Meet a capitalist
who has ventured out in style. Rashesh Shah, once an equity analyst at
Prime Securities, is more famous as the CEO of the investment banking firm, Edelweiss
Capital-which he floated, along with Venkat Ramaswamy-five years ago. Raising $75 million
(Rs 327 crore) since then, his investments include Rediff. com, Lexsite, and Graycell.
Explains Rashesh, an inveterate reader and admirer of George Soros, who still enjoys a
weekly tryst with tennis in Mumbai: ''The investments we make are a reflection of our
faith.'' Perhaps that is why his first portal, icleo.com, is devoted to the Woman Of The
Millennium. Typical of the faith of a man of the new millennium!...
Would you believe
it-the Merrill Lynch Big Bull actually loves flying kites! Well, we guess 39-year-old Alok
Vajpeyi-who heads the asset management operations of the DSP Merrill Lynch Group
in India-has always looked for blue skies. Don't forget, back in 1994, when BZW suddenly
decided to down shutters in India, the chartered accountant-on the advice of wife Tina, a
fellow-student at the London School of Economics-chose to go solo. Apart from setting up a
corporate finance business, he funded an ad agency, Momentum, before eventually signing on
at DSP Merrill Lynch. Admits Alok: ''Flying to the top is never easy, be it here or in the
West.'' Now we know why he loves collecting models and old paintings of kites too!...
Buying
books has never been the same since R. Sriram started Crosswords in
Mumbai in 1993. As the 35-year-old CEO of the largest books-and-music retail store chain
in the country, Sriram is among the lucky few who have managed to convert their passions
into vocations. Despite a change in Crosswords' ownership-from the Mirchandanis of India
Book House to the Rahejas of Shoppers' Stop-Sriram will continue to indulge his passion.
''Running bookstores gives you the best opportunity to build the reading-habit on a
national scale,'' he says. In this Digital Millennium, Sriram had better cross his
fingers-and his words...
He
loves riding. Ideally, the bsa slr bikes that his company rolls out en masse. However, A.
Vellayan, the 45-year-old CEO of the Chennai-based Tube Investments, doesn't get
the time to do so. So, he has switched to driving. Last year, with his wife and two sons,
Vellayan spent 2 months on a driving holiday in the US, covering 22,000 kms. While they
explored Europe a couple of years earlier, next year, the Vellayans are planning a similar
trip Down Under. Explains Vellayan: ''Driving or riding are the best ways to explore a
place.'' And it's sure taking him places too...
She may look like
a gracious lady who potters about rose bushes. But a member of the chiffon-and-pearls set
she is not. Anita Lal, the wife of Eicher Group Chairman, Vikram Lal, who
runs Good Earth-the studio pottery and ceramics chain-is diversifying into decorative
linen. And customised home décor solutions. ''I want to stay small, but provide top
quality,'' says Anita, 51, who set up the firm after shopping for daughter Simran's
trousseau in 1996-and couldn't find products to match her standards. Not any more, thanks
be to the Good Lal!
Meet a capitalist
who has ventured out in style. Rashesh Shah, once an equity analyst at
Prime Securities, is more famous as the CEO of the investment banking firm, Edelweiss
Capital-which he floated, along with Venkat Ramaswamy-five years ago. Raising $75 million
(Rs 327 crore) since then, his investments include Rediff. com, Lexsite, and Graycell.
Explains Rashesh, an inveterate reader and admirer of George Soros, who still enjoys a
weekly tryst with tennis in Mumbai: ''The investments we make are a reflection of our
faith.'' Perhaps that is why his first portal, icleo.com, is devoted to the Woman Of The
Millennium. Typical of the faith of a man of the new millennium!... 
Would you believe
it-the Merrill Lynch Big Bull actually loves flying kites! Well, we guess 39-year-old Alok
Vajpeyi-who heads the asset management operations of the DSP Merrill Lynch Group
in India-has always looked for blue skies. Don't forget, back in 1994, when BZW suddenly
decided to down shutters in India, the chartered accountant-on the advice of wife Tina, a
fellow-student at the London School of Economics-chose to go solo. Apart from setting up a
corporate finance business, he funded an ad agency, Momentum, before eventually signing on
at DSP Merrill Lynch. Admits Alok: ''Flying to the top is never easy, be it here or in the
West.'' Now we know why he loves collecting models and old paintings of kites too!...
Buying
books has never been the same since R. Sriram started Crosswords in
Mumbai in 1993. As the 35-year-old CEO of the largest books-and-music retail store chain
in the country, Sriram is among the lucky few who have managed to convert their passions
into vocations. Despite a change in Crosswords' ownership-from the Mirchandanis of India
Book House to the Rahejas of Shoppers' Stop-Sriram will continue to indulge his passion.
''Running bookstores gives you the best opportunity to build the reading-habit on a
national scale,'' he says. In this Digital Millennium, Sriram had better cross his
fingers-and his words... 
He
loves riding. Ideally, the bsa slr bikes that his company rolls out en masse. However, A.
Vellayan, the 45-year-old CEO of the Chennai-based Tube Investments, doesn't get
the time to do so. So, he has switched to driving. Last year, with his wife and two sons,
Vellayan spent 2 months on a driving holiday in the US, covering 22,000 kms. While they
explored Europe a couple of years earlier, next year, the Vellayans are planning a similar
trip Down Under. Explains Vellayan: ''Driving or riding are the best ways to explore a
place.'' And it's sure taking him places too... 
She may look like
a gracious lady who potters about rose bushes. But a member of the chiffon-and-pearls set
she is not. Anita Lal, the wife of Eicher Group Chairman, Vikram Lal, who
runs Good Earth-the studio pottery and ceramics chain-is diversifying into decorative
linen. And customised home décor solutions. ''I want to stay small, but provide top
quality,'' says Anita, 51, who set up the firm after shopping for daughter Simran's
trousseau in 1996-and couldn't find products to match her standards. Not any more, thanks
be to the Good Lal!