At the end of my 2021 graduation interview, All India Radio asked:
Interviewer: What would, if you are asked to give back something to the country, what would be that?
Anand: I really don’t know. At this stage, I don’t know what I’m capable of and what I can contribute, but whatever it will be, I suspect the bulk of it will come later towards my career.
25 years later, I think I’ve given back three things.
Money is not one of them.
I’m stingy and unemotional. At 14, a beggar clutched me for five minutes asking for money. I didn’t move. I haven’t changed.
But after the Gramener acquisition, I have more money.
Last month, I gave money for the first time. I want to make it a habit.
- Rs 5 lakhs to Sanskrit College. My mother would have wanted it.
- Rs 1 lakh to Vipassana. I liked their approach.
- Rs 1 lakh annually to Isaac Schlueter and Sindre Sorhus for the code they’ve written.
These gifts (accidentally) matched my theme: knowledge, peace, and code!
I see two kinds of contribution:
- Funding - you encourage something.
- Thanking - you repay a debt.
Mine were all thanks, not funding. I hope to learn the other kind too.