Pandemic diaries: Plants, cricket matches & board games keep GiveIndia CEO busy

Atul Satija, CEO of GiveIndia, misses the food at roadside dhabas and can’t wait to add more green to his home, a hobby he picked up in the pandemic. Here he tells ET Panache what he looks forward to once restrictions ease.

Back to basics
I miss not being on the ground and look forward to visiting our team and communities across Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, and other parts of India, where we work. I miss white boarding together with work colleagues, which leads to creative problem-solving. I would also like to spend more time with my family on a long holiday.

Travel therapy
I find travelling therapeutic, and enjoy long-haul flights in particular. It allows you to have some forced reflection. I love trekking with my adventure junkie teenage daughter. Trekking to the Everest Base Camp is on our bucket list, and I would like to take some time out and prepare for it.


Down time
Last one-and-a-half years have been the busiest time across both The/Nudge and GiveIndia. For us, it has been mostly about Covid-response unlike most other companies. I would like to pamper myself with some time and also catch up on sleep. Going back to reading books on management and development is something I would like to do. It’s another form of therapy for me.

Simple pleasures
I like simple Indian food. Whenever I go on weekend treks with my daughter and my dog, we enjoy stopping by at roadside dhabas and shacks and digging into good old Punjabi food. I also like to stop by for a simple rava masala dosa in one of the many outer ring road eateries in Bengaluru whenever I am coming back to the city from the airport. I find joy in eating at everyday places.

Go green
I am not into shopping as such. I can do with a few t-shirts and two pairs of jeans. But for the last one year or so, I have taken to shopping for plants and planters. When the situation improves, I would like to get out and shop for a lot more.

The big shift
As a minimalist, I love Apple products and their relatively clean user experience - just right for me. I was fully into Android in the early years of smartphones as I was at Google, but transitioned to Apple over time. I find Android devices a bit cluttered and feel they put too much choice burden on their users. A long-pending item on my wish list is to set up a proper standing desk for my home-office.

All on board
Playing board games with the family is something I have been doing a lot during the pandemic. I also rediscovered my love for cricket. I had not played the game since school, but I recently started with my apartment friends, and am thoroughly enjoying it. We book grounds on weekends and play full-fledged matches.