These technocrats will keep you updated

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 28

A guest house located in Dharamkot, about 15 kilometres from Dharamsala, is abuzz with activity. Electronic gadgets are spread in lobbies of the guest house and people are seen huddling in groups with their laptops, discussing technologies.

A group of 60 technocrats from across the world have come to Dharamsala to share their knowledge on various technologies. They termed their informal conference that has become an annual affair since last year as amalgamation of various technologies and subjects.

Freeman, IT expert from California, is a Java programmer. He said, “I became a member of Hill Hacks last year. This is the second time I have come to Dharamsala to attend the informal conference of technical experts.”

Freeman said he was teaching Java with specialisation on android technologies. He had also brought with him a battery-operated unicycle that attracted many as Freeman went up and downhill on it.

Maura from Switzerland is an anthropologist who is studying Gaddi Shepherds of Himachal and impact of Global climate change on them. For anybody coming to the informal conference of Hill Hacks at Dharamkot, Maura can tell him about her research project and anthropology as a subject.

Maura said as per her study, Gaddi shepherds of Himachal have been least impacted by the climate change. They adapted very well to the climate change as finding new pastures for their animals and changing their traditional migration routes.

Hitesh from Gujarat, who is a textile designer, occasionally comes to Dharamsala to teach at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Kangra. He said: “I learnt about Hill Hacks camps and decided to join it this year. It was a learning experience as I met professionals from all background and we shared our ideas.”

Ayush, an IT professional from Patna, who has now settled in Dharamsala and has started his Mind Grip IT company, is among the founding members of Hill Hacks. Ayush said he along with two other people, including Akita a Chinese (now settled in Japan) and Sva a German, decided to create a hackers space a few years ago. “We started infinity hackers in the Rakkar area near Dharamsala. During the session, technocrats do the brain storming exercise. From infinity hackers, we started the concept of holding camps of Hill Hacks,” he said.

Most of the technocrats coming to the camp are of the view that knowledge on various technologies should be freely available for everybody.

He said: “We intend to make Hill Hacks a self-supporting organisation that can teach modern technologies to youngsters and school students for free.” The camp will continue till June 6.