f you happen to be a fan of ad film makers, Prasoon Pandey's name should strike you quickly among the few well known ones. But just try doing a Google search on his personal life, it will be difficult to find something about him. Prasoon, being a reserved yet outgoing, keen observer, creative, and a Capricorn, is more than a little hard to crack.

Since our section is on his personal life, after a lot of cajoling we finally managed a meeting, which was scheduled for an hour, but finally ended up being closer to three hours. And after that he happily posed for our camera. An intelligent man with intelligent philosophies is what correspondent Nidhi Jain found while in conversation with Prasoon Pandey.

My world ... I am a goat... Very practical person, I... simply love ogling cars but detest buying an expensive one. Whenever I have a creative block, I switch off/sleep over, readdress solutions in and around my mind... much like entering a maze and trying to reach a centre. For example, if I am indecisive about choosing among the dozens of people I video tested, I just chill and then return back.

A very dangerous thing that happens to me is when I start having a comfort zone. I also like things which give me a thrill nothing regular excites me... (laughs) say a non skill required activity like travelling, rollercoaster rides, bungee jumping, skydiving. Though I am not a sports person, I am a decent level cricket player, but not as natural as Piyush (brother and famous ad film maker). As far as my eating is concerned, I tend to overeat tasty food. But going out specially just to eat has a very low priority in my life.

My big mad family... In Jaipur, consists of seven sisters and two brothers (I being the youngest of the nine siblings), who are all hyperactive, but the entire family bond was about sharing and learning. I learnt dialogue delivery from my dad since he was a fantastic orator, and as for my mom she loves reading and discussing, and all my sisters were into theatre, music or painting.

I wish to be an architect... Coming from a huge family that has a tradition in arts, during school days I got creatively involved in designing, theatre, painting, music, sound, lighting etc. (Laughs) I didn't have a chance of not being creative, which was scattered in a loose way. Plus, I hated the idea of becoming a banker, since I was skilled with my hands... I thought of becoming an architect when I was in 5th class ... Why? Oh! I love making houses, their art decors. I like destroying houses and restructuring it. My wife Gayatri and I redo our house now and then, in six years we have redone our house completely four times.

Designing problems... execution of creative briefs... I love working with broken things and enjoy solving architectural problems. How people like doing crosswords, I go looking for designing/creating problems. I get fidgety if I don't...

Discovering designs... I can make sculptures with wires, and also do stitching. In folk shows I used to stitch tailoring covers for instruments. One thing led to another, since I was good at drawing, I got an opportunity to make brochure logos for a magazine. One such logo was for NCERT, a maths book? After joining National Institute of Design, I discovered a lot about designing, my first placement happened to be Lowe Lintas for advertising.

My day starts... with 4 cups of tea while going through the newspapers.

Awestruck by stars or stardom...? Never... I guess the credit goes to stars and the right attitude they carry and also they are similar to us. But I must admit that I am awestruck by Mr Bachchan who is very humble and tries to make us feel equal.

My actors... If I am angry I get irritated at shoots, but I am also aware that I can't demoralise an actor who is emotionally fragile like a child. To encourage, I say "Fantastic... and then Clap."

Compliments... (he took a pause for 4 minutes, kept laughing and finally answered)... A recent one I cherish is an Sms sent 20 days back by a wonderfully talented man, Mr Boman Irani, saying, "I get upset every time, thinking you may not make a feature film, since you are a national treasure. That only I know or your wife knows."

11 yr old Tavishi... My daughter has a trademark of me, aggressive, (she's been featured in the MANGO SLICE AD CAMPAIGN) and simply does not give in. She is learning odissi, folk and modern dance, to play the keyboard and also soccer. She does everything simultaneously till she gets very tired.

Mother Teresa... Is how I describe my wife Gayatri (his classmate and lady love from NID days) who has sacrificed her career to raise kids creatively; I wish I had two wives to lessen the burden of Gayatri.

My worst and my best... I am horrible at writing, giving speeches, but it's a great feeling to make ad films with a small team. It's like playing one day films for that we were complimented to be most sought after production house, it gives a high.

Ayushman...my 8 year old son, is a trademark of mine, has a clever sense of humour, plays the guitar and likes basketball as a sport.

