Mangalore Express--- A Nightmare of a Journey--- 10th Apr 2011

I'm a frequent traveller to Trichy from Chennai.I take either the Mangalore Mail that leaves at 10 PM or the Rockfort Express which leaves at 10.30 PM.

I'm usually a sound sleeper on trains and I've never had a problem travelling by either train---- until yesterday, that is.

I had had a very tiring week end on 9th and 10th Apr.On 9th, we had an Office Meeting followed by a get -together in a Beach Resort.We had played cricket there and then I got back at 8.30 PM.Sandeep had booked tickets for "The King's Speech" for the 10.30 PM and we got back at 1 AM. Next day, Sudha & I  had gone for a Sathyanarayana Pooje followed by a heavy lunch. When we got back, Deepali was at home and we were exchanging a lot of stories including how she met Anil Srivatsa for the first time and their whirlwind romance and wedding.

Immediately thereafter, we had to rush to R K Nagar for a Colony meeting and got back at 9 PM. I packed my luggage for the trip to Trichy and wolfed down by Dinner and left by 9.20 PM.On the way to Egmore Station, I made calls to Malathesh and Sachin. All this is to let you know how frazzled I was and therefore I was really looking forward to settling down in my 1st AC compartment and having a good sleep. My co-passengers were a 12 year old boy accompanied by his 80 year grandmother and they were to get off at Srirangam at 3 AM.My other co-passenger was a business who was getting off at Karur ( after Trichy).

I had a lower berth.The first thing I noticed was that the lower berths were occupied.I soon sent the 12 year old boy upstairs and snuggled down to sleep.

In a few minutes, the Karur businessman was on to a long business call.By the time he finished, I knew all the details of his business.As soon as he finished, the 12 year old got a call.It was from his dad,asking if he had settled down.Our chap said that he had settled down very well, was into the 3rd page of his Tinkle Comics and also wanted to know whether mum, sis, little bro and their Pomeranian had gone to sleep.He then gave the phone to his grandma who said that she had said her prayers and was settling down to sleep.She also wanted to know whether Prabha( d-i-l), Priya( granddaughter) and Parthiban ( grandson) had gone to sleep--- and oh, she had forgotten to ask about Dolly, the little Pomeranian ( a fuff, in Greeshma's words).

Everyone was well and sleeping ( except me!!). Just when the little brat switched off his dad's call, he got another call--- this was from his uncle at Srirangam.Did he and Paati get on the train and were they well settled ? Yes, said our boy, and for good measure asked if Chithi( Aunt), Vignesh and Prabagaran ( his cousins) had all gone to sleep.Chithappa said everyone was asleep ( except me!!). Our brat then said how he looked forward to getting to Srirangam and playing with Vignesh and Prabagaran and whether they still had the cricket bat. I wished the cricket bat was in my compartment and I would have put it to better use.

By now it was 1 AM and everyone in my coach was sleeping except me.

I was just drifting off to sleep when I was woken up by ( you guessed it!!) our 12-year old. He was on the phone to his dad asking what time the train would reach Srirangam. I looked at my watch.It was 2 AM.His dad said he didn't know and asked the boy to ring up Chithappa.Our friend duly rang up Chithappa and was told it would reach by 3 AM.The sadist in me was happy that I wasn't the only one now awake.

At 2.45 AM, the boy rang his Chithappa again and asked whether he ( Chithappa) had reached the station.He then rang up his dad ( in Chennai) and informed him that the train was nearing Srirangam and he had spoken to Chithappa and Chithappa was waiting for him at the station.

I had borne all this patiently till now.I then got up and told the boy to shut up and let others sleep.He kept quiet for some time and then started speaking to his Paati in loud stage whispers.This was worse than his speaking loudly.

I gave up and resigned myself to catching up on my sleep in the Office next day.

Kota Travelogue-----24th to 26th Mar 2011

My colleague Siva Kumar accompanied me to Kota where we visited University College of Engineering for GET recruitment.

I had just got back on 24th Mar morning to Chennai from Melkote and rushed home to refresh myself and then take a car to the Airport to catch the 11.45 AM flight to Delhi.

The start was ominous.Half-way to the airport, I got a call from Sudha that I had left my laptop behind so I had to turn back and pick it up. There were no further mishaps and we reached Delhi at 3 PM in time to catch the 4.45 PM Paschim Express from New Delhi Railway Station.The car driver had the tickets for us.

Because the trip was made at short notice, we travelled in Sleeper Class.The train from Amritsar pulled in on time and we soon settled in our seats.The India-Australia World Cup match was going on in Ahmedabad and we were getting periodic updates on the score from our fellow passengers.

The train chugged past Okhla,Hazrat Nizamuddin,Ballabgarh,Mathura,Bharatpur etc.There was a Jat agitation going on in Haryana with the result that the railway track to Jaipur was blocked, so all people intending to go to Jaipur and beyond got on this train.The fact that we had reserved seats had no meaning and we got the impression that our fellow passengers were doing us a favour by allowing us to retain our (reserved) seats.Overall, they were a very decent bunch and we all made the journey in companiable silence with the occasional shout coming forth when we got an Australian wicket.

