You would think a loner child is a negative sign in the growing years but in the case of Ravi Kiran, CEO, South Asia, Starcom Mediavest Group, it helped him come close to books and develop an immense love for them. Kiran managed to take some time out of his busy schedule to talk to Correspondent Nidhi Jain about books, books and more books?

Can John Grisham make you so pensive?

Who introduced you to reading?
I guess my dad. Or perhaps my elder brother. Don't really remember. Our home was full of books and you just couldn't have avoided them, unless you had a strong ability of pretension.

Kind of book collection you have
I started buying my own books when I was in junior school. Some of the early ones were Marxist theories sold on the street really cheap, published by Mir Publications in Moscow. I later learnt that most of them were subsidized by the USSR government to propagate Soviet beliefs. I also bought a lot of books when I went to engineering college in Kashmir. I spent almost 80 per cent of my pocket money on books then - classic literature by Aldous Huxley, Charlotte Bronte, books on behavioral sciences, philosophy, and satire. Since it took me a couple of years to get a room with a book rack, my room used to have books everywhere, and some of my room mates used to make a mockery of that.

Taste in books
I like most kinds. My choice at a point depends on my mood. I like philosophy, psychology, psychiatry, marketing, organizational behaviour, human relations, technology, thrillers, war stories, human history. I haven't developed a taste for stuff like culture, geography etc. I have read a few books on science fiction, but not of late. In general, I do not like 'how to' books.

Browsing in the FMS Library - Delhi

On favourite authors and well written books
Dr Eric Berne, Jiddu Krishnamurthy, Jean-Paul Sartre, Aldous Huxley, Antoine de Saint Exup?ry, Seth Godin, Alvin Toffler, Malcom Gladwell, Harry Beckwith, Tom Friedman, Amartya Sen, Sumantra Ghosal, Edward de Bono, John Grisham, Jeffery Archer, Alistair McLean, Robert Ludlum. I have been lucky to have read very few poorly written books. I like The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exup?ry, Being and Nothingness by Sartre and The Mirror Makers by Stephen Fox, Heart at Work by Jack Canfield and Jacqueline Miller, Purple Cow by Seth Godin, First Break All Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, What do you say after you say Hello by Dr. Eric Berne, The Mechanism of Mind by de Bono, The Mind's I by Douglas Hoffstader, The Textures of Silence by Gordon Vorster, Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. These are some of the books that have had a life and behaviour changing effect on me.

Do you find interesting things in every book, how do you choose books you read?
Before the internet, I used to decide by reading back-of-the-book. I am also sure many of my friends have had an influence on my choice of books. Now I browse for books online and often spend time in bookstores browsing. I am not a speed reader; my reading speed is really low. I go through every word, every page, and some times I read the same page or section many times over. There are books I have been reading for years. There are books I have read several times. Every time I read a book, I get new meanings. I guess the meaning has something to do with what I am doing at that point in time or what I am going through in my life.

The early student collection - Kashmir

What do you think of self help books?
I don't particularly fancy them now, although when I was in college, I liked a few of them. I guess it all depends on how sure you are of yourself and who has written a self help book. Most of them are too preachy.

Money and time you spend on books
The time I spend on books has come down a lot in recent times, since life's so hectic. But of late, I have been listening to audio books or reading them off my Palm Treo handheld, when I am traveling. It's not as enjoyable as a book in your hand, but it's convenient.

Your reading pace
As I said before, very slow. I take three times as much time to read a book as my wife does. One reason behind that is my mind's temptation to drift away on a tangential thought chain. I have never felt the pressure to finish a book.

Your first book
Not sure, but I think it must have been a story from the Panch Tantra.

Browsing and e-reading
A lot of late. On my PC screen, on my hand held and through the audible software. I also browse the net at least 2-3 hours every day and love reading stuff on my feed reader.

Currently you are reading
I think about eight books simultaneously. Here are the ones I remember: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared M. Diamond, The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly, The World is Flat by Tom Friedman, A Prison Diary by Jeffrey Archer, The Argumentative Indian by Dr Amartya Sen.

Books that do not hold you
Cannot remember.

One look at Shaju Ignatius, executive producer, Perspectrum, Percept Holdings, and you realize that being happy is something we have to learn. You see him and say 'this is it, he's happy, he's got a home, career, wife, adorable kid, and is at peace with himself, and if there's something else to happiness, this Piscean will yearn for that too.' Correspondent Nidhi Jain really digs the pace of his life on the Fast Track.

