Life after COVID | Would love to invite Oprah home: Aditi Shrivastava of Pocket Aces Pictures

Post the pandemic, humans may start treating the planet with a lot more respect, says Aditi Shrivastava.

Note to readers: While we accept the reality of the coronavirus, it is important to be optimistic. We must believe that there will be a day when the disease will no longer be the all-destroying scourge it is today. And when that day comes, we will be able to enjoy life, maybe with a few adjustments, the way we did before COVID-19. To that end, we are starting ‘If Covid Vanished ...’, a series of interviews with corporate heads and achievers, where we ask them where they’d like to travel or eat, who’d they like to meet, and so on, if the world became Corona-mukt.

Behind the king that is content is often a woman, in some capacity or the other. Former Wall Streeter Aditi Shrivastava, Co-Founder, Pocket Aces, is part of a team that specialises in digital entertainment for the millennial. The company’s channels - FilterCopy, Dice Media, Gobble and Loco – are popular among the young, and earned it $4.6 million in revenue in 2019.

Shrivastava’s resume boasts graduating magna cum laude from Princeton University in electrical engineering and computer science. She is also a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), and worked five years at Goldman Sachs in New York. She moved to Mumbai and joined the quest to ride the cresting content wave.

A chat with Shrivastava on things she’d do if the invisible walls created by COVID ever collapse.

If COVID went away or became easily manageable, which city would you like to travel to first and why?

I would catch the first flight out to Texas and visit my 3.5-year-old niece who I haven’t seen for almost two years now thanks to the pandemic.

Which restaurant/ bar would you go to first and why?

Cecconi’s at Soho House - been missing their pizzas!

Which famous stranger would you like to invite home and talk to?

Oprah Winfrey. Because I love her courage and her work, and would love to talk to her about the media empire that she’s built.

What public performance/ occasion would you like to attend?

I miss the Lil Flea Market that used to take place every March / April showcasing the work of some super-talented indie designers. Would love to go to that again.

What group activity would you like to participate in?

Go out dancing with my friends. It’s been a while since that’s happened.

What new skill would you like to learn?

I’d like to go deeper into my yoga practice, and learn more advanced techniques and asanas.

The first song that comes to mind when you think of a COVID-free world.

Heal the World by Michael Jackson. ‘Make it a better place… for you and for me and the entire human race...’ I hope the one thing that sticks post this pandemic is that humans start treating the planet with a lot more respect. Otherwise, it will not be long before she takes vengeance again.

What bad habit will you work on eliminating in a world that is open again?

I don’t have too many bad habits actually.

What will you do with your masks?

I will continue to use masks for a bit - they protect from pollution as well.

What would your motto be for life after the pandemic?

Tough times don’t last forever, tough people do. We can’t predict if another pandemic will occur, but we can do our best to endure any tough time that arises.