About Me

life outside work

Vinay Debrou - casual

I like longwalks, photography, hosting offline gatherings for friends, experimenting with quadcopters/drones, mountains, and writing essays and poems irregularly.

Photography & Longwalks

Going on walks (preferably in nature or atleast in a park with a lot of trees when in the city) is my coping-mechanism for when I feel stuck, uninspired, jaded or drained. I go on walks almost everyday. sometimes, long walks of 8-10 kilometers. I take photographs or write during the stops in my walks. These are some of the photographs I have taken on my walks.

Two dogs playingOutdoor furniture settingPerson riding a horseSunrise reflection over a calm lakeA small yellow car parked on a streetClose-up of PommosInterior view of a museum galleryFlowers silhouetted against a sunset skyA patterned totebagThree girls walking togetherA university campus busSunlight casting shadows on a brick wall

Community Building: Walk & Talk Club (Chandigarh)

meeting familiar faces regularly → mutual listening with intent to accumulate shared context → authentic friendships → mutual support system in reciprocity → trust building hyperlocal social structures.

I initiated and have been hosting the Walk & Talk Club in Chandigarh since December 2023. We hold regular club meets focused on storytelling, city walks, and fostering high-trust friendships IRL. Know more about the club here .

club so far:

  • 40+ offline meetups hosted
  • 100+ club members (who attended atleast one meetup offline)
  • 300+ membership applications (interested to join the club)
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In my college (IIT Kanpur), I also ran the International Students Club, helped over 40 international campus residents(exchange students, interns, researchers, postdoc fellows) find their footing in a new country.

Mountain Living

During my digital nomading years in later 2010s, I lived almost a whole year(2019) in a mountaintown treehouse, with the Dhauladhar mountain range facing me, every morning as I got my coffee and sat on the deck to soak in the view. It was Dharamshala, the mountaintown in Himachal Pradesh, India -- where the Dalai Lama lives, so I got to meet Buddhist monks from nearby monastries on my frequent walks up and down the hilly roads.

treehouse

the tiny wooden treehouse with a skylight and two small windows

IIT Kanpur - with smart people

2012-2017, I studied computer science & engineering at India's top engineering institute- Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. I wasn't the most diligent student with classes and assignments but I had the time of my life there exploring my different interests apart from engineering - filmmaking, psychology, aerodynamics, taekwondo, mountaineering among others. Grateful to have spent few golden years of my life here that resulted in lasting friendships.

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with friends at the flight laboratory (airstrip) at IIT Kanpur, and adventure club excursions