Tag Archives: Leadership

Road to London # 8 – The Influential Hidden Character

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # 7 – The Route Across India

It is not the first time that she influenced me to take on an adventure. She has supported all my crazy endeavours. She may not initiate the trips. But if I proposed one, she would be enthusiastic about the tour, even for the most complicated and risky ones.  Pushpa, the wife, is not my better half, she is the first half!

In fact, she just might be better qualified to undertake adventure and risky trips. She takes over the gadgetry, which I have never understood.  It is a family joke, particularly by Anand, that it is  because of her I can handle my mobile.

Pushpa Sliding on Australian Sand Dunes 2011

She maintains her cool during testing times of the tours. She accepts that adventure trips have inbuilt calculated risks.  There were times when we had no shelter, but she had no problems. No food, it hardly made a difference to her. She has understood and adjusted to the whatever the situation has demanded.   There have been occasions in our trips together when we had no water to drink, but she didn’t complain.  She prefers tap water to bottled, mineral water wherever she is.  You and I fall ill, not her!

Once when we were in Tibet, our vehicle stalled in a murky place.  It was the dark hour of midnight.   There were no villages for 20 kilometers in any direction. The temperature was minus 10-15 degrees Celsius. And there was a slight drizzle. Every drop of rain felt like a needle piercing your skin.  Boots were getting stuck in mud with every step. And here she was helping me push the vehicle out of the muck.   Ultimately,  we had to walk cold and wet for about a km, in complete darkness. We rested in a road side godown (if we could call it that!) where even a beast would be scared.  The place had a strong stink. It was badly maintained alcohol den, full of beer and was scattered with used cans and bottles.  She has never tasted onion or garlic, let alone alcohol.  But she didn’t even wrinkle her nose when she had to lie down there for a couple of hours of much needed rest.

And oh! That place was owned by a man in his 80s or so. He looked like he was straight out of a western movie, a cowboy, only with horrible, excessive make-up.  He had a spear in his left hand, instead of a gun. Long salt-and-pepper hair and beard – probably unwashed for a long time. He covered it with a cowboy hat.   He was probably wearing new clothes, only that they were bought years ago. His face showed his age in wrinkles. He had extra skin hanging from his cheeks, large red eyes set just above them. Sharp long grey eye-brows.  The place had no lights, it was almost all dark. Just a small dim lamp gave the scene a horror movie feel.  I was outside, in that freezing rain with a driver-guide to see if the car could get on the road. When I returned, the face of the owner, with extra wide eyes, was almost a foot from Pushpa’s face. She was speechless. I dropped in and engaged our host in slow motion, sign language. Pushpa did not complain even about that day ever.

The moment I ask her opinion about a trip, she always has a positive answer. To the extent that some times I take her for granted and forget to even take her consent. Ghar ki murgi daal barabar!

Once in 2012, on a flight to London I mentioned to her that I wanted to drive one day from home to London. She just replied with a “hmmm”, that too forcibly, knowing that it was one of those improbable dreams. However, I knew it is not unachievable, particularly since she would be with me.  She used to drive way back in the 80s when we lived in the Middle East.Quad Driving in Tangalooma Island 2011 With Pushpa as Co-driver

 

A few months ago, she was travelling elsewhere, I called her, “we have a chance to drive to London. Are you interested?”  Her reply was the as quickest as it can be “Grab it”.  It is all through now to make the dream come true.   She is not my better half, she my best half,  Pushpa!  I am really lucky to have such a lady as my companion for these exotic journeys.  She would be my co-driver for “Road To London”!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited : Meeta Kabra

                                                                                                To be continued …………………

Road to London # 11 – Driving Duration a Day

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # …………………………

Having decided to make this trip, I had to plan my itinerary.  Once a date is frozen, planning various aspects of the travel becomes even more energised.  It inspires you to study and enjoy planning.  We would cross the Indian border from Manipur to Myanmar  on 16 April 2017.  Keeping a buffer for unexpected events, we plan to reach there a day in advance.  I back-calculated to fix a departure date from home.  I laid down some basic principles:

  • No night-driving.   Of course, we drive carefully.  But we cannot control how others on the road drive. It is said that the highest number of drunk drivers are on road between midnight and 3AM. Supposedly, fatal crashes are four times higher at night than during the day. Right from the time I started driving in 1973, I have preferred to drive only in daylight.   On rare occasions,  I drive at night, that too only on well lit roads that have dividers.  For long drives, I make it a point to start early in the morning and break for the day by 3 or 4PM. So, you safely reach the destination by sunset, even if there is any delay due to congestion.
  • Comfortable number of hours per day. I initially considered driving 8 hours a day.     Normally, for a full day’s drive you need an extra 30-35% of drive time for rest and food breaks.

