1 The job: I have liked different things about my job at different points in time. When I first started, getting to see different places and exploring new destinations was fascinating. Today, I love being an integral part of this dynamic industry. Innovating one?s style of selling products is what I like the most now. Initially, it was the drive of pushing our business. Now, it is more about how we are growing our business effectively.
Personally, I do not like the aspect of beating a price. I feel travel is something you cannot, or shouldn?t buy cheap. It is something that is truly personal and is going to stay with you for the rest of your life. Ideally, people should not be being ?cheap holidays?. Unfortunately, the travel industry is going the ?best deal? way and becoming more like a shopping mall. Looking for the best deal on air tickets and hotels is sensible. However, the larger dreams are aspirational in nature and should not be based on the cheapest deal. There is more to travel than a price war.
2 The weekdays: I like to start my day early. There are certain key projects that require uncompromising attention and need to be dealt with at a specific time, before I get on with the usual routine. Most of my time in office is spent in meetings, both internal and external. I particularly look forward to the monthly business review meetings because it is the core and gets you closer to your bread and butter. I enjoy interacting with the team. I do not get to do customer and supplier meetings as much as I would like, but whenever I do, I enjoy it thoroughly.
3 The weekend: My weekend is busier than my weekday! I have been an ardent follower of Buddhism for over 20 years. This helps me get a lot of ?me? time, which is just as important as spending quality family time. As and when time permits, I listen to music, catch up on a good movie with my son or indulge in some retail therapy. I love reading as well. On some weekends, I also love to get away with close friends on a girls? night out
4 The toys: Fancy gadgets do not appeal to me at all. I could easily do away with my phone and laptop if need be, without feeling handicapped. I like interacting with people one-on-one rather than through the use of technology.
5 The logos: I choose comfort over brand on any given day. There are a very select set of shops that I go to, and have been going to for the longest time. No matter how many shops open up in a mall, I still go to the same shop.
?As told to Banasree Purkayastha