Memories of France

I visited many parts of France, thanks to a friend, Anne, who lived in Pleudiry in rural France. We visited Mt. St. Michel with her, and the surrounding areas including Rennes. She also came to visit us in India when I worked at Harihar. Also remember going to Hampi and Pondicherry with her. Some pics of both her visit to India and ours to France-

International Friends

Being in the U.S. for a Ph.D. (1986-1989) was good from many different angles. One was that I met people from many different countries- Alberto from Portugal, Godwin Udo from Nigeria, Masoud from Iran, to name a few. Our group of Indian students also had a permanent member from France, Anne Pouliquen, who was studying in the Agriculture Dept. We actually visited each other's homes later on. Her place in Northern France was an interesting one to visit, full of history and charming rural atmosphere. Mount St. Michael was nearby, and Rennes too. She took us around to these places, and we ate some excellent seafood and cheeses at her place and her parents' farmhouse. She in turn visited us in Harihar, and we went along to Hampi and Pondicherry with her. Muthu, our friend in Bangalore, received her at the airport. She also travelled alone to various places in India.
Some pics from Hampi (above and below, first) and Pondicherry.

Masoud and his wife also visited us in Bangalore, and I met him in Malaysia while he was a visiting prof. there.

Coimbatour

 Prof Poongodi at KCT, with guess which book? My Marketing Research book that she uses. Another pic with KCT faculty in front of their institute.

I had an occasion to go to Coimbatore on invitation recently. A bustling city, with a lot of entrepreneurs in and around. Tirupur is not too far away. Textiles are a speciality. Lots of educational institutes too. One such is KCT, where I spent some time with students and faculty. Founded by a Gandhian, the institute has an autonomous MBA program, and a couple of technical programs.

Met my friend Dhanapal, who runs a couple of schools in the town. We worked for a few years at Kirloskar Institute in the past, and have remained in touch. Golf is a common interest, and we have gone to Kodaikanal and Munnar to play too-unfortunately this time there wasn't time.

Coimbatore is also a gateway to Ooty and Coonoor, where I had been recently on a vacation trip, and to play Golf. I first went to Ooty on a KSTDC tour bus in the 70s, and remember eating my first strawberry there.

Karnataka always had a tour to Mysore and Ooty, from as far back as I remember, and they were good ones too. Unfortunately, that led to a neglect of many other destinations in the state-some of which I got to see during my stay at Harihar. Jog Falls is one such, Hampi being the other. And Belur-Halebid, which have some of the most exquisite carvings I have seen. 

Aviation and Tourism

There is a draft aviation policy at last. It is around 10 years too late, but never mind.

Is it so tough to see that easy aviation makes for a lot of benefits in spinoff mode? Ancillary industries grow. But the biggest boost is to another big industry-tourism. Compared with some other countries in Asia, India's tourism industry is minuscule. Compared to its potential, given the amazing things we have in India, it is even worse. Even domestic tourists are scared to go where no tourist has gone before. Mostly due to lack of access by road or rail. I have discovered many destinations only because I happened to live nearby. Hampi is one, Jog Falls another. Both are magnificient, and should be on everyone's bucket list. What if it was a short flight away from Bangalore, reasonably priced? I will bet that thousands more would visit both.

I can cite many more examples. Lonar crater (formed after a meteorite hit) in Buldana district of Maharashtra. Almost the entire North-east, Bhedaghat with its unique Marble Rocks, Dandeli forests, Tiger reserves like Bandhavgarh, Kanha. In fact, there are known examples of chartered flights coming in to Goa from European countries. They could go to a few other places if we had more working airports.

Taxes can be reduced on smaller airports, and other incentives given to make that happen. This can directly touch lives of service providers like hotels, taxi operators and restaurants in smaller towns, and increase pride in the country by showing off the best of it to both domestic and international travellers. Roads take time to build. Airlines can start much faster!

Hope this policy translates into quick action.