to carry it home.

I like travelling a lot. Especially by train. Almost every weekend I travel to some place or the other.

I've always had a lot of interest in the Arts. I watch a lot of theatre in Bangalore, and would love to be involved again in theatre, or live music and dance.

I read a lot, and like listening to music and watching movies.

What Else...

I do quite a bit of social work. But it's not a hobby. Neither is it my work. I just like doing it, and do it quite seriously. That's why I'm not deeply involved in anything at the moment: I just don't have the time to do it seriously. For a while I was going to be working with Greenpeace, but then I decided to concentrate on "Future Goal".

Career

I used to be an embedded systems engineer. I now work on Linux based IT products.

Though I am passionate about my work, I treat my job like a job. I work eight to five, and keep my weekends free. This gives me time for my family, friends, hobbies... and to have a life of my own :)

My Goal in Life

has been fairly constant for almost two decades. I want to be an entrepreneur and an inventor. I believe in social entrepreneurship. I have worked quite a bit on low cost computing and rural telecom.

I moved one step closer to realising my dream, when I started work at VXL in March 2006. VXL makes thin clients. I had been using their products for more than an year in my rural IT projects. Working with them, I am creating the missing pieces in their total solutions for schools and rural areas.

Future Plans

I don't intend to be a software guy for the rest of my life. At the same time, I am not going in for an MBA. I want to do management in the true sense, not get into finance or something like that.

I will never emigrate. However, I would love to travel to new lands. I've been to the US twice, and I've hated it. I'd prefer going to Europe, Latin America, East Asia, and South Africa. I keep toying with the idea of higher studies abroad.

Religious Beliefs

I'm spiritual, but not religious. I feel religion is a lot about telling people to do the right things and keeping faith. I believe in doing good, being moral and staying optimistic. But I don't need an incentive for that. I don't think doing the right things will take me to heaven, or that God is keeping a log of my good deeds. You could say my conscience is my spirituality.

My Kinda' Life

I believe in reduce, reuse, recycle. Life is good when it's simple. That way you have the time and opportunity to enjoy the simple joys of life - to stop and smell the roses. I find myself a lot less career and money oriented than my contemporaries.

Maybe it's easy for me to talk about simple living, coz I already have more than I need :). I live in a wonderful fully furnished apartment with a fridge, TV, a few computers, and a whole bunch of other things. I even have a car and a bike!

So, I guess, the general idea is to not run after a mightier career and fatter pay check, but to enjoy every step of life, give loads of time to my family, and do the things I believe in doing.

My Kinda' People

  • People who want to get the most out of life - never sit idle, never say die, always smile. Optimistic, happy, fun loving, humorous!
  • Compassionate. Sensitive. Who see life around them in its entirety, not just what they would like to see.
  • People who like being involved with "co-curricular activities". Speaking, theatre, music, dance, whatever!
  • Book and theatre lovers!
  • Travel freaks, of course!

My Tiny Little Personals Ad smiley

So you reached all the way here! I am happy to announce that this ad has served its purpose. I have found the girl of my dreams. You can take a sneak preview here. Check out the album for more snaps.

My partner and I

  • Were friends first.
  • Have a relationship based on trust.
  • Are having great conversation.
  • Are have a lot of fun together... yeah, we finally got married!