Just got back from a trip up north to spend some time with the children and grandchildren.  It was wonderful to be with the family and we really appreciate these moments as we grow older.

Many of us have had one or more embarrassing moment  and I would like to relate one such occasion.  It so happened that Air-India was sponsoring a cricket match at Brabourne Stadium and Chtrappal Singh asked me to inaugurate the event by umpiring the first over.

We had a very important person who had agreed to honor this event - he was none other than the top Indian cricketer at that time - Sunil Gavaskar.  I was introduced to him by Chtrappal before the start of the match.

He (Sunil Gavaskar) helped me into an Umpire’s Coat.  Chtrappal took me aside and said that here were 6 pebbles in the right hand pocket.  After each ball is bowled, I should transfer one pebble to the left hand pocket so that once 6 balls were bowled, I would not have any pebbles left in the right hand pocket and should signal the end of the over.

As fate would have it, I missed transferring one of the pebbles and so the bowler ended up bowling 7 balls.  Once the over was finished, I handed over the Umpire’s Coat to the real Umpire who whispered to me that I had allowed 7 balls to be bowled.  You cannot how embarrassed I felt as I had committed this blunder in the presence of India’s best batsman.

During my career with AI, I had the honor of inaugurating some offices.  The first was the Aeroflot office in Churchgate on February 9, 1978 and the occasion coincided with a hockey match between Indi and Pakistan being played at Brabourne Stadium.  My younger son, Sarat had come to my office after his school and tennis lessons and I took him with me.  After the match, we went across the street to inaugurate the Aeroflot office.  I was given a pair of ceremonial sterling silver scissors (with my name, date and the occasion inscribed) to cut the ribbon after which refreshments were served.

I suddenly heard a young voice saying that the drink he was having was “very nice” and to my horror, I realized that Sarat, at age 9, was drinking Russian Champagne.  I quickly took the glass away from him and whispered that he was not to tell his mother otherwise I was in for a stern talk.

During the course of the next two years, I inaugurated four other offices: three of which were - Air Mauritius in Bombay, Trade Wings in Goa and the new office of Mercury Travels in Bombay and I have in my  possession a total of 4 ceremonial sterling silver scissors which bring back great memories whenever I look at them. 

The fourth office was our own (AI) in Jullundur and I flew to Delhi and then took an overnight train to that city accompanied by Randhir Singh, our Manager, North India and Jimmy Martin, our P.R. Manager.   Apart from the snoring competition between my companions, the trip was uneventful.  What was of great joy to me was the occasion.  Instead of a ceremonial pair of scissors, I lit the traditional brass lamp and we had a good lunch which was preceded by some speeches.  I have in one of my albums, photographs of the lamp lighting and one of all the staff who were there.

This occasion came to my mind more than 3 decades later when Manju and I were traveling from JFK to Delhi.  The Airport Manager met us at check-in and having met him for the first time, asked for his background and was very pleasantly surprised that during the course of his career, he had been Sales Manager in Jullundur.  I mentioned that I had inaugurated this office and was absolutely delighted to hear him respond “the photograph of the occasion still hangs in the office”.  It made me proud and yet, saddened that I was a part of that airline which we built together and which does not exist any longer.  

Every time I think back and write these Blogs, I get very sentimental and have very mixed feelings; some happy but mostly sad and despondent.

Sometime ago, I had written about the airline’s interest in developing sports.  I missed mentioning our contributions to two other sports.  The first was golf.  This sport was only played by a very limited number of Indian athletes and we had very few professional golfers of international stature and fame.  The Indian Golf Union tried very hard to develop interest in this sport and invited the Asian Tour to hold one of its events  in India.  I received a request from the IGU to reschedule one of our KUL-BOM flights to stop in Calcutta which had been selected as the venue of the event.

We rescheduled the flight.  The next year, the event was shifted to Delhi and we once again rescheduled our flight to bring golfers to this event.  I am not aware if we continued to reschedule our flights to assist the IGU in its endeavors, after I left AI.  However, I am happy to note here that the Indian Open is now a regular event in the Asian Tour.

If I may take the liberty of boasting a little, I come from a golfing family and Billoo Sethi, my first cousin was the first amateur to win the Indian Open.  A nephew has won the Indian Junior Championship.  Billoo's photograph hangs on the wall as you enter the Delhi Golf Club.

The other sport was a minor one but of importance to the Indian Navy.  I received a request from the Naval Department to transport its team and equipment to Japan for a tournament and we were very happy to assist.  A short while after the event, I received a call from Vice Admiral Rusi Gandhi, C-in-C of the Western Fleet inviting Manju and me to dinner at Lion Gate.  We were delighted to attend and he made it a point to inform the gathering of Air-India’s assistance in their hour of need. 

Rusi Gandhi became a good friend and invited me to a Fleet Exercise.  He also extended an invitation to Mr. JRD Tata and we had a very interested full day on board the aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant. 

I am saddened by the loss of two good friends.  Vinoo Ubhayakar passed away recently in Mumbai.  I had known Vinoo for many years prior to my leaving Air-India and India but we had kept in touch.   A true gentleman and a great ambassador for India’s Tourism.  Ken Bloom, a retired Judge of the Superior Court in New Jersey also passed away in nearby Naples, FL.  We were golfing partners and he and his wife Janet came to India to attend the wedding of our older son, Akhil with Sunanda.  Too many good friends have left this world and Manju and I will miss them.

