ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP

Rishma Gill, 30, Chandigarh, Owner – Mystic Pines, Kasauli-Chandigarh

Why business? “Look, for someone like me, competing with oneself every day is way more important than titles, designations and time stipulations.” Rishma Gill, who worked with Columbia Pictures in Los Angeles Culver City from 2009 to 2011, adds that one tends to be more sensitive to criticism, far more emotionally charged about his/her project, so dealing with criticism becomes hard.

Setting up Mystic Pines “Sometimes what you plan for yourself and hope to achieve is so far off from your inner compass. That was the case for me—chasing the big city marketing job in the entertainment sector. I was temporarily boxed in my thinking.”

The achievements Gill is proud that she has brought The Mystic Pines in Kasauli, a six-room property, to a stage where it is now an established homestay with a steady clientele that won’t stay anywhere else in Kasauli.

The Challenges “A lot of it had to do with moving from city life to the middle of nowhere, where socialising went from networking and partying in LA and Mumbai, to discussions about terrorism with retired faujis over cognac and hot water at the Kasauli Club. Moving from an organised corporate set-up to a loosely defined work concept where you handle everything," Gill insists that everything was a challenge.