BENGALURU: It’s never a light work day for Isha Pant. But no matter what her schedule looks like, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East) makes sure that none of her appointments goes amiss. But life is not always all work and no play.
A recent social media video of her singing in Kannada went viral, leaving everyone pleasantly surprised. "Sometimes we have a stern personality but that’s the nature of the job, which also has us dealing with criminal issues," says Pant, whose playlist consists of a collection of old Hindi movie tunes, classical music and popular South Indian songs. "Since I am married to a Telugite, who also speaks excellent Kannada, I get exposed to Telugu, Tamil and Kannada songs too."
One can’t tell when a typical day in her life ends but it always begins the same way: With dropping her daughter to school. "I make sure I spend some time with my two-and-a-half-year-old as soon as the day begins or else it is difficult to see her,” explains Pant, who is almost always spotted in her khaki uniform. Full of surprises, she quickly adds that she loves denims and T-shirts but hardly gets time to don those.
"I prefer sarees for parties but funnily, people just walk past me without recognising me," says the 35-year-old who is married to an IAS officer. She admits that she is a "homebound girl" when it comes to food and prefers healthy home cooked meals over anything oily. She’s also particular about not skipping meals.
It may be hard to believe but Pant was actually a naughty kid. The youngest of three sisters, she was often pampered. "The only person who was strict with me was my eldest sister," says Pant who eventually left the safety net of her family during her training for the Indian Police Service.
She recalls an incident her friend narrated when she took her civil services exams. "There was incident in Bhopal, where my friend witnessed a minor girl being molested in front of everyone in the balcony. Nobody did anything," says Pant, while speaking of the story that helped convince her to join the IPS.
Though known to be a tough cop, Pant makes sure she is approachable. “People should be afraid of the law, not cops,” says Pant whose biggest achievement has been helping women from small villages directly come to her because of abuse they face at home.