We had our dinner at 8 PM and then my fellow passengers were kind enough to permit Siva Kumar and I to sleep.The train was to reach Kota at 11.30 PM.
I got up at 11 PM and was shocked to find that the entire compartment was choc a bloc with passengers sleeping all over.I gingerly hopped over some of them to go to the bathroom and then got an even bigger shock.There were more passengers sleeping close to the door and this included some infants.How on earth was I going to get across the door without trampling upon them was the dilemna I grappled with.

Kota arrived at 12.30 AM and soon Siva Kumar and I somehow made our way out of the train without killing anyone.A student volunteer from the college was at hand to take us to the University Guest House.By that time, we were also informed that India had won the match so I went to sleep in a happy frame of mind.

I got up at 7 AM on 25th Mar and had a hearty breakfast of Aloo Paratha with Curd, cornflakes and an apple and set off for the college with Siva Kumar at 9 AM.By 5.30 PM, we had shortlisted two candidates.We came back to the guest house, had a shower and then set off again to see the Chambal Udyavan.The river Chambal flows past Kota and is the only river in India to flow from South to North.Just 80 Km away, there are deep ravines that have been cut by the river in the valley.This is where the famous dacoits such as Man Singh,Phoolan Devi etc operated and was virtually ungoverned territory.Even today, tales are told of the heroic exploits of the dacoits and how they cocked a snook at the Establishment and the feudal Thakurs.

We had a boat ride in the Chambal river and then went to see the Kota barrage.
On our way back, we stopped at a dingy shop to taste the famous Kachoris of Kota.Yummy!!! And the Ratlami Namkeen was even better.

We got back to the Guest House in time to see New Zealand give a pasting to South Africa and then caught the 11.30 PM Mewar Express to Delhi.This time we were in an AC compartment and thankfully didn't have to step over anyone to get into the train.

We got back to Delhi at 6.30 AM on 26th Mar.I went to my company Guest House, had a shower, shave and breakfast and again rushed to the Airport to catch the 10.30 AM flight to Chennai.
End of Kota adventure.

1991------ The second freedom for India

1991 will be reckoned as a momentous year for India.In some ways, it is a more significant year than 1947, when India got its independence. 1991 is when economic reforms were introduced. Today's generation has no clue about how things were pre-1991.Let's say you wanted Hershey's chocolates.You would actually have to wait for one of your friends or relatives to get it for you when they went abroad.Anything that had to be imported required an import license and there were many items ( like chocolates, for instance) that were on the negative list because they were not considered essential for India's economy.
I remember when I had to go abroad in 1988 , I had asked for foreign exchange of US$ 2100 ( 21 days @ $100/day). I was called to the local RBI office in Chennai and an Officer there asked me about the purpose of my trip ( it was for product training) and whether it was really essential for me to go.He concluded by insisting that I should give him a copy of my training report!!

Anyway, let me start at the beginning of 1991.Chandrasekhar ( a Young Turk of the Congress) had become the Prime Minister of India.Karunanidhi was the DMK Chief Minister in Tamilnadu.Padmanabha, a leader of one of the splinter Tamil Groups of Sri Lanka had taken shelter in Chennai.He was assassinated in his Kodambakkam apartment and the general news was that the killer gang was allowed to move unhindered to the sea coast from where they escaped to Sri Lanka.DMK was considered to be close to LTTE at that time and therefore, on the grounds of national security, Chandrasekhar dismissed the DMK Government.
Very soon, the Chandrasekhar Ministry also fell in New Delhi and so elections were ordered both for the Centre and for Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, the economic situation had deteriorated. India's foreign exchange reserves had dropped down to something like 300 Million Dollars ( it's close to 300 Billion Dollars today) and India had to sell some gold in its reserves to the IMF.

Rajiv Gandhi had been out of power since 1990 ( mainly over the Bofors scandal) and he was criss-crossing the country in trying to win back power.The Congress appeared to be doing well and it was widely predicted that the Congress would sweep back to power in the elections to be held in June 1991.

Unfortunately, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Sriperumbudur on 21st May 1991.The Special Investigation Team headed by R.K.Raghavan immediately picked up clues pointing to the involvement of LTTE.The reconstruction of the events leading up to Rajiv Gandhi's assassination was brilliantly done and the duo of Sivarasan and Dhanu were constantly on the run till they were cornered and shot dead at Konanakunte in Bangalore on 21st Aug 1991,3 months to the day after Rajiv Gandhi was killed and on his birthday.

The Congress rode on a huge sympathy wave and emerged victorious.The DMK was routed in Tamilnadu and AIADMK led by Jayalalitha came to power.

