As one grows older, reminiscing about the past tends to increase! In this sub-series, I will write occasionally about memories that come up.
Bangkok: In late April, I went to Bangkok for a Netcore international sales meet. As we drove from the airport to our hotel, many memories came flooding by. Bangkok was a destination Bhavana and I used to visit a lot in the late 1990s and early 2000s (before Abhishek was born). After Abhishek was born, and our international travels (during summer vacations) ended up being mostly to New York or Singapore because there was a lot more for all of us to do. We had made a trip to Bangkok and Phuket a few years ago (during which I bought my BB), but that was now the exception than the norm. Bangkok, just a 5-hour flight away, was a different world from India. We used to stay at the Riverside Marriott. Bhavana liked the shopping experiences, and for me it was a good break from work. Taking the boat ride across the river was such a calming experience. I also liked the Kinokuniya bookstore which had a good collection of English books. Bangkok, even with its traffic, reminded me of what Indian cities should have become. We would visit the various markets, especially the night market. The city was (and is) a shopping hub. Even today, that allure stays. At 28 million, Thailand gets almost four times the tourists India gets annually.
Old Mumbai-Pune Highway: In early May, Abhishek and I were going to Talegaon to see a factory of a company a friend had invested in. (Abhisek is keen to do Industrial Engineering and wanted to see some manufacturing happen.) Because of some traffic on the Expressway and the fact that we needed to go to Talegaon, we took the old Mumbai-Pune highway. I had not travelled on that road for over 20 years – since the Expressway started in 2002. We passed Khopoli and I was reminded of the obligatory stops at Ramakant just before the ghats. The old highway, as it made its way slowly up, always offered spectacular views, especially during the rains. We passed a small temple where I remembered throwing coin for good luck, as we motored along first in our Ambassador car, then a Fiat, then a Maruti. The speedy expressway and its ‘professionalism’ has perhaps taken away some of the charm of the ride through the ghats – one almost doesn’t notice them because the speed barely reduces. For a brief time that day, I was a teenager in the 1980s looking out of the car window and enjoying the beautiful views of the world below.
Factories: Talking of factories, I was also reminded of my childhood summer and Diwali vacations spent at Abu Road, against the whirring of marble cutting and polishing machines. My father had set up a marble and granite unit in Rajasthan at the foothills of Mount Abu. Since he needed to visit, we (my mother, sister, and sometimes, a few cousins) would go to Abu. Even as we visited a few temples, there were visits to marble mines. And then stay at the factory! During the summer heat, we slept in charpoys in the open which meant the noise from the machines was even more. The Talegaon factory visit also reminded me that there is a world beyond software and finance, a world where real stuff is made.
