Pulse Point

Where are you originally from, and how long have you been in Singapore?
I’m from India, but I’ve been studying hospitality in a university in Switzerland. I’m here in Singapore on exchange, and have been here since February this year.

I’ve been busy with university since then, so I haven’t gone out much—just enough to see the most touristy places. I do really want to go to Atlas Bar though, but it’s always fully booked!

What are you hoping to do after you graduate?
Oh, that is such a tough question—I get, like, so confused!

When I was a bit younger, I wanted to do event management, but now that I’ve studied more about hospitality, I’m probably going to explore brand management, like fashion brand management, if my interest in it doesn’t change.

What first sparked your interest in hospitality?
My parents! They’re really social people, so since I was a child, they’ve always been hosting many parties, and I grew up seeing them organise these parties.

I’ve always loved helping my mum out in planning the littlest of details for her parties, so by extension, I’ve always been into events. Even in school, I used to love being a part of the organising committee for school events, and then that’s when I realised I should probably go into hospitality.

A lot of it is about networking, which is really fun for me, because I get to know and meet so many different people. The last party I organised was a New Year’s Eve party back in India. It was a simple house party, because we didn’t manage to book the venue we were eyeing up in the hills, but it was still fun anyway!

What do you admire most about your parents?
Oh, so many things! With my mum, I admire her for her patience. I think she’s really patient, and she’s such a strong person, so I admire that a lot.

As for my dad, I admire everything about him. I think he is one of the wisest people ever. Like if I ever need advice, he would be the person I would go to. His sense of humour is great too—I feel like he finds humour in everything, and nothing brings him down, so that’s something I really admire, because I could never! Everything is always bothering me, and he’s just like, “Live your life, don’t worry so much” (laughs).

Tell us a bit more about your tattoo.
It says “Hear my words that I might teach you, take my arms that I might reach you”. They’re lyrics from my dad’s favourite song.

My next one will probably be the quote “A great perhaps”, which is something the poet François Rabelais said when he was dying. He said “I go to seek a great perhaps”, and it just means taking bigger risks in life, which means a lot to me, so that’s what I want to get next.

What about your style? How do you usually like to dress?
Usually I just put on a baggy pair of jeans and a baggy shirt, but today, I’m out with my good friend who’s visiting from India whom I haven’t seen in years, and she was like “Please don’t wear one of your baggy shirts again”, so I was like “Okay, fine, I’ll take out something else” (laughs).

But usually that’s my staple. That and my Jordans. That’s something I wear always. I’ll never not wear my Jordans. It goes with everything!