By Papri Das

As the eighth season of Indian Premier League (IPL) makes a quick recovery with the first couple of matches of the season after the not-so-happening opening ceremony, it already has us engaged hook, line and sinker, with all the on and off-field entertainment. Thus being the situation, it?s natural to wonder what our media executives are up to this IPL.

Be it their title as the defending champions, their victorious start this season, or simply the fact that the team?s owner is the Baadshah of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan, Kolkata Knight Riders continue to garner patrons within the industry.

"I don?t have strong opinions regarding any particular team, and enjoy watching every player give their best. But yes, I do have a soft corner for Kolkata Knight Riders because of my connection with the City of Joy,? says Travelxp CEO Prashant Chothani.
?For the longest time, my wish had been to see a cricket match in Eden Gardens and I finally realised this dream at the last big India Vs Pakistan match. There is nothing like the atmosphere of a live match in Eden, which makes me anticipate a KKR match there. But alas, my work will keep me out of the country for the most part of this IPL season, and I will be limited to catching online updates through various digital platforms,? he adds.

Big Synergy whole-time director Anita Kaul Basu tells us how she is torn between love for her home team Mumbai Indians, and Kolkata Knight Riders. ?My attachment to KKR goes way back in to the very first season, when the IPL kicked off. Shah Rukh was doing a show with us that time (Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain on Star Plus) and everyday we would see him busy with the team, merchandises, jerseys etc. Having said so, I also follow the Mumbai Indian matches ardently, and try to catch them live in the Wankhede Stadium,? says Basu, adding that like every season, she expects IPL 8 to be yet another reason for a family extravaganza where friends and loved ones gather to have some fun.

Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia chairman Ashish Bhasin is a proud and loyal Mumbai Indians fan, but when it comes to picking his favourite players from the team, Bhasin goes with performance than blind faith. ?It was easy to pick your favourite when Sachin played. While Malinga continues to be a key player, there isn't anyone I have blind faith in. It is hard to take sides or choose favourite players unless I see how the series unfolds. I am specially looking forward to how Pollard and Harbhajan Singh fair this season,? shares Bhasin, adding that he would rather have the viewer?s attention shift back to the action in the stadium than unnecessary drama off the game.

MUMBAI: Hyderabad?s Adaa at the Falaknuma Palace has done the nation proud by becoming the first Indian restaurant to have made it to the world?s top 100 list. 

Adaa, which is led by head chef Arun Sundararaj, was one of seventeen new entries that were included this year. India?s first entry into the awards reflects the continual development of haute cuisine in India.

Chicago?s Alinea, and Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca took away the first and second places on the list respectively. 

?I think a lot of the other ratings systems and guidebooks are taking note. Because, quite honestly, a lot of chefs tend to complain about the unfairness of certain systems. I think it?s really refreshing to have an evaluation based on people?s experience when you don?t even know that they?re in the restaurant,? said Chicago?s Alinea head chef Grant Achatz.

Compiled by the fourth annual poll of readers by private jet lifestyle publication Elite Traveler, the list also recognised the Delhi-based restaurant, Indian Accent as one for the five strong contenders for the 2016 awards.

The 2015 awards also saw Eleven Madison Park and NoMad in New York head chef Daniel Humm take the title of ?Chef of the Year? ahead of Grant Achatz (Alinea and Next) and Heston Blumenthal (The Fat Duck and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal). 

?Young Chef of the Year? was won by Eneko Atxa of Azurmendi in Spain, followed by Joshua Skenes of Saison and Sean Brock of Husk from the US.

The sixth episode of Talking Point with Ritwika Gupta features Subhadarshi Tripathy, a man of many facets.  The ZEEL cluster head paid TV, loves travelling and serenading himself with soothing music. A man with immense creativity, his work allows him to mingle with kids content, that they lap up so eagerly. Today he is known in the television industry space for the renowned content he decides for India?s premier network- Zee.

In this episode, the man shares something novel and different from his executive space. One will be able to see his journey, his passion for work and more importantly life. Also watch out his soft spot for photography. Watch this video for more!

MUMBAI: As the holy week draws to a festive closure, we see the revellers gear up for the much anticipated Easter in all its splendour, including the many Christian executives, who, even with their jam-packed schedule are giving their best to celebrate the day with loved ones.
 
