This is dated long back in August 2005.. I was working in Mangalore and it had been a "long" 2.5 months since I had been home with my family :-)... E = MC2 is all there was! I was very excited to go home; my first little vacation from work...
My flight was supposed to take-off at noon reaching Mumbai at 1:30 PM. From there, the next lag of the journey was to catch Mumbai Rajdhani from Mumbai Central. My adventure began at Mangalore airport itself! Unfortunately the flight was delayed!! Not by a few min but by a few hours! My heartbeats had increased considerably... I had no idea what I'd do if I missed the train... I nervously sat biting my nails having no clue on what was in store for me! After a while I checked with the Indian-Airlines staff - "What is the matter here? When will the flight be available for boarding? I have a train to catch in Mumbai and like this I'm losing hopes"... "Madam - the incoming flight has been delayed, causing this flight to be delayed as well. We will start the boarding in a few minutes after the flight lands here"... I reluctantly go back to the seating area... tic tok tic tok tic toc... The estimated departure time kept changing... They hadn't even started the security screening and my adrenalin was rising with every passing minute... Finally after a long wait, they call the security screening; I feel hopeful again...
The wait time in the security screened area seemed even more than that to get in! They kept stalling everyone inquiring and my nervousness kept rising... Finally they make the boarding call... Now while I was boarding - the attendant was like "Madam - you'll need to check-in your bag, it will not fit in"... I asked with a rather annoyed look "why!?? this is a normal carry-on bag" "Yes Ma'm but our overhead bins are full" I'm now on the verge of losing my patience "I don't care I have no time for baggage claim because I have a train to catch and thanks to you all I would barely be able to make it"... With a little more persuasion she let me keep the bag with me but made me sit on the last seat!! Freggin last seat! With the bag near my feet... Finally at about 2 PM the boarding process concluded and the flight was about to take off... I gave my dad a quick call with the latest update and that I will call him as soon as I land in Mumbai... Now was the perfect time for prayer because - I did not have a backup plan and neither could I think of one...
At last (what felt like eternity), we landed in Mumbai around 3:30ish... That was a little over an hr before the departure of the train and I had no idea how bad/worse the traffic might be... I was freaking out and was almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown I guess! Coz from what my dad had told me, Airport to Mumbai Central by road would take 45 min or so (i.e. not considering any traffic-jams) and that was cutting too close... So as soon as the flight stops I get up and hurry my way out (remember - last seat was where I was forced to be seated?)... Midst numerous excuse-me/weird look + "I have a train to catch, sorry" etc, I made my way out of the flight fairly quick.. I called my dad on my way out and he said "make sure you get into a prepaid cab, so later you don't run into money related issues".. I'd have done the same, coz, at that point, I was a little apprehensive about traveling in a taxi by myself... Of course it sounds funny... even to me while I was typing it... But that's the reason why the initial plan was to catch a rick/bus to Santacruz Rlwy Stn and take a Churchgate train and get off at Mumbai Central... Considering the luxury of the 4 hr time gap that would have been available to me, it was all supposed to be SOO easy... anyways that was all then...
So I quickly got into a prepaid cab and called my dad - again... He calmed me down, said "take a few deep breaths, there is still a chance that you'd be able to make it... Just tell the taxi driver to hurry up as much as he can coz you've a train to catch by 4:20; keeping a buffer of about 10 min.. they all understand".. I followed his instructions... the driver seemed a very nice fellow and he was totally sympathetic about my situation "theek hai madam, mai koshish karke aapko jaldi se jaldi pohachata hoon" (ok madam, I'll try to drive you there as soon as I can)... Now it was the prayer time - yet again! The driver was making his way as fast as he could with a magic combination of the accelerator & the honks... We then came fairly close to Mumbai Central... There was 5 or 6 lane signal crossing and my courageous driver, in the hurry of dropping me on-time, broke the red light... I agree it is not a big deal to break red lights in India but I knew it is in Mumbai! And a traffic policeman blew his whistle and came towards the taxi running... I told myself "Oh lord... I'm done... I wouldn't be able to board the train". The driver hurriedly instructs me "madam, aap plej apni ticket nikaal ke batana sahab ko warna woh nahi jaane dega" (madam, please have your ticket out to show to the policeman otherwise you'll miss your train). The policeman comes and talks in Marathi the gist of which was "can't you see the damn red light!? Why did you drive when the light was turning red?? get your car papers......" That is when I interrupted "Sir please jaane do, mujhey rajdhaani exp pakadna hai... nahi pahuch paungi.. meri flight late ho gayi isiliye inse jaldbaazi mein galti ho gayi, yeh dekhiye ticket" (Sir please let him go, I've to catch rajdhaani express, my flight was very late that's why in a hurry he made this mistake, please see the ticket) saying that I handed him the ticket... He looked at it for a few seconds and said "jaao bhaago warna train choot jaayegi!" (go fast otherwise she'll miss the train!!)... I was both surprised and happy...
