Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Pradeep Chaturvedi, Gurgaon
The Proustian self-introspection.
[By The Delhi Proustians]
The Proust Questionnaire represents a form of interview that owes its structure to answers given by French novelist Marcel Proust, the author of In Search of Lost Time, at two birthday parties that he attended at ages 13 and 20 in the late 19th century.
In early 2013, The Delhi Proustians started taking Les confidences de salon (Drawing room confessions) around the city to explore people’s lives, thoughts, values and experiences. The series involves interviews across Delhi and is conducted by writers Manika Dhama and Mayank Austen Soofi.
For the thirteenth installment of Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire, Pradeep Chaturvedi, a manager at a consulting firm, made confessions to Manika at his office in Gurgaon.
Your favorite virtue or the principal aspect of your personality
Patience
Your favorite qualities in a man
Intelligence, patience, clarity of thoughts, humour
Your favorite qualities in a woman
Street-smartness, patience, humour
Your chief characteristic
Listening
What do you appreciate the most in your friends?
Each one is a different character with very different personality traits
Your main fault
Inability to finish whatever I take up
Your favorite occupation
Travelling
Your idea of happiness
Spending good time with family and friends. Place is secondary
Your idea of misery or what would be your greatest misfortune?
Losing loved ones
If not yourself, who would you be?
Most likely a traveler with unlimited finances
Where would you like to live?
Hill station like Shimla or some place in Europe
Your favorite color and flower
Blue. Not that much into flowers
Your favorite bird
None in particular
Your favorite prose authors
John Grisham, Dan Brown. Usually I like a book and not any particular author
Your favorite poets
I like a particular poem than a particular poet. Mostly Hindi poems
Your favorite heroes in fiction
Batman, Maximus Aurelius, Robert Langdon, Andy Dufrene, Chandler
Your favorite heroines in fiction
None in particular
Your favorite composers
Santana, Madan Mohan
Your favorite painters
None in particular
Your heroes/heroines in real life
Rahul Dravid, Steven Gerrard
What characters in history do you most dislike?
None in particular
Your heroines in World history
None in particular
Your favorite food and drink
Indian snacks. Masala tea
Your favorite names
Vijay
What do you hate the most?
Hypocrisy
The military event you admire the most
India’s attack on Hyderabad for unified India
The reform you admire the most
Indian independence
The natural talent you’d like to be gifted with
Sporting intelligence
How do you wish to die?
Painless and peaceful death
What is your present state of mind?
Lack of future clarity
Faults for which you have the most tolerance
Honest mistakes
Your motto in life
Everyone has a right to make a choice and should be respected
Diving deep within, like Marcel
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omg! How is he able to wear three layers of clothes in this weather? he must be boiling under all that wool and polyester. A full-sleeved shirt is all you need. And in case you are a really hot guy , you need none.