At Toit, our customers have always been our primary focus. They’re the ones who bring life to the place, create memories and end up giving the place its familiar, friendly vibe.

And there are so many different kinds of people who come through our doors daily, that we wanted to get to know their stories.

The Kudix Mug Holder of the Month is our little way of celebrating our customers, and their unique stories.

She seems like a tiny, unassuming girl from Kerala at first sight, but sit down for a conversation with our Mug Holder of the month and her openness to life and all things positive will take you by surprise. Say hello to Anu.

We ask this of every mug holder—why do you think you were selected?

Probably because I come here all the time. Whatever the occasion is, even if it’s a friend coming down to Bangalore, a promotion, or a heartbreak—we will be here.

Are you from Bangalore?

I’m basically from Kerala, but I’ve been here for the past three and a half years.

What do you do here?

I’m into digital marketing. I’m currently working for a startup, helping them build their digital marketing team.

I was a technology journalist before this, but a year ago, I shifted to digital marketing.

What made you move from Kerala to Bangalore?

The job. But Kerala was never the place for me. I was trying to get out, and when I got a job offer here, I jumped.

Are you liking it here in Bangalore?

Of course! I love Bangalore.

Have you always been a beer drinker?

Uhh…I’ve never liked bottled beer. The first brewed beer that I tried in Bangalore was at Toit. My then boss introduced me to Toit, about two and a half years ago. Craft beer was a new concept for me then, and I was intrigued. Now, I love brewed beers.

I used to be a whiskey person before this. Now I’ve stopped drinking alcohol completely. Toit Red is the only exception. I really like the aroma and taste of it. I enjoy the beer.

It’s been almost two years since I’ve been drinking only this.

You’ve been coming to Toit for a while now right? Any memorable memories?

There are so many!
One of the most recent ones is a breakup that I had. It happened here. But my best friend and beer were there, so it was fine.

Do you meet a lot of people here? Like do you go on dates here and meet people to date here?

That has happened. It’s not just about dating.
My second boss, I met her for the first time at Toit. We became friends, and later on, she called me up with a job offer for social media marketing asking if I’d be interested. And I got my second job that way.

But is it a nice environment to date? Are you open to men coming and asking you out on dates here?

Sometimes, yeah. Depends on the kind of people who come and ask you out, I guess.

You’ve been coming here from the time you were pretty young. What’s the one huge difference for a young, urban girl to move from Kerala to Bangalore?

The level of freedom. Maybe it’s because I’m not staying with my parents anymore, but that freedom felt good. That’s what I really wanted to experience.

There are a lot of things though—what I am wearing now, jeans and T shirt, at home would be fine. But if I go to a relative’s place, they will find it hard to accept. The college I studied in was a conservative place. If I go there dressed like this, they’ll be talking behind my back for sure.

Is there something compared to home that you don’t like about Bangalore?

The traffic! Other than that, Bangalore is fine.
You meet a lot of people here, from across the country and the world who are here for education or profession.

In your free time, is there something you enjoy doing? Like a hobby?

I love music, and I’m a big fan of karaoke. I go to almost every karaoke pub in Bangalore very regularly.

What’s your go-to karaoke song?

It’s difficult to choose one, but the most popular one among my friends that I sing is Black Velvet by Alannah Myles.
My friends say that I have the attitude and voice for that song. So yeah!

Is there a big difference between the young people here and back in Kerala? Or is it more or less the same?

I guess people here are more open to new ideas. They are comfortable talking about a lot of things that are to spoken about normally.

Like what?

Sexuality. That’s the best example I can give. You don’t talk about such things. Back there, they’ll say once you get married, you’ll get to know about it.

But people here are more open. I am a pansexual person. I am attracted to people irrespective of their gender—it might be a male, a female, or  someone who doesn’t conform to the binary gender identities.

I get attracted to them. I’m polyamorous too, which means I have multiple partners with the knowledge and consent of all partners. I am openly so.

 

 

You probably can’t be too open about this back home?

I can’t. But my mom stalks me on twitter, so she knows all of it. We’ve never had the talk, but I’m very vocal about it on social media platforms.

But you know, there is an unwritten rule in most families, that you don’t talk about such topics.

Has it been easy, having these unique life choices, in a country like ours?

I’ve always had these kind of ideologies. It’s a personal choice.

If I were in Kerala, it would have been a big issue—I would have faced the consequences of it.

But in a city like Bangalore, the people of our generation, are more open to such ideas. I mean, everyone might not be able to relate to it, but they will try to understand. It is easier to find other people who can relate to it, and are open about it.

So is Bangalore part of your long-term settling down plan?

I think if I’m settling down in India, I’d prefer Bangalore. But you never know what’s in store, so we’ll just have to see.

What’s the best thing about being you?

I’m a happy person. I don’t worry about too much, and maybe that’s because I’m not too judgmental about things until people prove me otherwise.