Trudge towards the other part of the world - 3

The boarding began one hour before departure. The ladies with infants, followed by the handicapped, stood in a queue at the gate. The business class followed next, and after half hour, finally the economy class’ pitiable passengers were allowed to rampage towards the gate, and routed into a metallic corridor. I was reminded of the numerous videogames which had similar corridors, but full of protruding swords, and popping demons. Felt elated feeling like a digital prince.
At the end was the princess. In the videogame.
For me, at the end, were immaculately made up, impeccably dressed, OLD WOMEN as air hostesses.
Didn't Air India have a copyright on that???

The inside of the international flight was bigger than the domestic airlines I had been living in, since a week (lot of travelling in the past week). At the largest width, it accommodated 10 seats in a row.
A German merchant-ship captain to my left who narrated his African adventure in almost perfect English, and a smart Honeywell engineer to my right, and a TV which played 'Finding Neverland' and 'Fida' (yes, a Hindi movie) made my hours tick effortlessly.
Occasionally, decent 'Asian veg' food was served by the airhostesses, coupled with nauseating fruit juices.

Nine hours, thirty-five minutes later, it was morning Seven in Frankfurt, as the plane sailed over the snow-covered hills, with dark trees standing out amidst the white.
My watch stood at 11 am, IST. Somehow, it was pretty tough to admit that I would not be seeing my family, friends, and colleagues for the next ten months. They had become such an inherent part of my life, that though I considered myself tough, I had to reassure myself time and again, that I would be able to survive it.
I could call them, right? Calls to India were inexpensive, I had heard.
I desperately hoped, it would be.
For the next ten months, it would be a different life. I would have to eat different, wear different, and speak different. I would not be watching the same TV programs, would not be dealing with the routine issues which had me involved for the last twenty five years, would not be driving my car on that rough Hosur road.
Will definitely miss the roller coaster rides on the CGI tempo travellers, driven by F1 inspired lunatics.
All the acquaintances would, as though, come to a stand still.
As the German sailor straightened himself beside me, getting ready for the landing, I looked at my watch again.
11am IST. ‘The lazy bugger Arun, would be munching his breakfast at Prasiddi hotel, now’. I smiled at the thought.

The aircraft taxied amidst the grassland, with its huge outstretched wings blowing away the layer of snow over the shoulders of the runway. As it came to a halt, the passengers were led through a narrow metal corridor stuck to the aircraft’s entrance.
For the first time, I realised the worth of my Eastern Stores jacket.
The moist corridor had people emitting visible vapors as they whispered to themselves. A warm airport greeted us, with policemen checking the blue book.
The mug shot to rescue again !!!

The almost deserted airport was a straight rip off some an action packed Hollywood movie. The lustrous granite flooring, the glossy walls, the shimmering steel mouldings on the roofs, the vibrantly lit shops.
Through the huge glass windows, I could see the white air planes parked. I could see the white assisting vans scurrying around. I could also see white roads, with a bit of black here and there.
The snow had cast a white blanket on everything. This was my first experience of watching the snow, and believe me, it was overwhelming. I missed my camera.
But, there was a flash light for a moment, and as guessed, it was an Indian clicking away on his Nikon.
As I sat beside one of the large glass windows, watching the snow, it was a case of mixed emotions. I was excited because of the snow, but felt helpless at it remained on the other side of the glass. A thought of going out of the airport to experience the snow passed me, but just then all my mentors back home appeared in a sequence screaming ‘Reach the destination safely’, ofcourse in my memory. I was not yet sure I was ready for the cold.

Needless to say, I did pass through the funny security check which had me remove everything from my pocket. Even my shoes had the great experience of seeing the insides of the security scanner. These men did their job to the dot.

I did carry the cabin luggage, but it contained seven set of clothes. And other than that, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! My toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, and all the other tools of survival were safely enjoying the warmth of my check in luggage, not accessible to me till Chicago. The smart honeywell engineer, helped me out with her toothpaste.

Three hours later, I was entering the massive Luft airplane again. As I scanned through the numerous row of seats, my eyes fell on that very, very attractive female, totally fair, and wearing somewhat very fair too. Her eyebrows very well shaped, with a lean nose, taking an elegant plunge above her red lips. As I moved nearer, I observed her lips had been punctiliously made up too. She was staring blankly into the empty seat beside her, as though lost.
She might have been thinking deeply about something.
For a moment, I prayed god.
No!!! It is not what you think.
I prayed god that I not be seated beside her. Overnight travelled unkempt hair, unshaved face ( I know I am repeating) of four days, and confused eyes (watch showing IST, Sun smiling from the German sky telling a dift story of time) did not paint my picture as Hritik Roshan on the other person’s eyes.
But would definitely have passed off as the Khan in the latter part of Devdas.
Though I think I prayed lord Ganesha, there was always the lord with the ‘Chakra’ playing around with his pranks.
Ever heard the adage ‘Man proposes…. God…..’
Well, can you wait till the morrow for the rest?