Nandri, Chennai; Namaskara Bengaluru!
Last week, I ended a beautiful chapter of my life that I embarked on three years back in the April of 2023. I was twenty-three back then, full of dreams and ambitions, and a mind replete with curiosity. Having just transitioned out of Maersk - one of the world's largest shipping firms, and into the renewable energy leader Vestas - it was sure set to be an interesting journey ahead. I moved out of my home with two bags aboard the Coromandel Express to chug into the southern metropolitan city of Chennai. Three years from then, I leave the city for Bangalore with gratitude - having made countless memories, friends and acquaintances, and the right to call the city a second home.
In more ways than one, Chennai has helped shape me as a person. When cities today are defined by hustle culture, Chennai has managed to hold onto a unique connect with its traditional roots, marrying modernity with culture in equal measure. The people are amazingly kind - the cuisine even better!
On my time at Vestas
There's a fun fact that I find strangely coincidental about my connection with Denmark. I hail from a city called Serampore (West Bengal) - off the Ganges riverbank - and one of the first trading outposts for the Danes back in the 1600s. One fine evening in 2021, while sipping coffee at a local cafe called 'Denmark Tavern', I was told by a Maersk (also DK-headquartered) representative that my internship with them was confirmed. Fast forward to my stint at Vestas - it also turned out to be headquartered in Denmark (Aarhus, precisely). Last year, I had an opportunity to travel to Denmark for a business trip - which, IMHO, finally closed the circle! I guess with my present move, things are finally going to change.
I left Vestas on a very high note. Having worked across multiple product teams in the roughly three-and-a-half years I spent - starting with a big-bang alarm prioritization project that we ultimately filed a patent for (read more here), to shaping the data foundations for business lines, spending a year trying to crack data quality at scale, and moving onto a bit of Platform Engineering towards the end, I feel grateful for all the opportunities extended. I think it would also be fair to say that I would come up with solutions and innovations faster as I felt a dopamine rush on solving business problems - that really drives me. BUT - the best part of it was never just the technical work alone - the people mattered more. If I built the kind of credibility that I did at Vestas - that is solely because of the warmth and kindness that people have showed me, and I could reciprocate back that energy.
Every single morning - I'd wait a few minutes with coffee post my breakfast to catch up with anybody willing to have a chat. This ad-hoc networking left me a lot richer as I got to know people spanning across departments and executive areas. Beyond the dry networking, it gave me a stronger foundation and made me connect with people who I can now safely regard as lifelong connects.
Finding My Tribe: Meeting Awesome People
When I relocated to Chennai, I had very few contacts in the city. Most of my known ones were based out of Bangalore, Hyderabad or Pune. I only knew a school friend with whom I was going to share an apartment. Back of my mind, I knew I had to make some connections so that I could sustain myself. Now that I am leaving the city - I think I did quite excellently at that!
The first set of people who welcomed me of course were my new colleagues at Vestas. Despite being from a different culture and background, I was accorded a warm reception and the whole team helped me feel comfortable and settle in. Over the many years, teams changed and the organization kept evolving - but a set of people grew closer with each such shift.
As I shared in the earlier section - I also quickly found my mojo in connecting with people beyond my Data & AI team. In that process I came across folks who would say yes to every trip I would propose - from exploring Andaman, to celebrating Durga Pujo at Kolkata, navigating the Nilgiris & most recently a trip to Kerala. One can find some escapades captured in my travel blog. It was incredibly humbling to see people resonate with my energy - and in return we ended up making some fantastic memories together.
My last working day was on September 18th. I kept telling myself that the day is still afar - until it came by. Given that Vestas was my first in-office experience (Maersk being mostly remote), the emotional connect was a lot more. Yet I know that life has to move on. I took around two weeks writing personalized notes for my connections at Vestas, that I ultimately mailed them. I think it paid off well - people enjoyed reading the notes and some even wrote back to me! :)
New Ventures: Shift to Bangalore
I have no regrets about my time at Vestas. I think it's one of the rare places where one could figure out their way into solving problems that matter, without much of a push. What makes it more exciting is the fact that each contribution helps accelerate the green transition, making the world a better place.
Over the years, though, I felt my growth plateau a bit. It's also quite comfortable - so one can risk slipping into complacence, at least in the technology space. I happened to find a suitable role at Microsoft - I'm moving to Bangalore now to pursue greater challenges and solve problems of higher complexity. Beyond that, I look forward to connecting with a denser talent pool, enjoying a bit of my late twenties, and hopefully discovering myself more.
I had a week off between my last day at Vestas and my joining day at Microsoft, to rejuvenate. I used the time to meet the people I care about and have some amazing conversations. In this time, I figured out that I'm always looking to be engaged in something - so a period of lull, while certainly refreshing, sometimes felt discomforting.
Looking Ahead
I'm excited for what's next. The Data & AI space is rapidly evolving, and Microsoft is one of its leaders. I want to get my hands dirty right away - I personally think it's the best way to learn - but also focus on understanding the organization and the key people at the outset.
The hardest part of moving jobs is not the shift in hard skills. It's always about building rapport all over again, creating one's own institutional credibility in the process. I'm sure all of that will happen at its own pace, while sailing along on the new journey. Wish me luck!