Back in 2013, Venkat Prasad left his comfortable job and a promising career at Google/YouTube to team-up with his co-founder Sameer Pitalwalla, to start a media and digital tech network. Culture Machine then exploded on to the Indian media scene with channels such as Being Indian, BLUSH, Put Chutney, and VIVA.
An entrepreneur at heart, Venkat has a penchant for building scalable products, building global teams, and creating value for all his stakeholders. When not globe-trotting on his business trips and meeting clients, he spends quality time at his home in the San Francisco Bay Area in the US.
During his recent visit to India, we had an opportunity to visit his Chennai home in Alwarpet for an exclusive tête-à-tête. Here are the excerpts.
“My house has evolved over time”
“My mother bought this place about forty years ago. It is a 5BHK spread across 2,000 sq. ft. I was born and brought up in this house. Though it has evolved over time, the emotions are intact.”
Nostalgia creeps in. As you enter the house, right in front, you see a swing. A ceiling fan creaks lazily in the humid Chennai heat. It might be hot, but the front of the house almost invites you to settle in with a book. Venkat Prasad agrees. “I like the swing here, and I have many memories of playing here.” But that’s not his most-loved space. It is the study where he spent many hours poring over his books that remains Venkat’s favourite corner in his house.
“There is a subtle influence of Chennai’s culture in my US home”
Venkat’s first house in the US was in Southern California where he stayed for seven years.
“That house holds a special place in my life as I saw it being built from scratch. My present house is in Northern California and has a mesmerising view. It’s like sitting on a rooftop,” Venkat says.
As you cross over from the veranda and enter the main living room, you can immediately sense a different atmosphere in the house. The verandah was meant to screen visitors, as in the Agraharams of yore. The living room is more intimate with a pooja shrine having prominence.
Venkat agrees. “In this house in Chennai, you can see many pictures of gods, especially as my Mom is a bit religious. But in the US, it’s a bit different. I still have a small pooja setup there though, and that’s where Chennai’s influence creeps in, but nothing overtly religious.”
“I always wanted a backyard”
Venkat says that he had three preferences when he bought his present home in the US:
● I wanted an office space where I could work in peace
● I also needed a place to keep all my books
● Lastly, I wanted a backyard. This Chennai house has a very small one without any gardens. But having a house with a backyard was one of those dreams you keep working towards.
“I collect souvenirs from wherever I travel”
Being the co-founder of Culture Machine, Venkat’s life has involved a lot of travel. How hard is it to keep a home when you are on the road?
“It isn’t easy”, Venkat admits. But he stills thinks of home when he travels. “For the first 15-16 years of my professional life, I used to take a vacation once every three months. I have travelled to almost 35 countries, lived in Zurich for a month and a half, been to South America, Canada, Japan, and also South-East Asia. During those days, I used to get some trinkets and souvenirs from all these places. In fact, when I travelled to Switzerland, I bought a bell from the same place where they shot DDLJ.” (That old Bollywood movie starring Shahrukh and Kajol, remember?)
These days, Venkat travels more for business, which means that you end up travelling to the same place multiple times. Not ideal for souvenir-collecting. But these days, it’s not souvenirs he wants to collect. “The only thing that I want is good sleep, which I have been missing quite a bit,” he laughs.
“European houses are like fairy tales”
We have all heard of Hans Christian Andersen’s stories. For Venkat, European houses have a wonderful charm reminiscent of those fairy tales. “I like the way houses are built in Europe, especially in Belgium. These are so like fairytale houses in their style and use of colours.” What about the décor? There, Venkat favours minimalism.
“I think it clears your head and helps you keep your mind clean.”
“I feel lost if things are not organised”
Decluttering is all the rage these days. With increasingly smaller spaces, house owners are realizing that clutter can quickly add boundaries to such spaces. “I am a very organized person, and I like things being in a certain way. Also, since I don’t have a good memory, I keep things in one place, and I expect it to be in that place.
“My keys, my phone, pens, books, all of them have a specific place. If I don’t find them there, I feel lost.”
“I love Tamil classic literature”
Being an avid reader, Venkat loves spending his free time reading books, watching movies, meditating, hiking, mentoring, and Salsa dancing.
“I am very fond of Tamil classic literature. I love reading Thirukkural, which is a classic Tamil text consisting of 1,330 couplets dealing with the everyday virtues of an individual. I also love the writings of Subramania Bharati (also known as Bharathiyar).”
Finally, Venkat has some recommendations for our readers.
● Have a small book collection. It is important to have that rich thought process that comes from reading books
● Be organised
● Have specific areas in your house to do specific activities to maintain the balance