I’ve been thinking about a strange question. How do you give to something, not because you will get anything back, but simply because you believe in it?

Time and again, I am reminded that my career, maybe even my whole life, is really just a bunch of people who did things for me and expected nothing back.

Story time.

In 2015, in college, I went to NICAR, a data journalism conference in the US. My first conference ever. The first day was EXHAUSTING. I went back to the motel room I was sharing and crashed.

A blurry selfie of a young woman smiling in an airport lounge, wearing black-framed glasses and a bright blue t-shirt printed in bold with the words "I Code Like A Journalist #NICAR". Me at NICAR, 2015. T-shirt design by Jeremy Bowers.

I woke in the middle of the night to an email from my professor, Michael Keller. “I’m by the networking area. If you want me to make introductions, I’m happy to!” Honest confession: I find it genuinely hard to walk up to a stranger and introduce myself. In a room full of people I don’t know, I am the one hiding in the corner.

I replied, “Sorry, was tired so left early. Definitely tomorrow!”

The next day I found him. He asked who I want to meet. I was clueless, so asked him back - “Who should I meet?” He said we’ll start clockwise. For the next hour and a half he walked me around the room, introducing me to every person he knew. To each one he said the same thing: “Meet my star student.” He didn’t have to do any of it. He chose to, and he wanted nothing back.

Every year since, he hears from me at least once to say I owe him my career. He always says: “It wasn’t me, it was you and your talent and hard work.” But here is what I have learned. Working hard on its own doesn’t do much. It is only when you meet the generosity of the right people that something special happens.

VizChitra is, in a way, my attempt to build a whole room of that. Two years ago a few of us started it, India’s first conference for people who tell stories with data. The first edition, 300+ people showed up. A WhatsApp group of 1500+ emerged. On July 3 and 4, we do it again, at the Bangalore International Centre.

Here is the honest part. VizChitra is not an enterprise. It runs almost entirely on volunteers, people who take leave, answer messages at midnight, give away their weekends. It is a labour of love, and labours of love do not break even on their own. Between tickets and a few generous sponsors we get close, but this year a small gap is still left. I think we can close it, but we need an extra push!

So I am doing something I find genuinely hard. I am asking. If VizChitra has ever given you something, a talk that stayed with you, a person you met, a chart that changed how you think, you can give a little back. Any amount. It goes exactly where you’d want it to: travel and honorarium for the speakers, the volunteers who hold it all up, and networking refreshments for attendees. It all goes back to community building.

I am not going to pretend there is anything in it for you. That is the whole point. Giving without expectation is one of the most beautiful things we can do for each other.

So if VizChitra has meant something to you, you can contribute here: https://tickets.vizchitra.com/contribute