    Pushpa Getting Ready to Drive to London

    That would mean a total travelling time of 10 to 11 hours a day.   A 6AM start gets you to the destination by 4 or 5 pm.  This is not difficult.  Especially, with Pushpa taking up a couple of hours of driving, it seemed quite comfortable.

Once Nishi confirmed to join us, I revised the drive time.  8 hours in the car for two and a half months is a bit much. To maintain excitement till the end, I had to make it interesting and not tiring for the child. Till we reach the Indian border, I revised the drive time to an average of about 6 hours per day. Including breaks, it would still add up to 8 hours a day.  A little delayed start every morning, say at 7 or even 8AM would take us to the revised destination by 3AM. That gives us enough time for a comfortable breakfast, have lunch on the way and reach the destination by the time we are ready for a mid-afternoon snack.  It also left scope to spend about 2-3 hours to visit interesting places around the destination or on the way.  Or just relax.

  • Break from driving. After every 3-4 days, I scheduled a day’s rest. At most, we could go for nominal sight-seeing.  I’ve made a list of interesting sites on the route.
  • Booking accommodation – tricky business. Our dates of travel coincide with peak holiday season: March-June.  Choice hotels during this period are booked well in advance particularly at tourist cities, forest resorts and sanctuaries.  It is important to have right spots to stay in places like Darjeeling, Gangtok, Cherrapunjee, Kaziranga etc.  The earlier one books, the better the options.
    • Selecting accommodation for the 24 nights in India was a little tricky.  It was necessary to consider certain important factors.   I prefer hotels on the highway rather than those in the city. That would save time of negotiating downtown streets.
    • If we find out about spots worth visiting but unknown to me as of now, we should have the flexibility to change the itinerary.  That would mean changing hotel bookings. Therefore, even if it meant paying a little more, I opted for bookings that allowed cancellation or changes free of cost.
    • We need a decent hotel each day. If we are tempted by a good hotel, and cut our journey short on a particular day, it will be difficult to cover the extra distance, the next day.  At the same time stretching longer on a particular day to get to an attractive hotel can make the journey tiring.
    • We know many people who live in towns that are on our route. They have graciously asked us to stay with them. It is always a pleasure to stay with relatives and friends.  Staying with them give us time to interact on the local conditions, activities and culture.  But many a time, a lot of time is lost in formalities.   Excessive insistence in eating is a problem that disrupts the digestion system – which we cannot afford.  Hence, we have chosen to decline some of these offers.

After considering these parameters, I booked accommodation.  I had a real tough time to fix locations on certain stretches like Mumbai to Ayodhya and Varnasi to Darjeeling.

Of course, there have been many revisions in the itinerary.    And every change in itinerary, even it is of a single day resulted in a series of changes in accommodation.  With every change, I changed hotel bookings.  I don’t want to miss out on any sites, just because I had to put in some extra effort. I did not lose my patience. Though confusing and complicated, I started enjoying and learning out of it. It is good I had ‘free cancellation’  terms in my bookings!

I have revised my itinerary almost 10 times and I had to change hotel bookings on all 10 revisions!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

To be continued……………..

Road to London # 13 – The Route

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                            Continued from Road to London # 12 – “Soham”, the Companion….

Right from the beginning, we knew that driving to London through the Western borders would mean going through Pakistan and Afghanistan, which might not be the safest route. The Himalayan mountain range on the North and oceans on the South rule out those routes. That left only the Eastern route through China.  There are roads linking from Nepal and North-Eastern parts of the Indian border, but entry is restricted only for the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage.   Thus we had to cross China, some parts of the old USSR, now countries like Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, certain European countries before we reach United Kingdom. This is a drive of about 45 days from the time we cross the Indian border.  This itinerary was considered as almost final for the tour.

