'The entire universe is working for your good': Anika Parashar, CEO, RiverRock Ventures and angel investor
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.
Anika Parashar, CEO, RiverRock Ventures & an Angel Investor and founder trustee and chairperson of ORGAN (Organ Giving and Receiving Awareness Network) has been featured in the 3rd Edition Book of 50 Women of Pure Wonder in India and is the recipient of the Pride of India Award, 2017. Anika was the COO of Fortis La Femme - Hospitals for Women and Children until October 2018. Under her leadership, the chain of women and child hospitals expanded to four hospitals across India becoming an all-encompassing solution for all women’s healthcare needs. She has over 20 years of experience working with organisations such as Fortis Healthcare, Mahindra & Mahindra, The National Childbirth Trust, BSKYB, Channel 4 and Old World Hospitality, to name a few. Anika was the mastermind behind Mamma Mia – A Mom’s World which is now India’s first and only comprehensive holistic health chain spanning across seven locations across the nation. Additionally, Anika is the founder Trustee and Chairperson of ORGAN, which spreads awareness about Organ Donation and Transplant across India. Here are her responses to our Proust questionnaire…
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Spending the day with my two children, Nirvaan and Inayat (away from all technology) and my dogs Joey and Ellie in the wonderful little nest we call home.
What is your greatest fear?
I have faced my greatest fears – losing my parents too young, too soon and too suddenly. Nobody under 40 should have to have fulfilled their responsibilities towards their parents by completing their last rites.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Trying to control everything – although that has ebbed a little over the years but it still raises its head every now and then when it is challenged with circumstances that cannot be controlled.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Inauthenticity. You can smell it a mile away.
Which living person do you most admire?
There are too many. Having worked with women in women’s health for so long, I am amazed by the resilience of women in the face of adversity. Every woman has a story and the way they cope and recover overwhelms me.
What is your greatest extravagance?
I’m not really an extravagant person. The universe has blessed me with all that I need and I’m quite content in the simple things in life.
What is your current state of mind?
I’ve just come out of a terrible year where I lost my mother and almost lost my brother, where I had to take on the mammoth task of building my ancestral home and stand tall for my children. I had to step away from a job and career I loved to focus on my personal tragedies. However today, as I write this, I am calm and optimistic about my new ventures and about the future.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Patience. Why should we be patient when life is so short? Shouldn’t we go out, all guns blazing to get what makes us happy?
On what occasion do you lie?
When I want to be at home and read a book or watch Netflix rather than go out!
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My square shaped face. I feel it is too broad.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
A sense of humour is the most charming thing in a man in my opinion, especially the kind that makes his eyes twinkle.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Gumption. Nothing can get in the way of a woman who has gumption.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Universe. Manifest. Miracles. Magic. Be Mindful.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My children.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish I had a natural inclination to play sports.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would let down my hair more often and be spontaneous.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Creating these two perfect living beings inside me and seeing them come out and grow into wonderful human beings.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
A dog. My dogs have the greatest life! They sleep, eat and get loved all day.
Where would you most like to live?
Tuscany, Italy - in a small villa where I can grow my own organic tomatoes and read and listen to music all day.
What is your most treasured possession?
The picture of my parents on my bedside table that my father gave me when I went away to college.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Losing someone you love.
What is your favourite occupation?
Healthcare for women. It gets me going like nothing else.
What is your most marked characteristic?
My ability to give.
What do you most value in your friends?
Loyalty.
Who are your favourite writers?
Paulo Coelho, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Christiane Northrup, Inay May Gaskin and Brian Weiss. Can you guess what I’m into now?
Who is your hero of fiction?
I’m not embarrassed to admit – I love Mills and Boon heroes!
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Jhansi ki Rani.
Who are your heroes in real life?
My grandparents and my parents.
What is your favourite name?
I can’t tell you his name now, can I?
What is it that you most dislike?
Inauthenticity in a person.
What is your greatest regret?
I have no regrets. I’ve lived. I’ve loved. I’ve lost. I will live again. I will love again. And God willing I will not lose anymore.
How would you like to die?
In my bedroom, surrounded by my family and friends.
What is your favourite journey?
My journey home, from anywhere.
What is your motto?
“The entire universe is working for your good.”
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