We were delighted to welcome Sanjay and his company, East India Travel Co to Indian Experiences family, as the North East of India is greatly underrepresented in the travel narrative in general. Here are this 15 Questions in 5 Minutes with his inspiration for creating his travel company which promotes NE India.
- Who you are (naturally!)
A day dreamer lost in the practical world. Wish I had more time to dream on ….
- What inspired you to create your business?
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder — and there is so much beauty of all kinds everywhere which I wanted to present to the world.
- An anecdote which epitomizes your India?
As a teenager from a small town in Assam going out to mega Mumbai to spend a few days in my uncle’s house, I was ill at ease trying to move about the city on my own (not depending on my aunt’s chauffeur driven Fiat car). After a taxi ride from Mahim to Cuffe Parade the driver, when given a hundred rupee note (big deal then) flipped few other notes and suddenly showed me a tenner and said I had given him that!! I was angry and nervous at the same time and started arguing with the scoundrel. From nowhere sauntered a heavy-set man and took over the ‘discussion’ and in a measured tone asked the driver to return the change. Not only that,he offered to escort me right till the doorstep of the apartment building where I was staying!! This is India — the good, the bad and when you expect things to turn ugly, there you are — an angel appears.
- One thing that you can’t live without?
It was my blue jeans, now it’s my laptop!!
- One thing that you hate?
Anything that is loud — music when it shouldn’t be, noise and loudmouths ..
- If you could change one thing about India what would it be?
Respect thy neighbour’s rights. Do not throw rubbish out of your premises and onto the street and say that you are neat & tidy.
- Who is your greatest inspiration?
Haven’t come across him/ her yet, but it’s got to be something really big to wake me up from my self induced slumber on nothing-is-going-to change-my-view.
- What is your favourite quote?
It’s nice to be important, but more important to be nice
- I have noticed huge changes in India over the last few years but what is the biggest change you have noticed in India over the last 10 years
Young India shedding the baggage of the past, caste doesn’t matter anymore to the educated Indian and ready to take on the pseudo-intellectual and call spade a spade.
- What do you think are the biggest challenges India faces over the next ten years.
Reviving the great socio-cultural edifice that is real India, otherwise it’s good bye to cultural tourism.
- Which is the destination at the top of your bucket list?
China, with all its perceived worldview, it’s a wonder how they still manage to remain so attractive as a tourist destination
- What is the one place you visited that you have NO desire to return to?
Difficult to say, no I can’t think of any. Maybe, I try to understand why a place is like what it is and, so, I don’t dislike it?
- Book or Movie?
Book, any day. Cosying up with a book in the right environment beats everything else hands down.
- Just for fun! I am doing a survey to find India’s most popular breakfast, what is yours?
Aloo paratha, but with sufficient aloo inside along with yogurt and mango pickle !
- In retrospect, what is the one thing you wish you could have told your 20 year-old self.
Ah, there are so many things, but I wish I hadn’t taken such a long time to realise that life was slipping away — “…. and then one day you find, ten years have gone behind you, no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun”.