Pushpa & Badri Baldawa with Soham

Pushpa & Badri Baldawa with Soham

Myanmar is a country I have been wanting to visit for long.  I heard of it as Burmah where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose founded the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) to fight for independence. The ruling military junta changed its name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989.

However there was an update that though the entry point in Myanmar is safe, the exit point, Muse was not very peaceful.  Therefore the route to China had to be changed.  The best practical alternative was to drive to Thailand, cut across Laos and then enter China. This added two countries to the itinerary and increased the overseas travel from 45 to 47 days and the number of countries from 14 to 16.

We need to drive for a fortnight to cross the Chinese territory and reach Kyrgyzstan.  I was very happy when I realised our next destination country was Uzbekistan. It would give us an opportunity to visit Tashkent where our former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri breathed his last. From there on to Kazhakstan before we touch the border of Russia.

As per the original plans we planned to enter Belarus through the Kurgan border from Moscow. It

From Mumbai - Road to London

From Mumbai – Road to London

was not possible to get vehicle permits for Belarus from Russia.  In October 2016, the Belarus–Russia border was closed to foreigners.  Therefore, the itinerary had to be re-routed again.   Instead of entering through Belarus, we would now drive further north and enter European Union through Latvia and Lithuania.  The onward drive thereafter is easy through Czechoslovakia, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France and finally to The United Kingdom.  Once we enter UK at its South East, we would drive to London.  This revision added two more days to the itinerary.

However this created another technical problem.  If we left the Indian border as per original schedule on 16 April 2017, we reach the China border on a Sunday.  The border is closed on Sundays. Hence the departure from India was postponed to 17 April 2017.

All these changes made the total countries visited from the original 15 to 18 (excluding Bhutan).   The total number of overseas driving days increased from 45 to 49.   Add to that the 23 days drive to reach the Indian border. The total duration of the tour now is at a total of 72 days!

The action begins in less than 10 days on 24th March 2017. We would love to see you all cheer us when we leave at a small flag-off event. Please do come!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

To Be Continued ………….

Drive Through Iceland 10: Snow Mobile, James Bond Style

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                                        In continuation of earlier blog DTI 9: Icebergs and Glacier Walk

While planning my Iceland itinerary, I surely wanted to visit Katla volcano glacier as well as experience the snow mobile thrill.  the earlier night’s 125 kilometer drive Westward, day 6 was the most exciting day of the trip for me.

Snow Mobiling is not commonly available in the world.   Out of the available ones, Iceland is supposed to be the best of all.  This is where many famous films like  the Bond film and others were shot.

Various sources had mentioned that advance booking is a must for snow mobiling. We booked ourselves for snow-mobiling, the earlier day and the earliest slot available was at 12.30 PM.

When we reached the booking office, I learnt that, for snow mobiling,  we would be taken to a glacier top.   I expected that.  But what I did not expect was that the concerned glacier in this case would be the one formed on the top of Katla Volcano. This is one of most scenic and romantic glaciers in the world.  That was where I wanted it to be.  Some times lady luck works in your favor too! Two of my ambitions were to come true in one stroke!

Snow Mobiling on Katla

Snow Mobiling on Katla Glacier

Snow Mobiling

Snow Mobiling

We had a special one-piece-gear covering us from top to bottom, heavy gloves, boots and helmet.  It felt like we were astronauts in space suits.

A special mountain vehicle took us to the top of Katla glacier and we were soon seated in snowmobiles!

Snowmobiles are two-seater bikes. They don’t have enclosures on the sides or the top.  It has two skis in the front and two wheels at rear.   For most of the fun time, Pushpa and I drover together with her sitting behind.  Nishi shared another with the instructor.

We drove like James Bond for 2 hours and 20 kilometers on Katla Glacier! Ascending and descending, driving on a uneven snow surface, curving right and left, set the heartbeats ablaze!

It was difficult to accept that we were on the top of Katla glacier, formed by 2010-11 volcano eruption.   We were not just standing, we were snow mobiling like in action movies.  Surely a first for me. For a pause, when we were standing in the center of the glacier, it gave a different sort of fear when the instructor told us that as per the seismographic studies, the land and ice below us was expected to explode again any day now!

After snow mobiling, we had enough time to visit Dyrholaey. Puffins, the beautiful birds are found at Dyrholaey coastal area in South Iceland. Puffins, the lovely seabirds are synonymous with Iceland. They are normally seen for 3 months till mid-July. Though it was off season, there were thousands of them flying across.  They were either enjoying floating in the cold seawater or gossiping on a pinnacle like stone formation.

