Hey, I'm Rupesh Malpani.
A Software Developer. A Gamer. A Content Creator.
My journey has never really been a straight line.
In fact, it started with something I had no control over.
When I was born, doctors told my family that because of medical issues with my legs, I might not be able to walk on my own.
My family didn't accept that as my future.
They spent years travelling, finding treatments, meeting specialists and doing everything they could. Doctors and specialists from different parts of the world were involved.
Today, I can walk. I can run. I can play. I can do pretty much every physical activity I want.
But growing up, that medical history followed me.
The Cricket I Couldn't Play
As a kid, I loved cricket.
I played regularly and was actually good enough to get selected for my school team.
For me, that was a huge moment.
But I was told I couldn't play because of my previous medical condition.
That hurt.
I knew I could play. I had already been playing.
But someone else had decided what I was capable of based on my past.
I think that was one of the earliest moments that taught me something I'll probably carry forever:
Don't let someone else's assumption become your limitation.
The Student I Wasn't
Academically, I started well.
From first to third standard, I was a good student.
Then somewhere along the way, I lost interest completely.
By 10th standard, I realized things were going badly and decided to take it seriously.
I focused for the last two to three months and ended up scoring around 87%.
Then came 11th and 12th.
I joined JEE coaching and spent two years following what everyone around me was doing.
Eventually, I started feeling like it was a market of sheep.
One person teaching hundreds of students, and everyone running behind the same thing.
Looking back, I felt those two years cost a lot of money, time and effort without giving me the value I expected.
That experience changed the way I looked at education.
Finding Technology
I chose BCA, which felt much more natural to me.
I had been interested in technology from childhood, just like I had always been interested in gaming.
I later pursued MCA, and within the first six months, I got placed.
But the real learning started after that.
I wasn't someone who learned best by sitting in classrooms.
I learned by doing.
Real projects.
Production systems.
Real problems.
New tools.
Mistakes.
Fixes.
Deployments.
Over around 2.2 years, I worked on different projects and gradually grew into a full stack developer, working across everything from understanding requirements to development and deployment.
Doing became my way of learning.
Gaming Never Left
While technology became my career, gaming remained a big part of my life.
I grew up playing PC games and later got into mobile gaming.
Today, I'm a professional BGMI player, and I also create gaming content through my YouTube and Instagram pages.
I'm still learning editing, creating content and trying to get better at it.
I've never really wanted to fit into just one identity.
And Then Education Came Back
Today, I'm working with Eklavya, backed by Malpani Ventures.
And this part of my journey feels especially personal.
I remember spending a lot of money on coaching and sitting in large batches where hundreds of students were taught together.
Today, we're trying to solve some of those problems differently.
At Eklavya, we're working on better learning experiences for children using technology and AI, including AI tutors and tools that can support individual learning.
We're currently working on foundational literacy and numeracy for children from kindergarten through the early grades, with more state board learning coming ahead.
In a strange way, the education system that once frustrated me has brought me back to working on how it could be better for someone else.
I Still Don't Have It Figured Out
When I look back, none of this was really planned.
A kid who was told he might not walk.
A kid who was selected for cricket but wasn't allowed to play.
A student who struggled academically.
Someone who spent two years preparing for something he eventually didn't pursue.
A developer who learned more from production than classrooms.
A gamer who became a professional player.
A creator learning to make better content.
And now someone working on education.
It's a pretty random collection of chapters.
But maybe that's what makes it mine.
I don't know exactly where I'm going.
And honestly, I'm okay with that.
I'm still learning.
Still building.
Still playing.
Still creating.
Still figuring things out.
I don't have a perfect plan.
I just want to keep moving and see where the journey takes me.