And now I learned that one of my heroes, the legend of boxing - Muhammed Ali - has passed away.  I met him in 1989, four years after I had assisted him in making a rather secret trip to Israel.  

I was, at that time (1985), working with Kuwait Airways as their Regional Manager - USA and Canada. My Sales Manager, Washington, DC - Bob Sensi - asked if he could visit me and when he came, asked me to confirm what he had heard and that was that I was a good friend of David Schneider, the then U.S. Head of Israel Airlines.  I was intrigued as David and I go back 25 years to 1960, when he was with the Tariffs Branch of BOAC in New York and I was visiting New York to file our Tariffs with the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board.  David and I had kept in touch and the next time we met was when I moved to New York and we met at an airlines cocktail party.

I interrogated Bob and he confirmed in strict confidence, that my friendship with David Schneider was known to the Intelligence Agencies of the USA and that his current mission was to enlist our friendship to arrange a secret trip to Israel for none other than Muhammed Ali.  He also stated that under the Official Secrets Act, knowledge of this trip had to be “kept under wraps”.

I called David and he came over to my office on Park Avenue.  I cannot disclose any more except to state that David was very helpful and we arranged the trip for Muhammed Ali and his party under anonymous names.

Moving the clock forward to 1969 when I was now working as General Manager - USA & Canada for Air Mauritius and once again received a call from Bob Sensi who was still with Kuwait Airways in Washington, DC.  This time, Bob wanted me to meet him at a location in New York city where I was introduced to the boxing legend.  Muhammed Ali said that he had always wanted to personally thank me for the assistance that I given four years earlier and apologized for the delay. 

To say that I was take aback by his words would be a great understatement.  I had finally met “the greatest” and to be personally thanked was truly overwhelming .  He had a photograph taken at that site which he signed after making a boxing ring in the top left hand corner.  I still have this highly prized photograph in my home, although the lines of the ring and his signature have been blurred by time.

Moving on, sometime in 1976, I was taking a flight to Europe and as per my usual manner, ran up the stepladder to the aircraft, carrying my briefcase.  We did not have aerobridges in those days at Bombay airport.

Half way up, I felt a heaviness followed by a dull pain in my left arm and after a brief stop, walked up the remaining steps.  On my return to Bombay, I saw our Medical Officer who conducted some tests and determined that I may have developed angina.  I mentioned this to Mr. Dastur who spoke with Mr. Unni, our then M.D.  Mr. Unni referred me to one of the specialists on our Medical Panel who, frankly speaking, did not inspire much confidence in his abilities. 

I was treated by this doctor who will remain nameless for two years but the angina pain became more acute; so much so, that I had to give up playing golf.  I could no longer walk 18 holes.  It was at this time, that this specialist confessed that he was only a chest specialist and not a heart specialist.  I had wasted two years chasing a dream.

My golfing partner, Amar Singh, President of Wyeth Laboratories suggested that I consult a heart specialist and recommended Dr. Ashwin Mehta.  Dr. Mehta confirmed the diagnosis as angina, but said that this could develop into a heart attack if not treated correctly.  

To cut a long story short, Dr. Mehta did not have confidence in the medical facilities then available in India and strongly recommended that I consult heart specialists in the USA where the treatment of patients with my problem was far more advanced.  He asked if Air-India would cover the cost of open heart surgery, in case such a procedure was necessary. 

By then, we were in 1978 and I spoke with Mr. Appusamy who had taken over as M.D.  Without hesitation, he told me to go to the USA immediately.  Dr. Deepak Chopra, my wife’s brother-in-law was practicing medicine in Boston and with his assistance, I secured an appointment with one of the top cardiologists in the USA - Dr. Roman DeSanctis.  After examining me, he determined that the best course of action was open heart surgery.  His office sent me a detailed proposal with the estimated costs.

By then, Mr. Appusamy had also left Air-India and Dr. Vijay Kumar, our CMO, discussed it with Mr. B.S. Das who had taken over and also with Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, our Chairman.  They approved the budget that Dr. Kumar had prepared and Manju and I left for Boston.  Vijay followed a day later by which time, I had been admitted at Mass General Hospital.

I had triple by-pass surgery and recuperated for one month in Boston before returning to India.  I was fortunate that we could stay the entire month at Deepak and Rita Chopra’s residence.  Before leaving Boston, I was reexamined by Dr. DeSanctis who advised me that, in his considered opinion, my heart problems were the result of the stress that went with my occupation and strongly recommended a slower pace of life, even if it involved a change in job.

Upon my return to India, I took some more time off and went to Kashipur where my in-laws had a farm and recuperated.  It was here that Manju impressed upon me to give serious thought to leave Air-India.  She reminded me of Mr. Appusamy’s advice to “look for another job”.  She even gave me a book to read; the theme of which was that you could not fight City Hall.

I told Manju that while the culture in Delhi had indeed changed, we were experiencing some stability with ACM Lal and Mr. B.S. Das at the helm and that once I got back to work, I would give myself an year or so to see if in fact, there was a need for me to make a change.

Little did I realize that soon after I resumed duty, both ACM Lal and Mr. Das would be summarily removed and we would get a CMD with no airline or commercial background.  On April 1, 1980, Mr. Raghu Raj, a former banker with ties to the Gandhi family was appointed CMD.  It is pertinent to mention here that one of his daughters was married to the son of one of my first cousins (Incidentally, I had 54 first cousins).