Work - my big great canvas -
I have never planned my moves. I wished to be a pilot or atleast get to fly as cabin crew but then my exploring mind led me to Eureka Forbes,after which i moved on to Damania Airways.Looking further I got into advertising,and did a small stint in Advertising Forecast in which I happened to do the promotion for the film 'Speed'. From that experience I started liking the concept. In the summer of '95, when event management was not a regular word/career, an ad by 'Wizcraft' caught my attention - "Join us and work will be a party".As part of India's premier Event management firm, created & managed many prestigious projects : The Michael Jackson India Tour, concerts by Shaggy, Deep Purple, UB40, Lou Bega among many others, first ever Television concerts by Lata Mangeshkar & Asha Bhosle, multiple international events across London, New York, Mauritius, South Africa, Dubai.Got tagged as the 'Awards specialist' in the industry, as I managed almost all the film & music awards held in the country, viz, Filmfare Awards, Zee Cine, Zee Sangeet, Bollywood Awards, IIFA Awards, Screen Awards, Hero Sports Awards, Sangeet Awards, Economic Times Awards, Filmfare South Awards, Mata Sanman Awards, Ceat Cricket Rating Awards, Castrol Cricket Awards, etc. Closest to my heart being the Annual Filmfare Awards, which I have been associated with for atleast 8 years of my career.

It was great to be associated with fresh ideas and events. What attracted me towards it was that it was not regular mundane work. Then, it was time move again and learn new things. Along with my close buddies based across the metros, we set up the event management business for the Times of India, called 360 Degrees.

In 2004, Percept D'Mark became my focus for the next 2 and half years. This was a great wide platform, and we truly created some memorable projects & campaigns. Now my next step to learning has led me to join Perspectrum, the IMC (integrated marketing communication) consultancy arm of Percept Holdings. My work mantra is to always have a backup plan to any element or idea.

One look at Shaju Ignatius, executive producer, Perspectrum, Percept Holdings, and you realize that being happy is something we have to learn. You see him and say 'this is it, he's happy, he's got a home, career, wife, adorable kid, and is at peace with himself, and if there's something else to happiness, this Piscean will yearn for that too.' Correspondent Nidhi Jain really digs the pace of his life on the Fast Track.

Work - my big great canvas -
I have never planned my moves. I wished to be a pilot or atleast get to fly as cabin crew but then my exploring mind led me to Eureka Forbes,after which i moved on to Damania Airways.Looking further I got into advertising,and did a small stint in Advertising Forecast in which I happened to do the promotion for the film 'Speed'. From that experience I started liking the concept. In the summer of '95, when event management was not a regular word/career, an ad by 'Wizcraft' caught my attention - "Join us and work will be a party".As part of India's premier Event management firm, created & managed many prestigious projects : The Michael Jackson India Tour, concerts by Shaggy, Deep Purple, UB40, Lou Bega among many others, first ever Television concerts by Lata Mangeshkar & Asha Bhosle, multiple international events across London, New York, Mauritius, South Africa, Dubai.Got tagged as the 'Awards specialist' in the industry, as I managed almost all the film & music awards held in the country, viz, Filmfare Awards, Zee Cine, Zee Sangeet, Bollywood Awards, IIFA Awards, Screen Awards, Hero Sports Awards, Sangeet Awards, Economic Times Awards, Filmfare South Awards, Mata Sanman Awards, Ceat Cricket Rating Awards, Castrol Cricket Awards, etc. Closest to my heart being the Annual Filmfare Awards, which I have been associated with for atleast 8 years of my career.

It was great to be associated with fresh ideas and events. What attracted me towards it was that it was not regular mundane work. Then, it was time move again and learn new things. Along with my close buddies based across the metros, we set up the event management business for the Times of India, called 360 Degrees.

In 2004, Percept D'Mark became my focus for the next 2 and half years. This was a great wide platform, and we truly created some memorable projects & campaigns. Now my next step to learning has led me to join Perspectrum, the IMC (integrated marketing communication) consultancy arm of Percept Holdings. My work mantra is to always have a backup plan to any element or idea.

Omega-- 24th and the last letter of the Greek alphabet. The alpha and the omega --the beginning and the end. Omega remains synonymous with accomplishment, finishing, perfection, maximum, crowning achievement and excellence.

History--
Is packed with unique achievements in watch making history.