While continuing to drive, the driver said "madam agar aap ticket nahi batate toh yahi 2 ghante nikal jaate" (madam if you wouldn't have showed your ticket, it'd have been 2 hours here! ).. Finally I can see the entrance of Mumbai Central Station!! But, oh dear Lord!!! There was a decent bunch of taxis queued in front of us! It was a few minutes before 4:20 (the departure time that I had mentioned to the driver).. I opened the taxi door and told him that I would get down there itself. He asked if I was sure (I think he was still planning to find a way out of that queue); I nodded, he said "theek hai madam jaldi jaaiye" (ok madam go fast).. I smiled and say "ji thank you"... I knew that I'd be able to catch the train (thanks to the buffer time!!) I hurried towards the platform area... My boogie was 8th or 9th and the moment I get on, the train starts!! SUCH a relief; I called my dad and told him that I had boarded the train and slept like a log for the next few hrs :-)...
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
This one was drafted while I was waiting for my flight @ Mumbai airport and shared with my friends in the form of an email... So I'm not making any edits to it...
So there is one news that I'd like to share with you guyz... well well well... don't have high hopes... the news is just that I drove a 2-wheeler couple of days bac!! I never thought I'd be able to considering my previous track record... but to my surprise I could!! pat-on-my-back :P... That too our 2-wheeler doesn't work so it was neighbor's :P... Yea yea, I noe, they did take a huge risk giving their vehicle to me :P...
So my sis n I had some work (she had a list of stuff to get from a list of shops...) Initially she didn't let me drive (her argument - you haven't driven since a long time; which btw is the case with her too... but she had the key and the auto-start didn't work so I HAD to reluctantly agree to her demands...)
I couldn't go beyond 30 kmph but who cares... I'm on cloud#9 that I actually WAS ABLE to drive!! :D :D... The commentary from the back seat was fun too... Keep your thumb on that horn... You NEED to honk here... Heyyy that GUY will get in your way, honk honk honk!!... And I actually DID honk!! It was fun... However, in my defense, THAT, was the only way to ensure right-of-way :P :P...
So anyways, we reach our first stop... The moment we get down and cross the road, my 2-yr old sandals broke!!! I was almost limping!! My sis - laughing to glory!! Why wouldn't she? I'd have done the same if I were in her place :P... So the 1st shop's work is done (thankfully we didn't have to buy clothes so no1 noticed my broken sandals!!)
Next - we included a stop which was unaccounted for (as per the list of-course)... My sis buys slippers (suggests I wear that to other 3-4 remaining shops that we have to go to... but I forcefully disagree...) and I buy a pair of shoes sandals for myself... That guy at the shop understood my plight and said "hu aa pack kari dau" meaning "I'll pack this" pointing at the broken sandals!! Full of embarrassment, I say "yes"... My ICICI debit card is still in working condition... The signature at the back was almost erased... The guy gave me a stare but then its debit card... So he got his money... He asks me to sign and we are done... Then we go to couple of other shops saying check at each completed task (remember Monica when they are preparing for their London trip for Ross' marriage??!!... Well not THAT weird... But yeah, you get an idea don't u?? ;o)... )
Next we have fresh fruit juice and pack some for mom (that's the best part of shopping with my sis - she'll tempt you to have every other eatable thing visible on the road!!)
