SOLITARY FUNC
Making invisible
systems visible.
I'm Aswin Behera — I build games, write books, and design interactive explanations that turn complex systems into things you can see, touch, and understand.
"Just as the scientist must think and experiment alternately, so the artist must alternate creation with participation in the life around them."— Goethe
FRESH OFF THE WORKBENCH
Two new machines
EXPLORABLE Nº 01 · ~10 MIN
Two Seconds
You tap Pay; a chai-wallah's phone buzzes. Scroll through everything that happens in between — then watch it again at full speed, knowing what to look for.
Follow your ₹20 →BOOK COMPANION · SHAREABLE
Build your own datafolk
Seven harmless questions; one uncomfortably confident stranger. See what the data bazaar would assemble from your answers — nothing leaves the page.
Meet your double →FROM THE GARDEN
Recent writing
Illustration by Pablo Stanley
What Is a Packet?
The atomic unit of the internet, how data moves across networks, and why it matters for everything from UPI payments to online games.
"Your video isn't streaming. It's arriving, in thousands of tiny envelopes, each finding its own way across the planet."
Connected to: How UPI Actually Works
Read more →- Chakravyuh Apr 2026
- Data Localisation in India Apr 2026
- Designing ServerBound Apr 2026
- How UPI Actually Works Apr 2026
- The Inspect & Browse Loop Apr 2026
- Games as Systems Literacy Apr 2026
- The Detective Loop Apr 2026
- Systems Thinking Apr 2026
- Metaphors in Technical Education Apr 2026
- Making Invisible Systems Visible Apr 2026
Garden connections
- Chakravyuh (seedling)
- Data Localisation in India (budding)
- Games as Systems Literacy (seedling)
- Designing ServerBound (budding)
- How UPI Actually Works (budding)
- Making Invisible Systems Visible (evergreen)
- The Inspect & Browse Loop (seedling)
- Systems Thinking (budding)
- Metaphors in Technical Education (budding)
- The Detective Loop (seedling)
- What Is a Packet? (budding)
THE LAB
Experiments
Packet Tracer
Watch a packet navigate through routers, switches, and firewalls in real time.
UPI Payment Flow
Trace a single payment from phone to bank and back through India's infrastructure.
DNS Resolver
Type a domain and watch the recursive resolution happen step by step.
DOWN THE HOLES LATELY: digital gardens · pixel art · typography & design systems — the full field register →
This site is a workshop, not a museum. Everything here is in some state of becoming — planted, tended, occasionally abandoned and replanted. If something looks unfinished, it probably is. That's the point.
Read the colophon →