Have you ever considered how much time it would take for you to be amongst the top 0.5% earners in India? Find out here!
Name an instance where you wanted something and went out of your comfort zone to achieve it OR Tell us the biggest risk you have taken so far in your life.
A firm believer in stoic philosophy, I am certain that comfort ruins one's life. To that extent, I have always tried to stretch myself wherever I could: Public speaking, strenuous PORs, cold showers, & competing with the smartest. This has all only brought out the best of me, much more than wishful positive thinking would have ever done. This habit was inculcated early on in myself due to circumstances more than books. Going back to my childhood, I was most comfortable at my home, safe. I looked at myself and saw the state I am in and I needed to change it: I didn't want to be a coddled child in the comfort of my parents. That's why I decided to upend my life when I completed my tenth grade. I decided to attend a boarding school in Dehradun to change everything I am accustomed to and develop 'individuality & perspective.' However, when I started my journey in education: it was difficult beyond belief: strict teachers, no parental guidance (we were allowed to talk at home for 3 minutes every two weeks), and sleepless nights. But in the background, it was coalescing, and I did change. My outlook toward life did change. This was the zone right between boredom and frustration. The self-reliance and confidence surge that this experience bought me cannot be compared or contrasted with any other experience in my life. And everyone must give themselves an experience that makes life difficult for a while but also stretches their understanding of who they are and what they are capable of. Post these two years, almost everyone who knew me closely observed a tremendous change in me. I became more outspoken and action-oriented and achieved things I could not have done otherwise. I inculcated new hobbies and habits, learned to socialise more, and increased accountability toward myself.
When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act?
I volunteered with Indian Development Foundation (IDF) (An UN recognised NGO that aims to improve health and education in India) to work on educating children. I attended a 3-day training program about the curriculum and things to be mindful of. Groups were formed to be sent to different schools. Each group was assigned a senior mentor, a group leader, and two associates. The senior mentor was an experienced person who has completed the program multiple times. When our program started, however, The senior mentor had to back out. Since this was sudden, I volunteered to lead the 2-month course in a class with 50+ students.Initially, I was apprehensive if we would be able to handle it or foster a connection with the students. So in the initial classes, our primary objective was to get the students comfortable with us while still having authority. We decided to move ahead with the training only once this is established. Socialisation was usually in the form of stories and jokes (Some of which went absolutely flat). Soon the children grew comfortable with us, and we taught them soft skills, the English language, and career choices, among other things. At the end of the program, the children, with team's help, also prepared performances on singing, dancing, mimicry, or poetry, which involved the entire class. This performance was presented at the school's annual day, where IDF's CEO was invited as the chief guest.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl said in his book 'Man's search for meaning': "For the world's in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best."I find it appalling that people from all walks of life harbour hatred and animosity towards religion and caste differences. At the end of the day, we have the same human skin and have almost similar aspirations and challenges. Yet we continue to divide ourselves amongst philosophies that only exist to unite us. Among many instances, individuals around me, including, ironically, my friends, have decided to malign & look down upon any specific religion or caste they consider inferior. Most of the time, they have not even developed these opinions from their first-hand experience. They have gotten this hatred passed on to them. In any such instance, I have tried to understand their viewpoint, engage with it and give them a reason to rethink their standpoint from a logical and informed opinion. While this may not convince naysayers immediately, it is much better than staying mum in the hope of keeping a relationship intact. No trusted relationship can prevent you from speaking your opinion. In time, logic comes around and has the ability to convince the hardest disbelievers.I hope that people who read this take active action and call out individuals the next time they hear discriminatory remarks, even in jest.
What is the one thing you can claim to have some level of expertise or depth of knowledge in - it could be anything - a subject, a sport, a hobby, a venture, an initiative that has led you to do deep work in that field?
Driven by the passion for learning and experimenting continuously, I have tried many things, from running marathons to volunteering to debate and business competitions. Fortunately, it's been a greatly rewarding & growing experience for me. This is evident from the fact that I have received 25+ podium finishes in the above activities. But for a brief time, I believed intelligence is the truest ability.Since the 8th grade, I viewed Chess as a proxy for intelligence. Whether it was the depiction of Chess as a game of the noble & royal or Viswanathan Anand making waves around the world. I was and am particularly inspired by 'The grandmaster experiment' in which Laszlo Polgar, a Hungarian chess teacher and educational psychologist, hypothesised that geniuses are not born; they are made: To prove his point, Polgr taught his three daughters chess and made them compete at the highest level, and so they did: decimating opponents with far more experience and knowledge. All 3 became world-class chess players. I started playing the game and became fascinated with it. I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost into the game for hours together: playing with everyone, and learning through podcasts and tutorials daily; it opened up a new world. Soon, I started watching documentaries and studying top games for hours by myself. It wasn't long before I started playing in my college tournaments. I played against people of all ages, from teenagers to 70+-year-old chess veterans. Winning enthralled me, and even losing was a fun and learning experience. It helped me analyse my mistakes and do course corrections to stop myself from being in the delusion of competence. The thing I liked most about Chess is its objectivity: The implications and results of your strategy are clear and immediate. My best memory of Chess is representing HR College of Mumbai when I played at table 1.1 (top players table) in the Mumbai University Chess tournament '2020 and went on to defeat my opponent, something I only dreamt of 2 years ago.My team applauded my efforts, and I couldn't stop smiling.
If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use it any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?
Firstly, I hope it is 'earned' rather than 'given' to me. When it's a given, the spending is reckless & money disappears faster than one can get a hold of it. I would use 25% of the corpus to propel the family business and close all business, personal, and student debts.I hail from Mumbai, where real estate rates are one of the highest in India, and owning a home is seen as the classic middle-class dream. With 25% of it, I would purchase three houses in an upscale locality & a cabin in the woods. Among the houses, one would be used for me & my family, and I would give out the other two places for rent. The rental income would give my family a safety cushion, a sense of belonging, and the ability to explore without the pressure of contributing to family income.I would earmark 20% of the funds for an Ed-tech start-up, being a big believer that we can leverage technology to make education far better and improve learning for millions of students. Having a start-up was also one of the reasons I decided to take up an MBA.The other 20% will be used for building and maintaining a state-of-the-art public library with free access to all. This is because of the impact that books and learning have had on my life, and this project would encourage people to learn & grow themselves.The remaining 10% would be stored in liquid investments for future exigencies.
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As per government tax payers' data and our assessment, only about 6,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn an annual 'salaried' income of INR 30 lacs or above. And only 11,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn a 'total' income of INR 30 lacs or more.
Have you ever considered how much time it would take for you to be amongst these top 0.5% earners in India? Find out here!
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