A terrorist attack gave new meaning to this Thanksgiving Day
I am Padmaja Bharti. I live in Delhi but I was born and brought up in the eastern part of India, in the state of Bihar. The setup that I come from is quite feudal and male dominated to a large extent. I was very ambitious right from the beginning but perhaps didn’t have a clear vision as to what I wanted to do in my life. My husband proved to be a big support and truly helped me become what I am today. I often describe India to my OAT travelers as “a country of contradictions and paradoxes.” My situation is a perfect example of it, as in this heavily male-dominated setup, I was helped and encouraged by my husband.
I started my career as a Trip Leader with OAT 13 years ago, and I have truly loved every bit of it. Since then, I have led over a hundred trips for OAT and have had some very memorable experiences. In my opinion, people are basically same all over the world. One of the very striking similarities that I find between the people of India and the U.S. is their true love and respect for democracy and its values. I can remember a very recent incident which made me realize how close we are, as far as our feelings and emotions are concerned. It was November 27, 2008, and it proved to be quite a disastrous morning—for India in particular, and the whole world in general. Two 5-star hotels and a few other places were attacked by the terrorists in Bombay. At that time, I was leading an OAT group in Jaipur. Incidentally, it was Thanksgiving Day. Although we don’t celebrate it in India, I try to do something special on that day if I happen to be with Americans. And besides, why miss upon another opportunity for celebration? India is home to the people of several religions, and we celebrate almost all the known festivals around. So, I guess adding one more is just another joyous opportunity.
When we came for breakfast, everyone knew what was going on in Bombay and each felt very strongly about it in their own way. The group shared my sorrow and tears, fears and apprehensions. But I quickly decided that I would not let this unfortunate incident spoil the trip or the mood and the spirit of my travelers. I announced to the group that we shall continue to have fun and live our lives normally because we don’t have to let these terrorists accomplish their mission. We all agreed. The best way to do that, in my opinion, was to do something really nice and interesting for Thanksgiving that evening. We can’t have turkey in India, as per tradition. So, I asked the restaurant manager to prepare something different and special for dinner and we all left for the sightseeing in quite a grim mood.
When we came for dinner, what we got was quite unexpected and very heartwarming for all. The hotel people had prepared stuffed chicken, which was exactly like stuffed turkey—and the entire restaurant staff was there to wish the group well for the festival. I asked the senior most members in the group to do the honor of slicing the chicken, as per the tradition of Thanksgiving dinner. The restaurant manager had some more pleasant surprises for the group. He gave each one a card thanking them for being here and celebrating this festival. Almost all my travelers were in tears and said that they would never forget this unique Thanksgiving Day. What really touched them the most was the fact that the Indian people were calm and spirited amidst great adversity, and still they were working hard to make the best of the moment.
After this unfortunate episode in Bombay, the tourism industry in India suffered a great setback. People were quite apprehensive in traveling to India. But I am really thankful to OAT’s team for their success in being able to convince the travelers that India is quite safe to travel. OAT was one of the very few American companies that continued to operate its tours in India without many cancellations at that time, and all went successfully.
Discover Padmaja’s “country of contradictions” on OAT’s Heart of India adventure.