Coffee With Gautham Thambidorai!

Posted by Sundar Rajan G S as Google, coffee with experts, coffee with people, gautham, gautham thamidorai

Hi Guys,Today I have a very very special guest on my blog. Its an honour to have Gautham Thambidorai on my blog! I dont have to give any explanation or introduction to Gautham. Gautham is one of the leading engineers at Google. Just do a google search on his name and see the results. Click here for the results :-)But today, we wont be talking about his accomplishments at google! Thats too long to post :-) Instead, we will focus on his hobbies and other interests.Welcome Gautham Thambidorai!!=======================================================================Coffee With Gautham Thambidorai!Me: Sundar Rajan G SGT: Gautham Thambidorai!Me: Hi Gautham. Welcome to Coffee With Sundar! You recently did sky diving. How was it? Share it with our readers.GT: It was awesome!… Definitely worth the thrill. The adrenaline level reaches its highest point just as your about to jump of the plane. Its all downhill from there! I was actually skeptical about doing it because I tend to get motion sickness on the thrill rides but then Manju(my wife) was definitely doing it and hence I couldnt wuss out :-)Me: What are your other interests? Are they all fitness related activities?GT: Squash, Swimming, Running. I’m crazy about Seinfeld. I also tend to like to read a lot of autobiographies,books on social issues, philosophy etc. No fiction for me.Me: When did you start with these activities?GT: I started playing squash when I came for grad school. I learnt swimming when Iwas pretty young and so that was easy.Me: How do you manage your time with your work?GT: I dont really do anything special :-)Me: What is your advise for folks who want to pick up these fitness related activities as their hobby?GT: After a while you get so used to it that your body automatically pushes you everyday and starts complaining if you dont do it… pretty much like sleeping! So, Just start it! :-) It will take care of itself!Me: Finally something work related. What is your advise for young and budding software engineers. GT: Dont make me feel old my asking such questions :-)Me: Ha ha!! Gautham shied away from the last question! :-) But let me tell you, he is too good and we should all learn from him.It was a great pleasure having Gautham Thambidorai on my blog. Having a person of such calibre, raises the standard of my blog as well!! :-)Hope you all had a good time! As I said earlier, at Coffee With Sundar I intend to bring people from different walks of life, have a chat and share the transcript for you to read, learn and enjoy!For earlier episodes of Coffee with Experts, Check out!Coffee With Harsha! - A Carnatic SingerCoffee With Prem! - A true Underdog!Coffee With Aditya - A Googler and Blogger!Coffee With Mahesh - A CAT Cracker!

Popularity: 10%



January 31, 2008 | Filed Under Google, coffee with experts, coffee with people, gautham, gautham thamidorai | Comments Off 

