It has been a rollercoaster ride for Premjeet Sodhi, Sr. Vice President, Intellect, Lintas Media Group. He welcomes change and has experimented with many different roles along the way. Some have clicked, whilst others failed. Here, Premjeet takes us through the maze that he calls life.

"Born in Nagpur, Premjeet has fond memories of being beating up by his sister and elder brother. "I even remember the days when my brother would return after giving an exam and sit with my mother to discuss his paper and she would always turn to me and ask, 'are you going to pass?' I have always been an average student throughout my life."

"With my father working in the bank, our childhood has seen many transfers to various places. I completed my electronic engineering from RKN engineering college in Nagpur. Just as most youngsters my age, I too harboured a desire to go to the United States for further studies. To boost my chances,I knew that experience in teaching would be an advantage. So, I became a lecturer at RKN engineering college.

I've made a few wrong moves in life
"My first visit to Mumbai was for my US visa, and I left the dream of going abroad far behind when my visa was rejected. Later, I sat for the competitive exams and cleared quite a few of them and finally got into IRMA (Institute of Rural Management Anand). After completing my management from there, I joined Gujarat State Financial Service at Ahmedabad. But, on realizing that it was too risky a business as the burden of any default would come on me, I decided to opt out of it. Then was the time to do a SWOT analysis and I found that my analytical skills were my biggest strength," says Premjeet.

"So, choosing marketing research as a favourable field, I moved to Mudra Advertising as an associate project director in the ICRG branch for two and a half years. I found no scope for growth in Ahmedabad and therefore moved to Mumbai in 2000."

"Here, I joined hands with MRUC and worked with great names in the industry like Roda Mehta, among many others. I was later guided by some senior friends of mine who told me that I was fit for rural media, so I applied to O&M and Lintas and luckily got through both interviews, but ultimately joined O&M."

"New enterprises always charmed me and the dot com boom caught my fancy. I joined Tangent Software Pvt Ltd. But the company wound up in no time and I was without a job. At this point, I took complete time off from work and just did nothing for a couple of months.

I returned to MRUC as a consultant and later became the Technical Manager. In 2002, I joined Lintas Media under Partho Ghosh, though I did not get to work much with him. But thereafter, Lynn de Souza has been my driving force. She has been an extremely good guide and philosopher and has helped me gain a completely new perspective.

Mine was an arranged marriage
My wife Simran, a dentist had come down from Amritsar to Mumbai to be with her relatives. It took us only 15 minutes in our first meeting to decide that we want to spend our lives together. Since my marriage, life has been great with my wife and my three-and-a-half-year-old son, Rajveer.

I was absolutely numb when Rajveer was brought to me
No one can really prepare you for the day you become a father. There is a strange feeling of numbness and all that you can do is just wait and watch. When I held Rajveer for the first time, I was aghast! I really did not know what to do. And, nowadays, all that I hear from Simran is, 'you don't love me, you only love Rajveer.'

I surprised my wife with a trip to Goa
I've have been slogging away and have not really been able to take off for any planned holidays. Last year in September, I took Simran for a holiday to Goa as she has not seen much of the West. One day prior to her birthday, I asked her to just pack her bags as we were off to celebrate her birthday in Goa.
Though we go to Punjab quite often, we hardly get time to go anywhere else. My trips abroad have been to London, New York and California. The best place to see was Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

As such, I don't have a dream destination, but I do wish to undertake a voyage to Darjeeling, Imphal, Kerala and the Himalayas some day.

I don't miss my wife as far as food is concerned
I am a typical Punjabi when it comes to my appetite. I am game for any kind of cuisine. But, yes, I am biased to non-vegetarian food. Staying alone for 6 to 7 years, I had even started experimenting in the kitchen and seeing the time consumed, I started channelising all the effort in making non-vegetarian dishes. I am a pretty good cook, so much so that my wife leaves making some dishes entirely to me. I love Chicken Mumtaz, which I make following recipe books. Otherwise, Tariwalla chicken, chawal and rajma chawal are my favourite dishes.

Other than that, I once went for a light Chinese meal of Dimsums, which one can eat unlimited. I remember this meal as the food was awesome.

I read only when traveling
Reading is part of my profession and I keep up with it. I hardly read one or two books in a year. Presently I am reading The World is Flat and Freakonomics.

