After blackmail, cajoling, drawing up pitiful puppy dog faces at office I managed to squeeze in leave for Diwali.
Home! The festive season, the whole bunch of hysterical cousins ….and above all amma ke haat ka filter coffee … Well it does not get better than that.
So all set...had booked a Friday afternoon flight. Had to reach the airport latest by 12:20 it is generally a half hour ride from home. I had one hand baggage stuffed (cawmon , it really does not matter how long you stay, packing light implies you are making decisions on what u will require before you actually have to. And that is morally wrong.), anyways I packed what can be called a compromise between my laziness to make a decision and my laziness to stand in baggage claim at Chennai airport.
At eleven thirty I find a rikshaw-wala willing to endure the harassment at sanatacruz airport initiated by bomb threats and general human nature!!! At eleven thirty two I decide to go to the nearest Naturals shop to pack some tender coconut ice-cream for home. After 20 minute long process of packing frozen fruit ice-cream , I make off for the airport
Now I have two hand baggage. I will have to check one in and then stand in the baggage claim. I curse Osama. I curse the CIA. I curse ISI twice. Then try to repack and fit a 2feet X 1feet X 1 feet box into an already stuffed back pack. I accomplish the impossible. Just before I could relax and pat my back I find my hand bag ( not the worthless one stuffed with clothes and ice-cream the one that carries my money , my ids, pretty much my entire life…..) is missing.
Ouch!!! You can’t imagine how it felt. Let me try capturing the picture. My stomach felt as if I was dropped down a bottom less pit, My heart felt as it did when I found out about Abhi Bachan and Ash (tut…), My brain felt as if it was asked to give 13 tables.
(Don’t you think this is tragic! However I knew I would be giving all my friends a hearty laugh. You know, after you manage to loose 3 mobiles in eight months you mange to loose sympathy as well. Ironically my mobile was safely lying in my jeans pocket.)
I made the rickshaw-wala take me back to naturals; it was not to be found there. I realized I was penniless, ticketless and had no ids on me anymore. Disheartened , I asked to be taken back home. My eyes welled up , no more patakas L, no more cousins :L, no more coffee…. STOP!!!! No!!! I will have to find my bag. I made the rickshaw-wala take me back to naturals.
After a quick hanuman chalisa; I knew I was going to find the bag. (It is one of those realizations that you get a lot in sports. In one ball suddenly you realize how the game is going to progress…Let me clarify, here I don’t mean Sachin’s wicket. )
In a crowded hill road I start asking every shop keeper if he had seen a bag fall off an Auto. After about 20 shops a good Samaritan answers yes and conjures up my bag.
Woooh!!! Here again u cant imagine how I felt and this time I am not even going to try to explain.
God Bless the shop keeper!!! God Bless the Rickshaw-wala!!! God Bless
I am going to get to have my filter Coffee.
The clock read 12:10 ; whoops!!! I have to reach in ten minutes to the airport!!!
But what the hell the flight had to be delayed.
If you did not realize it yet ,it was going to be my day!!
2 comments:
Rohan, sometimes real life incidents are so out of a book no?
I was a witness to a similar event in Boston airport when my buddy ended up losing his pack which contained his passport (read life for a international Grad student from India to US),all the univ documents, his first sem fees (in the form DD) and sizable amount of Dollars in cash. He pretty much resigned to the fact that he has lost everything.After a quick prayer in heart (as you did), I started asking people around and bhoooom!!! I find a cop who walked right upto me and handed over the pack and asked me to take him to my friend where he made sure the contents of the pack were in tact.
Well "God Bless Humanity".
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