Have you ever missed a flight, ever?

For memories sake and for the record.

This is a narration of how The Scientist, Chittu and I  almost missied our flight from Delhi to Bangalore after this trip.

 

We were to fly back from Dilli on a Monday morning by the 7.15 flight. That would mean we'd be in Bangalore by 9.45 and possibly in office getting back to full time seat warming by about 11, which is a decent hour. That would mean the Scienst would take off to office from the airport and Chittu and I would take off in the opposite direction and run for our lives. Well, not really. Since my office is like 10 miutes from home, obviously I'm expected to do such things as attend when the washing machine repair man  comes, when the insurance guy turns up an entire two days later than his promised time, when the gas cylinder has run out and when there is more than one mosquito in the house. Well, you get the point, no?

 

Oops I digressed. So coming back - the flight was advanced by 45 minutes bacause of the air show at Bangalore. All flights were to land at/ take off from Bangalore before 9 a.m. or after 6 pm during that one week of the air show. So we thought when we heard the flight was advanced - we could get back to the said seat warming an hour earlier, maybe?

 

The alarm was set for 4.30 a.m. The Scientist calculated that half hour would be sufficient time for him to shower and get ready, haul our heavy suitacses down three floors, pack into the car and reach the airport in about 10 minutes. Where was I in the picture? I was expected to not shower! I did not think that was a material part of time planning and nodded my head when the Scientist elaborated said time plans. Good I said. We were expecting to reach the airport by 5.45 a.m within the one hour time line.

 

So we woke with the alarm. The Scientist showered and so did I. We got the sleepy toddler ready. We won the case of "I shall not wear diaper. Or socks. Or shoes". It was 5.30 already. We picked up all luggage and toddler. And piled into the car. And left a bag behind. My friend, our kind host went back up three floors and collected said bag. And came back down. She was to drive. Ideally the story should have ended here.

 

My friend's driving may warrant a seperate post altogether. So I shall suffice to say she drove very slow. Very very slow actually and we were at the airport by 6.10 a.m. Only. Departure was at 6.45. The Jet Airways guy took our ticket print out, checked us in and the told us we were late." Too late, Sir.Gates close 45 minutes before departure." If it had been the era when the Gods actually walked the planet and my husband was Pati Parmeshwar, and had the third eye, his dirty looks would have turned me to ashes right there.

 

But he said to me - Do not talk. You had to pay a price for bad time discipline and this is it. " Please go to the ticketing counter, Sir. We can't help you."

 

So we ran- baby, bag and all. Explained we missed our flight. Flight was advanced. We have a baby. "Next flight is at 6.30 p.m, Sir.I will check for availability...Tickets are available Sir and you will have to pay a penalty of Rs.10000/-..."

 

"Ermmm... we missed our flight. You can't charge us full fare. Please help us..", I added, using the lady advantage trying to look as helpless as possible. "

 

" Please contact the manager Sir. " Finger was pointed towards a woman sitting at the far end of the check in counter. We did the the baby-bag-dash once again. The manager looked up at us from her computer screen. Yes Sir she said unhurriedly. We missed the flight, we said handing out our ticket print out.

 

"But passengers are already checked in ..." She exclaimed to another check in staff after typing something into the keyboard . "Get them on the flight." And then to us " But your luggage may only reach on the next flight".

 

Whatever, the Scientist sprinted towards Secrurity check, cleared it and sprinted right through till the boarding gate. I was carrying the toddler and some hand baggage and no in case someone's thinking, all my running practise did not really help. I could not run with the toddler fixated to my waist still refusing to wear the diaper. We were then bundled into a buggy. I jumped off on the wrong boarding gate. Was chided for doing that and was asked to remain seated until instructed. I was wondering and worrying if the Scientist actually made it or was still left behing trying to find me.

 

 And then we were finally reunited at the boarding gate :) Whew!!!What a morning Were panting, sweating and celebrating to be on the flight. Afterall, we would be getting back to seat warming business very soon :)

 

Side notes: 1. This was possible only in India. From my experience, in the US you have to like keep a whole day aside for security and preferably walk through the security check naked.

 

2. My friend is an awesome friend. A very nice person. Just a very bad driver!

 

3. Hopefully the Scientist now knows that I will shower even if we are leaving thehouse at 3 a.m. I have sufficiently/satisfactorily demonstrated my standard of cleanliness.

 

4. As for time discipline, I hope Chittu co-operates better in the future :)

 

 

Dilli ki Sardi :)

Back from Dilli,which I found cold, cheap for great daily wear, chatted a lot with my friend from college, crass -from a Marwari wedding, classy for the wide roads and spectacular fly overs, a city with great street food and totally chilled out, because the vacation did us plenty of good!

Ofcourse there are pictures. We did the usual - India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan & Janpath. We attended the wedding that was the main purpose of the trip and did some soul soothing street shopping at Sarijini Market. Ofcourse, we sneaked in a visit to Chandini Chowk's parathewali gully where I indulged in shallow fried Khoya parathas that only running a full marathon can possibly burn, had aloo chat on the street side of Shankar market and tasty Italian fare at Big Chill. We also made it to dunkin donuts where I discovered heaven in the toasted cream cheese bagel and realised that the donut had a soft butter filling. Yummm.

Did I miss that we also did a day trip to the Taj Mahal - which I found resplendent in beauty and ashamed that my country men did not do enough to protect the monument. Sometimes I am disheartened by the way we treat our property.

Ruddu had great fun playing with the pet doberman of my Friend. And while I dont really get physical with dogs, I enjoyed watching them both play. I could also not stop marvelling at the fresh red carrots, crisp white radishes, the healthy cauliflower, the green peas and the different kinds of fresh greens.

The fog which never seemed to lift from the city gave a romantic twist to our vacation - our first step into the north of India. Obviously, we want to go back to Dilli and discover more cities with contrasting landscapes, food and cultures. I will leave you with some pictures.

I feel like  an escapist if I did not tell you that I have forgotten the E of exercise and the R of running. The 10k is imminent and I must admit I have not prepared as well as I ought to have!

 

PS: Sorry guys this post was to have come up last Monday - but I ended up with a bad wheezing bout that still continues, a skin infection for which I got medication and just a little dazed out me. I should get back on track soon!

Wah Taj?

India Gate- the horizontal stripes are a mistake?

Chittu - best friends with a Doberman?

A break and travel plans :)

Apologies to those who ventured here and found no updates. I guess I just needed a break from calorie counting, running and body pump. January gave it to me, in different forms. I found various reasons to do none of the above - valid and invalid!

 

I guess its high time timeI  buckle up with running atleast given that the 10 k is a month away! Even though the highlight of January was the overeating I did at a friend's wedding, I am not beating myself up over it. Its over and I cannot do anything except pick up lessons.

 

I guess the biggest challenge is up my sleeve. We are going to Delhi on a four day trip for the Scientist's colleague's wedding. We will stay with a close friend of mine from college. I sure am excited to meet her and a bit nervous too. Nervous for a host of reasons including whether she will judge my size, my husband and my cracked heels. I am also nervous as always when I travel with the toddler. The cold in delhi also scares the Madrasi in me a bit.

 

We are packed and all set to fly out tonight. Usually entering the airport sets off a switch in my head which allows me to eat anything in sight. And the vacation mentality as well. I wish I will stay sane this time and ofcourse I will update :)

 

Have a great week ahead and I will be back on the other side of the weekend!