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{{Short description|Indian programmer}}

{{Infobox person
| name = Harsha Suryanarayana
| image = Harsha Suryanarayana (humblefool).jpg
| alt = Photograph of Harsha Suryanarayana smiling and posing for a group photograph with his team at ACM-ICPC 2006 World Finals
| caption = Harsha Suryanarayana at the [[International Collegiate Programming Contest#2006 World Finals|ACM-ICPC 2006 World Finals]]
| other_names = Topcoder handle: humblefool
| birth_date = {{birth date|1984|5|23|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2014|6|15|1984|5|23|df=y}}
| education = [[Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad]]
| known_for = Various programming achievements
}}

'''Harsha Suryanarayana''' (23 May 1984 – 15 June 2014), popularly known as "'''humblefool'''" in the coding community (after his username on [[Topcoder]]), was an [[Indian people|Indian]] [[programmer]] who is often considered to be "India's greatest coder".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-11-11|title=Meet Humblefool, The Greatest Coder To Ever Come Out Of India|url=https://www.mensxp.com/special-features/today/33229-meet-humblefool-the-greatest-coder-to-ever-lived-and-come-out-of-india.html|access-date=2021-12-01|website=www.mensxp.com|language=en-IN}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2016-10-24 |title=Humblefool, India's Best Coder Who Was Considered a Lord |url=https://fossbytes.com/humblefool-indias-best-coder-who-was-considered-a-lord/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118104515/https://fossbytes.com/humblefool-indias-best-coder-who-was-considered-a-lord/ |archive-date=2021-01-18 |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=Fossbytes |language=en-US}}</ref>

He was killed in a [[Hit and run|hit-and-run]] in 2014 at the age of 30.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ashwath |date=2014-06-16 |title=ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು: ಹಿಟ್‌ ಅಂಡ್‌ ರನ್‌ - ಟೆಕ್ಕಿ ಸಾವು |trans-title=Bangalore: Hit and Run - Techie death |url=https://kannada.oneindia.com/news/bengaluru/techie-killed-wife-hurt-hit-and-run-accident-085273.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507172722/https%3A%2F%2Fkannada.oneindia.com%2Fnews%2Fbengaluru%2Ftechie-killed-wife-hurt-hit-and-run-accident-085273.html |archive-date=2022-05-07 |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=kannada.oneindia.com |language=kn}}</ref>

== Education ==
Harsha S enrolled at [[Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad]] in 2002, and graduated with a [[Bachelor of Technology|B.Tech.]] in [[Information technology|Information Technology]] in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alumni Directory – IIIT Allahabad Alumni|url=https://alumni.iiita.ac.in/alumni-directory/|access-date=2021-12-05|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Achievements ==
Harsha was among the top 20 finalists of "Code4Bill";<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2006-05-01 |title=Budding techies do IIIT-A proud |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/budding-techies-do-iiit-a-proud/story-WahyRNlkgmhIViqCzpSwTM.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901003757/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/budding-techies-do-iiit-a-proud/story-WahyRNlkgmhIViqCzpSwTM.html |archive-date=2016-09-01 |access-date=2021-12-19 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref> a contest conducted by [[Microsoft]] in 2006 which aimed at finding the best student programmers in India, with the winner getting an internship in [[Bill Gates]]' technical team.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rai|first=Saritha|date=2005-12-10|title=Prize in Indian Talent Search Is a Year on Bill Gates's Team|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/10/technology/prize-in-indian-talent-search-is-a-year-on-bill-gatess-team.html|access-date=2021-12-19|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

He was also one of the three members of the team "[[:File:IIIT AceofSpades.jpg|IIIT AceofSpades]]" representing IIIT Allahabad in [[International_Collegiate_Programming_Contest#2006_World_Finals|ACM-ICPC World Finals in 2006]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Profile of Harsha Suryanarayana - Competitive Programming Hall Of Fame |url=https://cphof.org/profile/topcoder:humblefool |access-date=2023-08-26 |website=cphof.org |language=en}}</ref> They stood at the 62nd position, and received an Honorable Mention.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ICPC Results World Finals 2006|url=https://icpc.global/community/results-2006|access-date=2021-12-04|website=icpc.global|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Standings for ACM-ICPC 2006 World Finals - Competitive Programming Hall Of Fame |url=https://cphof.org/standings/icpc/2006 |access-date=2023-08-26 |website=cphof.org |language=en}}</ref>

