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AMRIT KIRAN Singh, Vice
President & Area Director, South Asia, Brown Forman Spirits
Worldwide
Singh is the eternal bird lover-on a recent
trip to Europe, he bought six eggs of a Chinese Wring Neck pheasant
from a breeding farm, packed them carefully in his handbag with
his precious laptop and brought them back to Delhi. He has a pair
of Australian cockatoos, a Sharpei, a Chinese dog, Babushka, a Persian
cat, and 25 budgies of all imaginable colours. "If my wife
gave me a choice I would definitely have more pets," jokes
Singh.
PSYCH TAKE: Many free spirits trapped
together signify love of freedom and control. The unfriendly cockatoos
are a negative (opposite) identification to his sociable personality
and the cat is a counterpoint to his masculine image.
 VIVEK
BURMAN, Chairman, Dabur India
Every morning after their
walk, either father or son (Mohit Burman, Director, Dabur Finance,
seen above with feathered friend) spend half an hour with their
Australian cockatoos and African Grey parrot. They feed them-fruit,
almonds, and green chillies-and talk to them. What do the Burmans
like about the birds? "They are so intelligent," gushes
Mohit Burman, "Our guests are so surprised when they hear them
talking." The birds have free reign of the house and can even
recognise each of the family members.
PSYCH TAKE: Such exotic pets,
especially birds, symbolise a free, wild spirit, and are also a
status symbol. Having tame pets says something about the owners'
desire for control and mastery. Not to forget-the more exotic the
pet, the more exotic and fantastical is the functioning of the mind.
 P.R.S.
(BIKKI) OBEROI, Chairman, EIH
East India Hotels' flamboyant Chairman
Bikki Oberoi is known for his love of horses and spends time with
them whenever possible at his farm on Delhi's outskirts. Oberoi
breeds horses as well and has given them all traditional Indian
names.
PSYCH TAKE: Horses are symbolic
of a towering personality and all those qualities-elegance, freedom,
power-that their owner exudes. Brown horses are also symbolic of
mental pursuits.
 PATRICK
BOWRING, Deputy Chairman, Bowrings Fine Art Auctioneers
Bowring was brought up with dogs and
over the years has had fish, hamsters and rabbits. Currently, he
is the master of two Labradors, and two ducks, Quacker 1 and Quacker
2. "The evening walks are a comical affair," says Bowring,
"with myself being followed around the garden by two black
labs and two ducks who also think they are labs!"
PSYCH TAKE: Pets associated
with water say many things. Fish denote happiness because they are
free in the water. Ducks signify the desire to walk on water-to
go beyond the ability of normal men. The dogs are his best companions.
 BHARAT
DABHOLKAR, Managing Director, Publicis Zen
Dabholkar's favorite pet would be
Osho, his bulldog. Osho has even acted in one of Dabholkar's plays
(a hobby, for the man, not the dog, that is) and received a standing
ovation for his part. Other members of the family include a husky
(a sled dog), a golden persian cat, an African grey parrot, and
seven piranhas. "Having animals around is much better than
having humans," explains Dabholkar.
PSYCH TAKE: Overinvolvement
with pets reflects insecurity and big pets like bulldogs either
reflect insecurity or a person's aggressive nature. However, he
would never hurt a weaker animal.
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TREADMILL
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| Not One For The Gym
We're sitting at a bar and
my companion, a regular gym-goer, is wallowing in self-pity
(and a pitcher of beer) about how no matter how strictly he
sticks to his workout schedule (four days a week; 30 minutes
of cardio and 45 of weight training) he just isn't getting
ripped. And although he seems in good shape, he's just not
able to go to the next level. His abs aren't chiselled and
the last bit of flab from his otherwise powerful arms and
pecs just doesn't seem to vanish. "Why?" he asks
plaintively and drains the mug. That's precisely why. If you're
a heavy drinker-in weight training parlance, that's anything
more than two-to-three drinks a week-then you might as well
just forget about sculpting your body or building strength
and endurance.
Alcohol is a toxin. Period. And it isn't good for your body,
particularly in large doses. Here's what prolonged use of
alcohol in heavy doses can do to your workouts. It will reduce
your strength-you won't be able to lift enough weight to stimulate
muscle growth. It will reduce your endurance and decrease
your recovery capabilities. There's more. Alcohol interferes
with your aerobic capacity, making your body inefficient in
absorbing and transporting oxygen during exercise. Worse,
alcohol inhibits your ability to metabolise fats-making you
a fat storer (beer belly!) instead of a fat burner (six-pack
abs!).
If that isn't all, alcohol also interferes with muscle growth
and acts as a diuretic, which can rebound by increasing water
retention, inhibiting weight loss. There are other problems
as well. For instance, remember that alcohol is a totally
nutritionless carbohydrate. Although it is a carbohydrate,
it has 7 calories per gram instead of the normal 4. Like most
carbs, it causes the release of insulin, which will cause
the storage of your alcohol calories as fat.
Now here's the bean count. Alcohol can add hundreds of calories
to your daily intake, which can make the difference between
weight loss, maintaining your current weight, or gaining weight.
A single glass of beer or wine can contain at least 100 calories.
Having a few drinks three-to-four nights a week could be adding
1,000 unforeseen calories to your diet. Alcohol can also stimulate
appetite, leading you to eat foods that are not in the ambit
of your weight loss plan. So, if you're dieting or are finding
it hard going to get rid of that last bit of fat, just go
slow on alcohol. Pick up the dumb-bell not the bottle.
-MUSCLES MANI
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