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filed under WordPress
Last week, Faguni, a WordPress contributor from Dhaka, asked if I was writing a post about my experience as an organiser for WordCamp Asia 2026. We were catching up on WordCamp Asia and professional updates. One of my biggest regrets is that Faguni and others couldn’t attend in Mumbai due to visa problems.
This post has been in draft for about three weeks. As a lead of WordCamp Asia, I had a unique perspective. The event ran smoothly, and even a month later, I’m still tagged on various LinkedIn posts about it.
I’ve read hundreds of social media posts sharing their experiences from the event.
I’m unsure how to articulate my takeaways or leadership lessons. Each experience is unique, making much expert advice seem like survivor bias.
But I do like capturing some feelings, thoughts as personal artefacts on this blog.So make a long story short, this is not really a post about leadership and all that jazz around WordCamp Asia. It is more of a personal one!
Day One, Family Photo at WordCamp Asia 2026.
Can you find me? Hint: I am actually smiling!WordCamp Asia in Mumbai!
Last year I visited WordCamp Asia in Manila. Folks from the WordPress community team only weeks before the event had reached out to me and asked about organising WordCamp Asia in India.
My first fears were how people from Pakistan and Bangladesh travel to India, and those fears did materialise. These fears were not unfounded. Finally I do not think anyone from these two countries could manage to get visas to visit the event. It is one of those regrets I have and won’t go away!
But in early 2025, there were no other cities in the fray and the outreach to Mumbai was a bit of a SOS. So I said “YES” and off I was on this wild journey called WordCamp Asia 2026.
One important reason to sign up for this role was I really wanted to see if I could lead and manage something that just had so many moving parts, so many passionate and talented individuals.
Open source work is a bit like getting used to being under the sun. It can sap your energy, can make your feel uncomfortable. But once you are used to life under the sun, a lot of magic will happen.
This edition was happening in Mumbai, the first flagship event ever in India. There was some negativity around it at the beginning. Regardless, the organisers, all 79 of them started the journey off, excited and happy!
The year of organising this event not easy at all. We lost young Zeel Thakker, an organiser from Ahmedabad, we dealt with production delays, with visa issues, operational costs, sponsors pulling out at the last minute, stretching out budgets, and if that was not enough challenge! A freaking war broke out, which reduced participation further, speakers and some sponsors pulling out.
Several times the thought did cross my mind, that this event is jinxed and maybe it just won’t take place.
But it did!
We had one of the highest turnouts (2400+ Attendees) ever at a WordCamp and the largest ever Contributor Day (1600+). I still feel that we could have had a bigger turnout.
One of my main goals I set was to make WordCamp Asia, unapologetically Asian! This meant making editorial and other choices that reflect this. We managed to have the highest number of speakers from Asia, and I think many more in ratio than previous editions. I hope that continues in future versions too.
The energy was high, at least the feedback from attendees was everything from sessions, to the venue to the food to the after party was fantastic.
I am incredibly proud with all of everyone involved in the organising team. Here is a group photo at the Organiser Dinner!
We just looked a bit rowdy here, but we were quite nice actually! Friendships
The one thing that invariably happens at projects like flagship WordCamps, is that you become friends with people from different countries. I now have friends from Uganda to Russia, from Japan to Sri Lanka.
One of them who almost did not make it was Moses (Cursor) Ssebunya. He travelled all the way from Uganda. His visa application for India was rejected twice!
But his positivity, support and friendship is truly infectious. Both of us got on several calls and several more Whatsapp messages, and figured out how to make sure his visa application does not get rejected a third time!
Some extra paperwork, documentation and digitally signed letters later, Moses applied again the third time. I am not the most expressive person but when he got the visa and sent me a text, I punched the air as in victory for about 3 and half times. Then I noticed I was staring at the screen and no one was around. The window was open and some neighbour might have thought I was finally losing it!
Moses and I learned so much about visa applications, I semi-seriously joked that the two of us should become travel consultants! Moses has spent countless hours vetting applications for meetups and WordCamps around the world. People like him are why the community team keeps chugging along!
And here is Moses and I, eating some Dosa in Mumbai
Moses had his first taste of dosa at Mumbai. The dosa was just about okay! But since it was his first one, he seemed to be happy! Another friend I made over the last year was Regan Khadgi from Nepal. It was so good to meet someone who shares the same values and grace about the community.
I had a great time traversing through Colaba and Girgaum in Mumbai in November, with Regan. It was quite interesting to discover Mumbai through a first time visitors eyes.
