Datta Vellal

Socials

2007 to now. 55 events, 11 documented in depth.

Signature work

  1. 01

    Nine community book drives, Rs 968,474 for books for rural schools (2015 to 2026)

    Grew from Rs 37,500 in 2015 to Rs 235,218 in 2026 through 115 contributions from friends and colleagues; no drives in 2020, 2021 or 2024.

    See the evidence

  2. 02

    Guest teaching at colleges since 2010

    15 documented talks, workshops and judging roles at engineering colleges in Karnataka, from design patterns and Java to career and interview preparation, with audiences of up to about 300 students.

  3. 03

    Toastmasters: speaker, leader and mentor to a new club

    Competent Communicator and Competent Leader in 2011, 9 club speaking and evaluation awards, judges training, and a district recognition as Leadership Advisor in 2013.

  • 9book drives
  • ₹968,474raised
  • 115contributions
  • 15college talks, workshops and judging roles
  • 3yoga qualifications (instructor, diploma, master's, all with distinction where graded)
  • 24blog posts (2007 to 2012)

“He has presented the technical sessions (JAVA/J2EE tech Seminar at Sir MVIT, MCA dept in even semester 2012) effectively in terms of reaching the students/staff so that they are ensured for rich continuous learning.”

Professor and head of departmentSir MVIT, 7 January 2014Read the capsule

“Toastmasters International, District 82 recognizes, Dattatreya S Vellal for successfully serving as a 'Leadership Advisor' under the Club Incubation Center”

Toastmasters International District 82Toastmasters International, 24 November 2013Read the capsule

Year by year

  1. 2026

    2026 book drive: Rs 235,218.

    1 event

  2. 2025

    2025 book drive: Rs 207,429.

    1 event

  3. 2024

    Personality type: ENFJ.

    1 event

  4. 2023

    2023 book drive: Rs 134,954.

    1 event

  5. 2022

    2022 book drive: Rs 119,617.

    1 event

  6. 2020

    Interview panel: civil services scholarship.

    1 event

  7. 2019

    2019 book drive: Rs 63,700.

    1 event

  8. 2018

    2018 book drive: Rs 75,404.

    1 event

  9. 2017

    2017 book drive: Rs 69,652; Seminar: Java and placement preparation.

    2 events

  10. 2016

    2016 book drive: Rs 25,000; Talk: Lessons from 50 failed interviews; Seminar: SOLID principles.

    4 events

  11. 2015

    2015 book drive: Rs 37,500; Talk: Web technologies and us; Workshop: Design patterns.

    5 events

  12. 2014

    Diwali giveback: Rs 35,432; Recommended by a professor I taught for; Talk: Building a successful IT career.

    4 events

  13. 2013

    Leadership Advisor for a new Toastmasters club; Talk: Technical writing and presentation skills; Talk: Behind the scenes of social networks.

    6 events

  14. 2012

    Workshop: J2EE and advanced Java; Workshop: J2EE and advanced Java; Talk: Web 2.0.

    10 events

  15. 2011

    Toastmasters Competent Leader; Toastmasters Competent Communicator; Master's in yoga.

    9 events

  16. 2010

    Talk: Yoga and its practical applications; Postgraduate diploma in yoga; 2 blog posts.

    3 events

  17. 2009

    Certified yoga instructor; 7 blog posts.

    2 events

  18. 2008

    6 blog posts.

    1 event

  19. 2007

    5 blog posts.

    1 event

What I took from it

Outside work I learned that giving back scales people the way good engineering scales systems. Nine book drives, asking the same friends every year, grew from Rs 37,500 in 2015 to Rs 235,218 in 2026. Standing in front of students, and telling them I failed about 50 interviews, taught me that honesty about failure helps people more than advice about success. I keep doing both because they remind me who the work is for.