The Terminal

Some people loathe waiting. I would rather say that most of the people hate to wait. But, I love it especially when I am waiting for my flight which got delayed by a couple of hours. My heart changed after some interesting incidents happened with me @ Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.

I reached airport pretty early because I had missed my flight a couple of days back. There was a long queue in front of the Jet Lite kiosk. The time I spent in the queue was very refreshing. As soon as my turn came I received a SMS saying that the flight is delayed by half an hour. The lady at the check in counter issued me the boarding pass and smiled. Now, I am also a ‘Hasmukh’ guy. So, I returned the favor with a wider grin. Then she said, “Sir, your flight is delayed by an hour.”
“Are you serious?” I said.
She smiled again. “Yes, Sir”

I found a ‘suitable’ place for me. There was an ‘Uncle Ji’ sitting beside me. My face reading experience helped me to come to the conclusion that he was an archaeologist. He was continuously excavating his nostrils. I asked him, “Kuch Mila?” “What?”he replied. I asked again,”Kuch Pata Chala?” “flight ke baare main”. He replied, “Yes, this flight is delayed.” Then I asked again, “Aap hath kyon nahi dhul kar aate apne?” He replied,”what??” I replied,”Main jara rest room se aata hoon. Hath dhul kar.”

I took my hand bag and fled away. Jet Lite arranged for ‘snakes’ to placate the people. It was a long queue again. I decided to sit beside the queue and wait until the long queue becomes a very short one. Fortunately, I got something to eat. Then I met a doctor. He was studying some medical stuff. I asked him if he is going to Bangalore for some exam. The chit chat continued and we became good friends. I offered him the ‘snakes’ but he refused. He offered me the home made ‘Parathas’ and I accepted his offer whole heartedly. And I asked for more.

In the meantime, the flight got further delayed by three hours and after this sad announcement, another announcement was made for the dinner. After the dinner, I went to the check in counter to get the new boarding pass. The lady smiled and asked, “What do you want?” I returned the favor with a wider grin and replied, “I want, I want,, I want the fresh boarding pass.” The lady replied,”kidhar de doon? Wings pe chalega?” I replied,” Wings pe to udega” The lady smiled and I returned the favor with a wider grin.

I was feeling sleepy after the dinner but Australia Vs Pakistan T20 world cup match was being broadcasted. So, I grabbed the front seat. A couple of girls also joined in. The match was thrilling. Really, two hours passed in no time.

The announcement for the departure of our flight was made as soon as the match finished.

I wished if the flight could have been delayed further. In the flight, the ‘Uncle Ji’ was sitting beside me and, fortunately, there was nobody between us. He was sitting on the aisle and I was sitting on the window seat.