Soon after he took over, I invited Mr. and Mrs. Raghu Raj for dinner at our apartment along with their daughter and son-in-law.  My colleague, C.L. Sharma and his wife were also present at the dinner.  On being introduced to the CMD’s son-in-law, CL asked - so you are the Chairman’s son-in-law?  to which, he answered - Yes, but I am Inder Uncle’s nephew first.

I will speak of my short association with Mr. Raghu Raj in a later Blog as this was the crucial period of my career when I had to make a decision of far reaching consequences.

In my previous Blog, I had mentioned that according to the statement made by the Minister of Civil Aviation, Air-India’s aircraft utilization and Load Factors had gone up in the year 2105/06 and that total revenue was also up by 3.4%.

However, a recent article in Livemint (May 19, 2016) gives a much clearer picture - passenger revenue actually DECLINED marginally; a fact that the Hon. Minister failed to inform the general public.

And now the CMD, in one of his Blogposts has blamed the national air carrier’s woes on “the merger with Indian Airlines that never took off as expected and previous bosses who pinned the responsibility on employees for its dismal state of affairs”.  He goes on to say “It makes me sad when the common employee is often blamed for the ills of the organization, in this case too, whereas the real reason for the debacle lies elsewhere, in my opinion on the head honcho”.

Interestingly, the CMD fell short of actually saying that the merger was a wrong decision.  Was he actually agreeing with the decision and, if he was, then, in my opinion, he is playing a “political game” as his own future depends on his political bosses.

The CMD’s statement indicates that in his opinion the actual implementation was incorrectly carried out by the “head honcho”.  He does not say who this “head honcho” is, but to my simple mind, he can only be referring to either one or both the CMDs who held this post prior to Mr. Lohani taking charge.

I don’t hold any brief for either Mr. Jadhav or Mr. Nandan, but in their defence, I must emphasize that they were handed an almost impossible task of trying to merge two diametrically opposite cultures.  I would, at the same time, blame the powers that be for selecting two Babus who did not have the expertise or background to be handed this most unenviable task.  In addition, they were given no free hand to deal with the unions who placed innumerable road blocks.

Ideally, what the Government should have done would have been to invite outside Consultants who had the requisite knowledge and experience in merging these two entities.  Instead, they gave the job to a political hack whose answer to all issues was to ask “how high” when his master told him to jump.  These two Babus who masqueraded as Chief Executives knew that their Annual Appraisals were signed by their immediate bosses and that they had no alternative but to toe the line.

I cannot speak of the climate within Indian Airlines, but I am aware as was everyone who had worked in Air-India  that the morale had dropped immensely.  It worsened even more when the merger was announced.  It is no secret that the IA senior staff very gleefully taunted their AI counterparts with the statement - TUMHARA LOGO BUT HAMARE LOG.

To accomplish a merger with this kind of atmosphere was a herculean task and the two previous CMDs were neither equipped with the expertise nor did they have carte blanche authority to make waves.  In other words, they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.

At the same time, I must express my disappointment with the current CMD to place the blame on the shoulders of his predecessors.  When he accepted this position, he knew very well the mess that he inherited.  To openly criticize his predecessors is not a very gentlemanly thing to do.

It is now 5 months since Air-India started its San Francisco operations and I was very pleased to learn that the airline is experiencing excellent load factors and in fact, looking forward to increasing the frequency.  I had recommended the operation of flights to the West Coast way back in 1980 and once again in my talks with the then CMD, Mr. Y.C. Deveshwar in Montreal in 1991.

However, for some reason to which I am not privy, the airline plans to change the configuration of the aircraft by increasing the number of Economy class seats and eliminating the First Class and reducing the Business Class seats.  I would have thought that with the large number of high yield passengers traveling between the Silicon Valley and India, there would be greater emphasis on providing adequate capacity for the hi-yield category of traffic.  I wonder what are the true economics of this flight.

At the same time, I am concerned to learn that apart from an Airport Manager, Air-India has no support staff at SFO.  There is no Station Head and no sales staff to service travel agents.  At a recent Trade Show, the Air-India booth was unmanned.  

Apparently, there is a dispute between AI and the Union regarding hiring of local staff, but I cannot understand why an on-line station has no India based Manager.  AI has signed a long term lease on a brand new office which lies empty.

I also learn that when the flight was inaugurated, there were two senior India Based Officers  who stayed in hotel rooms until the powers that be in Delhi learnt about the cost of these hotel rooms and the daily outstation allowance being paid.  Result - the staff were recalled and never replaced.

A check at AI’s North American headquarters in New York also reveals that there is no Head of the Sales Department; a situation that has existed for quite some time.  I am informed that from time to time, someone assumes the mantle for a couple of days a week but here does not appear to be any continuity in this post.

So, what goes on with this “new” Air-India?  Someone well connected tells me that it would “appear” that all the airline needs to do is to try and fill its seats by lowering its fares and yields.  If this experiment succeeds and, apparently, it is doing so, why do we need sales staff or an India based Manager - why indeed?

A recent written reply given by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation “very gleefully” informed the Lok Sabha that Air-India had made an operating profit of the very large sum of Rs. 8 crores.  The Net Loss dropped from Rs. 5,859 crores in 2014/15 to Rs. 2,636 crores in 2015/16.  

If one looks deeper into this magnificent sum of Rs. 8 crores, the change in the airline’s profitability is due almost entirely to the drop in jet fuel prices, which have dropped from $1.84 per gallon in May 2015 to $0.93 in Jan 2016 and $1.07 in Mar 2016.  What is going to happen to this meagre operating profit when fuel prices go back up.  The price of Crude Oil has already shown a 50% increase from its low point this year.

