Shriya Srivastava flies to earn a living, but runs for happiness. When she has free time, which is rare, this senior pilot at SpiceJet travels internationally to run prestigious marathons, both long and short. But when time is a constraint, she heads to park near home for a few rounds with her trainers on. Being in Delhi is a green deal for people like her, who don’t have to travel too far from home in search of clean tracks. Travel too far she does, and often, when her airplane takes off from various destinations. Back home, again, she runs to relax. She is happy that each colony has a well-kept garden with a well-paved path for avid runners like her. “What’s even more encouraging is that there are scores of other enthusiastic runners like me who take their tracks very seriously. Be it at five in the morning, or eight at night, I’m sure to find somebody sweating it out,” says Srivastava.
When she goes from working out to working in at the airport, she works to be a good sport. “I try my best to make the cockpit an amiable space. It’s a good way of ensuring that everybody is happy, and hence more productive,” she says. The same kind of positive intention is seen at the Raahgiri event in the city, according to her, where the entire community gathers to acheive a common goal, and that’s getting healthy. “Bicycle clubs, hiking and trekking groups, yoga studios—it all happens here. The ability to belong, to make a difference, to reduce your carbon footprint, to plant a tree, to stand up for what is right, that’s what defines Delhi, and in a sense, influences all of us for the better,” she says. Living in Delhi, she believes, one’s dreams get a fair chance of coming true. “Since Delhi is the centre of power, there’s constant improvement and advancement in infrastructure, policies and governance that influence our thoughts. It makes achieving the seemingly unachievable possible. That’s one of the things I love about the city,” she says.
Coming from a family of bankers, musicians, artists and scientists, Srivastava has had a cosmopolitan upbringing. “It’s a melting pot of backgrounds. Look from one end of the spectrum to the other, and you’ll always find someone, or something to relate to. It makes you feel comforted and I owe it to the city for always making me feel at home,” she says.