start of my AI journey....a prelude

Aye retired from Air India on 31 Oct 2008 after 35 years and 9 months of service. My last posting was in Mumbai as Executive Director Cargo I joined Air India in Delhi in 1973 and travelled all over the world with AI both for business and pleasure Out of a total of 35 years of service I spent 12 years abroad in various stints at Muscat (Oman),Durban(South Africa),London (UK)and New York (USA),Paris(France) In addition I spent time in Mumbai and Bengaluru On the domestic front. With this brief background....on with the start of my journey in Air India My first memory of Air Travel dates back to mid fifties when my father,a government contractor had taken up construction assignments in Agartala We used to study in Delhi and visit him during our summer holiday In those days the quickest way to get to Agartala was by train from Delhi to Calcutta(Now Kolkatta) and then fly from there to Agartala by Indian Airlines in a Dakota aircraft over Now Bangla Desh (earlier East Pakistan) We used to stay overnight at the Railway Station in Kolkatta before taking the early morning flight to Agartala The evening in Kolkatta used to for be spent Shopping in the new Market,stick jaws at Firpos n shoes from JennKi...a Chinese shop.
Little did I know that I will join the airline industry and be a part of the Indian Aviation for over 35 years..More of that  later

For a looonnnng time, even before my retirement from Air India in 2008 after almost 36 years of service, I always cherished the dream of travelling the world.

Thanks to Air India the same was fulfilled. albeit partially, during my employment with Air India as I had the pleasure of being posted to various cities in the world. My assignments took me to Muscat(Oman),Paris(France).Durban(South Africa),London(UK) and New York(USA)
In addition I was privileged to having been posted in Bengaluru (Karnataka India ) and Mumbai (Mahrashtra)
All these assignments helped me to traverse the world, gain a better understanding of the diverse cultures. explore new cities, meet new people and forge long lasting friendships.
Still the hunger for travel was never satiated and I looked for every opportunity to visit new world cities as well as different parts of India.
I was able to visit Burkinafaso in Africa..A French capital which had to be approached through Paris only with an extended layover in the city. This was the only feasible routing which took more than 16 hours of flight time and almost 26 hours of total time. If only there was better connectivity the same could have been accomplished in less than 12 hours and at a cheaper cost
My journeys also took me to Sydney, Manila, Dubai ,Kuala Lumpur,Ipoh(Malaysia),Singapore,Bangkok,Hongkong.Kobe,Tokyo,Osaka,St Petersburg (Russia).Manchester (UK),Maui (Hawaii),Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia),Frankfurt, Chicago, Toronto..just to name a few….

I have traversed t India from North to the South and East to the West visiting tourist spots and religious places
While each and every place had its own uniqueness be it culture, language, cuisine, unity in diversity,the experience on our visit to Alaska on a seven day sea cruise outshines everything..may be because it is the latest ,and hence most fresh in our minds
For various reasons I did not keep a chronicle of my visits to various cities, places now I am attempting to do so (starting with Alaska) trip.. so that I am able to reach out to friends and family and give them an insight of what we saw and what they can expect in case they do undertake such a journey.

(To be continued)……….

माय पोएट्री

jab paimano ke saath saath dil bhi toot jaate hai
nashe sharaab ke aksar utar jaate hain
par hosh aane nahin deta gar ho nasha shabaab ka
gar utar jaaye yeh toh yaad aata hai saath phir sharaab ka


zakhm chipane mein ham mahir the
jab talak unse na the mile

पत्थरों के इस शहर में,
इंसान ढूँढ़ते हैं.
अरमानों की गलियों में,सुकून तलाशते हैं,
अजनबी बने उसकी गलियों में भटकते हैं,
,और खुद को उसकी चाहतों में ढूँढ़ते हैं

साउथ अफ्रीका..nostalgia

Varun my elder son and Poonam are in South Africa for a three week holiday
Varun studied in Durban and Johanneburg for about 4 years and also worked there.So he is showing all the places to Poonam

I am talking to him everyday on the phone and as and when he tells me what he did in South Africa it brings back nostalgic memories of the good times we spent there from 1993 to 1997

It was a challenge to be posted there as we had to start from the scratch..setting up the office,looking for office space,recruiting staff,developing the route,upgrading the aircraft from a A310 to a daily 747 service,welcoming Inder Gujral the first Indian PM to independent South Africa,one to one meeting with charismatic Mandela...the list can go on

But the memoirs of Durban where I was posted will not be complete without mentioning the good friends we made...Sharma Maharaj (now Late)and family,Rabi and Vijay and the children,Suresh and jane and family,Shirley naidoo of Hair sensations (I had rechrishened her shop as HAIR TRANSFORMATIONS after seeing her weave magic with the peoples hair),Latha Reddy Consul general India in Durban,Vinay and Pooja,Anil and Anu,Skand and Kusum Tayal (all from Indian Consulate)Anoop and Atula from Hindustan Levers........and so on and so forth.Sarita
and Vivek (still in SA),Pramod and Sheela Khandelwal(now in Indore),Sharmas (in NOIDA)
Not to forget Romi and Rajendra Chetty,Mamoo and devi rajab who got Varun admission in the University of Westville ,Yogin Devan who gave Varun his first journalistic break.

I got hooked on to South African wines ,enjoyed the Brai(equivalent of Barbeque),learnt how to gamble and lose,bet on horse racing attend Chefs Lunches in the Hotel Kitchen

Over a period of 4 years I recruited about 12 to 15 staff and the culmination was when about 5 of the staff who had left AI for grrener pastures came to attend a farewell dinner which I hosted for my staff.I can never forget Sonal Soni nee gandhi (great granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi)my first assistnat in Durban,Kavenna pather,Kalpita

Such are the ties ,the love and affection that we got there that I often prayed that I be demoted in AI and sent back to South Africa.

Buth then if wishes were horses angels would fly

Thank you Varun and Poonam for taking us back to South Africa and relive those memories through your eyes..God Bless you both

करले शामिल मुझे तू अपने ख्वाबों में,
रात तेरी शायद और भी रंगीन हो जायेगी,
छह कर भी तेरे दरस कर नहीं सकता रातों को,
की उद्द गयी है नींद मेरी बाद तुझसे मिलने के

मन की कसक हम किसे बताएं
दिखता ही नहीं कोई जो हमें समझ पाए
लिखते हैं हम सिर्फ इस्सी उम्मीद पर
की शायद वोह इससे पढ़े और हमारे दिल की बात जान जाएँ