Being a professional in the travel industry in Goa is not for the faint hearted. The last few years have been disappointing in terms of the number of foreign visitors coming into the state. A willingness to tough it out is but an obvious necessity. For Ernest Dias the top man of Sita a balance in life is very important.
He wakes up 5.45 and leaves the house at 6.15 for a walk that takes him an hour. To add some more weight to that work out he plays possibly the sport that takes a lot out one body, squash twice a week at the Taj village. This is then followed by breakfast and he is in the office at 9.15 or latest 9.30 then follows the usual travails of the day that involves taking to people all over the world and negotiating deals. He believes he works better in the morning.
Like any good Goan he loves good old Konkani music and country western. The stories told in these tales, he finds most interesting. Like many senior executives he does not usually find the time to read but he never fails to read the news magazine India today. It gives him a complete rundown of the developments in the political, finance and sports world. With regards to movies, he does not have the time and usually watches movies in flight.
Like many travellers Ernest loves his food. Not for him the vegetarian fare, he is in fact insistent that his Delhi office serve him non vegetarian food when he in that office. It has to be remembered that the office only serves vegetarian fare to his senior executives. As he puts it” I don’t fancy vegetarian food”. He loves his fish curry and rice but is also a connoisseur of Greek food. In Goa he enjoys going over to Zeebop and likes eating at Olive in Mumbai. Gurgaon which is a cyber-hub offers a variety of cuisines which he likes to dig in.
As a senior executive in the travel industry he does move around. His favourite place is undoubtedly London which he visits quite regularly. Recently he spent a week in that city. The pressures on a senior corporate executive can have quite an effect and it is perhaps not surprising he would like to hopefully visualise a rather mellow pace. In five years he would like to take more holidays and relax. One hopes it is a situation he finds himself in five years.