I am also informed that while utilization has gone up and load factors have increased, the total revenue shows an increase of only 3.4%.  

Is it because the new marketing policy dictates that all that is needed to fill the aircrafts is to drop prices and reduce staff costs?

But then, the entire philosophy and culture has taken a major change.  Maybe, the SFO experiment is what the future holds for AI - elimination of a Manager and sales staff at all stations.  Why does the airline need such “superfluous” staff when the flight fills by itself?  Why, indeed?

A recent e-mail from a person, whom I had never met, thanked me for my Blogs from which he had learnt about his grandfather, Lal Sikka.   This brought back memories of an incident way back when Air Marshal Chaturvedi was our M.D.  Whenever we had a meeting in his office, each attendee was served tea on a small tray.  The A.M., however, had his tea served in the traditional style - on a Tea Trolley with the teapot covered by a tea cosy and milk and sugar pots alongside.  In addition, there were always two cups since his second cup of tea was never served in the first cup that he had used.

That day’s meeting was to finalize the appointment of an Adviser to the Chairman of Air Mauritius and the two candidates - myself and our Manager - East Africa were present in the M.D.’s office along with senior Department Heads.  The attendees were sitting in a semi circle around the M.D.’s desk with the Manager - East Africa at the right of the M.D.

Tea was served on small trays except for the ever present Trolley for the M.D. but no one noticed that there was no tray for the Manager - East Africa.  For some unexplained reason, there was one tray short.  Not to be left out, he proceeded to pour himself a cup using the M.D.’s teapot and the 2nd cup.

When the M.D. finished his cup of tea, he turned towards the Trolley to pour himself a 2nd cup and realized that there was no 2nd cup.  He rang for his peon and asked him - where is my 2nd cup to which the nonplussed gentleman replied - on the Trolley.  Everyone’s head turned towards the culprit - our Manager - East Africa, who didn’t bat an eyelid and calmly went on drinking his tea.

Mr. Kooka then stated something like “Lal, didn’t you get a tray?” and the reply was - “what tray?  I thought the 2nd cup on the Trolley was for me”.  Fortunately, everyone broke into laughter and the M.D. had to smile and wait for a fresh pot and cup to be brought for his regular afternoon tea.

Guess who ended up in Mauritius - Lal Sikka!!  But it was not because he “stole” the M.D.”s tea.  If I had been chosen, Lal would have been the ideal candidate to take my place as C.M. - Planning but, as expressed earlier, he didn’t want to work in India.  As such, he was the obvious choice. 

Air-India had, for many years, been a major supporter of Indian sport and when I took over as Commercial Director, one of my tasks was the promotion of sports and I chose tennis.  My first choice would have been golf, but Mr. Kooka had already taken interest in this sport.  Some years earlier, Vikramjeet Singh who was India’s no. 1 golfer was already on our payroll.

I had been elected a Vice President of the Maharashtra State LawnTennis Association (MSLTA) and had met and seen the Amritraj brothers play.  I asked them how Air-India could help in promoting this sport and they suggested that we provide free travel so that they could play at various centers were the airline had services.  

I agreed and we signed a Transportation Service Contract (TSC) with Vijay and Anand Amritraj to provide free tickets against publicity that they would provide to us.  I remember attending some of the Indian Tennis Open matches where Vijay won the Finals and I invited him to come to my office the next day so that I could introduce him to Mr. Unni, Mr. Appusamy and Mr. Dastur.

Vijay and Anand both came and in addition to the trophy, they brought along the extra large towels that we had produced showing the Maharajah in his tennis attire.  I took them to the 22nd floor and all along the way, many of our staff lined the passage and clapped their hands as we passed.  It was quite a moment.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Gole, our Personnel Director asked me if we could extend support also to another tennis player - Shashi Menon and I agreed.  However, in Shashi’s case, we hired him as a part time staff and allowed him freedom to complete his studies and at the same time play in various International events, such as Wimbledon, The French Open and the U.S. Open.

All three were regular visitors to our home and guess what, even after I had left the airline, they came to visit us in Scarsdale in the USA - more on this later.  Before I speak of these visits, let me digress and speak about another great tennis player, Ramesh Krishnan.

Ramesh’s father - Ramanathan Krishnan  phoned me and requested an appointment to which I agreed.  He wanted me to also sign a TSC with his son and I said that we would be very happy to do so and told him that the value of the TSC would be half that of the TSC with the Amritraj brothers since, in this case, there would be one player and not two.  He did not agree and stated that it would have to be the same.  I asked him to explain his reasoning and his answer was “his mother has to travel and cook for him as he is a vegetarian”.

I regretted my inability and it was with great reluctance that he accepted my offer.

I never got to meet Ramesh Krishnan which was my loss, but saw quite a bit of the other three tennis players who often held clinics for budding tennis players at the MSLTA courts in Bombay.  After the official clinic ended, Vijay and Shashi would informally coach our sons who were great admirers of these fine sportsmen.

One of my duty trips took me to London and this trip coincided with the British Open at Wimbledon.  I “bumped” into Vijay and Anand in a bar in Mayfair and invited them for dinner.  They accepted but wanted to eat Indian food with Vijay saying that during his matches, he liked to eat only Tandoori chicken and so we ended up at Gaylords.

