I was lucky to join Citibank and work with Jerry Rao: PS Jayakumar, CEO, Bank of Baroda

Best childhood moment
Getting the National Talent Scholarship in those days. It was very competitive and a big achievement.

Dream profession? Being a banker?
actually started as a chartered accountant and then went to a management school. My professor was also a chartered accountant, hence, as per CA institute rules he could not assess me. So, I moved on to marketing.

Favourite book
biography of mathematics genius Srinivasa Ramanujan. It shows you the power of raw brilliance. I loved the Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. And The Count of Monte Cristo. Read it the most times because it is on my iPad and hence a default reading material. Wish had more time to read.

Hobbies
Very few now... Sometimes I play squash and watch movies. Favourites are those which are completely mindless where you don’t need to worry about what is going to happen next. The most liked is Rain Man.

Cherished moment
I was lucky to join Citibank and I was very lucky to work with Jerry Rao... that changed my perspective a lot.

Advice to youngsters
They are quite different than what we are. Encourage them to do things that they want to do. There is power of hard work, just don’t give it away. Working hard and making sure you excel are important. The last thing I tell my kids is to be balanced... mine was a very academic-oriented life where 90% of the time I would spend studying. Today there are such enormous opportunities... my kids for example play music, they play more sports than I did, so I would certainly advise youngsters to go for a balanced life.

Testing moments for you
When I look back, I think that the last job (CEO of affordable housing co) was the most testing one and that has happened every time for me. Out of all the jobs I did, being an entrepreneur was the toughest, it is definitely tougher than running a scaled organisation.

Inspiration at work
I have for the longest period of time worked with Jerry and he has been an inspiration. I learnt ethics working under Nanoo Pamnani, who was a very tough task master.

If you were to start all over again
Maybe I will become a genetic scientist... Maybe I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing if I had to choose today. But I have enjoyed being a banker.

Work-life balance
It happens only on Sundays. My time with kids is very sacred I try not to work on Sundays. Take vacations regularly. Take full advantage of an extended three-day weekend.

Favourite chill-out place?
Forced to go nearby where there is air connectivity. Love wildlife sanctuaries like Kabini, Bandipur, and Coorg. Post retirement, Chile and Peru. There is a commercial flight from Santiago to the Antarctica. I would like to experience that.