Birth of Corcoise... Ayushman came up with that name by mixing species of Cockroach, dinosaur and caterpillar, and the logo has been designed using daughter Tavishi's young vocabulary.

Time for myself... People think I am mad! Well, I have been floating an idea for the past six months to leave everything and go on vacation, with a budget of spending Rs 400/- day. To tell you about my adventurous past? It was tough but great fun, life in Delhi. I have slept at Rajpath on 25th January, have also slept in front of Kamani auditorium on the footpath, and also at freaky places in desert.

Its all about money...Honey... It means being able to do things like traveling, buying music, watching movies. I am not a brand conscious person, I like well designed watch which don't cost anything above Rs 5000. Previously I had an Armani Emporia, now have a Fossil but I am a design freak for shoes, irrespective of the money it costs. I own 20 pairs now.

Advertising, TV, and films... As I see it, ads of today have become interesting though not necessarily intelligent. Ads used to talk down to the audience before, not anymore.

As far as feature films are concerned, there is a decline in presentation. As far as personal viewing is concerned I am addicted to NGC, Discovery, and Travel and Living. I love... Cartoon films? ICE AGE, SHARK TALE? and OBELIX remains my favourite cartoon character.

Dream project... My juices will flow only in film. Right now I am working on a script for my feature film.

Quote... Said-unsaid... "Fantastic, once more!"

Prahlad, who was called Robin in his younger days, was born in 1948 (24 March). His journey has been filled with infinite variety and innovation. So one would expect nary a dull moment when sitting down for a chat session with him. That's just what correspondent Nidhi Jain experienced as he tickled the funny bone with his punch lines/one liners and his cheeky smile.

FAST TRACK?.NOW AND THEN? From the beginning, everything in Prahlad's life revolved around his fascination with and for women. The first was his grandmother who wanted this cheeky chit of a fellow, otherwise from an illustrious family of doctors, engineers, and his dad being an army officer, to join the Indian Foreign Services. Instead, Prahlad landed up doing an honours degree in economics and later went on to complete a film appreciation course. With academics done and dusted, he joined an advertising agency in Jor Bagh, Delhi, merely because of a beautiful girl name Farida Pandey?

Fast Forward >> He has managed to diversify his passions, and reached a stage in his life where he can freely set the pace.

THE OTHER SEX?"Don't understand them, just love them unconditionally," says Prahlad on women. His hectic schedule doesn't deprive him of not enjoying the company of PYTs. The long locks of hair trying desperately to hide under the trademark hat, the thick beard and that mischievous glint in his eyes. This ace ad guy doesn't go unnoticed with his female friends. Prahlad's greatest motivation has been women who are not second best to anybody, have substantial character, and are stimulating and interesting too. He absolutely detests incapable women conditionally bound to men. Therefore, he thinks that if he had a daughter she would have been hell on wheels (he's managed three very different in character sons though).

LIGHT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME? Prahlad is a big Cigar person. The only Indian to have his signature line in cigars named PK series which has two varieties, a Churchill size one of about seven inches and a smaller Robusta cigar called the Shergar. The leaves of his cigars, the filler and wrapper, are from the Dominican Republic and from Cameroon and Ecuador respectively.

MISTER OF SPICES? His restaurant business stems from his 'instinctive flair for cooking'. And according to Prahlad, he has a great sense of Andaaz, has always been a fish and meat person. (Laughs) Another reason for access to beautiful young women was cooking as his face was his misfortune which wouldn't have gotten him anywhere. Food fascinates him; the reason that his office sports a full fledged kitchen. An impassioned foodie, Prahlad is experimental with his cuisine and he detests the word boring when attached to food. It all started with a request from Shashi Kapoor's wife Jennifer to open Prithvi Caf?. His Irish Caf? was a great hit with a secret formula 'pouring cream from behind the spoon'. Being a typical Punjabi, good sumptuous food can't go out of his blood for both to eat and to deliver, that is resulting in plans to deliver home cooked Punjabi food and Chapattis (phulkas) --- Prahlad Kakkar's 'PAPA PANCHO'.

