Lunch with BS: Ananya Birla

She does not carry money. She has learnt to play guitar all by herself. She is planning to launch her own soul and R&B album, and has got a tattoo on her arm that says “conquer”. She could easily pass for a rock star in the making. But at 21, Ananya Birla has also built a microfinance business with a loan book of Rs 500 crore and plans to turn it into a small finance bank. If that isn’t enough, she has another start-up ready for launch. Little wonder that her mother keeps reminding her that Rome was not built in a day.  Share Market Astrology
On a Thursday afternoon, I am waiting at the lobby of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, Mumbai, as the young Birla enters in a pair of blue denims, a grey shirt and gold-streaked hair. Her high-heeled sandals make her an inch taller than me.    Nifty Trading Tips

We take the lift to the Souk, a rooftop restaurant in the 22-storey tower section of the hotel that has the picturesque Arabian Sea and the Gateway of India as its backdrop. She has chosen her favourite restaurant in town. As we settle down and go through the menu card she talks about her love for Asian food, especially the Lebanese fare that the restaurant offers. I struggle with the menu and prefer to take cues from her. She says she is learning to pronounce the names of the dishes correctly with help from a Lebanese friend.   Commodity Market Astrology Tips

We order her favourite vegetarian salad, the tabbouleh as starter, and a dish of falafel and hummus for the main course. She adds a virgin mojito while I settle for some fresh lime and soda.

With a second venture in the offing, this fifth-generation entrepreneur from the Birla clan is no doubt quite prolific. I ask what is the source of her inspiration. “I literally follow my heart,” says Birla, who counts start-ups and music as her two passions. “I think a combination of these two can make a great difference to the world,” she quips.    Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

I am aware of her microfinance business, Svatantra, that lends to women entrepreneurs in rural India. It provides technology-enabled cashless disbursement and is working on a cashless collection mechanism that will require the use of digital wallets. I am also aware about her next start-up venture that will entail selling inaccessible artwork over an e-commerce platform. Sensex Astrology 

We switch to her other passion — music. She has been playing the santoor since she was seven and the guitar for about six years now. She writes lyrics and composes music and is planning to launch a soul and R&B album. “It sounds rather silly and clichéd but reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull (by Richard Bach) has really turned around my life,” she says.