So the very first DrupalCamp in Chennai happened this year and yours truly got to participate(primarily because entry was free :)).

For the uninitiated, you could visit the official drupal homepage to know more. Or you could visit this rather bleak (and accurate) commitstrip comic which I really recommend :).

It was a two-day event held December 7 and 8, 2019 at IC&SR building in IIT Madras. Like me, if you’ve never been into an IIT campus its an experience to behold and cherish. The abundant lush green verdant flora and gentle deer nonchalantly roaming around makes it surreal. Likewise, the infrastructure of the IC&SR block was top-notch and lived up to the famous IIT standards. After finishing up the registration and taking a few selfies in well-placed props and booths we made our way to the auditorium.

An initial introduction session followed with an engaging classical dance session followed by the morning’s keynote speaker Dr. D.K. Hema Hari’s session on Developing a Future which felt more like a brief session on world history. While I like and enjoy history, at some point it felt as if the depth of the subject matter felt like drinking from a fire hose. Also a part of me couldn’t help but feel like if the session strayed a bit too far from the event’s objective or the keynote in a way. But that could have been just me. The afternoon session was an entirely different beast. While keeping one’s eyes wide open after a wonderful lunch (thanks again to the sponsors of drupalcamp :)) is challenging, the afternoon’s keynote The Rise of #Martech felt vague and all over the place despite carrying a couple of good themes. I guess it would be an understatement to say the lunch overshadowed the afternoon’s keynote, again the experience of this specific individual.

Another interesting point was the announcement from one of the Drupal India Association member prior to the afternoon’s keynote. Primarily despite having the second largest headcount in the drupal community the magnitude and quality of our contributions being low. Following this was an ambitious announcement establishing a structure of volunteers working under a designated technical project manager and playing a significant part in contributing to Drupal 9.0. While I appreciate the refreshing honesty and underlying sentiment, I have mixed feelings about it.

The sessions themselves were a mixed bag, but again I guess were subjective to one’s prior knowledge or lack thereof. I suppose tagging sessions with experience level like Basic, Intermediate or Advanced listing pre-requisites, perhaps even with agenda could have made it better maybe? But regardless of any nitpicking, the bottomline is that volunteers did a stellar job organizing the event and executed it brilliantly. To bring together 350+ people under one roof on a weekend is a herculean task on its own, kudos to the organizing team. Being a Drupal developer for almost 10 years now, this was my first real experience with a community meet up. I hope to attend a DrupalCon Chennai soon!

P.S Here’s a group photo from the DrupalCamp.

#DrupalCampChennai