There I was, standing in JFK airport at 10 PM, staring at my passport while a gate agent explained I couldn't board my flight to Mumbai. The Mumbai marathon would start in 36 hours. Meet Magento India was in four days. And apparently, I needed three consecutive blank passport pages.
Most people would've scrapped the race plan right there. But within minutes of sharing my predicament in our WhatsApp group, my phone exploded with messages from the Indian community. My friends from Ahmedabad offered to collect my race bib. We agreed to meet the morning of the race (Amongst 30,000 people)
What followed was a 24-hour adventure that included freezing in a passport office line at 5 AM, taking passport photos with a broken camera at CVS, and finally making it to Mumbai – only to face another challenge at immigration because my visa was in my old passport. Through it all, a network of tech community members tracked my progress, offered solutions, and kept my race dreams alive.
When I finally reached Mumbai at 12:30 AM, I had a chance to sleep. I woke up two hours later and met Captain Sangwan – a veteran who lost his leg in combat and now runs marathons; we shared an Uber with me to the start line. By race time, thanks to dozens of WhatsApp messages and countless helping hands, I had my bib, my spot at the starting line, and a story about how a tech community turned into an emergency response team.
In India, they call it 'Bhai-chara' - a brotherhood that runs deeper than just being neighbors or colleagues. It's woven into daily life, from sharing meals with strangers to entire villages celebrating as one family. Walk into any Indian household and you're not just a guest, you're family.
I know this firsthand every time I have dinner at my friend Vijay's house. I am not allowed to say "no" to the next helping of food. (Or maybe that ability doesn't exist?)
The Magento community in India embodies this same bhai-chara spirit in technology. When I couldn't get on my flight to Mumbai, it wasn't just one person trying to help - it was an entire network springing into action. Project managers who typically track sprints were coordinating my race logistics. That makes the Indian Magento community different - they don't just share code.
They share their lives.
Our first Meet Magento India wasn't just about launching an event - it was about showing the world what the Indian Magento community could do. With Vijay Golani and Sanjay Patel leading our Wagento team, we picked Ahmedabad as our host city. Not Mumbai, not Delhi, but Ahmedabad - a city that perfectly represents India's blend of tradition and technology.
As Ben Marks said during his 2018 keynote,
'India is the heart of Magento.'
Looking around that packed venue in Mumbai two years later, his words rang truer than ever. We weren't just hosting another tech conference - we were showcasing the pulse of the global Magento community.
The venue maxed out at 300 people, and we filled every seat. European developers and business leaders who'd never considered India for tech events found themselves wandering through the old city, discovering street food that made their standard curry house back home seem bland. They came for Magento talks but left with stories about Gujarat's hospitality and Ahmedabad's hidden gems.
What made this first event special wasn't just the sessions or the speakers - it was watching people's perceptions change in real time. Europeans discovering that Indian developers weren't just outsourcing partners but innovation leaders. Indians realizing their local community was part of something global. And everyone learning that Ahmedabad, despite not being a typical tech hub, could host a world-class technology event.
The success wasn't in the numbers (though we hit our 300-person capacity). It was in the conversations over chai, the partnerships formed during lunch breaks, and the moment when everyone realized this wasn't just another tech conference - it was the start of something bigger.
2019 was about scaling up, and Gandhinagar offered what we needed - the biggest hotel venue we could find in Gujarat. When you're planning an event that's outgrowing its original space, sometimes you need to think beyond the obvious choices. Gandhinagar, with its massive hotel infrastructure, gave us room to expand while keeping us close to our Ahmedabad roots.
The hotel became our own little Magento village for those few days. Having everyone under one roof created this unique atmosphere where conversations that started in session rooms spilled into hotel lobbies and continued over dinner. International speakers and attendees didn't just drop in for their talks - they lived alongside the local community, creating those unplanned moments that make events memorable.
The venue choice reflected something I've always believed about the Indian tech community - it's not about the city name on the map, it's about creating spaces where people can connect. Gandhinagar might not be on most international tech conference circuits, but for those few days, it was the center of the Magento universe.
2020 brought us to Mumbai, and finally - let's talk about those cocktails. After years of dry venues, we could properly toast to the community's success. But the real celebration wasn't just about the drinks - it was about creating an event that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with any major US Magento conference.
The Mumbai venue didn't just impress; it made a statement. Here was an Indian tech event with world-class production values and amenities that had international attendees doing double-takes at the ticket prices. We weren't just organizing another tech conference - we were showcasing how far the Indian Magento community had come.
Remember, this was the same event where I ended up running that half marathon after my passport crisis. That's Mumbai for you - mixing world-class professionalism with the kind of community spirit that gets a jet-lagged speaker to the starting line of a race. During the day, we had cutting-edge tech discussions in premium conference rooms. At night, we had the kind of networking sessions that only Mumbai's energy can fuel.
