Former international athlete Ashwini Nachappa was known as much for her on-field achievements as for her style quotient off it. She was the first to beat PT Usha’s 200 metres at the Open National and the International Permit meet.
An Asian silver medallist in 200 metres, she was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1989. Ashwini believes that it is her confidence and the strong value system she grew up in that has brought out the best in her.
At present, Ashwini holds various responsibilities as the president of the Bangalore Urban District Athletics Association, vice-president of Karnataka Athletic Association and the president of Clean Sports India.
Cinema - Amitabh Bachchan
“I admire the work of Amitabh Bachchan because I don’t think anybody can ever take his place either in acting or voice. I’ve acted in about five movies and stopped after our first child was born. I like to watch comedy which could be in just about any language and prefer watching them at home. I like ‘Devadas’ for its grand setting and ‘Taare Zameen Par’ for its relevance.”
Music - Lionel Richie
“I listen to a few select tracks by Cliff Richard, Lionel Richie, Celine Dion... but all this depends on my mood. I can also never tire of listening to Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi. Lately, I’ve have begun listening to Adele, who has sung for most of the James Bond movies. She makes some great conversation through her songs.”
Philosophy - Learning from mistakes
“I’ve learnt a great deal from the failures and mistakes. I look at everyday as a new experience. I always give my cent percent to whatever I do and I live by that philosophy. I don’t get stuck in the past or let the ‘ifs and buts’ hamper my progress.”
Author - Robin Sharma
“I never get too much time to relax with a book but whenever I do get a chance , I make it a point to read the works of Robin Sharma, ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’ being one of my favourites. I am also fond of J Krishnamurti’s books. When I was much younger, I loved reading Jeffrey Archer and Robin Cook.”
Travel - San Francisco
“I travel a lot between Coorg and Bengaluru and I occasionally fly to San Francisco to be with my older daughter. Our school Karaumbiah's Academy of Learning and Sports (KALS) and Sports Academy- ASF in Coorg which has about 800 students takes up a lot of my time. Most of my travel happens for work purposes and I also find this as a perfect excuse to not only go home to Coorg but to get away from the maddening pace of city life.”
Cuisine - ‘Chaat’
“I am not much of a meat-eater and I am happy with my plate of vegetables. I also have a fetish for ‘Chaats’. But I think I am a good cook and make it a point to cook for my daughter and her friends whenever I go visiting in San Francisco. I make ‘Biryani’, ‘Paneer’ and ‘Chole bhature’.”
Inspiration - Parvathy Nachappa
“My mother Parvathy Nachappa is my biggest inspiration. She has struggled to bring my sister and me up. I’ve never heard her complain even once despite all the hardship. She has stood by us and seen our success and failures too. She has always taught us never bow down to anybody and to walk with our heads held high. She wants us to give our 100% to whatever we do and to have faith in God.”
(As told to Nina C George)