Sundays were reserved for early morning movies with my son
I am fond of English romantic movies which include, A Walk in the Clouds and One Fine Day, among others. There were days when I used to take my son for movies every Sunday morning and it used to be great fun watching him getting ready in the morning, all excited.

I am a cautious shopper
I am an essential part of any shopping routine, purely to hold the bags. I am a reformed husband now. With time, I have learnt to like shopping. I value need and don't go in for anything which is not necessary. I mostly prefer branded stuff.

Hidden secrets
I love photography and sketching to a great extent. The last sketch I made was of my wife and my son, when my son was very young. I used to play the violin when I was young, but its been over 10 years since I even touched the instrument.

I always wanted to learn different languages and my dad's transferable job helped me in that. Urdu is one language I want to learn at length. I wish to read my dad's Ghalib collection.

Something that makes me go green with envy is the word "Dr" that precedes Simran's name. So, it is my dream to do a PHD in communication and have the "Dr" tag too.

Speed thrills! He wishes to touch the sky when flying high. Times Now vice president and business head Partho Dasgupta reveals his passion for speed... something which until now, only his close friends were privy to. "Speed always gave me a thrill and that's one of the reasons why I learnt how to drive at a very early age, when I ideally shouldn't have been driving," says Partho.

I inherited the thrill for speed from my dad

Part of my thrill for speed has been inherited from my father. There is an air strip near Calcutta called Barrackpore, where many races were held. It was here that Vijay Mallya used to race in a Formula 3000 in those early days. I used to attend those with my dad when I was seven and that's where I got enamoured by speed. So much so that when I was young I used to drive with pillows under me. Once I was tall enough to drive a car, I got a license.

I want to do a flying course

I harbour a dream of doing a flying course some day. Flying gives the concept of speed, a whole new dimension. But unfortunately, there are no flying courses in Mumbai and Delhi. My dream is to experience the thrill of sitting in a cockpit and flying high.

There is a lot to learn from racing

I love watching Formula 1 and sometimes my friends ask me what do I find so exciting in watching all 64 rounds of the race. To which I tell them there is always something new and exciting in each of those rounds.

There is a lot to learn from racing. It teaches you about team work and that's something we can apply in our professional lives too. In the end, there is only one champion and it is the quality of work that you put in, which ultimately decides whether you are a winner or not.

Sundays are race days

There are a lot of things that I want to do and once I have more time in my hand, I will eventually do them. With all the work pressure, one hardly gets to do these things. I have participated in some rallies earlier but never in races. Nowadays there are places where you can hire a Formula 1 car for a day and you can go on a ride with trainers.

Sundays are sacrosanct for me and I try and switch my mind off work and chill. This is when I catch up on the races.

My longest drive has been from Calcutta to Delhi

My biggest stress buster is playing with my daughter. Secondly, I also love hitting the Mumbai - Pune highway on Sunday mornings. I zoom at a speed of 160 - 170 kph and try not to think about anything at all.

My longest drive has been from Calcutta to Delhi via Agra. The total distance was about 1700 kilometers.

Driving gives me a thrill

My wife too loves to go on drives so there are times when we take off on Sunday mornings and go to Pune for lunch. Once we drove from Mahabaleshwar to Mumbai in just about six hours. It gives me a thrill.

Dad told me never to mess around on two wheelers

I have always been a responsible driver and I know when it is ok to drive fast and when it's not. My parents were never scared of my driving but my dad always told me to be careful while riding a two wheeler. I've had bad accidents on two wheelers when I was young and I was forced to leave riding.

I wish to have a sportier version of Ferrari

I drive an Innova but eventually I would love to possess a slightly sportier version of a Ferrari.

Collecting new designations as they go up the corporate ladder is something that is common to most executives. But, what many don't know is that these executives also harbor a secret passion of gathering collectibles. The most common being stamps and coins to airplane models, books, chess boards, comics, masks, rugs and paintings. Collector's Item refer to what executives like to collect, the places they acquire them from and how they nurture their interest on a regular basis.

We take a peek into Cartoon Network Enterprises India and South Asia director Jiggy George's numerous collections in a variety of items. His plush office cabin is filled with a range of Cartoon Network merchandise of Johny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter and other characters.

