Annapoornima Koppad

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Your host as usual is Tobias Macy. And today, I'm interviewing Anapurnima Kopad about her career with Python and her experiences running the PyLadies chapter in Bangalore, India and being a director for the Python Software Foundation.

So, Anna Purnima, could you please introduce yourself?

Hi, Tobias. Good afternoon. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to interview with Podcast.

I've been

working on Python for the past, 3 years. I started in July 2013,

and then I founded the PyLadies Bangalore chapter after that. And soon,

they made, this year, June 2016, I was elected as 1 of the 11 directors of Python Software Foundation.

And, I've I've carried out my work,

with even more dedication after that. So

and it's been a great journey so far. And how did you first get introduced to Python?

I take a break from my, programming career,

looking for something, alternative careers.

I got into patent,

patent analysis.

It was during that time that I felt I had to get back to, programming. So I started to look for ways to learn programming again, but I coded earlier coded in c and other languages, which I didn't like that much. So I was looking for a better language to learn. I tried a couple of other languages trying to learn c again just to see if it,

wets my appetite this time. That didn't happen. And then I got the I got a I read about Python and I started working on Python and I found that it is to my liking, like, the way I wanted it. So there it started. I started a course on, Udacity.

I

took

the course from Udacity and then I started programming in Python and then the that's how I got started with Python.

While I was preparing for this interview, I found a book that you self published on Amazon. I'm curious what your experience was like writing that and, what motivated you to do it and also who the target audience is for that book.

I wrote that book that I have self published on Amazon.

For people who are beginning out in Python just like me, like, who have no clue what the,

even the simple tasks are. It can be anybody from, like, high school to, like, you know, college student

or a person who's in a different domain, but can wants to learn Python or use Python in his work. It'll help him definitely. I can promise you that. And I've, also been teaching the course at, Indian Institute of Science here in Bangalore. So I use my book for teaching,

Python to people from, say, chemistry background who literally have, very less experience in programming and that helps them a lot. That book is really,

a help for them. It's for such people that I wrote that book

because I started out like that. I an understood what my, troubles well so I could relate to that and I came out with that book. And it took some time and effort to do that, but it is worth it.

And can you tell us a bit about your experience with starting the PyLadies group in Bangalore? I'm wondering what some of the biggest challenges are that you encountered and how you've approached the task of growing awareness and membership for the group.

Yeah. That's something that I would definitely love to talk about. It's been a long journey. Like, when I started out programming in Python, I actually joined the meetup group, Bangalore Python users group.

I went to the,

group Meetup group, and found that they will be very less members.

Like, the numbers were staggeringly low for women.

And, the meetups happened in, like, electronic city, which is, like, almost, like I live in North Bangalore and the meetups were happening in South Bangalore or close to for me to even to travel to that place would take me, like, you know, 2, 2, 3 hours, if not more than that. That's the least I can say about my traveling time.

So it wasn't working out, basically. So I started, I started asking why there weren't many women

as,

there should be. Women face a lot of problems at work. Like, you know, they need if they have children, they need, childcare and then if and things like that. The subtle things that will not be taken care of if you I a woman cannot instantly decide that she has to go to a meet up or a programming work co working space and start up programming

back. That doesn't happen with women. But on the other hand, if a man wants, he can do that. He has the liberty to do that. He can live his child with his wife and just go wherever he wants to go. That doesn't happen with women. So I decided that I'm not going anywhere. I'll do it from wherever I am. So that's how I started.

Then,

I do mostly online meetups

where, you know, people don't have to travel. That was 1 of the things.

There are a lot of challenges that I've faced so far with running by ladies Bangalore. As it is a number of volunteers that come forward to take up initiative to do nothing with the cost, Like, you know, I don't get paid for much to do what I do, but I love doing it and that's why I'm doing it.

That's my motto. But not many people can take up that, kind of responsibility.

That's what I've seen. And even, but, there's 1 thing that I can definitely do is I can help them. I can lead them. If they are willing to even put in a a little bit of support and then I'm good to go. That's 1 of the major challenges. If people come forward, I can handle the most of it. All they have to do is contribute in whatever they can. That's 1 of the biggest channels.

And,

finding places in Bangalore,

which are, like, closer

to everyone's taste, a place where everyone is, like, you know, has to travel minimum that's like a 1 huge problem.

I'm still trying to understand what is that woman,

why is that woman take a step back when they have to come forward?

I'm not able to understand. I'm not able to put a place my finger on it and say this is the reason why this is happening. But that's 1 of the that's 1 of the social aspects that I would definitely would want learning into. Like, you know, I would want to learn more about it.

