I visited London after 22 years. For a person who has travelled much in his life, this is an aberration that has been corrected. I had been to London as a 14-year-old, as part of a family package tour to Europe in 1981. While I remember almost nothing of that trip, its been good to spend some time walking around the city.
During this trip, I also fulfilled a long-cherished dream of mine: finishing BBC’s Bush House headquarters. A friend, Vijay Rana, who used to work with the Hindi Service, and continues to spend some time there, was instrumental in making this happen.
If there have been three things that have shaped me over the past two decades, they are the radio (BBC), the computer and the Internet.
I had grown up listening to BBC World Service for hours on end. It was a habit that continued when I was in the US. Even now, I listen to BBC World Service (radio) news daily at 5:30 am.
I would in my childhood imagine what BBC Bush House would be. So, it was a wonderful feeling to actually be inside the building. I also saw the live braodcast of the Hindi edition, and met some of the editors and journalists from the South Asian service. A most wonderful time, and one I’ll always remember.
BBC
