Anita
Kaul Basu
Television Producer &
Director,
Synergy Communications
By
CHIKITA KUKREJA
 For
Anita Kaul Basu, director of Synergy Communications
and wife of ace quiz master Siddhartha Basu,
life has been full of surprises - some good,
some bad... but nonetheless amazingly colorful.
Born
in Kashmir, Anita subsequently migrated
to Surrey, England where the world seemed
to be her oyster.
"The
exposure levels were amazing and my parents
were adamant that we (my two brothers and
I) got the best of that world. However,
they made sure we never lost our identities
and were Indians first. The growing up years
can be fraught with confusion and we had
our share of being in that state, but my
mother ensured we got huge doses of our
Kashmiri rituals, food, Indian film, music
etc," says Anita.
Those
were the best days of my life...
I have lots of fond memories of my childhood
days... from changing two trains and a bus
to get to school in the cold winter mornings
of London and picking up stacks of Mars
bars and lip-smacking pastries along the
way... I've done it all.
It
was a dilemma everyday for me whether to
catch the bus or spend that money on fresh
cream puffs and walk three kilometers to
school. I was crowned Miss Beautiful and
was taken all over London in a open van
with a ridiculous crown and ballroom type
of dress, wherein I pretended to be Queen
of England! In retrospect, all this seems
hilarious. Theatre is something that left
me spell bound in Britain, where I watched
some of the greatest actors perform. I can
never forget the mad 70s when I used to
stitch my own clothes and crochet my own
long fringed jackets.
I
was a sportsperson throughout my school
and college days. I was the best in my school
for the 100 meter hurdles and even now I
dream of having the time to run. I was also
the captain of the school hockey team.
Life's
journey so far...
Most
of us think we can circumvent destiny or
at least have the power to control it. I
am afraid the writing has been done a long
time back and one just has to be receptive
to the twists and turns of the plot and
story and not let the foul patches dictate
our entire course.
I
graduated and joined the Indian Institute
of Mass Communications for a journalism
course. Subsequently I joined India Today
on the editorial team. I was there for
five years before I resigned to look after
my first child. I never went back to a full
time job, because by 1987, we set up our
own company. It's been like that ever since
and has been the most amazing learning curve.
For
Siddhartha, it was love at first sight...
I came back from England to do
my graduation at Miranda House, Delhi University.
There I met Mira Nair, who was a year senior
to me. She introduced me to Siddhartha.
At that time, he was doing a play for the
Shakespeare Society of St. Stephen's College
where he took me for audition. It was love
at first sight for him. We began dating
a couple of months later and got married
a full eight years after our first meeting.
My parents were very apprehensive about
this marriage and it took them a long time
to accept it. But it's been 24 years and
we are still together!
Marriage
is a commitment and a responsibility towards
each other and to our children, Aditya (21)
and Medha (17).
 Read,
read, read till I sleep...
I'm into the habit of reading at least three
books at the same time! It all depends on
my mood and how tired I am. But I have to
read before my eyes automatically droop.
I have had so many favorites - Vikram Seth's
An Equal Music; The Monk Who Sold
His Ferrari; Sue Townsend's series of
Adrian Mole; Shantaram and
books authored by Bill Cosby.
No
time to travel...
I have not traveled as much as I would
have liked to, primarily because of my children,
their school schedules and my immovable
work schedules. My favorite holiday places
are The Glass House on the Ganges, Rishikesh,
Paris and Cornwall in England.
I
have fond memories of rafting on the Ganges.
It was phenomenally exhilarating, life giving
and exciting. The Caravan holidays with
friends and cousins in England and beach
holidays in Goa were also memorable.
It's
ridiculous
to buy something just for the sake of the
brand
I
am not a compulsive shopper, although I
love the exercise! I have a keen eye and
can get the best bargains. I am not a person
who will shop at will.
I
do not subscribe to brands and I find it
ridiculous catering to people who have more
money than they can handle and are up against
the Joneses. I refuse to buy something just
because it's a big brand name. I can understand
buying branded electronics or even watches,
but clothes and accessories; sorry I stay
unmoved by it all!
I
am neither the types who gets easily impressed,
nor the type who fawns and drops brand names.
I do go for quality in some things but I
don't think that brands necessarily equate
quality. I pick a lot of my clothes from
the streets of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangkok or
London. If I like something, I will buy
it and not not because I must have it to
impress others.
One
thing that I am careful about while purchasing
is perfumes. My current favorites are Flower
by Kenzo and Hypnotic Poison. I stay as
faithful as possible to my favorites for
a long time. On the shoes front, the best
one I have are picked up from London. Again
no big brands, but they are comfortable
yet stylish. All my summer chappals are
from Delhi's Greater Kailash Market or from
Bangkok.
Eclectic
taste for movies and music...
I love movies and music and have a pretty
eclectic taste in both. However, I do not
watch science fiction movies and absolutely
detest heavy metal and trance music. The
movies that have been etched in my mind
are, The Shawshank Redemption, all
of Audrey Hepburn's films, Kazaz ke Phool,
Satya, Bunty Aur Babli and
Being Cyrus amongst many others.
Music
is my life. I just can't live without rock
and roll! I love old Hindi film songs, uplifting
classical Indian music as well as western
music. Elton John, Phil Collins, Celine
Dion are some of my favourite singers.
No
discos for me please...
I like to party with friends but either
at their home or mine. I don't like discos
too much, partly because the music is invariably
loud, metallic and staccato. After a while
your ears are torn apart and your legs spent
dancing on the same spot, since space is
always at a premium.
 Perceptions
change when you allow yourself to see things
from a higher plain...
I must admit, I was a non-believer early
on in life. Miraculously along the way all
that changed. I began to search for answers,
look for inner strength and seek certain
calmness. I have a high adrenaline rush
and am on the go most of the time. I
needed to center my restless energy as I
was very stressed out.
I have found that the only person who can
help you is you! Yes, you need a little
bit of help to find the YOU to begin with.
I took to Reiki and meditation. This has
helped me tremendously. It's an instant
de-stressor. I can see now how we exaggerate
our problems in our minds. The solutions
are simpler than we think. Your perceptions
change when you allow yourself to see things
from a higher plain. It minimises the problems
and makes them easy to tackle.
I
meditate everyday without fail. It's my
soul curry! Otherwise I stay active running
around as I am not prone to just lying around
doing nothing. I have to spend the excess
energy I have.
I
am a 'kattar' meat-eating cannibal
I am not an orgiastic foodie. I need it
as fuel. However, I don't mind trying out
different cuisine. I am a 'kattar' meat-eating
cannibal - Kashmiris cannot live without
their one kilo of meat a day! I love Kashmir
"tabakmaaz," a fried spare rib
delicacy. I love fish and chips made the
English way and wrapped in newspaper! And
Italian food - all of it!
I
do cook but I am a person who hates to spend
too much time in the kitchen. I am a karate
chop cook - quick cutting, fast cooking
and swift clean up. I cook all Kashmiri
dishes, bit of Italian and my own Indian
food recipes; and when I have time, roast
dishes.
Most
gizmos leave me completely cold
I am not at all a gizmo freak.
It's beyond me to understand and make time
to figure out the workings of any gizmo
- whether a phone or a computer or the latest
technology system. I use gizmos for purely
practical purposes.
I
love driving and the smaller the car the
better. A Ferrari or Lamborghini won't hurt!
But, even a Santro is good enough for the
Indian roads and great for parking and a
zippy drive!
Click
here for My Life Archives
|