?It?s tough to squeeze in personal time with a hectic schedule like mine even though it?s a holiday, but I have always tried and made sure that I spend my Christmas and Easter holidays with my parents in Goa,? shares NBA India managing director Yannick Colaco, as he rushes to catch his flight to Goa. But not before adding that his highlights from all Easter celebrations over the years has been the anticipation to eat the easter eggs, after fasting for Lent.
 
?Fasting for Lent doesn?t mean you go without food altogether but just to resist eating non-vegetarian food. But for a foodie like me, it?s quite an ordeal. Which is why the Easter eggs taste ten times more delicious when we finally have it,? he points out.
 
Star India head of events Lydia Buthello reiterates that sharing a homely lunch with her loved ones is the best way she cherishes her Easter memories. ?For the last couple of years, I have been celebrating Easter in Bangalore with my younger sister. The day would start with a lavish lunch at home and end with a dinner party at my aunt?s place, with all my cousins. We are quite the loud bunch,? she adds in retrospect. This year, quite sadly she will be missing her mother (and her mouthwatering cooking) as well as her sister?s company.
 
Buthello isn?t the only one. Taproot India co-founder and chairman Agnelllo Dias too will be taking an unwelcome break from his comfortable Easter traditions. ?A typical Easter celebration at my home, before I got married and started living separately, consisted of going for the midnight mass, coming home and wishing all the neighbours and then having a family lunch the next day as more friends drop in with easter eggs, which I used to look forward to as I have quite a sweet tooth. When the family started splitting into smaller nuclear units, Easter day meant regrouping together again at my parents' house and have a blast,? he says with a chuckle, adding that work is keeping him away from these traditions this year.

Speaking of traditions and customs, do these execs adhere to the norms of the holy week? While Coloca and Dias mention fasting and going for the midnight mass as being an intricate part of their Holy week celebrations, Buthello quite frankly confesses to have slipped up over the last few years. ?Over a period of time, I have been irregular about going to the church. But I try to make up to it, by being serious about fasting for lent. I gave up my favourite rice and alcohol for lent last year. So tasting the first morsel of rice was heavenly on Easter,? she says.

Square Yards co-founder & COO Kanika Gupta has had diverse professional exposure in the fields of asset management and entertainment.

Having worked in companies like Tata Asset Management and ICICI Bank, Gupta, who is also the winner of ?Young Achiever of 2014,' by Franchisee India, has had an interesting journey so far.

While bringing up her two kids, she decided to help her husband in managing their real estate portfolio. The need of players who could provide professional advice and handhold her throughout the transaction cycle was something that their global real estate advisory consultancy firm Square Yards was born out of. Started as a one-woman-army, the company now boasts of 25 offices in six countries and 14 cities of India, in just 14 months of existence.

Tell us about your journey as a professional in the industry. How has your experience been? The hardships & the incentives?

The journey has been quite rewarding actually. What started in the guest room of our home in Hong Kong with just me at the forefront is now a very successful venture. There is something fulfilling in helping people find a place they can call home. Every time a client sends a thank you note, the feeling of worthiness is beautiful. It is I would say sheer joy.

It is true that every journey has its set of challenges. A mother of two, I had left my job as an asset manager after embracing motherhood. My life was limited to my family and friends. Initially, this was my biggest challenge - to find that fine balance between my family and work. Also, when you re-start your life after such a long break, there is some nervousness. A part of you is also guilty for focusing on something other than your kids. It?s also scary in a way to go back to the cut-throat, rude yet gratifying world of professionalism. For me it was scarier because I was for the first time in my life, starting up a business. The trick is to put your head down and swim in the current. And survive I did.

How tough is it to be a female leader in the industry?

I will not pretend and say it?s easy. People associate women with being soft and malleable. It takes a lot of tough talk for you to make them realize that we are not two-year-olds and understand if not better as much as they do. Yes, you have to be firmer, more professional and more disciplined than your male counterparts. But is it impossible? I don?t think so. In my entire career as a working woman, I have never faced any major problems in getting some work done just because I am a woman. There is this subtle feeling that it takes more effort to make people hear you. But again, if you keep going you get there. And honestly, the men are not that bad. They come with a set of prejudices, but they do get over them too.

Does a glass ceiling exist in today?s world?

It does. But it is truly a glass ceiling? easily breakable. Most of the times it depends on how you take it. Either you go the extreme way and become a bad caricature of a man in attempts to rise in the corporate ladder. Or you be your own self, be proud of being a woman and feel sympathy for anyone who feels that you are inferior. If there are those laughing at you or don?t think your opinions matter, well, it?s their problem really. You keep your dignity, work hard and no glass ceiling, man or God can keep you from being successful.

