2025 in Review

Like every year, 2025 went by very fast. It feels like it was January just a few months ago. Now that the year is almost over, I thought I should write about how the year went. Looking back, I can say that I did a lot this year. So let’s go through it.

The HighlightsLink to heading

HealthLink to heading

This year, I reached the best shape of my life so far. I lost around 5 kg of weight and moved from 80 kg to ~75 kg.

I also started running this year. In the beginning, I used to run around the lake near my house in Bangalore. One lap of the lake is around 1.3 km, and at first I could only complete one lap. Slowly, I moved to two laps. Around that time, one of my colleagues, who is very good at running, gave me a simple piece of advice. He told me not to worry about pace and to focus on covering more distance. This advice helped me a lot over time.

Gradually, I was able to run 5 km, which once felt impossible to me. My average pace is around 7 minutes 19 seconds per kilometer. On good days, I am also able to run 10 km at a similar pace. I have not participated in any marathon yet, but running a 10 km race is something I want to do in the future.

Running played a big role in my weight loss, along with regular strength training. For most of the year, I made sure to go to the gym at least four to five days a week. I saw a clear improvement in my strength and was able to hit a few personal records. For example, I reached 60 kg on the bench press and 60 kg on squats. Gym and running are habits I want to continue in 2026 as well.

This year, I also focused a lot on eating clean and balanced food. For most of the year, I ate the same breakfast every day. It included soaked oats with seeds, a scoop of whey protein, and some fruits. This gave me more than 45 grams of protein in my first meal. I also made sure to avoid eating too much sugar.

New BikeLink to heading

I had been riding my scooty in Bangalore for the last one or two years after bringing it from my hometown when I moved here. It served me well and never gave me any trouble.

But for a long time, I had wanted to get myself a bike. I was a big fan of the Royal Enfield Classic 350. I took test rides of almost all the popular bikes in the 350–650 cc range and was very close to buying the Classic 350.

Then I heard that Royal Enfield was going to launch the Classic 650. The pictures looked stunning, so I decided to wait. Once it was available, I took a test ride, loved it, and booked the bike. I’ll probably be among the first few owners of this beauty.

The bike is heavy, and riding it in Bangalore’s traffic can be tough at times. But as my friend rightly said, when something is this beautiful, you have to put up with a few tantrums.

After getting the bike, my friends and I went on many trips in and around Bangalore. At the start, the excitement was very high. I remember we didn’t miss a single weekend or holiday. Every weekend, we would go somewhere.

We covered many places and made some of our best memories on these trips. We also bought an intercom, which I would highly recommend if you’re riding with friends, it makes the journey much more fun and safer.

Our longest trip so far has been from Bangalore to Puducherry and then to Mahabalipuram.

Ensite.ioLink to heading

Ensite.io is one of the projects I’ve been working on for the past few years. Over time, I realized there were many limitations in the earlier architecture.

In 2025, I decided to rewrite the entire project from the ground up. It took a lot of effort and more than a few sleepless nights, but it was worth it.

I’m planning a closed preview launch sometime in 2026.

Building Better Web ExperiencesLink to heading

This year, I spent a lot of time, both personally and at work, learning about web performance and seeing it applied at scale on zepto.com. A big part of my focus was improving both the user experience and the developer experience at Zepto.

I feel fortunate to work on things I genuinely enjoy, and it’s been rewarding to see these improvements make a real difference for both users and the teams building the product. I plan to write separate, detailed posts about these learnings and changes in the future.

A Gift for PapaLink to heading

This one is, and will always be, very special to me and close to my heart.

Papa has been driving his old Chevrolet Beat for almost 10 years now. Since the company has left India, getting the car serviced in Kullu became difficult. He had to take it to Chandigarh every four or five months just for servicing.

My father loves cars and has a deep passion for driving. I’ve often seen him watching car videos on YouTube, and his driving skills are still pretty solid. He said he would be okay with a Tata Punch or a Maruti Jimny, but I knew his real love was for SUVs.

So I got him a Scorpio N 4x4. I know it was a big purchase, and Ankur Warikoo would probably not be very happy with this decision. I could have delayed it to some later year, but Papa’s age won’t come back. And the passion he has right now — who knows if it will still be the same then.

GauravThakur.com, At LastLink to heading

For the last 7–8 years, ever since I got into web development, I’ve had my eyes on gauravthakur.com. Unfortunately, it was already taken by someone who clearly wasn’t planning to give it up. So I settled for gauravthakur.in, which served me well all these years.

One fine day, I checked the domain again (as one does), and to my shock, it had expired. I genuinely thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But there was still a 30–45 day grace period, so all I could do was wait… very patiently… and refresh WHOIS like a maniac.

I backordered the domain on a few services, and luckily, one of them caught it. And just like that, after years of waiting, gauravthakur.com was finally mine.

Arjun’s Next ChapterLink to heading

For the past 3.5 years, Arjun was my manager. But he was much more than that, a good friend and a mentor. His support and trust played a big role in my journey so far.

This year, he moved on from Zepto to start a new chapter at Quince, and that was a big moment for me. Working with him has been a great learning experience, both professionally and personally.

I'm truly grateful for everything I learned from him, and I'll always carry those lessons with me.

Wrapping UpLink to heading

2025 was an awesome year. Focused on health, went on some unforgettable trips with friends, and worked on things I really care about. Some moments were big, like getting Papa his dream car. Others were small but just as meaningful, like finally owning the domain I'd been eyeing for years.

Not everything went perfectly, and there were tough days too. But looking back, I'm happy with how things turned out. Here's hoping 2026 brings even more good stuff.