O as in Olympics 1905-2005--

Has been an official timekeeping of the Olympic games using chronographs and stopwatches with a flybackhand;
Quartz technology was introduced with the time recorder;

Introduced the world's first semi-automatic timing device, the swim Eight-o-Matic timer for swimming competition;
invented Omega scope -a time keeping device which allowed the time of each competitor followed by the camera to be superimposed on the TV screen;

First 100 per cent electronic timekeeping in the world;

Iinvented the contact pads for swimming competitions;

Invented the giant video matrix;

Invented the scan'o'vision using electronic imagery, a low cost and popular version of the photofinishing camera;

Launched Marine with a double case, the first divers watch;

Launched self winding Seamaster 1000m;

Launched Sea master's professional chrono diver, the world's first diver's chronograph with pushbuttons that functioned down to a depth of 300m.

Experimenting is the motivation, like food to the creative brain, one cannot get it in one sitting, it needs continual and regular 'top up's. A live example is first time author of 'That thing called love'. Tuhin A Sinha has always had a flair for writing (it provided him a stepping stone into the entertainment world). He was fascinated by people of television and concepts always drew his attention. Extremely excited about his new book, Tuhin says he has more things up his sleeve, in a conversation with Correspondent Nidhi Jain.

What made you write this book

Being a writer it was a logical extension, and also there is a sense of possessiveness and exclusivity that a novel gives me.

Book and Character

The publishers (Shrishti publication) wrapped up the making in two months, as they liked the subject, which is on relationships, a universal theme. Being a scriptwriter my characters reflected the spirit of Mumbai, and how it keeps bouncing back, its ethos, etc., the entire conceptualization made its marketing little easier. The characters in the book are those we can all relate to - one is cheating on his wife for no reason, there's a male chauvinist waiting for an emotional shed, an idealistic guy, a gay; and many more are the faces to my story.

Crux of the book
How the morality paradigm has changed in Indian society.

Cover page

After securing permission from a German photographer, this picture was taken which highlights the darkness of the monsoon and depicts a sense of loss.

Next on Agenda
The marketing of the book has taken a toll. What do I want to do next? Playing cricket for India would be great.

Book that captured attention
Tuhin is an erratic reader; sometimes he read a lot, sometimes nothing. But among his few favourites are Sidney Sheldon novels, Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. Among the Indian authors there are Rupa Bajwa's A Sari Shop, Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone, The Insider by the late Narasimha Rao, Jaswant's Singh's Call to Honor, Anurag Mathur's Making the Minister Smile.

What's next
Maybe a story on cricket, with a difference; expect it to come soon to keep the momentum going.

Tuhin's book 'That Thing Called Love' reviewed by Jairaj Padmanabhan, Regional director, Optimum Media Solutions,"That thing called love' is about 'those complexities and confusions in the matters of heart'. Set at a good pace, debutant novelist and scriptwriter Tuhin. A Sinha weaves a contemporary story of a bunch of well-etched out characters' exploring expectations, disillusionments and fragility in relationships. Pranav, as a character particularly stands out. The book captures interesting moments in the backdrop of that chaos called Mumbai.Not surprisingly, sex does make its entry. However, it could have been much better dealt with by Tuhin".

In conversation with Shaju Ignatius. "My college days? I was involved in youth related events."

In the beginning? I wasn't exposed to the word 'ambition'.

My college days? I was involved in youth related events.
 

Play? An avid sports lover, like football a lot, and do get on the field often. (I used to play tennis & squash earlier, and need to get back to it soon).
 

Inspiration? The 'livewire' city we dwell in - Bombay.
 

Fascinated? Guitar as an instrument. (will learn to strum it some day).
 

Freak? On Gadgets.
 

Love? Gaming, dancing (very passionate).
 

Music? Retro, English and Hindi numbers, and Soft rock?truly rocks !
 

Follow? Cinema?..and its magic.
 

Award Man?At the Percept Annual Conference 2005, was awarded for Teamwork across the Group. Also got a citation from Percept D'Mark for innovation in creativity & work.
Settle Down? In New Zealand, which offers all the aspects of nature and climatic conditions, and your get to see the world's first sunrise everyday.
 

Foodie? Like continental, pastas and love eating out.
 

What next? ? would like to direct a movie someday soon. When I saw the film Phone Booth, I thought of making a movie with good friend John Abraham.

Until then continue to 'Have the insight to innovate and the foresight to anticipate'.