Nikhil Kumar

Building bridges at @Setu_API. Past: @India_Stack @exotel @intuit @tallysolutions | Platforms, Partnerships & Products | 🕺

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

@nikhiljoisr thanks dea

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

After many years of building Setu, it is time for me to step away from my everyday role.

It is hard to put into words what Setu has meant to me. It has given me far more than I ever expected. It has been one of the most important chapters of my life.

We set out to build infrastructure. Somewhere along the way, a company became a community. Work became a way of looking at the world, and of doing our small part to move the ecosystem forward.

Setu taught me how to build, how to lead with my heart, and how much good people can do when they care deeply about the same mission.

Most of all, it gave me people I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

As I step into what comes next, I leave with gratitude for everyone who walked this road with me (you know who you are), and with faith in the team carrying Setu forward.

I have always loved sharing music. So I will end this the only way I know how.

With a Grateful Dead song I have loved for years -
You who choose to lead, must follow
But if you fall, you fall alone
If you should stand, then who’s to guide you?
If I knew the way, I would take you home.

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

https://t.co/fjxBl0SIuP

[kuldeep @ku1deep]

In a world where everything is Industrial I am very excited about a shirt that is being hand built yarn up. This is going to be such a rare artifact. Indigo hand dyed, hand spun and hand woven and finally stitched to measure.

I have been told I get too excited for this stuff. But I just don't understand how can you not :-)

[Raj Vardhan @is_rajvardhan]

Mumbai summers also needs a breathable yet structured polo. While we typically do our signature Polo - Kessler, in Jersey knits, we have launched a limited edition Kessler in Piqué knit.

The Kessler 235 Piqué Supima by @thelayerproject is available only in 1 color - Bone White. Made with 100% Supima, this is 235 GSM but will feel like 180 GSM on skin. Supima is a fine cotton staple and pique knit adds even more air pockets to the structure.

Like every other Kessler it features a structured collar, high cut sleeves and a full shoulder yoke. If you are in Mumbai and want to try this, DM me for the passcode.

[Raj Vardhan @is_rajvardhan]

Some of our patrons from Mumbai have been asking for an Atticus (our buttondown) that is perfect for the Mumbai Summers.

Meet the Atticus 120 by then @thelayerproject. Built in 120 GSM lightweight Cotton Flax. Extremely Breathable and yet structured staying true to what an Atticus is meant to be.

Available now in 10 iconic shades.

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

@alokebajpai @rajnishkumar Understood!

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

@YesKhush_5 https://t.co/th2uXIPoWp

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

Woah?

[Billy Howell @billyjhowell]

Just learned about the concept of a “telescope ranch” in Texas.

People pay to have their $10,000+ telescope rigs set up in the middle of TX to avoid light pollution.

Every night the roof rolls back off the warehouses.

Then you can remote in to your telescope and use it from anywhere in the world.

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

lol

[Home Malone @Conankunte]

Tumba Dooraswami Stadium

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

@arnav_kumar @kumarharsha2212 Awww congratulations Harsha. So well deserved! 🎉

[Raj Vardhan @is_rajvardhan]

The Atticus by @thelayerproject is one the best button downs and the most versatile shirt that anyone can own. Its the right feel, right weight, rugged, and more importantly built for the long haul with a lot of care. Available in 22 colors with a choice of oxford cotton, linen, chambray and denim, with weight starting 125 GSM all the way to 235 GSM.

The shirt features a wide box placket that gives it the iconic neck roll when the couple of top buttons are open. And the structured yet soft collars gives the perfect roll.

Back of the shirt has box pleat and a split yoke. Both the semi yokes are cut at 45 degrees (aka bias cut), instead of the standard grain cut. This gives stretchability to what other wise is a non stretchable fabric and allows for free horizontal arm movement without any fuss or compromising on fit. The armholes are cut high to allow for free vertical arm movements. A well fitting shirtt shouldn't feel restrictive, and The Atticus ensure that.

At the hem, we add gussets to make it extra strong, but instead of adding it on the outside as some sort of distractive ornament, we add it inside with subtle stitch lines visible on the outside. When you see the sides of the hem, you know its there without even seeing it.

The seams feature a classic english stitch which is not only stronger but also more elegant than felled seams. Its not done anymore in any mass produced shirt because it takes more time and skill to do this. Instead of two stitches there are three stitches done in this, however, only one is visible on the outside and the remaining two are on the inside.