Puffin

Puffin – Pic from Google

Nishi was quite excited about the puffins.  She wanted a closer look.    But I still wanted to try if we could find anything closer than we had at Dyrholaey. The next day we went to two other places where Puffins were known to be sighted.  At the sea coast of Vik, we found Puffins flying around the mountain. Some of them flew together  in hundreds, as if to show their camaraderie.  Some were in a bow and arrow formation!

Black Sand Beaches, Vik, Iceland

Black Sand Beaches, Vik

Our hunt, to see the puffins from a closer angle, continued.  15 kilometers further down we visited another place where the birds were known to be closer.  They were resting in groups on the mountain reefs.

Then we understood that the puffins can be sighted only from a small distance and  cannot be watched from as close a distance as the penguins we saw in Antarctica, South Pole.

Vik coastal area is also famous for its black sand beaches, again an outcome of volcanic eruptions.

.

To be contd……………

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

I Almost Gave Up My Childhood Dream, But ……

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My target was trekking to the Mt Everest base camp.  It was the sixth day of an 18-day expedition. I was on my way to Dabuche.   Instead of the norm of going with a group of 8-10 people, I decided to experience the journey by myself, with a sherpa to help and guide me.

I had already had enough of the bitter cold. I was weak from a day’s worth of upset stomach to go with the steep climbs.  I had seen injured people being carried back and heard of quite a few who were being flown back due to severe altitude sickness. Along the way. I had seen too many bodies of trekkers who died in their attempt to complete the trek.

I almost gave up.

Usually, trekkers from both directions assemble in the evening at the dining area of tea shops at their night halt points.  Most people prefer to hang around closer to kitchen ovens because it is slightly warmer compared to the sleeping cabins.

Keep Climbing

Keep Climbing

At the end of that day, I was too tired and feeling depressed.  That evening, I heard terrible stories about the trekkers who had gone ahead. I was scared, worried and tense.  For the first time in the trip, I wondered seriously why I had left the comforts of home food, bathing and toilet luxuries, my own bedroom with controlled temperature and the great evening walks with my wife. Doubts started creeping in.

Things were likely to be tougher since the path ahead was more isolated.  Maybe, it was wrong to have come for such a tough trek.  I thought it wasn’t too late to go back home instead of facing the risk ahead. I considered telling the sherpa that we ought to return.  But I could wait till the morning.

I wasn’t hungry, I just had a bowl of soup with bread and stretched for a while on the bed.  It was already dark.  I felt slightly relaxed and positive.  I picked up the torch which was always handy.  I looked for the folder with the travel documents.  In the folder, I found two sheets of printed stuff.  I had carried with me some of the interesting and encouraging messages sent by friends and family, before I left.  I put on my glasses, held the torch in one hand and started reading them.  Each of the messages made my nerves tingle with positivity.

  • “you are an inspiration”,
  • “you are different”,
  • “with your energy, you can give people half of your age a run for their money”,
  • “nothing is impossible for you”,
  • “you convert ideas into realities”,
  • “you convert hopes into accomplishments”,
  • “You overcome fear into self confidence”,
  • “You are definitely one of those handful few”,
  • “You are equipped with spiritual health and strong will power”,
  • “Not many can visualize a dream and achieve it also”,
  • “I would have the privilege to tell to my friends, that a personal friend of mine has done this”,
  • “We are proud of you”,
  • “it is tough, but cake walk for you”,
  • “Fantastic, what a way to do the things man”,
  • “It is honour to know someone like you to look upto” etc.
  • One also read: “Height may make you feel a bit shaky at times, but I know you can reach the top!  With your courage and determination, you can go past all obstacles coming your way, you can do it, you can do it!”

  • Another:

    “Follow your dream…..

    Take one step at a time and don’t settle for less…

    Just continue to climb….

    If you stumble, don’t stop, don’t lose sight of your goal…

    Press to the top, as at the top, we can have a vision to see something new….

    Press on, follow your dream, follow your dream”

These really boosted my spirits, when I needed them the most.  I regained my confidence.  It reminded me of my philosophy which, for a short while I had forgotten, ‘If others can do it, why can’t I”.  These well wishers saved my day and enabled me to move forward with full vigour to make my 50 years old childhood dream come true!

