I was waiting for this for long. On 2nd Feb when I walked into Dumdum airport it was a revelation. The strike call by the AAI employees finally evened things out. You couldnt tell whether you were in Sealdah station or Dumdum airport. It was noisy, peopled and ofcourse dirty. There were still the airline kinds who were trying to stand out of the crowd. But they were dwarfed out as islands of snobbery.
The airports always had a bourgeosis feel about them. Everything looked new, smooth, sanitised and cold. A suffocating atmosphere when I started flying. The look-down stares. The "do not belong here" looks. Air travel was a class thing because of the sheer cost. It was 2-3 years of extensive flying that finally helped me to get it out of my system. Finally I dont get conscious.
After all its just another mode of transportation - nothing more, nothing less.
Ever since Air Deccan prised open the Indian skies its not the same anymore. The only time when I flew them I felt I was on a long distance bus. Gone was the uppernosiness. Even the Volvo service between Pune and Mumbai would appear more sophisticated. Inside Air Deccan I was squirming trying to judge each moves of the air hostess. But June and Mun were enjoying their ride. So what the heck, wasnt I getting into the same loop? A loop that used to tie me knots and make me so much more conscious about my place in the sky.
However when I flew Kingfisher for the first time I was impressed. Amidst all the "budget" talks I really flew "King Class". But this kind of service would be difficult to sustain for long. However Mr. Mallya has deep pockets. Afterall we need our Kingfishers to keep pushing the Jets. And amidst all this the government behemoth is still chugging along. The good thing about flying Indian is that it doesnt have a come-on approach, that usually gets instrusive.
After telecommunication this is the next big thing in India. Distances are reducing and India is becoming smaller. Its much easier to reach the sky.
And finally flying is becoming just another mode of transportation.
5 comments:
finally..congrats on overcoming your blogger block.
Not just another mode of transportation but nowadays for some is only mode of transportation.
koushik aekta utility likhbo bhabchi..aekta choto executible every 4 hrs run korbe aar to the point comment post korbe..ei bhikirir moto shala 2-3 comment dekhe dekhe heje gelam shala. word verification ta hatha tahole.
Could identify with everything you've said. Just one word of advice: no matter what you do, don't fly Air Sahara. They almost killed the whole planeful of us when I was coming back from somewhere recently (will not specify where since you may feel tempted to kill me).
How be Jun and Mun?
dodo ra kol theke blr firchilo ebar train e. the train was stuck someplace for 12 hrs and the AC stopped functioning. a 23 old girl died of suffocation. i read incidents frequently of people getting raped, robbed, stabbed and thrown away from trains. i think I would prefer getting blown up in the sky.
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