Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath's zen zone has a gym, lot of greenery, & Lionel Messi

Nithin Kamath, founder, Zerodha, reflects on the various elements that contribute to the making of his personal space.

My personal space is…
“There is a nice space that I have created on the terrace, which is shared by my brother, Nikhil and me. It’s got a pool table, a bar, a projector, a nice lounge-y sofa and the essentials for a daily workout, including a gym, swimming pool and a steam area. It’s an incredibly peaceful space, with no noise as such from the streets and lots of greenery. As it’s on the terrace, we need to make the extra effort of walking up. We did that intentionally to build in those extra footsteps in our routine.”


Music to my ears
I’m a die-hard Pink Floyd fan. But I listen to everything really. Whether I’m playing pool, or working out or swimming, the music is always on. The terrace has a nice lawn area, so we’ve built a kind of centralised music system. I also have a nice guitar that I usually play on weekends for a bit.

A reflection of hobbies and interests
“We moved into this house in Bengaluru more than a year ago. A friend of mine has helped us with designing it. I love to swim, and I needed a swimming pool where you can actually swim. So it had to be longish, with a shorter width. Otherwise people tend to build pools that you can’t actually swim in. Nikhil and I both love playing pool, hence a pool table. We are also health conscious, so the gym.” “If someone were to ask me, what do you like to do in life, I would say just come look at my terrace. It’s got all my favourite things to do.”

Sharing it with my spouse
“My wife and I work out together in the mornings, usually between 7 to 8 am. But apart from that she usually doesn’t come there. I probably use the space the most, even more than Nikhil.”

Hanging out with friends
“It’s not like we host people very often actually. I’m a very non-social guy really. Also, there is so much noise through the week, that over the weekend I just want to relax.”

On the walls
“I cycle quite a bit, so I’ve mounted one on the wall. And then there is a jersey signed by (footballer, Lionel Messi) that I picked up at an auction. I’m still looking for things that can go up on the walls. It’s quite difficult to find things that really mean something to you. I would really like to look for memorabilia related to sports stars or musicians I admire. But it’s tough to get these in India. It’s possible only when you are travelling.”

A signpost for the den
“Right now there is nothing. But there is a wall which we are converting. We have all these old stock certificates of companies. Just to show some character and indicate our association with the stock market. I wouldn’t call my space anything. It just sounds very commercial and typical.”

One adjective to describe my den
“It’s like a chill zone for me. A place to switch off”.