Dream big, stay positive, work hard and enjoy the journey’: Krishna Kumar Karwa, MD, Emkay Global Financial Services

Krishna Kumar Karwa is the Promoter and Managing Director of Emkay Global Financial Services. A rank holder from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Karwa has a rich and varied experience of over 28 years in all aspects of Equity Capital Markets. He leads the Research, PMS and Corporate Advisory divisions at Emkay which is one of the well-known names in the financial services sector. He is also an Independent director at West Coast Paper Mills Limited. Here are his responses to our Proust questionnaire...

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

I feel happiness itself is a state of perfection… if you are happy, you are perfect! My idea of happiness is spending time with my family over a long meal and sharing our experiences/challenges/victories and defeats together.

What is your greatest fear?

My fear is - what if I don't have work tomorrow. I will have to retire.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

My inability to remember names.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Pessimism.

Which living person do you most admire?

Amitabh Bachchan and his ability to rise like a phoenix and keep himself relevant across decades by sheer discipline.

What is your greatest extravagance?

To spend time doing nothing and staring into infinity. Time is the most precious commodity on earth.

What is your current state of mind?

Apprehensive. I wonder what will life be like after COVID -19?

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Humility. It has become a fashion to be seen as humble.

On what occasion do you lie?

Only when it can benefit someone without harming anybody else.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

My soft and flabby stomach.

Which living person do you most despise?

Despise is a very harsh word. Every person has some positives.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

The ability to speak one’s mind and call a spade a spade!

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

Their sense of perception and their ability to multitask.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

"The colour of the blood is always red.”

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

Work, work, work.

Which talent would you most like to have?

Understand the unsaid.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

To be less frank.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

It is still to come.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

I would like to come back as myself.

Where would you most like to live?

I love where I live, in the city of Mumbai. No city can match its energy level.

What is your most treasured possession?

My memories.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

The inability to pay the medical bills of your loved ones.

What is your favourite occupation?

My current profession.

What is your most marked characteristic?

Stubborn.

What do you most value in your friends?

Transparency.

Who are your favourite writers?

Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

Who is your hero of fiction?

Phantom.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Jawaharlal Nehru.

Who are your heroes in real life?

Rahul Dravid, Amitabh Bachchan and A P J Abdul Kalam.

What is your favourite name?

"EMKAY". It is the name of the company I founded.

What is it that you most dislike?

Unpunctuality.

What is your greatest regret?

No regrets. Life is too short for regrets. Make the best of what you have at the moment.

How would you like to die?

With my shoes on - on the job.

What is your favourite journey?

Life itself is my favourite journey.

What is your motto?

Dream big, stay positive, work hard and enjoy the journey.