Apart from this, Jiggy is an avid collector of comics, coins, stamps, masks and music CDs inlays! "All of these passions have been there from a very early age. I keep collecting and the only constraint is the size of the home," he says.

In his Pune home, the first thing that one notices is the pink wall, which sports atypical masks collected from different corners of the world. Having travelled extensively to South East Asian countries, Jiggy started collecting masks as a souvenir to remind him of all the places he had visited.

"My Pune home has a collection of 35 odd masks that adorn a wall and are reminders of places travelled to. Besides, they are works of art from Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Nepal and even from Kerala and Orissa," he says.

While he makes it a point to pick up masks from every country that he visits, his friends too have now started adding to his collection. "Sri Lanka is one country that I have yet to visit. But recently, one of my friends brought me a mask from there as he knows about my collection," he says.

What's more, Jiggy has a penchant to collect comics too. "I also am huge collector of comics and that explains my love for animation! I have the complete series of M.A.D., TinTin, Asterix, Amar Chitra Katha and Calvin & Hobbes. I also have many Justice League comics and a few Dilberts, Gary Larsons and Baby Blues Books. All in all, they tot up to some 500 odd books," he reveals proudly.

He also has a coin and stamp collection, some of which were given to him by father. But Jiggy says that these two collections have been stacked away in albums for a long time now. "I haven't added to the collection lately. As far as stamps are concerned, I own special collection of around 3000 stamps of India and Africa. I have about 100 odd coins including some rare ones that I hope will work for me as my retirement pension. These, I have been collecting as a child and even used to exchange them with like minded school friends," he says.

An unusual passion Jiggy has is that of collecting CD inlays. "Music is my other love. An anachronism in the days of digital music, but I love inlays! I see it as an art and love to read the lyrics, the credit list and any additional information that is on it. To the extent that I have also bought books on inlays and found them very interesting. I have a collection of 2000 odd CD's, which is an eclectic mix of rock, jazz and world music," he says.

Zubin Driver, Head - Creative and Promos, TV18 Group tells us that his dad was an avid reader and he was the one who introduced Zubin to reading at a very early age.

"We have a big library at our ancestral home and our tastes in books are very similar. He had a huge collection of books in literature, fiction including many American and British authors, and even some on anthropology. My taste in books is very eclectic and I have a number of favourites."

Jorge Luis Borges is a great writer

My favourite author is a South American author Jorge Luis Borges. He worked as a librarian and specialises in short stories. Among my other favourites are French author and philosopher Albert Camus and Milan Kundera.

Camus' The Plague is a well written book on a plague epidemic in the Algerian city of Oran. It is a deep metaphor about the way we live and about people losing and gaining hope.

I find something interesting in every book

Personally, I've hardly found a book that does not interest me except for a stray few that might have put me off as the author made no effort to hold the reader's interest.

Self-help books are ridiculous

Self-help books are in itself a huge con deal. I find the concept very funny. Firstly, they are constantly trying to sell the idea that people are not good enough, so there is a huge pressure on people to buy their books.

According to me, it is bull shit! I don't read them at all and do not recommend them to anybody. In fact, I consider these books dangerous as they taint people's minds. For example, people with psychological problems should visit a doctor rather than reading self help books which end up making them feel even worse.

Earlier I used to spend a handsome amount on books

My passion for books have led me to build my collection. I have a thousand odd books at home. Earlier, I used to spend a handsome amount on books, but now I have cut down on it. I literally have to be pulled out of a book or music store to resist the urge to pick up more. However, I do pick up books when I travel and manage to finish them in a day.

I read four to five books at a time

At present, I am reading a really weird book called, Die Blendung (Auto-da-F?) by a Bulgarian author - Canetti. Though bizarre, it has been written quite well by this unknown writer.

I read at least four to five books at a time. I keep jumping from one book to another and a serious book takes ages for me to complete. Paperbacks, on the other hand, are a fast read. I'm like an owl as I mostly read at night after 10:30 pm.

It took me almost two years to complete my first book

Currently, I am occupied putting together a book of short stories. The book is all about what happens in people's minds, their thought processes and dreams. It is more on the psychological side and not quite a narrative.

