CURRENT MISSION

Just started a company (geothara.com) which helps us understand our changing world with data science and cartographic story-telling.

ABOUT ME

In adjectives: curious, pensive, clumsy-ninja.

I did an Erasmus-Mundus master's program through which I got to hop between 4 countries in Europe (Germany, Holland, Spain, Slovenia -- a semester in each) and 4 states in the US (AL, TX, UT, NC) in 2 years (2013-15). I learnt about CS then and have since been using CS when I can for all my travels. I use CS mainly to make friends, learn about places from local inhabitants and travel cheap. I'm from Chennai, India and I currently live in NYC, USA (2022-present). I lived in LA from 2017-2022; and India (1991-2013; 2016).

I like long walks to explore places, engaging chats and cooking.

PHILOSOPHY

"Laugh at yourself. And others."
- Me

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I don't get bored of nice conversations. I like to cook/learn new recipes for/from my hosts/guests, do long walks, watch movies, whatever.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Had a great time for Easter (2014) with my CS hosts in Belgium, they taught me how to make Tiramisu, offered many different Belgian beers to try out. Perfect weekend.

Jumped into frickin cold sea water from a 10 feet high bridge at midnight with some people I met through CS in Denmark.

One does not usually get to do these things with new friends! CS offers this host-guest context with total strangers, which somehow helps bond rather quick, and it's rather heartbreaking to lose touch, but CS allows you to experience this full circle of attachment and detachment in a high dose. I've made some good friends through CS and I'm looking forward to get back in touch with them, and meet new guests.

Interests

reading, doing stuff on the computer, traveling, playing devil's advocate, chess, science, math, philosophy.

I love playing racket sports (badminton, tennis, ping-pong), and also football. I used to be really into these sports in high school. Off late, I've been playing tennis frequently.

• books
• cooking
• recipes
• movies
• chess
• reading
• traveling
• guitar
• sports
• tennis
• badminton
• languages
• science
• study abroad

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: animation (love them). All kinds.

Music: Eclectic. Some hysterical songs, songs by Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Coldplay, some classics, some Italian, some (many!) Kevin McLeod, Kannadasan (just re-discovered him!)

Books: mostly non-fiction, old classics in art, literature, math, science and philosophy, and modern classics.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Traveled the length of India by bus, drove with family to 7 hill stations in a week, fell on a cactus in a desert and screamed for help (not amazing), swam in a freezing cold beach in North Sea.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: How to catch peanuts with your mouth. How to book super cheap flights. How to procrastinate work and not be guilty. How to cook Indian food - I have some experimentally evolved recipes! Some computer tools for mapping, data science, programming, etc.

Learn: Stories.

What I Can Share with Hosts

recipes, food and shelter when I can in return.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, India, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, United States