During WordCamp Asia, he stayed over at my place in Mumbai. It was fun to hang out with him after the event and take him to an extremely crowded Malad station, to eat unhealthy and delicious wada paavs along with jalebis.
I suspect Regan was a bit overwhelmed with just the number of people he saw. I have made him a promise to visit Kathmandu someday and walk through his city with him as my history guide.
The other big influence on me came from Japan! One of the coolest people I know is Junko Nugaka from Japan. She lives on a small island and takes care of a library. I think people who enjoy libraries have an innate sense of internal calm and an appreciation of the commons.
While I have known Junko for several years, I only became friends with her this year. We have spoken often about the project,style of leadership and sometimes even art and culture.
This was in Pune, after the event. Junko struck a pose at the Kelkar Museum. Junko travelled with me to Pune along with her friend Shoko, after the event. I showed her and re-discovered Pune, seeing it through the eyes of a travellor. I think that will be separate post next week.
Mumbai, Pune, Mumbai!
Mumbai
WordCamp Asia is a big deal. We expected a lot of people to visit Mumbai. Mumbai’s WordPress community is one of the oldest in Asia (along with some in Japan). I have known a lot of the WordPress-ers from these two cities and for over a decade now.For the event I got to work with friends from Mumbai starting with Alexander, Meher, Vachan, Saaheel and so many more.
Alex participating was special for me. He has been visiting my house in Mumbai, planning WordCamps in Mumbai, back when both my parents were around. It was pretty cool to hangout with him sometimes and sometimes just being in the moment.
PuneWhen I moved to Pune in 2017, and I made friendships in the city, mostly with people from the WordPress community. Sheeba, Amit, Joel are all folks I have known since forever in Pune. There was also Yogesh, a good friend from Bangalore. Not only were they organisers, I personally felt they were my main support system in a way. Many of them took time out to help me tackle some things often without me needing to ask for help. They were in a way, my main support system.
That I would end up organising this thing with long time friends and collaborators, was something that was something I could imagine happening. I am very thankful and very privileged to have got to do this with them!
What I did not ever imagine happening was to work with my younger sibling Arundhati.
Mumbai
Arundhati knew some of the organisers from Mumbai but she really started to get to know the WordPress community when she attended some of the meetups in 2022.
Arundhati joined the Communications Team for WordCamp Asia last year.
I make websites, she is a therapist. Our paths never really cross professionally. So even though I know her for a good 40 odd years, it was the first time we were working together.
It was really enjoyable and pleasant to see her doing well, holding her own and bringing along her own brand of calmness and creativity to the project. She even designed the official Wappu mascot for WordCamp Asia, called Wapuulika.I am thankful and glad we both were together on this journey!
Arundhati and I – pleased as punch, posing with Kazuko Kaneuchi the creator of Wapuu from Japan. Photo taken by Junko. For me WordPress feels like Mumbai
Mumbai is a city I have lived much of my life. My childhood, my school years were all in this city. My parents have lived and died in this city. The city is changing, sometimes too fast but if I sit still for a moment, I recognise it even now and never feel like a stranger.
I remember a couple of years ago, while writing a letter to a friend, I described Mumbai as a place that feels like a place I could simply never feel lost.
In that sense, over the years WordPress is like Mumbai for me. A place where I never will feel lost, a place I could never really feel like a stranger!
I got to pose at the photo booth.
Photo taken by Junko
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filed under WordPress
I am four days away from the start of WordCamp Asia 2026. Everything is in execution mode now. No more planning. No more what-ifs. It is the time to be fully in the moment.
As one of the co-leads of WordCamp Asia, this journey has been a long one. It started with a visit to Manila last year. Over a year of work has gone into this.
I have collaborated with people across several countries. Leading them has been an interesting experience. I say interesting because I am an anarchist at heart. Titles like “lead” and “manager” have never fit me like a glove. I really dislike attracting attention to myself. Often, I have had to do that by being at the helm of affairs. Yet here I am.
It is Saturday evening as I write this. A quiet one. But next Saturday will be a different story. I will relax in Mumbai at the after party.
I know what is coming. There will be fun moments and long chats. There will be some irritating moments and some chaos. There will be a lot of really well-executed things. And then it will all be over, just like that.
If you are curious about what we have lined up, check out the schedule.
I can already see my post-WordCamp self. I will make some tea. I will finally dig into the ever-growing stack of books I have ignored for the past four or five months. The busyness stole my reading time. I will want it back!