This is some of the things. Yeah. And, some people

and,

couple of other things, small nitty gritty,

painful points where, like, you know, there were people who are making statements about my group, like, without even me having,

knowledge about it. I had to really, like, you know, take a step, for put a strong foot and say, okay. This is this is something I've been doing and I have to be telling things about it and not somebody else's happened with me. And so

the that isn't as major as, like, you know, other people coming forward and saying, okay, I wanna work for White Pine Ladies Bangalore, contribute, like, 4 hours of my day on a Saturday to come and, do a meetup. That's 1 of the major things. I don't find many volunteers. I don't find,

but the reception has been warm. I'm not telling it's totally nil, but it has to glow. I mean,

that's how those are the things that I faced with My Ladies Bangalore

and the journey so far.

And you mentioned that,

a number of those meetups are conducted online, so I'm wondering

what sorts of technological solutions you've used

to make it easy for people to attend in that manner and, I guess, what some of the challenges are with actually facilitating it that way.

That's 1 of the things that I also face. Like, my Broadband connection, I like,

it conks up. That's 1 of the infrastructure problems you can see. So, hopefully, I should be able to resolve that,

with some way or that. They'll have a better broadband connection, and Internet connection is always a problem. You never know when it goes off, and I I mean, at least in Bangalore, it's very unreliable.

But still, I have been successful in doing some of, the meetups online, so so I'm good with it.

Like, I I use Google Hangouts. I use Skype. I use,

meetup,

groups to announce.

And then I have a mailing list for Paylady's Bangalore. And then and,

I post, on my blog and then I post,

I have a a stack overflow where I post some questions if I'm not if I'm stuck and if I'm not able to answer and things like that. So I would request all of the people also to come forward and do sell things like, you know, join my meetup,

encourage me to do more, contribute in whatever they possible they can. Even even if it is, like, you know, the tiniest bit that they can do, I'm good with it. I'll be very happy to welcome such people. But now and,

I've seen that it is growing. The interest is growing. So and I'm happy about the trend.

I don't see me going back on this. I would like to continue doing what I'm doing. And just for the,

this podcast is reaching out to many people. I would like to know that the first Pilates conference is happening in Bangalore.

We are planning for tentatively May.

So if there are people out there who wanna come and sponsor and things like that, I would be more than happy to welcome you. Thank you.

And you mentioned that you've been teaching at the Indeed

I am teaching Python at Indian Institute of Science to people who actually,

are looking to learn Python. Like and this is for people who are already working or already doing their research or enrolled in their PhDs and want to learn Python to use in their work.

These are the kind of people that this is not like a high school group. This is like more like the at a bachelor's level, master's level, and then your PhD levels. So I am teaching to those people and it is only Python. I start from the basics, and then I delve into 1 of the major,

advanced topics, say, like, you know, natural language processing or machine learning, whichever they want to.

I am,

in the process of refining my course,

work and things, but it's happening. That's what I'm teaching at Indian Institute of Science right now.

Are the students who are attending largely coming from a scientific background?

Pretty much from the engineering background. Right? So I have a couple of students who are from the, like, basic sciences, who are into applied sciences. There's a student from,

chemistry, and then there's a students from biology background.

But they have the basic mathematics skills, not the programming skills, but then I help them. So that, they're good with that. Yeah.

I was just curious if you had looked into incorporating any of the materials from the,

data carpentry or, science carpentry

workshops.

I have not had the time and,

like, you know, time to actually look into

as it is, I'm doing so much that it takes up most of my time. I would definitely love to do that. Once I get my free myself for all my responsibilities, like, all other things that I'm doing, then probably I might have the time to and Bandwidth to to look into other things. I would definitely love to look into them. I will use them. It's not like I'm going to no information is is not useful. Everything is useful, basically.

The only thing is how much can we I'll be able to grasp and absorb and hold it inside us. That's the only thing that, holds me back now. And given with the given space, I have to eat, I have to sleep, and then I have to do my work. It's like 24 hour space is not enough anymore.

So what is it about Python and its community that has inspired you to dedicate so much of your time to contributing back to it?

Yeah. 1 of the things that actually inspired by Python is that it's open source in the sense, like, you're free to,

modify code, and then you're free to, distribute in,

public licenses. And,

you basically

it's like you have a product and you're able to reengineer it to suit suit your needs. That's 1 of the things that, that got me,

hooked on to Python. Like, and there's a ever growing community that it's fast growing,

that is

contributing, and there's so many projects to work on. It's like it's just a vast,

expanse of sea, and I'm just looking at it, like, you know, standing on the edge of the

beach, I should say. That's how I see it. And, it's been a great experience, like, you know, working on Python, teaching others Python, and doing, like, you know, know, trying to get this word across to everybody else. It's been a great journey.

Some of the things that actually attract me to Python is that it's open source and then, the ease of language

and,

I have used other languages. I have written in a couple of languages before. I've I I

know a little bit of c, but that's, like, way back into, 10 years back around, say, 2005, I was using c and a language called Proteller, which is, like, their proprietary languages. But But none of them have given the comfort level that Python has given me. So,

I don't know if it is the language. It's just so easy to learn. The this magic didn't happen with any other language. So

that's, that's that got me hooked, and I am the I'm not unhooking myself anymore. I'm not trying to unhook myself.

