What worked for Bangalore was a public-private initiative. Are you in touch with people here, sharing your experiences?

Bombay is a huge city -- by virtue of its population, by virtue of its size. Bombay also is very resourceful. The octroi itself is, if I am not mistaken, some Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion). Bangalore had very limited resources. We abolished octroi. We did not want to introduce octroi even though the temptation was there.

Bombay has tremendous potential. We have to try to bring it out.

Mr Governor, did you seek this posting?

In the Congress party, we don't seek anything. It is decided who should be used for what purpose at a point of time. We go along.

In 1989, I wanted to go back to Parliament. But Rajiv Gandhi took the view that I should stay back in the state. When I got elected to the state legislature, he suggested I should be made Speaker. Did I ask for it? No. They made me deputy chief minister during P V Narasimha Rao's time. Did I ask for it? No, I did not.

When the news was broken to you that you were being appointed Maharashtra governor, what was your first reaction?

I could not believe an offer of this kind was made. When it sank into me, I thought it would be good education. I thought it would be a new experience. I needed a respite from…

The hurly-burly of politics…

Yes, and catch up on reading. My tours…I had not gone to Silicon Valley, even though so much was being attributed to me for the development of the Bangalore Silicon Valley. I wanted to visit some continents. I wanted to visit Europe. There were some places I had not visited. I went to the United States.

You said you wanted to catch up with reading. What have you caught up with?

I read a number of books. There are four to five books at any point of time. One kept in the bedroom, one kept in the drawing room, one in the dining room. I am reading biographies. I am reading history. I am reading what other people have written about Mumbai, about Maharashtra.

You said a lot of politicians are your friends like Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Vilasrao Deshmukh is very much younger. I knew (former deputy prime minister) Yashwantrao Chavan. In 1968, I became a member of the Lok Sabha and Chavanji was finance minister. I knew Rajni Patel. I have known successive chief ministers of this state. I have known successive Congress presidents.

My association with Maharashtra started with Nath Pai, Madhu Limaye, S M Joshi…

You youngsters, I don't know if you have heard these names…

Names, yes we have… people we may not know.

These are doyens of Indian politics…Nath Pai, Hari Vishnu Kamat, S M Joshi. All these people fought for Samyukta Maharashtra. I drew inspiration from all these people.

Photograph: Jewella C Miranda

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