The Russian who was afraid

Here is the eleventh unforgettable character in my life …

He was a Russian and I had the pleasure of his company for nearly one whole month in the summer of Delhi. It so happened that there were some problems in the aircraft that my company had supplied to the Air Force. The problem was related to the engine which came from another unit of our factory and I was deputed to attend a meeting at the Air Head Quarters with my Russian specialist. We flew from Nashik (yes, at that time there used to be an IAC fight from Nashik to Mumbai), landed at Delhi via Mumbai. Once in Delhi, I put up my Russian friend at his designated hotel and went to our Guest House in Asian Village.

Next morning after breakfast the transport reported at the Guest House and I went to the hotel to pick up my Russian specialist and we headed to the Air Head Quarters to attend the meeting. It was a very difficult meeting with plenty of accusation and counter accusations and finally it was decided that we study the matter first hand for which we had to move to Hindon where the aircraft were positioned.
Therefore, the next day, my Russian friend and I proceeded to Hindon in the same car with the same youthful driver. And, the ride was a nightmare for my companion. The driver wanted right-of-way always and would keep flashing the headlights with his feet on the accelerator and my friend panicked.
In broken English he requested the driver to stop the reckless driving and implored – ‘I have a daughter back home and I want to see her when I return.’
The driver just grinned back and did not bother but, the next day we got a replacement driver and had to do thee Hindon trip daily for a while before shifting base to Chandigarh where some more aircraft were held.
In short, my Temporary Duty which was initially for three days got extended to thirty days and I was in real trouble because I had gone with only one set of extra clothes and had to spend one whole month in the summer of Delhi with that. It was an experience that I’ll never forget.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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