Noshir N Sanjana

Noshir Sanjana has several loves in his life: love for family, love for Air India (version 1.0), love for the city of Bombay (Mumbai). But the love of writing came late in life; during the pandemic when the world was forced into social isolation and Noshir was able to look at a life well lived in the rear-view mirror. His constant companion, Samsung Galaxy A 71, became the recipient of his stories, which metamorphosed into his first novel in stories – Flying High.

Noshir lives in Mumbai, India, but his heart travels to New York and Toronto, to share his love for family with his siblings.

TBE: How has the Parsi heritage influenced your life?

Noshir Sanjana: The basic principles of the Zoarastrian religion are very simple.

• Good thoughts.
• Good words.
• Good deeds.

My mother had grilled and tried to instil in me these very valuable lessons to go by in my life. In life, I try to follow these 3 tenets. My philosophy of life is to try and live by these rules and make it my culture. You see, our culture soon becomes a habit, and then you begin to live by it. HABIT is something you can never give up. From HABIT, take out the ‘H’, a bit remains. Take out the ‘A’, bit still remains. You take out the ‘B’, it still remains.

TBE: Your book contains a wide range of experiences and adventures. Can you tell us of a particularly memorable moment that stands out to you?

Noshir Sanjana: Not one. There are two such moments in my life that I will never forget. One is the miracle by mother Teresa 30,000 feet above ground.

The camera that could NOT be repaired by the experts in the Kodak service centres in Bombay, Hong Kong, and Tokyo was fixed with one click of the camera on board with Mother Teresa. The flash and taking of pictures restarted on its own.

The 2nd memorable moment that stands out is another miracle. My wife Maloo was to undergo a kidney transplant in Jaslok Hospital. A biopsy of her kidneys was going on in the operating theatre. I was told there was only a 5% chance that she may NOT need a kidney transplant and could be cured by medication alone. They had to do a deep biopsy on her kidney. I was a chain smoker, smoking 3 packs a day. ie 60 cigarettes daily for a period lasting 30+ years of my life. I made many, many, many attempts to give up smoking. But I failed every time.

However, when my wife was in the operating theatre, I kind of made a deal with the Almighty that IF her surgeon Dr Mani comes out of the theatre, puts his hands on my shoulder and tells me that Maloo does NOT need a transplant, I would give up anything!! Even smoking. (That seemed an impossibility at the time!)

However, in one second, that thought turned into reality. Dr. Mani came out of the operating theatre. Announced and did exactly what I was wishing and had asked of the Almighty.

A chilling electrical shock went thru my spine on hearing Dr. Mani’s words. One minute later I crushed my last cigarette of my life under my heels. Those are the two moments in my life I will never forget, even if I lived a hundred and twenty years!

TBE: How were you impacted by the experiences of being with Mother Teresa and Idi Amin?

Noshir Sanjana: OMG!! OMG!!! Meeting and spending time with the Angelic Saint Mother Teresa is something I just can’t find words to describe. That feeling is beyond words! Her presence was so, so enthralling, so captivating and so, all consuming! I can not define. I can not spell out!! She was so, so beautiful. She was “kindness, love, purity and sweetness,” all personified into one being. And She had the warmth and an after-glow I will never, ever forget.

The meeting with Idi Amin was exactly the opposite. We were both alone in a changing room, next to the Hotel Jacuzzi by the pool. Many years earlier, during the forced exodus and mass killing of Indians, Ugandians, and also some British subjects, it was all still very fresh in my mind.

I had volunteered to operate any number of flights to Entebe and back to bring back the thousands and thousands of Indians stuck in Uganda. Seeing and standing inches away from Thee Idi Amin was an absolute unforeseen, out of the blue megha shocker for me. It was like meeting a demon Satan himself. I was momentarily stupefied!

Idi Amin gripped and clutched my hand tight with both his hands. He was a man-mountain! And he was actually hitting on me!! He told me that he loved my fair skin!! And he wanted me to get into the Jaccuzi with him. It was horrendously abohoring, and the feeling was disgusting, agonizing and frightful at that moment.

