Taking one last look...

December: ‘tis that time of the year when we all spend some time on summing up the year, of the happy gains and the missed opportunities. Nasrin Modak Siddiqi speaks to a few celebs on the good and the bad of the past year, and the learnings to carry on into the new year...

Be in the moment

Pankaj Tripathi, Actor

Pankaj Tripathi

With hits like Stree and Newton and a super hit performance as Akhanand Tripathi (Kaleen Bhaiya) in Mirzapur on Amazon Prime, the year has been exceptionally rewarding for the understated actor. “Of the 365 days in the year, I’ve been out of town for work for almost 300 days, and so this year was brilliant and beautiful for me, both professionally and personally. My wife and I laugh that it’s good we saw each other less and therefore had fewer fights, but on a serious note, it also meant that we cherished each other when we met over the weekends on my outdoor schedules.

Overall, the year has taught me that in life sunrise and sunsets are a part of the package, so it’s best to be in the moment and enjoy life to the fullest. Another important thing that I learnt is that truth and sincerity will always pay off no matter how long it takes. Be truthful to yourself, to your craft, and to the society, and the rest will fall in place. And with these learnings, I shall move onto the next year feeling blessed and happy,” he smiles.

Learn something new

Sherin Poojari

Sherin Poojari, Celebrity Fitness instructor

Known for his impeccable knowledge about fitness, Poojari had his drawing board full of market analysis and trends derived from his learnings in Australia. “These are the most exciting times to be in the fitness industry and it was refreshing to feel the market pulse as a third person. Blessed with a daughter in March, the entire year went mostly around her and I used the available time for laying a solid groundwork for my new ventures, learnt Iyengar Yoga, and got certifications in exercise science, martial arts, tai chi, and massage therapies.

Every situation is an opportunity in disguise. The only thing that matters is your state of mind and your approach to life itself. I’ve learnt that just as the seasons change, so do the teachings of life. The instances of the year - where you stumbled or fell flat on your face - write them all down. Note down how you reacted and ask yourself if you could have acted differently. Analyse what opportunities you missed out upon because of your negative mindset and improve your receptivity to all the positive aspects that were hidden in all those adversaries that kept coming your way. With this new insight about yourself that you have learnt from 2018, enter 2019 just knowing this one universal truth, ‘Life always works for you’.”

Be an optimist

Amit Tandon, Comedian

Amit Tandon

The man who calls a spade a spade but with a twist of humour is happy that “we had some proud moments in sports with our highest ever medal tally at the Asian Games and some shameful moments in politics as the agendas moved to religion and mudslinging instead of education and healthcare. Also, we hit real new lows in pollution and deforestation”. As an artiste, he believes that “it was a great year for the entertainment industry as content was king and the digital space opened multiple opportunities for all kinds of performers. While we work towards a better tomorrow, we should not stop enjoying whatever we have today. Looking for humour in everything has helped me in recovering from shocks and disappointments in life. The silver lining is that elections are around the corner and hopefully, politicians will turn their focus towards development instead of religion. We still have a lot of people who believe in doing good work. Think positive! In the end, a pessimist might prove to be right, but it is the optimist who had a great time throughout,” says Tandon.

Nazia Erum

Challenge the challenge

Nazia Erum, Author & TedX Speaker

Erum’s thought-provoking book Mothering a Muslim has won several accolades in the lit circles and is now a part of book readings for several high school children in Delhi, too. Running on a tight schedule between talks, discussions and lit fests these days, she says she is counting her blessings and is planning on working on her next. “Every year is a work-in-progress for our individual growth. I have abundant reasons to be grateful for in 2018. The year saw my first book being published to critical acclaim and such overwhelming love. It gave me new directions, helped put things in perspective, and threw up new challenges. The challenges were sometimes difficult to handle, but my personal takeaway was gratefulness for having them come my way. I move into the next year older, wiser and definitely with more ammunition for both thought and action. Here’s to the new year and new possibilities,” she adds.

Shibani Kashyap

Clean the dirt

Shibani Kashyap, Singer & Actor

Known for her Sufi-western blend of music, Kashyap has had a great 2018. “The year has indeed been truly amazing for me. Musically, I have had lots of new song releases, and have done several concerts all over the world. While I am someone who always likes to harp on the good things that happen to me, I can say that I’ve learnt a lot of lessons, too - about people and finances. This year, I worked on filtering people and so I cleansed my life of all the negative people and negativity. I value my true friends and family even more now. I am really looking forward to the next year, and for me, it starts with a bang - a concert on December 31 in Dubai.

People are your greatest strength

Ranveer Brar

Ranveer Brar, Celebrity Chef

The chef who brought local Indian cuisine to the forefront is known in the fraternity for his kindness, perseverance, and smile. The year 2018 was a mixed bag for him, especially on the personal front. His father was diagnosed with advanced stage cancer. “The support and understanding that I received during my personal emergency, even at the slightest request, is something I will remember forever,” says Brar. On the professional front, too, it was a hodgepodge. While some of the things that we did worked for us, a few didn’t. “The objective was to travel for food as much as we could and that we did through India and across. What didn’t work was the choice of partner when it came to restaurants. That is something I will have to work on for the next year. Overall, a good year on the food front but not so good as an entrepreneur. That’s how it is – you take everything with a pinch of salt. Brar has learnt that when times are tough, it’s the people around you who make all the difference, and they are the ones who lift you up. “My friends and family did that and those relationships are something I will cherish and carry forward forever. That, along with a better understanding of business associations and aligned-in ideologies is what I’ll look forward to in 2019,” he adds.

Make an impact

Piyush Jain, CEO and Co-Founder, ImpactGuru.com

Piyush Jain

Four years back, Jain and his wife Khushboo co-founded ImpactGuru.com with a mission to help Indians find crowdfunding solutions for healthcare and social change. “It was tough initially but our advisors suggested that we be patient. Witnessing ImpactGuru.com create a real impact on more than 1,00,000 lives in four years has been a wonderful journey. There has been a drastic change in the way one seeks financial help for medical causes now. During difficult moments, I follow the words of Alibaba founder Jack Ma - ‘Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.’ The strong passion to make a difference in the lives of people and the persistence to achieve our mission to save more lives will continue to keep us going. No great start-up can do well without obsessing over customer experience and satisfaction, and so we aim to focus on maximising customer happiness by creating new features that will be valued by them,” says Jain.

Clint Fernandes

Get spiritual

Clint Fernandes, Celebrity Make-up Artiste

It was indeed a year of ups and downs for the man behind the make-up of some of the A-listers of Bollywood. Despite a severe hit to his personal life, anyone who has worked with Fernandes can vouch for his brilliance and perseverance. “The way to take everything is to keep a positive attitude. With the highs, there is never an issue, but it’s the low points that need to be treated as a learning curve. What I’ve learnt over the years and have managed to implement this year to the fullest is to not let the negativity of others make me negative. I have personally found solace in spirituality and prayer, and trust me, it does work to keep calm. It also helps to fulfill one’s responsibilities to the best of our abilities. I am heading to the next year with lots of passion and honesty, and I know for sure that the rewards will follow,” says Fernandes.