Shivani Illakiya

Oscar Wilde's "If you want to be a grocer, or a general, or a politician, or a judge, you will invariably become it; that is your punishment," landed her in lifestyle journalism, and she has no complaints. She covers travel stories because she has never quite believed that one life, lived in one place, is ever going to be enough. Bourdainism, she suspects, will continue to guide the rest of her life. As a food correspondent, she is always on a hunt for history-soaked menus, but also detours into theatres, galleries, and comedy clubs, and has sat across enough celebrities and stand-up comedians to know that passion towards a craft, in any room, sounds the same.