Believe in yourself and dream big: M M Kariappa, Founder, Vogue Institute of Art & Design
The Proust Questionnaire is a questionnaire about one’s personality. It has its origins in a parlour game popularised by Marcel Proust, the French essayist, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature.
M M Kariappa, founder of the Vogue Institute of Art & Design is also a passionate golfer. His institute offers extensive academic courses in the fields of fashion, gems and jewellery, interiors, animation and graphic design.
The institute also imparts training to underprivileged youth from the rural sector to provide employable skills in the areas of designing, pattern making and cutting, tailoring, jewellery designing, manufacturing and more. This initiative has created employment opportunities to thousands of youths from economically backward sectors.
Kariappa also launched DKS Business School, an emerging business school in India in the field of art, design, fashion and management. Here are his responses to our Proust questionnaire...
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Playing golf.
What is your greatest fear?
I face things as they come; fear is not in my vocabulary.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My frequent migraine attacks.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Dishonesty and being judgemental.
Which living person do you most admire?
Narendra Modi.
What is your greatest extravagance?
I splurge on art.
What is your current state of mind?
Contented.
On what occasion do you lie?
If it’s for one’s good.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I’m handsome! It says it all.
Which living person do you most despise?
Terrorists.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
I like honest, straightforward, successful yet humble men
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Same as above.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
The word ‘We’, it’s never ‘I’.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My grandson.
When and where were you happiest?
While playing golf,
Which talent would you most like to have?
Acting.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Change my hands and legs as they are the weakest part of my body.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being successful and contented and loved.
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 Mahatma Gandhi.
Where would you most like to live?
My paradise, my hometown- Coorg.
What is your most treasured possession?
My institute, Vogue.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
When you give up on things in life easily.
What is your most marked characteristic?
My charm.
What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty and being there when you need them.
Who are your favourite writers?
Napoleon Hill, Robin Sharma and Dale Carnegie.
Who are your heroes in real life?
Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.
What is it that you most dislike?
Dishonesty.
How would you like to die?
With a smile on my face.
What is your motto?
Simple living and simple thinking.