A dusk and dawn at FAYA:80

Some stories in Kerala’s tech journey don’t get told enough. In a state known for its early leaps – like setting up India’s first dedicated tech park before it became cool – consistency has always been the missing piece. Bold beginnings, yes. But somewhere along the way, we tend to hit pause, letting the spark fizzle out.

And that’s exactly why FAYA:80 stood out.

The initiative was shepherded by Deepu S Nath, a serial entrepreneur who now leads Faya’s India operations following its merger with DBG India and serves as the chief volunteer of the MuLearn group. This monthly tech talk series, which began in 2012, wasn’t just another item on a calendar – it was a ritual. A monthly gathering of minds that refused to skip a beat – not even during the dark days of the Covid lockdown. Twelve years of relentless, month-after-month conversations. No fanfare, no fluff. Just pure tech, community, and curiosity.

Last week, FAYA:80 finally drew the curtains on what is billed by organisers as Kerala’s longest-running tech talk series. And it did so the way it lived – not with a whimper, but with warmth, pride, and a quiet sense of achievement.

Not Just Talk: At its core, FAYA:80 was never just about lectures. It was about belonging. Developers, entrepreneurs, students, and the just-plain-curious showed up at Technopark every month not just to listen but to connect. It wasn’t unusual for a session to spill over into post-event dinners and then long, meandering conversations that stretched into the early hours of the morning. Ideas flowed freely. So did laughter, late-night momos, and the joy of shared discovery – or even jamming sessions.

For the peer-learning students' network MuLearn, this was a front-row seat to some of the finest minds in the industry. Many of the members got the chance to engage with tech stalwarts – not in a rushed panel format, but in long, unhurried discussions where every question, no matter how naïve, found space. For a generation looking to learn not just what’s new, but also what matters, FAYA:80 became a quiet but powerful classroom.

Over 200 sessions. 224 speakers. More than 20,000 attendees. And through it all, one goal: to build a culture of knowledge-sharing and curiosity. Deepu and his team at FAYA didn’t just run an event – they built a community that looked forward to learning together, month after month, year after year. They even converted part of their office into a “Floor of Madness” where people found the courage to open up and pitch their crazy thoughts.

Evolutionary Path: A visit to the FAYA:80 website gives you a glimpse of just how thoughtfully the series was curated. The archive of past sessions is a timeline of tech evolution itself – from cloud computing and UI/UX to blockchain, AI, and startup scaling strategies. What stands out is how these weren’t abstract talks; they were anchored in real-world applications and led by people who were living the technology they spoke about.

The speakers’ gallery reads like a who’s who of our tech leadership – founders, CTOs, product heads, and engineering leads who took the time to come down to Technopark and share their journeys. For student groups like MuLearn, this was more than just exposure; it was mentorship in motion. It reinforced what the series always stood for – not just delivering talks, but building access, familiarity, and a sense of belonging in the larger tech narrative.

What also becomes clear from browsing through FAYA:80’s archive is that it wasn’t just a space for students or early-career professionals. It became a rare forum where those already deep in the tech industry could step out of their silos and hear from people in adjacent domains – marketing heads talking about gamification, founders sharing their scale-up struggles, or product leads demystifying AI. It was often in these cross-sector conversations that the seeds of unexpected collaborations were sown.

Beyond Inspiration: For many in the audience, these sessions offered more than just insight. They sparked ideas for new directions, side projects, or even business pivots. FAYA:80 quietly built bridges between people who might never have met otherwise, giving Kerala’s tech ecosystem a horizontal depth that few platforms manage to achieve.

But this isn’t really an ending. It’s a new phase.

‘Beyond FAYA:80’ is now looking to decentralise this magic – creating micro-communities across cities and campuses, each running its own version of a Port 80 chapter. Think lighter formats, peer-led updates, deep-dive expert sessions – and all powered by the same DNA of openness and collaboration. From AI to Robotics, Cybersecurity to Data Science, the goal is to keep the conversations alive – everywhere.

Deepu’s ambitions and vision go beyond the usual chatter from those who claim much but deliver little – or who simply can’t see beyond their own noses. He has often gone to the extent of risking his bread-and-butter activities to drive the voluntary groups he leads and to motivate others to offer unadulterated hand-holding support.

Breaking Barriers: Of course, many fail to comprehend the vision and translate it into similar actions. Some drift away, creating their own paths in different areas. But the camaraderie built through FAYA:80 has, in effect, created a wider network that has transcended many physical and geographical boundaries.

The burning ambition, shared by many in the Malayalee IT community, is to build an ecosystem that produces world-class products from within the state, rather than remaining merely an exporter of talent and a landfill of fertile brains. Deepu and his team have laid the groundwork for this vision through their upcoming Purple Movement, which symbolically merges red – representing the energy of youth – with blue, denoting the wisdom of industry veterans. They hope this fusion will provide the components needed to realise that goal.

It is a huge task, and the events and discussions during the FAYA:80 finale gave a hint that this will require a severe disruption of existing realities. Turning this movement into a platform for personal promotion or a network for other entities to extend their influence is a danger that lurks ahead – as we’ve seen in Kerala before. But what FAYA:80 has shown is that it is possible to forge ahead without falling into such traps.

Déjà Vu: Oh yes, the stage at Technopark might have seen its last FAYA:80. But the spirit it nurtured? That’s only just been ignited. There’s now a real chance for genuinely purposeful people to come together and catapult Kerala’s tech community into its next orbit – and perhaps set an example for others, in India and beyond.

Yet the cautionary note remains. It’s a pattern we’ve seen too often: Kerala sparks the idea, and others take it forward. Today, Singularity University and the Telangana government are actively exploring ways to adapt elements from MuLearn and FAYA:80. It’s a testament to the strength of these models – and a reminder that what we often begin, others are ready to scale. As FAYA:80 wraps up, the challenge is clear: can Kerala finally sustain the spark it’s so good at igniting?

A cure and the disease

Kerala on Saturday launched the Universal Palliative Care project and the Kerala Palliative Care Grid – a landmark, tech-enabled initiative aimed at addressing the rising needs of the state’s ageing population. As The New Indian Express reports, with 1,142 primary palliative care units run by local self-governments, over 500 home-care units operated by voluntary organisations, and more than 1,000 charitable and social-service groups already in place, the new grid promises to bring them all under one platform. It is expected to enable timely medical, psychological, and even financial interventions.

And yet, the same newspaper illustrates the disconnect between vision and ground reality. It also carried the story of Dr Haris Chirakkal, head of the urology department at the Government Medical College in Trivandrum, who publicly criticised the authorities for failing to procure essential surgical equipment, a lapse that led to repeated delays in life-altering surgeries. His post, though later deleted, served as a stark reminder that while Kerala is breaking new ground in one part of its healthcare system, basic gaps continue to persist in others.

A shining beacon for startups

The true potential of Vizhinjam port in Trivandrum is yet to be fully recognised by the local tech community. As is often the case, most of the early activity remains focused on real estate development in the surrounding areas. But examples like Bangalore-based Citrus Freight show how technology can transform the logistics sector. The company’s AI-powered booking engine enables real-time pricing, route optimisation, and automated documentation, dramatically reducing booking times. In India’s fragmented cold chain ecosystem, especially for SME agri-exporters who lack access to reliable logistics and digital tools, such solutions are game-changers, as the The Economic Times notes. And given Kerala’s well-known bureaucratic hurdles, there’s a pressing need to build enablement centres in Kerala, especially in Trivandrum that can support shippers and businesses across sectors.

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Sniffing out a Lunar mystery

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