I lost contact with these players after I left Air-India but fate intervened and in 1981 when we had just moved to the USA and were “setting up” home in Scarsdale, we met up again.  I say “setting up” and by this I mean that we had ordered our new furniture which would take about 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.  In the meantime, we are living on make shift stools, cushions and tables made of boxes.  We did, however, have proper beds.

The phone rang one day and the caller was Shashi Menon who said that he had heard that I had left AI and was now working with Kuwait Airways  and based in New York.  He enquired if he could impose upon our hospitality as he intended to play at the U.S. Open staring the next week.  

He needed a place to stay while he played. I told him that he was most welcome to come stay with us, but he would have to rough it out as we were not fully settled and he flew over from Los Angeles a couple of days later.  The boys were thrilled as they had got to know Shashi during our Bombay days.

Shashi came and played at the Open during the first week after which he had to leave since he did not go beyond the 2nd round of the Singles.  But during this first week, we got free tickets to all the matches plus had free parking at reserved lots as we drove Shashi to his matches.

Before the 1st week of the Open come to a close, we bumped into Vijay and Anand Amritraj who were also participating in the tournament.  We exchanged hugs and handshakes and then Vijay asked if he could offer us tickets for the 2nd week, which we accepted by great delight.  Manju asked if they would like to come and have dinner at our house which they, in turn, accepted.  A date was agreed upon and I gave them our address.

Imagine our surprise when a stretched limousine arrived at our house a few days later and out came not only Vijay and Anand, but also their parents, Anand’s wife and their younger brother Ashok - 6 in all.

Manju hastily cooked additional food while we also sat on foot stools and cardboard boxes.  Drinks were served as my bar was fully stocked and we soon got to rekindle our association with these great athletes.  We had met their parents before as they had been our dinner guests at our apartment in Bombay. 

Not only do we have fond memories of this evening, but somewhere in one of my albums, we have photographs of this event.  I must mention here that Vijay kept in touch with us whenever he was playing in subsequent U.S. Opens.  Our older son, Akhil remembers meeting Vijay many years later when Manju and I had stopped going to the tournaments.  He recognized Akhil and asked about us.

Shashi Menon is living on the west coast and is in constant touch with the boys and occasionally calls me..  His Christmas cards always come in time.

Before I left Air-India, I was involved in an another sport at the behest of Jimmy Martin, our P.R. Manager.  It was car racing and AI was one of the main sponsors of the first Himalayan Rally.  I spoke with Mr. Appusamy (also before he took early retirement) and he agreed that we could earmark a substantial sum towards the sponsorship.  

It so happened that the actual event only took place just after I had stopped working for AI, but before I left for Kuwait.  The rally was flagged of by Mr. Raghu Raj, but I was present and by his side when this event took place.

About a couple of years before I left the airline, I received a call from a senior officer in the External Affairs Ministry in Delhi asking for a favor.  The Shah of Iran was due to visit India and they wanted to ensure that his suite was stocked with a particular wine which he was fond of drinking.  Those were the days when Morarji Desai was the Prime Minister.  He was a strong protagonist of prohibition and the External Affairs Ministry could not be seen as a provider of liquor.

I called our then Manager in Paris and he sent a case of this particular wine and also two cases of bottled Evian water.  I do not wish to elaborate how we accounted for these purchases, but in those days, we did manage to cover such expenses.  The wines were in transit to Bombay when we were advised that the Shah’s trip had been cancelled. So the wine packed in a large suitcase and the boxes of Evian were stocked in one corner of the office of Anil Kadam, my Executive Assistant. 

It was only when I had put in my papers that Anil brought to my attention that we had these items which had been sitting in his office for about 2 years.  The Evian water was easy to dispose off - a few of the staff on the 17th floor drank them.

However, the wine was a different issue altogether.  I offered it to Malcolm Baretto who took over as Commercial Director and he gladly took a few bottles.  A friend of mine asked if he could get the balance with the understanding that when I got to New York, I should buy an identical quantity and he would reimburse me.  I did reach New York about 9 months later, made the purchase and served the wine to some of our friends.

When I took over the post of Commercial Director, I was still occupying the cabin next door to that occupied by Nari Dastur.  Even though Mr. Dastur was now Deputy M.D (Commercial), he stayed in the same corner office on the 17th Floor and did not move up to the 22nd Floor.

After a couple of months, I manage to “nudge” him into relinquishing the corner office and I finally moved into the “big” office which had previously been occupied by Mr. Kooka and Mr. Dastur.  Before moving, Mr. Dastur had one piece of advice for me - ALWAYS KEEP YOUR DOOR OPEN.  Let your staff have free access to you.

I am proud to state that I religiously followed this advice and was available to anyone not only during office hours but also at home or on flights.  Here, I would like to relate two instances.

First, when on a flight, some cabin crew members wanted to talk to me, I remember my wife complaining - when can you get some quiet time?  You see the staff during office hours and then get phone calls at home.  Why cannot you be allowed to relax on a flight?  I told her that while ground staff had the opportunity to come to my office, this was perhaps the only time that cabin crew could have my undivided attention and that I would not be true to my assignment if I turned them away.

Second, I was awakened by a call around 11:30pm and a rather inebriated voice introduced itself and asked “when will I get my promotion?”  I must have spoken rather rudely to this voice and asked him to meet me in my office the next day.  He said that he was speaking from Delhi and requested if he come the day following, to which I agreed.  He appeared and very sheepishly apologized for his action.  Although I have tried to refrain from mentioning names in my Blogs, I must make an exception at this time.