So you have been voted in as a director of the Python Software Foundation,

and I'm wondering what responsibilities that entails,

and,

and what are some of the things that you are hoping to achieve in your time at the PSF?

Some of my responsibilities include we keep getting grant requests for, like, you know, coding Python workshops all over the world.

We decide whether it's, like, the given a reasonable,

what do you say, reasonable accounting of the expenses needed and things like that. And then we do discussions on, like, you know,

whether we should fund. Mostly,

I've been voting on, like, you know, grant requests and stuff like that. But then,

I would like to do some of, like, you know, keynoting and things like that. That'll be in the long run. But,

generally, my responsibilities, these are the, like, you know, making decisions there with all the 11 members of the board,

saying, like, saying whether, when when somebody submits a proposal

to, like, start a new project, then they want funded, then they want fiscal sponsorship.

All those things we,

the directors of the PSF, take a call,

on those decisions. We have a lot of discussions going on, so I just contribute in whatever I can.

It's, it's not too much of work. It's more like, you know, voting on all the decisions that get passed. And if you have a word or 2 to say about anything, then you're able

to put in that.

We were we help each other. Like, you know, if somebody's in a somebody's in a place where they can't,

what do you say? When they're sending a request to someone in India, then they would have me look up, the details of the location, the cost of living, and things like that. I do that for the as a director of PSF. So those are my responsibility primary responsibilities for PSF so far.

And what are some of the things that you would like to achieve while you're at the PSF?

See, I'm already working with PyLadies Bangalore, so I would align my,

goals and ideas for PyLadies Bangalore with the PSF. There's not much more that I can do. I am already in the process of, like, teaching Python to couple of colleges and schools in Bangalore. I have done with, institute called doctor I mean, I've already done within,

Impact in College of Engineering in Bangalore, and then there's in a school in Bangalore, I have, like, 2 more schools and a couple of other colleges that have that have gone and spoken to that, can hold my Python sessions and I will I hope to do it on a regular basis. Hopefully, that should take off

and, being 1 of being 1 of the directors of the PSF actually helps me helps my world. Like, you know, it's not somebody who's coming and saying that I'm gonna do Python sessions for you. It is the director of PSF who's coming forward to do the sessions. So that makes a lot of difference in the way people look at me. It definitely helps me. It's just the way people look at it.

So are there any other topics that we should cover? 1 last message. I'm doing the PyLadies conference for the first time in India and Bangalore in, May 2017.

So if there is anybody wanting to help, plea I'm reaching out to them. Please feel free to come forward and, let me how you can help me. Apart from that, I'm good with it. I have don't have any other comments.

And is there a website or any other,

source that people should go to to look up information about the PyLadies Bangalore conference?

I am working on those. I have a pyladies.co.n

website, and I have a conference dot pyladies.com,

which is all work in progress.

So it's gonna take some time. I should be out in a couple of month. I mean, 1 or 2 months from now.

For anybody who wants to follow you and keep up to date with what you're doing, what would be the best way for them to do that? You can write me an email. You can, subscribe to my meetup group. And I have a blog, personal blog, and I have my Facebook page. Please feel free to reach out anywhere. Annak0ppad

is my handle on Twitter, on Facebook,

and

on anywhere you write me an email. I'll definitely reply back to you. It might be slow, but I will definitely reply back to you. Yep.

So that all brings us into the picks.

For my pick today, I'm gonna choose the tool fluentd,

which is a

it's a tool for being able to process

log and data streams from multiple different sources and then

filter and enhance them and send them to other destinations.

So I've been using it primarily for

aggregating the logs in my infrastructure

to send to an Elasticsearch cluster for

for interacting with via

the Kibana project, but I've also been able to use it for being able to split some of those log streams to other destinations for

other people to use for their own purposes,

and it's just been really easy to get started with. And it's also

has fairly low resource requirements.

So for anybody who's looking for any sort of streaming data processing,

for

log data primarily,

it's definitely a good tool to look into. And with that, I will pass it to you. What do you have for pics? Yeah. I'm definitely reading the LOTR, Lord of the Rings book. Apart from that,

I watched the movies recently,

the Stocks and the there's a street called Food Street.

It's in south of Bangalore. So

and it's like a the whole street is full, like, with, like, really tasty spicy good stuff. So if you are in Bangalore, please drop by. We can have food at the food street. I welcome you to do that. Well, I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to tell us about the work you've been up to, and, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Okay. Thanks, Tobias. Thanks so much.

The Python Podcast.init

Summary

Brief Introduction

Interview with Annapoornima Koppad

Keep In Touch

Picks

The Python Podcast.__init__

Summary

Brief Introduction

Interview with Annapoornima Koppad

Keep In Touch

Picks

The Python Podcast.init