Long before Ather became one of India’s most admired hardware-product stories, Tarun Mehta was just a student trying to figure out what not to do.
When he joined IIT Madras, he deliberately chose the brand-new Department of Engineering Design — not because it was established, but because it felt different.
The brochure promised a blend of automotive, design, management, product, biotech, robotics — a strange mix that somehow resonated.
Tarun was nervous about electronics.
He didn’t feel confident about coding.
So he picked something mechanical, but with enough range to explore — the kind of department where you could build, experiment, and eventually discover what you actually love.
That choice became the foundation of his journey into hardware, product engineering, and ultimately, electric mobility.
In this episode of The Blume Podcast, Tarun Mehta tells Karthik Reddy how unlikely choices shape builder instincts — and why the spark for Ather began long before the first scooter.
⚡ Watch the full episode in S4 of the Blume Podcast now — a deep dive into Tarun’s early decisions and the origins of Ather’s engineering DNA.