Flying low...

There are very few things in life that can actually bore me. No, I am not trying to sound to be out of the world or something…it’s just that I love being happy and thus manage to fish out delight from each second I live life to the fullest. I love traveling and love journeys. A long drive away from the busy streets of the city or going to the market on my father’s scooter…a bus journey where the sidewalks on both sides give me a picture of the city, the minute changes that it gathers each morning, or just a walk outside my hostel after dinner. Train journeys have always fascinated me and I loved accounting each detail after a successful trip. Until a couple of months back, I had never boarded a plane…and the journey on an airship over the plains and valleys had been a matter of unseen temptation for me.

Getting a job and flying to another city for the first time in my life of course involved a lot of glee and I could not wait for the day when I would actually be ‘flying’. Morning dawned bright (as it always does when you are happy). Luggage and all in hand and all decked up for ‘My First Journey on An Airplane’, I arrived at the airport. While all the new terms like ‘check in’ and ‘boarding passes’ went on confusing me, I waited eagerly for the moment when I will actually be flying like a bird. Quick as it is, modern lifestyle doesn’t keep you waiting for long. I was soon getting up the weird steps into an equally weird big thing—the airplane. As I entered, I was pleasantly welcomed with smiling faces of the air hostesses. Getting lost was quite easy among the long rows of big blue seats and it was quite a long time before I actually managed to find my place. Ah! I had a window seat and could see the plush runway below me. Poor fellows who came late and could not grab the window seat! After a dozen lectures and instructions about how to tie the seat belt and how to vomit into the “vomiting bag”, the plane started running and slowly…hey o! It started flying. Down below I could see my dear city growing smaller. I felt like a majestic eagle. But the majesty lasted for about ten minutes. The clouds soon took over and all I could see was white foamy clouds around me.

I got bored! I looked beside me. Strange lady—how could she manage to sit upright while she slept? In front of me sat a funny man—his life seemed to be centered around Sudokus—he kept on trying to solve one. Seeing a man, a little away from me, move a little, I turned at him. Poor thing! He seemed dumb. He could only nod his head. The journey went on. I turned back at my precious window. Good lord! The clouds had probably fallen in love with the plane as they seemed to stick against it. Suddenly I could feel a strange silence around me. No one spoke…no one coughed, no one sneezed…no one laughed. I looked around for a board saying “Silence Please” around me. But I could find none. So I decided to be the first one. I tried talking to my neighbor but gave up after a while. All I could see was her lips moving and a smile after every half a minute. I gathered I was more deaf than I ever actually thought I can be and so checked myself from continuing this strange conversation.

Time went on. I tried concentrating on the newspaper in front me but felt very stupid. After some time food came. I ate, as silently as I used to sit in Physics classes at school. I drank tea…and again stared at the clouds in vain. God! It was boring and I felt like kicking the seat in front with despair. But the man there would also be doing something serious like dozing or reading, so I didn’t take a chance.

I kept looking at my watch. It seemed the longest two hours I have lived. 30 minutes still left. Suddenly a strange thought struck me—what if the plane crashed? I fancied the idea of me falling down on a parachute and that took some of the time. I felt cold and miserable. I had to keep my cell phone switched off even and there seemed no other window to the “real” world other than the cloudy one. Suddenly the temperature seemed to decrease and I shivered. To add to my misery my ears got blocked. I called an air hostess in despair (because they seemed to be the most eloquent people in the plane). I guess I was too loud when I explained to her about my blocked ears. She got a little startled but brought me a plate of toffees soon after. I tried chewing them, but they were of no help except adding a few more calories. I sank back to my seat and looked at my watch. Only ten minutes left—I felt myself to be the happiest person on the earth! I looked outside and saw the clouds parting. Soon I could see trees, houses and streets. I thanked God. The plane alighted soon after and the “majestic yet so-o boring” trip came to an end.