My my final holiday/trip with BOAC was a 3 month trip around the world expedition where I started my journey in Nairobi and finished in Mumbai. My travels and visits included Japan, Hong Kong, The Americas, Europe and Asia. En route, I stopped in Las Vegas and I had the opportunity to see Elvis Presley Live, who was touring, Sammy Davis Jnr, Louis Armstrong and Fats Domino amongst others. They were the most amazing Live concerts I've ever been to!

During my final year of flying, I met my future husband ( the then unknown Farokh Engineer). We had been introduced at a friend's party. It was love at first sight and I must've totally "bowled"  him over, our relationship grew and on one of our romantic trips to Juhu Beach, in Mumbai, Farokh got down on one knee and proposed to me. He would regularly collect me at Mumbai Airport after my flight in his dad's little "banger".

Our Wedding was the Wedding of the year! There were many International Cricket players and Celebrities including our own Indian National side and Family along with friends from all over the world.

I left India for my new home Nairobi when I was 21years old. I will never forget one of my first flight/routes being a scenic flight from Nairobi, through the mountains and heading to one of the large game parks. On our 'free' days we were given the opportunity to go on Safari, when we were driven around in a large open air Jeep and we saw the most amazing Wildlife, some which approached the Jeep. One of the famous game parks that I visited was The "Treetops" where the young Princess Elizabeth stayed when she visited Kenya. On one occasion we had arrived at a game park, where there were a lot of film crew/cameramen filming the well known movie 'Born Free' - a beautiful and uplifting film about a Lioness called Elsa. I was invited onto the set and was given the opportunity to pet and stroke one of the world's most famous lions - Elsa. I have some beautiful photos and memories of this meeting to this day.

I met many famous faces and dignitaries on my travels. On one of my first class flights where I was chief stewardess, I met the famous Indian actor Dilip Kumar who was a real charmer! Another famous face I met was Shashi Kapoor who incidentally went to the same school as my then husband Farokh. I worked hard and got promoted up to Chief Stewardess. I spent 3 yrs travelling and working for East African Airways after which I joined BOAC in London. I visited many places all over Europe, Far East, Africa, America and Asia. I flew home to Mumbai about once a month bearing gifts, souvenirs and mementos. As I was known to all by many of the airports around the world, my 'excess baggage' was not a problem! A lot of my larger furniture and unusual pieces I still have today, were shipped back home. One of them was a large African drum, which proudly sits as a centrepiece of my living room as a table. Once in Mumbai, at the famous Taj Mahal Hotel, I was invited at a reception for the Shah of Persia and his beautiful wife Queen Soraya who were on a state visit to India. My fondest memory, however, is that of meeting Mother Theresa in Calcutta, who I found a very humble, genuine and sincere person.

Chapter one:- Childhood and School days

I was born in Mumbai, India, on 3rd April, 1940. The second youngest of 3 siblings, Sohrab the youngest & Arnavaz the eldest. We lived in a large mansion with all the luxuries of having servants, cooks, and 'Ayahs' (nannies). As well as my Mother and Father, we had our Grandfather & Great Aunt also staying with us. We had a very strict upbringing. My Mother would say to us "If your Father says yes, then you can go out", and my Father would say, "if you get permission from Grandfather......." And so on! So going out and doing anything was a great deal, as we had to go through this whole rigmarole each and every time. We had however many friends & relatives who lived nearby and we would get together at one of my Mother's huge parties, which she often held.

I attended Cathedral High School till I was 16yrs old, followed by a secretarial course. My first job was at The Great Eastern Bank, where I spent 4 years. My very first trip abroad came when our paying guest Hannah, a secretary at the Swiss Embassy, asked both my sister and me to accompany her on a one month cruise on the Lloyd Triestino ship to Hong Kong and Bangkok. We travelled first class thanks to my Grandfather who had given my sister Arnavaz and I this trip as a present for passing our Senior Cambridge exams. From then on I knew the vocation in life for me would be in Travel. I had already decided that I wanted to travel the world and hence started applying to the Airlines as an Air Stewardess. My big break came when I was accepted by two Airlines- BOAC (British Airways), and East African Airways. I chose the latter as I had been told I would be based in Nairobi, Kenya.