Which part of your job do you enjoy the most and why?

The part where I help create systems that help people. Our CRM team, relationship managers, portfolio managers? they take care of all your real estate investment needs. When I say all, I mean all. To see our clients smile and come and appreciate our efforts is the thing that keeps me going and motivates me to even work harder.

How do you manage to balance your role as a CEO and a family person?

I am walking on a tight rope on this one. My husband, Tanuj, along with some of my closest friends are my business partners. It?s impossible for a day to pass without us disagreeing or having very different and strong opinions on things. Does that affect our personal life? Nope. Reason? All of us before we embarked on this journey made a promise to ourselves. We leave work and our disagreements in office. At home we never discuss business.

While all of us meet in office some days, we go out on drinks like old friends too. Also, the fact that the basic element of respect is not lost even during the most heated discussion helps. We are all old enough to accept each other as different individuals with different set of ideas. That?s also one thing that makes Square Yards such a dynamic place to work.

What is your opinion on the current status of women in the work force?

Oh! They are taking over the world! There is no skill, no job and no position that a woman cannot handle with great zeal and expertise. But are they being given equal opportunities? That is clearly debatable. There are many organizations that do not pay them equal to a man. If you look around, there is a clear need for more women leaders in the corporate world. There just aren?t enough to become role models for others.

The fact that a woman gives birth does works against her in the corporate world. The fact that men are still not sensitive to post-maternal trauma, periods or simply to a woman?s existence, holds true. Whatever her skill, a woman in the corporate world is still judged by her looks, her figure and has to bear snide comments every once in a while. She is judged by all and with an authority that borders on patriarchal behavior. All this is true. Is that going to stop them from becoming the future of corporate world? No, not at all. Women today are fighting against this current and with such ?lan that it?s only a matter of time before you will see more women out there, creating their own rules.

How do you think we can encourage education for the girl child?

By educating the parents and the society. Man is no more the only provider in the society. Times have changed. We are not living in times where a man went out to forage food and a woman took care of the kids. A man can now stay back home while a woman earns. The line between a man and a woman has blurred. We are moving towards a sexless society. It is important that people understand accept this.

What kind of books do you like to read?

I can read anything and everything under the sun.  The last book, which I just finished reading was Too Big To Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin and loved it to the core.

Which are your favorite movies?

A good movie with my family is the best stress buster, which keeps me going. Being an actor in past, I like movies more from a cinematic angle. Some of my all time favorites are When Harry met Sally, Godfather amongst others.

How important are awards, appreciation and recognition to you?

Pretty important I would say. Everyone likes to be appreciated. I am no different. After all as rightly said by Alan Cohen, the famous American Business man, ?Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.?

Who is your inspiration? Where do you draw your energy from?

Your biggest strength is you, yourself. I believe you do not need to look for any external source of energy. Make yourself so strong that your inner well of energy never dries up! My inspiration? Mark Zuckerberg. He is very cool.

What are the three things you wished you knew when you were in your 20s?

? Money is by-product of pursuing your dreams

? Life is goes on, with or without your approval

? Family and friends are the only two things that matter

At this stage, if you had to describe your life in one word, what would it be and why?

One word that describes me is ?Initiator?. I have initiated my life numerous times in different domains and tried to excel every time I started something new.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

I see myself as a very successful entrepreneur. Happy in my personal life, an inspiration for women around the world and charging ahead to new horizons.

Exec Lifestyle?s Weekend Watch recommends and previews television shows, films and live events that you simply cannot miss! Check out our recommendations for this weekend (3 - 5 April, 2015).

Movies

Those who like to titillate their brains with a healthy dose of jasoosigiri have the much awaited Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! to watch out for on the big screen this weekend, with Sushant Singh Rajput starring as the iconic titular character. Adapting it from the popular Bengali detective novel series by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Dibakar Bannerjee has added his own special touch to the story, which will surely keep your at the edge of your seats.

Television:

Star Sports 4: Football fanatics have a very busy weekend line up, with a series of exciting matches scheduled. Start your weekend with the Barclays Premier League where Arsenal plays Liverpool at 5.30 pm on 4 April. This will be followed by Chelsea vs Stoke City at 10 pm.

NEO Sports: With a few matches to go, all the teams will try to swap spots with higher placed teams. Bundesliga will see rivals coming together as Dortmund hosts league leader Bayern Munich at 10 pm on Saturday, 4 April.