This and a few more blogs capture my trip to India in 2014, this being the first one. If you want to be in touch with me, write to me at valiantcaa@gmail.com and don't forget to comment!
Opportunities in life are always there, it's just a matter of being able out see them and avail them when they come. You not only need the right wisdom but also the courage to take a leap of faith.
I pulled out my newly purchased cannon dslr camera at terminal one of Toronto airport from where my flight was to leave for India in the next half hour. I have always avoided crowds and quite enjoy my alone time and hence was busy clicking pictures of Planes and "other such things". I then spotted a duty free shop through my lens and wandered in to browse the latest in fashion etc. and acting like a tourist seemed like an interesting proposition. I actually like being a tourist as you can be who ever you want to and act like whatever you want. The chances of you being judged are there but it doesn't matter to you because you may not see those people again; so it didn't matter for the most part. And if you on know me, I am shameless as it is, so acting a tourist comes naturally to me and this time around I was also playing the part by rocking a "I love Canada" shirt with a big camera clicking every thing in sight like a Chinese tourist. Browsing through the magazines, I heard a weird sense of urgency where I wondered why I was here and it then occurred to me that I would have missed all my boarding announcements and hence ran out of the store frantically to find that my bags were being ordered to be offloaded. Given I made it there just in it time, I avoided getting late but could not avoid the wrath of the jet airways employees and other passengers who all gave me dirty looks while I walked down the aisle to sit at my seat. As I sat down I wondered if the other people who ran out of the store with me had made it into the flight. I got up to look and see if there were any more passengers that entered the plane after me but couldn't really arrive at a conclusion if they did. I wondered as I browsed through the pages of the magazine in my hand and then it HIT me. They weren't running with me but rather AFTER me as I had hastily exited the store with a magazine in my hand and they just wanted to either be paid for it or retrieve it. OMG!!!!! I couldn't believe what had just happened but all I could hope for was that I wouldn't be charged for an innocent crime of being a "tourist". An important point to mention is that My seat number was 27A.
A few hours later after many meals I looked up casually to count how many people were in this flight and to get a rough estimate I figured each row would have 8 people and would multiply that with the total numbers of rows. While doing basic math I realized an important fact that I was sitting at seat 20 as opposed to seat 27. Now this is usually okay when you are accompanied by a beautiful something in the seat next to you but is not the greatest when you have a smelly person snoring in your ears. I kicked myself for having Made such a grave mistake of my life. Curious minds are always the best and hence I quickly got up to see what my seat would have been had I not made the mistake. I am not sure if I was angry or pleased at the fact that my seat mate could have been a beautiful young women whom I could have shared so many stories of my life with. Who knows maybe I would have gotten married to her, traveled the world with her but all that could not happen because of my idiocy. In a way it was good I thought, as it had saved me from a lot of trouble from the women I was going to get married to was another thought in my head. But I will always remain me and I was deeply saddened by what had just happened, by an opportunity lost forever not because I wasn't courageous but because I wasn't wise!
As a child I was always mesmerized by the Burger King advertisements where a large burger would occupy the entire screen however always felt a little cheated looking at the snack size burGers that were actually served. Same was the case today when about a half hour before landing the screens lit up and promoted the Brussels airport as the largest chocolate store in the world with amazing amenities and best of class duty free etc. I was anxious to land at the airport to do some shopping and site seeing. Upon landing I was greeted by airport staff and again asked to visit the duty free store. With the massive build up that was given around the duty free store I made it a point to visit it first as I was making a list of what chocolate to buy for whom on my way there. I was soon presented with the largest chocolate shop on earth which was a 10 foot by 15 foot kiosk. I was yelling, "I have been cheated" inside me as this did not appear to be the largest chocolate shop. If anything it qualified to be the smallest. Upon further inquiry I realized, the terminal Jet Airways lands into was a temporary terminal which was only used for third grade airlines. I felt degraded and cheated yet again but wondered when jet knew we were landing in a shelter of a terminal why they would show us such advertisements. Amenities were only a dream at best where even in a guys washroom the line to use the so called "amenities" reminded me of a "walk-in" doctors office wait times. A person always had the choice of cutting through the line and going about their business but get beaten up on the way out or go to the women's washroom and get beaten up first before going about their business. In both cases the common multiple was getting beaten up I thought in my head and figured it might be just better to hold it in till I made it back into the flight.
