Candida Moraes

The future fascinates him, travel invigorates him and history captivates him. But that's not all. Discover the many facets of Ajoy Misra

At work he is focused on building the business but at leisure he is a man of different hues. Hiding behind the calm facade, lurks the person in a tearing hurry to learn, read and experience more before the sands of time run out. Meet Ajoy Misra, the quintessential man on the move.

All work and all play
For someone who has been working in a 5-star luxury environment 24/7 for more than 25 years now, Misra craves the simple pleasures of a home cooked meal and comfortable clothes. "I am always in and out of a luxury environment which involves a certain lifestyle and interacting with highfliers. This creates some pressures for which I find outlets outside the workplace," he explains. "For me, going home is all about creating an antithesis of my work-induced environment." At work he is always impeccably dressed, exuding a suave corporate image; away from work, one is most likely to find him in a pair of shorts walking along the busy streets of Mumbai, observing life as it unfolds in this megapolis.

Misra joined Indian Hotels in the corporate sales and marketing department in June 1980, after completing a year in TAS, and has since made a success of selling Taj Hotels. He switched to managing hotels in May 1992 before coming back to the sales and marketing function in March 1998. As always, in his current assignment as the senior vice-president, sales and marketing, he enjoys working with people and spending time with them. "The people dimension of business both internally as well as externally excites me." He likes to study people in terms of their behaviour and believes it helps in getting insights about them.

He is also a very good mimic. He observes people and easily picks up nuances, which he plays back with great accuracy. Misra is aware that most of his colleagues feel that he is driven at work. But he is quick to defend himself. "Earlier in my career I was more relaxed but the growing responsibilities have made it necessary for me to be a tough taskmaster." At home, he consciously works on not playing a managerial role.

He's passionate about sports having excelled in most ball games in his earlier years. Cricket remains his all-time favourite sport and corporate and staff cricket matches are his biggest turn on. He continues to play tennis and swim and now looks forward to excelling in golf.

On a trekking trail
An inveterate traveller, Misra was bitten by the wanderlust bug rather early in life and loves to break away whenever there is an opportunity. He has trekked in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, the Gharwal mountains and Rajasthan and describes himself as an explorer and self-discoverer eager to experience new sights and sounds. It is not surprising that he likes to travel unfettered. "I am essentially a backpacker. When I was studying in BITS Pilani, my friends and I travelled all over Rajasthan on cycles and went beyond the tourist cities of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Ajmer into the interiors."

His love for nature and mountains together with a liking for travelling has led him on many reckless adventures and to far-flung places. "I have done crazy things that did not go down well with the family. In fact, I actually chose to miss my sister's engagement for the sake of an interesting trek that I felt could not be postponed," chuckles Misra.

The five years at the Pilani campus yielded many treks through the desert landscape of Rajasthan. "Other than the Himalayas, which I have trekked extensively during school, college, post graduation and thereafter, Rajasthan was absolutely fascinating. I recall trekking through the villages and the Aravalis in the quest of finding abandoned old havelis (palaces) and forts. We would often go to villages and camp overnight, enjoying the warm hospitality of the villagers."

His most memorable trek is a 12-day journey across the Sach Pass (at a height of 4,890 m). It not only tested his physical strength but also taught him a valuable lesson early in his life. "I learnt that the body is limitless and could be stretched to any extreme without using more than a fraction of our capability. It's a lesson that comes in handy while dealing with business matters," says Misra candidly.

Travelling is an integral part of his job and he considers himself fortunate as it allows him to continue with his passion even while working. "Often I am able to take moments out, put on my walking shoes and walk around a city to get a feel of the place and its people," smiles Misra. Walking familiarises him with the place rather like an animal familiarises itself with new surroundings. Misra lives by his own personal mantra: "carry shoes, will walk"!

Bonding with the past
Apart from Rajasthan, which holds a special place in his heart, Misra loves parts of Kerala, especially the Kumarakoam region and the backwaters. Internationally, London is his all time favourite destination, mainly because of its rich history. That's his other passion.

"I think I am fascinated by history because I have grown up travelling." Misra has lived in several cities across India — northeast region, Nagpur, Delhi, Patna, Hazaribagh — as his father had a transferable job. His natural curiosity kept him busy finding out about each city's culture, its people and, of course, its history. The various tales his grandparents told him from the epics and Hindu mythology further fuelled his interest.

His love for history has made him understand that "the history of a place, its culture and way of life often dictate the attitudes of the people living there. It helps in interacting with them and doing business with them." For him, a lesson in history is a must every time he visits a new city or a new country. His recent visit to China has been fascinating both as a traveller and as a history buff. He has visited Beijing and is waiting to explore Shanghai and other southern parts of the country. It comes as no surprise that the History Channel is his favourite television channel.

Someday, if a time machine is invented, Misra would be the first to hop on. "I would love to revisit the golden Mauryan era when the country and its renaissance were at its peak. The next stop would be the Mughal period during the reign of Akbar to understand the fabric of Indian society at that time. I am also curious to know how Indian society functioned during the British Raj," says Misra wistfully.

Future wise
Misra is also fascinated by the future. He likes to spend time drawing the Indian scenario between 2025 and 2050. That is the time when he feels that India, because of its demographics, educational trends and manpower is going to be one of the top five economies of the world and one of the leading global manufacturing and services hubs of the world.

Interestingly, Misra has his own future mapped out clearly: "I want to work for another 12 years and then travel for the next 20 years — explore southern central Africa, erstwhile Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, China and Peru. I dream of the day when Kashmir becomes safe and I can trek in the Kashmir Himalayas."

I take leave of Misra. And, even as he slides back into his managerial persona ready for the next business meeting, his dreams continue shining through his eyes.

Uploaded on September 7, 2006