I was born in Ambala, Haryana, but grew up in different parts of the country as my father served in the Air Force. Aeroplanes and trains (we used to travel to Ambala), became important parts of life.  They fascinated me and I wanted to capture them on slate, and on paper. I became a compulsive sketcher quite early in life.

Later, I aspired to be an Engineer. IIT was the goal but turned out to be a tough nut to crack. I failed two attempts. Therefore, I appeared for an Architectural Aptitude Test, and got admitted to University of Roorkee, which later became IIT Roorkee. I did get into an IIT.

Architecture introduced me to Design. It was fascinating—it wasn’t just about buildings—it was about systems, people, and empathy. For my Master’s in Design, I went to IIT Delhi. I got into an IIT, again.

Then TCS happened. I got into a group that worked on technologies that eased humans’ interaction with computers–speech recognition, handwriting recognition, natural language processing. I learnt about breaking down problems mathematically and programmatically.

I was not working with AI, I was creating AI, and that was long, long ago. However, priorities shifted. I wanted to go back to Design. Applied to the PhD programme at IDC, IIT Bombay.

Got selected. IIT, once again.

PhD was tough. It took 9.5 years, burnt through savings, and taught me to live through stretches of loneliness, uncertainty and anxiety. I wanted to quit more than once but my mother, a pillar of strength, refused to let me quit. I also derived power from devotion to God. Practicing Advaita Vedanta philosophy kept me rooted.

Practicing Design is not easy – you work long hours, sleep and eat irregularly, travel in crowded buses and auto-rickshaws, go to faraway places for fieldwork. Did I tell that I also got polio at a very young age , which has worsened my mobility over the years?

Today, I teach students to be bold in their thinking and compassionate with people. When they struggle, I remind them: I’ve walked this path—and have come out stronger.