The Real Ash-Ka ! ... (India I)

 

A couple of years ago, while I was writing The Trail of the Fox, Pankil, a customer of mine visited Houston to inspect some equipment.  We spent some time together, taking several meals together, and also touring around Houston, so he could get a good look.  His travel arrangements are complicated a bit, because he’s from India, and as a strict Vegetarian, it isn’t always easy to find good food to eat.  Fortunately my buddy Don, my partner at the office, is an Indian food lover, and had coached me on where and how to find the right kind.  Hanging out with Pankil during the week allowed us several occasions to talk, and to become good friends.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

During those discussions, he mentioned of course, his daughter, Aashka.  It just so happened, I was still sorting out the potential characters for “Trail”.  I thought “Aashka” sounded as if it could have been a name in the language of my characters, and so I said, if it was ok, I would borrow Aashka’s name.  He agreed, and in the book, I spelled it slightly differently, as “Ash-Ka”, to try and help my English speaking readers better get the pronunciation.

Well, this week, I made my first trip to India.  As it happens, our agent in India also lives in Pankil’s hometown.  As well,  there is a location there with some of our equipment that has been operating for a few years, so I was able to combine several elements, and make a visit to Vadodara as an important part of my trip.  Of course, to me, getting a chance to meet the “real” Aashka, was the most important element of all !

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Schedule wise, we were able to work out that most of my Sunday would be free, and so Pankil and I arranged to meet.  We looked around Pankil’s old neighborhood, near the center of Vadodara, then swung past his offices on the way to his current house.  Aashka has been having Pankil read her the “Ash-Ka” chapters of “Trail” regularly since they came out.  I don’t know who was more excited about the visit, her or I, but we were both definitely glad to have a chance to meet.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

I met the whole family, Aashka’s uncle, aunt and cousin, her mom, her grandmother and her grandfather.  I felt most welcome in their home and was most warmly received.  We looked at photos I had been taking, and visited a bit, then Aashka, her dad and I went off to see the Palace in Vadodara, still home to the family of the former maharaja.  I had told Pankil that “making a personal connection” to a place made for a much more enjoyable visit.  Indeed, the places he showed me, his old neighborhood, the Central Library, the Central Market, are places I never would have had the opportunity to find and visit without a close friend from the city.  But to me, the opportunity to meet Aashka, and make that personal connection, was the best part of all !

-           Mark W. Laughlin

24-June-2014

 

Aashka: 

Please tell your family again that I most enjoyed meeting them,
(and you, of course !) and I look forward to seeing you all again. 
- Mark

 

PS:

There is another story on the blog, called “The Arrangement”,

which describes the way some arranged marriages in India are handled. 

Take a look at:

http://writtenpost.blogspot.com/2011/05/arrangement.html

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin