Waqar Naqvi of Taurus AMC shares his interests and hobbies beyond business with Cafemutual
What is your routine before and after office hours on a working day? How do you manage to spare time for your family and yourself on weekdays?
Earlier, I used to have a healthy routine where I used to either cycle or jog daily, after which I used to read at least one business newspaper. But lately, the exercise part of my routine has become very erratic; so I read a newspaper before leaving for office.
What is your routine on weekends?
On weekends, I usually spend time with my family and catch up with some reading. On some weekends, we also invite some friends over or go to their place.
Almost every weekend there are some pending work at home and that consumes some time. Since we do have friends in quite a few cities, once a month we try to make a visit to a family outside Mumbai as well.
How many breaks do you take in a year?
Generally, two breaks a year.
Where do you prefer to go in India or outside and why? What is your ideal vacation like?
We are always very happy and keen to travel within India and abroad. There are too many good locations within India including historic, religious, forests, beaches, mountains, deserts etc.
We try to cover one location in India every year and one abroad. An ideal vacation for me is to be in the interiors of a dense forest for 3 to 5 days. Nothing quite beats having food cooked in the guest house or in the village, going out for morning walks, sightseeing, spotting wild life and being just in peace with nature. I don’t mind if the guest house we are staying in does not have electricity - candles and lanterns are fine with me.
Gazing at the sky line full of stars and listening to the wild life and insects in the dead of the night is a soothing experience which takes you away from the pressures of the urban life temporarily. Fishing is another experience, which I enjoy.
What are your major interests and passions)?
I love reading, sometimes business books but otherwise my favourite genre is history and jungle books are my favourites. I am happy reading comics as well - Tintin and Asterix are my favourites and I can read them over and over again!
Music, yes - preferably Hindi songs and ghazals. I like to watch movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime. I have tried gardening but have been a disaster at it till now – I hope to get better with time!
Which is your favorite cuisine and the dish that you enjoy the most? Which is your favorite restaurant?
The good old Indian khichdi (when cooked with lot of spices and served hot) and the great potato samosa are my two favourites. Other than khichdi, I am perfectly at ease with all Indian foods including south Indian, Maharashtrian, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujrati, Chinese (Indian Chinese not Chinese Chinese), Japanese, Thai, Italian, continental etc. But what stands out is vegetarian Maharashtrian food and some dishes of the Mughlai cuisine. Listing one favourite restaurant is difficult because I like street food as well fine dining. Yet, Dum Phukt at ITC Maratha will rank very high on my list.
Which is your favorite drink or cocktail?
I am not a fan of cocktails. I prefer the plain green or Darjeeling tea without milk and without sugar or espresso coffee.
Tell us about any cause that is close to your heart and your involvement in it
My family had, in 2015 floated a non-profit organisation in the form of a company named Friends of Forces Foundation with the aim of helping the dependent wives and children of the personnel of the Indian armed forces. Sadly, we could not do much about it since raising money for it was conflicting with my role in a fund house (where also the aim is to raise funds, though for the schemes) and I also realised that we as a nation have thousands of Whatsapp patriots and not many willing to shell out money for the cause.
The other venture is a trust we have recently created to put in order a few religious structures of different faiths but stand on land donated by my forefathers over the past several decades. This is work in progress.
