Best Coder in India? Guess Who

Who is the best coder in india?

‘Humblefool': The best coder that ever lived in India.

 It is not always that writing gives you the shivers, and the thought of people you don’t know brings tears to your eyes. Harsha Suryanarayana was one such legend and the best competitive coder to come out of India. Going by his username Humblefool, Harsha was a Red on Top coder and was the highest ranked coder from India since 2007 on the most coveted competitive coding platform in the world. 

On the unfortunate day of June 15th this year, Harsha was killed by a speeding car while crossing the road. Harsha receiving award for scoring 100/100 in most subjects. Fondly known as Lord Harsha by his college mates, Harsha was not only a fellow programmer but a mentor to a lot of people. Alumnus of IIIT Allahabad, he was a prodigy. In his high school, he scored 100/100 in his ICSE exams in not one but three subjects. “In my 22 years of teaching I have never seen a student like him.” One of his teachers told Animesh Nayan, Harsha’s junior and Co-founder from MyCodeSchool. Founder of three startups and having worked for others too, Harsha lived more in his 32 years of existence than most people do in their complete lifetime. 

When IIT used to dominate every major programming contest in the country, Harsha bought IIIT Allahabad in the spotlight. He did not join any company after graduating, but came back to train his juniors for ACM ICPC contest every year. But it was not only his programming talents which made him a living legend, it was also his sense of judgment and ethics. According to Animesh, even in the exams, he used to finish the paper in half the time and leave the exam hall, but if he didn’t know the answers, he would hand over a blank paper and leave. 

He never ever downloaded a movie on torrent. When ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ was released, he waited for the DVD to come out. "His excellent civic sense was always on display while driving. He never honked, and always let the pedestrians pass first, even in heavy traffic or when he was running late. It is indeed tragic that he met his end in a hit-and-run accident. It left me with the memories of how we used to run and cross the road even in the absence of any traffic because it theoretically ‘minimized the probability’ of our meeting an accident by a fast moving vehicle. 

Harsha was referred to as God by his college alumni and his numerous other students. In his short lifetime, he was able to touch so many lives. In this ruthless world, he stood tall and inspired romanticism, and idealism. He was many more things to many others," writes Lokendra Kaushik, a close friend of Harsha on Facebook.