Celebrity Bites: Sabina Sanghvi

Sabina lives life queen size. That’s life as Station Director at Radio One Pune. This extrovert personality delves into her love for travel and a new hobby as she chats with us over her favourite Indian food

Text: Shraddha Mishra    
Photographs: Vijay Barathe
Location: Adda, The O Hotel, Pune

How is a typical day in your life?
My day starts with some form of workout every morning. I especially enjoy swimming. I alternate between aerobics and aqua aerobics. For the major part of the day I am out at work, so my day is pretty much packed. When I get back, I enjoy a comforting home-cooked meal.

So, you like to remain fit; do you follow a particular diet routine, too?
I try to keep up with my exercise routine. However, when it comes to food, I don’t resist. I eat everything and I enjoy my food completely. Dieting is really not for me at all!

What do you enjoy when dining out?
I love eating Japanese food and I absolutely love Indian food. Indian cuisine has such a grand variety to offer; wherever you go there is a regional speciality. I love it all, my most favourite being Bengali food. The O Hotel has a beautiful rooftop restaurant called Adda and I love dining out there. Their dal makhani is delicious. They also do a good Purdah Dum Biryani. The condiments they serve with it make it a perfect meal. I also like the Japanese restaurant there called Harajuku. I dine out there quite often. It is one of my favourite places to eat because there are not many Japanese restaurants in Poona. Neelam Seolekar, the MD of O Hotels, is a very good friend. That makes it all the more special!

And to drink?
I enjoy Chilean wines occasionally, but what I truly love is a peachy single malt. Hits the spot!

Do you like to host dinners at home?
We entertain a lot. We have several small groups of friends whom we invite frequently and have a great time together. We also have poker nights. For food, we serve our traditional Marwari cuisine. It’s a little bit of our culture and our food that we love to share when we have guests. Dal baati, papad sabzi, gatte ki sabzi, mattar ki kachori, achaars, chutneys, the works. All made at home.

You come across as very social and friendly. True?
I am a total extrovert. I love talking to people; I can talk to anyone, be it a seven-year-old child or a 70-year-old person. I love hanging out with my friends, and I thrive in their company. I love the outdoors as well.

Do you also enjoy travelling?
I love travelling, it is a major part of my life. It is one of my best stress busters. I travel almost every month. I like to visit both international and Indian destinations.

Is there a destination that you like to keep going back to?
I enjoy safaris. I have gone on several of them, but the destination that keeps me going back is East Africa. I have been there four times already. I have even travelled extensively in India, to wildlife destinations like Ranthambore, Kanha, Kaziranga.

These destinations must lend themselves to beautiful photography. Is that something you enjoy?
I don’t like taking photographs. I feel if there is something wonderful in front of me, I must be in the moment and take it in completely. I don’t like to miss out on that ‘real’ experience because I was busy clicking on my camera. Rather than photographing the wildlife, I enjoy watching the animals intently.

Are you an animal lover?
Absolutely, yes I am! I have grown up with animals at home. We have always had dogs. Even now, we have cats, a mongoose, snails… all of these have made a home for themselves at our house. I have a pet Coton de Tulear breed dog. We have named him Cotton.

Being an outdoorsy person, how did you handle being locked down at home during the global pandemic?
I was travelling during that time, too, but with due precaution of course. I had a very positive experience. The flights were being sanitised so well, even the hotels were ensuring utmost precaution that were mandated. Though when I was actually at home, I caught up on a lot of shows on Netflix. I watched several historical programmes. I like intellectual content, nothing frivolous. No nonsense. Earlier, I used to read a lot, especially newspapers. During the lockdown, I became a total TV junkie.

How else do you like to unwind?
I enjoy watching movies at leisure. When I am alone and want some downtime, I like to relax with a bit of music. I would definitely call myself a music lover. I enjoy listening to songs and of course, tune in to the radio every now and then.

Chef Mohammed Misbah Shaikh

Purdah Dum Veg Biryani