To The Hills of Bangalore
With only a few days left in India, we flew early today from Mumbai to Bangalore via Jet Airways. From the airport, we were transported to Nandi Hill. Since it’s not safe for the bus to continue further and bring us to the top, we took an exhilarating walk with some shortcuts for the supposedly 4-kilometer climb. Some delegates lost heart in pursuing, thinking about the next 4-kilometer walk back to the highway. I suggested that we just roll afterwards. Yes, I do 4 kilometers daily (and 4 km along the beach is nothing), but not on a hill! Ratih broke the silence and questioned, “Do we have to go there?” which I followed with “Why am I here?” It’s good to see people in business attire engaged in hill-climbing too. But nothing could be worse than going up with a luggage. Luckily, we left them in the bus. We were already suspecting that from a 5-star hotel in Delhi, to a 3-star in Mumbai, a hostel was already next on their list. But we also welcome staying in caves, which offers a view of a thousand stars! To motivate us in our hill climbing adventure, travel guide Anil Pandhi gestures saying, “Hurry, lunch is waiting for you!” But I wondered, who’s cooking?
When I laugh, it’s 99.9% Anil. If destiny is something which was never planned but happened, then he is OUR destiny. Dubbed as the “principal of our lives,” he’s always got something “for all of us.” If this is good, well, there are two sides of the coin. He does not think of himself, but always for all of us. But on the other hand, he does not think of us as individuals!
Aside from “for all of you (e.g. We can have disco for all of you), he also resorts to template lines like “Definitely,” “Really?,” and everything “in five minutes.” Sometimes he changes it to ten minutes, like in “The plane is leaving in 10 minutes.” (But takeoff is still within 5 minutes.) I imagined him speaking over the airport paging system saying “All of you, may I have your attention please, for five minutes.” I asked a fellow ASEAN delegate if he trusts Anil. Yes, but only for five minutes. They also plan to start an online Ten Minutes group.
But Anil is really first among the most unforgettable Indian memories. Once I tried to verify his “5 minutes” but found out that the thing happened only in 30 seconds. When we were travelling in a bus to Agra, he pointed to the ceiling and said, “You can open this later.” We wondered if it was for fresh air but no, he said. It’s very dirty air. The delegates just looked at each other. The next thing he did was to offer coffee and tea, which was reminiscent of the Delhi Dialogue. I would also remember Anil as the man who sleeps with his arms crossed. Must be hiding something. My seatmate thought it could be a fake moustache.
We’re twenty-eight participants, but Anil always stops his headcount at 19 and asks “anybody missing?” And when he keeps on saying that there are just two hours left in our journey, it is better to be sure and ask how many kilometres more. Because of all these, we take advantage of any chance to get a photo of the sleeping Anil. In all fairness, he could pass for an Indian actor with all his entertaining antics and ability to cheer serious people up. Some of the delegates even considers selling Anil’s photographs. Should he pursue a career in show business, I’m sure to be his number one fan. What matters now is if we’ll allow him to keep his job. With our evaluation, who knows, he might even get promoted! Admitting that he’s never been to the places where he took us, he amazingly delivered. Very thoughtful too. Inside a restaurant while we were being served, we suddenly heard him saying “Mutton is coming.” Aside from playing by ear, his dynamic gestures also help.
With all the surprises that came along the way, we come to think: After the flight, what’s next? Maybe a meeting. Our routine can actually be described as eating-meeting-sight seeing-sleeping-shopping. We also memorized the drill whenever we shift locations: Passports everyone! It’s still an option between meeting first then sight-seeing, or sight-seeing then meeting. Many would choose sight seeing then shopping.
I slept during the flight and when I woke up I just heard “Welcome to Bangalore.” The first thing I saw was Anil. I remembered the advertisement leaflet distributed with our meals (with sample credit card holder Anil Prasad) and I jokingly asked: “So are you also into the credit card business?” This man can really build his empire.
With Anil being a common name in India, I asked him what it means. It was actually believed to be a lucky name. Does he believe that he’s lucky? He said, “Yes, I’m lucky for all of you.” Oh no! Hahaha. Later, he announced: “Sughanda is going to the restroom. Can we wait for her in five minutes?” The woman gently said, “Anil, you don’t have to make it public.” It’s just funny to see them conversing. Especially because when Sughanda asks him to repeat what he says, we prove that it’s not the tourist who has a problem in understanding. It’s really Anil! Ratih said it best: The more he explains, the more we get confused. But really, we laugh.
Anil is the epitome of resilience. I saw him skipping lunch to be in the company of two delegates who decided not to go climbing with us. Anil even thought of going to the disco. Is it where he’ll have lunch? And so I complimented him for a tough job well done. It’s a challenging tour to organize (many transfers, many things could happen). And he just said “That’s my responsibility for all of you.” Hahaha
But if there is anything I regret in my India trip, it’s not bringing the right size of luggage. Lesson learned: Nobody loves to travel with hand-carried press kits! Nothing could be worse than a broken luggage. If I buy here, cheaper luggage also, can be trusted only for five minutes.
