It’s tough staying true to yourself. Most people are constrained by environmental and societal inhibitions from expressing themselves. Which is why Tara Melwani, the woman at the helm of the Jay Gee Group, which distributes Levi’s Jeans, launched the “Stay True” campaign recently under the Levi’s banner—to discover what makes individuals original and different, and to celebrate individualism.

What is your current state of mind?
A happy mental state of mind.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
My ambitions change every year, from an air stewardess to piano teacher to social worker. I’ve also done graphic design.

What inspires you?
My spiritual teacher, the Dalai Lama; and this current “Stay True” campaign.

What personal trait do you appreciate the most in others?
Kindness.

What is your idea of hell?
When you are a prisoner of your own mind, when you go through physical pain because of some illness or when you go through very difficult experiences like a divorce, a break-up—that’s hell.

What’s your guilty pleasure?
Drinking cappuccino and the sugar I add into it.

How do you recharge?
I need quiet time to focus my mind. My mind creates the experience of my life and affects how I feel. I take time to reflect and flip my mind to take a different view of things.

What’s playing in your ipod/MP3/CD player?
’80s music.

What are you reading?
Practicing the Path by Yangsi Rinpoche.

What do you collect?
Nothing. I’ve given practically all my clothes away and my wardrobe is kept to its minimum.

Where would you like to live?
Singapore. I have never lived anywhere else.

Do you have a cause or do you support one?
I’m raising funds now for the Maitreya Project Universal Education School in Bodhgaya, India.

What is your biggest achievement?
Organizing the Dalai Lama’s public talk in Bangalore a few years ago. It was attended by 9,000 people.

How do you spend your Sunday mornings?
In silence, meditating and reading the newspapers.

Which person do you admire most and would like to invite for dinner?
Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama and Mahatma Gandhi.

What about you that scares others?
I honestly don’t know. You have to ask them.

If you had to play a character in a movie, which movie and which character?
I would want to be the fifth hobbit in The Lord of the Rings. There are only four hobbits, so they’ll have to create a fifth girl hobbit just for me.

What did you believe at 18 that you wish you still believe now?
Everyone has goodness in them and wants to make a difference in the world. And that it’s our right to be happy in this world. I believed in these then and I still do now.