The life of a senior executive can mean intense pressure and working very strange hours. For this one-time Sony senior executive who was transferred from America to India, it still means talking to business associates in that country at 2 am India time. It also means Sunder Aaron wakes up between 9 am and 10 am, does some work at home, walks the dog and then plans his day.
Sunder these days is an entrepreneur in Goa having established a rotisserie named Chicken Man and Pizza Mia a place where they serve New York style pizza. Of course he still has his business interests in the film industry. He hopes to shoot a horror film in Goa for the International market this year and yes it will be set in an old Portuguese house.
Sunder likes to maintain a level of fitness and hits the machines three times a week. He runs 5 to 7 miles on the machine at the Marriott. The other days he plays basketball or badminton if he has the time. He eats a very light lunch and then its work again. Decisions have to be made everyday regarding the two outlets which take up time followed by a few hours of rest leading up to dinner. Then it’s time for the late calls to the US followed by bed time.
Sunder may possess a very lean frame, no doubt thanks to the running, but he likes his food. He likes the chicken served at his outlet not only because its healthy but also it is the way he likes it. He enjoys visiting Bomra’s in the north, Matsia in Arambol and then places like Pinto, Florentine and Sensei. As a senior executive in the entertainment industry, he has the opportunity to travel extensively. He used to visit the south of France quite regularly during his tenure at Sony and yes he goes back to Los Angeles to meet business associates and family. He has been visiting Bali on holiday for a decade now. He goes home to the US three times a year to meet family and friends.
Like many people of his generation his taste in music is quite eclectic. He listens to different genres with led Zep, Beatles and the regular classic bands that caught his fancy. Sunder has a real affinity for the Brit bands of the 80s and 90s which he said had an interesting burst of music. Of course techno and lounge leaves him quite cold. He bemoaned the fact that at one point of time the launch of an album by a band was a major event and that was now sadly missing with music being commoditised.
Sunder likes reading fiction and non-fiction and is presently reading Jerry Pinto’s Em And The Big Hoom. He bemoans the fact, the various activities he is involved in makes it difficult for him to read more. He turned his back on the organised life of the corporate world to travel more, to do things that moved him and to march to his own beat so to speak.
Asked where he saw himself in five years he smiled and said ”I see myself splitting time between the US and Goa and yes still working in the film world. I would like to watch the business expand. I would like to stay in Goa which is far more pleasant to live in than Mumbai.
Sunder knows his onions and would like to make a distinct mark for himself in the cultural landscape of the world. And yes, all on his own terms.
