At one point during the discussion, Hawking was asked

a question about human space exploration and the potential of it being replaced by robots. His response proved more idealistic than pragmatic.“ Science,” he said,“ is not only a disciple of reason but, also, one of romance and passion.” Put differently, science is fact; it is data; it’ s also deeply emotional and creative, driven by the thrill of discovery.

More than two decades before Hawking’ s love line to

science, two Indian students serendipitously crossed paths on a train, a Hitchcockian encounter that would lead to them putting Hawking’ s quixotic notion to the test, into action and, ultimately, stamping a pricing-strategy legacy.

The strangers on a train were Ravi Mehrotra and Sanjay Nagalia and both were headed to the same place— the prestigious Indian Institute

of Technology— to pursue engineering degrees. The similarities— aside from Nagalia being three years Mehrotra’ s junior— were evident; it made eminent, almost preordained sense that the two might find success together. Mehrotra and Nagalia alighted the train that day, but it wasn’ t until years later that the two would connect again. This time, in the United States.

26 hotelsmag. com September 2026