DEEP BLUE WATER?Prahlad's first tryst with diving was at Mauritius, and he believed that no knowledge is complete if it's not shared. He used to take the Konkan Express to Cochin enroute to Lacadives (old name of Lakshadweep) where he owns two scuba diving schools along with his wife Mitali. He is always amazed with its pristine, natural beauty and quality of diving.

JAZZ AND BLUES?Since Mumbai city didn't have any club for Jazz, he introduced one, for which the membership is only available for musicians. They play for themselves, but not by choice.

A confident and effervescent person who loves his job and life. That is the best way to describe Navneet Sharma. It was his passion for sports that led him to choose a career in sports marketing. "Since childhood I always wanted to represent India internationally in sports. I played junior basketball and squash on the circuit in college. In school, I played junior hockey. But I could never figure out which one to target. Sports remained in my heart. I felt that if I could not play sports then I should work in an industry that is related to sports. I could represent sports people."

He recalls that his first job was managing Leander Paes career in Kolkata. "For the last 16 years I have only worked in the media industry. I worked for six years in Kolkata and then I shifted base to Delhi. I was part of Sterling Grand. I then worked at IMG managing people like Anil Kumble and Ajay Jadeja. To me, it is important to do something that I like. This is how I have evolved," says Navneet.

A Spiritual Person: "I am a spiritual person and by that I don't mean religious. I believe in a super power and the concept of energy that Deepak Chopra talks about. I believe in Yoga and I practise it.

There is a reason for everything in life: I am both an emotional person and an intuitive person. I believe that there is a reason why everything exists in life. There is a reason for everyone's story in life. There is a story happening for all of us and if you open yourself, you can see a connection with other people's stories.

My wife is the person behind me: My family is very important. My parents and in-laws have always been there for me. Having said that, from the time I was in college I have been out of the house. I am a self made guy and even did my college admissions on my own. My wife Jessica has been the main person behind me. She pushes me to take risks, which at times are not calculated. In the bargain, we have suffered but I believe that the hard times have led to better times. We now take risks that are calculated. My wife and daughter - Melissa are everything to me.

A preference for non fiction books: I read a lot. Earlier I used to read many a books on marketing. Now the focus has shifted to life improvement books. I like to read Deepak Chopra, yoga books and biographies. You can correlate it with exciting things that are happening. Once in a while I do read a work of fiction but I prefer the other books, which deal more with life chemistry than with anything else. Fiction is good but it is also artificial. I have around 200 books. I used to buy at least four to five books every month but now because of my busy schedule I buy around two books each month.

An aversion to partying: I do not party much. I do entertain people but for me after 10 pm it's family time. Usually, people get surprised by this because they expect people in my line of work to party a lot. I also spend time on my own and I do tend to be a loner at times.

Films are for entertainment: I like to watch masala Hindi films. I like thrillers and comedies. I don't like the serious stuff anymore. Films for me now are pure entertainment. I don't learn much from them.

I prefer cars to gadgets: While I have a lot of gizmos and gadgets, I am not technologically savvy. I like cars. I have always wanted to own a Hummer. I like SUVs more than luxury cars. Gizmos for me are related to work. So if I have a blackberry, it is because I need to be reached.

Not much time spent in shopping malls: My wife hates to shop with me because I am very specific and I don't like to roam in malls. I don't like to bargain and I am out of the mall in five to 10 minutes. This is where my wife and I differ. I would rather spend time playing basketball or swimming.

Personal goals: I am still aggressive and I have clearly laid down milestones that I want to reach. One of the things was to move to an international market and I have done that now. The other one is that in five to six years time I want to be financially more secure. I want to own a home in Dubai and I want to spend more time with my family, which I haven't done over the past three to four years. My most important goal is to help people in whatever way I can.

Many of us are smitten with collecting. By surrounding themselves with the things they have worked so hard to gather, collectors get to enjoy their collections differently than those who choose to preserve or display them. One such collector is Monica Tata, the vice president, advertising sales and networks, India and South Asia for Turner International India.

Monica has a fabulous collection of shoes, bags and costume jewelry. Her keen sense of fashion and the sense of enjoyment in having a great collection of shoes, bags and jewelry is what attracted her to start collecting these items.

