Meeting boss after years

It is not always that one fulfils all of one's wishes when planning a trip abroad. Probably why the nursery rhyme goes, “If wishes were horses beggars would ride.” Precisely why Aunty brands me a meticulous planner and a poor achiever. But I maintain that even if I am able to achieve 4 of 10 it isn't too bad; something is better than nothing.

So when I added to my list a possible meeting with Al, my boss, and his wife Maritza, as soon as our Boston trip got finalized, I had the least hope that it would materialise. For, you name any city in USA, and chances are they would have some relations there and are visiting someone or the other. On an earlier occasion I wrote to him of our plans to be in Arizona and California and wondered if they would be around in West Coast then. Yes, they were, and they made minor modifications to their itinerary to meet our entire family in California. So nice of them.

“Were you two working together for long to be so close?” you might ask. No. He was Geneva-based and I, Delhi-based. We met every year for 10 days at the Frankfurt Book Fair. In the evenings we would walk up to some Vietnamese, Thai or Indian restaurant for dinner, before returning to our respective hotels. After the Fair I would visit Geneva for three days to discuss matters of mutual interest. That was the routine.

I retired from WHO. Months later, as Aunty and I were visiting temples in Udupi, Horanad, Sringeri..., I received an email from Al if I could help him as a consultant for 11 months in Geneva. I agreed. When the final contract ended, it was almost five years.

Alfred Wieboldt, Al for short, is an American of German descent. His wife, Maritza, a Colombian. They are such a lovely made-for-each-other couple. I knew their son, Gilbert, as a young boy very keen to make a mark in soccer. Now 32, he is working for a Medical Hospital in Boston. Al and Maritza look forward to him get into a wedlock.

The Als are always on travel status. Thus I was delighted when I was able to touch base with them again, this time in Boston. We had earmarked 1-1/2 hours to spend with them. When we left the Legal Sea Foods restaurant, it was more than 3-1/2 hours. Initially, as vegetarians, we were skeptical when Maritza conveyed the name of the restaurant where she had made reservation. But the thoughtful Maritza had spoken to the Chef in advance to prepare a special no-fish, no-meat, no-chicken, and all-vegetables food. And he just did that, admirably. A time well-spent, we felt, including the boys. Before we parted, a brief photo-session followed, courtesy the lady attending to our table.

During the chat we made sure it was not WHO all the way. That would be taxing the rest. Nonetheless occasionally we strayed into it. He shared with me that in one of the meetings of International Publishers Conference in Frankfurt (maybe after I retired) Jeff Bezos (Amazon) too was present. He was still getting a foothold in the industry. He made the momentous announcement that very soon all this wholesale, retail, stockists networks would perish and people would be able get their books at their doorstep. Also there won't be warehouses stocking multiple copies of each title. They would be printed on demand. Al pooh-poohed his vision. “And see how much Jeff's words have become a reality now,” Al said, never unwilling to admit his miscalculations.

Before parting, I renewed my invitation to them to visit India and be our guest. To dispel fears of their getting into any medical emergency during the visit, I briefed them on how medical tourism was synonymous with India. Yet to be convinced. So, till then status quo ante.

(Next and last: Harvard and MIT tours)