April 28, 2010: PN was traveling to a place called Pabal to attend a unique event, the inauguration of a tourist center created by his employees.
What had been a small hamlet three years ago, was now going to be a great tourist destination, the place where Mastani, the goddess of beauty and romance, was buried on that same day 270 years ago.
Around three hundred employees had worked on the project for the past three years creating awareness, weaving stories around the romance of Mastani and Baji Rao and setting up a center for global tourists. Today, the world was going to see the fruits of their efforts.
PN took a trip down memory lane and recalled how it all started. It was September 12, 2006. PN was traveling to Pune. He had taken a day out from his schedule to visit a village called Pabal, where there was a technical school run by his schoolmate’s parents.
The school was called Vigyan Ashram; it was an educational institution for technologies suitable to village economy. To be eligible for admission, a student had to be a school dropout.
PN had also heard that the school had a partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States and the Indian Institute of Technology for creating some technology breakthroughs for rural India. It was interesting, but far away from the city.
The school was on a small piece of land, yet holding a whole world of progressive technology. Young rural students in a remote drought-prone village managed it all. There were many success stories from supposedly unsuccessful students. PN thought it was just amazing!
After having lunch at the hostel mess, PN took a tour of the village. It was like any other village in India. But what caught PN’s eye was the grave of Mastani.
Mastani, PN was told, was a dancer and singer and mistress of Baji Rao, prime minister of the Maratha Kingdom. Mastani, the villagers said, was a skilled horse-rider, skilled in spear throwing and swordsmanship. She accompanied Baji Rao on his military campaigns, inspiring him to extend the Maratha Empire in North India.
She was a renowned beauty. The local folklore said that she had such fair and translucent skin that when she swallowed the juice of her paan beeda (betel leaf with nuts and spices), the red color of the juice could be seen through the fair skin of her throat. It was a great, romantic story of the eighteenth century.
Her death too was equally fascinating. When Baji Rao died and was being cremated, Mastani walked into the flames of the pyre and ended her life alongside her lover.
Today, the grave of the beauty lay in a solitary and deserted place, which PN could not believe. PN could not believe that so few people knew about this story. He returned to his office promising himself to do something about it.
In a meeting with his management team, he told them about the Pabal school and asked how employees interested in public service could spend some time there to help students in their pursuit of technology.
Ganesh showed interest in the project. He was an MIT alumnus, so he could get access to MIT’s work in Vigyan Ashram. He knew that many of his techno-savvy team members also wouldn’t mind spending time there and contributing.
Then PN spoke about reviving the Mastani tomb. There was a general disapproval of this. Team members thought no one would visit such a place, and they felt there were better places for which they should provide sponsorship and seek publicity. Mastani’s tomb was not worth the effort.
PN let the matter lie. Some time later, he had a chance to meet some of his UK employees, an enthusiastic group interested in tourism. They had recently completed a European tour and were inspired by the great tourist attractions they saw.
They were impressed by the skills of those countries that were creating tourist interests and the innovative ways they promoted tourism.
An example they gave was Sherlock Holmes’ home, at 221B Baker Street in London. A tourist could visit the house, wear Holmes’ bowler hat, smoke his famous pipe, have a photograph taken as a souvenir, buy replicas of Holmes’ possessions, even read the same newspaper Holmes read. The tourist department had done a great job in creating this make-believe world.
“If other young people can take it as seriously as you have,” PN said to the group, “we could do similar wonders.” Then he told them the story of his visit to the Mastani grave. He explained that if they could get together and plan things, it would be possible to create a tourist center in Pabal. They knew PN well. Everything looked so simple to him. They also knew that they could trust PN to support them when they got stuck.
They put out feelers around the company and sought the support of a large number of people who were ready to be part of the project.
They had much to do. Some started doing research on Mastani’s life. Others began working out what it takes to set up a tourist center, and others started working out the costs. Some went to stay in Pune and in Pabal. They spoke to the local government body, called the Panchayat, to the tourist department, and to the villagers to fill them with the enthusiasm to create a venture from which everyone would benefit.
Some enthusiasts planned to create videos to recreate the history; others planned for the sound and light programs. Some groups created a sustainability plan so that the center could go on functioning even after they had handed over control to the locals.
The work created lot of curiosity and interest in PN’s company.
The plans were ready. Volunteers started coaching the villagers, creating local guides, helping them set up the essentials of a tourist center, including hygienic water, a clean environment, good food, clean toilets, and so on.
In the small village, all this built hope and enthusiasm to do something good. The news of what was happening in Pabal soon spread. Support for PN’s volunteers came from many quarters.
And he came back to the present. PN’s car neared the new tourist site. A huge crowd attended the launch. PN opened the tourist counter and handed over the key to the village head. The dream he had sold to his team three years ago had actually become a reality.
