Gagan Sharma

Gagan Sharma: I grew up in Delhi and studied commerce for my bachelor’s degree. After that, to better my chances for a job, I decided to study French. I had always wanted to learn a foreign language, anyway.

OT: How did you end up in the travel industry?

Gagan Sharma: After completing the course in French, a career in tourism seemed like a natural progression. A friend was going to an interview in a travel agency; I tagged along, appeared for the test and got selected for my first job. This was four years ago.

OT: What exactly do you do?

Gagan Sharma: At first, my job was to receive tourists at the airport. I still make those trips, but my role is larger now — I am their man for the rest of the tour as well.

Clients are assigned to us long before they arrive. So we help with their documentation, itinerary and planning. Since I know French, I am mostly entrusted with French-speaking tourists. I receive them at the airport, bring them to their hotel, coordinate their travels from Delhi to Agra, Jaipur and other places, and arrange for local guides. Later, I drop them back in time for their flight home.

OT: You spend a lot of time at the airport…

Gagan Sharma: Yes, and over time, we have made friends with other regulars who pick up passengers as well. Since waiting alone is no fun, that too at two in the morning, we have to find ways to keep ourselves entertained. A common practice to kill time is to play a guessing game where a group of us waiting for our respective passengers try to identify them before they see our placards with their names on them. It’s a lot of fun. I’ve not played this in a while, but the going rate until a few years ago was five rupees for every correct guess.

OT: You’re the first point of contact, often for first-time visitors. What is it like?

Gagan Sharma: Mostly, people are very excited when they arrive. But sometimes a long flight can bog them down. Their first observations are typical: traffic jams, road conditions and overcrowded streets, and, if they are lucky, their car gets stuck behind a wedding procession. In a way, these things prepare them for the rest of their trip. As far as we are concerned, we have seen so much, we can even guess what they will shop and take back. With a few clients, however, we form special bonds.

So we know that the moment they reach home, we will get a Facebook friend request from them.

OT: What is the best part about your job?

Gagan Sharma: This is a tough job if you don’t enjoy what you do. It is not for everyone. I like it and that’s the reason why I’ve stuck around. The best part is being out in the night and getting to meet so many people, including celebrities. We may not be able to travel around the world, but the world is coming to us. Though I have never been to Europe, I can tell if a man is from Germany or France, just by looking at him. If he’s from Germany, I think I can even trace him to his village — well, at least to his district — just like we can distinguish between a Punjabi and a Bihari here.

OT: Your greatest challenge right now?

Gagan Sharma: Fog! Although Terminal 3 has made our lives much easier — it’s more organised — a foggy night can upset our schedules completely.

OT: Where do you like to travel?

Gagan Sharma: For the last three years, I have been taking off from work to travel to Ladakh. I dream of returning there all the time — it gives me something to look forward to. My job allows me to travel sometimes too. In the off-season, we go to some of the places we send our clients to — so we can get a feel of the place. That way, we don’t have to look glum or say no, when our clients ask us if we have been there before. In fact, last year, my colleague and I got the opportunity to make a two-week trip to South India. We stayed at some of the best hotels and saw some of the best sights in god’s own country.