The title of the book is still undecided. I have been working on this book for the last two years and haven't spoken much about it. Hoping to publish it soon, the book is extremely important and close to my heart.

"Sports was an integral part of my daily routine when I was young. I used to spend six hours a day playing hockey and basketball; I went diving and was also involved in gymnastics. In fact, it was with my sheer determination and hard work that I was able to become India's second best diver. I also played hockey for the state of Delhi. I put in my best and when you do that, you are bound to excel. On the other hand, while I was actively involved in sports, studies never took a back seat and I always excelled in school. In the 12th standard, I decided to stick to my priority as I was interested in taking up sports as a career. I started devoting a couple of hours to sports everyday, but looking at the future prospects in the field at that point in time, I later decided to do engineering," says One Alliance senior vice president sales and marketing Gurjeev Singh Kapoor.

Set Discovery is doing very well

After completing my engineering, I worked in Mirrlees Blackstone for two years and then did a two year management course from FMS. In 1995, I joined ESPN where I was the head of sales for the northern region. At that time, I got an offer to join Zee International in South Africa for a brief six months project. But, I ended up working with them for a year. I quit as I didn't see further growth in my career by shifting base from India to South Africa. Also, I was very keen on moving to London as I thought it have better growth prospects but things with Zee did not materialise.

In 1999, I joined Discovery, where I was handling sales for the north region for the first six months and within a year, I was heading all India sales.

In 2002, Set Discovery was formed and I was absorbed there. By God's grace, the company is doing extremely well and our revenues are five times than what Sony and Discovery would generate as separate companies.

My parents are my mentors
My folks are very simple. My dad used to guide me constantly at every step in my life. He always showed the two sides of a coin -- the good and the bad. It was he, who told me how important studies were and whatever I am today, I owe it to him. Since sports doesn't have a lot of prospects in our country, I thank my dad for pushing me to study harder. It was with his guidance that I was able to choose a career.

My school, Modern School in Delhi, has taught me a lot. I believe that overall development is very important for a child's holistic growth. I am also proud to be a product of the Delhi College of Engineering and FMS.

Gunpraveen and I started dating each other in 1990

My wife, Gunpraveen was my junior in school. We started dating in 1990, when I was in college. She became an air hostess and her job took her all around the world. We tied the knot in 1995. We have a six year old son Dev and a two and half year old daughter Bani.

I am a pucca Punjabi at heart

I love to eat anything that tastes good. The list of my favourite cuisine is endless -- South Indian, Thai, Chinese, Continental... I can go on! Before I settled in Mumbai, I never really had a palate for fish but now I have acquired a taste for pomfret cooked by my wife. I also love mussels.

There are a few restaurants which I frequently visit. Some of them are - Mangi Ferra, Mainland China, Lemon Grass, Urban Tadka, Myst and Papa Pancho. Nando's, which is a chain of restaurants from South Africa is also one of my favourites. The spicy chicken there is just fabulous and out of the world.

I've heard that those who like eating, can cook well. Though I've never tried my hand at cooking, I'm sure I will be able to cook well some day.

Gymming Session

As I have a healthy appetite, I need to work out strenuously. I am at the gym daily for at least an hour and a half. I work out at the Nautilus gym, which is a hop away from my house. It has all the facilities along with a good set of trainers and dieticians. But, I hardly listen to them!

No matter how much I try, I can never go on a diet as it's just not my cup of tea. Gymming is fine with me but, yoga is something that I've never got into. Even after knowing its advantages, I feel that as long as one is fit and can afford going to the gym, one should. I prefer involving myself in sporting activities rather than meditating.

Even today, whenever I get a chance I play basketball. I am also considered a good batsman in our One Alliance cricket team, though I only played galli cricket as a child!

'God Father' was a very gripping book

I don't really get the time to read anything apart from business magazines. The last book I remember reading was Mario Puzo's God Father. It is a gripping book and has been my best read ever. I do try and grab some management books like those by Shiv Khera.

Annual vacation with my family is a must

I travel a lot... both for work and leisure. I've been to a whole lot of places spanning most continents except South America, which I would like to visit someday.

Apart from work related trips, I make it a point to take a 10 day break with my family to an exotic location. My last holiday was in London and it was the most memorable vacation I have ever had with my entire family, including my parents. London is a beautiful place and the people there are extremely warm and helpful.