As the story goes, two gentlemen - Satish Khanna and Gopal Kapoor were spending an evening at Gopal’s house in Delhi and after a few drinks, decided to unburden themselves of their problems and Satish complained that he had not received his “well deserved” promotion for quite some time.  Gopal asked Satish if he had approached the C.D. and when Satish replied in the negative, was advised that the “door to the C.D.’s office is always open” and “why don’t you speak with him”.  At which stage, Gopal promptly got out his telephone book, checked the number, called my residence and handed over the phone to Satish Khanna.

I told Satish that Yes, my door is always open, but during office hours and not when I am asleep at 11:30pm.  I then reassured him that I would look into his case and that his case would be reviewed to his satisfaction.  I don’t recall what exactly happened to his promotion, but when I had left AI and was living in the USA, I received a call from Satish Khanna saying that he was now posted in the USA as Marketing Manager - USA and that he wanted once again to apologize for his rude behavior.  I told him that I bore no grudge and wished him well in his new assignment.

One reason for my relating this incident is that many years later, Satish Khanna (having retired and settled in Westchester County) passed away.  I received a call from Andy Bhatia who informed me that a memorial service had been scheduled at a place of worship and that I may wish to attend.  I did so and paid my respects to Satish’s wife and family.  I was disappointed to see that there was not a single ex-colleague from Air-India at this service.  I knew Andy had a previous engagement, but the absence of any other AI employee or ex-employee was a disappointment.

Here, I would like to make some comments on the very important subject of promotions and I will start with my own career with Air-India.  I had joined in January 1957 in the grade of Junior Officer - a grade which was abolished a few years later.  I was recommended for promotion to the Asst. Station Superintendent grade for effectiveness April 1, 1959 but the actual date was postponed till November 1, 1959.

I only found out about this change when, a few years later, Harish Malik confessed that he was responsible for the delay as his own promotion to the same grade was not recommended at the time when mine was and he worked hand in glove with his then boss to ensure that both of us were promoted on the same date.  At that time, Harish was in the Administrative Section which processed all recommendations and hence, he and his boss could and did play this role.

On April 1, 1962, both Harish Malik and I were promoted to the Station Superintendent grade.  Harsh also received a transfer as Asst. Manager - East Africa and left for Nairobi.  I was  promoted to the next three higher grades at short intervals - 

Station Manager - Apr 1, 1964

Sr. Station Manager - Apr 1, 1967

Commercial Manager - Planning - Dec 1, 1968

In all these cases, certain factors played a vital role as in the normal course, I could not have received such accelerated promotions.

Firstly, I had been offered a job by IATA in April 1963 which I had turned down, but which came to the notice of Mr. A.F. Dubash, Planning Director.  He was at that time, trying to work out a succession plan for the department as a whole and my promotions up to the Sr. SM grade fit into his plan, when on April 1, 1967, I took over as Tariffs Manager from Mr. J.C. Malani.

The promotion to the Commercial Manager grade came as a complete surprise to me and the following events will show how external issues played a major role.

Mr. Dubash left Air-India sometime in 1967 to join IATA as Compliance Director.  He recommended that AI hire H.L. Sikka as CM - Planning. Mr. Sikka was then Planning Manager with Aden Airways, based in Aden.  However, Lal Sikka had other ideas - he did not want to come back to India but agreed to join AI on the condition that for a few years, he should stay overseas.  

Both Joe Andrade and Luis Cabral (Planning Managers) made a strong bid to head the department. Mr. Kooka offered Luis Cabral the post of CM - Planning but not control of the Tariffs division, which Luis did not accept.  Luis left AI and joined Kuwait Airways and I ended up getting the surprise of my life when Mr. Kooka offered me the entire Planning department - Tariffs, Commercial Planning and International Relations.

At a later stage and in another Blog(s), I will speak about my further rise in the airline, but at this stage, would just indicate the various factors which resulted in my getting 5 promotions in the space of 11 years, which was not the norm in the Air-India that we all knew.

However, it is my understanding that as a general policy, promotions to grades up to and including Sr. Station Managers were seniority/merit based.  Since there were very few openings in the Commercial Manager/Regional Manager grade, promotions to this grade were primarily on merit and suitability.  There were a few exceptions as indicate below:

There was the case of one staff member whose brother-in-law was the Minister of Foreign Affairs.  Two others who benefitted from the then South Indian Raj and a fourth, on whose promotion and selection as RD - India brought out the following comment from Eric D’Silva, who was well known for his caustic comments:

“There are those who are born great; those who achieve greatness and then the final lot who have greatness thrust open them.”

There were three Sr. Station Managers whose names came up for promotion to the C.M. grade in the last four years of my career with Air-India.  Their cases were reviewed by the Senior Panel, comprising the Director of Personnel, The Finance Director and myself.  Each year, the Panel did not recommend them for promotion.  In  1976 and 1977, the cases were then reviewed by the Dy. MD and the M.D., both of whom indicated their agreement.  In 1978, 1979 and 1980 (my last year of service), I spent quite some time going through their service records and could not but agree with the recommendation.

In 1980, we had yet another change at the top and Mr. Raghu Raj received appeals from all three for reconsideration.  Mr. Raghu Raj called for their files and after a review, discussed their cases with me.  He felt that although on merit, he did not see the way to promote them, he wanted to give them consideration based on long service.  I advised against this move as it would send the wrong message - staff would expect longevity to prevail and if we took this to its logical conclusion, the same staff would then expect to be promoted as Dy. Commercial Directors and Commercial Directors.  