P V Narasimha Rao was made the Prime Minister and he chose Dr.Manmohan Singh as his Finance Minister.Soon the Union Budget had to be presented and it was a landmark Budget with the first hint of economic reforms.All controls were abolished and licenses were required for very few industries.

Can you imagine that any industry wanting to increase production above its licensed capacity actually had to seek permission from the Government to do so? The younger generation will hardly be able to understand these issues but these were the very hurdles to the growth rate and India's GDP growth rate of around 3% was derisively called "The Hindu rate of growth".

Meanwhile, the balance of payments position was so alarming that no foreign supplier was willing to execute an order placed by an Indian buyer unless a Letterof Credit was opened up front.Even when a Government Bank like SBI opened a Letter of Credit, the foreign banks were unwilling to trust the LC so the Indian buyer actually had to deposit money equivalent to the LC amount at the time of placing orders.

The Union Budget of 1991 removed all exchange controls and foreign money started flowing in.The cap of 40% on JV holdings was removed and foreign players were allowed even 100% equity in some sectors.

Was this liberalization too late? Perhaps by a year or so, but my personal opinion is that the controls imposed earlier were good for the country.It enabled India to become self-reliant and develop indigenous technology to the extent possible.All this stood the country in good stead when the economy was opened up.If not, we could have perhaps been too reliant on foreign capital and technology and may not have become as strong as we are now.

I've covered the economic situation in some detail because , when India's history is written in the future, 1991 is sure to be reckoned as a watershed year.

Sachin's Munji was performed in May 1991 at the Rama Mandira in Jayanagar.He had completed 12 years and was fast growing into a handsome young man.Sudha was just establishing herself as a dubbing artiste and was also busy with some monthly programs in Doordarshan. Sudha and I did the occasional Kannada drama in the Sourabha programe of Doordarshan.

One of the dramas we did was "Ward No 420"--- supposed to be hilarious but it didn't quite turn out that way. Doordarshan is a Government organization and its staff ( except for a few dedicated men at the top) was notoriously unionized.The cameramen and light boys, spot boys etc went about their jobs mechanically and were not really concerned with the outcome.

The Director for Kannada programs was one Mr.Bhaskar and he would call us up now and then to present a program.We would go there by 9 AM and get our make-up done.By the time this was completed, it would be lunchtime and so the actual shooting would start around 2 PM.If there were any mistakes during shooting, the cameraman would tell us to carry on and said that this would be taken care of during editing.

One such scene involved a person who is supposed to die. Lord Yama comes down with his "Pasha"( Rope") which he would throw  like a lasso and take the hapless person's soul to Swarga ( or Naraka-- depending on the debit/credit of good deeds he had done in his lifetime).

OK, so here was Lord Yama on stage and he throws this lasso to the victim who is off stage.Ramesh was the poor victim.Anyway, when the lasso was thrown, it didn't quite reach off stage so Ramesh put his hand out and caught hold of the lasso and put it around his neck.This action was caught on camera.I pointed this out to the cameraman and asked for a retake.The cameraman assured me that this would be edited. Imagine our horror when we saw the final telecast and the entire scene of Ramesh reaching out, catching the lasso, putting it around his neck and then being "dragged" on stage was shown in glorious Technicolour!!! The people who were watching the TV program with us roared with laughter when this was actually supposed to be a very serious and poignant scene !!

That's it for now.My next blog will cover our drama adventure in Neyveli.

Shafts of KGF

Here's a list of KGF shafts that I remember:-

Edgar's Shaft
Henry's Shaft
Bullen's Shaft
Tenant's Shaft
Gifford Shaft
Oriental Shaft
Golconda Shaft
McTaggart's Shaft ( I think there was one by this name)

Am inviting people to add to this list.

1989 & 1990-- You never know what fate has in store for you

The start of a new year-1989. Little did I know that by the end of the year, I would be contemplating purchase of an apartment--- but I'm getting ahead of my story.
Meanwhile, let me rewind a little bit back to 1988.When I joined Xomox in 1987, I was clearly told that I would have to shift to Trichy in 1988 for the new school year.

After I returned from Bangladesh in Feb 1988, I even visited some schools in Trichy to enquire about admission for Sachin and Sandeep. Sudha and I had by now become active members in Kannada Balaga and the thought of leaving all our friends behind was gut-wrenching.The Ladies program of 1988 was very poignant as everyone thought it would be our last program with the Balaga.

By a remarkable stroke of luck, there were some changes in the Organization and the idea of my relocating to Trichy was given up. So that was that.

In April 1989, we planned a trip to Delhi, Dehra Dun, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Mussoorie and Agra.Mummy and Sunil came along with us.We travelled by Tamilnadu Express to delhi and Prasanna Uncle had very kindly arranged our stay at the ONGC Guest House at the Asiad Games Village in Delhi.We left straightaway for Dehra Dun and spent a very pleasant time with Prasanna, Lambi and Prasanna's mother who was in her sprightly eighties.They took us to Rishikesh and Mussoorie.The dip in Kempty Falls and the splashing about in Sahastradhara are unforgettable.

