Purva Mehra is a food expert, a travel enthusiast and a Bandra native. She has worked as a journalist for Indian Express and Hindustan Times and been one of the core think tanks behind the website, Mumbai Boss. She’s also the co-founder of The Daily Pao – a website and social media platform popular among locals for its smart, insightful guides and editorials. Although The Daily Pao website is now defunct, Purva has been on her toes. We caught up with her for a quick update on what’s keeping her busy, and how she manages to look good while at it.
“After working for HT and Indian Express, I decided to go completely digital and started working at Mumbai Boss as the Food Editor. When Mumbai Boss shut down, I set up my own website called The Daily Pao, along with my former colleagues,” she tells us. What pushed Purva to start her own project? She shares, “The three of us who wrote for Mumbai Boss took a month long break after it shut. During this time, we realized that we didn’t want to take up regular jobs again. We wanted to create content we felt the city needed.” The Daily Pao ran for two and a half years, successfully. Was it challenging? “The phase between Mumbai Boss’ closure and figuring out The Daily Pao was tough because it all happened so suddenly. Overnight we were all out of jobs. But, it was important to make The Daily Pao happen because once you’ve helped create a product, you can’t settle for playing by set rules again. A regular job just didn’t feel creatively satisfying.”
So, what’s on her plate now? “I am working with a design firm called Please See, where I help build food brands, which is great!”, she grins, “I wanted to be a food expert, and this is helping me get there.” She’s also currently consulting with Book My Show to overhaul burrp.com. But that’s not all. Purva also runs an Instagram page called @doubledipbypurva, that’s sure to give you all kinds of travel, food and lifestyle envy. But, don’t fret because she’s more than happy to plan a vacation for you, complete with the hidden gems and local foods to try.
Speaking of, Purva is a self-confessed escapist who’s forever bitten by the travel bug. And, how does she unwind when she’s not living out of suitcases? “I am heavily into Japanese anime shows and fantasy fiction books! When the real world gets too bad, I make myself feel better with Disney and Netflix!”
Between travels, writing and helping food brands crack the code, how does she look after her skin? Purva tells us, “I cleanse my face every day and make it a point to moisturise and apply sun-screen. My mother and sister have had sensitive skin all their lives, which made us switch to home remedies. So, I’ve been applying fresh aloe gel on my face every day. I also regularly consume haldi and neem. For acne, my go-to solution is multani mitti – it always works!” But, Purva admits she’s not as regular as she’d like to be, “I’m more attentive to my skincare over the weekends. I get my facial done from Skin Story – Bandra. I should be going there regularly, but I end up visiting only once in three months.”
At the end of the day, Purva’s skincare philosophy is to keep things simple, realistic and natural. And we couldn’t agree more!