Episode 228 : The Devbhoomi Experience- Part 1

Day 1: September 30, 2008

The last few days of September were nerve-wracking.

'We will pack our bikes and send them on 27th' changed to 'We are sending the bikes on the 30th'. I worry Murphy would strike a day before and stall everything!

The decision to leave 30th completely free of any work at office pays off- Murphy, it appeared, was on vacation which means my worries are nil. I have to pack the motorcycle by noon and hop into a bus to go to the airport because my 8pm SpiceJet flight to Delhi is advanced by 3 hours!

It is a different story at the airport. I reach an hour too early even to check-in. After a quick "meal" at Cafe Coffee Day, I check my phone.

And find two missed calls and a message that my flight is "postponed" to leave 6.10pm!

Excellent! An additional hour with nothing to do. The saddlebags and helmet are checked in, with lots of warnings to the ground staff that the helmet is expensive and must be handled with care. They dutifully stick a "Fragile" sticker on the helmet bag and take it away from my sight.

I make a short prayer to the Lords of Speed and try to ignore scary thoughts of lost luggage and broken helmets. Wearing a riding jacket with a thermal liner (in Bangalore!) and carrying a sleeping bag and tank-bag gets me enough stares which I ignore.

After checking in, I begin to repent not booking the IndiGo flight to Delhi on the same day. Not only did that flight leave on time, it was also boarded by a very pretty passenger (who incidentally reminded me of one of the girls at the workplace).

I know, I know. But it doesn't hurt to be optimistic, does it?

The flight finally takes off at 7pm. As I stand in line to board the aircraft, I notice one of Malayalam film industry's action heroes chatting up a pretty Kingfisher Airlines' ground staff. Ah well, some people have it easy.

The flight is fairly uneventful, except for two things.

One, airlines have stopped giving free candy. Apparently, they save a lot of money. Thankfully, a bottle of water is still complimentary!

Two, I catch a passenger in the row in front of me typing out a novel on his laptop. Something on magic and magicians, looks like it is the flavour these days. I forget the lines that I caught him typing- they didn't sound extraordinary... unless using non-regular words is deemed so.

'We will land in a few minutes, please fasten your seat belts' the captain says to us. I look out the window at the city below me.

'Hello' I whisper.

The lights of the city twinkle back at me, in what appears to be a friendly hello in return.

But I know that the Delhi I am returning to isn't the one I last met in 1995.

Or the one I left behind in 1989.