Therefore, let us put in inspiring words wherever possible. Let us not under-estimate the power of our positive words.   They work wonders!!

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa

Edited By : Meeta Kabra

Every Activity Has Inbuilt Opportunity – Explore !

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“Badri, we need stainless steel utensils in bulk for Bellary’s Ganesh Temple. They are produced and marketed in Bombay. If I come to Bombay, can we get reliable quality at competitive prices?” This was a call I received in 1988 from my cousin, Bhagwandas who stayed in Bellary, my home town. I had moved out of Bellary twenty-three years before that.  We were all very active in maintaining our town temple and celebrating traditional functions at the temple.

The stainless steel dining and serving dishes were required on dinners organized during festivals.  The temple’s hall was also rented out for wedding and other functions. Having dinner sets ready for such occasions would attract more people to have their family celebrations at the temple, thereby increasing the funds available for the upkeep of the temple.

“It would be a pleasure.  Though I don’t know anyone in the stainless steel trade, I will get some contacts by the time you come next week,” I said.

At this time, I was settled in Mumbai and running a business in exports.  We were merchant exporters, mainly dealing with spices and imitation jewelry.  Dubai and Saudi Arabia were our main markets then.

I contacted a neighbour who I knew was in the steel business.  It turned out that he was dealing in steel products used in the construction industry and not in houseware.  But he introduced me to Mr. Vishnu Goyal (Goyalji), who was a manufacturer of stainless steel glasses and had his wholesale outlet at C P Tank in Mumbai.

I visited Goyalji with my cousin.  Since the products were for a temple, he volunteered to supply his products at cost and to arrange for other items from reliable sources at a competitive price.  In no time, he arranged for everything.  In fact, while I was discussing how to pack and dispatch the utensils to Bellary, he overheard the conversation and asked me to give him the address. He’d get them packed properly to avoid damage in transit and send them over.

We were relaxed and happy with the purchase.  It went out smoothly and was quick too! It was a time to celebrate!  We were offered biscuits and tea. As the trend prevails in the market, it was just half of a tiniest cup!  We had to ask for more!  Tea and biscuits go well with small talk and we had a casual chat.

He: Baldawaji, what do you do?

Me: I am a Chartered Accountant, but I don’t practice.  I am in export business.

He: Oh, Bahut Achhaa! Where do you export?

Me: Middle East – UAE and Saudi

He: Are Wah!  Even steel glasses are exported in large quantities.  Why not try?

Me: Goyalji, it is not in my range of products; but I will let you know if it interests me.

When we were about to leave, Goyalji gave me six glasses with specs and said, “These are the ones which were being exported there.  Please keep them with you in case you decide to carry these as samples on your next overseas visit.  Price is xx per kg.”  I accepted the glasses, hesitatingly, as he was giving them free of cost.

I had a suitcase in the office to collect samples of new exportable products as and when I got them.  I worked the pricing on a cost sheet and dropped those glasses in the suitcase.   Later this business developed to the extent that we had almost 60% of Saudi Arabian market.  An opportunity sent by Lord Ganesha, when explored, proved to be one of the Turning points in my career.

Lesson learnt:  Every activity has inbuilt opportunities.  Look for them and Explore!

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa

Edited By : Meeta Kabra

Business With Strangers:

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“We are large importers in Sultanate of Oman and have an procurement office in Mumbai. We know you export spices to the Middle East. We have substantial orders on hand. If you pay a 10% commission to our Mumbai indenting office, we can place these orders with you.” A welcome call from a unknown prospective customer Harish Gupta on a Thursday morning!

Me: “It is too high a commission”
He: “You can cover the cost in your product rates and we will still get you the order.”
Me: “Who will guarantee payments?”
He: “This is for supplies to the Oman palace. You will be covered with a confirmed L/C (an export document that carries guarantee). If you are interested, please send us a Proforma Invoice for all the products you have, for the trial order.”

I was certainly interested. I sent the Proforma on Thursday evening and got a call from one Mr. Harish Gupta on Friday morning stating that it is their normal practice to visit the supplier’s office before placing the order. Mr. Gupta, visited us the same day. Since, he came in hurry, he said he forgot to get his visiting card.

