A Good Start to the Year
This year started on a surprisingly good note for me. In January, I joined Project Tech4Dev. It was one of those things that felt small at first—a new project, new people, and a new rhythm of work. But before I even had time to settle into it, I found myself packing for Rishikesh for our first team meetup.
It felt like a big moment. A little overwhelming too, as for over a month I had been working with the Kaapi team through screens, and now I was finally going to meet everyone in person.
On top of this, I was also going to meet Karthikeya again. We had worked together earlier during his previous startup, so I was genuinely looking forward to it.
First Impressions of Rishikesh
It was also my first time visiting Rishikesh, and the place was really beautiful. The town has a quiet kind of beauty—quiet streets, the Ganga flowing nearby, and the mountains in the background. For the Kaapi Sprint, we stayed at Moustache Rishikesh Luxuria, which was a good place for both work and downtime. The hostel had a lively common area with a pool table, a TT table, and even a pool, so there was always something happening around us. The weather was calm, the town felt peaceful, and it was a refreshing change from my usual routine.
Meeting the Team
Soon, I met the rest of the team: Akhilesh, Prajna, Nishika, and Rajgopal. After working together remotely, finally meeting everyone in person felt really nice. Our days were a mix of working on our tasks, discussing upcoming iterations, and sharing ideas about best practices. Being in the same place made conversations much easier than the usual online discussions.
Exploring Rishikesh
Evenings were usually for exploring a bit of Rishikesh and going out for dinner together. One day, Rajgopal and I went for a morning walk and visited the Ganga River, which was a great experience.
Another night we walked all the way to Lakshman Jhula from our hotel. It was a long walk, but seeing Rishikesh at night made it worth it.
Team Time
Mid-week, Pritam joined us, which made the meetup even better. The routine continued, working during the day and exploring the town a little in the evenings.
Cohort Session
On Friday, we moved to Lemon Tree Hotel, Rishikesh, which was close to the area where we were staying, for the kickoff of AI AI Cohort 2.0. The day began with a quick round of five-minute presentations from each participating NGO. In those short introductions, they shared who they are, the kind of work they do, and the specific problem statements they hope to tackle through this cohort. It was fascinating to see the interesting work these orgs are doing and the kind of problems they are trying to solve
After the opening session, we shifted into work time. This part of the day was designed for mentors and NGOs to sit together, exchange ideas, and start digging into the problems more deeply. I joined the group working with the Inqui-Lab Foundation. Our discussion centered around ideas and early insights for building an AI assessment platform. This gave us a clearer perspective on the kind of work we’re trying to build and why it matters.
One-on-One Conversation
I also had a short one-on-one conversation with Nishika. She shared some helpful guidance and asked about the experience of joining Project Tech4Dev so far.
Wrapping Up
By Saturday, it was time to leave. After saying goodbye to everyone, I headed back home.
Overall, the trip was a great experience. Meeting the team in person, working together in the same space, and exploring a beautiful place like Rishikesh made the whole meetup memorable.