It was one more victory for John Galt!
What had been a small hamlet three years ago, was now going to be a great tourist destination, the place where Mastani, the goddess of beauty and romance, was buried on that same day 270 years ago.
Around three hundred employees had worked on the project for the past three years creating awareness, weaving stories around the romance of Mastani and Baji Rao and setting up a center for global tourists. Today, the world was going to see the fruits of their efforts.
PN took a trip down memory lane and recalled how it all started. It was September 12, 2006. PN was traveling to Pune. He had taken a day out from his schedule to visit a village called Pabal, where there was a technical school run by his schoolmate’s parents.
The school was called Vigyan Ashram; it was an educational institution for technologies suitable to village economy. To be eligible for admission, a student had to be a school dropout.
PN had also heard that the school had a partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States and the Indian Institute of Technology for creating some technology breakthroughs for rural India. It was interesting, but far away from the city.
The school was on a small piece of land, yet holding a whole world of progressive technology. Young rural students in a remote drought-prone village managed it all. There were many success stories from supposedly unsuccessful students. PN thought it was just amazing!
After having lunch at the hostel mess, PN took a tour of the village. It was like any other village in India. But what caught PN’s eye was the grave of Mastani.
Mastani, PN was told, was a dancer and singer and mistress of Baji Rao, prime minister of the Maratha Kingdom. Mastani, the villagers said, was a skilled horse-rider, skilled in spear throwing and swordsmanship. She accompanied Baji Rao on his military campaigns, inspiring him to extend the Maratha Empire in North India.
She was a renowned beauty. The local folklore said that she had such fair and translucent skin that when she swallowed the juice of her paan beeda (betel leaf with nuts and spices), the red color of the juice could be seen through the fair skin of her throat. It was a great, romantic story of the eighteenth century.
Her death too was equally fascinating. When Baji Rao died and was being cremated, Mastani walked into the flames of the pyre and ended her life alongside her lover.
Today, the grave of the beauty lay in a solitary and deserted place, which PN could not believe. PN could not believe that so few people knew about this story. He returned to his office promising himself to do something about it.
In a meeting with his management team, he told them about the Pabal school and asked how employees interested in public service could spend some time there to help students in their pursuit of technology.
Ganesh showed interest in the project. He was an MIT alumnus, so he could get access to MIT’s work in Vigyan Ashram. He knew that many of his techno-savvy team members also wouldn’t mind spending time there and contributing.
Then PN spoke about reviving the Mastani tomb. There was a general disapproval of this. Team members thought no one would visit such a place, and they felt there were better places for which they should provide sponsorship and seek publicity. Mastani’s tomb was not worth the effort.
PN let the matter lie. Some time later, he had a chance to meet some of his UK employees, an enthusiastic group interested in tourism. They had recently completed a European tour and were inspired by the great tourist attractions they saw.
They were impressed by the skills of those countries that were creating tourist interests and the innovative ways they promoted tourism.
An example they gave was Sherlock Holmes’ home, at 221B Baker Street in London. A tourist could visit the house, wear Holmes’ bowler hat, smoke his famous pipe, have a photograph taken as a souvenir, buy replicas of Holmes’ possessions, even read the same newspaper Holmes read. The tourist department had done a great job in creating this make-believe world.
“If other young people can take it as seriously as you have,” PN said to the group, “we could do similar wonders.” Then he told them the story of his visit to the Mastani grave. He explained that if they could get together and plan things, it would be possible to create a tourist center in Pabal. They knew PN well. Everything looked so simple to him. They also knew that they could trust PN to support them when they got stuck.
They put out feelers around the company and sought the support of a large number of people who were ready to be part of the project.
They had much to do. Some started doing research on Mastani’s life. Others began working out what it takes to set up a tourist center, and others started working out the costs. Some went to stay in Pune and in Pabal. They spoke to the local government body, called the Panchayat, to the tourist department, and to the villagers to fill them with the enthusiasm to create a venture from which everyone would benefit.
Some enthusiasts planned to create videos to recreate the history; others planned for the sound and light programs. Some groups created a sustainability plan so that the center could go on functioning even after they had handed over control to the locals.
The work created lot of curiosity and interest in PN’s company.
The plans were ready. Volunteers started coaching the villagers, creating local guides, helping them set up the essentials of a tourist center, including hygienic water, a clean environment, good food, clean toilets, and so on.
In the small village, all this built hope and enthusiasm to do something good. The news of what was happening in Pabal soon spread. Support for PN’s volunteers came from many quarters.
And he came back to the present. PN’s car neared the new tourist site. A huge crowd attended the launch. PN opened the tourist counter and handed over the key to the village head. The dream he had sold to his team three years ago had actually become a reality.
It was one more victory for John Galt!
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