Howard Gardening Story #6 – Chirag: From Codes to Chords

What if the best outgoing student of your engineering college, a gold medalist, gets picked by Microsoft… and then walks away from it all?

Not because he failed. But because something else started playing in his heart.

Meet my young friend Chirag, Founder and CEO at Chirp Handpans.

He climbed the ladder fast—first a software engineer, then a program manager. By all external measures, life was sorted.

But inside, a strange rhythm had taken hold of him.

Chirag had fallen in love with an unusual musical instrument: the Handpan—a UFO-shaped percussion instrument born in Switzerland in the year 2000.

He didn't just want to play it.

He wanted to make it In India.

From circuits to steel shells, from deadlines to drone notes—Chirag took the leap.

He now crafts these soulful instruments for a global market, creating a beautiful blend of engineering and emotion.

And it makes me wonder...

Did his managers at Microsoft know about this parallel passion?

Did anyone help him weigh the risks of starting a hardware business, especially in a niche space like handpans?

Who mentored him on creating a USP? Or was it all trial and error, fueled by fire?

To my HR & CSR Leader friends:

What if an employee’s true calling lies outside your domain?

Can we support such outliers with mentorship and CSR platforms?

Could their side passions bring unexpected value to our cultures and communities; And company brand?

Chirag's melody now plays loud and clear.

Would your company have let him tune it?