Matters of the heart

Entrepreneurs on building enviable collections or fulfilling their passion amid the pressure of handling professional responsibilities

Curated By: Naini Thaker

Published: Nov 12, 2018

"I have had a longstanding interest in vintage and classic cars. As a kid, I grew up seeing Amb

Image by : Madhu Kapparath

1/5

"I have had a longstanding interest in vintage and classic cars. As a kid, I grew up seeing Ambassadors, Fiats and Standard Heralds at home. During vacations, I visited my grandparents who owned Chevrolets and Austins—classic cars, as they are now known. That meant trips to Shimla, Manali and Mussoorie. Classic cars, to me, came to symbolise freedom. Collecting them allows me to savour the glamour and finesse of these timeless treasures. These beauties have always been part royalty and part art. I now own 72 classics (acquired over 10 years), including several historic Packards, Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets, Dodges, a Pierce-Arrow, a Willys-Knight, the only Stutz in the country, an Auburn Boattail Speedster, two Rolls-Royce stunners, two Mercedes classics, two Bugatti models and the extremely rare Minerva Type AL."
- Diljeet Titus, Founder, Titus & Co

"My love for nature got me interested in creating outdoor-indoor spaces. I consider patios to b

Image by : Amit Verma

2/5

"My love for nature got me interested in creating outdoor-indoor spaces. I consider patios to be an extension of my living space to the outdoors. I love spending time with nature and patios give me spaces where I can relax with my family and friends. Every patio I have designed has a special memory associated with it. I still remember the first ever patio that I designed; it was for Spice, a restaurant in Delhi’s Garden of Five Senses. This was the time I realised I loved creating such outdoor spaces and since then, I kept working on this passion of mine.”
- Narinder Singh Dhingra, Chairman and managing director, Numero Uno

"The pursuit of pure music takes you to the vinyl. I am a third-generation vinyl collector, hav

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"The pursuit of pure music takes you to the vinyl. I am a third-generation vinyl collector, having inherited a decent collection from my grandfather and father. I grew up listening to music on the vinyl format and have always appreciated the analogue form of music recording over other formats. I have over 350 titles of which I listen to about 250 regularly. My two favourite Jagjit Singh vinyls are Mirza Ghalib and Sajda. No vinyl collection in India is complete without Nazia and Zoheb Hassan’s Disco Deewane. I am a big retro music fan and my favourites from that period are The Joshua Tree by U2, Hysteria by Def Leppard, The Works by Queen, Graceland by Paul Simon, Hotel California by The Eagles, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac and Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen."
- Swarup Mohanty, CEO, Mirae Asset Global Investments

"I’ve always been an admirer of great coffee and keep sourcing good stuff from across the

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4/5

"I’ve always been an admirer of great coffee and keep sourcing good stuff from across the world… simply because I want to have the best mug, full of coffee all the time. Once I started travelling frequently to foreign lands I realised how espressos, cappuccinos, Americanos and flat whites have such different taste from the native filter coffee I grew up having. Tchibo, Lavazza, Melitta, Kirkland and Peet’s Coffee are some other great brands you get across the world. Other than that, Colombian, Costa Rican, Ghanaian, Guatemalan, Kenyan and Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee are a delight. There is a subtle difference in the taste and aroma in each of these. But Colombian coffee is one of my favourites."
- Keshav Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS

"I have always been a great admirer of music and art. The initiative to compile this collection

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"I have always been a great admirer of music and art. The initiative to compile this collection started with an objective to preserve music in the form of artistic handcrafted jewellery; it later extended beyond music to other subjects like birds and caskets. Each piece of art has been intricately crafted using a unique union of gold, kundan & polki, diamonds and gemstones keeping every minute detail, finesse and proportion in line with the real instrument or an object."
- Sanjay Kothari, Vice chairman, KGK Group