In 2008, Harsha became one of the first Indians to qualify for [[Google Code Jam]] World Finals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Participants Representing India (2008) — Code Jam Statistics |url=https://www.go-hero.net/jam/08/regions/India |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912010146/http://www.go-hero.net/jam/08/regions/India |archive-date=2009-09-12 |access-date=2023-08-26 |website=www.go-hero.net}}</ref> He ranked 31 in the Finals, which is the best performance by any Indian contestant till date.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Standings for Google Code Jam 2008 - Competitive Programming Hall Of Fame |url=https://cphof.org/standings/gcj/2008 |access-date=2023-08-26 |website=cphof.org |language=en}}</ref>

A two-time [[Topcoder Open]] finalist,<ref>{{Cite web|title=TCO Hall of Fame|url=https://www.topcoder.com/community/hall-of-fame/tco/08|access-date=2021-12-04|website=www.topcoder.com}}</ref> Harsha was one of India's first "red coders" on Topcoder; and was the highest rated Indian coder at the time of his death.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-06-16|title=A Tragic Loss|url=https://www.topcoder.com/blog/a-tragic-loss/|access-date=2021-12-04|website=Topcoder}}</ref>

== Career ==
As a finalist of Microsoft's Code4Bill contest, Harsha worked as an intern at Microsoft Research India (MSRI).<ref name=":3" /> The following year (in 2007) he joined Microsoft Corporation and worked as a Research Developer.<ref>{{Cite patent|number=7739553|title=System crash analysis using path tracing technologies|country=US|pubdate=2010-06-15|assign1=[[Microsoft Corp.]]|inventor1-last=Harsha|inventor1-first=Suryanarayana|inventor2-last=Mohanan|inventor2-first=Harish|inventor3-last=Bendapudi|inventor3-first=Perraju|inventor4-last=Jalan|inventor4-first=Rajesh}}</ref> After a brief stint as a Designer for TopCoder in 2008, he worked in Tagle as a Technical Lead from 2008 to 2011.

In 2011, Harsha became one of the directors of Hungry Labs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Suryanarayana Harsha {{!}} Director Profile {{!}} The Company Check |url=https://www.thecompanycheck.com/people-profile/suryanarayana-harsha/05126532 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219204658/https://www.thecompanycheck.com/people-profile/suryanarayana-harsha/05126532 |archive-date=2021-12-19 |access-date=2023-08-26 |website=www.thecompanycheck.com |language=en-IN}}</ref> He co-founded [[Startup company|startups]] HungryDen in 2011 and JustReco in 2012. He was also running a project named Agile Design Labs, where he would teach software design to developers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harsha Suryanarayana |url=https://www.f6s.com/harshasuryanarayana |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=F6S |language=en}}</ref>

In 2013, Animesh Nayan (another alumnus of IIIT Allahabad), who used to teach [[Programming language|programming]] through his [[YouTube]] channel "mycodeschool", reached out to Harsha and discussed the idea of teaching computer science and programming to masses through videos and online practice platform. The two then decided to work together and went through a [[startup accelerator]] for MyCodeSchool. As directors and mentors of MyCodeSchool, they organised [[Coding bootcamp|coding boot camps]] for [[corporate training]] and for teaching [[competitive programming]] to computer science students.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-12-08 |title=The story of MyCodeSchool |url=http://blog.mycodeschool.com/2013/12/the-story-of-mycodeschool.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211175940/http://blog.mycodeschool.com/2013/12/the-story-of-mycodeschool.html#!https://web.archive.org/web/20211003145958/http://blog.mycodeschool.com/2013/12/the-story-of-mycodeschool.html |archive-date=2013-12-11 |access-date=2023-08-26 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=MYCODESCHOOL LABS PRIVATE LIMITED {{!}} The Company Check |url=https://www.thecompanycheck.com/company/mycodeschool-labs-private-limited/U74900KA2013PTC072237 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219204657/https://www.thecompanycheck.com/company/mycodeschool-labs-private-limited/U74900KA2013PTC072237 |archive-date=2021-12-19 |access-date=2021-12-19 |website=www.thecompanycheck.com |language=en-IN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-11-27|title=The Story of MyCodeSchool: Tragedy, Triumph, and Two Friends Who Changed Programmer Education Forever|url=https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/mycodeschool-youtube-channel-history/|access-date=2021-12-04|website=freeCodeCamp.org|language=en}}</ref>

