Samridh Malik, 5
Son of Sahil and Shivani Malik, owners of Da Milano
He might study only in Class I, but Samridh Malik has very grown-up views on everything and puts them forward with refreshing ease. His family runs the Da Milano leather goods company, with his mother Shivani heading sales and marketing and his father as CEO. Samridh says his daily routine, is simple—school, art classes and football. Weekends are what he really looks forward to.
“These two days are special for me as I get to have some fun. Sundays are always family time. We go out, play games, shop, have lunch and dinner together,” he says.
Samridh calls himself an outdoor boy, who loves to run and play football. “But I also paint, sing and dance in my free time,” says the student of Modern School, Vasant Vihar. Asked what he wants to do when he grows up, Samridh is all smiles as if he was waiting for this question. “I want to be a successful businessman like my dad. He’s my hero,” he says.
He tells us what he likes about Delhi and what he doesn’t with equal intensity. “It’s not like the cities I have travelled to,” he says. Samridh, who’s been travelling since he was three months old, rattles off an enviable list of places he’s been to: Switzerland, London, the US, Alaska, Canada, Singapore and Thailand. This also means he has a lot of places to compare Delhi with.
The five-year-old, who is still into Mickey Mouse and car racing games, feels Delhi can be a Smart City only if there are no traffic jams on the roads. “I get upset for little children who have to beg on the streets. I wish someone would do something for them,” he says.
What would you do to improve the city if you were Delhi’s Chief Minister?
If I was the CM, I would have improved public transportation to reduce traffic jam and take steps to make the city safer for kids. And I would have taken measures to reduce pollution too.
What does Smart City mean to you?
A city without traffic jam and beggars is a Smart City. A city where there are schools for every kid and jobs for everyone.
Do you think Delhi is or can be a Smart City?
Delhi can be a Smart City, but somebody needs to make it like other big cities of the world.
Things you like about Delhi.
I love monuments, food, toy shops. I love to live here because my whole family is in the city.
Things you don’t like about the city.
I don’t like the traffic and that it is unsafe for kids; there’s pollution, crime and beggars.