Friday evening kept me happy as I received an order for US$ 85,000 from a new customer. Gupta called me on Friday evening to say: “Even though your prices are high, we will confirm the order to test your services. Before we establish L/C on Monday, Sethji, our boss, would like you to meet him.”

Saturday morning, I was at their office in a building opposite Jaslok Hospital, Peddar Road, Bombay. The front room was a large, dim and dark hall of almost 20 feet by 30 feet. It had a well-used sofa in one corner and a table and chair for the receptionist, at the other end. Nothing else. Dirty walls and confusing, uncleaned balconies. The moment I entered, the main entrance door was closed and quietly locked. I handed over my business card to the receptionist and asked for a card of the boss. I was told that the cards are with the boss himself. I was told that the name of their boss is Mr. Rajesh Agarwal. Until then, it was a secret.

After about 10 minutes, Mr. Gupta took me to Mr. Agarwal’s room which was a decent executive office. The room also had a relaxing chair for boss to stretch and relax. Mr. Gupta mentioned that Mr. Agarwal is delayed at the Mahalaxmi Race course and would be at the office in a few minutes. He also mentioned that the boss was crazy about horse-race betting. Anyway, delays have to be tolerated when one approaches customers!

While I was waiting, a dhoti cladded decent middle-aged gentleman came in to offer daily prayers with agarbattis (essence sticks) to the deity photo in the office. After his prayers, he introduced himself as Abhishek Pandit, sat next to me, and started gossiping. Within minutes he got pretty friendly and gave me a lot of information about the boss. Boss had a lot of investments in real estate and luxury farm houses and he shuttled between the properties in his own chopper. He was cash rich by hundreds of crores. Most of this he had accumulated from betting in horse races and Mr. Abhishek was the retainer for the boss and helped him win.

He said he was not referring to the horse races which are played in the racecourses but which could be played in any room. He took out 6 symbolic horses in the form of conches and 52 sea-shells. He kept the horses in one line and told me to select any one. He played a few games and challenged me that the way he played the game, the horse that he desired, won, not even 1% chance of failure. He went on to explain how he played this game. Mathematically, I was convinced, that there were no chance of going wrong.

Then came the secret of secrets from Abhishek Pandit, “In fact, boss doesn’t even know how this game is played. He makes a lot of money because of me and I just get a token monthly retainership fee. I don’t know why, I feel you can be trusted. I suggest you play against boss, the Sethji. Of course, I will play on Boss’ behalf, I’ll allow you to win and we can share the amount you win. Even if he loses a Crore, It wouldn’t bother the boss, it is insignificant for him. You contribute Rs.10 lakhs which I guarantee, you will not lose and we can earn about a Crore and share the loot.”

I teased myself. “Look at my good luck, I came to get an export contract and I am being lead to gain Crores effortlessly!”

The moment I entered the office, it all sounded fishy. I could have tried to return, but I smelt it might not be a safe move.   The door was closed and any attempt to get out may invite huge risk.  They might hold me back as hostage for ransom. If they were convinced that I knew it was a trap, they might want to get rid of me forever instead of allowing me to leave and complain to the intelligence authorities. Yet, I felt this could be my negative way of thinking and they could as well be genuine businessmen. But one thing was sure, I had to be careful.

I realised the safest thing for me was to stay calm and try to be deceptively genuine in my moves. I told Abhishek, “Look, we are strangers to each other. I cannot take full risk. Though I have no problem in putting in full stake, it is fair that if you share profits, you should also share investment. You bring in 5 and I’ll put in 5. I assure you I will never disclose this deal to the boss.” He hesitatingly agreed.

Abhishek explained, “I have never done this type of cheating with my boss earlier. To get his confidence, we should initially lose a couple of games with small stakes. Once he wins a couple of times, he will go for bigger stakes and then we can have our kill.”

Just then, the boss arrived, holding a mini suitcase like briefcase. My friend Abhishek whispered to me, “we will speak about this later” and walked out.   In fact he said he was waiting for Sethji and when the Sethji arrived, he walked out!

Mr. Gupta, the guy who visited our place came in and introduced me to the Boss. While making himself comfortable to sit, boss told me “I am not feeling well. I have that damn BP problem. I have already called the doctor and he should be reaching any moment. Give me 5 minutes till the doctor is done.”

