I love that I’m always travelling. Even though it mostly has to do with me working during the week in different parts of the country, I certainly enjoy this part of my life. And that’s why when I get my weekends, I make sure that I allocate my time for my friends and family.
After a rigorous training and tournaments around the world, Bengaluru gives me a sense of relief to enjoy my days off. Thanks to my schedule, usually Saturdays and Sundays are my days off — perfect time since my friends and family are usually free on those days.
The City is happening enough that I can just get out of my house and have a blast all the time. But we usually end up at UB City since it has about everything we need. I’m not a person who likes to make new friends, so I like my select 10 to 15 friends whom I treasure.
We’ve known each other for years now and they are the reason my weekends are brighter. When we meet up, restaurant hopping in UB City is one of my favourite things to do — there’s a great variety for us. It usually starts with one restaurant for the food, another for a drink, the next to just hang out, and the entire ‘city’ to give us the relaxation that we all need. When none of us are in the mood to do so, we head out for a movie and unwind.
I’d like to believe that I am a very adventurous person. I love taking advantage of my foreign visits and explore as much as I can even between my official visits. Also, thanks to the field I’m in, I’ve been lucky enough to have friends all over the world, so whichever part I’m in, I end up exploring one part of the place during my weekend.
I absolutely love London as a city, Prague is just beautiful, South Africa gives me a great high and Amsterdam is special in its own ways. Each place has its own unique characteristics and culture that I easily fall in love with, therefore all of them make for a great vacation spot. When I’m back in the City and have more free time, my friends and I go on adventure trips. We recently visited Bandipur forest and spent a weekend there.
Going to the beach is one of my weaknesses, and Goa is always my ‘go-to place’ when I’m in the country. Although I don’t go out and do crazy things like the others who visit Goa, I like going to a nice hotel, enjoy some great seafood and unwind with the view from there. Occasional parties and hangouts do happen, but mostly it’s just to sit around and be lazy.
On some days, I stay at my other house in Bengaluru and use it as my ‘peaceful haven’. It’s located in the City, so commuting is not a problem. I also grew up in this house so I have a lot of memories to bury myself in. I also love spending time with my pet dog, Tiara.
We love going on long drives and walks when I’m in town — she’s like a sibling at home. Even though golf has become my profession, it’s a great feeling to head to the golf club and do what I do best. The weather in Bengaluru adds to the happiness quotient as well.
I might not have a fancy way of spending my weekends, but with whatever time I do get, I make sure that I collect as many memories as I can.
Recently, my friends threw me a surprise party at Royal Afghan. Few of them didn’t wish me on purpose, but somehow they got me to come to the place and surprised me with a big cake and great presents. It’s the little things in life like this that make my off days “a perfect weekend”.
(As told to Anila Kurian)