The mango country

Yesterday, I met a very interesting man on the flight from Delhi to Jaipur. After a long day in Delhi, I, (like anyone else) was looking forward to a nice nap, when my dream was shattered, when this man (I like to call him Mr. Question mark) who must have kicked my foot over a zillion times before parking himself nicely on the window seat. I on the other hand, was on the aisle seat with unfortunately, no one in the middle.

Mr. Question Mark: Flying to Jaipur son?

Modest me: Yes sir, I am

(wondering….as though the plane was flying anywhere else. Although, I admit, it did make me check my boarding pass again, lol).

Mr. Question Mark: Aaah! I am so tired.

(this time slowly t-u-r-n-i-n-g towards me)

You think Jaipur will be hot? I just can’t handle the heat.

Modest me: I am not sure.

(Thinking…… as if I am the weatherman and it’s my fault that we are entering summer season).

Mr. Question Mark: I run a fantastic travel company called “X”, you must have heard of it? Do you work? Where? How long? Hmmm.. your age?

- Omg!! Seriously … does this man not see me yawning… But, with my best effort to give the puppy eyed expression, (that I learnt from “puss in boots”), pleading mercy and to be let alone, i looked at him and said….

Modest me: Yes I have heard of it. Good on you. I work in a travel company too (and quickly gave him my details) telling myself… patience…. patience…. n actually getting a reply from my grey cells turning black now….. “going …going… g-o-n-e.”…

When he continued…

Mr. Question Mark: What? You have been working in that company for past 7 years?? Why are you ruining your life young man? This is the world of smart working, not hard working. You got to keep changing jobs, keep switching to keep up your salary bracket. Who gives a damn if you have not seen one bit of this country, you just need to know how to sell it. Where do you think you will be many years from now the way you are heading? Tourism has changed.. you need to change…

He must have kept on saying something as all I could see was his lips moving & his ever changing facial expressions…. but I had a zoom out. I found myself entering a state of trance. I was looking at him blankly. Everything went into the background of my thoughts.

There was something funny yet ironic in the way he said “Tourism has changed, you need to change”. Not that it bothered me in any fashion, but I was simply curious as, to me, his thoughts and beliefs, were a complete opposite of mine. Moreover, I was surprised that with such an approach how the hell did this man reach where he did.

Well, tourism in India has changed in all aspects. From competition to loyalty towards partners to demanding clients, I think we have come a long way. There have been changes in all aspects of Toursim, right from the involvement of the government & private firms to the spreading of awareness and education. How things work now, are far from how they did when my father started. My father’s narration of the bygone era always reminded me of the ‘sunscreen song’, of how everything was good then and of how it is coming to a ghastly end. It is in this end that we are living and what matters. Very often, I meet dapper enthusiastic travel consultants working for known banners, earning a fat pay check and selling what they call “Gems of India” with so much of passion and crisp confident language that it’s nearly impossible to believe that they have never been to even 2% of places they propose. My boss always used to tell me “you need fire in your stomach” and let your passion flow but new trends only need smart marketers. Yes, one needs to know how to market oneself and feel sorted.

Earlier we saw a complete lack of infrastructure and support from the government, now we do see the development around but with no accountability. Money is pumped to enhance the tourist flow but with lack of thought and direction. Last November, The Aviation Authority suddenly decided to renovate the airstrips in the middle of November month in Jaipur, Rajasthan (which, by the way, is the peak inbound tourist season) while, we all were sitting in our offices praying & hoping that they live up to their reputation of the usual delay in the project. Thank god they did, as the cancellation of the amount of flights then, would have caused havoc, let alone the melodramatic trouble to the “foreign tourist”. This in itself is a fine example of infrastructure development without thought and direction. We, of course need a renovated airstrip but the same can be done with proper planning in the summer months when the tourist flow is minimal.

According to the last annual report submitted by the Ministry of Tourism 2010–2011, we had 5.58 million FTA (Foreign Tourist Arrivals) in India showing the near growth of 8% from previous years but when I speak to people on how is work? I have not seen one complete satisfactory face. We all have seen a boon in domestic market and in the outbound sphere. Of course we Indians have money. No wonder all the international fashion houses want to arrive here and start making ‘sarees’ for women. I was going through the New York Times (45 places to visit in 2012) and after much searching found Kerala on the 21st rank but that’s about it. Why are we still not in top ten? In 2004 Richard Branson founded Virgin Galactic with the primary goal of pioneering commercial flights to space. So soon anyone with $200,000 will be able to travel to space.

I think in India we have a variety of everything. May it be culture, food, languages, political scenario, temples, animals and to add more just pick up the never ending script of Vatsayan. If only we can bring all this variety in a channelised fashion by putting accountability in accordance to hierarchy of power and responsibility, I am sure we will thrive together. Infrastructure alone is not enough. We need direction in action.

With another zoom out, I realised that ‘Mr. Question Mark’ was still speaking to me (no surprise in that though!!) and in his lamenting tone he was somewhere on “did you know, I have struggled many years to reach here”. People now think that I know everything and I do but that has taken me many years. I am not praising myself but just telling you the facts.

I just looked at him and smiled. He was completely quiet, then, after a pause he said why are you smiling?

And out of nowhere I had this strange yet strong urge to ask him……

Modest me: Do you like mangoes?

Mr. Question Mark: WHAT????

With that jaw drop open, shocked yet confused look on his face….. I swear I heard the silence itself say WHAT THE HELL !!!!!.

And I repeated myself with…..

Modest me: I said, do you like mangoes?

Mr. Question Mark: Yes sometimes. BUT.. WHAT? I MEAN WHY ARE YOU ASKING???@@

Modest me: I was just thinking about varieties, did you know there are 500 varieties of Mangoes in India. Of course you know we are the biggest exporters in the world. So it is not wrong if we call ourselves “The Mango Country”, is it? J

Mr. Question Mark: ?@#@?????

The plane landed and Mr. Question Mark missed my foot this time and left.