== Death ==
On the night of 15 June 2014, as Harsha Suryanarayana and his wife Neha Gedela were walking towards their flat after buying fruits from a supermarket at [[Jalahalli]] in [[Bangalore]], the driver of a speeding car lost control of the vehicle and hit the couple. Harsha was tossed up in air, fell down and sustained multiple severe injuries. Neha was thrown towards the pavement, and was also seriously injured. After the accident, the car driver fled the scene.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2014-06-16 |title=Techie killed, wife hurt in hit-and-run accident |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/413883/techie-killed-wife-hurt-hit.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140616154916/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/413883/techie-killed-wife-hurt-hit.html |archive-date=2014-06-16 |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}</ref>

Harsha was killed on the spot. Neha survived; but she was unconscious for five hours, and had to spend eight hours in intensive care.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Philip |first=Siddharth |date=2014-07-15 |title=Death every five minutes as India's roads become most dangerous |url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/VzvthE7UmNIF8Wlh6s5kUO/Death-every-five-minutes-as-Indias-roads-become-most-danger.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720180653/http://www.livemint.com/Politics/VzvthE7UmNIF8Wlh6s5kUO/Death-every-five-minutes-as-Indias-roads-become-most-danger.html |archive-date=2014-07-20 |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=mint |language=en}}</ref>

The driver of the vehicle was never found.{{cn|date=April 2022}}

== Legacy ==
SRM 625, a Single Round Match held on 19 June 2014 on Topcoder, was dedicated to Harsha.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Single Round Match (SRM) Schedule at TopCoder|url=https://community.topcoder.com/tc?module=MatchDetails&rd=15858|access-date=2021-12-04|website=community.topcoder.com}}</ref> June Monthly Challenge ("June-O!") on [[HackerEarth]] organised on 28 June 2014, was dedicated as a tribute to humblefool (Harsha).<ref>{{Cite web|title=June-O! (A Tribute to humblefool)|url=https://www.hackerearth.com/challenges/competitive/june-o-2014/|access-date=2021-12-04|website=HackerEarth|language=en}}</ref> May Cook-Off 2015 on [[CodeChef]] was held on 24 May, a day after Harsha's birthday, as an homage.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Invitation to the May Cook-off 2015 on CodeChef|url=https://codeforces.com/blog/entry/18068|access-date=2021-12-04|website=Codeforces|language=en}}</ref>

In 2015, the [[Computer lab|programming laboratory]] for first year students in IIIT Allahabad (Harsha's [[alma mater]]) was dedicated in his name "so that many more talented students can get inspiration from him".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://iiita.ac.in/annual_reports/AnnualReport2015-16-Eng.pdf|title=Annual Report 2015-2016|publisher=Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad|pages=5}}</ref>

[[Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham|Amrita University]] organised ''Lord of the Code'' (LoC) marathon programming competition from February 2016 through November 2016, as a tribute to Harsha, who was fondly called "Lord Harsha" by his peers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=LoC Competitive Programming Marathon Coding Competition {{!}} CodeChef|url=https://www.codechef.com/LOCFEB16|access-date=2021-12-17|website=www.codechef.com}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The online contest, hosted on CodeChef, took place on the last four days of each month. The monthly winners received prizes in the name of Harsha Suryanarayana.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-03-16 |title=Programming competition |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/programming-competition/article8359041.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316010456/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/programming-competition/article8359041.ece |archive-date=2016-03-16 |access-date=2021-12-04 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

In March 2016, a coding contest called "Humblefool Cup" was organised as a part of ''Aparoksha'', the technical fest of IIIT Allahabad, in memory of Harsha.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Invitation to Humblefool Cup, Aparoksha 2016|url=https://codeforces.com/blog/entry/43704|access-date=2021-12-19|website=Codeforces|language=en}}</ref> It was conducted on CodeChef in 2016, but has been organised by TopCoder every year since 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Invitation to Humblefool Cup |url=https://codeforces.com/topic/50784/en2?locale=en |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Codeforces |language=en}}</ref> Topcoder had also organised Humblefool Charity Hackathon in 2017 where the goal was to ideate, design and develop [[Application software|applications]] related to Programming Education, to help carry on the legacy of Harsha Suryanarayana.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-10-06|title=Announcing the 5,00,000 INR 2017 Humblefool Charity Hackathon|url=https://www.topcoder.com/blog/2017-humblefool-charity-hackathon/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=Topcoder}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

*[https://www.topcoder.com/members/humblefool humblefool | Community Profile | Topcoder]
*[https://www.youtube.com/user/mycodeschool mycodeschool - YouTube]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suryanarayana, Harsha}}
[[Category:1984 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Competitive programmers]]
[[Category:Indian computer programmers]]
[[Category:Indian Institutes of Information Technology]]

Harsha Suryanarayana - Revision history

FlorenciaMacDevi: started initial entry initial version