Hi My name is Ashutosh. I am a full time seeker and learner and part time (unpaid) cook 😀. The lockdown has allowed me to convert my hobby into an every day activity (now I wonder if I can still call it a hobby?!!! :) It brings most joy and satisfaction and allows me to experiment. I am also a mountain person having grown up in DDun but currently reside at sea level in Mumbai. I have always chosen the path less traveled - Be it in my corporate career of 23 years or personal choices or more literally while trekking in the Himalayas. In my corporate career I have worked from truck assembly line, to selling and marketing watches, tea and garments, to setting up many businesses, as diverse as a 2 Bn USD refinery to a UAV spin out from IITK. I was in PE and investment management function for 13-14 years till I chose to transition to the social sector 2 years back. After setting up the India operation of an international Foundation and launching some innovative ‘first in the world’ structures, I had decided just before the Covid avalanche reached our shores, to take at least a 6 month sabbatical. While I have not been able to do many of the things i had planned as must be the case with many of us, the last 6 months have been great and full of learning. They have allowed me to reconnect with myself and friends, going all the way back to the 1st standard. I participated in the sessions on Economics convened by Ashish, which got over 5-6 weeks back. I have in the interim been in an intense course on Making of Indian Contemporary History at Ashoka University under Prof Sunil Khilnani.l which gets over in 1st week of Sep. Technology and its impact has always been an area of fascination, when I got a chance to invest and nurture a few companies to scale and success. Having never studied the space formally, I am keenly looking forward to the next few weeks of reading and exciting discussions with all of you. Many of you are already known to me from our Economics class. I have persuaded a few of my friends from 25 and 21 years back to join this course. As you must have realised I can go on and on. So now I put a full stop to this long introduction. Can’t wait to get started. Happy reading and learning.