Another holiday that is fresh in my mind was the one I had in Australia, where we had stayed in a beach house. The Gold Coast bike ride Down Under was one of the most exciting rides. For me, Australia was an awesome place to be in as I love driving. We had rented a car and drove all around.

Sikkim and Gangtok are nice places to visit too because of their scenic beauty. Apart from that, South Africa is also one of the most exotic and beautiful place I've been to.

Kasauli is another favourite place as it is very quiet and beautiful, one that is commercially untouched.

In December, Goa beckons. My kids and I love beaches and therefore freak out in water. The moment my daughter touches water, it's impossible to pull her out.

I am an impulsive shopper

I don't shop frequently but whenever I do, I splurge. I am a bit brand conscious... by that I mean I don't really compromise on quality. My favourite brands are Marks & Spencer, Provogue and Allen Solly.

I love gizmos and I would love to buy the latest technology. Even if that's not possible all the time, I try and keep abreast with the latest. My cell is the latest model from Sony Ericsson and I use a Sony Vaio laptop.

I love driving and while I drive a Corolla at present, I do wish to buy a BMW some day.

We miss our Delhi friends

My wife and I used to be regulars on the party circuit in Delhi but now that craze has waned. We miss our Delhi friends and more over, in Mumbai, one hardly gets time to make new friends.

My beliefs

I believe that God is within us and is the supreme power. There is nothing in this world that can stand in front of him. I visit the Gurudwara every Sunday without fail.

I am always ready to take up challenges and don't give up until it is done. I believe if you work hard, are true and put in your best, things will happen. Moreover, if you're determined and think you can; you can!

The countdown has begun. Nine days to go until we know the winner of the Fifa World Cup 2006, which is currently underway in Germany. All thanks to media proliferation in India, the hype for football has never been as much as it is this time round.

While cricket still rules in the hearts of our top industry honchos; football has now managed to carve a niche for itself. What's more, many executives have either already been to Germany or are on their way there to catch the action live as it happens.

However, what better than mixing work with pleasure and that's what people like Sam Balsara (Madison Communications chairman and managing director), G Krishnan (TV Today CEO and executive director), Uday Shankar (Star News CEO), I Venkat (Eenadu TV director), Srinivasan K. Swamy (RK Swamy BBDO CEO), Madhukar Kamath (Mudra Communications managing director and CEO), Vinod Berry (Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India Ltd. senior vice president revenue management) and Joy Chakraborthy (Zee Telefilms executive vice president network sales) will be doing today (30 June).

The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) have their joint body meeting in Hamburg today and the Indian television and media team will head to the stadium to catch the Italy versus Ukraine match soon after wrapping up work. (We'll surely be watching out for them on television tonight!)

Now let's take a dekhho at what games drives our industry. Ever wondered what do Star India CEO Peter Mukherjea and SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta have in common apart from each being the head of a television company? Here's what? they both love to play golf. But since we're kicking a bigger ball here, let's find out what their football mantra is.

Peter Mukherjea

While Dasgupta went to Germany to catch the Brazil versus Japan match, Mukherjea, on the other hand, despite having tickets for the semi-finals, is not too keen on going all the way!

"I do like football but I am not keen on going all the way to Germany for the matches even though I got the tickets for the semi-finals. I enjoyed the Brazil versus Ghana match, though the result was expected. I do catch up with most of the matches keeping aside the late night matches," says Mukherjea.

Dasgupta is gung ho over his experience in Germany. "The experience of watching the teams live is just awesome and amazing. My all time favorite team is Brazil but this time Portugal is gaining my attention. As far as players are concerned, there is no one who stands out this time but my favorite player is Miroslav Klose from Germany," he says.

However, both Dasgupta and Mukherjea believe that Germany stands a good chance to steal the show this time round as home ground and home crowd support plays a vital role.

Raveena Raj Kohlli

Sundial Creative Media Pvt. Ltd founder Raveena Raj Kohlli loves watching cricket, football and Wimbledon. "All the hype around football is because of great marketing and excellent presentation. It is a fresh and lively game. Even a person who does not know much about the game can watch and enjoy the matches," she says.