Coffee With Harsha! - Carnatic Music Singer

Posted by Sundar Rajan G S as coffee with experts, coffee with people, harsha

We all listen to music in one form or the other. Infact, music is such an important part of our life!! We sing, we hum songs, dont we!! However bad it is, we certainly enjoy it! Here we have a special guest today, who not only sings for his happiness, but also for the happiness of people around him!!Welcome Mr. Harsha Nagaraj, Carnatic Music Singer!!!=================================================================================================Coffee With Harsha!Me: Sundar Rajan G SHN: Harsha Nagaraj!Me: When did you start learning music?HN: I started learning carnatic music since I was 8 years old. My parents were completely interested in Carnatic music and infact my mother herself had learnt music up to an extent to enjoy the technicalities of Classical music. As a kid, though I was not that interested, my mother used to pull me to each and every concert in the town. Knowingly or unknowingly I picked up a lot of stuff by just attending innumerable concerts. That is when my learning process started.Me: Did you have any breaks in your learning path?HN: Fortunately, I never had any break in my learning path. In fact, I owe a lot to my parents because they never created any fear of either the 10th std or the 12th std exams. Probably, 90% of good music students drop down because of academics. But I personally feel that I improved a lot and have been doing pretty decent in my Acads only after I started learning music seriously.Me: What do you advise people who have learnt it to some extent and then discontinued? Do you think they can continue again?Yes. Of course they can continue anytime. Atleast for putting so much effort and learning upto some stage, they have to continue learning. Since there is neither an upper nor a lower limit on age to learn, it should never stop or atleast continue if it is stopped.Me: Can you tell us something about your gurus?HN: I have been very fortunate to have extremely good gurus right from my start.My first guru was Sri.Paramashivan. He used to stay right above our house and was correcting me always during my practice. He was a real task master and a great teacher. Later I continued learning for few years from Vidushi. Nagavalli Nagaraj, and also from Sri.D.V.Nagaraj.HN: My real learning process started when I went under Sri.T.K.V.Ramanujacharyulu in srirangam. He is currently a top “A” graded artist in AIR Trichy. This happened while I was doing my Undergrad. He is a very patient and caring teacher. Even spending time with him talking music is very refreshing as he continuously comes up with new ideas. His values and approach have really enriched my approach to music.HN: Parallely, I started learning from Vidwan.R.K.Padmanabha. He has a profound understanding of the art coupled with a vast repertoire. He has an unparalleled concert presentation style and most importantly a great teacher.Me: What is the role of gurus in Carnatic Music?HN: Carnatic music has a very ancient and traditional background. It includes the preservation and propagation of the art-form from one generation to the other just based on the guru-sishya parampara. Hence Guru is the only person who knows what, when and how to transmit his knowledge to the sishya since he himself would have learnt being a student. This reminds me a famous quote ” yatha guru, thatha sishya” which means “As the teacher, so are the disciples”. Hence it is very very important to have the right and a good guru.Me: Can music be learnt from cassettes, videos, video conf instead of direct learning?Yes. It is possible, provided the student has reached one particular stage with minimum standards and can understand the nuances of music just by listening. But surely, modern technology is not an alternative for the Direct learning from the guru.Me: How long do you practise music every day?It depends how my academic schedule goes. Currently as a grad student, I try to practice for atleast 1.5 hrs a day which is just to maintain my voice. But I dedicate atleast 3-4 hours for practice during week ends and holidays.Me: Whats your advise for someone who wants to start learning music late in his career?As I already said, there is no age to learn music. But you need a lot perseverance and Work hard, hard, hard…! Best example is my guru in Bangalore. Vidwan R.K.Padmanabha started learning music when he was 25. He is one of the leading musicians of Karnataka, A graded artist in AIR Bangalore and is spreading the fragrance of music all over the nation.=================================================================================================Well Said Harsha. Its all about hard work! Thank you very much for taking your time and answering the questions. I wish you all the very best on behalf of CWS readers for your musical career!Well folks, hope you enjoyed Coffee With Harsha! As I said earlier, at Coffee With Sundar I intend to bring people from different walks of life, have a chat over coffee and share the transcript for you to read, learn and enjoy!For earlier episodes of Coffee with Experts, Check out!Coffee With Prem! - A true Underdog!Coffee With Aditya - A Googler and Blogger!Coffee With Mahesh - A CAT Cracker!

Popularity: 5%



January 28, 2008 | Filed Under coffee with experts, coffee with people, harsha | Comments Off 

Coffee With Prem! - A true Underdog

Posted by Sundar Rajan G S as cat, cat 2007, cat 2008, coffee with experts, coffee with people

