Boston Brahmin (A Novel)

My growing up years have been in a progressive, middle class household, with relatives and guests dropping in, mostly unannounced! Some of the visitors would stay on for extended periods and our small thousand sq. ft. accommodation invariably was inadequate to provide the desired space and privacy for all. However, this became a way of life and we- the occupants and guests learnt to co-exist with an element of comfort. Our mother spent significant hours in the kitchen to cater to all, commencing work at early hours of the morning and concluding late into the evenings. She, in all this, found time to carry out other chores effortlessly! Dad too, had his time fully utilized and would straddle both, his work as well as his share of the domestic chores, with relative ease!

While the locality that I grew up in was cosmopolitan in composition, with 'middle of the road' conservatism, the period saw a lot of changes all around. Mumbai (then Bombay) was gradually transforming, with the development of the city's infrastructure. The emergence of flyovers to ease road traffic, introduction of energy efficient and bright streetlights, induction of newer buses by the public transport operator (BEST), the arrival of the first wide body 'jumbo jet' of Air India, introduction of super express trains like the Rajdhani, were significant developments. Concurrently, the road traffic continued to be the exclusive domain of the Ambassador and Fiat (subsequently Premier) cars, with minor modifications to their appearance over the years. A newer concept of 'alternate cinema' created some buzz in society, with a lot of unknown, fresh talent redefining standards of creativity and production quality. Finally, the arrival of color television was a `substantial advancement in entertainment technology' though the contents could not keep pace, due the drab offerings and monopoly of the state-controlled telecaster.

At home, amongst families such as ours, expectations of offspring were standard, to have them achieve good grades in school and progress to higher education in either medicine or engineering or chartered accountancy. Should they succeed in getting into one of these 'privileged' lines, the next expectation was for them to either progress to post-graduation studies or travel to the USA for their master's or enter one of the 'B' schools that would assure good placement. Marriage, ideally arranged, would be a standard preference of most such families. I grew up in one such household. However, being from a family with musical and journalistic linkages, we had good exposure to a wide cross section of society. Spiritual Gurus on the one hand, free thinking progressive minds on the other, journalists, film personalities, musicians, politicians, in-between, helped our development as individuals with balanced perspective. Acceptance of seeming contradictions of the system, compromise, limited expectations and learning to wade through various fixations across the cultural spectrum of society were the other traits that helped subsequently, in life.

Some of the significant influencers, during those years, remain to this day as role models and aspects of their personality continue to influence thoughts and approach to life. A superior once stated that all experiences in life must be absorbed, enhanced in value with our intellectual reasoning and used appropriately, to minimize the pain of existence. This, at a sub conscious level, continues to provide an element of stability and enables absorption of challenges, with limited turbulence.

Though this book is a fictional rendering, it is influenced by some of those I came in close contact with, during my growing years. My parents, a revered Guru, the elders who facilitated the economic and spiritual development of my parents are some of them. I have also, based on first-hand experience, during the course of my professional life, attempted to capture some of the significant learnings. My experiences from extensive travel across geographies, interaction with people from varied cultures, association with organizations in various businesses and countries, have also influenced my thoughts and consequently enabled the construction of the contents of this novel.

While I have made every attempt to stay on a middle path of realism, there are a few extraordinary events at the intuitive plane, that have found their way into this rendering. It is for the reader to take a call on their realism. They may, alternatively, choose to treat the same as fiction. Above all, the profound influence of my mentor and Guru have helped in the development of the fundamentals of this novel. I have attempted to have this as a continuous thread through the pages.

I am indebted to my close family, wife Sudha, son Nikhil, daughter Sanjana, for supporting me through the development of this novel.

**Contents and Sample Pages**