Author: anirudhbhat

I’ve been travelling a lot for work. More often than I’m comfortable with. Mostly by flight, sometimes by train. The hardest part isn’t troubleshooting or convincing customers to buy my product — it’s the travel itself, the endless logistics.

“If my flight is at 9 PM, I have to be there 1.5 hours before, so I have to start by so and so time so as to reach there by..” and there it begins a constant mental math of routes, making sure I have taken everything I need for the journey, the reminders and the backup plans. Sometimes, the stress of managing the journey feels greater than the work I am travelling for.

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 Every so often a name stops being fitting. I started this blog with the name Sometimes Insightful. But now my writings have outgrown it. On this day, I rename it Becoming Multitudes.

Why? Because writing like life is not one dimensional. Somedays it is about tools and work. Other days, it could be about travel, food, some distant memory, or an odd reflection that insists on being written. I want this blog to be a place that could hold it all together!

I see this blog as that place – not just polished essays on technology or deep reflections on everyday life, but a weave of both. Notes on tools, travels and the threads of everyday life.

Here’s to the new chapter!

It was my childhood dream to learn to play the guitar. But well, at some turn of events, I ended up taking piano classes when I was 10 years old. I kept at it for about 5 years until I expressed my desire to learn to play the guitar to my piano teacher – who happened to also play the guitar and took guitar classes. For the first few months, he took basic guitar lessons for me, and given my interest and curiosity, he suggested I take lessons directly from his own guitar teacher. And he lobbied for me to his guitar teacher – Mr Peter, for admitting me into his class, Mr. Peter finally agreed after much convincing, as he preferred having a small class with few students.

Peter sir had two groups, the beginner class mostly for students who took grade 1 lessons and the advanced class for those who were at a higher grade. Though I was a grade 1 student, sir moved me to the advanced group after a few lessons. And well I was thrilled to be sitting with all these more experienced musicians. Now, Peter sir taught only one lesson a day and I could technically sit as long as I wanted. He taught on Fridays, so I sat till about 7 pm. For the most part, I would practice lessons, but in between, I’d get distracted and all the older kids would teach me different riffs and licks. Among some of them were solid phrases on top of which I could improvise and develop a lead solo.

Now sometimes I’d get carried away playing those riffs, and once Peter sir walked in while I was doing that. He smiled and asked me to play the lesson, to check if I “got it”. I played it back to him and he was satisfied. He gave me some tips which could help me play better, the way I use my left hand to shift between notes. In the end, he gave me a piece of advice which I keep with me till today. He said, “Anirudh, anybody can learn and play a lead. It’s not really a big deal. But if you want to make your own song, if you want to know what you’re playing, you need to know the fundamentals. You gotta know the scales and all the basics, on top of which you can build stuff.” It seems obvious to me now, but when I was 15/16 it was sound advice! When I went to college for engineering, I came to know this is formally called first principles thinking. Even now, when I find something hard to learn or get stuck on a problem, Peter sir’s advice comes in handy, I revisit the basics and build it from there.

 I’m a huge Linkin Park fan. Chester Bennington’s untimely death is a huge lose. Whenever I have times of self-doubt or low points there are some specific songs I listen to, to find solace, that are part of my playlist. It’s an emotional loss. 

LP is on a hiatus now, and there multiple reports of band members planning a come back. Multiple reports of them. writing and practicing new material. The way things are going, I guess they’re not seeking to replace Chester but planning for what we in startup lingo call “pivot”. I don’t know what they’re pivoting to but for all I have listened to, all the while for years, I know it’d be for the best. 

There’s one guy who’s still out there, who’s still productive, who still has things going on for him in this time for pivot – Mike Shinoda. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and also an illustrator. If Linkin Park is a company, he’s a generalist. He could do whatever you want him to do and is a band on his own. 

Being a generalist helps you survive uncertainty. It also helps you better plan a pivot if need be.

 After a gap of 1.5 years, physical meetings started to get more and more common place. I find myself visiting customers more often to assess plant conditions, discuss on retrofitting and greenfield projects. Given the number of online trainings and meetings I had sat through during the pandemic, I got more serious about note taking.

Meeting in person got me to take more notes on the little diary I carry around. I guess it was in 2021, for the first time I finished my diary – full of notes, observations and sketches.

Whenever I sit down and review the notes for design or to mail an MoM, I think to myself, “Hey, this felt good, the notes look good too! I should write stuff outside of work more often.” Then I’d think to myself of getting a better pen than the ₹10 Roritos I carry around. Maybe a Uniball or a Lamy. For how neat they look and smooth they write. Given my day to day work, I could not find time to journal and well the thought of getting a better writing instrument gets pushed to the back.

Writing with a pen on a paper felt strange. I was so used to typing on my laptop or my phone. Even when I  was an undergrad in college I guess I’ve probably typed more words than I’ve written with a pen! There’s something very convincing and intense while writing with a pen and a paper. 

I was in a meeting today and as I fished for my pen in the bag, I realised I left it back in the office. I took mental notes of all points discussed. In a quick gap I swiftly jotted it down on my phone so that I don’t forget. At the end of the meeting as I summarised all points, my client retorted, “But you didn’t write anything. You must be having a very good memory.” And I said, “Yes I actually do. But don’t worry, I have noted in on my phone so I could review it later!”

See what I mean? People really dig pen and paper.