The Adventure of the Missed Flight

Though I ranted about a very desolate existance till now, there have been a few bright spots here and there. The last one happened in Dec, 2006.

The Adventure of the Missed Flight
Starring - Nihit Bajaj, some nameless Indian Airlines official, a couple of extras and yours truly.
Location - Kuala Lumpur International Airport

I was lying at a beach along with a beautiful chinki bandi. A gentle breeze blew through our hair as wave upon wave crashed on the sand, the water sneaking up to our feet like a child, tickling them and then rushing back. As I stare at the sun, setting behind the swivelling curtain of ocean, I take the hand of the chinki bandi and a feeling of eternal bliss spreads through my body.

The chinki bandi leaned towards me, her hair smelling of sea shells and lavender, and whispered sheepishly in my ear. A chuckle escaped me, as I registered the import of her words. She took hold of my shoulders with her hands, asked me to close my eyes and started gently massaging them, making me shiver with pleasure. Her hands started moving faster and faster, building up the anticipation in me. Then suddenly something jolted me. I opened my eyes to see her rocking me with an urgency. She suddenly starts wailing, surprisingly in a very masculine voice. As I try to comfort her , she cries - "Sehgal Bhai! Yeh kya ho gaya yaar!"

"Sehgal Bhai! Uth saale, f**k ho gaya yaar!" laments a voice now I slowly seemed to recognize. As I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, I tried to piece together a picture by looking in every direction, while coming to senses. Fortunately, it doesnt take much time, as the first thing my eyes fell on was my watch. It showed 11.30 A.M.

Now watches have always been unkind to me-during exams, boring classes, etc. But this was something different. As I started planning out how to rip out those ticking needles in excruciating detail, a sickening and more pressing realisation suddenly dawned - we had missed our flight. I started cursing the watch for showing that time, the person who created these instruments of precision, Malaysia for not being at walking distance from India, Nihit for his incessant wailing and myself for being in such a screwed up situation.

Next 15 minutes were a flash. We dove towards our luggage, got dressed, cursed time for denying us our ablutions, packed up, checked out, got scolded by both sets of parents, and created a scene in the hostel. We took a taxi and begged the driver to take us to the airport as fast as possible, still hoping that the flight being an IA, might get delayed due to a flat tyre or a pilot with an upset stomach. It didnt.

I think it was during our journey to the airport, that we lost it. While Nihit started discussing ways of saving up money so that he could make up for the loss we were going to incur, I resisted a strong urge to howl - "Bhaag Dhanno Bhaag!!"

We reached the airport, got 2 bills signed by the taxi driver and gushed over our first steps towards repaying the money. In the meantime, Nihit's dad had called up a few people, and told us the plan - call in sick in front of the IA authorities. Fall to their feet and beg for forgiveness. Continue begging till the desired result is obtained.Period

So one of us had to pretend to be very very ill. We both looked out of sorts that time, but we choose to strive for perfection. We started evaluating each other's theatrical prowess and past experience. While we were looking at the capabilities of both the applicants, the person we were supposed to meet, strolled in. Seeing that we still hadnt decided upon our roles, fate decided to take its own course. Something made me sneeze, and voila - My shoulders suddenly drooped, eyes became heavy and I started coughing vigorously (Surprising what a sneeze can do to you! )The official for once thought I was terminally ill, and offered me a seat. Taking my cue, Nihit soon got into his elements and started begging for mercy, wtih me puncuating from time to time with a cough or a sneeze. And within 10 mins, we walked out with our tickets for next day's flight, free of cost!!