The question that should be primary in our mind should be “is this staff member fit to lead or are we merely avoiding our responsibility in developing a succession plan?

Raghu Raj asked me to leave the files on his desk and as I anticipated, he promoted all three after my departure from the airline.  This, to my mind, set a precedent and it was not long after that we had massive promotions based upon time served and the net result of over 100 people in the grade of Commercial Manager.  Who needed motivation to rise - just serve the right number of years and you will get to the top!!

After my departure, I have seen not only Regional Heads, but also Commercial Directors whom I would not have recommended for promotion beyond the Sr. S.M. grade.  I know of at least three Commercial Directors who got to the top entirely because of being “YES MEN” and another who came from outside and was the “chamcha” of the then Aviation Minister.  He was the one responsible for the non-stop operations to NYC with a 14 hour layover.  Without an aviation background, it is not difficult to see that he had no clue of aircraft utilization and its benefits in reducing break-even load factors.

Then, there were and still are Regional Heads who could not compare with the caliber and quality of people such as Peter Mahta, Maneck Dalal , Merwan Nanporia and Nikka Qadir, whose background, experience and leadership skills brought out the best in their subordinates.

Sad, very sad, when I see the quality of the top management in the Commercial Department in recent years, going back to the late 1980s.  They are now posting Regional Heads who have spent their entire careers at a desk at Head Office - they have never spent a day in a field office nor have they traveled to see how tickets are sold or met with Travel Agents, Consolidators or Tour Operators.

But then, what can one expect from an airline which has degraded itself from a “top of the pack” cosmopolitan airline of a third world country to a third rate ethnic carrier of the same third world country.  Who needs sophistication when the majority of our traffic is ethnic.  

Even the recent Babus who have held the post of Chief Executive dress as ….. what did you expect, babus.

I wonder how many of my former colleagues and those who joined Air-India after I left, saw and read the booklet “Foolishly Yours” which was the brainchild of Mr. S.K. Kooka, our first Commercial Director.  This booklet was placed in every seat pocket of our aircraft.

The booklet spoke and described in a humorous manner the service on board the airline and poked fun at both the passengers and the airline staff.  As an example, there was a cartoon showing the Maharajah embracing a passenger upon deplaning and collecting the cutlery from the passenger’s pockets that he, the passenger, was attempting to take away.

Mr. Kooka did not even spare the Chairman when he wrote that all passengers should check the seat backs and pockets to ensure that they did not leave behind any valuables.  He went on to hint that the Patek Philippe watch that the Chairman was wearing may have been left behind by a passenger.

This particular and rather expensive watch has always held a particular fascination for me, but the price was way beyond my reach and it was an unbelievable surprise when on a visit to Florida last week, my younger son, Sarat, presented me with one.  Sarat’s company had recently undergone a restructuring and he became Co-Managing Partner.  To commemorate this event, he had purchased the watch for me.  I wear it with great pride and joy.

Speaking of purloining cutlery from airlines, I had, in my bachelor days, decided to collect a piece of cutlery from every airline that I traveled on and it was not too long before, our bachelor pad at “A” Road in Churchgate had a complete set of cutlery for 8 persons.  However, not one piece matched another.  Needless to state, this collection remained in the apartment when I moved out after getting married, as was our tradition.

In one of my earlier Blogs, I have spoken about my very dear and close friend Yash Johar, a well known and established film producer.  In my career with Air-India but mainly after I had reached the top of the Commercial Department, I had the good fortune of meeting and getting to know, a few other film personalities, including Waheeda Rehman, Sanjay Khan and my screen idol, Nargis.

Sanjay Khan came to see me when he was planning to produce Sona Chandi on the island of Mauritius.  He wanted a number of free tickets and also free carriage of baggage and equipment.  In return for publicity, we agreed to some of his requirements with regard to free tickets and also rebated (but not free) carriage of cargo.  He invited me and my wife to dinner at his home but failed to mention that his guest of honor was Sir Seewoosagar Ramgoolam, the Prime Minister of Mauritius.

When introducing me to the P.M. he requested the latter to try and convince me to give him additional free tickets and free carriage of baggage and cargo.  The P.M. first told Sanjay that not only did he know me, but that I had been his guest at a Mauritian Parliamentary session, followed by lunch.  He then told him that he would not take advantage of this relationship to make any such request.

Sanjay took this in his stride and we soon became good friends although he would remind me of my “stinginess” whenever we happened to meet in the future.

I was present at the Centaur Hotel at Bombay airport when Sanjay negotiated the deal to produce the film Tipu Sultan by purchasing the rights from Bhagwan Gidwani who was the author.  I had known Bhagwan for many years - first when he was DG - Tourism and later when he took over as the DGCA.  Bhagwan insisted that I witness the negotiation and signing the rights over to Sanjay and I could not resisting getting my own back at Sanjay when I stated that he had “swindled” Bhagwan as the amount of money that changed hands was a pittance.

We had a good meeting followed by lunch.  Sanjay did produce this movie a few years after I had left India, but I was saddened to learn that he had an accident at the sets. 

My meeting with Nargis had nothing to do with the film industry.  One morning, my Secretary informed me that a Mrs. Dutt would like to call on me and I agreed to meet her the next day.  Imagine my surprise when Aban, our receptionist walked into my office and announced with great flair, that my visitor was none other than the Queen of the Silver Screen.

