+ ABOUT +

I’m Naman. I live in New Delhi. I work in software, mostly on AI products and developer tools. Outside work, I run, trek, travel, try new sports, and spend too much time changing my desk setup.

Work is important to me, but it is not the only thing I want to talk about. This page is about all of it.

How I work

I like solving problems I care about. I have never liked restricting myself to one role. If a problem needs code, I write code. If it needs a customer call, a sales session, or a design discussion, I do that too.

Most of my work has been around developer tools and AI. I have worked on code search, coding agents, context retrieval, evaluations, and agents that diagnose production failures. I like taking an idea all the way from an early prototype to something people actually use.

I also like staying close to users. It is easy to spend months building the wrong thing if nobody talks to the people who need it.

I feel normal in the mountains

I have been trekking for years and have done more than ten week-long treks. There are no roads, electricity, or phone signal for days. Everything I need goes into one rucksack.

I feel very comfortable there. My day is just walking, eating, helping around camp, checking the weather, and sleeping. Plans change all the time, so I prepare well and then pray to the mountain and weather gods for support.

Some of the best sleep of my life has been in a 6 × 6 foot tent shared with another person. There were rocks under me and barely enough space to turn, but after walking all day I slept perfectly.

Kheerganga was my first trek. Since then, I have crossed high passes, walked through the valleys of Kashmir, and climbed Kanamo Peak in Spiti, just short of 6,000 metres. Kashmir Great Lakes is still the most beautiful trek I have done. On the road to Kibber, I met people from four of my earlier treks. The mountains now feel full of familiar faces and slopes.

I run, but not very fast

I run a lot, but I am not a very fast runner. My current bests are 23 minutes for 5K and 1 hour 48 minutes 34 seconds for the half marathon. I am happy with both, and I still want to get faster.

Running became a serious part of my life after the Kashmir Great Lakes trek in 2024. I met two runners there who lived near me in Delhi. We started doing long runs on Saturday mornings and getting breakfast afterwards. That routine took me to my first half marathon.

Since then, I have run my first full marathon and completed the Procam Slam, which is 98.292 kilometres across four races in four cities. I also finished my first HYROX in Delhi in 1 hour 49 minutes 49 seconds. I had trained for about a month, which was exactly as sensible as it sounds.

I like the part of running that Haruki Murakami writes about in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Most runs are quiet and repetitive. I run the same roads, spend time alone, and see whether I am doing a little better than before. There is not much magic to it. I just have to keep showing up.

I own too many running shoes. The Alphafly 3 is for race day, the Vaporfly 3 is for intervals, and the Zoom Fly 6 and Superblast 3 handle most of my training. I bought the Mafate 5 for trails. Somehow, having a shoe for every kind of run has not stopped me from wanting another pair.

For trekking, the Alpine Cruiser 1000 boots were a big upgrade. On the trail, I could immediately feel how much more comfortable, balanced, and rugged they were.

I also ski in Gulmarg almost every year. I have tried surfing in Mulki and learnt paragliding in Kamshet. I am usually interested before I am good, which is fine.

My pursuits include a faster HYROX, an Ironman 70.3, a 6,000-metre peak, and the original Marathon to Athens route. I also want to run through Hobbiton. I have watched The Lord of the Rings eleven times, so this is a big item on my bucket list.

I travel to pay attention

I have travelled through France 🇫🇷, Spain 🇪🇸, Portugal 🇵🇹, Mexico 🇲🇽, Singapore 🇸🇬, Japan 🇯🇵, Italy 🇮🇹, Austria 🇦🇹, Poland 🇵🇱, Norway 🇳🇴, and Nepal 🇳🇵.

I do not enjoy rushing from one landmark to another. I would rather walk through a normal neighbourhood, eat something local, and ask locals where they like to eat and spend time.

I almost always take a day trip outside the main city. I usually pick a smaller town that I can reach by train or bus. I make a loose plan and figure out the rest once I arrive.

The parts I remember are usually small. A friend showing me Kolkata through street food, playing volleyball near Manu Temple, or meeting someone from an old trek at another base camp stays with me longer than most famous sights.

My desk is never finished

I am very proud of my desk. I have been changing it for years, one monitor arm, cable, keyboard, and unnecessary accessory at a time.

Right now, it has a walnut standing desk, two 27 inch 4K monitors on matching arms, a stereo pair of HomePods, and hidden hubs that connect the whole setup with one cable.

I like gadgets, but I am picky about what stays. Some things solve a real problem. Some just look nice on walnut. My stuff page has both.

Why I keep this site

I wanted one place on the internet that I control. Writing platforms change, get acquired, or make it difficult to leave. I do not want my words to depend on any of them.

Everything here is stored as Markdown in a Git repository. The design and software can change, but the files remain mine and still open in a text editor. I wrote more about this choice in Introducing naman.md.

I also forget details. I remember that a trip or race mattered, but not always what happened on a particular day. Now has short updates, my writings have longer notes, and the running archive keeps every race and the story I remember from it.

Say hello

You can email me at naman@outlook.in or call me at +91 85277 05775. I am also on X, LinkedIn, GitHub, and Instagram.

Or leave me a note or a tiny 64 × 64 piece of art on my pixel wall. It will show up on the display beside my desk.