Brenda Rodrigues, once known as the ‘Connie Frances of Bombay’, is as adept in building word-pictures of places she visited. In this travelogue, she takes us across India and the rest of the globe, with her charming mosaic of episodes and sights that she encountered in four decades of being an avid globe trotter.
From her visit visit abroad, to London in 1970, we encounter fascinating stories of people and instances that keep the reader glued to her work. Stories come in from France, Goa, Nagaland (‘The Scotland of the East’). To North America and London. We reach North East India again, and then there’s Italy and the UAE. France, Scotland, the rest of the UK, Thailand, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Switzerland, even China, Gilbraltar, the Netherlands…
Brenda’s sojourns are not complete without stepping foot in East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya), the Iberian Peninsular (Portugal, Spain), Malaysia and Germany, Australia and Ireland.
An excerpt: “We took off from Bombay on 2 October 1970. It was my first flight ever. I can still vividly recall that long torturous route – Bombay to Delhi to Cairo to Frankfurt and finally London. Interestingly, my travelling companion in Economy class was none other than the legendary actor Raj Kapoor, who was going to London to collect the prints of his film Mera Naam Joker (My Name Is Joker). We got to chatting and he was most impressed by the fact that I could solve crossword puzzles, which I had carried with me to pass the time. He attempted one clue but soon gave up. Instead, he spent the best part of the journey checking out how much whisky he could hold until he reached London. At some time during the night, he gave up this pursuit and generously handed over to me half a bottle of Scotch, though I told him I did not want it. Much later, one of the cabin attendants came to me and said that Raj had enquired if he could have it back for a session with the crew….”