Nargis was accompanied by another lady who was introduced as the President of the Spastics Society and that she (Nargis) was its Chief Patron.  The President of the Society gave me a short presentation and its need to generate funds for its working and then asked if it was, at all possible, for Air-India to assist the Society.  She mentioned that it had come to her attention that AI sent out UNICEF Christmas and New Year cards and Nargis enquired if we could purchase a small quantity from the Spastic Society.

I replied in the affirmative and promptly spoke on the intercom with Jal Cowasjee, our Publicity Manager.  Jal told me that our annual purchase was 10,000 cards and I told him that we should henceforth take 50% from the Spastics Society and that I was requesting their president to meet with him and finalise the purchase.  Not being privy to what Jal had told me on the intercom, Nargis enquired how many cards would 50% represent and was overjoyed to learn that we would buy 5,000 cards from the Society.

Both she and the President left my office in a very happy mood and I, in turn, spent the rest of the day wondering how I would describe this meeting to my wife.

A couple to days later, I received a call from Nargis inviting us to dinner at her residence in Bandra which I accepted with alacrity.  Nargis greeted us with great warmth and introduced us to her husband, Sunil Dutt. I mentioned that I had met him many, many years ago and when he asked me to elaborate, I told him the following:

The year was 1959 and I was living with my cousin Ravi Sawhney and his family on Altamount Road.  On the salary of an Asst. Station Superintendent, there was no way that I could live independently.  

One weekend, the door bell rang and I went to answer it.  A very personable young man asked if he could meet my cousin and I said sure and asked for his name.  He answered “Balraj”.  I  escorted him to the living room and then went to tell my cousin that he had a visitor named Balraj.  I retired to my bedroom and a while later heard them talk and laugh.  After a while, the visitor left and my cousin came to my bedroom and enquired “how come you did not recognize him”?  

I said that he looked familiar but that I could not place him and the name did not ring any bell.  My cousin said that the gentleman was indeed none other than the film star Sunil Dutt and that Balraj was his given name.  My cousin went on to state that Balraj’s family and our families were well known to each other prior to Partition when we lived in what is now Pakistan.

When I related this incident to Sunil Dutt, he enveloped me in a big hug stating that I was a long lost cousin, second or third removed. It did not take very long for Manju and me to develop a close friendship with Nargis and Sunil and we did meet quite often.

It is interesting to note here that their son, Sanjay Dutt’s middle name is “Balraj”.

Quite soon thereafter, Nargis and Khushwant Singh, the editor of the Illustrated Weekly were nominated Members of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Murli Deora who was then the Mayor Of Bombay threw a Reception to celebrate this event.  We received an invitation to attend and since I had met and got to know the Mayor quite well, accepted the invite but asked if I could bring a house guest; a request that was granted.  Brij Mehra, our Sales Manager, US West Coast was visiting and staying with us.  Brij and I go back many decades to our college days and in fact, I was instrumental in his joining Air-India.

At the reception, when Nargis and Sunil arrived, Nargis was almost mobbed by her admirers and well wishers.  Sunil, upon seeing me, came over and greeted me with a big hug, lifting me off my feet in the process.  Brij saw this and asked me how come I was on such friendly terms with Sunil.  I gave him a brief background but he did not appear convinced.  “Ask him for dinner at your apartment on the coming Saturday” said Brij and so, I spoke to Sunil.  He said that he would consult “Bhabhi” which was how I addressed Nargis and came back confirming the dinner.

I invited a couple of other common friends and we had a very enlightening evening.  Sunil got so involved in the discussions that one guest wondered who was the real MP - Nargis or Sunil.  Little did we realize that Sunil would soon embark on his own political journey, becoming first the Sheriff of Bombay; then a Member of parliament and eventually a Cabinet Minister.

It was with a very heavy heart that we learnt that Nargis had developed cancer and this coincided with my leaving Air-India and joining Kuwait Airways.  I was in the USA at that time and we visited Nargis at Sloan Kettering hospital in NYC.  She greeted us and jokingly asked if she and Sunil should now travel on KU instead of AI.  Sadly, she never recovered and soon hereafter, passed away.

Our friendship with Sunil continued and we were guests at Sanjay Dutt’s wedding.  After Nargis passed away, Sunil set up the Nargis Dutt Foundation in the USA which still exists and contributes to cancer cure in India.  We held a small and intimate dinner at our house in Tenably, New Jersey on the occasion of the first Fund Raiser of the Foundation in New York.

Subsequently, and after Sunil Dutt’s death, some events took place here in the USA regarding some personalities involved and my wife and I discontinued our participation in the Foundation.

Before ending this Blog, I must relate an amusing incident which took place when my wife and I returned to our apartment on Pedder Road after an evening out with friends.  In line with  our practice, we hadn’t taken our house keys and rang the bell and the door was opened by our cook/housekeeper.  Unlike all previous occasions, this time she stood in the doorway barring our entry; looked directly at me and accusingly asked “why has Asha Parekh sent you flowers?”

I was non plussed as I did not recall ever meeting this famous actress and confessed that I had no clue.  I promised to check the next morning and after receiving this assurance, we were allowed to enter our apartment.  Next day, I asked Anil Kadam, my Executive Assistant and he told me that Asha Parekh had recently traveled to Europe and one of her staff had asked for special handling which he had arranged.  The gift of flowers must have been a token of her gratitude.

I mentioned this to our cook/housekeeper who accepted this explanation, but did not appear quite happy.  I have to add that she always took a very paternal attitude towards us and our children and even when my wife went out on occasions when I was out of station, she said to her on departure “call me when you get to your destination”.