The buttons are Mother of pearl attached with a fleur de lys hand-stitch, and the buttonholes are 120 stitches to ensure it doesn't rip over a decade of wear.

[Sam Altman @sama]

being a dad is the thing that has most exceeded already-high-expectations in my whole life

[kuldeep @ku1deep]

So I have been wanting a fitted button down in oxford cotton for a while and I finally got one that I have been wearing around town. The Atticus by @is_rajvardhan

The whole point of an OCBD is to be the most versatile thing in the wardrobe. This is a shirt style that goes well over jeans and can be worn under a jacket, walking into a meeting. Works both untucked and tucked.

This one is in Oxford weave in 160 gsm Indian cotton. Washed thrice. Fabric has really come on its own after washing. One reason to love natural fibers. They get better with use. It also helps that Oxford cotton is a workhorse fabric. Can handle rough wear and tear, perfect for the hot and/or humid Mumbai weather.

Cloth has the substantial, slightly textured hand of proper oxford. The buttons are mother of pearl stitched on in a pleasing manner. I love the single chest pocket that makes it good to wear without an outer layer. I love the drape as well because inevitably you will sweat in it and it does pick up a light rumple through the day. A good workshirt makes this rumple look flattering. I ended my day standing at the new bar in town over a brew and honestly I loved the fact that the shirt held up thorough the long and hot day.

I leave the best for the last. The test of a OCBD is the collar roll. It makes the shirt what it is and I love the collar roll on this one. Notice that natural S shaped curve and how it lifts away from the shirt. Buttoned up the collar has volume and unbuttoned it frames my face making it look longer. I can leave an extra button open because the collar makes the shirt look intentional rather than undone. Did I already say I love this Collar?

Overall tailoring of this shirt is really good. The useful life of a good OCBD is measured in years, sometime decades. I expect to be wearing this shirt for a long time.

I paid ₹2400 for this at @thelayerproject and I consider that price a steal. I highly recommend the Atticus if you are looking for a button down shirt. (there is a waiting list but invites go out every few days) I have myself ordered another Button down in denim ( 235 gsm ).

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

@ku1deep Humpta Circle! Not the pass..

[tobi lutke @tobi]

https://t.co/5MJ7u1VHwf

[Raj Vardhan @is_rajvardhan]

Two days ago @ku1deep pinged me "can you make something like this?" pointing to the tangaliya shirt Brad Pitt wore in the F1 movie. I spent my entire Sunday on calls with weavers, geeking on about this.

What makes tangaliya, tangaliya, is the daana - tiny raised bead-like dots formed by hand-twisting contrasting yarn around groups of warp threads during weaving. This is not a print or embroidery thats added later, it done as part of weaving. And unlike a jacquard machine which has punch cards for patterns, this handloom machine doesnot and purely relies on weavers memory. Motifs like mor (peacock), khajuri (date palm), ambo (mango tree), and naughara (new house) are built dot by dot, reflecting the pastoral world the Dangasias lived in.

The craft nearly died. By the early 2000s, the Bharwad community had largely stopped wearing traditional garments, and tangaliya had no commercial market outside the community. NIFT Gandhinagar intervened around 2007-08 with a revival project, and the shawl received GI protection in 2009. Today barely a hundred-odd weavers across ~26 villages in Surendranagar still practice the craft. Each piece can take 20+ days on the loom.

Now here's the thing most people don't know - most tangaliya fabric on the market won't give you the same effect as what Brad is wearing in the film. His shirt uses natural indigo dye with both warp and weft dyed in indigo. That's what gives it that deep, living color that shifts in light.

Most commercially available Tangaliya, uses a different color weft (black or white, you can spot the black thread at the edges in the first photo) and the warp isn't true indigo but a blue that resembles it.

So we've commissioned a Dangasia weaver family in Surendranagar to do a limited run of 50 pieces. Indigo-dyed warp and weft. Pure cotton, 2/60 yarn count for a fabric with real body and weight. White and light yellow daana motifs, each one hand-twisted onto the warp threads individually on a pit loom. This is being done as a special project under @thelayerproject.

The fabric alone takes about 60 days. We'll cut these into shirts with an Italian cutaway collar, no notches (see attached). Each shirt will be single-person tailored and carefully crafted, the way we do everything at Layer.

DM me if you'd like to preorder.

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

@sama Hermes?

[Nikhil Kumar @nikhilkumarks]

@srijan_mahajan @heyprat Beauty