Connection, Camaraderie & Classical Music
Suyog and Avani Patki, co-founders of software firm Rapid Circle India (part of the Rapid Circle Group) are partners in life and at work. Common interests like classical music, a taste for spirituality and a love of travel have helped their equation
In the course of a long day at work (which never seems to end thanks to the constant calls and queries—an indispensable part of owning and running one’s own business-it sure helps to talk on a different subject.) After all, as the old and the wise say, a change is as good as a break.
Putting the laptop aside, husband and wife then exchange notes on subjects they enjoy which classical musician is in town—and what raag his latest rendition belongs to. Or what bird is chirping in the background. “Thanks to Avani, my interest in nature has increased manifold. I have learnt to observe the little things. Plus I can name over a hundred birds, recognise them from their feathers and their call,” smiles Suyog. “Life becomes all the more interesting when your partner has shared interests and a similar value system—even if your natures are opposite.”
But while their personalities are chalk and cheese, the differences merely serve to cement the bond. “I am the talkative one, while Avani, despite being friendly, is far more measured. I am emotional; she’s rational. I overspend, while she. is sensible with money; I am the hot-tempered one while she’s the voice of reason,” he grins. “In fact, her maturity is such that it hardly feels like she’s 6 years younger to me.” (He’s 41; she’s 35.)
On her part, Avani believes a sound friendship needs to be at the heart of every relationship. “I think we over-emphasise the importance of socio-economic status or caste. At the end of the day, what stands out is whether or the not the other person and you are great friends. If your spouse is your buddy, everything becomes that much simpler,” she says. “Thus, a mental and spiritual connection with your partner is key,” she adds.
She would know. After all, they’ve been married for thirteen years and have dated longer.
Back to the beginning
This love story was first scripted in 2005 when collegian Avani-then a student in her first year of instrumentation engineering in Mumbai— casually came across the name Suyog Patki on Orkut. “This was of particular interest to me because my family name is Patki as well—and we happen to be a small community. Perhaps he was some distant relative,” she says. Turns out he wasn’t. This E&TC engineer from Solapur was in Pune-between projects as a Software Engineer in a mid-scale IT company.
As they connected, the conversation flowed seamlessly. Just then, Suyog’s boss called him. It just happened to be the proverbial life-changing call. “Here was my chance to fly to Australia on work,” he reminisces. I told, “Avani that she was my lucky charm indeed.”
However, as it panned out, the next few months were super hectic, leaving him with no time to talk to his new friend. “On return to India, I remembered I had connected with this very sweet and intelligent girl a few months ago. So I pinged her again”, he remembers.
On holiday in Kenya
And once again, just like that, the duo picked up from where they had left off.
“I told her from the outset that I didn’t believe in casual friendships; that I had had a painful breakup and was looking at a rock-solid, serious relationship,” says Suyog.
Slightly taken aback (given that such lines normally belong to women!), Avani gamely agreed to go along. The next few months would see the young couple engaged in deep conversation. Gradually, Avani felt she ought to tell her parents. “So, her dad asked me to come over—even though she and I had never met before,” he says. “But there was a caveat; I was to bring my certificates along. After all, he pointed out, as the girl’s dad, it was important for him to confirm my identity as his daughter had met me online. He requested me not to get offended—I wasn’t. I understood his stance perfectly. After all, I have two sisters myself,” he adds.
As luck would have it, Avani’s scientist dad and Suyog got along like a house on fire. “So much so that I even told him that irrespective of what the future held for Avani and me, I would like to be his buddy,” he says.
From strength to strength
As the relationship intensified, Suyog also happened to have some interesting opportunities work-wise. On a trip to Netherlands, he would meet his mentor cum work partner Daniel McPherson—who shaped him not just as a professional but also on the personal level. One things led to another, and from his intense wish to work with Daniel— arose a Microsoft Cloud transformation and digital transformation company, initially called Zevenseas before it got its new name - Rapid Circle. “The year was 2009 and the world economy was in a transitional phase post the Lehman Brothers crash. Instead of going to Netherlands to work post my impending nuptials with Avani, I was now to set up operations from Pune itself,” he says.
For Avani, the transition from fresh college graduate to working professional and wife was a steep learning curve. “Here I was. Instead of being an intern somewhere, I was co-director of a company along with my husband. Plus, I had a home to run and big decisions to make,” she smiles at the memory. “In the honeymoon phase when people are setting up homes and choosing the perfect shade of upholstery, here we were firefighting on all fronts: from recruiting the right people to getting internet connections and processing operations,” she says.
The mantras of a marriage
- Shared interests and dreams
- Respecting each other’s individuality
- Letting small things go
- Well-defined priorities
Between the lines
One of the most challenging aspects of her new life was distinguishing between Suyog as her husband and co-worker. “Professionally speaking, he was the experienced one and I needed to listen. It wasn’t easy to differentiate between him as my life partner and senior at work—but I had to,” she expresses.
However, as Suyog would discover, she had a good head on young shoulders. “This fact has been proved over and over again in her decision making and support to me at critical junctures,” he says.
“Like everyone else, they have the differences too. But the important things are: never to go to bed angry and to stand up for each other,” says Avani. “For instance, he always makes it a point to defend me to anyone who criticizes me or questions my choices—whether it be my wish not to attend social dos or waste time in idle talk,” she says. “As far as I go, I believe it is critical to let small things go. Money almost certainly is a point of conflict between couples. The fights over how to spend resources can get intense—one person is made to feel very guilty indeed. That’s not how it should be,” she says. “Like I know, Suyog is this very shaukeen guy who wants our home to look a certain way. I say: let him have his way. Why take away these simple joys?”
Amidst the hectic socializing that is a must for running a business, Suyog finds himself grounded and comforted post a simple discussion with Avani on one of their favourite subjects—spirituality. “Reflecting over things definitely adds perspective and dimension,” he says. “She has a far deeper way of looking at things and I value her thoughts,” he adds.
Child-free by choice-and loving it!
It’s not as if they started off with the idea of remaining child-free. But as it happened, the whole process of running a company and engaging with employees, stakeholders etc, to say nothing of all always being on call, made them reconsider their priorities. “Children need and deserve time. But running a business, engaging with team members on a personal note is a nurturing responsibility too. That, and looking after one another-plus giving time to our other hobbies as well,” says Avani. Speaking of hobbies, the duo are avid lovers of film and have even produced an award-winning short film called Saapshidi through the production company, Driya Creatives, co-founded with Mandar Kulkarni and Mayura Dolas. “All of this keeps us gainfully busy. So, we are happy to be just the two of us,” says Suyog. “Considering we live in a vastly traditional society, the questions are aplenty. But we take them on with a clear sense of who we are and where we wish to go with our lives,” he rounds off.