ഒരു MCP പ്രണയകഥ
Published in MEANT Annual Magazine, January 2026.
The fireside chat on the latest AI developments was underway in the organization. The Chief Product Officer was a guest on the panel, and when he asked how AI outcomes could be connected to internal data, a voice rose from the audience.
“That’s where MCP can help,” Susan said.
The CTO on the panel acknowledged her comment, and a wave of applause filled the room. Susan felt a quiet surge of happiness. Her eyes met Vishaak’s, and she gave him a calm, confident smile.
Fast rewind a few years.
Vishaak, Susan, and Sumesh were part of the same initial training batch and had joined a flagship project at the company’s headquarters in Bengaluru. Susan and Sumesh stood out immediately — exceptionally bright, confident, and friendly with everyone. Vishaak, on the other hand, remained silent, blending into the background, an average performer at best.
One day, their lead, Sankar, asked Vishaak to clean up timesheet entries and generate a new report. Vishaak spent four full days completing the task. When he was done, he asked Sankar how to share the file since it was too large to email. Sankar responded casually that it wasn’t urgent and that he would get back to him.
Days turned into weeks. Vishaak’s desktop ran out of space, and while clearing unnecessary files, he deleted the report, assuming it was no longer needed. Fate, however, had other plans. Two days later, Sankar asked for the file. When Vishaak admitted he had deleted it, Sankar exploded in frustration. He released Vishaak from the team and warned the next team lead to place him on a PIP if he made even one more mistake.
That was the moment Vishaak last saw Susan and Sumesh.
Soon after, Vishaak was transferred to the Chennai office for a new project. Being both an introvert and a mediocre performer, he struggled constantly. Somehow, he avoided being put on a PIP, but his growth stalled. Bottom-tier ratings, negligible hikes, his first promotion only after three years, no onshore opportunities — it felt like a slow, silent torture.
Yet Vishaak was afraid to step out of his comfort zone or try a different company. And so, the years passed.
Sumesh moved to the US and eventually rose to a senior leadership role at a major retailer. Susan continued her upward trajectory within the same organization, becoming an AVP in the technology division and later leading the AI initiative across the APAC region. Vishaak, meanwhile, grew into a Staff Engineer — still an individual contributor, still unnoticed.
Years later, as Vishaak entered a meeting hall, he heard a familiar voice say, “That’s where MCP can help.” He immediately recognized Susan. He had always wanted to reach out to her and to Sumesh, but never found the courage.
During the session, Susan announced that the organization was planning to experiment with agentic AI development and would select a few top performers for a pilot program. Vishaak had never reached out to old friends, let alone asked for favors. But this time felt different. He knew he couldn’t let the opportunity slip away.
He emailed Susan asking if they could meet.
She agreed.
They met over coffee. Vishaak hesitantly asked for her help to be included in the pilot project. Susan paused. She remembered Vishaak fondly as a good person — but also as an average developer. Reluctantly, she agreed to give him a chance.
Vishaak got to work.
He began by installing Claude Desktop and experimenting with the Claude API, enabling computer use. He configured MCP servers to connect Claude to his local filesystem, Git repositories, and development tools. He carefully set permissions, allowing Claude to run bash commands, edit code, and interact with his IDE, while adding approval gates for risky operations like deployments and database changes. He created project context files and skills that helped Claude understand the architecture and coding standards of the codebase.
To his own surprise, it felt effortless — almost a cakewalk, even for someone once labeled “mediocre.”
Fast forward eight months.
The company’s annual awards night had arrived. The most coveted honor of the evening — the Overall Valuable Player of the Year.
The CEO stepped onto the stage and announced the finalists.
“Sushant Chakraborty.”
“Rajeshwari Vaidyanathan.”
“And… Vishaak Radhakrishnan.”
As Vishaak walked toward the stage, the applause felt unreal. For the first time in his career, he wasn’t invisible.