Back in Delhi, we did the rounds of Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Connaught place and Pragathi Maidan.The kids got into the dashing cars in Pragathi Maidan.The going got a little rough and the car which had Sunil got into a violent collision with another car and Sunil lost two of his teeth in the process.

We travelled to Agra by the newly introduced Shatabdi Express and it was a very pleasant experience.We saw Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri and returned to Delhi. We then took the K-K Express to Bangalore and deposited Sunil back.

In 1988, our apartment owner Mr.M.A.Krishnaswamy had passed away and his wife was now our landlady.In October 1989, Mrs.Krishnaswamy also passed away.The apartment had been willed to the three married daughters of the Krishnaswamys.In Nov 1989, the three sons-in-law ( all of whom were living outside of Madras) came to me and told me that they were looking to sell the apartment.

This was already our 6th house in Madras and the thought of moving out  once again was too horrible to contemplate.Moreover, the children were already going to school and we had to keep in mind the convenience for bus transport. Then the other mundane stuff like new milk card, new postal address, new servant maid, new newspaper guy, telephone shift....... I had nightmares thinking about this. I had just bought a flat in Bangalore in 1985 and we had no intention of buying a property in Madras. After much thought, it occurred to me that the only way to avoid all hassles of shifting was to buy the Madras flat.
It was convenient in all respects.Where to get the money? I didn't even start thinking on these lines.I didn't even know whether I could get another loan from HDFC when I already had one loan going.

Then I had a stroke of luck. My company entered into an agreement with HDFC ( Housing Development Finance Corporation) and they extended a line of credit to my Organization whereby an employee could avail a loan up to Rs.3 Lakhs.I applied to my company and was informed that I could be granted this facility.

The next step was to start negotiations with the owners.They quoted Rs.6 Lakhs and I started at Rs.4 Lakhs.I had one advantage. I was already living in the place and had physical possession of the apartment.As far as they were concerned, this was inherited property and any sale proceeds would be split 3 ways.We finally closed the deal at Rs.4.3 Lakhs. For a 1350 sq ft flat with a garage thrown in, it wasn't a bad deal. How this 1350 sq ft stretched to 2440 sq ft is another story that I'll relate later.

Together with the lawyer's fees, registration charges and other sundry expenses, the total amount came to Rs.4.8L and I stretched all my resources to come up with the amount.

The registration date was fixed for 21st Mar 1990 ( my 39th birthday). We completed the formalities and then I had to leave the next day for Ooty for offical work.

My next problem was to how to repay the loan.The EMI was Rs.4173 per month and I was already paying Rs.679 per month for the earlier loan I had taken for the Bangalore flat. I was earlier paying a rent of Rs.1200 per month for the Madras flat, so this was straightaway an increase of Rs.3000 per month ( a very big sum in those days). But we managed. When I now think about it, I wonder why I was worried over such a small amount..... but there's a lesson in this for all of us.Especially in India where inflation is relatively high, it's good to invest in property at a young age. Someone once said" The earth is not going to expand" and I've remembered this to this day.

The rest of 1990 passed off peacefully. I was busy in my work and travelled frequently within India.

My next blog will cover the tumultuous political events in India including the economic crisis, Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, the general elections and then the economic liberalization measures--- a watershed year in India by any yardstick.

1988--Foreign Trip and what my bags contained

I was by now settling into my job. As a Sales Manager, I was required to travel frequently to Bombay,Baroda,Delhi and Calcutta and also the occasional trip to Viralimalai.

By now, I was playing tennis regularly at our R K Nagar colony.My colleague Mohan at Trichy was also a regular tennis player.I used to pack my tennis kit even for a one-day visit to Trichy. We used to stay at Hotel Sangam in Trichy and the Officers' Club ( where Mohan was a member) was close to the hotel.It had floodlights so we could play after dark.

I used to return from the factory to the hotel around 6 PM, change into my tennis gear and be in the club by 6.30 PM. We used to play till 8 PM, then rush back to the hotel, have a quick shower, change, gulp down dinner and be in the Railway Station at 8.55 PM to catch the Rockfort Express back to Madras at 9 PM.

Mohan was in Operations and I was in Marketing and we used to have a lot of arguments in Office on customer priorities for shipments, early deliveries etc. All this used to be forgotten on the tennis court and I got him to agree to many things in the tennis court which he would have vehemently refused that morning!! This is the power of sports, I suppose.

In February, the President of Xomox,USA came visiting and he wanted to visit the Taj Mahal on his way back. I was asked to accompany him on this visit.I had last visited the Taj Mahal in 1958 and this gave me a good opportunity to visit the monument again. From Agra, I went to Calcutta on my way to Bangladesh on a business trip.

