First Flight - I

The other night I was hearing John Denver's Leaving on Jet Plane*, I was wondering how beautiful the lyrics were depicting how dearly the hero loved his lady, how uncertain he was about coming back and how cruel have the surroundings became. This was when I started wondering how it would be if he were ever to fly on a plane.
It did take long for my dream to come true, two reasons - first, I heard the song when I first saw the movie in 1998. I wasn't even in my tenth grade then. Second, I was lazy enough to submit the Paperwork required for VISA processing only after initial escalations of delay from his HR.

Coming back to the main theme, when I got this opportunity, I could not believe his ears and I din't even ask how long the tenure is, what will be the role, etc. With excitement all around, I simply called my mom and dad and they had the oxymoronic feeling with the joy and sadness of their son leaving. But in this pragmatic world, sentiments will be hidden inside(not, in fact, never, discarded).
Its been 18 years since I travelled in an aeroplane (I had no idea that I was in an aeroplane from Chennai to Madurai in 1987) and I was almost shivering in the airport. I was not nervous but I could not bear the cold. The normal Chennai temperature seemed to have come down drastically. Also, I made sure my belly button is not exposed by wearing a conventional leather belt, a belt fastener that come with his new back pack and most importanly by wearing a T-shirt that does not have a belly button. (pardon me for my mokkai)

I bid farewell to my mom and dad and I was expecting at least one of them to shed a tear. Nope that didn't happen. Strike one.

There was no escalator, no jumbo jet, nothing when I saw the flight. It was a mini flight for domestic travel. Even to get to my home's door, there are five steps. Two steps and in you are. There were only 40 seats. My God, even SETC buses have more seats. Strike two.

In the flight, they gave me a welcome drink, something like a mango frooty. This time I was nervous. For me this is the first flight. It was kinda cool (pretty cool inside). I drank in one quick suck. Then I called the attendant and asked her where to dispense (???) it. She gave a puzzled look and took the paper cup away. Then I realized.. Shit... I asked her to dispense instead of dispose. When you are nervous, shut up!! Strike three.

Then after the first take-off, I was happy and relaxed. Then came the dinner time. There was Aloo tikka and some rice. But I saw a kid on the diagonal having roti. "Why did I not get it? Should I ask?" I was very hesitant. This time I made sure I just keep mum and eat what was there. I finished the rice and almost completed the Aloo tikka when the guy near opened a sachet under the dinner box cover. Bingo! Roti! Two of them!! I also uncovered my rotis just that this time the tikka was not sufficient. Just eat!! Strike four.

I was bad at small talks. I started a casual dialogue with my neighbour. He was also cool. I suddenly asked his package. He told a number that I was to get in US. Why is this day like this?? Strike five.

I reached Hyderabad and took my flight to Amsterdam.
To be continued...

*(For those who do not follow English music in the R&B times, John Denver is one of the sweetest singers, with his guitar sweeter than his tone! country music at its best! And if you have seen the movie Armageddon, the scene when the hero leaves to fight for the planet, there will be a small song sung by Ben Affleck and his flying mates. Don't miss to hear it!!)