In the late-1980s, I was offered a job, that of a resident editor, to assist the Delhi-based editor of what was then a prominent and influential English language newspaper to revive its flagging Mumbai edition. The legendary editor, brilliant and mercurial at once, was keen I should join immediately.

A couple of days later I travelled to Mumbai, had a brief meeting with the ailing owner of the paper, discussed salary and perks with the finance boss, was taken to see the apartment they would give me (it was in Sassoon Dock, facing the Arabian Sea, and I was enthralled by the idea of sea gulls for company). We even discussed curtains and furniture.