I had to apply for the Bangladesh visa in Calcutta. I went to the Consulate and after handing over the papers, I was asked to come back in the evening.It was pouring heavily and we were all asked to stand on the other side of the street while the Consulate officials bellowed out the names thru a loudspeaker. Everybody collected their passports and I was the last one left.
I asked why my name was not called and the official replied in his thick Bengali accent," Of course we called your name Mr.Arkalgud".

I collected the passport and was on a Biman Bangladesh flight the next day to Dhaka.I visited Dhaka and Chittagong during this trip.Dhaka is like any other Indian city, but I've never seen so many cycle-rikshaws anywhere else. The commercial areas are crowded and the posh residential areas are very quiet. My host took me for dinner to Dhaka Club and it was no different from any of the British-era clubs in India.

I shopped for a Dhaka muslin saree for Sudha. The material is reputed to be so fine that you can pass an entire saree through a ring.I also bought a bright yellow wall clock that stayed with us for a very long time.

On my return, I plunged into my work and was constantly on the move. I stayed in some very good hotels--- Sea Rock at Mumbai, Hyatt and Maurya Sheraton at Delhi, Oberoi at Calcutta. The Sheraton group offered Welcom Awards during our stay and I collected enough Welcom Awards to be able to take Sudha and the kids out for dinner to the Residency at Park Sheraton frequently.
Sachin ( or was it Sandeep?) still remembers one of these dinners and you can ask them why!!

I remember that I spent Mar 22nd ( the first anniversary of daddy's death) in a hotel room in Hyderabad.I was on my way to Vizag.If you remember, I had mentioned that I didn't shed any tears when daddy died.On that day ( one year later), I remembered daddy and the good times we had and it all came out. I shed copious tears alone in the hotel room and finally achieved closure.

In May 1988, I was inducted as a member of the Madras Boat Club.Straightaway I felt at home in this Club since the ambience was so similar to that of the Clubs in KGF.MBC still has a drink called Cricket.One sip of this and the taste would take me back to the days of Shankar the barman mixing an Orange Squash in Nundydroog Club. The MBC even today organizes Tombola evenings on Sundays and mom was very happy to be able to attend this whenever she was in Madras.

One day in May 1988, I was called in by my boss and asked to be prepared to visit our Joint Venture partner's factories in Cincinnati( USA), Barnstaple (UK) and Lindau ( Germany). I was pretty excited since this was my first opportunity to visit Western countries.The visit was scheduled for sometime in Sep/Oct 1988 and my colleague K.S.Ravindran was to accompany me..

A couple of weeks before the visit, I was playing tennis in Trichy when I slipped and landed heavily on my left wrist.Straightaway I knew that I had broken a bone. I went to a hospital in Trichy and they reset the bone.Next day, I took a flight back to Madras.My left arm was put in a cast and the physiotherapy started when the cast was removed in a couple of weeks.

I even made a trip to Delhi with my cast. Talk about dedication to work!!

The foreign trip was postponed on account of this and then finally the program was made. I was determined to make the most of this trip and visit as many of my relations as possible.I spoke to Omprakash in New York and to Bharathi ( Appaji's daughter) in Chicago.I was also determined to visit Papachi and
K S N Swamy in Geneva though I had no idea how far Lindau was from Geneva.I also wanted to visit Disneyland in LA or Disneyworld in Orlando.

Looking back on my program now, I see that the personal component of my visit was more than the business component and I must really thank my stars that I had an understanding boss who agreed to my requirements.

Travel Corporation of India were our travel agents and I was personally co-ordinating with them for all my travel within the US.Those days,there was a scheme called VUSA ( Visit USA) where you could get a certain number of flight coupons for a fixed sum of money.My plan was New York-Cincinnati-Chicago-Orlando-New York.This involved 4 flight coupons but TCI was offering me only 3 coupons and wanted me to pay for the extra flight coupon that I required.I discussed with the TCI manager in the morning and he asked me to come back in the evening and collect the VUSA ticket after paying for the extra flight coupon. I went to the TCI office in the evening.The Manager did not see me come in since he had his back to me and asked his assistant " Has the Xomox "fellow" come?".He then turned around and blanched when he saw me. I told him that he was referring to one of his customers as a "fellow" and said that I would report this to my management.He profusely apologized to me and finally offered to give me the extra coupon at no extra charge.

Ravi and I finally left on Nov 4th by a British Airways flight to London.We left at 9 PM from Madras and landed at Heathrow at 6 AM after a brief stop over in Kuwait.It was bitterly cold , but I was well prepared.I had borrowed a jacket and gloves from my friend Gurushankar and this served me well.

We freshened up at Heathrow, had a good breakfast and then caught the 11 AM flight to New York JFK.After a 7 hour trans- Atlantic flight during which we had lunch and slept well, we landed at New York at 1.45 PM local time on Saturday 5th Nov.We were fresh as a daisy.

Omprakash met us at the airport and wanted to know whether we should go home to rest or whether we could visit Padma, Ravi and Gowri ( Anti's family-- they had emigrated to USA after Anti's death) in New Jersey.We opted to go to NJ.We had a nice visit and a good dinner at Padma's house.They gifted me a Van Heusen white shirt ( Palmgrove Hotel in Bombay lost it after 8 years, but that's another story).

