Netra in Chennai

The flight from Mumbai to Chennai would have been the worst so far that Netra and me have traveled in. Being a red-eye flight, one would expect that it would be the more comfortable than other flights, however this was not the case. Having traveled in red-eye flights in different countries across the world we were expecting something else. This was truly frustrating after the confusion in the Mumbai airport regarding

This reminds me of something a friend of mine said today, "Expectations I tell you, are the mother of all problems." I think that is a very valid statement. But being normal human beings, I think its easier said than done. We always end up having expectations in whatever we seek out to do, and whatever we have. I have written more about this before as well and I just cannot get over it. I guess one needs to let go as always and let things fall in place.

In someways I think its good that Netra does not speak back to me. What scares me at times is when I imagine, what bad emotional phases I would go through, if I got to know all the times when Netra was uncomfortable with something. I think this is a ironical situation that many people (read couples) face time and again. More often than not, one person gets so emotionally attached to the mood of the other person, that they let their own personalities be affected. But at the same time isn't that being selfish, if one were to always think about oneself and not the other.

So, Netra and me landed in Chennai at 5 am, and were surprised to not find the people who were supposed to pick us up present. I tried to call the contact person in Trichy, but he would not pick up the call. I looked around the Chennai Airport visitors area and also randomly asked a couple of college going students whether they were from NIT Trichy. They weren't and thus here I was without a phone number, at a new airport, unable to speak the local language waiting for a miracle to happen. But a word for the Chennai Airport. I think this was one of the better airports that I have been to in India. Maybe it was because of the non-rush hours or just the way it looked spacious.

Now when things go wrong, one should just stop worrying and do things that please them. So I did just that. Went to a chai dukaan and had the local road side tea. Now this taste, was divine. Even though I have been in Chennai multiple times, this was a new area. Moreover this was the first time of Netra in Chennai. So it was understandable that she was shy to come out of her hiding. I felt home, though for some reason Netra prefered to stay away from all the action.

The thing about railway stations, airports, markets in India is such that there is always a lot of things that are happening. You can just observe people, their actions, the things they do the way they stand etc. All of them appear to be fascinating to some extent. I could go on for hours admiring it. But then not everyone enjoys it in the same way.

Its funny how staying in a different place for a while (read out of the country India) changes people. I think Netra's behavior was a result of this too. What she was comfortable a couple of years ago, was not so presently.

Just before deciding to go to another friend's place, after waiting for an hour or so, I decided to check for one last time for the people who were supposed to come and pick me up. To my surprise, they did turn up!

We headed to the hotel and met up with another team from the UK who had come to take a Forensic Workshop. The team comprised of 2 women and 2 men.

And there awaited another interesting experience for me and Netra.

To be continued...

People are weird

Aren't they?
You...
Me...
I think everyone is weird in some way or the other.

You like someone because they are weird.
You dislike someone because they are weird and some of their weirdness does not amuse you.

Someone said the other day, if not for the weirdness, the world would be a very boring place.
Agree completely to that.

A few days ago I would have had the word unique in place of weird. But of late have had a few weird experiences with weird people doing weird things.
I am not saying that they were all bad.

One weird thing that I totally dislike is people who adopt double standards. In other words one can call it hypocrisy. It's one thing I cannot stand at all. People tell something in front of you, and then at the back if situations change, they change their stance.
It is frustrating too!

And we landed in Mumbai...

...after a while.
That while just happened to a few hours. Fifteen to Sixteen to be precise. The journey was smoother than I expected. I slept more than I thought I would. I missed seeing the sunrises and the mountains when flying over them.

But I was happy. We were happy. We had reached India. A place that was close to both of us. A place where our love blossomed. A place where the soul is satisfied.

I must tell you something about Netra. She cannot walk. However, I do not want to go into the details of it. So its like I have to carry her in my arms or on my shoulders all the time. And every-time I do that, I feel blessed to be at her side always. Even though my shoulder hurts at times, I still feel good when I carry her around. Its like having her makes the pain go away. Its a different matter that it hurts when she is off my shoulder. Perhaps as an indication of the pain that people go through in separation.

I have always had this fear, no not fear...rather a strong feeling about people who are in some sort of trouble and still have their loved ones beside them. So when I see someone being loved, inspite of having the inability to walk, or to see, or something else, I think that the other person who is loving is an avatar of God.

So Netra and me go through customs in Mumbai. I must say this was one of the confusing airports within India. It was my first time there, and I guess due to the renovations going on it seems to be a bit of a mess. Hope they fix it soon and project a better picture of themselves. But then I should not be complaining. Should I? Just because I have seen better airports in the world, could I expect better service? Or just be ignorant?

Netra till now was still in her new outfit that I had got for her.

My transfer to the connecting flight was confusing. I had to take a domestic flight, at the international terminal, going through and also not going throug immigration again. Pretty confusing? Yes, thats what it was.

At the stop, waiting for the flight to Chennai, which was at 0300 hrs local time, I struck a conversation with an uncle from Chennai. The interesting part about random meeting people and talking to them is that they always have something interesting to tell you. This uncle was an alumnus of the college I was going to ! Of all the colleges he was an alum of that college! What a co-incidence!

I started the conversation in the context of asking the time , and then he started to talk. He wasjust getting back to India after spending 6 months in the US. He had some pretty interesting views.

Suddenly there was a rush at the waiting area. Apparently almost 70 % of the people waiting were on the flight to Saudi Arabia. And people were rushing to get first in the queue. I felt strange at the sight.

The time said 1 o clock. Another two hours I had to wait further for my flight. Netra was still inside, and I had not yet let experience India yet.

Was she going to be shocked, glad, happy, surprised, content?

Only time was to tell. Another few hours before I land in Chennai.

To be continued...