13 March 2005. Baba turns 58 and retires from Air India. His last flight lands in Mumbai (from LA via Frankfurt) at night. This is the last time he’d be in the cockpit on the PIC seat. It is my pleasure and good fortune that I got to share this moment with him.
This morning, I came across a post on LinkedIn about how every person seems to think their salary to be insufficient compared to what the employer expects of them. I think Baba would have disagreed.
This is what he used to say in a conspiratory tone to me: “Kedar, these chaps give me a smart uniform, pick me up in an air-conditioned car from my doorstep, give me the keys to a US$300 million aircraft (which someone else maintains and cleans and repairs and pays for), put me in charge of 400 souls, let me fly to exotic destinations without standing in line for a visa, pick me up from the airport in another air-conditioned car, put me up in a five star, and give me a day off in a foreign land…and should I tell you something even more hilarious: THEY pay ME for this.” He’d guffaw with a belly-shaking, eye-twinkling laugh before pausing and whispering, “Don’t tell this to anyone, but I’d gladly do it for free.”
Yep, there are such people too. Or at least used to be at one time! Guess they don’t make ’em like that anymore.
He would have been 74 yesterday. I miss you, Baba.
