My Life My Style: Ravi Venkatesan

In touch with life

You get your suits from?
Raymond.

What’s your shaving mantra?
Why do you need a mantra to shave? But yes, Gillete’s Fusion razor is God’s gift to mankind.

Who’s your favourite shoe-maker?
Birkenstocks.

What’s your weekday breakfast like? And weekend?
Home-baked bread and fresh fruit. Home-baked bread and fresh fruit.

Your current set of wheels?
1983 Mercedes 240D and a 1996 Opel. I’m not really into cars that much!

In the car is it sleep or the cell for you?
Neither. Looking out of the window.

God for you is...
All of creation.

Favourite café?
Sunnys, Bangalore. Café Flora in Seattle. Upstairs at the Square, Boston.

Favourite Restaurant?
Fond in Gothenburg, Sweden

Workday lunch is?
A quick bite at the cafeteria…. With employees or a customer.

What’s your workout regime?
Workout?

Your ideal holiday?
Lots of nature, animals and no connectivity.

At parties do you like to talk turkey or PC?
Turkey.

Best phase of your life?
Right now. This is about as good as it gets where I have the time to enjoy life, reconnect with friends, revive old hobbies and think deeply.

Favourite champagne
Bollinger 61. Bond likes it too.

Your sleeping ritual
Turn out the lights!

Favourite TV show
Never watch any.

Books on your bedside
The Emperor of All Maladies, The Varieties of Men, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Tinderbox, Makers of Modern India, The Art of the Start — it’s a big bedside!

Massage or workout to de-stress?
A massage for sure.

Designs that have caught your eye recently
Apple.

Your IT tools?
My new Windows phone, three laptops and — dare I say it? — an iPad!

Favourite fashion designer
No idea.

Favourite spirit
Lagavulin 30 years. Simply out of this world.

Favourite wine
Chateau Lafitte when someone else is paying. Any of a number of excellent South African, Argentinean, and Chilean wines, otherwise.

Best gift received
My education — its enabled freedom and opportunity.

Best gift given
The gifts of clarity, hope and self-confidence, which I try to give through mentoring.

Favourite cuisine
For me nothing approaches the honesty and variety of the flavors of India, especially for a vegetarian like me.

Newspapers, TV channels and websites you prefer
Newspapers: New York Times, Business Standard
Magazines: NYTimes, Economist, Harvard Business Review
Websites: Wikipedia, TED.com, Youtube
TV Channels: BBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet, HBO, Star Movies.

Where do you sit when being driven? Upfront with the driver or back like sahib?
I largely drive myself but when driven, up front whenever possible. The seat is more comfortable, the view better and yes, it’s less sahib like.

On a plane do you prefer to network, sleep or catch up on films and reading?
A long flight is one of my most favourite moments. I get eight hours of alone time to reflect, write, and watch movies.

Fancy coffee or masala tea?
Fancy teas

Can you cook? What?
Sure. Tea and toast.

Do you fill customer feedback forms? Why?
Only when I am thrilled by the service and want them to know about an exemplary employee. When I am really upset, I try to reach the CEO.

What’s your cologne?
Bulgari.

Your Goddesses?
Parvati. All other goddesses, including our earthly ones, are her manifestations.

Alpha males you know…
Steve Ballmer, Mukesh Ambani.

Your favourite motto.
Tat tvam asi. You are that.

Ravi Venkatesan, the outgoing chief of Microsoft India, was appointed as independent director of Infosys Technologies on April 15