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From TPL to DevFest: GSoC 2024 Launched My Dev Life

April 7, 2025
5 min read
GSoC 2024Kotlin FoundationDevSparkDevFestGDG RanchiTech TalkOpen Source

Tanish Ranjan’s journey from tweaking TPL to GSoC 2024 with Kotlin Foundation, to speaking at DevSpark, Ranchi. Explore my dev life kickoff!

From TPL to DevFest: GSoC 2024 Launched My Dev Life

My Dev Journey gets a Huge Boost in 2024 with GSoC

Hey there! I’m Tanish Ranjan, and if you’ve landed here, welcome to my little corner of the internet—a place where I spill the beans on my life as a coder, creator, and dreamer. This first blog is about how a regular day tinkering with code turned into a whirlwind of opportunities, from Google Summer of Code (GSoC) to speaking at events in Ranchi.

Refining TPL and a Friend’s Big Idea

Picture this: early 2024, I’m holed up in my room, grinding away on TPL — my homebrew programming language that snagged me a spot in the India Book of Records. I was obsessed, tweaking syntax and dreaming of what it could become. Then, out of nowhere, a friend hit me with a curveball: “Tanish, you should apply for GSoC.” It was a week before the deadline, and I barely knew what GSoC was—some Google thing, right? But his excitement was contagious, so I dove in, head first.

That moment flipped a switch. I shelved TPL for a bit, fired up my laptop, and started researching. A LinkedIn post led me to the Kotlin Foundation’s project list, and bam—there it was: “Adding Android Support to the Gradle Build Server.” It was perfect—Android, Kotlin, real-world impact. Two frantic proposal rewrites later, I was in. GSoC became my everything for the next few months.

The GSoC Whirlwind

GSoC 2024 was a ride. I teamed up with the Kotlin Foundation and Gradle Inc., shipping code that’s now live in the VSCode Gradle Extension. I won’t bore you with the techy bits—my full recap’s over at the Kotlin Foundation blog — but let’s just say I went from a solo coder to someone collaborating with devs at Google and Microsoft. By August, I’d passed my evaluations, merged my PRs (see the project details), and even demoed it live (watch it on YouTube). It was surreal.

What hit me hardest wasn’t the code, though—it was the shift in me. Before GSoC, I built stuff for fun, in my bubble. After, I saw the power of open source: my work wasn’t just mine anymore; it was out there, helping devs I’d never meet. That feeling? Addictive.

From Code to Stage: Tushar Raj and the GDG Call

Fast forward to late 2024 — GSoC’s done, I’m basking in the glow, and my phone rings. It’s Tushar Raj, the guy running GDG (Google Developer Groups) Ranchi. He’s all energy: “Tanish, we’re doing DevFest pre-hype events. Can you take two talks—on Android and GSoC?” I blinked. Me? Speaking? But he wasn’t kidding. He had lined up gigs at Sarla Birla University and NIAMT Ranchi, teamed up with Apna Meetup to hype up DevFest.

I said yes—nervous, but hyped. First stop was NIAMT, where I met Piyush Sahoo, founder of Apna Meetup. Then came Sarla Birla University, where I spilled my GSoC story and Android tips to a room full of eager faces. In this journey I came in contact with the GDGSOC (GDG Student on Campus) crew—Ranchi’s GDG squad. We clicked instantly, swapping stories about code, late nights, and big dreams. Those talks weren’t just me blabbing—they were a chance to connect, to see my journey spark something in others.

DevFest and Beyond

All that led to DevFest itself, hosted by GDG Ranchi. What went down there? Well, that’s a tale for another post—think big crowds, bigger ideas, and me trying not to trip over my own excitement. For now, let’s call this the gist: I started 2024 refining TPL in my room, and by year’s end, I was on stage, sharing my path with a community I didn’t even know existed months ago.

A Quick Peek at My GSoC Trail

Want more? Here’s where you can dig into that GSoC chapter:

Welcome to My World

This is just the start. GSoC lit the fuse, and those talks fanned the flames. Now, on this site, you’ll see it all unfold—my projects like Flareon, my YouTube tutorials, and whatever wild idea I chase next. Stick around, say hi, and let’s build something awesome together!

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