We finally reached Omprakash's house in Staen Island at 11 PM on 5th Nov after seeing the World Trade centre and Empire State Building on the way back.

Sudha and the kids ( Anand and Aamod) had gone to Philadelphia and had returned by then, accompanied by Sudha's brother. Ravi stayed with me and we spent the night at Omprakash's house.

This was my first visit to USA and I was gaping at the sights and sounds of New York.Next day morning ( 6th Nov, Sunday), we got up and made a trip to K-Mart. Ravi and I then took the ferry and came over to Manhattan. We visited Battery Park and strolled down toWall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. I'd never seen such thick,fat squirrels before.There was no crowd and we practically had the place to ourselves.

Omprakash then took us to Jackson Heights in Queens.This seemed like Little India with lots of Indians walking around and Indian stores all over.I bumped into my Executive Director there.This was the first of such incidents where I bumped into my colleagues /relations in outlandish places.I bought a coral chain for my mom and lots and lots of Pampers for Swathi and Shruti.

I think I bought enough to last them for about 5 years and I lugged this all over America, England,Switzerland and Germany. So this explains the title of this blog.

We caught the evening flight to Cincinnati.Del Wahlert met us at the airport and took us to the company guest house.I was flabbergasted when I saw the TV and remote.We were making do with Doordarshan 1 and Doordarshan 2 at that time and here we had a choice of 62 channels, all of them running for 24 hours!! Man , this was paradise!! It took me an hour to figure out how to operate the remote.

The kitchen was another wonder for us.The variety of knives in that special knife scabbard amazed me.We spent 4 days in Cincinnati( 7th to 10th Nov). During this time, I visited Jayashree and Ramdas's house.Both were related tome from my dad and mom's side respectively.I remember they had this huge teddy bear for their daughter.Ramdas already had a car phone installed so this was another source of wonder for me. Will we ever be able to experience all this  in India was the question that came to my mind in 1988.Now we have the answer.

On 10th Nov evening, we flew to Chicago. Bharathi and her husband were on hand to receive me at O'Hare Airport. Ravi flew on from there to Minnesota to spend the weekend with his relative. Chicago lived up to its reputation as a windy city.The wind chill factor was very high but Bharathi said that I had come well prepared for the weather.

Next day ( Friday 11th), I went downtown and took a city tour of Chicago.This is the city of Frank Llyod Wright, the famous architect and I saw many fine buildings.I visited the Chicago Museum and also went past Mohammad Ali's house.I saw the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Building, both fine specimens.

The day after that, Bharathi drove me to the Aurora Temple.It felt strange to be given ಗೋಡಂಬಿ and ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ and ಬಾದಾಮಿ as ಪ್ರಸಾದ .She then got me a yellow full sleeved shirt . Their house was a magnificent mansion in an exclusive locality called Oakwood.It was reputed to have cost over 100,000 $ way back in 1988.
Their son Ravi was a Chicago Bulls fan and regaled me with stories of their baseball and football teams.

My colleague Ravi returned from Minnesota the next day. We met up at the Airport and took the next flight to Orlando. We stayed at a Days Inn hotel. We bought a 3 day passport to Disneyworld.We saw the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Centre and a few other attractions.Unfortunately, it was the Thanksgiving weekend and there was a huge crowd with long lines for every ride.

We took a flight to La Guardia and then a BA flight to London.The return flight was terrible.All too soon we were in London and I was still groggy with sleep.We took a bus to Reading and then an Inter City train to Exeter St George.Barnstaple is a small town in the south-west of England, no bigger than a village actually.We spent 3 days in Barnstaple. On one of the days, one of the employees who had spent some time in our Indian facility took us pub-hopping.English pubs have a unique local flavour.It's almost like a club and every person has his favourite "local". "I'm going down to the local for a pint( of bitters) " is a very common English expression.These pubs have board games such as darts and skittles.Some of these pubs date back to 200 or 300 years and each pub has its own traditions which are very fiercely guarded and handed down from generation to generation.

           One of the Xomox employees was Derek Lathwell who was a very keen cricketer.His son   Mark Lathwell later played for Somerset and for England.