She has 150 pairs of footwear and 100 bags. And as for costume jewelry, Monica says, "It's difficult to put a number to what I possess but if I were to wear my jewelry everyday without repeating even one earring... I can do that without a problem for at least 500 days in a row!"

Traveling across the globe has helped Monica expand her collection. She has picked up these items from the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America. With a little knowledge and effort, everyone can find their own gems. Each found gem has its own 'story.' Whatever the reason for collecting, it fulfills emotions that lie at the heart of our personalities.

"In every visit of mine, five-six pairs of shoes and three-four bags is a very expected thing in my bag! This of course is not including my shopping binges in my India travels," says Monica.

When asked since when she has been nurturing her collection, Monica smiles, "Since I started affording it!" She admits to buying most herself but does have friends and family contributing to her collection and adds, "Yes, more of such gestures are more than welcome!"

She looks for colour, uniqueness, design in her favourite items and the fact that it should fit well and go with her personality.

Initially, when she started the collection, she was not much into brands. But, over the years she prefers to check out her preferred brands before the final buy. Says Monica, "Nine West is my favourite footwear brand but that doesn't stop me from buying shoes, bags and accessories from fancy malls to flee markets! As long it appeals to me - I just buy it!"

Monica doesn't reveal the amounts she spends on her collections. All she says is," If I tell you then I will have to kill you! Let's just say...A LOT!"

MK Anand's total lack of pretense is striking, both in his personality and in the way he approaches life. He has on his table 'World's Greatest Boss' engraved on a cup.

Background
My father was in the central government and regular transfers across the country were part and parcel of my growing years. As an infant, I was in Delhi, then Kanpur where one really did not see the age limit before being enrolled in school. In all, I have been to 13 schools, but coped being a Kendriya Vidyalaya product as their syllabus is the same all over the country. I studied in Kerala from the second to the tenth standard.

Soon after that, my father was transferred to Mumbai in 1981, and I completed my graduation, post graduation and MBA in Mumbai. I am the oldest among three sons. One of my siblings is in the Central Excise in Bangalore and the other manages his business of executive placement consultancy services in Mumbai. My wife, Smita, was also working in media till very recently. My father has now retired and my parents stay with me.

College days
I loved zoology in college, but then realized that genetics is what I wanted to study further. Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi) was the only place to do an MSc in biotechnology and their admissions was two months before my results so losing a year was inevitable. To bridge that year, I applied for MSc and got selected by Khalsa College, but subjects like endocrinology were not appealing.

Just then we heard of MSc in Fisheries Management from Mumbai University at the Central Institute of Fisheries at Versova, Mumbai. I took it up in the sense of a stop gap to study biotechnology a year later, but it appealed to me as a long term profession and I ended up completing the two years course.

My dad was liberal and gave me the freedom to pursue my choice of career. The only time, he showed keenness was for me to do an MBA. Though at his insistence, I did appear for the entrance exam at S P Jain Institute and made it to the second list but, ended up convincing him that an MBA was not necessary, and took up a job instead.
MK Anand with his wife Smita

I met Smita in college when studying for BSc. My rush to get a job was centered on getting married as I feared her family would pack her off somewhere. She hails from a Gujarati Jain family. We were so very young when we got married in 1991. I have two children, my older son Aditya is 14 years and my daughter Priyanka is a year and three months old. Smita worked for a magazine for seven years and was practically handling the business in the last three years and left, feeling she could use it in a larger organisation.

When we got married, Smita tried to converse in Malayalam with us but my younger brothers would take off on her and she gave up! We understand each other's languages but do not speak it.

Professional life
My first job was with the pharmaceutical company Cynamide and it was a sales job. I did not like it and realised soon enough that an MBA was necessary. I did an MBA (Human Resources) from Narsee Monjee in 1989.

I started working in production as a management trainee at Rallis India Ltd., but watching the fish processing was really tiresome and weird. Someone referred me to an ad sales position for Delhi Press. I took it up and just coasted along as, not really sure if it was my line. But once in, I decided I may as well go to the best companies in India.

I prepared separate resumes for The Times of India, Business India, Malayalam Manorama, Readers Digest and two large agencies. In 1990, I first went to the Times group and fortunately got the job and did not have to use the remaining resumes. I was the first development executive for classifieds in the Times of India.