The impact of both these meetings, the Godly Mother Teresa and the King from Hell, has left an indelible mark in my mind and my memory. However, another memory that has stayed with me is the burning ???? of my blue cupboard in Shimla. That is in my first story.

TBE: Throughout your life, you have held various roles to play. How has that shaped the person you are today?

Noshir Sanjana: THAT is an easy one to answer. ALL of us. And I say ALL of us have held various roles throughout our lives. We began our life as someone’s child and someone’s grandchild. We lived the life of a brother or a sister and a friend. Many, many years later, we become a spouse, a husband, or a wife. Soon after that, we donned the role of a father or a mother. Today, I am a grandfather, and very soon, I will be a great-grandfather! Inshallah!!

So, we all have different roles to play in our one life.

In my working days, I worked with Airindia for 38 years. I refused to retire, so for another 8 years, I was  a day trader in the stock market. And now, since the last 15+ years, I have finally lived a retired life. I would like to call that period as my Golden Years!

So, we all have many different roles to play. Switching from one role to another is a very simple transition. And if we play it well, it could be very smooth and very uncomplicated, too. The transition would be a piece of cake and as easy as ABC.

TBE: Your book covers a wide range of topics. How do you balance these different aspects. And what do you think is your greatest achievement?

Noshir Sanjana: My greatest achievement?? Most definitely, it would be writing my book, “Flying High”! I am a very small man. A very simple, common man, I would say. Yet, I dared to write ✍️  an autobiography of my life. During the pandemic and the Lockdown, there was nothing much to do.

My wife was busy playing Sudoku, Free-cell, and solving cross word puzzles. We owned two Ipads. Both were taken over by her. So, I thought of scribbling a few stories related to my life on my Samsung A71 mobile phone.

I just wrote to pass my time. My wife and my daughters seemed to love the stories and encouraged me to write more. I was very sure that no one except my immediate family would care to read my past tales, past episodes, and my narration of yesteryears.

But, the more stories I wrote,  more and more stories came to my mind. Within a month and a half, I accidently wrote a book. My extended family and my friends tell me that writing  200 pages with one finger on a mobile phone was a great achievement. Thankfully, they all loved my stories, too.

TBE: You describe your life as one that has been lived in harmony with all. What does that mean to you?

Noshir Sanjana: Yes, I HAVE lived in harmony with all. And believe me, it has been very easy too. The fact that I did not have one enemy in my whole life feels so good. It tells me, “I must have done something good in this life or my previous life to deserve this.” I also believe I have NOT hurt nor harmed anyone in my life, INTENTIONALLY. I do not believe in trying to change the world. And I know I need to change myself first.

Another very important thing is to know that we ALL have good points AND bad points. The secret is to see only the good in everyone. My children and grandchildren have named me a “Saaro Manas.” A good man. It does not mean that I am a good man. They have named me ‘a good man’ because I can only see the good in everyone I meet.

I avoid getting into any argument with anyone because if you lose the argument, you lose. And if you win the argument, you lose a friend. What is the point? Either way, it is a “no-win situation.”

My mother had taught me, very early in my life, that never to get into two discussions. One is politics, and the other is religion. I was also taught to speak the truth always. To hide one lie, we need to tell ten lies. Besides, a liar has to have a good memory. And a good memory was never my strong point.

TBE: Your book is filled with interesting anecdotes & stories. What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book? And how do you approach storytelling? What advice would you give to aspiring storytellers?

Noshir Sanjana: God has been very kind to me. I strongly believe in destiny. The Almighty has somehow ALWAYS saved me from so many different situations. At the age of 52, I underwent 2 major heart attacks. Survived a triple cardiac bypass with 90% & 100% blockages. The first heart attack was while driving a car. The second was on the table during an angioplasty. I have survived several life-threatening emergencies in my flying days.

One was soon after take off from Trivendrum. Engine no.3  on the starboard side caught fire. Most everyone could see a long trail of fire from the engine soon after take-off. The commander was informed in time, and the fire was put off mid flight.