                    After 3 days in Barnstaple, we caught a flight to Geneva.We landed there on a Friday with the intention of spending the weekend with Papachi and K S N Swamy.They received us at the airport and took us to their apartment. The first thing that struck us was the total absence of noise in spite of heavy traffic.Honking was an absolute no-no.Papachi told us that even in the apartment, flushing the toilet in the night was taboo. I wondered how people manage when they get ಔಸರ .
We went to the French border,a drive to Lake Geneva and visit to some of the UN Buildings such as the Red Cross, WHO etc.The air was fresh and crisp.Everything in Switzerland is neat and orderly.
( Please note that all this while I was carrying nearly 2 suitcases full of Pampers for Swathi and Shruti. I think they still have some left!!)
The next day was a Monday and we caught the 6 AM train from Geneva to Zurich.The plan was for us to get down at Zurich.Someone from Lindau was to meet us and take us by car across Lake Constance ( ferry service) and into Lindau in Germany. I had heard about the famed Swiss habit of punctuality and I was watching the large clock close to our compartment on the railway platform.As the needle hit 6 O'Clock, the train silently steamed out.
We passed thru Lausanne, Bern, Interlaken and the scenery was like a picture postcard with huge cows grazing contentedly with their huge cowbells ( it hadn't started snowing yet).We got off at Zurich but missed the person who was supposed to come and pick us up. After some frantic calls to Lindau, we caught another train to St.Gallen and the person received us there and took us by road via Austria.
I was afraid that we would get stuck because I didn't have an Austrian visa ( this was before the days of Schengen) but surprisingly our passports were not checked in Austria as well as at the German border.I don't remember much of Lindau--- it was snowing and we couldn't move around much.

We spent 2 days in Lindau and then came back to Zurich to catch a flight to Gatwick.We spent the next 3 days in London--- a hotel called Commodore close to Queensway and to Marble Arch.Hyde Park was just across the road.
We took a London Tour and did Buckingham Palace, Harrod's, The Tower, Trafalgar Square, the Embankment, Houses of Parliament etc. I had always been a student of British history and it was fascinating to see many of the places I had read about come alive before my eyes. We also went to Madame Tussaud's and shopped at Oxford Street.Piccadily Circus was a riot of colour and I remember we also took in a movie there.I bought a Prince tennis racquet for 19 Pounds, a real steal.
Finally it was time to return to India and we caught the BA flight from Heathrow to Madras via Kuwait.We landed in Madras on 30th Nov.
By now, Sudha had learnt car driving.The other remarkable thing about 1988 was how tall Sachin grew in this one year.he was barely 10 years old but he was almost reaching up to my shoulder bythe end of the year.
Oh yes, Pampers wasn't the only thing I carried back in my bag.There were backpacks for Sachin and Sandeep and a pair of jeans for both of them.
I forgot to mention--- before I left on the tour I had to visit the Reserve Bank of India and explain to an official there as to why I needed 2100$ for my 21 days trip.He asked me a lot of questions about the purpose of my trip and even told me to send a visit report to RBI and , if possible, to save some of the 2100$ and remit it back.
Those were the days!!!
As I come to the close of my story for 1988, here's wishing all readers a Very Happy and Prosperous 2011.

1987-----Annuser More Horribliser

1987 was even  worse than 1986 in terms of personal tragedies. But then again, there were some good events also----- nature's way of balancing out things.

Daddy had continued to experience some problems with his heart even after the installation of the pacemaker.Since Dec 1986, he had been in and out of hospital.Since he and mom were staying with Rummy and Nagaraj at that time, he was admitted to Chaya Nursing Home, run by Dr.Ramu Nadig.

In Jan 1987, he was once again taken ill and was admitted to hospital. Towards the end of the month, Chubbadi and Sethuram suddenly landed up in our Chennai house.They had received information that Anti Chikkappa had died of a heart attack while he was staying in Om Prakash's house in Staten Island,USA.

Anti was working in Korba ( Chattisgarh) but he had gone to USA to try for a job there since he was planning to emigrate with his family.His wife Padma and children Ravi and Gowri were in Korba at that time.

Chubbadi was informed that Padma, Ravi and Gowri were on their way to Bangalore and had come to Chennai to meet them and take them to Bangalore.
I went with Chubbadi and Sethuram to Central Station.We had no idea which train they were coming in .Just when we had given up all hopes of meeting them, we bumped into Ravi.

Ravi and Padma were not aware that Anti had passed away.They had only been informed that Anti was serious.When we told them the sad news, they broke down.We took them all home and then began a round of hectic trunk calls to Om Prakash and to Srinivas, Padma's brother--- who was living in Texas, as to the arrangements to bring Anti's body back to India.

Please understand that this was 1987 and telephone facilities were primitive, to say the least.Anyway, they all left for Bangalore after making all the arrangements.Daddy was still in hospital and was not informed of Anti's death.

Among all this, we learnt that Sandhya was expecting again. I remember telling daddy that he should now be looking forward to the birth of one more grandchild in the family.

Lambi was rattled by all this and came down from Dehra Dun to look up daddy in Jan.His condition worsened in March 1987 and I again rushed to Bangalore on 18th Mar. It happened to be Sandhya's wedding anniversary but we were maintaining a vigil at Chaya Nursing Home.On 20th Mar, the doctor told me that it was now a matter of days but one couldn't say when.