I also gained insight on the much coveted window seat in the plane. Mr. Galvez’s punchline is: “You might have a hard time getting to your seat, I can just take it.” But Sughanda retaliated “I want it, if you don’t mind. You can have your window seat… (I filled in “in the bus”).
*If you’re travelling to India, don’t hesitate to contact Anil Pandhi of New Airways Travels. 84, Tolstoy Lane Janpath, New Delhi-01. Phone numbers 43509000 and mobile numbers 9810704998. E-mail newairways@hotmail.com. You’re sure to enjoy your stay with totally effortless humor. His mere presence and voice may result to frequent abdominal contractions.
When I laugh, it’s 99.9% Anil. If destiny is something which was never planned but happened, then he is OUR destiny. Dubbed as the “principal of our lives,” he’s always got something “for all of us.” If this is good, well, there are two sides of the coin. He does not think of himself, but always for all of us. But on the other hand, he does not think of us as individuals!
Aside from “for all of you (e.g. We can have disco for all of you), he also resorts to template lines like “Definitely,” “Really?,” and everything “in five minutes.” Sometimes he changes it to ten minutes, like in “The plane is leaving in 10 minutes.” (But takeoff is still within 5 minutes.) I imagined him speaking over the airport paging system saying “All of you, may I have your attention please, for five minutes.” I asked a fellow ASEAN delegate if he trusts Anil. Yes, but only for five minutes. They also plan to start an online Ten Minutes group.
But Anil is really first among the most unforgettable Indian memories. Once I tried to verify his “5 minutes” but found out that the thing happened only in 30 seconds. When we were travelling in a bus to Agra, he pointed to the ceiling and said, “You can open this later.” We wondered if it was for fresh air but no, he said. It’s very dirty air. The delegates just looked at each other. The next thing he did was to offer coffee and tea, which was reminiscent of the Delhi Dialogue. I would also remember Anil as the man who sleeps with his arms crossed. Must be hiding something. My seatmate thought it could be a fake moustache.
We’re twenty-eight participants, but Anil always stops his headcount at 19 and asks “anybody missing?” And when he keeps on saying that there are just two hours left in our journey, it is better to be sure and ask how many kilometres more. Because of all these, we take advantage of any chance to get a photo of the sleeping Anil. In all fairness, he could pass for an Indian actor with all his entertaining antics and ability to cheer serious people up. Some of the delegates even considers selling Anil’s photographs. Should he pursue a career in show business, I’m sure to be his number one fan. What matters now is if we’ll allow him to keep his job. With our evaluation, who knows, he might even get promoted! Admitting that he’s never been to the places where he took us, he amazingly delivered. Very thoughtful too. Inside a restaurant while we were being served, we suddenly heard him saying “Mutton is coming.” Aside from playing by ear, his dynamic gestures also help.
With all the surprises that came along the way, we come to think: After the flight, what’s next? Maybe a meeting. Our routine can actually be described as eating-meeting-sight seeing-sleeping-shopping. We also memorized the drill whenever we shift locations: Passports everyone! It’s still an option between meeting first then sight-seeing, or sight-seeing then meeting. Many would choose sight seeing then shopping.
I slept during the flight and when I woke up I just heard “Welcome to Bangalore.” The first thing I saw was Anil. I remembered the advertisement leaflet distributed with our meals (with sample credit card holder Anil Prasad) and I jokingly asked: “So are you also into the credit card business?” This man can really build his empire.
With Anil being a common name in India, I asked him what it means. It was actually believed to be a lucky name. Does he believe that he’s lucky? He said, “Yes, I’m lucky for all of you.” Oh no! Hahaha. Later, he announced: “Sughanda is going to the restroom. Can we wait for her in five minutes?” The woman gently said, “Anil, you don’t have to make it public.” It’s just funny to see them conversing. Especially because when Sughanda asks him to repeat what he says, we prove that it’s not the tourist who has a problem in understanding. It’s really Anil! Ratih said it best: The more he explains, the more we get confused. But really, we laugh.
Anil is the epitome of resilience. I saw him skipping lunch to be in the company of two delegates who decided not to go climbing with us. Anil even thought of going to the disco. Is it where he’ll have lunch? And so I complimented him for a tough job well done. It’s a challenging tour to organize (many transfers, many things could happen). And he just said “That’s my responsibility for all of you.” Hahaha
But if there is anything I regret in my India trip, it’s not bringing the right size of luggage. Lesson learned: Nobody loves to travel with hand-carried press kits! Nothing could be worse than a broken luggage. If I buy here, cheaper luggage also, can be trusted only for five minutes.
I also gained insight on the much coveted window seat in the plane. Mr. Galvez’s punchline is: “You might have a hard time getting to your seat, I can just take it.” But Sughanda retaliated “I want it, if you don’t mind. You can have your window seat… (I filled in “in the bus”).
*If you’re travelling to India, don’t hesitate to contact Anil Pandhi of New Airways Travels. 84, Tolstoy Lane Janpath, New Delhi-01. Phone numbers 43509000 and mobile numbers 9810704998. E-mail newairways@hotmail.com. You’re sure to enjoy your stay with totally effortless humor. His mere presence and voice may result to frequent abdominal contractions.
