i don't know how a tiger would feel after his exoneration from a cage that possesses addictive attributes such as security, regular food blah blah..., which he unsuspectingly got used to, and then be deported to the free wilderness to live his life as "he" wants... but there was one chap who definitely felt very much like the ferocious animal i just alluded to when he submitted his resignation letter to his boss and expressed his desire to pursue higher studies in the US. one seldom commiserates with such chaps, and before he knows it, the chap finds himself at the airport checking his bags in and consuming the tips of his own nails.
on the 3rd of august 2006, this chap was me and the venue was mumbai intl airport. i waited in the waiting lounge, as that is what the name indicates that the sojourners of the lounge do. to say that i was unruffled by the fact that my flight was delayed by 2 hours would be inaccurate, mainly because i had a connecting flight to catch at new york (the destination of the first flight). pardon me for leaving out details such as the time and duration of the flight as 5 and a 1/2 months is a long time for the memory of a fellow such as me to retain. however, the memory clearly recollects the presence of a charming lady of the name ms. gayatri, who travelled with me till cleveland, ohio.
snacks from our hand baggages kept our company till we boarded the flight. being an air india flight, the culinary hospitality was quite satisfying (i say this in retrospect, after being for 5 and a 1/2 months in a land that looks exceedingly condescendingly at individuals who abstain from consumption of meat and forces them to redefine vegetarianism and become akin to herbivores). i shall spare the reader from the details of what all i did on the flight. of all the things that i did, there is only one thing that is worth mentioning, namely, the endearing game of "dots & crosses" that gayatri and i played for a large chunk of the time on board (the remaining time was spent sleeping), the stationery being the paper napkins that were given by the considerate air hostesses after meals. however, i am compelled to express the childlike enthusiasm expressed by chaps writing about their journeys that contain behemothic structures like the heathrow airport and the JFK airport. take it at the face value when i say that heathrow is HUGE.
another thing worth mentioning is the entertainment (?) provided by a particulary unglamorous member of the sex that accompanied us during the second part of the first leg of the journey i.e. the stretch between london and new york. the lady seemed to derive immense satisfaction out of expressing extreme dissatisfaction at each and every thing that came her way, the orientation of my hand baggage in the overhead rack being one of them (this event saw me almost faint under the booming vociferation). she did not like the food served, and chose to remain on liquid diet, the liquid being a highly intoxicating mixture with a color that would make other fluids like tea and coffee jealous. consumption of too much alcohol is unadvisable, but one would assume that any female with the above characteristics would be known well in her close circle for her exploits with the said beverage. however, there was one more aspect that the lady presumably ignored, namely the fact that she was on a flight, a place that makes the digestive system a little weak, and our fears became true when she created a pandemonium in her immediate neighborhood, more so because of the absence of a plastic bag at the right time. i choose to spare the reader from the not so entertaining expletives that became audible immediately after the event.
we landed exactly 2 hours later than the expected time. i do not know if a chap setting his foot on US soil for the first time is supposed to feel any kind of exhiliaration, but this feeling completely eluded me, for the only thing on my mind was the connecting flight to cleveland. gayatri would agree with me at this point because we were (pardon the cliche) sailing in the same boat. immigration officials seldom care about connecting flights when they interview entrants, and by the time we reached the check in counter of the airline that we were supposed to travel by, it was already late. however, the situation wasn't bad. it was even worse. our flight had been cancelled and the "helpful" official behind the the counter did not know of any flights to cleveland that evening!
we were booked on a flight that flew the next morning. air india was benevolent enough to arrange for a two rooms at a nearby hotel. as we were chauffeured to the hotel by a bus driver, we thought all was now well. all we had to do was to spend the night at the caravansary and leave early the next morning, and we would be in cleveland by afternoon. but little did we know of the drama that was looming ahead of us.
makers of television serials believe in ending episodes at such junctures in the tale that the viewers are so curious to know about "what happens next" that they fail to respire in the waiting period. i shall employ the same technique. readers are now compelled to wait for my next blog with baited breath...
on the 3rd of august 2006, this chap was me and the venue was mumbai intl airport. i waited in the waiting lounge, as that is what the name indicates that the sojourners of the lounge do. to say that i was unruffled by the fact that my flight was delayed by 2 hours would be inaccurate, mainly because i had a connecting flight to catch at new york (the destination of the first flight). pardon me for leaving out details such as the time and duration of the flight as 5 and a 1/2 months is a long time for the memory of a fellow such as me to retain. however, the memory clearly recollects the presence of a charming lady of the name ms. gayatri, who travelled with me till cleveland, ohio.
snacks from our hand baggages kept our company till we boarded the flight. being an air india flight, the culinary hospitality was quite satisfying (i say this in retrospect, after being for 5 and a 1/2 months in a land that looks exceedingly condescendingly at individuals who abstain from consumption of meat and forces them to redefine vegetarianism and become akin to herbivores). i shall spare the reader from the details of what all i did on the flight. of all the things that i did, there is only one thing that is worth mentioning, namely, the endearing game of "dots & crosses" that gayatri and i played for a large chunk of the time on board (the remaining time was spent sleeping), the stationery being the paper napkins that were given by the considerate air hostesses after meals. however, i am compelled to express the childlike enthusiasm expressed by chaps writing about their journeys that contain behemothic structures like the heathrow airport and the JFK airport. take it at the face value when i say that heathrow is HUGE.
another thing worth mentioning is the entertainment (?) provided by a particulary unglamorous member of the sex that accompanied us during the second part of the first leg of the journey i.e. the stretch between london and new york. the lady seemed to derive immense satisfaction out of expressing extreme dissatisfaction at each and every thing that came her way, the orientation of my hand baggage in the overhead rack being one of them (this event saw me almost faint under the booming vociferation). she did not like the food served, and chose to remain on liquid diet, the liquid being a highly intoxicating mixture with a color that would make other fluids like tea and coffee jealous. consumption of too much alcohol is unadvisable, but one would assume that any female with the above characteristics would be known well in her close circle for her exploits with the said beverage. however, there was one more aspect that the lady presumably ignored, namely the fact that she was on a flight, a place that makes the digestive system a little weak, and our fears became true when she created a pandemonium in her immediate neighborhood, more so because of the absence of a plastic bag at the right time. i choose to spare the reader from the not so entertaining expletives that became audible immediately after the event.
we landed exactly 2 hours later than the expected time. i do not know if a chap setting his foot on US soil for the first time is supposed to feel any kind of exhiliaration, but this feeling completely eluded me, for the only thing on my mind was the connecting flight to cleveland. gayatri would agree with me at this point because we were (pardon the cliche) sailing in the same boat. immigration officials seldom care about connecting flights when they interview entrants, and by the time we reached the check in counter of the airline that we were supposed to travel by, it was already late. however, the situation wasn't bad. it was even worse. our flight had been cancelled and the "helpful" official behind the the counter did not know of any flights to cleveland that evening!
we were booked on a flight that flew the next morning. air india was benevolent enough to arrange for a two rooms at a nearby hotel. as we were chauffeured to the hotel by a bus driver, we thought all was now well. all we had to do was to spend the night at the caravansary and leave early the next morning, and we would be in cleveland by afternoon. but little did we know of the drama that was looming ahead of us.
makers of television serials believe in ending episodes at such junctures in the tale that the viewers are so curious to know about "what happens next" that they fail to respire in the waiting period. i shall employ the same technique. readers are now compelled to wait for my next blog with baited breath...
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