When I was very young, I almost got into a roadrage and then suddenly realized my foe was none other than Dara Singh Randhawa, the then world wrestling champion of the world. I once got off a flight on New years Day, changed with a fellow crew member, my very dear friend and colleague Vivek Ajinkya. That flight crashed into the Arabian Sea minutes after taking off. That resulted in 329 passengers and crew dead. I would have been one of them.

At the age of 5, I survived in the middle of raging riots in Shimla during the days of the partition. I have lived a charmed life!  You asked me what was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?

I don’t think writing this book was challenging. One reason is that I never thought I was writing a book. During the lockdown & the resultant boredom, I wrote some stories on my mobile app, “Notes.” Before I knew it, I had written about 2 dozen stories of my life and could recollect many, many more. So I kept on writing, and it became a big, big manuscript and finally a book.

Yet, I would say that the most challenging aspect was writing 200 pages on my samsung A-71 Galaxy mobile with one finger.

You ask me what advice I can give to aspiring storytellers?

Well, to be honest, I myself am a novice. This is my first book. However, I can say two things with confidence that, the storytellers should and MUST be 200% present, inside the body and the soul, of the narrator while narrating the happenings around him or her, and visualise the scene moment to moment. And then write.

The second important point that I see is to keep it simple. Do not try to find or use a more complicated, fancy, and frilly language. And do not look at the dictionary, especially when you already have simple words to describe what you want to say. Readers enjoy simple, everyday language. This is my take.

TBE: Your book contains several decades of your life. Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently. And what lessons have you learned that you would like to share with your readers.

Noshir Sanjana: No, NOT really. I would want my same life again. I would like to be born in the same religion as a Parsi, from the same parents, same 2 siblings, same wife (who I married six times), Chapter 32, and very same two daughters, and the same grandchildren. And I would like to be in the same job. Same Airline. And same friends.

However, there is ONE thing I might have liked to do differently. After I retired on 31st Dec 1999. I became a day trader on the stock market. I stayed in the market for 8 years. And I did reasonably well. However, in 2008, when the whole world of finance and stock markets crashed, I took a big hit. In the panic, I sold every stock I had at a huge loss. I was in 2 minds. One year later, I knew I had made the wrong choice in my life. IF I had stuck to my portfolio in 2008 and not sold a single share, I would have been up there. A big bull.

However, I do not regret anything. All is good.

TBE: What do you hope readers take away from your book. And how do you think it will resonate with different backgrounds and different  cultures?

Noshir Sanjana: In my book, there is one chapter, no 36. “Saaro Manas: A good man – The Masterkey.” I would request my readers to read that one chapter very intensely and in all seriousness. And if possible, read it a 2nd time. Therein, possibly lies the secret to a happy and a good life. I would request my readers to read the pages from 185 to 191 sincerely and purposefully. It can, and it WILL change their life. I guarantee that!

The lessons on those pages will resonate with people of ALL cultures and ALL backgrounds. The principals there are universal and can benefit every race, every religion, and every backdrop. I would term it as a comprehensive enlightenment and a learning!!

TBE: You wrote this book entirely on a Samsung A-71 Galacy mobile phone. What inspired you to take on this challenge? And how did it impact the writing ✍️ process?

Noshir Sanjana: I am quite uneducated and uninformed about today’s digital world. My grandchildren are my impatient teachers. The only digital world I know is my Samsung mobile phone. So I was very comfortable typing on my phone.

The only problem whilst typing 200 pages was the soreness, the corn, and the tenderness that came to my right index finger. In case I write a 2nd book, I might upgrade myself to a laptop.

TBE: And finally, what’s next for you? Do you have any upcoming projects or initiatives that you are excited about?

Noshir Sanjana: Yesssss, I will take my wife on a world tour, may be with two battery-operated, automatic wheelchairs. Or may go on the longest possible cruise around Europe!! Also, with 3 automatic wheel chairs. 

Adios! Goodbye!! Au Revoir !!! Al-Vida!!!!