Big wigs weigh in on the highs and lows, struggles, professional and personal success

Bengaluru: Day one of 'Manotsava, National Mental Health Festival' concluded with a keynote conversation with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Founder of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited, Nithin Kamath, CEO of Zerodha and Rohini Nilekani, Philanthropist, the moderator.

The panel titled 'Mental Wealth: Balancing people, profit and purpose' was a light hearted conversation of the highs and lows, struggles, professional and personal success and managing mental health all the way.

Speaking about Bengaluru, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, “Bengaluru gives a sense of belonging and that develops a sense of purpose. Bengaluru has been a city where I feel a strong sense of belonging and I love the city and that is why when things go wrong here, it really bothers me.”

Nithin Kamath spoke about the support of his family and his slow years while building Zerodha. “I dropped out from first year engineering and took up jobs such as working at a call center and then I became a trader. I was trading other people’s money and was able to identify the gaps that the traders faced in the country.”

Speaking about his app, Nithin Kamath said that he thinks from a customer’s point of view. “We do not send push notifications on phone as I do not find it appealing and we do not call people as I as a customer would not like a company calling me without prior appointments,” he further said.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Nitin Kamath discussed losing a loved one and coping with the loss as both of them had lost a close family member.

Nitin Kamath also spoke about the stroke he had in early 2024 and stressed on the lack of sleep and exhaustion that finally led to the attack. “I dismissed the initial symptoms and decided to sleep it off due to which I missed my golden hour. It is always better to visit the doctor at the first symptom,” said Kamath.

The panelists stressed on learning new things and to indulge in activities to keep the issues of mental health at bay.