Interesting read from TOI

NEW BANGALOREAN

‘I have always lived beyond my means’

R Raghavendra | TNN

Bangalore: Anand Adkoli left his home in Sarakki in 1986 and made his way to the US, only because that's where many of his peers were going. When he returned in 1999, the oncequiet and peaceful layout had become the bustling and over-developed J P Nagar. Such was the roar of traffic outside, he had to strain his ears to hear people speaking even inside his own house.
It wasn't what he had wanted to come home to. Not after he'd travelled across 32 countries, manufactured diapers, spent over 200 hours underwater, worked for Oracle, written six technology books, notched up 40 skydives, swum with whales migrating off the coast of Los Angeles, been up close with sharks in Australia, done over 20 dives in the Great Barrier Reef, gone cross-country biking, both in the US and Australia, and, most importantly, returned home with a fresh perspective on life.

Today, Anand is CEO of Liqwid Krystal, a $3 million company manufacturing software which enables writing and running a software programme successfully. He lives on an eight-acre farm on the outskirts of Bangalore and works for about 10 days a month. On those days, he leaves home at 5 am, starts the day with a game of squash and reaches work rather early. He's through with work by 5 pm.

Now, living and working in the place he wants, at the pace he chooses, there's a sense of arrival. It's been exciting getting here. After completing his schooling at St Joseph's, Anand pursued his engineering at UVCE, Bangalore. Then, he pursued his Masters in robotics and industrial engineering at Montana State University where the mercury dipped to 30 degrees celcius during winter. "The choice of institution was dictated by the fact that this university was the only one ready to fully fund my education,'' he says.

Then followed the most interesting phase of his life as he sees it now. Straight out of college, Anand got placed in a Huggies diaper manufacturing company. The business involved robots or machines doing most of the work and producing 15 truckloads of diapers a day.
Anand decided to get another degree, this time in computer science from Chicago, which led him to Oracle, a small company then. When Oracle wanted to put in place an evangelist group to travel around the world to talk about its new network computer, Anand was in the team and ready to go. As he travelled through 32 countries, he discovered the pleasures of scuba diving, skydiving, skiing and biking.

Then, Oracle wanted him to shift to Australia and he spent nine months there. At the end of the stint, he decided to set off and explore the place. He used the time to swim with the sharks. "I dived over 20 times in the Great Barrier Reef. I realised what a minority species human beings are,'' says Anand.

Having crisscrossed the North American continent on his bike, Anand decided to do the same in Australia. It was a trip that would leave a lasting impression. "At Kings Creek Cattle Station, I met a couple who lived in a shed. They'd given up teaching at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and spent their time catching camels in the outback for zoos in Australia. One camel would mean enough food supplies for a month. I realised how they had found happiness in that task and in a simple life,'' explains Anand.

He returned to India to start Liqwid Krystal along with musician Ramana Gogula and the rest is history. "I've always lived beyond my means," he says. Perhaps that's one way to get the best out of life.

Anand Adkoli

ps: My first employer opened its office in India with Anand's help. Heard a lot about him from some of the friends there.