The event proved what we'd known all along - India's Magento community could deliver an experience that rivaled anything in the West, but with that unique Indian touch that makes everything more vibrant, more personal, and somehow more meaningful.
While all this was happening in February 2020, whispers about a virus in China were floating around. Between conference sessions and coffee breaks, people would check their phones for updates. 'It's just in Wuhan,' we told ourselves. 'It probably won't affect India.' Some of our Chinese colleagues had already canceled their trips, but we chalked it up to local precautions.
Looking back, it's almost surreal. There we were, planning future events, scheduling meetings for later that year, and mapping out Meet Magento India 2021. The biggest concern in our minds was whether we could find an even better venue for next year.
Read the great post from Stefan Willkommer https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7288153989626392576/
None of us knew those handshakes and hugs at the closing party would be our last in-person community gatherings for nearly two years. We didn't realize this event would mark the end of an era - the last major Magento conference before the world changed. Those 'see you soon' goodbyes carried more weight than any of us understood at the time.
But that's what makes these memories even more precious. We had unknowingly created something special - a perfect snapshot of our community at its peak, right before everything changed.
Life has a funny way of writing new chapters when you least expect them. After selling Wagento, I found myself in an unexpected position - watching from the sidelines as the event we'd built continued to grow. But isn't that the real measure of success? Creating something that lives beyond your direct involvement?
In 2022, Wagento India with J.P. Singh , Anand P. Gera partnered with Evrig Solutions and Vijay Golani. The same Vijay who had been there from our first Ahmedabad event, who understood the soul of what we'd built. It wasn't just a handover; it was more like passing a family recipe to someone who knows all the secret ingredients.
This transition reminded me of 2017, when Magento Live first trusted us with their event. Back then, we were the new kids trying to prove ourselves. Now, watching Vijay and the team take Meet Magento India forward, I saw the same commitment to community that drove us from the start.
Some people might find it hard to let go of something they helped build. But here's what I learned from my marathon running - sometimes the best view of the race isn't from the front of the pack. Sometimes it's watching others take what you started and run with it, making it even better than you imagined.
I miss the chaos of the Indian streets
The food
The vibrant culture
That sounds strange coming from someone who organized events these events for year, but Indian chaos is different. It's productive chaos - where a WhatsApp message at midnight solves a problem that seemed impossible at noon. Where 'adjust kar lenge' (we'll adjust) isn't just a phrase, it's a superpower.
Three years of organizing Meet Magento India taught me that some of the strongest relationships are built over delayed flights, missing projectors, and cups of chai that appear exactly when you need them most.
The thing about India is that you never just 'do business' there. You become part of an ecosystem of relationships. My calendar used to be filled with late-night calls that started about Magento but ended up covering everything from cricket matches to family celebrations. Now there's a void in those time slots - a reminder of the connections that went beyond code commits and conference agendas.
Since every Talk Commerce guest gets their moment for a shameless plug, here's mine: Meet Magento Florida, February 5th and 6th, has become the most anticipated Magento event in the WORLD.
Here's the real deal: Ravi Mittal has built something special. Adobe and the Magento Association have thrown their full support behind it, along with major e-commerce players. That's not just impressive - it's a sign this event matters.
The venue is perfect (and yes, there will be actual cocktails - sorry, Ahmedabad), the timing couldn't be better (hello, Florida February), and the community... well, that's what makes it magic. Ravi's managed to capture that same mix of technical depth and personal connection that made Meet Magento India so special, just with shorter flight times and Cuban coffee.
This isn't just another conference - it's a potential game-changer for your business. Two days of learning, connecting, and those unplanned hallway conversations where the real deals happen.
If you're reading this and thinking about attending, stop thinking and start booking. These are the connections that matter, the conversations that count, and the community that keeps our ecosystem thriving.
End of shameless plug. Now back to our regularly scheduled story...
I've spent enough time staring at my calendar, trying to convince myself that 40 hours of flying isn't that bad. (Spoiler alert: it is that bad.) But here's the thing about India - it has a way of making you forget about the journey once you're there.
2026 feels like the right time for a return. Not just because round numbers make for good stories, but because I need to see how the seeds we planted have grown. I want to walk into a venue filled with developers who were just students when we held our first event in Ahmedabad. I want to hear about the businesses that started after two founders met at Meet Magento India 2019. I want to see what Vijay and the team have built.
Sure, there are closer conferences. Ones that don't require three layovers and enough airplane food to make you question your life choices. But India isn't just another stop on the conference circuit - it's where community means something different. Where 'guest' and 'family' are the same thing. Where a passport crisis turns into a story about people coming together, and where every cup of chai comes with a conversation that matters.
So yes, I'll endure the endless flight, the jet lag, and probably another immigration adventure. Because sometimes the longest journeys lead you exactly where you need to be.
See you in 2026, India. Save me some chai.
By Brent W. Peterson
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