Airplane Memoirs

Let me not start with my usual rant of not writing enough (I guess that’s how my guilt gets its share of happiness) , so the below article I wrote it for an in-flight magazine, but unfortunately things didn’t work out and so here I am posting it in my loyal blog which motivates me to write even when laziness swamps me.

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog post, since I have thanked you don’t just leave- Go on read away!

 So, since you have decided to read I would like to start with a note that I am not going to gift you movie tickets for an upcoming Thalaivar movie (if you are not familiar with the term Thalaivar*God forbid* it is how we Tamilian’s lovingly call Superstar Rajnikanth!) or vouchers to shop at your favourite mall. But a few minutes of reading pleasure (or That’s what I like to think of it as !).

Just for my readers who don't know Rajnikanth (Thalaivar), here's an image of the promotion done for his movie Kabali on an Air Asia plane. Courtesy: Indian Express

                               

The airplane slowly started moving in the tarmac, the stewards hustle for final checks and take their seats

“ Ladies and gentlemen, we are now ready for take-off. Wish you all a safe journey.”

The giant man-made machine soars through the sky between the clouds flying effortlessly carrying tons of weight along with it. It’s been 112 years since the Wright brothers had their first flight and thankfully we have comfortable seats now unlike one of the brothers, Orville, who had to lie on his stomach on the lower wing of the aircraft.

 Welcome to the world of baggage queues, scary noisy toilets and midair dining experiences. The best part of it all , stunning bird eye views of the landscape below.

This was clicked on one of my flight travels from India to UAE,isn't the sunset beautiful?

As the flight takes off, you can see co-passengers chanting prayers to the Almighty for a safe trip which will be occasionally disturbed by a kid who needs attention! With hundreds of flights taking off every few minutes, God must really have a big server to process all these requests.I wouldn’t be surprised if his Inbox is constantly full!

During your travels, you will also come across co-passengers who think your shoulder is a free extension of their seat and doze off on your shoulder.You can handle these passengers easily, but there are some over concerned travelers who will dissect your entire life in a matter of minutes. Married? Studying ? Traveling alone? Aren’t you scared? Job details?  The lineage of your ancestors? What not! Don’t worry, you will get to know a share of their personal tragedies, happiness, and trivial information. Something to look forward to isn’t it?

With smartphones and tablets more popular, you also have annoying passengers who watch movies or listen to songs without headphones, these inconsiderate people do not even reduce the volume.So the best way to avoid them other than staring at them impolitely (which I am sure they won't understand) is to bring your own headphones.

But don’t let any of this dull the peace of mind you get when you are mid air, with no network coverage, just humans in a plane flying high among the clouds viewing the earth like a bird. The mountains, valleys and the sea look like paintings on a canvas.When you see the lights illuminating human civilization below you, you realize how you were a light down there yesterday for someone in an aircraft and the vastness of the world below you humbles and inspires you, all at the same time.

This picture here is an aerial shot of Dubai, and just watching this was such an introspective moment for me.

After this inspiring moment, when the plane lands with a thud back to earth, the mad rush to file out of the airplane begins.Then a seemingly calm airplane turns into a chaotic push and pull to get overhead luggage and move out to get out of the airport.   

So, till my next post , this is the annoying co-passenger who keeps the reading light on when you are trying to sleep- signing off. 

Hope you guys enjoyed it and as always do share your stories of travel J

Live life Carpe Diem!

And I shamelessly promise to write more often as always! (Hopefully I keep this one)
Another click which was taken, when I was trying to write in a flight.