“Mumbai exudes a lot of style,” says fashion designer Neeta Lulla.

ou know, I have been out of the city for ten days and I have been yearning to return to Mumbai. The city attracts you, it pulls you to come back to it. The hustle and the bustle of the city, its warmth. The kind of feeling you get when come back from a long trip and have your first glass of water at home or if you have had a tiring day and slip into bed—that is the kind of comfort Mumbai has. It is cosmopolitan, it survives any kind of catastrophe, it’s friendly and it has its ups and downs. The entire aura of any place in Mumbai is distinctive and exudes a lot of style. The heritage sites such as Victoria Terminus instill a sense of pride even if you don’t frequent them.

I was working when I was growing up and I spent a lot of time on shoots in Filmcity. The place has a special charm. So I decided I would open an institute (The Neeta Lulla School of Fashion) at the place where I literally grew up. And I knew how it would make a student feel to study there. We have a two-and-a-half course in fashion and shorter courses in merchandising and online marketing.

I am a workaholic, so my idea of pampering myself revolves around the work I do. Even on a Sunday, I am watching television and sketching. And if I have more time than that, I paint oil on canvas. I am not the kind that likes massages, so I do that once in a while out of requirement.

I also enjoy shopping. It can be anywhere—from Fashion Street and Colaba Causeway to the little shops on Linking Road and the big designer outlets, I don’t restrict myself. Most of the time I am wearing clothes from my own line, but I pick up things that go with my outfit.