The likes and dislikes of tycoons and their message for Trump

How do A-listers unwind? What are the things they like and what puts them off? Let's find out

Raaja Kanwar, Vice-chairman and MD, Apollo International

 

I rejuvenate by Giving to the less fortunate. 

 

Next holiday destination Galápagos Islands

 

My fitness mantra is There shouldn’t be a single day when your heart rate doesn’t elevate. You only have one body throughout your life, push it. 

 

The most difficult decision I took To invite investors into my logistics venture.

 

I was in a spot when A woman who I didn’t want to marry proposed to me. 

 

The most overrated virtue Simplicity. Humans are meant to be complex beings. 

 

Alternative career plans Creating a technology-led and environment focused company like what Elon Musk is doing.

 

I want to retire at (the age of) Infinity 

 

Restaurant I just can’t have enough of Can Roca, Girona, Spain

 

My message for Donald Trump Take it easy on us immigrants, dude.

 

God to me is The omnipresent force of the universe watching over us and guiding us. 

 

Dream date Was my first date with my wonderful wife. 

Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group

 

I rejuvenate by Meditating for some time every day. Apart from this, my biggest stress buster is spending value time with my family and watching movies.   

 

Next holiday destination The beautiful island of Mauritius. 

 

My fitness mantra is I exercise on Power Plate for 30 minutes three to four times a week with help from a trainer. This provides me with a whole body workout. Also, I ensure that my diet comprises wholesome home-cooked meal with greens and seasonal vegetables. I avoid sweets. 

 

The most overrated virtue Patience 

 

Alternative career plans I am deeply passionate about what I do and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

 

I want to retire at Never

 

Restaurant I just cannot have enough of I love Zuma in Dubai. For me this contemporary Japanese restaurant is a little oasis within an oasis. The place resonates of comfort from the ambience to food to service. 

 

My message for Donald Trump Hope he will take into view the contribution of Indians in building up Silicon Valley to where it is today and accordingly implement the planned visa restrictions.

 

God to me is I like to believe that god is omnipresent and hence approach everything around me with the same reverence and respect. 

 

Dream date My wife — Smriti Bhatia. 

Nikhil Nanda, MD, Escorts  

 

I rejuvenate by The thoughts of tomorrow and ideas of disruptive innovation.

 

Next holiday destination Palo Alto

 

My fitness mantra is Keep it cool

 

The most difficult decision I took Migrating from managing my company to building my company.

 

The most overrated virtue Perfection

 

Alternative career plans Being a pilot

 

I want to retire at When I realise that the larger purpose is achieved.

 

Restaurant I just can’t have enough of The Indian roadside dhaba.

 

My message for Donald Trump Let’s make it for the world.

 

God to me is My soul

Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group 

 

I rejuvenate by Meditation 

 

Next holiday destination Lisbon

 

My fitness mantra is Yoga

 

The most difficult decision I took Selling Apollo Health Street. 

 

I was in a spot when I was invited to join politics.

 

The most overrated virtue Patience

 

Alternative career plans Rural social work

 

I want to retire at Retire from healthcare? Never. I love what I do.

 

Restaurant I just can’t have enough of My mom’s house.

 

My message for Donald Trump Please surprise us!

 

God to me is Everywhere 

 

Dream date My husband, of course.

Prasoon Joshi, Lyricist and Chairman, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific

 

I rejuvenate by I have music and writing but those are also considered my professions. So I like to travel to unfamiliar places, trekking and mixing with locals in villages. It opens another window.

 

Next holiday destination I have my National Geographic map and I keep doing research. Being from Uttarakhand, I probably took the mountains for granted. I would like to explore Northeast India now.

 

My fitness mantra is There are no shortcuts. How you feel is more important than how you look. Spend time with yourself.

 

The most difficult decision I took I don’t think decisions are difficult, the process is difficult. When I had to shift from Delhi, where my parents were, to Mumbai, where I had fewer friends, or when I chose to not leave India when I was offered work outside, I did my due mental diligence. I only take decisions after coming to terms with myself and when I am truthful.

 

I was in a spot when I am not a high inflection-point person so there is no single turning point.

 

The most overrated virtue Is conventional, structured education. Native wisdom is underrated.

 

Alternative career plans I want to be associated with some kind of service to people and use what I have for others.

 

I want to retire at I don’t want to retire. I will keep doing work and then extend my hand to help others.

 

Restaurant I just can’t have enough of I like the lakhs of vibrant street-side food corners one comes across while travelling. Also, close to where I live today in Bandra, one place that has always been good is Olive.

 

My message for Donald Trump Listen more. Welcome more points of view. Bring more diversity in your team.

 

God to me is Deeply personal. I definitely am a person with faith.

 

Dream date Would be to go back to being young, and date my wife once again.

Amit Burman, Vice-Chairman, Dabur India 

 

I rejuvenate by Listening to music, watching a movie, hitting the gym or playing Monopoly with my kids.

 

Next holiday destination Koh Samui, Thailand

 

My fitness mantra is Eat right, work out five days a week and sleep on time.

 

I was in a spot when My packaged juice venture didn’t initially take off the way I had expected it to. That experience also taught me life’s biggest lesson of listening to what my consumer needs. We were quick to learn from this setback and went on to make Réal the largest packaged juice brand in India.

 

The most overrated virtue Piety 

 

Alternative career plans Like every other kid, I too wanted to be a commercial airline pilot and had even secured a flying licence before the entrepreneurial bug bit me.

 

I want to retire at I don’t think I will ever retire. I want to be always active and involved with some new initiative or the other.

