by Dr. Iain
Corness
The managing director of Classic Tailors and Massic
Travel is Dharamjeet Singh Malhotra, better known as Marlowe. He is a man
who wanted to do aeronautical engineering at school, but has ended up
selling aeroplane tickets (amongst other things).
His story is interesting, as is the origin of his
nickname - “Marlowe”. While at school in India, the contraction of his
surname Malhotra, used by the other boys was “Malo”. “Malo” stuck
and when Dharamjeet was older and had read the works of writer Christopher
Marlowe, he adopted that spelling for his name. This was an advantage for
him later in life too. “Dealing with Americans, Marlowe was unique
enough, rather than Jimmy or Max!” he said with a grin.
Marlowe was born in Thailand, in Phitsanulok, the
eldest of fisve children. His father was an Indian textile trader who had
come to Thailand aged 12 years. His mother was also of Indian extraction,
but had been born in Thailand.
Malhotra Senior was a far thinking man and believed in
education, sending young Marlowe to private schools here in Thailand, but
then sending him to India, to boarding school, when he was nine years old.
There was more than one good reason for this. His father felt his son
should have a good English education, and the most practical place for
this was India, and secondly, being in India, he would not lose his roots
or lose sight of his heritage.
The school chosen was in Mussourie (not to be confused
with Missouri in the USA), run by Catholic nuns and Christian brothers, in
the foothills of the Himalayas. He was an “upper average” student and
did have an idea of what he wanted to do. “The fantasy was to study
aeronautical engineering, but the reality was that I would have to join
the family business.”
After Marlowe had 12 months experience of the textile
business, Malhotra Senior could see that with the Americans who were
coming, because of the wars in Indo-China and Vietnam, the cash business
of tailoring looked a better proposition than the credit business of the
textile trader.
So Marlowe, complete with the trademark turban of the
Sikhs, became an Indian tailor on the north side of Bangkok near an
American billet. The American trade was good for a few years, but when the
Americans pulled out, the tailoring business was moved back to Sukhumvit
Road in Bangkok to cater to the new breed of Thailand tourists, the
Europeans.
Around 1976, it was decided by the family that it was
time for their eldest boy to get married, and this should be in India.
Marlowe had grown up in this style of family tradition, so it was nothing
new or ‘way-out’ as a concept. He went to India and saw a family
member who worked as the go-between matchmaker, and three weeks later
Marlowe returned to Thailand, his birthplace, with a wife. “I had
already prepared myself mentally that this was going to be it (a
monogamous relationship).” ‘It’ certainly did work, with the
marriage now in its 27th year, which is more than can be said for many
marriages in the western world, based on animal attraction!
Another earth shattering event was to happen in the mid
‘80’s - Marlowe decided to take off his turban. This was not an act of
defiance, or throwing over old restrictive customs, but was a decision
based on practicality. He was by then making regular tailoring trips to
Europe, living out of a suitcase, and attempting to wash his hair every
day, plus 5 metres of turban was well nigh impossible.
I asked Marlowe whether he was still a Sikh (his
heritage) or a Buddhist (the major religion of the land of his birth)? The
reply was typical Marlowe, “All of those! I still respect the Sikh
doctrine, and I enjoy the practical approach to life of Buddhism, and the
spiritual satisfaction.”
During these years, the tailor shop (Classic)
consolidated its position and branched out into the travel business
(Massic). Again this was the result of practical thought. “As shop
keeping meant staying in all day, it was easy to branch out into the
travel agency. It kept me busy and I learned the trade.”
Marlowe in some ways represents the start of the
changing generation of Indians abroad. “We followed traditions, but they
were not something that ‘had to be’ so our children have much more
freedom of thought. We have to accept this, as it is us who gave them
those thoughts. It is quite challenging to make traditional ways sound
reasonable.”
Again I asked directly whether Marlowe is a Thai or an
Indian and he replied that there was no conflict for him in his
nationality. “I may look ‘foreign’ but my obligations to my country
are to Thailand. I am a first generation Thai, but with a strong cultural
heritage.” In a sporting competition he also barracks for Thailand as
the ‘home’ team.
So what do Thai/Indian tailors/travel agents do in
their spare time for hobbies? “Shop hours are very long, so there’s
not much time for hobbies. If I am lucky I can catch a couple of hours of
TV at night and at the weekend I can manage a little bit of reading.”
Regrets? Another typical Marlowe reply, “None. Life
has happened so fast. I’d have to run it past in slow motion to find
anything I might have regretted.” Unrequited ambitions? “Probably to
understand aviation - the mechanics of flying - even though I’ll never
do it, it is still there, but I honestly don’t really think about it.”
Marlowe represents a true ‘first’ generation. A man who has the
ability to understand the traditions that his family heritage gave him,
and yet be able to fully integrate into another society that has its own
heritage and traditions too. A difficult task for many, but one that
Marlowe carries out, with his disarming smile and sense of humour, no
matter what.