And soon enough, it was time to get home (the neighbor had given us a deadline ;o)...)
Ok then I guess I'll stop here... Ppl around me here are giving me weird looks!!!
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Travel to ORD (from AMD via FRA)
On 14th of February, I was traveling to Chicago and the itinerary read Ahmadabad – Frankfurt – Chicago. The boarding at Ahmadabad was just the normal, huge weird queues with impatient passengers… however, all-in-all everything went smooth; pretty much as expected.
After a travel time of approx 9½ hrs, we landed at Frankfurt International Airport at 7 AM; the temperature read -4 °C… the security check and other experiences there were quite interesting which is why I think it is worth sharing…
So here it goes… “Just when I used to get irritated with the weird frisking in India, be it the quick frisk at the malls or the thorough ones at the airport… especially after being to USA, any sort of frisking just seems SO unnecessary; I witness an extreme case of a detailed search during the security check… they HAD to touch pretty much each part of the body! I wonder whether even they like their jobs or like us they too pretty much hate, sorry dislike it?? I mean which woman, straight woman, would like to touch women? Of-course for the greater good of the security of the passengers on the aircraft; this probably might seem to be a minute sacrifice (still trying to look thru their eyes; failing miserably I guess!!)… Anyways, so moving on… I thought this probably is the end of it but no! There was much more to this… they HAD to open the hand baggage and check everything in there… I mean imagine men checking the female bags in India! We would have cursed them left right & center… and here, we pretty much have no say what-so-ever! I did not see a single Indian woman cribbing about it!! Frankly, I was shocked, to the core… and I also had to take out both my laptops LL because, that meant a lot of extra effort in re-arranging the hand bag… ironically, each staff member wished good morning!!
Following the security check, we were all seated at gate# C8… the inside temperature, I believe would not be more than 5 °C… or maybe I was feeling very cold… whatever the case, the temp was definitely not warm… I rushed to the restroom and wore my thermals… turns out, the flight per the latest then; was delayed by 35 min… but nothing is helping… I thought it would be a good idea to wash my face and feel a little better with the warmth of the hot water, but no… the water was freezing cold!! Oh sweet lord! Where am I stuck?? To add to it, the 100% woolen thermals were not helping eitherL. Never in my life had I ever waited so eagerly for anything as I waited, prayed, etc for the flight to take off. The delay of the flight just confirmed the Murphy’s law… this is when I took out my company provided Toshiba laptop (Toshiba laptops are known for keeping you warm, at least based on my past experience, the processor heats up to a good temperature and makes you feel cozy during the cold days)… but alas! The laptop was fairly new for the CPU fan to malfunction i.e. the processor was not quite successful in living up to the standards the other models had laid; which meant I was still very darn COLD…
As all my attempts of staying warm turned futile, I decided to occupy my attention elsewhere… so I thought how about… umm say strike a conversation with amiable people around? I started looking around; think about this… An Air India flight, flying to Chicago O’hare airport… rings any bells? Well yes, it was definitely filled with desis and only desis… desis with a big family totally engrossed amongst themselves or the hum do – humara ek personified couples with a crying baby! So there I was shivering to the core having no one worth striking a conversation with :P…
Finally, the AI personnel announced the boarding of the flight from Frankfurt to Chicago; wow what a sigh of relief. It felt as though it took FOREVER and EVER to board; I did kind of regret opting for a seat near to the entrance (because the protocol of boarding usually allows the passengers with seats towards the end to board the aircraft first, of-course after the passengers with children). Post boarding, my shivering reduced and I started feeling pretty much normal in around ½ hr. The flight journey was more-or-less comfortable, watching movies, listening to songs, etc. as usual, the passengers besides me were engrossed in their own world; as such we don’t expect Non-Americans to begin a conversation with strangers anyways…”