However, she regrets the fact that she can't go to Germany to catch the matches there unlike some of her peers. "Many of my friends did catch up with the matches there and according to them the place is unbelievably boisterous. The stadium is jam packed with people from all walks of life, enjoying, shouting and freaking out," she adds.

Commitments at work have even deprived Kohlli of watching most of the matches on TV. "I was not even lucky enough to catch up with the Brazil-Ghana match, which I wished to watch desperately. Of the others, I could hardly view a few. The Australia-Italy match was an awesome one," she

says. But she's adamant that she's not going to let anything deter her from watching the finale on 9 July.

Times Now vice president and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami is another one of those die hard cricket fans but has been bent towards football lately, more likely due to the fatigue factor that has been surrounding cricket.

"People are hardly interested in the test series going on in West Indies after the Fifa World Cup began. They have sort off switched to a new game, which is more lively and exciting. It is also because of the cable and satellite penetration that the game is getting such hype. Even the news channels are doing two to three shows a day analyzing football and are neglecting cricket to a great extent," he says.

Due to incessant work demands, Goswami literally lives life in his office and hence catches all the matches there with the Times Now sports bureau. But the news man is now going to leave his abode and head to Europe to catch one of the matches - not in the stadium but in a London pub! "I was looking forward to the Brazil- Ghana match but it was a total disappointment. I was quite impressed with Ghana though but it has ruined my expectations," sighs Goswami.

Lynn de Souza

Goswami, like all Indians, is backing Brazil and his favourite player is Ronaldo. "I feel Germany and Brazil will reach the finals as many factors like local support and good performance count a lot for the two teams," he says.

A tennis player and a fan of the game (of course), Lintas Media Services director Lynn de Souza is clued on to tennis more than football. But being in the media business, one has to be abreast with the happenings all around and that's what de Souza does. "I don't really watch the football matches but I manage to keep a track about what's happening as people around me keep me in the loop and I also read up on it," she says. However, as the drama unfolds and becomes more exciting on the field, de Souza will be glued to the television to catch the live matches. Backing Brazil, she feels that either her favourite team or Argentina will grab the Cup this year.

She is of the opinion that because India did not play too well in the cricket World Cup, the viewership has drifted towards football. "Matches are being telecast in the primetime slots and this is affecting the regular viewership. This shows what a hype football has taken all of a sudden. The kind of promotion newspapers are giving Fifa is tremendous. Something of this sort has never happened before," de Souza says.

Here we have another die hard cricket fan in Buena Vista International Television (India) director Amit Malhotra but at the same time, he likes football too and prefers to watch it in a pub or bar with some like-minded people.

Malhotra feels that the sudden bent towards football is a combination of a few factors. "One of them is the way India performed in the last Cricket World Cup and also because we've had an overdose of cricket in the past four years. What's more, media is also giving hype to this cause. In the next two - three years football will be a very popular sport in India," he says.

Patronizing Argentina just this once, Malhotra (whose favourite team is Brazil) is looking forward to the Germany - Argentina match. "In the past, Brazil - Japan match was just too engrossing. The first goal made by Japan was heart-taking. My heart supports Brazil to all extents as the team is very talented. My all time favorite player is Ronaldinho as he rocks. I feel Brazil is definitely going to grab the Cup because it is the best and the most consistent team. It is one team, which plays without any pressure on their mind. They are the ones who enjoy the game to the fullest," says he.

Keertan Adhyantaya

Cricket has a fan club member in Vh1 general manager Keertan Adhyantaya too, who is of the opinion that no other game can create the fervor that cricket generates in India. "It's just the explosion done by the media that football is getting such hype. A few years ago, there were hardly two news channels and those too were not giving it so much of importance. But now with the phenomenal development in the cable and satellite industry, every sport is managing to find its place under the sun," he says.

However, notwithstanding that Adhyantaya has managed to latch on to the football fever with family, friends and colleagues. "For the finals, I will be going out with a few friends to a club and watch the event on the big screen," he reveals.

While his favorite team is Portugal, his gut tells him that Brazil will be taking the cake this time too.

So whether it's Brazil, Portugal, Argentina or Germany; one thing's for sure? however much our execs might love cricket? they are all clued on to football fever for sure!