I quit after three years and moved to Citibank as an assistant manager. They had just launched Citiphone banking. This job did not suit my appetite and soon became very mundane and boring. I started looking for a change. My boss at Times, Kanta Advani put me on to Pradeep Guha and I rejoined Times. When Kanta moved on to television, I was put in charge of the classifieds department. From then to now, I have contributed in my own small way to the group and launched many properties. My move to television has had its own learning graph.

I never take papers home and prefer sitting up late. Till recently, I have never worked on Saturdays and Sundays. My father is content with the way my life has taken its course. Though he did express a desire for me to join the IAS; for him The Times is akin to the Government of India.

I always consider a role in a company as something what one defines and not what the company defines for one. Getting a designation in an environment is like getting yourself in a room. It is like getting into a train, once in, whether you get a seat, keep standing or get pushed around is entirely up to you. In any job, one takes calls based on one's sheer knowledge and guts.

More degrees to keep up with the times...
As my basic education is not in the field that I work in, I decided to do a PhD in Media Economics from Narsee Monjee. This is not to further my career. It's been a year now and I have finished the basic course covering six subjects and now all that remains is publishing two papers in recognised journals and a few teaching assignments. People always mistake me as a professor and always ask, "How do I sell?" I tell them, "I really cannot sell, it is my team that sells."

We are long living creatures and after some time, we won't be relevant to commercial enterprises, so we should keep updating ourselves for the future. In the future, I may take up an academic or consultancy based profession, this will be useful then.

Unlike earlier times, where 60 was the given age to be retired, it will be a big thing if I can keep a job till 45 years of age today. One can really not predict one's health, family, adaptation to new media, market, etc., so in essence we are really underpaid today and unsure of our future.

Calm and composed
I am very calm and do not get stressed easily. My whole agenda is to put everything in order and let people work. I take off in the middle of the day, faff around with friends and mostly start work towards post lunch. Then working till midnight and beyond is not a problem. I make up for it by coming late and that is a huge destresser. I avoid peak hour traffic and leave from my residence in Juhu after 9 am. Being called in early is a sure way to give me stress. I love to drive. I currently drive a Scorpio and my dream vehicle is a Mercedes.

This and that...
Till a few years ago, I did not wear a watch. But, as I am growing older, I do tend to make insecure purchases to keep up with the times. I have become brand conscious and shop for all my stuff.

I am a 'one helping' eater unless it is biryani made by my mother. I love the food at Indigo and the variety offered at the restaurants at JW Marriot.

Saying that reading is a hobby is clich?d as it is a requirement in any field. I am famous for buying books and not reading them. The only books that interest me are those on History and Philosophy.

If somebody cares to listen, I sing in Hindi and Malayalam. My wife sings too and on occasions we end up singing together. Watching my father play the bulbul, I have learnt to play the keyboard.

I collect cassettes and CDs of sufi qawalis. I have picked up some excellent songs from outside mosques at various places. I listen to Carnatic music and maestros like Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, etc. I unfortunately cannot lip sync on English songs much to the amusement of my son and my brothers. It may stem from the fact that at an age when I had to pick up these, we had no television at home.

Movies
MK Anand with his daughter

I am not an avid movie watcher. I recently went to Forum (Bangalore) and picked up over 30 Malayalam VCDs. I realise, I watch Malayalam films because I see Kerala in them. As long as I see a nice village with a teashop, I am happy. My wife is fed up with me as I prefer to stay home on holidays. She has started going to the theatres with my son. I usually end up going mostly when my parents accompany us. I recently saw Krissh. But, sitting home drinking chai and eating pakoras is what makes me most happy.

Once I reach home, I am a complete homebody and when I am out, I am totally consumed by work. It's inertia of motion: Any motion, which is in motion or at rest, stays there.

I am the oldest grandchild and the eldest son on both sides of the family and there is a major MK Anand iconification in my family. My son often says that he is fed up hearing stories about how good I am. But, I am chilled out as far as his performance in school goes, much to my wife's dismay. I was not a topper student and don't expect the same of him.