The boss pressed the call bell and asked the guy “call Vermaji” (guess, their accountant). Just then, the doctor entered, Boss lied down on the relaxing chair and started checking his blood pressure. Just then the accountant came in. Boss says, “the bag has 12 ‘peti’ (12 lacs). Keep it in the safe.” Verma asks what he should do with the 30 ‘peti’ he has received from the other guy. Sethji told him to keep that amount also in the safe and that a payment of 1 ‘khoka’ (1 crore) had to be made on Monday towards some real estate he had purchased.

At this stage, Verma picked up the briefcase and put it on the table very close to me. He opened it in such a way that I could see the currency and then took it away.

I wondered, “Would I expose cash in the presence of strangers?” No. I got the answer for my doubts. A reel of observations flowed. No visiting card so far, deserted office, intentional showing of cash, sequence of entry and exits of people and above all, this bait of 100% win to a stranger by cheating one’s own Boss. I was now convinced, that it was a trap. Export business was just an excuse to get me in to that place.

If I try to walk out or protest, they would not allow me to go out and would most likely harm me. I had to be extremely careful in my moves. Now, surely, my primary aim had to be to get out of that place convincingly.

Since the Boss was not well, he had to leave. He ordered tea for me and requested that I have the tea. By then, Abhishek, the retainer for playing games, entered. He said, “We are lucky, inspite of his not keeping well, Boss has agreed to play the horse race game. Before boss changes his mind, we should play with him, preferably today itself.”

My strategy was to get out of the place convincingly. I replied, “why not, let us play today itself. Such opportunities are rare. I wish I had known this earlier, I could have brought cash with me.” He proposed that let us make a start with whatever money I had with me at that time. I said it is my nature that I don’t I carry money with me except where necessary.

He said, “I can send someone to your place to get the money for you while you can relax here.”

I told him that I don’t keep 5 lakhs at home. I would have to withdraw from the bank. In the meanwhile, I proposed to him to contribute on my behalf and deduct it from my share of the win.

He said in a filmy style “I am a man of principles. In betting partnerships, it does not work that way. Everyone has to put in his stake. It’s okay, if you don’t have 5 lakhs, we can start with 2 lakhs each.”

I said, “I don’t have even 2 lakhs at home. I have no problems getting even 5 lakhs, but I have to withdraw from the bank. Unfortunately, today is Saturday, the Banks are already closed. Why don’t you fix Monday morning for a game.”

He: “okay, 11 in the morning?”

Me: “No. No. Why not earlier, at 10? Banks in suburbs open at 8.30 and I can reach here by 10. I am quite excited. I don’t want to delay any more than necessary.”

He: “Fine. We will play a major game on Monday. But why not start today evening with one lakh?”

Me: “That is possible. I may not have one lakh ready, but I can accumulate from my wife and friends. It is a good idea to play today; else I may not be able to control my excitement during the weekend. I will revert by 5 in the evening and you get this confirmed with your boss.”

He spoke to the boss in my presence over phone and meeting at 5pm was fixed.

As I was leaving, I asked him to check with Guptaji, when I was to expect the L/C, so that I could start working on the order. He said, “Don’t worry, Guptaji already told me. We will get that formality done next week. For you, earning from that order is negligible compared to what we are planning together.”

On my way out of the premises, I was nervous about what might happen till I reach home. For the time being, it looked like I had a temporary lease of life. They looked really dangerous. Every well-built person passing by was looking like a spy following me!

I was pale when I reached home. I narrated the entire episode to my wife. She was worried too. Right at 5 pm, I got a call from Abhishek that they were waiting for me. I said, unfortunately, I could not accumulate 1 lakh. He asked if I had at least accumulated 50,000. I hadn’t. But I promised we could certainly meet on Monday with full 5 lakhs as my stake.

My biggest worry was that they had already marked my home. On Monday, I got the dreaded call. I said, “Look, I was feeling humiliated and that’s why I told you that I have adequate funds. In fact, I am starving for funds. I do not have any balance in the bank to withdraw cash. I was expecting the bank to sanction me a temporary loan on Monday. But they did not oblige.”

I answered their calls for next 5-6 days, each time giving them similar story – that the bank would probably approve the loan the next day. I even told them that, it would be easier for me to get a loan if I had the L/C for their order!

After a week, I told them that my loan application was rejected and hence have no funds. I did not go there. Right or wrong, I did not lodge an official complaint about them.

