Idli-Sambar after a long journey is my Bengaluru moment

By Divya Shekhar

1. What makes Bengaluru tick?

For me, Bengaluru is home sweet home, where I can sleep in my own bed! After those long journeys and staying in hotel rooms, to come back to your own home and just enjoy the day, even if I am doing nothing and just relaxing, really gives me a lot of peace.

The traffic is bad and we all know it and we all complain about it, but still, for someone like me who loves driving, when I am in the city I drive around everywhere.

Any type of food is just a phone call away. If you are too lazy to cook, there are several services now in Bengaluru that bring whatever food you want right to your doorstep in a maximum about 45 minutes! Then of course there is Bengaluru's very own pub culture, which is really fun and some live bands make it really special.

2. What is your favourite Bengaluru moment?

While it is hard to pick just one specific moment, I would say that my favourite moments in Bengaluru are spending time with family and friends. Probably the one truly Bengaluru moment that I relish is the taste of my first breakfast of traditional south Indian food, idly sambar, once I am back in the city.

3. If you were the dictator of Bengaluru, what is the first change you would bring? Why?

If I were the dictator of Bengaluru, the first thing I would do is improve the safety of the citizens. I would put up solar-powered streetlights in every street and corner and ensure there are 24hour video surveillance cameras all over, to ensure people are safe and crime is under control.

4. Who is your favourite Bengalurean? Why?

My favourite Bengalureans are the newspaper boys. These guys, who deliver newspapers to thousands of us at our doorsteps every single day, are really special. A couple of years ago, there was this guy called Shiva Kumar who started as a newspaper boy and then got his degree and eventually got into IIM.

5. If not Bengaluru, which city? Why?

It would be Pune. I lived there for almost five years and it is similar to Bengaluru in many ways -the weather, the food culture and the cosmopolitan nature. I made a lot of friends during my years in Pune who I am close to even today. Pune was also where I began my career and I have a soft corner for it.