About Arvind 🤟🏻

I'm a software engineer with a passion for building products that help people live better lives, I like to tinker around with technologies, I'm an avid learner, and I don't like to talk about myself much :) I've also never been a big fan of talking about myself, so I'll leave it at that.

My Interests

I'm interested in a little bit of everything, but mostly – technology, design, philosophy and science. I like learning about, and discovering new ideas, new ways to think. Books help me with that. Sometimes people do too.

My Work

My work currently revolves around building my own products, and working on projects that I'm passionate about. You'll find the list here. I'm also a huge believer of open source. I admire the people that take out their time to help out with projects. It shows genuineness. After admiring people from afar, I decided to join in. Since March 2023, I've been involved with the Kubernetes community. I've served in multiple roles - including leading the communications efforts for their flagship conference (KubeCon + CloudNativeCon), serving on the program committee to evaluate talks, and currently serving in the release team as the Docs shadow. I've also been rewarded for my contributions to the project that KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2024. I acknowledge the power of community, and I'm always looking for ways to help others.

What Makes Me Happy

This could've been an entire essay in itself. But, in an effort to provide as much information about me, all while being as brief as possible, let me give you a little food for thought. I had always felt this drive, this feeling of knowing I'd be able to achieve so much, but always feeling like I somehow do not match up to my potential. If you're ambitious, you'll know this feeling. In December 2024, I got a chance to move to the US for further studies. Out of all places, Boston, Massachussets. I love the place. Paul graham talks about why it matters what city you live in. I'm glad I ended up in Boston. Although I'm afraid of saying "I found my tribe", since that immediately leads people to point fingers on why I'm not successful yet, but I've been growing a lot. I feel it. And that makes me extremely happy. I love being alone. I visit libraries, I sit in cafes, I walk around the city, I sit in parks in the evenings, I read books, I write, I think. I'm happy. I'm content. I'm at peace. I'm me.

Back home, I was happy, but I hadn't formed any strong opinions, a strong sense of self. I always had people around me, who loved me a lot, wanted to protect me, and (fortunately) never let me deal with difficult situations. Hence, I never knew what I wanted, or how I thought about things. Being alone in an entirely different country teaches you things. It teaches you to be independent, and more importantly, to be a better person.

At the time of this writing, it has been 6 months since I've been in the US. I can very vividly remember my last day in India. I remember seeing my father crying - for the first time in 22 years of my being on this planet. I remember hugging my grandparents, wishing so fervently that its not the last time. But I cannot at all remember the person I was 6 months ago. Through this writing, I wish this never changes. I wish I always have this zeal to grow, grow into a better person, be the best version of myself, for me, for my family and everything they've done for me, and for the people who (unknowingly) look up to me.

Contact Me

If you've found anything so far interesting, or resonating, or you just want to say hi, feel very free to reach out to me on LinkedIn!