Son of an IAF fighter pilot, Anchit grew up inhaling the fragrance of jet exhaust fumes, with the roar of the jet engines as his morning alarm and with the pride of the khaki uniform and blue overalls shining in his eyes. Like many of his peers, he wanted nothing more than to be an IAF pilot when he grew up.
But life had other plans for him, and Anchit found himself in the world of finance, having received an MBA (twice over), and an MS in Finance. The high-adrenaline world he experienced during his first job with McKinsey & Co. lured him into the Private Equity industry in 2007. From that point to his present position as an investing partner at Samara Capital, he’s had an exciting journey. As a respite from the high-octane world of Private Equity, Anchit packs his time off from work with off-roading trips.
Anchit’s tryst with Indian Air Force History began with a moment of serendipity.
In 2012, he chanced upon his father’s profile page on Bharat-Rakshak, the one-stop-shop website for all things IAF, and he reached out to Jagan Pillarisetti, the webmaster. That innocuous inquiry was going to change his life. The tiny connection back to the IAF propelled him to start supporting Pillarisetti (renowned author and IAF historian) in building the database of IAF information, covering officers, awards, aircraft, units, accidents, and all the events that make for compelling stories. Anchit lapped up every little snippet of information from the public domain. Scouring through gazettes, coffee table books, articles, veteran interviews, anecdotes, and logbooks, he manually collated millions of data points and organized them into a Database. For years, Anchit would spend hours every week collecting aviation information – all as a hobby without an end goal in mind. As he worked the data, it took him back to his childhood at an IAF base, and his imagination revisited those unforgettable memories
Anchit’s obsession with collecting information earned him the moniker “Data Shikari” from KS Nair in his book “The Forgotten Few”. This term has stuck with him in the broader aviation nerd community since then. In 2021, Anchit began posting short stories on Twitter using the information he had collected for years. Interest amongst readers encouraged him to wield the pen further. Since then, he has written for various national dailies and has published 90 odd threads (short stories) on Twitter that have clocked more than 7 million views.
In the summer of 2022, Anchit had the opportunity to meet the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, to discuss ways to further the cause of IAF History. Emanating from that discussion were two outstanding initiatives from the IAF – to create a group of “civilian Historians” that would work with the IAF from time to time and for Anchit to start delivering ‘Guest Lectures’ at various IAF establishments under the banner “Inspire History Project” to educate and motivate cadets, officers, and other IAF personnel about IAF’s illustrious past. Recently, Anchit has extended this initiative to deliver talks outside the IAF establishments.
This website was started in September 2023 to consolidate all his work. Anchit’s journey as an IAF enthusiast owes its success in no small measure to Jagan Pillarisetti, a close-knit band of Desi Aviation Nerds (KS Nair, Angad Singh, Saurav Chordia amongst others), IAF veterans who encouraged and supported him, and finally, the IAF establishment that accepted and integrated him as part of the extended family. None of this would have been possible without his wife, Shweta, who willingly provided the space and support for Anchit to expend millions of hours on his hobby at the cost of family time.
Based in Gurgaon, Anchit is forever eager to connect with IAF Veteran and document their anecdotes. His contact details are at the bottom of the page.