My Hobbies
Apart from retail and branding which are my favourite hobbies I also love doing various other things.
Blogger
I write on all topics of ranging from business to branding to travel to music to films. I write about things I feel deeply about. My work can be found on Medium and i am also a guest writer at Yourstory.com
Traveler at heart
I love travelling. Travelling is a way of loosing and discovering oneself. Travelling has been the time to introspect, look deep into my purpose and also make my mind still and enjoy things around me. I love visiting new places, meeting new people and understanding new cultures. Have travelled to over 10 countries worldwide and have widely travelled across India as well. One of my favourite journeys was called “Bharat Darshan” where i did a project for 60 days visiting 12 cities across India on a train. Needless to say I was wiser and richer with experience with that trip.
Music lover
Music transports and takes me to another world, it’s akin to meditation. I started off liking Tamil music when I was in school. During my college days I had 2 sets of friends – one who liked English songs and the other set who saw Hindi movies – as a result I started listening to english and hindi songs as well. I believe I am one of the lucky generations who have been a Musical cusp – that is seen the high of both Ilayaraja and Rahman. I listen to both and both are geniuses beyond compare but I am a Raja fan more cos of the way his music has a deep cultural and ethnic influence on me. Proud to be Indian first and Tamilian always.
Raja Fan
My playlist mostly has songs from the over 6000 songs he has composed. My wife and daughter say I am mad about him and crazy to keep listening to his songs. I have written a blog on his top 50 and why I love them. Do check it out on medium. To me he is a part of my life and his songs have been a companion across my life’s journey. Let’s celebrate him and listen to his songs.
Inspired by Senna
The first time i saw Senna on TV drive at Monaco Grand priz i was attracted by his intensity and passion to win. Since then I have been his fan and read and seen multiple articles and videos about him. He is one person from whom i picked up 2 lessons – Never settle for anything other than being the best & Be the best at whatever you do in life.
Numismatic
I have collected coins from across the world. Our family business involved my father travelling to many countries and when he returned back he used to bring all the change of those countries that he visited. I have an enviable collection of coins of all the erstwhile Europe countries before all of them adopted Euro. Haven’t added much to my collection recently.
Guest faculty in Marketing & Branding
I genuinely believe that only 2 things grow when shared – Love & Knowledge. I take a lot of happiness in addressing young students and tomorrow’s leaders at different colleges. I have delivered lectures at various colleges including NIFT, Pearl, Loyola and also IIM.
Speaker
I have developed this skill of speaking at business conferences and forums and have been on the questioning side on various fireside chat involving business leaders at leading forums like RAI, CII, IIM etc
9000+ Pins on pinterest
My library is on Pinterest. I absolutely love and treasure all the stuff I have pinned up there. I have nearly 40 plus boards and this has been the place I went to for any learning , reference, inspiration and also when I want to do some research. Pinning has been such a relaxing activity for me that I have accumulated these 9000 plus over the last 5 years of being active on pinterest.
Avid reader digitally
Use digital to read and catch up on information, stories, news etc. I use the pocket app extensively to tag and save articles. Use multiple mediums to bring my reading online. Smart phones have helped this habit as it has definitely helped all of us convert our downtimes into learning times.