(will be a travel trilogy after a great tryst with people on the move)
″A traveler without observation
is a bird without wings.” – Moslih Eddin Saadi
I go a step further. I eavesdrop
on conversations too! It not only helps me while away some waiting and travel
time. It also gives me a perspective
about people, the world and life. Some are new perspectives. Many observations (and
sneak peeks) change existing view points.
Not that I travel too much. Infact,
come to think of it, I had not travelled at all in the last 3-4 months. It was
getting mundane. I was not getting new perspectives! Thank God for this wedding
invite from a relative, tickets were booked. My family travelled ahead of me. I
joined them a week later. (There are observations, sneak peeks and whispers on
the pre-wedding, planned rituals and post-wedding camaraderie. More dope on it,
once my travel hangover is over.)
One very common perception which
people carry – one of the most glamorous jobs is that of an air hostess. Pretty
uniforms to wear, beautiful destinations to roam, classy hotels to stay in and
to top it all, a huge bank transfer at the month end just to look good and
pretty! Well, Mr. Goyal “jetted” careers and Mr. Mallaya as a king, fished out
a lot of talent, until “Air of India” started stinking, again. I carried this perception
for a fairly long time. And then, I started observing.
You curse your luck for the 0600
am fight, curse the cab driver for coming late because you woke up late and
then gave him wrong directions to your place, curse the security guard at the
airport for stopping you which is his duty because you are late, curse the boarding
pass counter lady for not keeping a window seat for you because you are late
and curse the entire population at the security check in gates who are there to
catch one of their 0600 am flights and cursing you as part of their late coming
plan. Airline staff cannot be late, ever. There will be a guard, always. There
will be someone at the counter to hand you your boarding pass, someone to keep
your check in baggage, someone to securely check you in, always. There will always
be a smiling air hostess welcoming you on the flight. An air hostess cannot be
late.
Not to forget, the usual time
that this air hostess would take after waking up to look that fresh, stunning
and pretty at 0600 am, reach the airport and start smiling to welcome some ugliest
of the people. The hostess would give instructions and then try her best to make
the same persons understand repeatedly and again and again the importance of switch
off mobile phones even after take-off, safety belts, keeping tray tables
upright, straighten back rests, and not walk to the loo when “Your Captain” has
already announced (slight or major) turbulence. Ofcourse, they have to control
(s)lap worthy proposals with a smile from the arrogant and wealthy, avoid the
(un)intentional elbow of the aisle seat friendly uncle or simple looking man sitting,
sell and serve food, clean your trash and also come running to you because you don’t
know which switch to press to switch on the reading light. And mind it, most of
all the things she is responsible for, as observed, are performed at atleast 30000
feet above sea level.
If you can balance your body
weight, mental state, verbal responses and the tray in your hand, while I observe
you top to bottom; I think you are beautiful and deserve a sitting ovation
while you tell me, “in case of emergency, there are four exits, two in the
front……. “ .
Cheers
K
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