I can see myself watching some cricket again. I can see the hour long walks returning into my routine. All of it very soon!
But that is later. Right now, if you are reading this and can make it to Mumbai, join us. WordCamp Asia 2026 is going to be a lot of fun. Grab your event pass and come be part of it.
I wonder if I will get some time to do some live blogging from the event. Ambitious, I know. But let’s see, it is a “WordPress” flagship event afterall!
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filed under Liminality
Did not even have to get out of bed to make this image as it is AI generated As the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius lay down in bed, he struggled to get out of it. He philosophized and then forced himself to rise. He aimed to be useful.
At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”If he still struggled…
So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?
Aurelius then added this into his Meditations. Such interesting insights truly needed one to be the overlord of an Empire. As the emperor, he was one of the few people in the ancient world to have this choice. Almost everyone had no choice but to get out of bed and do something. Otherwise, they would starve!
Tags: Philosophy
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I came across an interview of Wang Gungwu. He is the famous Chinese – Australian historian. In the interview, he describes how to live a good life and remain cognitively alert (he is answering as a 95 year old).
He described it as always wanting to learn and to be curious about things. He always wanted to share what he learned. He was hopeful that what he learned and shared would be useful to people to come.
So to break it down this gives us 4 core rules to living a good life.
- Wanting to learn
- Being curious about things
- Sharing what you learn
- Being useful through your sharing to people
The 4 points nicely map comparatively to the four freedoms of the GPL license for open source software.
Freedom 0: The Freedom to Run the Program
Freedom 1: The Freedom to Study and Modify
Freedom 2: The Freedom to Redistribute Copies
Freedom 3: The Freedom to Distribute Modified VersionsTags: open source
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filed under Books
The year 2025 is done. It was not the best year in terms of the number of books I could manage to read. I did watch a lot of informative documentaries and tv series. And this affected my reading.
In 2025, I had some interesting phases. One was about economics and the other a Bukowski phase.
The ones I relished are indicated with a 🫰emoji.
Friends who recommended some of these books, thank you and you know who you are!
So here goes.
🫰Days at the Morisaki Bookshop – Satoshi Yagisawa
The book I bought on a lark because everytime I visit a bookshop I try to buy atleast one book. So on one such trip to a bookshop, I picked this one up about a bookshop.
The writing is calm and a story about growth. Nothing dramatic yet writing flows with some quiet dignity.🫰🫰Love Is a Dog from Hell – Charles Bukowski
Recommended to me by a dear friend who ended up reading some of my own short writings. I find reading Charles Bukowski troubling to say the least. Sometimes in a good way. These are a collection of poems.
Hot Water Music – Charles Bukowski
Another read suggested by the same friend. It was a strange read but expected from Bukowski. I am not sure I can recommend it to everyone. I preferred his collections of poems above.
Kanan Gill better known for his stand up comedy, wrote this wild sci-fi book. The story is a bit all over the place and in places it does show great potential for satire and humour. While entertaining and impressive, I often felt sometimes the weird things were a little forced in the writing.
Bad Samaritans – Ha – Joon Chang
In mid-2025, I went through a phase where I watched many YouTube videos. I also listened to podcasts by Ha-Joon Chang. He is a developmental economist. The Bad Samaritans is a great read about ideas. It discusses how free trade influences economies. It also examines how large developed economies pressure developing economies. They discourage them from doing what they did themselves for growth and prosperity.
🫰Kicking Away the Ladder – Ha – Joon Chang
Did I mention I had a phase! 🙂 This book was more a historical look at economics. What I liked about this book was how Chang explains very complex economics ideas and concepts with a lot of simplicity and everyday examples.
I hope I have a much better year in 2026. I want to find the space and time to read many more books than in previous years.
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Some days ago I came across Pasaydaan sung by the artist Ganavya. It is a old Marathi prayer that is sung at the end of the Dnyaneshwari written by Jñānadeva. It is almost 800 years old. It has been sung by several popular singers in modern India. However, this version became popular recently. It featured in Barack Obama’s favourites list from 2025.
I admit, much of any appreciation for Jñānadev I have is received from some random conversations I had the luck of having with my grandmother over two decades ago.
Created using AI tools! I tried to look for some translations online. However, some of them did not seem to capture what my grandmother had told me about the Dnyaneshwari.
So I wrote a fictional account of Dnyaneshwar telling his sister Muktabai about his thoughts. These thoughts eventually become the poem “Pasaydaan”.
