Hello
I’m Shankar — a creator working across three threads: a Carnatic compositional instrument I’m building on Monome hardware, a long-running RPG engine project, and a parallel run through the foundations of modern machine learning.
This is where I write about the work as it happens. Honest progress, real decisions, occasional dead ends. Not a how-to and not a portfolio. A working journal.
Music
A programmable hardware instrument for composing Carnatic rhythmic and melodic patterns. Built on Monome Norns + Grid + Plinky.
Games
An ambitious RPG project. C++ engine, Unreal frontend. Long arc, slow build.
LLM Foundations
Working through the foundations: micrograd, makemore, GPT from scratch. The deep stack rather than the surface.
Journal
Reflective writing that doesn't fit any single project. Travel, reading, observations.
Recent All posts
Norns in hand: first power-on
Three years of planning compressed into the moment of pressing the boot button. Notes from Phase 0 of the music dev journey.
Superbooth, in fragments
Three days at FEZ Berlin among synth makers. What I learned, what I bought, what I watched other people fall in love with.
Micrograd, written by hand
The first lecture of Karpathy's series and what it teaches you that's not the math.