What was the best job youve ever had? And the worst?
Best Job: My stint in Pune, I was in eLearning field, had complete freedom, a dream-team under me. Life was perfect. Till the management decided to sell out the company.
Worst Job: The job I took after that, Had to move from operations to marketing and they put me in a team where ppl would not even say hello to each other throughout the day.
Whats the best vacation youve EVER taken?
There was this road-trip to Goa which I had gone to with three of my gal-pals at New Years. Awesome time.
But we were always doing crazy things in that period. Went for a movie and dinner with friends and decided on the spur of the moment that we all had this unfulfilled wish to see sunrise at Gateway of India. So drove down from Pune to Mumbai, spent what remained of the night in a disc and then drove down to watch the sunrise and immediately drove back home.
Whats the most recent movie/book that youve seen/read?
Movie - Madras Cafe - good movie, but would suggest that those who plan to watch it should look up LTTE struggle on wikipedia before going for the movie. Too many events compressed in too short a time.
Book - Freedom At Midnight, Dominique Lapierre/Larry Collins - Read it with reservations. I always make it a point to read contrasting views simultaneously. This book praises Gandhi too much for my taste and is downright adulatory of Mountbatten.
Whats your favorite town/city in the world? Why?
Hyderabad hands down. Apart from the fact I've spent 20 out of last 33 years here, it's got a great culture here. To give an example - when we moved in here our landlord was Telugu and so were a next door neighbor. Apart from that there was a Sindhi family, a Gujarati family, a Punjabi family, a Marwari family and a Muslim family apart from us (UPites) who all lived within a few yards of each other and we all grew up together. That for me is the essence of what this city is.
Share with us a fun experience youve had recently.
Last year - went to Bangalore to meet a friend who'd just delivered a baby without informing her. Called her up to discover she's in Chandigarh. So did the next best thing - called up all my friends in Bangalore and arranged to have an impromptu reunion.
Tell us your earliest childhood memory.
I remember a lot of events and things from the time I was 2 and a half esp. about my grandparents (mother's parents)
Whats the worst haircut youve ever had?
Not the worst haircut but there was this period when I went ashe-blonde. Had aksed the hair-dresser to add a couple of highlights, the dumb biatch dyed them all. Took me two years of coloring my hair jet-black to regain natural color. On the plus side that was the period I brazenly wore off-shoulders, deep-necks and minis (not at the same time, of course). They complimented my hair so well.
Fav color
These days red, till a few months back it was blue-green. But I like all bright colors, light and bright not the deep tones.
Describe your own outlook on life in six words.
Can it be more?
If you can't live with it, fight tooth and nail
Can you share one quote or saying you love, that keeps you going in life?
It doesn't keep me going but helps me look beyond the obvious:
"However beautiful a sunset is, it still brings darkness"
If you could invite four famous people to dinner, who would you choose and why?
Shekhar Kapur, Arun Shourie, Prannoy Roy and Gulzar - There can be no why - just imagine the amazing conversation with such a gathering.
If you could replay a fun (or deep or big) moment in your life, what would you choose?
None - I believe every moment happens when it does because everything is just right.
Trying to relive it - can you get the same weather or people, recreate the same feelings and experiences you brought into that moment, erase everything that's happened since and most importantly can you take away prescience? That moment happened because you did not know what would follow and you just went with the flow.
What would be a perfect afternoon for you?
In bed with a lovely Georgette Heyer novel, lots of potato wafers and a huge bottle of Pepsi - majja nu life.
Describe one past action (big or small) you took to improve the quality of your life.
After working without a break for 6 hrs a day, 3 yrs a stretch - the moment I decided to quit my job - I think I couldn't have taken a better decision than to thumb my nose at the rat race.
Which person in your life do you most admire? Why?
My sister. As kids ppl used to believe that she would at best be a model or a housewife. Today she heads an ad-agency in Delhi all through sheer grit, determination and single-minded focus. I have seen her turn her weaknesses to strengths and work hard at being who she is. At the same time she's kept her passion for painting and dance alive. Her apartment is full of paintings she's done and she's given 3 solo Kathak performances.
Describe the most terrifying situation youve ever been in.
Two actually - I've seen Advani's Rath yatra at close quarters and I've seen the anti-reservation stir, in fact was even part of it for some time. The Rath Yatra was horrifying. Hope I'm never alive to see another such moment in life.
If you could go back in time and change history, what would you change? Why?
Wipe out religion - all religions. They've caused maximum massacres, wars, strife, oppression and held back progress. Human society would be zillions of light years ahead in terms of progress if there was no religion to fetter us.
Whats the most anti-establishment thing youve ever done?
Mass Boycotted college - and I actually used to stand outside the college gate in order to ensure that not one student from our class entered the gate. And people used to see me standing there and return in the same bus without alighting.
What would you do in life if you knew you couldnt fail?
When I want to do something then it's never been fear of failure that's kept me back. But if there was one failure I wish I could overcome then it is my inability to drive. I'm afraid if I ever drive I'm going to run-over someone. If I knew that the moment I sat behind the wheel I would turn into the next Schumacher I would go on a road trip around India.
Describe one experience youve had where you took a huge leap of faith.
Again it has to be my decision to quit working altogether. It takes a lot of courage to say that I don't want to earn anymore and will spend the rest of my life with what I have right now.
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