The rest of the journey to Delhi was spent wondering what the next month would entail and all that I wanted to eat and drink. It was also spent wondering why when now I was at the right seat (27A) the seat mate was different albeit the wrong one. I guess fate had it such that it was not meant to be.
I have had a long history with Delhi terminal where I am always greeted specially and so was the case this time around where I was asked questions around my expired student visa for IIML from last time and mocked. Everyone found it hard for me to have come to India to study which I can never understand why. Further, The baggage belts are always littered with passengers anxious about their baggage with stories around how the food was not so great, air hostesses weren't pretty or the liquor serving times were short etc. and also with porters starting out at the prescribed rate of rs 500 per bag and finally agreeing to carry the entire luggage for rs 100. Conversations around the haggling much like last time haven't really changed and I have started to feel that it is part of genes to do so. The only thing different this time was that I was attempting the same and I could only bring the porter down to 450 for the entire luggage. I guess I am not a natural when it comes to haggling and hence made it a point to just pay if I was only going to impact my wallet by $1 or Rs 50.
Emotions were at an all time high as I bowed down to the ground kissed it and asked Bharat Maa to save me from whatever was ahead of me. A future journey down memory lane where I was going to see things again this time as a person little older and perhaps wiser (some May beg to differ).
A life so long yet separated by a breath, no matter how long we breathe it all ends in a death. As a bird we fly to make a cozy nest, some make it through and some only die trying at best! Life and time are controlled by no one and they always put everyone through a test!
Opportunities in life are always there, it's just a matter of being able out see them and avail them when they come. You not only need the right wisdom but also the courage to take a leap of faith.
I pulled out my newly purchased cannon dslr camera at terminal one of Toronto airport from where my flight was to leave for India in the next half hour. I have always avoided crowds and quite enjoy my alone time and hence was busy clicking pictures of Planes and "other such things". I then spotted a duty free shop through my lens and wandered in to browse the latest in fashion etc. and acting like a tourist seemed like an interesting proposition. I actually like being a tourist as you can be who ever you want to and act like whatever you want. The chances of you being judged are there but it doesn't matter to you because you may not see those people again; so it didn't matter for the most part. And if you on know me, I am shameless as it is, so acting a tourist comes naturally to me and this time around I was also playing the part by rocking a "I love Canada" shirt with a big camera clicking every thing in sight like a Chinese tourist. Browsing through the magazines, I heard a weird sense of urgency where I wondered why I was here and it then occurred to me that I would have missed all my boarding announcements and hence ran out of the store frantically to find that my bags were being ordered to be offloaded. Given I made it there just in it time, I avoided getting late but could not avoid the wrath of the jet airways employees and other passengers who all gave me dirty looks while I walked down the aisle to sit at my seat. As I sat down I wondered if the other people who ran out of the store with me had made it into the flight. I got up to look and see if there were any more passengers that entered the plane after me but couldn't really arrive at a conclusion if they did. I wondered as I browsed through the pages of the magazine in my hand and then it HIT me. They weren't running with me but rather AFTER me as I had hastily exited the store with a magazine in my hand and they just wanted to either be paid for it or retrieve it. OMG!!!!! I couldn't believe what had just happened but all I could hope for was that I wouldn't be charged for an innocent crime of being a "tourist". An important point to mention is that My seat number was 27A.
