Vikram’s day commences at 7 O’clock when he opens his eyes to another day. Not for him the sweaty or perhaps air conditioned interiors of a gymnasium. Instead the demands of ensuring he stays healthy he does the exercise prescribed by his physiotherapist. Breakfast follows and he is then off to face the challenges of another day. Like a good man he loves music. Vikram prefers the masters. Luis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck and yes Taj Mahal. Vikram, as you might have guessed is a fan of Jazz and the Blues. In terms of reading, he does it to relax. An outdoor man he likes to go fishing on a Sunday. He loves the process involved in this most silent of pastimes. As Vikram puts it “It is quite technical and one has to also take into consideration the weather, the area one is fishing. Catching a fish is a bonus. We leave port usually from Donna Paula and we are out for usually four hours. It is a wonderful experience.” For a man who is very relaxed while speaking, it can come as a shock that he loves shooting. He has an air rifle and he has built a 15 metre shooting range at home. And yes, he trains his daughter too on this range.
Like many people from the hospitality industry he enjoys cooking. When he entertains at home on a Saturday he cooks. Every Sunday he takes the family out and Zeebop is a favourite haunt. Lunch and a day at the beach it is. When he is not entertaining at home on a Saturday, he goes out. He enjoys the fare served at Zeepbop, Leda and Mickys at Colva. He loves his fish, pork and non spicy continental food. A man of the South, he enjoys the restaurants in the South. Despite leading what is an ideal life he likes to take a break from it all. It usually happens in the summer when his daughter has her break from school.
This year they intend to go to Portugal and Spain. Last year it was Mahabalipuram and Puducherry. The year before that it was Canada and the US. Asked what kind of movies he enjoyed watching he said he was not much of a film buff and that he preferred to watch them at home, he liked his movies light.
Asked what he wanted in five years he laughed and said “I would love to stay in Goa. My company manages two five star properties and I would love to spend my life here. That’s it”. A rather simple wish, one he hopes will come true.
