“My ideal is a Renaissance mind.”
Driven by inner urge and enabled by opportunities, I have explored multiple subjects and working areas. At TCS, where I worked for 10 years, I created intelligence from publicly available information for the CEO and Business heads, providing both tactical and strategic intelligence. At Business India and The Economic Times, where I spent my time in business journalism, I had a tremendous breadth of writing and editing work. I have written extensively on banking & finance, infrastructure, taxation, among other subjects. At Schoolnet India Limited, I had the opportunity to manage software projects and work on knowledge management. At The JN Tata Endowment and Tata Trusts, I launched and managed many scholarships.
If an individual is a sum of skills and knowledge, I am an amalgam of skills in Analysis & Interpretation, Financial analysis and Valuation, Painstaking research into trends in ICT and their implications, Visualizing and organizing new avenues. An open mind is an absorbing mind and lets you develop more out of yourself than otherwise possible.
This attitude is what has helped me teach a range of subjects and at various levels. I have been fortunate to have taught students from London A Level to final CA and CFA. Subjects from Economics to undergraduate students, Statistics for FY B Com students, Financial & Management Accounting and Financial Management for Commerce students up to Final CA and the CFA (US). I didn’t know some of the subjects which I taught when I started teaching them. I guess I learnt better since I had to teach, developing what I call an active understanding. I brought the same attitude to interviewing students for scholarships, preparing for every student, whatever the subject be. And this has made me a more rounded person than I would have been.
I have directed and acted in plays and used that experience in conceptualizing, designing and managing events during my work.
I had the good fortune to research and do the basic writing for a book on Ramnath Goenka, the promoter of The Indian Express.
If there is one thing I have been frightened of, it is stagnation. The only way to ensure you never fall into this swamp is to keep exploring, never resting on your laurels. This is what explains the breadth of my working life.
I will be always grateful for the opportunities that came my way which encouraged me to seek other opportunities. The combination has worked well so far.
I hope they will continue to work as I explore opportunities to work in Research, Venture capital & Consultancy, Non-profit sector, where I could use my skills in a holistic manner.