At last, after all this, I reached Chicago O’Hare international airport, which unlike its Frankfurt counterpart had good warm temperature. I got through the immigrations and customs just fine… well, except, of-course the fact that I ended up filling my I-94 form four times, each time messing up with a completely different detail!! Once the passport number, then the address (which I had to literally hunt for in my carry-on… was about to open up my laptop and check the saved sticky note…), then the flight number and the city where I boarded. The last was a classic case since I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to write Ahmadabad (the initial boarding point) or Frankfurt and had kind of peeped into the person sitting beside me to confirm :P
Must say, all-in-all an interesting experienceJ
Monday, April 12, 2010
Vaishnao Jan @ Starbucks :o)
It is a pleasant evening… sunny, windy and 60s making it a perfect combination… the best evening I could ever imagine after a highly sluggish morning (well though it was afternoon when I woke up!!). We did our groceries and decided to go to Starbucks by our house and sit for a couple of hours… there was a very annoying desi trio conversing in their regional language at the top of their voice! If anyone still thinks it is the fairer sex that annoys other thru their chattering they ought to have seen this trio and change their belief once and for all! I was kind of hoping someone asks them to get their asses out of the coffee shop! But like most of my wishes, this didn’t come true either! Maybe they kind of heard my thoughts and after a torture of more than half hr, they decided to spare me and all the others and walked out… wow my headache just disappeared :D
Minutes after that, I hear lovely Indian music, yes, you read it right, Indian music in starbucks… Lovely Lata’s voice in Vaishnao Jan followed by amazing all-time-favorite tracks by Rafi, Mukesh etc… I was SO mesmerized “Oh my God!!” is all I could utter… it did take away all my tensions for some time for sure J.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
My Birthday 2009
October 30, 2009
It was 29th Oct late night, my birthday eve, and our team (of-course including me) was still in office working hard to meet the deadline… As the clock struck midnight, everyone came to wish me and friends called and gave me wishes. It did make me feel a less disastrous; finally I reached home one and a half hr past midnight!! First of its kind for me on a birthday! Surprises weren’t over yet! When I reached home, a yummy Lava cake was eagerly waiting to welcome me homeJ… It is the yummiest cake I have ever tasted in my life J, baked in a bakery called Crumbz in Mangalore, one of the finest creations to suit the taste buds of those with a sweet tooth. And if you like chocolate flavor; believe me you ARE missing something eventful if you haven’t tasted it yet! Back to the cake cutting, so as I blew the candles next was the turn of face painting… my heart broke into tiniest pieces as I saw the cake getting wasted on my face! I doubt if I can possibly explain better in words.
My colleague composed a very lovely email on my birthday and had written very good lines about me (read praising me)… I was surprised, how could someone ever come up with nice lines about me?? That is supposed to be only in novels ain’t it?? But then according to him, we should be nice to people on their birthdays!! :D That did make me smile in an otherwise overwhelmingly hectic day. Lunch consisted of eating out at a not-so-great restaurant with a group of close friends. A friend of mine raised a toast for me, an unusual, one of its kind… it did not consist of a speech and neither did our glasses contain champagne!! Later in the day, the team had planned to have a cake cutting for me in the evening which is usually accompanied by the face-painting tradition. I loved painting other people’s faces on their birthdays but when I was the canvas, my opinion changed slightly: I think we are wasting the cake ain’t we?? However, my work obligation did not quite permit me to hang-out with my friends on that night and what could possibly be termed as the most hectic birthday EVER, I came back from work at 4 AM; yes you read it right, 4:00 AM 31st October!!
Plan for 31 October was planned. Go to St. Mary’s… That was my wish since past 3 months which possibly could not have been fulfilled in a better way!! Roads in Karnataka are pathetic; nonetheless the journey was awesome; after all it is the people that matters the most, who cares about the roads!! My friend was driving so unfortunately I do not happen to pay attention on the route details from Mangalore to Malpe Beach. The journey from Malpe to St. Mary’s Island was in a ferry. That was a lovely experience too… the sea was very calm and the water was very clean. We reached our destination in about half hr. St. Mary’s Island is known for their distinctive geological formation of columnar basaltic lava. The landscape view of the Island together with the sea is mesmerizing to say the least. My friends had got the Lava cake and we had the cake cutting ceremony at St. Mary’s. It was a fulfilling trip indeed!!
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