“No, you have missed it. You will not be able to take the Brussels flight.” Raj Bhajan stood there breathing heavily and literally jumping at the front desk. Pretty sure, that at a distance, a little kid whispered, “Mom, look! Toad from X-men.”
Here he was, excited, headed back to India after 3 years, 1 month and 16 days. And more importantly, getting engaged to the love of his life. A woman whom he had never met but was drowned, submerged, soaked, drenched in love for the last 3 years. Also, he was about to meet his friends and family, eagerly awaiting Raj’s arrival. You could take a few apples, cover it in chocolate, sprinkle a few nuts on top and that would summarize what those 3 years meant. Of course, assuming you loved apples and chocolate. And on second thoughts, lets leave out the rotten little apples from the basket. Lets enjoy only the good things, shall we? This isn’t a movie directed by Gautam Menon, to show multiple endings in the same movie (VTV), rather a simpler one.
A day of twists and turns in a simple man’s life.
Raj Bhajan, the simple Tam Bram with a name not resembling his identity. A guy who can speak a couple of languages, but as obvious, pathetic in them. And yes, he carries the typical Tam Bram pot belly. Talking about his survival technique for the last 3 years, Raj had to thank a few important people in his life. To start off with, the founders of google, Skype and international phone calling providers. And by the way, I am Watson, Sherlock Holmes isn’t working anymore, so I had to settle with this guy.
It was all perfect, he had the Friday off and was well planned. Raj had a long week before the vacation began. The week was brutal, it mocked at Raj and had beaten him left, right and middle with average 10 hour working days and finally, it was Friday. Little did Raj realize, Friday also belonged to the week. Finally, it was the D-day and he was now here at the airport sitting in front of the gate two hours early. Talking to friends, saying good byes, making fun of the other person on the line and by then, it was time to board.
A few hours away to catch a couple of flights and he would be home. A place which is awaiting his arrival, the land where you can get ladoos, bhajjis from a road side stall. A place, where you can find a human being on the road for directions, a land where “adjust maadi” would work. All this, a few hours away.
Strangely though, there was no one near the gate and there were numerous gate change announcements being made. Raj got up, and inquired about the gate for his flight.
“Sir, the gate is changed, kindly head to A02.”
“30 minutes before boarding, the gate is now different?”, Raj’s subconscious voice asked him. And as usual, Raj ignored the wiser him and ran to the other gate.
“Ah, the crowd. So, I do see some people around. So, this must be it.” Raj waited to get hold of an official to make sure that he is not headed to Antarctica.
“Sir, this is the wrong gate, look at the display behind you. It is scheduled to leave from A11.”
If there was Flash in reality, am pretty sure Raj would have given a run for his money. Raj was back at the first gate approximately 10 minutes before the flight could take off. He couldn’t find the lady who had misdirected him or neither could remember her name.
“I need to get on this flight.”, Raj pointed at the plane outside to the lady behind the desk.
“Sorry, sir. The flight is boarded and the door is locked, I cannot help you.”
“I have an international flight to catch and I need to be on that flight.”
“Sir, you have missed it. You are late. We called your name.” she told Raj looking at his boarding pass.
“What? I didn’t hear you calling my name. I was right here, sitting in front of the gate”
“Sir, we did. We called Mr. Buh jaaaan at least four times.”
“Buh-What?”
“But there is at least a few minutes before departure time, you have to get me on the flight.”
“Sir, the command to close the door is given and we cannot help you.”
“I need to be on that flight!, I have a connecting flight to Brussels in Chicago in three hours”. Raj was now literally jumping at the front desk, stirring up the curiosity of the onlookers.
“Sir! No, you cannot, you have missed it. You will not be able to take the Brussels flight.”
Raj now had his head placed on the desk. Sort of resembled a Japanese-Hindu mixed praying pose. “Relax and think. See what can be done. There should be a way out.” Raj told himself repeatedly. It was one of those moments where brain’s orders neither reach the intestine nor the legs. You neither run fast to the restroom, nor does your intestine stop working. No matter how much Raj tried to cool himself down, it was impossible.
“There must be something you can do!”, shouted Raj.
“Mr. Buhjan, she will be able to help you out”. The lady pointed to an older woman working for the same airlines.
After a few hours of intense battle with different airlines, malfunctioning systems, Raj booked another flight for the next day with the assistance of the old sweet lady. Raj held her hands and thanked her from the bottom of his heart, out of complete happiness and gratitude.
“Honey, I am sorry that you had to undergo all this trouble, Now, lets find your baggage.” The old lady was gracious in offering her help to Raj and went a long way in helping him out. The bag had made its way to Chicago, whereas the passenger had not moved anywhere. A few more rebooking of flights, and Raj was on the next flight to Chicago to track down his bag. And so began his next mission.
After a few hours, Raj finally tracked down his bag and a new tag was issued. It was a tough friday for Raj and it was time to crash at a hotel with the “DISTRESSED PASSENGER DISCOUNT.”
A new day, hoping for the better. Saturday was looking brighter and Chicago was beautiful with the high sky scrapers kissing the clouds. Here I am, in front of the gate spending my time writing what happened over the last day. And Raj, talking to a gentleman about weather, and crime rates in the US. He should be on his way, after all, he is here from 11 AM for a 5 PM flight.
Vijay
September 25, 2011
Thats US for you my boy. Every damn thing has got be complicated there.Thats why always look into the boards to see if your flight leaves from there & there only. I guess you dont need to be reminded anymore about it after this experience.