I’m a slow traveller in life. I have my own pace, my own observations and my own learnings. It’s never defined by a trend or a person. I usually make my own silly mistakes (sometimes huge ones) or happy discoveries and learn along the journey.

I’m someone who dies for meaningful conversations. And so, recently, when I saw an 86-year-old enthusiastically solve his Sudoku puzzle and read a fat book, I was bound to start a conversation.

He said he was reading a food book about mangoes. And shared a few interesting snippets from the book. All underlined by him. But that wasn’t the start of the conversation.

He talked about his vibrant career in Science and his education graph. And places. Of course. That was the highlight of our conversation. He talked about Delhi, Lucknow, Japan, Lahore and more. He also took a note of this blog of mine. Not many people care to do that.

Towards the end of my talk (read: we were travelling together in a plane with my husband next to me who was as excited to talk to him), I recorded his voice and here, you can hear him out talking about Chandni Chowk and a few other dishes he loves in Delhi.

Dr Ashok Jain has an extremely interesting background. Born in Lahore and grown up in Bihar, he has seen life that is beyond my imagination. From teaching kids (without going to school) to getting big degrees thanks to his passion for Science, Dr Jain has come a long way and how.

He proudly calls himself a Dilli Walah. And I found whatever he said as golden words. His paper-like skin on his hands told me he’s truly lived a rich life even though his simple outlook can fool you. And that’s what I love about such people. Sometimes, the most interesting personalities (with their interesting clothes, makeup and whatnot) have nothing much to share—hardly any reflections in life. I would call that a poor life in true sense. While simple people like Dr Ashok Jain can make every minute of the hour interesting as they take you along their journey, slowly, without any rush.

Yes. I’m that traveller, who’d happily ditch her earphones and novel and carry on a chat of a lifetime. And it’s one of the reasons why I love travelling. Because it helps me forget the anxiety that I might have during flights or just random travel times.

Hear out a few things that he talked about with this little audio clip. What kind of a traveller are you?

Hope to meet you soon, Sir. Delhi is truly a beautiful city!