 

Restaurant I just can’t have enough of Two of my all-time favourites are Scalini in London and La Petite Maison in Dubai. These restaurants are invariably part of my itinerary every time I am in these cities.

 

My message for Donald Trump We should be building bridges and not walls.

 

God to me is Omnipresent

 

Dream date My wife

Amish, Author of the Shiva trilogy 

 

I rejuvenate by Reading, exercising and playing with my kid.

 

Next holiday destination No clue as of now, but it will probably be a historical place. I’d visited Cambodia and Sri Lanka recently.

 

My fitness mantra is Exercise regularly. Also, don’t take life too seriously; stress is the biggest destroyer of health.

 

The most difficult decision I took When I resigned from my job to become a full-time writer. It was my elder brother and wife who finally convinced me.

 

I was in a spot when My first book, The Immortals of Meluha, was rejected by every publisher it was sent to.

 

The most overrated virtue Most virtues, when taken to extremes, become bad. You should be balanced about everything in life.

 

Alternative career plans Banker? That’s what I was before I became a writer.

 

I want to retire at I’ll retire when I die.

 

Restaurant I just can’t have enough of I’m not much of a foodie, frankly. I’m happiest with homemade khichdi.

 

God to me is Lord Shiva.

 

Dream date I’m married, yaar. The only dates I have are with my wife.

Ananth Narayanan, CEO, Myntra 

 

I rejuvenate by Spending time with my family — my wife, Sandhya, our three children and our two dogs. I’m also an avid reader and enjoy wine tasting.

 

Next holiday destination Would be Bordeaux in France. I look forward to some wine tasting and some time away from work.

 

My fitness mantra is All about the mind and the body: 15 minutes of meditation, walks and eating right keeps me fit.

 

The most difficult decision I took Myntra deciding to buy Jabong. It was a great and important decision, but required us to make a very quick call.

 

I was in a spot when I had to walk the ramp at Myntra for the first time. I did not have a fashion background and was only beginning to understand it then.

 

The most overrated virtue Humility

 

Alternative career plans I would love to be a wine maker or an artist.

 

I want to retire at 50

 

Restaurant I just can’t have enough of Alinea in Chicago

 

My message for Donald Trump Start behaving like a US president.

 

God to me is Personal

Manasi Kirloskar, Executive Director & CEO, Kirloskar Systems

 

I rejuvenate by Discussing things other than work, such as hiking, travelling, art and scuba diving. I also work out in the gym every day for an hour and that’s the most rejuvenating part of my day.

 

Next holiday destination New York for all the new restaurants and art galleries and, hopefully, the Everest Base Camp.

 

My fitness mantra is Positivity 

 

The most difficult decision I took Letting go of being a full-time painter. 

 

I was in a spot when Someone asked what is most important to me in the whole world.

 

The most overrated virtue Physical beauty 

 

Alternative career plans To be a full-time painter. 

 

I want to retire at I don’t know what “retire” really means. But, after 40, I would like to dedicate most of my time to giving back to society. 

 

Restaurant I just can’t have enough of That very famous paani-puri wala in Varanasi. 

 

My message for Donald Trump Good luck! 

 

God to me is An all mighty power that spreads love, happiness and positivity.

 

Dream date At any location where we can see every single star in the sky.

Twinkle Khanna, AUTHOR

 

I rejuvenate by Reading, going on hikes with my family and sometimes by eating a tub of sitaphal ice-cream.  

 

Next holiday destination A mix of work and play in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh.

 

My fitness mantra is A few asanas a day keeps the monster in your head at bay, you change into a werewolf only on Monday instead of snarling every single day. 

 

The most difficult decision I took To have a second child so close to forty.

 

I was in a spot when The spot seems to be my favourite place to hang out in as I land up there often enough with my columns.

 

The most overrated virtue Sweetness. What does that even mean unless it’s in the context of a cupcake. 

 

Alternative career plans Wrong person to ask. I have pulled off the switcheroo already.

 

I want to retire at 133, at which point I will hopefully have an augmented brain, bionic limbs and will spend my retirement happily as an intergalactic tourist.

 

Restaurant I just can’t have enough of Pali Bhavan these days 

 

My message for Donald Trump After seeing a clip where he states, “You know what uranium is, right? This thing called nuclear weapons and other thing, like lots of things are done with uranium including some bad things.” I would like to point out to him that though I don’t want to make a big thing about this, but this thing here is what happens when you don’t know the first thing about things. 

 

God to me Lies in kindness and charity more than in temples or other religious edifices.

 

Dream date The Messenger of God, he is my current obsession.

Radhika Ghai Aggarwal Co-founder, ShopClues 

 

I rejuvenate by Being with my boys. I learn something new from them every day.

 

Next holiday destination Alaska cruise from Seattle. This has been on my bucket list for a very long time.

 

My fitness mantra is Walk, walk, walk and portion control. It doesn’t always work though. 

 

The most difficult decision I took As an entrepreneur I take difficult decisions every day, but my toughest decisions are the ones about my kids — right now struggling with high school electives.

 

I was in a spot when I have been in tough spots multiple times, but realising that you cannot please everyone can get you out of the toughest spots. 

 

The most overrated virtue Abstinence. Most things in life need to be enjoyed at least once. Gluttony may be the other extreme but abstinence is definitely not my cup of tea either.

 

Alternative career plans Another startup. 

 

I want to retire at Retirement is overrated.

 

Restaurant I just can’t have enough of Blowfish in San Francisco, California

 

My message for Donald Trump Retirement is not overrated. Retire!

 

God to me is Present everywhere