For Sreenath G
जन्मदिन की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ · janmadina kī hārdik śubhakāmnāẽ — heartfelt wishes on your birthday.
Maybe it's time I had a page to wish the people who really helped me, professionally, become who I am. There's no better person to begin with than you, Sreenath. Today is your birthday — and I wanted to mark it properly.
— coming in shortly —
You came in as my first senior engineering hire — the head of engineering for the fun, ambitious projects I was chasing back then. From that beginning came so many great engineers, almost all of whom found their way to me through you.
It grew into the biggest thing I'm building now — the technology organisation at Travelopia: the engineering team, and the vision behind it, that I lead there. You walked the whole arc with me: senior engineer, head of engineering, and then into a role that was about far more than shipping code. You took on the real work — developing the engineering capability of our teams.
The ability to learn and adapt. The ability to coach others. The ability to get out of people's way — to not stand between them and their growth, and to let them progress at their own pace. The ability to work with partners. I think that's phenomenal.
Today it's your birthday, and I find myself deeply grateful for all that you have done — for me, for the teams, for everyone who became a better engineer simply by being around you. Thank you, Sreenath.
Wishing you a lot of happiness, and a great time with your family.
Today is the fourth — and in Jyotish, four is the number of foundations
Your birthday falls on the 4th of June, so here's a small offering on the number itself. In Jyotish, the four Kendras — houses 1, 4, 7 and 10 — are the angular pillars of a chart, the Vishnu sthānas that hold a life upright. The fourth of them, the Chaturtha Bhāva, is the house of the heart: home, mother, roots, land, and सुख sukha — the quiet contentment that doesn't depend on the world applauding. It is the deepest, most private, foundational point of the whole chart. A fitting number for someone whose craft was building foundations other people could stand on.
The fourth lunar day — Chaturthi — belongs to Ganesha, lord of beginnings and remover of obstacles. And in Ank Jyotish, Vedic numerology, four is the number of Rahu: the unconventional builder, drawn to systems and technology, who does the thing no one has done before and then quietly makes it the new normal. If you've ever met an engineering leader who fits that description…
And the quiet coincidence: today, 4 June 2026, falls in Krishna Paksha, the waning fortnight — right around Chaturthi itself, the very fourth tithi. The fourth day, on the fourth, near the fourth. The calendar agreeing with the wish.
माता पिता गुरु दैवम्
May the Mata Pita Guru — mother, father, teacher, the divine — always bless you in abundance.
Happy birthday, Sreenath. Gratitude always.