Absent

Operating out of the Silk Board area in Madiwala means we at Absent are right in the middle of Bangalore’s famous traffic. If you know this part of town, you know that just getting to the office is an achievement every day. The building we are in isn't anything special to look at, just a regular structure in a very crowded part of the city. We deal with the constant noise of buses and horns from morning until evening, but inside we try to keep things as focused as possible. Our workspace is a mix of mismatched furniture and whiteboards that are always covered in scribbles that only we understand. It’s often dusty because of all the construction nearby, so we are always wiping down our screens. We don't have a canteen, so most of us bring lunch from home or grab something from the many small eateries around Madiwala. The name of the company often gets a laugh from people when they first hear it, but it’s just what we’ve always been called. We spend our days tucked away here, working through projects and trying to beat the evening rush hour when it’s time to head home. Sometimes the power fluctuations mean we have to restart everything, but we take it in stride. It’s a gritty, real-world kind of place to work, far away from the shiny tech parks. We like being right in the thick of things, even if the commute is a nightmare.