Amongst clouds

Time : 10:30 pm
Date : 8th Oct'06
Location: Indira Ghandhi International Airport, on board ** #### to Bangalore

Most people amongst us cherish a little dream life long.... "What if i could fly????" Maybe thats how Wright brothers came up with the idea of "Aeroplanes"..... Ever since aeroplanes have been invented and later commerialised.... they have helped in materialising this to a great extent.... But to certain group of paranoids like me the idea of being on land n traveling by road or rail seems better .... i m not scared of heights or speed.... but both when put together i cant handle it.... Something similar happened when i was suppose tp travel by air for the first time.... it seems we couldnt get the rail tickets at such short notice.... and all i could say was "God why me??? i never wanted to fly"....the only relief being that i wasnt asked to travel alone....i feel practically everybody who has flown remembers their first flight... but before must of us physically take that journey, we would have already imagined a lot of things about that flight... the outside view, the feeling when airborne, the food frequent travelers complain about, the pretty airhostess and in certain cases the air cashes and hijackes too.....

As this was my first fight experience papa gave me the general instructions starting with the total weight of luggage u r allowed to carry....the stuff u r not supposed to carry in fight these days.... thanks to the new set of security norms being put to practice after the Hearthrow Airport attacks..... my decision not to fly again was only getting more firm...

We reached the delhi domestic airport at 7:15 pm two n half hours early...done with the formalities within 15 minutes.... i entered the waiting lobby, searching for a scared soul like me....only to find it almost empty....i generally avoid crowdy places but today the senerity of the place was bothering me.... i started off with the book but had to abandon the idea soon....my mind was now meandering with thoughts as What if there is a terrorist on board, what if the plane gets hijacked.... what if it wing's catches fire due to lightening stroke...what if it crashes....my thoughts were interrupted when papa came along with his coffee and said "so....All set to go"....i wanted to confess about my fears of flying but all i did was to smile in affirmation....
Inside the plane.... i had the window seat .... the one from where u could the wings and motor....i closed my eyes and tired concentrating to feel some kind of an ESP( like the guy in the Final Destination I).......thoughts interrupted again with the regular guidelines for the passengers...

Ladies and Gentlemen, Namaskar and welcome to Jet Airways flight ** ###. Please pay attention to the instructions given….The seat belts can be fastened by pressing the buckle into the holder.The seat belts are needed to be fastened as long as the indicator above your head is red. As you can there are two emergency exits - one at the back and one behind me. In case of any emergency, oxygen masks will drop in from the panel above.Please help yourself first rather the person next to you....
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is u r Caption Speaking. The flight duration is 1 hour 40 minutes. Have a pleasant journey and thank you for flying with Jet Airways .....

i dont remember the last time when i had paid so much attention while receiving instructions.... with the seatbelt tired around me..... i read the pamplet to go through the instructions again and again.... the takeoff was getting delayed.... now when i was inside the plane... i wanted IT to start early n reach our destination early ..in order to distract myself i initiated a conversation with papa.... this time it was hard to disguise my fears....he tired to pacify me but all in vain.... finally the plane took off.... i crossed my fingers n glanced at my watch..... n thn the window..... only to be mesmerised by the view.... the black background embedded with tiny scintilating sparkles..... endless stream of lights like like a star stunned clear night, a galaxy view, no even better..... a sight describing which in words would only mar its effect....soon it was all gone.... all i could see now some scattered bits of clouds.... it was then that i realised i was still inside a plane with 90 minutes still to go....but with the rate the crew was tendering the services.... time seemed to be ticking away soon... soon i heard the pilot announcing the bangalore temperature.... n other details.....it was time to land....

If this is what people call a flying experience then "FLYING IS NOT ALL THAT BAD"