A few hours later after many meals I looked up casually to count how many people were in this flight and to get a rough estimate I figured each row would have 8 people and would multiply that with the total numbers of rows. While doing basic math I realized an important fact that I was sitting at seat 20 as opposed to seat 27. Now this is usually okay when you are accompanied by a beautiful something in the seat next to you but is not the greatest when you have a smelly person snoring in your ears. I kicked myself for having Made such a grave mistake of my life. Curious minds are always the best and hence I quickly got up to see what my seat would have been had I not made the mistake. I am not sure if I was angry or pleased at the fact that my seat mate could have been a beautiful young women whom I could have shared so many stories of my life with. Who knows maybe I would have gotten married to her, traveled the world with her but all that could not happen because of my idiocy. In a way it was good I thought, as it had saved me from a lot of trouble from the women I was going to get married to was another thought in my head. But I will always remain me and I was deeply saddened by what had just happened, by an opportunity lost forever not because I wasn't courageous but because I wasn't wise!
As a child I was always mesmerized by the Burger King advertisements where a large burger would occupy the entire screen however always felt a little cheated looking at the snack size burGers that were actually served. Same was the case today when about a half hour before landing the screens lit up and promoted the Brussels airport as the largest chocolate store in the world with amazing amenities and best of class duty free etc. I was anxious to land at the airport to do some shopping and site seeing. Upon landing I was greeted by airport staff and again asked to visit the duty free store. With the massive build up that was given around the duty free store I made it a point to visit it first as I was making a list of what chocolate to buy for whom on my way there. I was soon presented with the largest chocolate shop on earth which was a 10 foot by 15 foot kiosk. I was yelling, "I have been cheated" inside me as this did not appear to be the largest chocolate shop. If anything it qualified to be the smallest. Upon further inquiry I realized, the terminal Jet Airways lands into was a temporary terminal which was only used for third grade airlines. I felt degraded and cheated yet again but wondered when jet knew we were landing in a shelter of a terminal why they would show us such advertisements. Amenities were only a dream at best where even in a guys washroom the line to use the so called "amenities" reminded me of a "walk-in" doctors office wait times. A person always had the choice of cutting through the line and going about their business but get beaten up on the way out or go to the women's washroom and get beaten up first before going about their business. In both cases the common multiple was getting beaten up I thought in my head and figured it might be just better to hold it in till I made it back into the flight.
The rest of the journey to Delhi was spent wondering what the next month would entail and all that I wanted to eat and drink. It was also spent wondering why when now I was at the right seat (27A) the seat mate was different albeit the wrong one. I guess fate had it such that it was not meant to be.
I have had a long history with Delhi terminal where I am always greeted specially and so was the case this time around where I was asked questions around my expired student visa for IIML from last time and mocked. Everyone found it hard for me to have come to India to study which I can never understand why. Further, The baggage belts are always littered with passengers anxious about their baggage with stories around how the food was not so great, air hostesses weren't pretty or the liquor serving times were short etc. and also with porters starting out at the prescribed rate of rs 500 per bag and finally agreeing to carry the entire luggage for rs 100. Conversations around the haggling much like last time haven't really changed and I have started to feel that it is part of genes to do so. The only thing different this time was that I was attempting the same and I could only bring the porter down to 450 for the entire luggage. I guess I am not a natural when it comes to haggling and hence made it a point to just pay if I was only going to impact my wallet by $1 or Rs 50.
Emotions were at an all time high as I bowed down to the ground kissed it and asked Bharat Maa to save me from whatever was ahead of me. A future journey down memory lane where I was going to see things again this time as a person little older and perhaps wiser (some May beg to differ).
A life so long yet separated by a breath, no matter how long we breathe it all ends in a death. As a bird we fly to make a cozy nest, some make it through and some only die trying at best! Life and time are controlled by no one and they always put everyone through a test!
haha, you've left your readers hanging yet again!..can't wait to read what happens next! :D
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with Maryam :) Anticipating the blogs to follow. And some pictures from your DSLR would be nice too! :D
ReplyDelete