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 loves her beer, she loves her football, she loves her animals, and boy, does she love rasam rice. Say hello to Aditi Prabhakar, the Kudix Mug Holder you’d better remember not to bad mouth Manchester United in front of—unless you want some beer thrown on your face. Yup!

Have you been in Bangalore your whole life?

Yeah, I’m from Bangalore.

What do you do?

I’m an entrepreneur. I’m the co-founder of a wine app called Winescapes.

Before that, I worked at an ad agency for two and a half years. I figured people our age, at least abroad, and especially girls, drink a lot of wine but don’t have a clue about it as such.

This was just an idea I had when I did my thesis in 2011, so I just thought if not now, then never. And if it doesn’t work out, I can always go back to a mainstream job. But I just felt that now is the time I want to do it.

Tell me a little about your app.

When you walk into a wine store you have criteria—say price, red or wine, basic things. My app helps you select which kind of wine you want, from which part of the world, and also your price range. Based on that, you get a list of wines, from the best to the worst.

So, as soon as you walk into a wine store, you can type in your criteria and get the wine that you want. And it is rated based on peer to peer voting. All the people who are on the app vote for the wines.

How has the experience of being an entrepreneur been so far?

It’s going good, but it has been difficult too. It’s not like a steady job, where you know you’re going to be getting a salary at the end of the month. And this whole digital e-commerce platform changes everyday. You have your ups and your downs.

One thing though, is that you are your own boss, but sometimes it’s difficult to motivate yourself.

But you’re always learning and constantly getting new business opportunities that would be more conducive for your business. So in that way, it is very dynamic—there are no rules.

I have friends who think the glass ceiling still exists for women entrepreneurs, but I haven’t ever faced it. I think your work speaks for itself, and I’m such a tomboy, most people just think of me as a guy anyway!

So do you have a favourite wine?

I really like the Sula Shiraz, among Indian wines. But I’m not really a wine person. I’m more of a beer person—I love beer!

So, do you have a favourite type of beer?

Dark. I love Stouts. I also like trying beers when I travel. Two beers I really liked were the Red Hook Long Hammer, which I ordered solely because I liked the name. I had this when I was visiting my brother in the States and it was damn good.

And the other one was called Terrapin. Because it’s also the name of a Grateful Dead album, I just had to try it.

Do you like rock music as well then? And do you perform?

Rock and roll, old school music basically.

And well, if someone plays the guitar I will sing along, but I’m not a singer. Or if I get drunk, I’ll sing karaoke!

What other things are you into?

I play tennis, because my entire family is a tennis family. And I love football. More than tennis.

It’s like this—if you ask me whether I’ve got my nails done, I’ll say no. But I will know everything there is to know about Manchester United.

People ask me do you like Manchester United because everyone else likes them, and I’m just like no bugger, I’ve liked them since I was 9 and they were the very first team I watched play.

It sounds stupid maybe, but that was the first game I watched, and it was against Tottenham and they came back from 3-0 down, to win 5-3.

That was the game when I was like, “Oh my god! What is this team?”

Some people find it strange that Indians are so personally, one could say even patriotically, invested in the English Premier League. What’s your take on that?

I know. I’ve lost best friends because they’ve been fans of another team, and refused to admit Manchester United was better in some aspects than their team.

I mean, I’m patriotic but I don’t mind admitting that Arsenal has a better youth team or South Hampton has a great youth team.

But I feel that this investment has really helped football in India. Take the Bangalore Football Club for example. I’ve started following them only because of this love for League football.

Also, the reason EPL is so popular is because you always have something to do on a Saturday night, no matter what! Especially if you’re a football fan dating another football fan, you know your Saturday plan is sorted.

Have you ever dated a non-Manchester United fan?

See, I have rules. I can’t date a non-Manchester United fan because it’s never going to work out.

Seriously. There’s going to be too much of friction.

Either a Manchester United fan or a non-football at all. Because the latter won’t care, so I wouldn’t have anyone arguing about it with me.

Do you need to keep establishing how you genuinely are a football fan, being a girl?

Yeah. I get that a lot. And it pisses the hell out of me. But it’s cool, because I always have my guy friends around who’re always like, “Bro, don’t mess with her. She knows her stuff.”

We ask this of every Kudix Mug Holder—why do you think you were selected as the KMH of the month? Be honest!

Because I come here so much!  I used to keep coming here for the Nitro Stout, because they have, in my opinion, the best Stout in town. And now, I’m falling in love with the Toit Hefeweizen.

And the amount of beer I drink. I think I remember having about 13 glasses. I know I went past that 10 pint mark, because I got that free beer. So, something past 10 for sure.

So, quick lists. Three things you couldn’t survive without! (Not the cheesy love, family, or obvious water, food stuff.)

1) Rasam rice.

2) Cake, any sort of cake.

3) And the sea. I love swimming.

And do you have a list for the qualities you’d want in a man you’d date? What are the top five?

Ya! So-

1) Should be sarcastic as hell. But not in a mean way, just have sarcastic wit. Like Hugh Laurie.

2) Should be a Manchester United fan.

3) Needs to love animals. And he needs to respect the fact that I love animals and that I do animal rescues and stuff.

4) He should make me feel I’m bloody extraordinary, no matter what. Just make me laugh so much I feel great. Like not giggle or smile, just laugh out loud.

5) I’m not so much of a girly girl, so he should let me be me. I’m the type who has come to Toit in pyjamas. I don’t really give a damn about a lot of things, and he should respect that and not give a damn either.

How does Toit figure in your life?

I’ve been coming here since it opened. I come here with my best friends—Reagan, Thapa, Savio. They brought me here first, and I initially hated it because it was so crowded then, being new and all. Then I just started coming and haven’t stopped since.

I love this place, obviously because of the beer, but also because they have such an awesome staff. I mean, these guys treat me like I’m family.

I also have my dates with my girlfriends Ananya, Priyanka, Lakshmi and Sannam here—we don’t talk to each other the whole week, but once a week, we’re here, in Toit, catching up. We cry, we laugh, but yeah, this is the place for us.