Health, holiday, happiness and more: Diwali wish list of India Inc honchos

The first big Diwali after the pandemic has industry leaders approaching the festival in a contemplative mood

It’s a question not many business honchos appear to have given much thought to. So, when you ask them, “What would you like to gift yourself this Diwali?”, first comes laughter and then pensive silence. “Gift myself? That will require some thinking,” many of them reply.

While they may still indulge in luxuries like high-end cars, watches or prized artworks, what many eventually share is a wish list of intangibles: a gift of laughter, a long-overdue holiday, more family time, better health, mental serenity — and clean air.

Though things have been looking up since humankind emerged from the pandemic, the Covid years have left their mark. For Ajay Bijli, the man behind India’s multiplex story, the pandemic years proved to be the toughest test of resilience, with cinema among the industries hardest hit. Now, as blockbusters bring the sparkle back to the screen and multiplexes express bullish sentiment, the managing director of PVR Inox is approaching the festive season on a contemplative note. “I would like this Diwali to be gifted with more mental equanimity,” he says, “to be able to handle with composure and grace any ups or curveballs that one encounters in life.”

R C Bhargava, the 89-year-old chairman of Maruti Suzuki, says at this stage of his life, he has no personal desire or need for anything material or intangible. But he does feel that “our nation has underutilised the enormous potential that we have, and as a result, the masses of our people are not able to enjoy the economic benefits that they should have had access to by now”.  His wish is for this to “change rapidly and for a far more prosperous and equitable society to develop”.

With two Indian cities – national capital Delhi and financial capital Mumbai – grappling with dangerously high levels of pollution, electric ride-sharing firm BluSmart’s Co-founder and CEO Anmol Singh Jaggi says, “This Diwali, the only gift that matters is to be able to breathe clean air.”

A breath of fresh air, albeit through change of place, is also on the wish list of Royal Enfield CEO B Govindarajan. He’d like to gift himself “a five-day break from my hectic schedule, at the Himalayas, riding our new (Royal Enfield) Himalayan”.

Mohit Burman, chairman, Dabur India, wants to do the exact opposite. “With the Religare hullabaloo surrounding us, the best gift I can give myself is spend time with my parents and family,” he says.

Zorawar Kalra, founder and MD of Massive Restaurants, which owns Pa Pa Ya, Masala Library and Farzi Café, has been travelling most year. “So this Diwali, I plan to stay home for an extended period of time.” Post-Diwali, though, he intends to go on a short trip with his family “before work takes over again". 

With a baby boy as the latest addition to the family and a four-year-old daughter, Jindal Stainless MD Abhyuday Jindal says he has already got his biggest gifts. The wish is now to be a loving, empowering parent.

Besides family time, the gift of health is high on the list of many industry leaders. “We think Diwali is a time for celebration, and celebration means indulgence. I’ve changed my perspective,” says Ameera Shah, promoter and MD, Metropolis Healthcare. “It’s a time to celebrate by celebrating my healthy body.”

Venkatasamy Jagannathan, founder of India’s first standalone health insurance firm, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company, lists two other gifts he intends to give himself, besides “best of health”. More knowledge through reading, and learning from the younger generation, “who are more efficient, informative and tech-savvy”, says Jagannathan, who, at 79, is raring to launch another insurance-related venture.

The shift to remote work during the pandemic gave some the time to reinvest in themselves. Mayank Kumar, co-founder and MD of edtech unicorn upGrad, for instance, went back on the track to train for marathons. The celebrations this year, he says, are a reminder to stay invested in fitness and well-being to boost focus and productivity. That’s a gift he wants to extend to peers and colleagues through encouragement.

The pandemic also brought to the fore the fragility of things. Sustainable living and the concept of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing became more than fashionable talk. With climate experts warning that the planet has reached a tipping point, Dilip Jose, MD and CEO of Manipal Hospitals, says “…the yearning is for a harmonious, peaceful coexistence with all life forms and collective camaraderie”.

Also playing on the minds are geo-political conflicts and macroeconomic uncertainties. So, Meghna Agarwal, cofounder, co-working firm IndiQube, wishes for peaceful coexistence, and Manas Mehrotra, founder, 315Work Avenue, also a co-working space provider, wishes for a gift of “hearty, genuine laugh” – the kind of unselfconscious, frequent laughter children enjoy.

With their firms as their focus, some business leaders are looking to gift themselves something that would benefit their company. For instance, “a workplace culture that values employee welfare, well-being and professional development,” says Grishma Reddy, executive director of real estate developer Concorde. Or mindfulness, which helps acknowledge the “good qualities of those around me, and acceptance and understanding of their shortcomings,” says Shashank Srivastava, senior executive officer, marketing and sales, Maruti.

Sanjeev Singh, CEO, CMS IT Services, looks at enabling the IT firm to create value for its employees, customers and community as the best Diwali gift he can give himself.

For Rohit Kapoor, CEO, Food Marketplace at Swiggy, it is “the ability to provide for more animals, in addition to our pets”.

With Diwali being the peak season for the consumer electronics and durables industry, and therefore a busy time, Anand Dubey, CEO and founder, Indkal Technologies, says his wish list includes finding time to play and watch sports, especially tennis, basketball and football. This year, he says, he has decided to “train kids in my apartment in a couple of sports in which I have had a formal training”.

These industry leaders will, of course, have their share of curated gift hampers and personalised Diwali presents, but more than that, they are wishing for something that would warm their hearts.

Sohini Das, Ishita Ayan Dutt, Ayushman Baruah, Shine Jacob, Peerzada Abrar, Akshara Srivastava, Aneeka Chatterjee & Veenu Sandhu contributed to this report