Hi Guys,Its time for one more guest at Coffee With Sundar! I am extremely happy to have Prem Ravikumar with you all!Prem RaviKumar is a moderator in Pagalguy.com. He also has a blog catajourney.blogspot.com Prem is known for his motivating words among the CAT aspirants. He has inspired a number of young folks (including me) to give a crack at CAT without giving up in the middle!Prem, with almost 1.5 times my age, having a family and a kid, showed us that nothing should block us from going for our dreams! I salute this true underdog, who almost succeeded in CAT last year, and has got calls from XLRI this year!Prem Bhai, its my pleasure to have you here on my blog.Coffee With Prem! - A true Underdog!=====================================================================================Me: Sundar Rajan G S.PB: Prem Bhai.Me: When did you think about doing an MBA and why? Did you think about your age at any point during the thought process?PB: CAT got into my mind as a temporary relief for my frustrating Job in 2002…Though I prepared for the exam, I could not appear for the same in 2002 as well as 2003 due to family issues. By 2004, I had a decent Job & that agony had disappeared but CAT survived in the heart as an unfulfilled dream. By 2005, CAT became a necessity as I lost couple of my Job interviews to IIM guys. By then, I was a father of a 2 year Old kid. But never thought that age or family or Job or ambiance is going to stop, rather they would be an excuse.. Fought hard & got the result in the way I wanted, a call from the best B school of APAC, “IIMA” which I couldn’t covert.Me: How did you manage studying for CAT/XAT along with your job & family? What was your schedule like?PB: Well in 2006, I prepared like any other student, everyday night I used to take my Books after my daughter would go to sleep say at 11 PM & will study till 2 am or so, a systematic approach (But was tormenting myself in this process).. 2007 was extremely different, joined time as a part time faculty & became an expert in QA & DI, so never prepared separately.. I would even say that post CAT, there was not even a day when I had touched book.. Finally I believe that “Believing in yourself is the key”Me: Which were your strong sections and which were the challenging ones?PB: Well, Quant was my forte..But was never comfortable with Permutation & Combination (P & C), Probability, Venn Diagrams etc etc etc… VA was always my nemesis.. By the time CAT was on the cards, I became strong in verbal (CAT 2006- 6%ile, CAT 2007-94%ile) & today I am teaching P&C, Probability, Venn Diagrams as well.. The Key “Nothing is impossible”Me: Was there any really disappointing incident in the whole process? Was there anything that pulled you down?PB: Yes, there were more than 1 instance to quote..I was never good in my Mock CATs, My IIMA result was denied due to OBC reservations, CAT 2007 too betrayed me & that too in my forte.. Learning is “Every failure is a lesson by itself & makes you strong”..Me: What is your advice to the next batch of CAT/XAT aspirants for their preparations?PB: Believe in youself, never never give up… Make your dream, your life & die for it…Me: I know you are moderator in PG. How you advise people to use PG?PB: PG is a very powerful forum & today it’s a part of my life indeed..It not only helps you to prepare for your exam, but gives you so many like minded friends who really turn out to be a friend for your life time….Me: What are your next steps now after clearing XAT?PB: Finally a call from one of the Biggies. I am happy, but not completely …Anyways a call is a call & with due respect to the brand name & the faith they have on me.. Gonna give my heart & blood to convert it…Only one nagging feel is “XXL (IIM) desires, But XL only fits me (If I convert)”……………===================================================================================Thanks a lot Prem for sparing your time and answering my questions. You have my wishes and the wishes from my readers at Coffee With Sundar! All the best!Keep motivating people to accomplish more! :-)Well folks, hope you enjoyed Coffee With Prem! As I said earlier, at Coffee With Sundar I intend to bring people from different walks of life, have a chat over coffee and share the transcript for you to read, learn and enjoy!For earlier episodes of Coffee with Experts, Check out!Coffee With Aditya - A Googler and Blogger!Coffee With Mahesh - A CAT Cracker!You will find these in my blog: Coffee, Fun, Carnatic Music, Mridangam, Google, Random thoughts, Business ideas, Start ups, Videos, Blogposts, Cricket, India, Philosophy, Real life Experience.. The list goes on…..

Popularity: 6%



January 22, 2008 | Filed Under cat, cat 2007, cat 2008, coffee with experts, coffee with people | Comments Off 

Why Coffee With People

Posted by Sundar Rajan G S as coffee with adiya, coffee with experts, coffee with mahesh, coffee with people

I started “Coffee with People” series a couple of weeks back. Mahesh did the inauguration with Coffee with Mahesh! - A CAT Cracker. And last week, I posted Coffee With Aditya - A Googler and Blogger. These two posts have become the most popular posts overtaking NIT Trichy Speaks Up, The Agonising Wait and Life Stops @ Bus Stop. I am very happy with the way you guys have enjoyed Coffee With People. I plan to bring more and more folks for this guest column. But let me tell you a bit about Why Coffee With People. First of all, it suits my blog theme and template. :-) After I started Coffee With Sundar, the next obvious step was to have Coffee With People. I always had interesting/random discussions with people. I thought having a proper forum to post this is the best thing to do. Thats how I started this. If you notice, I am trying to get people with whom you can relate easily. I dont want to interview people like larry and sergey (not that they are waiting to give me interview :-)) If I interview famous people, the problem is that you will be in awe. After reading it, your first reaction will be “I cant become larry and sergey!” You know, its difficult to emulate people who have extra-ordinary accomplishments. Thats why, I want to bring in people whom you can emulate. Look at mahesh, a very simple and down to earth person. If he can crack cat, it can inspire one of you to crack cat. Same is the case with Aditya. If Aditya can run a fantastic blog, it can inspire one of you to do something similar. I am just trying to give you an exposure (and get myself exposed to) what people are doing amidst their busy lives. I would be very happy, if you picked up something from Coffee With People @ Coffee With Sundar. I will be extremely happy to host “you” one day for your accomplishment! :-)You will find these in my blog: Coffee, Fun, Carnatic Music, Mridangam, Google, Random thoughts, Business ideas, Start ups, Videos, Blogposts, Cricket, India, Philosophy, Real life Experience.. The list goes on…..

Popularity: 3%



January 21, 2008 | Filed Under coffee with adiya, coffee with experts, coffee with mahesh, coffee with people | Comments Off