#PeopleOfDonatekart: Ameya Nagnur
They say you can take a Mumbaikar out of Mumbai but not Mumbai out of a Mumbaikar. This is true. We love complaining about the rains, the incessant ones — the normal ones we enjoy. We complain about the roads, the crowd, the traffic but we also hate absolute quiet. So much so that I had to switch on the washing machine on my first night in Rochester, when I was there for my post-graduation!
I never understood the hype about settling abroad. I have often been told that it’s one of the best things that could happen to someone. But the idea never appealed to me. So even when I was there, in the States, studying and learning new skills, I knew in my mind that I would come back to India, to Mumbai.
Once back, I dabbled in a couple of things but something that I really enjoyed was making mobile apps for NGOs who were making a social impact. That was when I knew what my calling was — I wanted to touch lives with the help of my technical skills. And that was how Donatekart happened. When my friends back in the USA talk to me about their amazing work culture, I proudly say that Donatekart matches those standards anyday. It feels good to be a part of a team that works relentlessly to deliver happiness and make a difference.
When I’m not working, I’m with my family. We love spending time together. One of the things that we do is watch Bollywood comedies together and I often end up mimicking the actors or finishing the dialogues. They say they don’t like it but I know secretly they think I am good at this. Because that’s when my mother passes me the last piece of pizza and my sister’s eyes twinkle with joy. That’s when I’m assured that coming back to India was the best decision I have ever made.
My sister often tells me that if I were ever a superhero, my power would be — being too laid back. But I just seem like that. I think I’m good at handling stressful situations. I don’t want to worry anyone else, you know? I just want to make people laugh. Maybe someday, I will be that tech guy who left software engineering for something like stand-up comedy? Who knows — I like to go with the flow and take things as they come. Kya pata kal ho na ho…!
— Ameya Nagnur, Senior Application Developer
