Swati Pathak

Communications Strategist

At four, I had a daily ritual of tracing the same circular route inside an Air Force station, memorising the world one lap at a time. Years later, in Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune, I found myself doing the same thing. Every new city first became familiar beneath my feet.

Urban Sociology gave me a language and a kaleidoscope of perspectives to make sense of what I had been observing in cities through my walks. But it was the Urban Fellowship at IIHS that equipped me with the realization that my walks were a legitimate way of understanding and reading the city. Pavements, crossings, bus stops and everyday commutes reveal as much about a city as its plans and policies. That understanding drew me towards mobility as an everyday human experience, beyond infrastructure.

This found its way to Parisar. Over five years as a Program Associate, I learnt that lasting change is built collectively through knowledge and experience sharing. I also realised that even the strongest evidence travels only as far as the stories we tell about it. Somewhere between data and lived experience, I found my place in communications.

Today, as a Communications Strategist, I help tell stories about sustainable mobility, road safety, air quality and plastic reuse. I believe the most meaningful insights about cities often come from the people who experience them every day. If we listen carefully to those stories — and tell them well — we stand a better chance of building cities that work for everyone.

When not telling stories at work, I'm usually chasing them elsewhere: in movies and songs, on the tiles of the footpath, on the dance floor, in books or a blank page, or occasionally in a pot simmering on the stove.