This whole new year got off to a roaring start. I was staying in a shared room in an apartment, and the arrangement was not one that I particularly enjoyed. I concluded that I enjoy living with people who have similar values and perspectives, and because my friend Gagan was experiencing something similar, we made the decision to relocate together.
We began looking for a 2BHK (two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen). Without a broker, it might be difficult to locate a decent location in Bengaluru, so we searched on our own in the HSR and Koramangala areas. After touring a couple of locations we had located online, we felt uninspired and grudgingly contacted a broker to expedite the search. The broker jokingly inquired what our comfort level with a rooftop 1RK (one room with a bathroom and kitchen).
It is my dream to have a pent house.
When THE ROOFTOP came into the picture, we just dropped our standards. We were looking for a PENT ROOM.
On the top, there was only one room. The funny thing is that we chose the space without going inside the room. Instead, we chose the room based on the view it had.
It was on the rooftop, so we had the roof rights 👻. Gagan is from Punjab, and so am I. Both of us ate and drank the same things 😜.
So, two boys moved into a room that only had room for two beds and a bean bag. That was the beginning of the time of Work hard, party harder. Bengaluru is India’s beer city, and we were ready to play.
After moving in, we went to Pondicherry the next weekend with our other friends from Mysore.
It was a wild place for parties. There was usually someone staying with us most of the time. It was also a place for an after-party, a BBQ, drinks on Friday nights, and a dance floor because there was plenty of room. It was really strange.
Another childhood friend Karan landed a job here. He has known me since our teenage. Full of energy, just like me. 😁
I was having the best days of my life at that time. With Furlenco, I was finally making enough money to be able to buy a car. I drove my i20 to Bengaluru and bought a new Eon at home.
Soon after that, my maternal grandfather said goodbye to us. I love him and think about him all the time. I learned a lesson that day, and I still try to keep it in mind when I make choices.
Harshil came to see me for his birthday. He had kept in touch with me over the years. He was assigned to Kakinada and frequently paid me visits during his layovers in Hyderabad. We wanted to enjoy and have more fun this time in Bengaluru because it was his birthday on August 8th, and we spent the entire day drinking freshly brewed beer from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. I still can’t believe it, because Gagan’s other friend was visiting us, and he is a serviceman, and servicemen have a different respect for their seniors. Our friend sat with his senior and drank with him until his officer’s last drink, which was around 3 a.m. 🤯
I was constantly logging 10 - 12 hours at work. It was a learning phase for me because I had no idea what software development was all about. I loved the hustle and was fortunate to have worked with brilliant people throughout the organization. I was learning about the many stages and verticals of product development and the e-commerce market for the first time. I was unfamiliar with terms like warehouse and order management, but I was involved in all processes such as Ideation, Design, Development, Product Growth, Marketing, and Post-launch analysis. KYC was one of the most important flow channels in the product journey, and I made it.
Things were going quickly, and I was simply blowing in the wind!
Gagan and I celebrated Diwali on our rooftop that year, and I spent New Year’s Eve in Goa with Anuj and college friends.
« BackNext - 2017: Things started changing at the rooftop and the office