My rendezvous with Warren Buffett: Ways of a man rich & humble

It’s 2 am. Sitting in the business centre of my hotel in Omaha, Nebraska, on a lateSaturday night, I am doing my last bit of research to prepare myself for the big event slated for the following Sunday noon.

Interviewing one of the world’s most revered, most influential and most followed investor, Warren Buffett, is a dream come true for any journalist. And this special Sunday afternoon, that dream was about to become a reality for me.

Sleep was not an option. I wanted it to go well. I was not aiming for brilliant, but just to get the right views that would be relevant for our audience back home.

I practised how I would do the interview till the wee hours of the morning. It’s 5 am, still no sleep. How could I? Getting ready for probably the biggest interview of my career was my only focus.

At 7 am, my video journalists, Ravi & Giri, & I went for a walk as it was bright & sunny outside. We sang some old hindi films songs to refresh ourselves. It did work.

We reached the venue by 9 am. My team of video journalists got to work and set up the cameras. We spent time with the lovely and most hospitable team of Borsheims, a company owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The CEO, communications & PR team of the firm and all the shareholders we interacted with told us how kind and wonderful Buffett is in person.

Then came the moment. Cameras were set rolling and I was told Buffett will be with me in a few minutes. Jet lag from 20 hours of flying halfway across the world, 24 hours non-stop coverage of the Berkshire Hathaway AGM 2017, lack of sleep and all the tiredness just disappeared!

Each cell in my brain woke up and became alert. As I was discussing last-minute production details with my team, Buffett walked in. We all got up to greet him. It was a surreal moment.

And then, suddenly my mind went blank! It is amazing how when a very famous and respected person is sitting right in front you, you are just blank. The thing that struck me about him the most was how humble and down to earth he was.

I had only 15 minutes. I had kept 15 questions ready. I briefed Buffett what my plan was to do a good interview and he was on board right from the word go.

A little known fact about Buffett is that as a rule he doesn’t see the interview questions beforehand. He goes impromptu. I loved that. Everything he said in the interview came from his heart.

It was good to hear his views on India and his investment philosophy in the current market environment.

But what took the cake was his philosophy on life, on giving back to society and how objectively he sees his career spanning six-and-a-half decades.

Many people ask me how did I feel during the interview? Was I nervous? I felt present in the moment there and then. I knew I had a responsibility to get his views on a bit of everything that he is known for and so I kept my focus on that. His willingness to answer all my questions made me feel very comfortable.

The interview may seem near 20 minutes in length but in my mind it played out in a jiffy. Before I knew it, it was over.

Post the interview, Buffett obliged us with every request of ours. He was pressed for time. Even then, he posed for pictures and selfies with me and my teammates, whispered precious words in my ears and signed the new rupee bills.

Finally, it was time to say bye and he hugged us all for one last photo and said bye. I kept observing him all through: his positive energy and happy state of being was inspiring, to say the least. He had so much love to share with everyone around, his team members, shareholders, press members, just about everybody.

Mr Buffett was quoted as saying once, Love is magical. The more you give, the more it expands. I couldn't agree more.

I think at the end I would just say this, I got the chance to meet an incredible human being in Mr Warren Buffett and I feel blessed to have had the chance to do so.