Artist Spotlight: G-tam — Desi Dance Network

Gautamraj Murali, also known as Gautam and G-tam, is currently a graduate student at Purdue University. He has a masters degree in Industrial Engineering and chose this field because he was involved with supply chain managements, procurements, risk managements, and logistical work during his tenure as a quality engineer. His interest in process optimization and operations research also guided him towards that profession. After he graduates, he plans on entering the corporate world to pursue a career in managerial consulting or supply chain management. He also enjoys traveling, so any job that allows for that to happen would be ideal.

When interviewing Gautam, I was fascinated by all his interests and hobbies. Some of his favorite sports included soccer and billiards. In high school, he was the captain of his soccer team for two years and he continued his interest in college by joining intramurals. Similarly, he was very passionate about billiards. After school, Gautam would always go to his friend’s house to play and hang out. He enjoyed playing it so much that he later decided to enter into tournaments. Now, however, he just likes to casually play with friends. Unlike the majority of people, he has recently gotten into adrenaline pumping activities, like bungee jumping and whitewater rafting. Despite his fear of heights, he still actively looks to jump out of a plane or go parasailing and wants to cross as many of these crazy stunts off his bucket list as possible. He is one daredevil! In addition, as children, everything we hear and watch greatly affects our lives in unexplainable ways. For Gautam, music and movies were a way to escape reality and reset his system, particularly during stressful times.

Alongside these interests and hobbies, Gautam was also captivated by dance. His firsts steps on stage were at the very tender age of 6, where he just waved his arms in the air and ran back and forth across the stage to the classic song “Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam” from DDLJ. For this performance, he played the lead, Raj, and was clueless on how to lip sync and speak hindi. Throughout the following years, he continued to dance on stage, incorporating new movies to new songs. As Gautam likes to put it “Raj….naam to suna hi hoga.” He believes that all the positive reactions he got while he was younger was a strong factor for his current love of dance and music. In company with dancing and listening to music, he has been really involved in DJing and producing audio tracks for a multitude of dance teams and academies across the nation. He got into music mixing/editing in 2006 and always strives to bring a more enjoyable experience to all his listeners by exposing them to music that builds the more you listen to it. All DJs incorporate their own style, but his style is subtle yet powerful- whether it is through lyrics or rhythm. He is also extremely excited for current music, from a wide range of artists, to be released this year. He jumps at the opportunity to showcase his mixing skills, whether it be at live gigs or at after parties for different competitions. He loves exploring various genres and languages of music because it allows him to expand his boundaries and bring new flavors to the circuit to inspire unique performances.

If you do not know already, Gautam’s dance experience is very extensive. He was in the Purdue Indian Dance Club, from 2007-2008, then went on to dance with Boiler Bhangra, formerly known as Purdue Di Shaan, from 2008-2009. When on Boiler Bhangra, he also played dholi for them. Shortly after, he joined Purdue University Raas, where he was a dancer, props manager, and audio producer. Finally, he united with Alliance Raas, where he participated in an alumni exhibition performance at Raas All-Stars V and was their audio producer from 2012-2013.

When I asked Gautam what his favorite moment had been so far, he reminisced about the 2011 Miami Mayhem Competition. He said that it was Purdue Raas’ first time competing in Miami and they were all excited beyond words and running on pure adrenaline. Before they got on stage to perform, the whole team gathered together for a huge pump up speech. They knew that with this immense energy, they would slay it on stage. They amped up their mix, incorporated LED lights into their costumes to engage the crowd, and poured their hearts out on stage. With all their hard work and their amazing performance, they received second place! Gautam was so proud of this moment because their rookie entrance to one of the most prestigious competitions ended up in victory and will always be cherished.

Three fun facts about Gautam:

I'm from Zambia, Africa (Yes, it's Lion King land for some)
Rhythmist (Play tabla, dhol, dholak, drums, percussions, etc.)
I'm a food & travel enthusiast (Yes, food is bae...don't believe me, see my instagram)