Travel
As part of Times Response, I have traveled to many destinations for their annual conferences since 1995. Smita has also traveled extensively on her job and Aditya and I have joined her on two occasions. Kerala is a regular haunt and my best holiday so far has been a drive there with Smita, Aditya and my brothers - Anish and Ajay. We drove from Mumbai to Kerala, stopping at Pune, Kohlapur, Bangalore, Mysore, Vyanad in to Calicut and back via Mangalore and Goa. We would take a stop at unknown places to spend the night. I would love to do it again.

My wife does complain that we don't travel and in fact, since the birth of my daughter who was 12 weeks premature, we really have not been out together. Though, my son and I have just returned from an amazing week long African safari.

MK Anand's total lack of pretense is striking, both in his personality and in the way he approaches life. He has on his table 'World's Greatest Boss' engraved on a cup.

Background
My father was in the central government and regular transfers across the country were part and parcel of my growing years. As an infant, I was in Delhi, then Kanpur where one really did not see the age limit before being enrolled in school. In all, I have been to 13 schools, but coped being a Kendriya Vidyalaya product as their syllabus is the same all over the country. I studied in Kerala from the second to the tenth standard.

Soon after that, my father was transferred to Mumbai in 1981, and I completed my graduation, post graduation and MBA in Mumbai. I am the oldest among three sons. One of my siblings is in the Central Excise in Bangalore and the other manages his business of executive placement consultancy services in Mumbai. My wife, Smita, was also working in media till very recently. My father has now retired and my parents stay with me.

College days
I loved zoology in college, but then realized that genetics is what I wanted to study further. Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi) was the only place to do an MSc in biotechnology and their admissions was two months before my results so losing a year was inevitable. To bridge that year, I applied for MSc and got selected by Khalsa College, but subjects like endocrinology were not appealing.

Just then we heard of MSc in Fisheries Management from Mumbai University at the Central Institute of Fisheries at Versova, Mumbai. I took it up in the sense of a stop gap to study biotechnology a year later, but it appealed to me as a long term profession and I ended up completing the two years course.

My dad was liberal and gave me the freedom to pursue my choice of career. The only time, he showed keenness was for me to do an MBA. Though at his insistence, I did appear for the entrance exam at S P Jain Institute and made it to the second list but, ended up convincing him that an MBA was not necessary, and took up a job instead.
MK Anand with his wife Smita

I met Smita in college when studying for BSc. My rush to get a job was centered on getting married as I feared her family would pack her off somewhere. She hails from a Gujarati Jain family. We were so very young when we got married in 1991. I have two children, my older son Aditya is 14 years and my daughter Priyanka is a year and three months old. Smita worked for a magazine for seven years and was practically handling the business in the last three years and left, feeling she could use it in a larger organisation.

When we got married, Smita tried to converse in Malayalam with us but my younger brothers would take off on her and she gave up! We understand each other's languages but do not speak it.

Professional life
My first job was with the pharmaceutical company Cynamide and it was a sales job. I did not like it and realised soon enough that an MBA was necessary. I did an MBA (Human Resources) from Narsee Monjee in 1989.

I started working in production as a management trainee at Rallis India Ltd., but watching the fish processing was really tiresome and weird. Someone referred me to an ad sales position for Delhi Press. I took it up and just coasted along as, not really sure if it was my line. But once in, I decided I may as well go to the best companies in India.

I prepared separate resumes for The Times of India, Business India, Malayalam Manorama, Readers Digest and two large agencies. In 1990, I first went to the Times group and fortunately got the job and did not have to use the remaining resumes. I was the first development executive for classifieds in the Times of India.

I quit after three years and moved to Citibank as an assistant manager. They had just launched Citiphone banking. This job did not suit my appetite and soon became very mundane and boring. I started looking for a change. My boss at Times, Kanta Advani put me on to Pradeep Guha and I rejoined Times. When Kanta moved on to television, I was put in charge of the classifieds department. From then to now, I have contributed in my own small way to the group and launched many properties. My move to television has had its own learning graph.

I never take papers home and prefer sitting up late. Till recently, I have never worked on Saturdays and Sundays. My father is content with the way my life has taken its course. Though he did express a desire for me to join the IAS; for him The Times is akin to the Government of India.

