He had a degree from a foreign university, a well paid job and a more than comfortable life. He quit all that and came back to his motherland to start his own business venture. The next on the list was treading the length of Kerala on foot- for a cause he believed in; because he believed in Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of being the change he wished to see in the world. An avid promoter of free software, he set out on a walk across Kerala along with four of his friends – to promote free software and more. Meet Anoop John - a Free Software activist, an entrepreneur and a man with a social pulse.

The freedom-walk was undertaken by Anoop John, along with other free software enthusiasts like Cherry G Mathew, Sooraj K and Prasad SR, to spread the message of 'Freedom in Society', 'Freedom from Environmental Issues', and 'Freedom in Software' and to promote activism around these freedoms. According to Anoop, "The walk was an attempt to reach out to the youngsters in the state, to inspire them and show them that there are people willing to put in a lot of effort for causes they believed in”. The walk took them 1250 kilometers across the 14 districts of Kerala in 44 days. The four conducted talks at schools and colleges on the way and put across their message to youngsters. The going was never easy, Anoop and his friends spent their nights in school-yards, government offices, public halls and in churches-the comforts of hotels were not for them.

For more on the freedom-walk, visit www.freedomwalk.in.

It’s been four years since Anoop started 'ZYXWARE Technologies', a software firm with the vision-"be the change you wish to see in the world". From the onset he was determined not to grease the palms of the city officials. He had a tough time obtaining the registration from the Corporation and the small company had to face auditing in its very first year when his turnover was just a little over the minimum limit for auditing. Apart from these little hiccups in the beginning, this approach has stood him in good stead. Anoop has big dreams for his company and is positive about making it big in the web domain.

Anoop is actively involved in the Free Software Movement and is instrumental in the distribution of Free Software. In fact he has employed a person for the sole purpose of Free Software Promotion. His firm ZYXWARE has conducted a week long Free Software Installation fest in Technopark, where they distributed CDs and installed Free Software in machines. ZYXWARE contributes to Free Software development and has made significant contributions to 'Drupal'- an open source content management system. Once actively involved in the 'Tidy city' movement- an initiative to clean up the city, he now finds it tough to find time for it amidst his 14-hour work days.

For more on Anoop visit:

www.anoopjohn.com

www.thondomraughts.com