iPod iForgot

iPod iForgot

11th Jan 2006, 12:15 am in the night at Mumbai International Airport’s departure lounge. I was at the gate to board the flight to London, departing at 2:30am………...

I had come back to Mumbai after a year and half. After a month long in Mumbai and thoroughly enjoying the break, it was, sad to say, time to pack my bags and leave for Philadelphia. After making sure I had everything I needed to complete the long journey and my further stay I bid adieu to friends and family. Having a very pessimistic attitude towards the unpredictable Mumbai traffic and not wanting to take any chances, I and my dad left for the airport 4 hours in advance. Surprisingly we found very sparse traffic all the way and you won’t believe we were there within 45 minutes. There were still three hours and 15 mins to go before I left my beloved motherland behind. Finally I said goodbye to my dad and went through the process of baggage check-in, immigration clearance, security clearance and god knows how many checks. I was all alone and here I was

11th Jan 2006, 12:30am in the night at Mumbai International Airport’s departure lounge. I was at the gate to board the flight to London, departing at 2:30am……..

I had to do something to spend two full hours before it was time to step aboard crash in my seat. What to do? What to do? I had a book to read, but wasn’t able to concentrate. I could have picked my nose, but was not in a mood and what would people say? Observe people around, but there was hardly anyone around. Ok yeah there were a bunch of security guards trying not to sleep. I could have listened to the announcements being made, but weren’t really entertaining and hardly audible. Talk to people waiting to board the same flight as mine but most of them were asleep. I called up home to say I am fine, cleared the security check and getting bored. I talked till they were bored and dozed off mid sentence. I had to wake them up to say I would call up once I reach and said bbye. Finally I decided to entertain myself by listening to songs on my iPod.

11th Jan 2006, 12:45am in the night at Mumbai International Airport’s departure lounge. I was at the gate to board the flight to London, departing at 2:30am……..

I reached for my cabin bag to take my iPod out? I couldn’t find it in any of the compartements. Where is my iPod, where did I keep it? Oh shit I lost my iPod, no it cannot be possible. I searched again. Almost emptied my cabin luggage. I looked in my laptop bag. Not there too. Damn, I must have packed it into my checked baggage. I started thinking backwards. The last thing I put in my bag was my laptop. The iPod was kept charging besides it. Oh! No, I kept it on the table and never bothered to check in my room again before leaving. Now it was too late. I called up home to confirm if my most beloved object was at home. Poor mom, at 12:50 in the night, half asleep was rummaging through my room, to find it. I was kicking myself in the shins, for being so forgetful. How could I forget my iPod? Half asleep, my mom confirmed it was at home. Phew! Atleast its safe and I didn’t lose it. Forlorn and nothing to do at the airport before I stepped on to the flight
11th Jan 2006, 1:00 am in the night at Mumbai International Airport’s departure lounge. I was at the gate to board the flight to London, departing at 2:30am……iWait, iPod iForgot.

Swades

I saw Swades last December. It was a touching movie and it did kindle passion in me for my country, My motherland, My Home...yes Mera Bharat Mahan! A year passed by before I got a chance to visit India. Each day seemed to drag by. Not one day passed without remembering good old India. Each passing day made it harder to control my emotions. Each month seemed like a year. I was dying to get back to Mumbai. Torn between my duties and the love for my country I carried on. Then on December 10th 2005, exactly one year after I saw Swades, I was on the threshold of embarking upon my maiden voyage to India. I felt exactly the same as the character in Swades felt. Its an emotion which cannot be described, it can only be felt. Its overwhelming and makes you feel euphoric. Finally after sixteen months away from home, I would meet my parents, my friends, my relatives and see my Mumbai.

The moment I stepped on the British Airways flight to Mumbai from Philadelphia, my entire 21 years of life in Mumbai flashed by. It was an emotion I had never felt before. I was feeling on seventh heaven. An interesting thing was I was bridging the distance between two countries USA and India, once ruled by the country of the serving airline, the UK. Trivial you might say; but nevertheless very interesting.

The flight passed by in a blur. Eighteen long hours whizzed by. I felt only one thing throughout the entire flight duration, yes, I was bored. But the moment the airhostess announced that we were half an hour away from landing at Mumbai's International airport, all the boredom vanished, all the tiredness disappeared, all I felt was an overwhelming sense of pride. I felt so wonderful, as if life had come a full circle. I felt like shouting on top of my voice, "India, here I come!" The last half an hour felt like an entire lifetime. I was dying to hear the airhostess announce, "Ladies and gentlemen, please tie your seat belts, we'll be shortly landing at Mumbai's Chatrapati International Airport, on behalf of the captain and the entire british airlines crew, we thank you for flying with us and hope you had a wonderful flight" and she did.

I was dying to get out of the plane and step onto my home soil. The first breath I took after getting out of the plane left me breathless (not because of the pollution!) It felt exhilarating. I was jubilant and the moment I stepped out of the airport I spotted my family waiting for me, dying to meet me and see me. Though I'll have many more trips to Mumbai, this first experience I wont forget ever.

The stay in mumbai got over no sooner than it began. There I was standing at the same spot as I landed over a month ago, but it seemed to me that the trip had just begun. I will come back again!