I have been waiting for almost 3 decades and the L/C for that order is yet to come!

I did mention this incident to people I knew, so that they wouldn’t fall prey to such calls. When I narrated this incident to one of my close friends at Napean Sea Road. He said “You are saved. Once they mark you and your place, be careful. One of my other friends had the same experience with similar guys, but at a different location, a month ago. They snatched his money. My friend complained to the relevant authorities. He was asked to lodge an official complaint the next day and was kidnapped the same night. I have not heard from him since.”

I decided, I would be more careful before I do business with strangers and extra careful, if I had to visit them.

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa

Edited By : Meeta Kabra

Will Power Assures Success

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Lower Spondylitis, three cervical slips and dislocation of a toe-joint were the health related issues I faced in 2008. Alongside I had syncope and chronic high blood pressure.  In normal course, with these issues, one might vehemently oppose the idea of even going for a simple walk.

I, however, wanted to trek to Mt. Everest base camp.  Age 64 years.  My spine questioned its importance, “how can you ignore me and put me under such strain?” The toe protested “after all it is me who’ll ensure you to do the trek. If I am not well, how will you trek?”  To me they sounded like kids making excuses to escape from home work.

But I was very clear.  Come what may, I have to go. I wasn’t convinced that these were adequate reasons to not to go or to postpone the Everest Trek, even by a day.  I had to convince my so-called problems.  To my cervical spine, I said “I will not strain you. I won’t carry baggage on my shoulders; I’ll have a porter to carry the weight”.  To the lower spine, I extended a carrot stick, “Don’t you worry.  I have a nice, imported waist-belt to support you; you would love its company”.

For the toe I had, “I will take you to an orthopedic doctor, feed you with appropriate energy so that you won’t feel the pain, atleast for a few weeks.”

The Doctor advised me to postpone the trek by a fortnight to give some provisional treatment.  When I refused and asked for a better option, he came up with a solution. He’d inject a medicine and within a week the toe would be good for the next 8 weeks at least.

Looking at my firm attitude, my good-old companions from birth, neck, spine and toe were convinced and happily made my trek to Everest possible.

We are faced with similar problems in other fields too, in day-to-day life.  If we permit them to dominate, they restrict our success.  If we have the will power to dominate these problems, success is assured.

Written: Badri Baldawa

Edited: Meeta Kabra

Admirable PM – What A Vision !

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In a TV presentation, I learnt that our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi had his Master’s degree in Political Science. Though I couldn’t confirm it from elsewhere, it was mentioned that Mr. Modi wanted to go to the US for further studies.  He had his passport ready.  But then changed his decision and finally did not go. The reason given was stunning.  It wasn’t visa or finance related. Then what was it?  Give me a minute; I will get back to it.

As the younger members in my family were growing older, obviously  their education and other requirements increased. To cope with the increased need for income, I decided take up a job overseas in 1977, till a majority of my responsibilities were fulfilled.

I was out of India for 9 years.  This gave me many advantages.  Besides the financial earnings, I got exposure to the world, gained confidence in negotiating international deals and made good friends.  This helped me a lot when I started my business later.

As my responsibilities reduced and my wife and I wanted our children to be brought up in the Indian culture, we decided to return to India.  As pointed out by our friends there, it was a challenge to come back and settle in India.

While staying abroad, I was completely disconnected and lost touch with my social circles and our community in India.  For my fellow Chartered Accountants and professional friends I became an outsider and on my return, I realised I was unaware of the latest changes and developments in India in professional matters.  Internet and websites did not exist then.

Given the choices between business, employment and professional practice as a Chartered Accountant, business was my first choice without doubt. I always had a burning desire to run my own business, experiment with business and watch the outcome.

My overseas exposure, no doubt, helped me gain a lot in business.  But then I had to pay a price.  I lost something important in life; to remain connected with my people.

Who knows, had Mr. Modi gone to the US, he would have lost touch with his people, with us.  The reasons Mr. Modi gave for canceling his plans to go overseas was along the following thought, “I decided not to go out as I wanted to be in contact and in touch with my people!”

He had his full attention right from the beginning for His People.  That has added to his energy now.  We are sure to grow.  Admirable foresightedness!  What a devotion to His People!

Author: Badri Baldawa

Edited: Meeta Kabra