I always consider a role in a company as something what one defines and not what the company defines for one. Getting a designation in an environment is like getting yourself in a room. It is like getting into a train, once in, whether you get a seat, keep standing or get pushed around is entirely up to you. In any job, one takes calls based on one's sheer knowledge and guts.

More degrees to keep up with the times...
As my basic education is not in the field that I work in, I decided to do a PhD in Media Economics from Narsee Monjee. This is not to further my career. It's been a year now and I have finished the basic course covering six subjects and now all that remains is publishing two papers in recognised journals and a few teaching assignments. People always mistake me as a professor and always ask, "How do I sell?" I tell them, "I really cannot sell, it is my team that sells."

We are long living creatures and after some time, we won't be relevant to commercial enterprises, so we should keep updating ourselves for the future. In the future, I may take up an academic or consultancy based profession, this will be useful then.

Unlike earlier times, where 60 was the given age to be retired, it will be a big thing if I can keep a job till 45 years of age today. One can really not predict one's health, family, adaptation to new media, market, etc., so in essence we are really underpaid today and unsure of our future.

Calm and composed
I am very calm and do not get stressed easily. My whole agenda is to put everything in order and let people work. I take off in the middle of the day, faff around with friends and mostly start work towards post lunch. Then working till midnight and beyond is not a problem. I make up for it by coming late and that is a huge destresser. I avoid peak hour traffic and leave from my residence in Juhu after 9 am. Being called in early is a sure way to give me stress. I love to drive. I currently drive a Scorpio and my dream vehicle is a Mercedes.

This and that...
Till a few years ago, I did not wear a watch. But, as I am growing older, I do tend to make insecure purchases to keep up with the times. I have become brand conscious and shop for all my stuff.

I am a 'one helping' eater unless it is biryani made by my mother. I love the food at Indigo and the variety offered at the restaurants at JW Marriot.

Saying that reading is a hobby is clich?d as it is a requirement in any field. I am famous for buying books and not reading them. The only books that interest me are those on History and Philosophy.

If somebody cares to listen, I sing in Hindi and Malayalam. My wife sings too and on occasions we end up singing together. Watching my father play the bulbul, I have learnt to play the keyboard.

I collect cassettes and CDs of sufi qawalis. I have picked up some excellent songs from outside mosques at various places. I listen to Carnatic music and maestros like Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, etc. I unfortunately cannot lip sync on English songs much to the amusement of my son and my brothers. It may stem from the fact that at an age when I had to pick up these, we had no television at home.

Movies
MK Anand with his daughter

I am not an avid movie watcher. I recently went to Forum (Bangalore) and picked up over 30 Malayalam VCDs. I realise, I watch Malayalam films because I see Kerala in them. As long as I see a nice village with a teashop, I am happy. My wife is fed up with me as I prefer to stay home on holidays. She has started going to the theatres with my son. I usually end up going mostly when my parents accompany us. I recently saw Krissh. But, sitting home drinking chai and eating pakoras is what makes me most happy.

Once I reach home, I am a complete homebody and when I am out, I am totally consumed by work. It's inertia of motion: Any motion, which is in motion or at rest, stays there.

I am the oldest grandchild and the eldest son on both sides of the family and there is a major MK Anand iconification in my family. My son often says that he is fed up hearing stories about how good I am. But, I am chilled out as far as his performance in school goes, much to my wife's dismay. I was not a topper student and don't expect the same of him.

Travel
As part of Times Response, I have traveled to many destinations for their annual conferences since 1995. Smita has also traveled extensively on her job and Aditya and I have joined her on two occasions. Kerala is a regular haunt and my best holiday so far has been a drive there with Smita, Aditya and my brothers - Anish and Ajay. We drove from Mumbai to Kerala, stopping at Pune, Kohlapur, Bangalore, Mysore, Vyanad in to Calicut and back via Mangalore and Goa. We would take a stop at unknown places to spend the night. I would love to do it again.

My wife does complain that we don't travel and in fact, since the birth of my daughter who was 12 weeks premature, we really have not been out together. Though, my son and I have just returned from an amazing week long African safari.

