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I was born in Ambala, Haryana, but grew up in different parts of the country as my father served in the Indian Air Force. Aeroplanes and trains (we used to travel to Ambala) became important parts of life. They fascinated me, and I wanted to capture them on slate and on paper. I became a compulsive sketcher quite early in life.

Later, I aspired to be an Engineer. IIT was the goal but turned out to be a tough nut to crack. I failed two attempts. Therefore, I appeared for an Architectural Aptitude Test and got admitted to the University of Roorkee, which later became the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. I did get into an IIT.

Architecture introduced me to Design. It was fascinating—it wasn’t just about buildings—it was about systems, people, and empathy. For my Master’s in Design, I went to the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. I got into an IIT again.

Then, Tata Consultancy Services happened. I got into a group that worked on technologies that eased humans’ interaction with computers: speech recognition, handwriting recognition, and natural language processing. I learnt about breaking down problems mathematically and programmatically.

I was not working with AI; I was creating AI, and that was long, long ago. However, priorities shifted. I wanted to go back to Design. Applied to the PhD programme at IDC, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Got selected. IIT, once again.

PhD was tough. It took 9.5 years, burning through savings, and it taught me to live through stretches of loneliness, uncertainty, and anxiety. I wanted to quit more than once, but my mother, a pillar of strength, refused to let me quit. I also derived power from my devotion to God. Practicing Advaita Vedanta philosophy kept me rooted.

Practicing Design is not easy – you work long hours, sleep and eat irregularly, travel in crowded buses and auto-rickshaws, and go to faraway places for fieldwork. Did I tell you that I also got polio at a very young age, which has worsened my mobility over the years?

Today, I teach students to be bold in their thinking and compassionate with people. When they struggle, I remind them: I’ve walked this path—and have come out stronger.