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| Illustration by Sorit |
When I was 17, I was in Ahmedabad and my father was running all of seven mills. However, I was not interested in the business. Instead I wanted to become a professor, a poet and an astrologer.
We were very rich and had everything. However, it was not a ‘zamana’ of love but that of discipline. My father wondered why I wanted to pursue other interests and not our business. So, he said very clearly that I must become a professor if I was not interested in working with him.
Even when I was in school, I remember I used to tell students in advance if they would pass or fail. I would go to a tree and say a prayer and I would predict. My ability to predict and the fact that we were very well-to-do gave me a lot of confidence. I did what I planned and wanted for myself. Later, I went on to become the finest astrologer of Asia. Maybe it is because of genes or good karma.
I used to play a lot of sports such as cricket and tennis at that age. I also wrote a lot of poetry. Despite being a Parsi, I also believed in Ganesha (my astrological column in a leading paper is titled ‘Says Ganesha’). In fact, I have always had complete tolerance for all religions—Hinduism as well as Islam. Since childhood, I observed that people run after power, but that does not make them happy. I always believed in goodness, kindness and love. If I don’t love, I will die. I am 82 years old today, but I have the same belief in love as I did when I was 17.
As told to Prachi Pinglay-Plumber