late flights, a-denominational priests and 3 whiskey bottles

back home :D...in the factory of my father's company...my blogging ambitions were dealt a severe blow when I found there was no Internet at home...but a blog-promise is a blog-promise and I did blog-promise to write...so, here I am at a computer in the factory...

the flight back was definitely eventful...reached Heathrow half-hour late because of a fight with the telephone operator of the taxi company...don't even ask...checked my baggage in and before I realised it, was time to board...not before I was refused permission to carry whiskey in my hand-luggage...don't even ask...hehe

found my seat and found I was sitting next to a deaf old man...quite an appropriate neighbour for someone who doesn't talk too much...sat down...5 minutes later, this young Indian girl takes the other seat next to me...not sure whether to talk or not...finally, turn and say hi...we start a conversation about the bad service on the flight, how it used to be better...about her holiday in UK, my life in UK...about college/University life, about society and character analyses on various Bollywood stars...I go to sleep...wake up and we analyse the character of various Hollywood stars, lament on the perils of the modern Indian arranged marriage and decide Air India is the worst airline in the world...

we land in Mumbai...India ! go out of the plane and immediately feel the blast of heat and humidity...India ! I wonder whether I should take off my sleeveless green sweater...decide to keep it on coz I look really good in it...my decision doesn't feel right when I get quizzical looks from fellow passengers...I think I also overheard a kid questioning his mother on the basics of dressing according to the weather...

join a queue for flights to Chennai...'queue' is probably too strong a word...the 'queue' doesn't move forward for 20 minutes...suddenly, it moves and moves fast...its the customs check...I put my stuff into the tray and am berated by the staff for having my mobile phone in my pocket rather than in my hand-luggage..."if you have space in your bag, you should put it there", he reasons...are Indian staff ruder because they care more or just because they're plain unprofessional ?

pick up a new whiskey bottle...20 dollars ! and go to wait to board the flight to Chennai...meet a young Indian engineer...talk about design of medical devices and the Indian economy...am struck by his practical, self-taught approach to thinking inspite of a mediocre schooling and higher education...us Indians have sooooo much potential

there are about 30 people in the room, 29 Indians and 1 Brit...I turn to talk to him and find he is a priest....an a-denominational priest that categorises himself as not falling under any particular denominational category...he's going to Chennai to speak at some religious meetings...hands me his personal testimony on our way to the flight...

I sleep the whole flight...we land in Chennai...it feels even more like India now...more hot, more humid, more populated, more chaotic...rush through the immigration check, go pick up my bags and make my way to the next-door domestic airport...its 4 in the morning...outside the airport, the air is lit by the light from within the airport and polluted by sand granules thrown up by the million people walking through it...reach the domestic airport, find its too early to check in my bag, wonder what to do...

spy an eatery on the right....Indian food ! hurry there only to be greeted by the slightly deflating sight of the range of British food - puffs, patties, rolls...decide to buy a veg samosa coz its the most Indian thing there, also buy a fountain pepsi...50 rupees in total ! is inflation in India so high or is it just that airport prices are inflated ?

find a seat in a collection of seats in front of a TV screen showing NDTV news...the seat is almost under the screen, so looking up at it feels vaguely like it might feel to look at the Eiffel Tower from below...needs the neck to be craned...not just my neck, but the necks of all people in that collection of seats...bad human-centered design...wouldn't be acceptable in the UK...us Indians just seem to settle for less...but are we any less happy ? does good human-centered design make the UK a happier place ? or does it spoil them and create ever-increasing expectations ?

sitting in my seat surrounded by Indians, neck craned to hear the NDTV reporter announce details of the forthcoming IPL auction, eating my samosa and sipping my Pepsi, I feel myself settling down...why am I starting to feel so comfortable ? is it simply because I am back in my homeland where things happen and people behave in ways that I completely understand ? is it because of the freedom you feel because of the relative anonymity that being in such a crowd of people affords ? is it because I don't feel I'm representing my country in a foreign land anymore ? or because the weight of having to follow social conventions alien to me is lifted ?

and why do I feel like I have more space even though everything is much more crowded ?

I make my way out of the airport to the auto and taxi stands and find a stone bench...I see two substantial dollops of crow-shit on the seat and happily settle down next to it...I seem to have settled into 'Indian mode'...my threshold for not being repulsed seems to have been multiplied tenfold...I look behind to see the taxi drivers cleaning their taxis before the day's work...one of them is brushing his teeth with his finger, using water for toothpaste...dirty water...I look in front of me and see the early-morning traffic...lots of two-wheelers, a Honda Civic, Honda Accord, a Maruthi Van...the density of vehicles increases with time, until I can feel the beat of the city expressing itself in the collective passing of those vehicles...Chennai is busy and alive and thriving...I look to my right to see a large building site that the workers have just arrived on...Chennai is growing and developing...

I go back to the airport, check in my luggage ...realise I left the whiskey bottle in the Mumbai flight...go and buy a new one and go to customs check-in...they won't allow me to carry the whiskey-bottle in my hand-luggage...I re-check-in the whiskey bottle into my flight luggage...board the flight...

window-seat...I look outside at the flat-roofed, multi-coloured houses...Marina Beach looks more beautiful than ever...we pass over the sea...before I realise it, we're preparing for landing at Coimbatore...I look down and see Anna-flyover from above, like I've never seen it before...we land and I walk from the plane to the airport...the walk is unexpectedly beautiful...in some ways, Coimbatore airport seems more beautiful than Heathrow...definitely more emphasis on nature...pick up my baggage, check if the whiskey-bottle is there, and head out wondering if my parents will be waiting...

walk out into the bright, yet gentle sunshine that is characteristic of Coimbatore...look around...ah ! there's my father's brown bald head, gleaming in the sunlight...and there's Amma...looking younger and happier than when I last saw her...they've seen me...hugs..."Happy Birthday Nitin !", Amma says....oh yea, how could I forget ! ITS MY BIRTHDAY !!!

the events of my birthday deserve a separate post, so will sign off for now...hoping to post again today evening and bring the blog up-to-date :)

Nitin