As Jñānadeva walked through the monsoon coolness, respite from the summer heat – walking towards Pandharpur those eight centuries ago. He observed his friends. They worshipped Vishnu. They had discarded their castes and became vagrants. They were becoming wandering fools through the Deccan.
Another wandering horde from the Deccan joined. They worshiped Shiva and decided to humanise him. They saw him more as a Guru like Buddha and less as a celestial being.
Jñānadeva walked with these Deccan pilgrims, through to Pandharpur. He sat before a large tree offering shelter to everyone. Shaivite or Vaishnav or Atheist, all sheltered, offering nourishment from its fruits.
Muktabai, the younger sister of Jñānadeva, roused away his tiredness. “Break those vessels and share your truth my brother! Share it alike, with all of us like that tree above us”
Jñānadeva then wrote with his sister Muktabai for company, a prayer, a Pasaydaan that ends the Dnyaneshwari.
Invoking the cosmic divine, he called for the end of ignorance. Realisation for all people to know of their ties to each other, ties of soulful friendship.
Noticing that in this bliss – moons are without blemish, sun without heat. Saints become friends of all people.
Praying for all beings in all worlds be filled with joy, may they serve the cosmos. Muktabai, when this Pasaydaan of mine is granted by the divine, your Jñānadeva will rest in happiness, and joy that is benign.
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filed under WordPress
A few years ago while adding WordPress.org as an organisation I contribute towards on LinkedIn, I think I wrote a random date (11 January 2015).
I keep forgetting to fix this date. The real date is sometime closer to October, September, or was it November in 2014? These were when contributors still hung out on IRC channels instead of Slack.
But if contributing means organising local meetups in Mumbai, then I started in December 2012.
But LinkedIn shows this date and everyone wishes me on this fake anniversary I made up.
My 11 plus year journey of contributing to WordPress has been mostly focused on the community team. Someone thanked me for being consistent, someone else mentioned that it was loads of effort.
Working and helping people put together events has never felt too heavy. I find it easy to be honest and I enjoy it a lot.
My favourite weekend jam is still organising small local meetups in my neighbourhood in Pune around WordPress.
This year is a big year though, I am leading with my co-leads WordCamp Asia 2026 in Mumbai. It happens on April 9th to 11th. There is full day that is dedicated to contributing to WordPress called Contributors Day!
I highly recommend starting your journey into the WordPress world with WordCamp Asia! Leave a comment below if you need me to convince you more 🙂
So all said and done, I am not going to fix that date on LinkedIn!
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filed under Cities
I am planning on traveling through Bangalore for some work and personal things this month.
If you are around and reading this blog, I would love to catch up. Let’s chat about WordPress, the open web, and communities around open-source. I am happy to catch up with you.
I will be living near MG Road area but happy to take a metro train anywhere!
Just drop a comment or reach out LinkedIn or X/Twitter to sync upTags: Bangalore
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In 2025, I was blogging a lot more. I thought I would share some numbers thanks to this nifty plugin.
I wrote about 7414 words spanning over 23 posts.
My longest post with most number for words (800 +) was this one on my thoughts on AI. The most visited post this year was this one about Kalinka a the Russian folk song and its Hindi cover “Darling” in the movie “7 khoon maaf”
I am quite happy with the regularity with which I am writing these days. I wrote 13 out of the 23 posts in the past 3 months.I also use the word “lot” a lot of times in my writing. About 26 times throughout the year.
Wishing you the best for 2026! Happy New Year!
PS: With this post, I would have published 24 posts for the year. I estimate that I’ve written around 7550 words!
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I remember a teacher in school who would force all us to do some meditation before the class began, telling us to empty our minds. My friends swore about how calm they felt. I usually was imagining all my friends and my teacher removing the top of their heads and pouring out the remnants. “Empty your minds!”she had said. Bless her soul.
But I always felt jealous and still do to some degree of people who can meditate. Find calm, be quiet and think of nothing.
Do you meditate? I try sometimes. Just a few minutes maybe. I can not really meditate, can never really calm down with meditation. I have tried a lot of this, all the apps too. None work at all for me.
A good long walk with my earphones has a much more meditative effect. To remain in a good calm space, I constantly feed my mind with something to think about. I want to write something, learn something, solve something (preferably).
This is why I actually like playing chess with some AI bots for being calm. So yes I guess, Chess.com is my meditation app.
So my advice is to find out whatever makes you calm, makes you feel regulated and then just double down on it.