Travails of Travelling

I hate traveling. I can’t say with certainty as to when I developed this dislike for traveling.  Because of the profession I have chosen at a very tender, ignorant would be a more suitable adjective, age I travel quite a bit. Probably this frequent traveling coupled with not so recent global phenomenon called security concerns had turned my reluctance for traveling into a very strong dislike for it.  

Much as I detest the ordeal recently I had to travel to Mumbai for some personal work. I was very reluctant to leave the comforts of home to embark on something that I dislike with all my heart. So, as is the habit, I kept delaying my departure from home to the last possible minute. This deliberate delay was despite being aware of the much dreaded “Murphy’s Law”. Did things go wrong on that day? Sure they did.

I always felt that the cab drivers in Hyderabad never drove their cabs too fast. Instead they flew their cars too low, with arrogant disregard for rule of the road. That day I learnt for the first time that there are some sensible(or sloppy) ones who drove with extreme caution, or was it early morning grogginess, on the empty roads of twilight hours. I did reach the airport safely, courtesy the safest cab ride I have ever had. The sight at the airport gave me a rude shock and jolted me out of my slumber. For a moment I thought I had by some terrible mistake landed at railway station. I looked around agitatedly to ascertain that I did indeed reach the place I set out for from the cozy confines of home.  Now, with my whereabouts established, I approached check-in counter with characteristic hesitation. That part of the trip passed off without an event. With that first success of the morning I started feeling confident and hurried towards the area for security check. My new found confidence deflated in a rush at the sight of the serpentine queues there. I made my way to the end of the queue anxiously. After planting myself at the end of the long line I started looking around for the airline employees calling “Passengers to Mumbai on our flight…… “. Finally, after an eternal wait of 15 minutes, I heard one of the girls in a blue uniform say the exact same thing I was hoping she would. I felt very relieved and rushed to the front of the queue.

I chucked my bag on the conveyor of the X-ray scanner and went through the security check feeling a little certain that I wouldn’t after all miss the flight. Having completed the far too familiar loathsome feeling over routine, by the way it is called a security check, by an indifferent looking security guy; I proceeded to collect my bag. Here I ran into a guy who planted himself in front of the scanner and without any sense of urgency or consideration for fellow travelers went on picking up his things, which were spilling out from the open bag, at an annoyingly slow pace. While he was at it he kept complaining with a condescending arrogance- am I being judgmental here, maybe I am- that the sloppiness of the security team and not his indiscretion that caused the spillage. After what looked like an eternity he moved aside and allowed me to collect my belongings. I picked up my laptop, shoved it into my bag and ran towards the gate designated for my flight.

The gate was closed and the area was deserted. Even a first time traveler would have realized that the flight had departed. However, my ego wouldn’t allow me to believe that the aircraft did leave without me. The airline surely can’t do that, not to me at that. After an angst ridden wait of a few minutes the truth had sunk in and I reluctantly swallowed my gratuitous pride. With a sense of relief brought about by a bitter medicine called “swallowed pride”, I approached the airline officials for help. They were very courteous and explained me situation very clearly. Being the cynic that I am, I began suspecting their intent. Well, here I learnt that this amicable demeanor is a quality necessitated modern(competitive) business ethics(compulsions). Competition does indeed bring the best out of anybody, even in unruly- am I being judgmental again?- youth of today. Unfortunately this is not so in the case of our famed cricket team. Anyway, this pleasant young man told me that I can take their next flight, which is about 6 hours later and that I will have to pay the fare difference with a fine. I told the young man that it is important that I reach Mumbai urgently. He advised me that I can alternatively try other airlines. I agreed and at this point he started a process which is a reverse process of earlier security check. He got me a ticket on another airline and told me to go for the security check. The mention of this very procedure gave me that all too familiar uneasy feeling. With same old dread look on my face I walked towards security area. I couldn’t believe what I saw there. The area was practically empty and the long winding queues were conspicuous by their absence. I felt that the madness of few moments earlier was a conspiracy to make me miss my flight and set me back by a few rupees. This time I did not suffer any snobs in the line and breezed through the process. I walked towards the departure gates with juxtaposed contrasting feelings of relief that I will after all make it to Mumbai in time and dismay that the world had conspired against me to cause financial ruination of sorts. I boarded the flight to Mumbai for my rendezvous there. Well, was it smooth sailing from here on? That is another story for another day.