I returned to Madras on 21st Mar ( it was my birthday).On 22nd Mar morning ( it was a Sunday), I got a call from B S Nagaraj at 4 AM that daddy's condition had worsened and I decided to leave immediately for Bangalore. Just as I was getting ready, I got another call that he had passed away. We then decided that all 4 of us would fly to Bangalore immediately. I spoke to Venu and gave him the news and he and Chikkamma came down immediately to take us to the airport.Venu had always been close to daddy and was affected by daddy's demise.

We reached Bangalore by 8 AM and drove down immediately to BSN's house where daddy's body had been brought.He looked peaceful in death.A doctor was called in to remove the pacemaker and then a priest came for the ceremonies.I was made to don a simple white dhoti and an upper garment and went thru the preliminary rituals.

The good thing about these rituals is that it takes away one's mind from the immediate bereavement. Perhaps that is one intent of these rituals!!

One thing that remains in my memory of that day is that I did not shed any tears.That came later and I shall describe it when I come to it.

All that I felt was genuine sorrow at the premature passing away of a good man ( he was just 64 years old).The best gift that he gave to my mom, Rummy, Sandhya and me was that he had lived to see us grow and live our independent lives.He had provided well for mummy and did not leave us with any debts.

I have seen many families grieving when the head of the family passes away.They are basically grieving for themselves because of either financial issues or because some family commitments still remain unfulfilled.

This was not the case with my dad. I genuinely grieved for him and wished that he was around to enjoy life a little more. I had heard that he danced for joy when India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and wished that he was around for a few more similar occasions.

The cremation was at the Srirampura Crematorium and 2 days later, accompanied by my uncles, I went to Paschimavahini in Srirangapatna to immerse the ashes.The other ceremonies were gone through in the following days at another place in Bangalore and ended up with the Vaikuntasamaradhane on the 14th day. Did I ensure that my dad really went to heaven by doing these ceremonies? I don't know--- but at least I was satisfied that I had performed the duties expected of a son .

Sudha and I then went to Dr.Ramu Nadig's house and offered to pay for dad's hospitalization expenses but he refused to accept any payment.This was a measure of the respect in which he held daddy and BSN's family---- a debt we'll never be able to repay.

In April 1987 I got a call from Kanthu with the joyful news that Sandhya was expecting twins. The twins gene was running thru Ravi's family. How happy daddy would have been !!!

In May 1987, Sudha and I  accompanied by the kids went on a trip to Pune and Bombay. We stayed with Veena's parents in Pune and with MSK and Chambi in Bombay.

Swathi and Shruti were born on 6th Jul 1987.There's an interesting story about Sandhya just before she delivered. A couple of days before she went into labour, Sandhya suddenly got the urge to go to MTR on a Sunday evening and eat some snacks.Sunday evenings in MTR is just crazy--- there are queues a mile long and it takes hours just to get a place to sit.As soon as the staff saw her distended figure, they went into overdrive and probably created a record in customer service, just so she out of there quickly and didn't create "labour" problems.

Around this time, I was looking around for a change of job since I knew that I would need to work in a Corporate Head Office if I were to move up in any Organization. The Head Office of Akay Industries was in Bombay and I didn't fancy shifting to Bombay. So I was looking out for a job in a company that was headquartered in Madras or for a job in the Gulf.

I applied for a job in Muscat and even travelled up to Bombay for the interview but nothing came of it. I went again to Bombay for another interview with an industrialist who was keen on setting up a unit in Bangalore but I wasn't satisfied with the terms offered and turned down the offer.

I then got a call from S.Thiagarajan of Durametallic India Ltd whether I would be interested in a job as Sales Manager in Xomox India Ltd. He however told me that the factory was located in Viralimalai near Trichy and I might need to shift to Viralimalai.

I went for the interview.This was a mere formality since I knew the company and the people already. Sudha and I thought long and hard on the decision to shift to Trichy since we  were already well established in Madras, but she finally said yes.

I finally joined Xomox India limited on 5th Oct 1987.All Saturdays were working days ( full day) except the 3rd Saturday of the month.This was in contrast to the 5 day week that I enjoyed when I was working in Akay.

I was part of a pool car system. I had to be ready by 7.45 AM with my breakfast finished and my lunch packed. I would normally return by 6.15 PM. The work was fun and the people were nice so I soon settled in. Very quickly, I was off on visits to Bombay, Calcutta, Baroda and Delhi, apart from my usual trips to Viralimalai. I enjoyed these trips since I had not been to these places before.

I had surrendered my office car given to me by Akay and I had to wait for 6 months before I was eligible for a loan from Xomox to buy a new car.We managed these 6 months by travelling around on the TVS-50 Moped---- all 4 of us on some occasions!!!

Rummy and family and Sandhya and family had planned to spend Christmas and New Year with us.They all landed in Madras on 24th Dec morning and that was the day MGR died. We barely made it back to our house from the station before the entire city shut down. All the sighseeing and shopping programs were cancelled and we settled down to watching programs about MGR on Doordarshan TV.The funeral was held a couple of days later and normalcy returned only after this. By that time it was time for them to return to Bangalore.

My next blog will cover 1988.