TV shows
I watch movies on The History Channel, National Geographic Channel and Discovery. If I ever happen to see any soap by mistake, my mind is always keyed up thinking how much unnecessary expenditure is incurred when the camera pans without moving for three-four minutes, the cost of the sets, etc. I also tend to break in to a sweat each time an ad break comes on TV and always reach out to SMS my sales head as to why a particular ad has not appeared!

I watch movies on The History Channel, National Geographic Channel and Discovery. If I ever happen to see any soap by mistake, my mind is always keyed up thinking how much unnecessary expenditure is incurred when the camera pans without moving for three-four minutes, the cost of the sets, etc. I also tend to break in to a sweat each time an ad break comes on TV and always reach out to SMS my sales head as to why a particular ad has not appeared!

Checkmate! No, we're not playing that board game here! In this edition of Collector's Item, we're talking about HBO South Asia country manager Shruti Bajpai and her husband Nestle India vice president dairy business Mayank Trivedi's chess sets' collection.
Shruti Bajpai

While the couple already boasts of 12 chess sets from various countries across the globe, they have just added two more from Turkey (where Shruti and Mayank are currently holidaying).

Speaking to Exec Life from Turkey, an animated Shruti says, "We have just added the 13th and 14th chess set to our collection. Turkey is famous for Mother of Pearl and also for Mosaics. We were keen to buy a chess set that was made of either of these and luckily we found both."
A Mother of Pearls Chess set from Turkey

They started their collection three years back when Mayank was transferred to Switzerland. While it was he who initiated this collection, Shruti too started sharing his passion for chess sets within no time.

Such is their passion for collecting chess sets that the first thing on their agenda while visiting a new country, is to go on a chess set selection expedition! "For us the priority is to have a chess set from a country that we have visited. It is very easy to ask friends to bring you back chess sets from where ever they are going but we don't like to do that. Secondly, it has to have something that symbolises the country the chess set is from and it has to have typical characteristics of that country and its flavor," says Shruti.
A chess set from Egypt

Shruti and Mayank have to pick a set from each country they visit and hence their home in Delhi sports a special area that displays their collection from countries like Equador, Egypt, Korea, Greece, Germany, Kenya to name a few. This special corner in their home is diligently looked after by Mayank, who is very possessive of the collection. Says Shruti, "Mayank has specially designed and constructed this corner in our house where we display the chess sets. The display has been set according to a pattern and no one is allowed to touch the pieces."

With the help of a small vacuum cleaner, the couple takes pains to clean their chess sets to make sure that dust is taken out of every nook and corner of each and every piece. While their collections sports sets made of different material like wood, ceramic, metal etc; each needs a different cleanser. "While we clean most of them with a soft cloth, there are some pieces that are made of metal and hence they require regular shining," says Shruti.
A chess set from Greece

While most of the chess sets are collected by them on their numerous trip abroad, there are a couple of sets that have been gifted to the couple by family and friends.

Of course, the hazards of picking up a fake piece or a 'Made in China' piece, when abroad are always there. To avoid being conned, Shruti and Mayank make sure that they do their research and also ask reliable people who know about the country's heritage to find out what they should be looking for in a chess set. "We are very careful to pick up the right piece.

Since we have been doing this for the last three years, we can now make out a piece that is a Chinese make. We make sure that we ask around for the authenticity of what we are buying to avoid being duped," she says.

A passion for traveling coupled with an interest in chess is what made them start their collection. While the traveling continues, the board game has now just become a prized collection of theirs, with the couple seldom getting down to playing the game itself. "While we used to play chess a lot earlier, now it has become more of a passion of collecting the sets. We don't sit to play anymore," informs Shruti.
Swaroski chess set: Ultimate Collector's Item for Shruti & Mayank

Since the couple is always on the lookout for authentic pieces, what is the kind of money that they spend on buying chess sets? "Since this is not "art" in the strict sense of the term, the monies are affordable! On an average, a chess sets costs anywhere between $ 100 - $ 300. We are also not brand conscious when it comes to these sets. In fact, we have some really elegant yet cheap sets," says Shruti.

While the collections increases year after year, one luxury that Shruti wants to treat herself and her hubby to in the near future is the Swaroski chess that she laid her eyes on some time back!