Plight before Flight




Witnessing take-off and landing of a flight feels like a dream. Ironically everything before, in between and after these two things is nothing short of a nightmare !! Most of the time anyway!


We had a nice dinner at home Friday night before my cousin and vahini dropped me off at the Mumbai T2 Terminal. I was the first one to get into the line for checking in. Cheerfully took a selfie there and sent it to them in good jest with the caption “ Hum jahan khade hote hain, line vahan se shuru hoti hain”! Little did I know that being the first one in line did not guarantee that I would be the first one to get a boarding pass !!


A few minutes before midnight the airline staff were at their desk and logged into their monitors. The first one to get ready waved at me to come over. I handed my passport and other documents. She verified my destination and all that and printed the boarding passes. Next I put my check-in bags on the belt. They weighed slightly more than what my scale at home had shown. It was negligible and she accepted it. Next I put my cabin bag to weigh. That was perfectly within the limits. Just as I heaved a sigh of relief she spotted my backpack on the trolley. “ Oh you are allowed only one piece of luggage as carry on”. My cousin had assured me that a laptop bag was allowed in addition to the cabin roller bag. Having stayed for work in Pune for four months I had more electronics with me. A laptop from my workplace, my personal use ipad, a phone from my workplace, my personal phone from USA, two phones from India. Plus their chargers, power banks etc. The weight of all this possibly couldn’t fit into the allowance of 7 kg in cabin luggage!!


The lady wouldn’t let me go. Call your family and give them one bag or check in one bag as extra luggage!! It was past midnight. My family would be asleep. Most items in my hand luggage were forbidden to be checked in! I was willing to pay for the extra cabin luggage but she wouldn’t allow that !! That’s not an option, she insisted! You must either leave it back or pay for an extra check-in bag, not extra carry on. My perseverance was being challenged every minute. The entire stress of the last 2-3 days from ensuring that the gasline, water, lights, fans at home in Pune were turned off, checking that all windows and doors were secured, beds and other furniture were covered with plastic , emptying the refrigerator, disposing perishable items, packing and keeping all luggage within the allowed limits, ascertaining I had all required documents, then coming to Mumbai, completing the online checking, I had efficiently handled it all by myself.


 And suddenly my limits were being pushed. I thought I had done a great job keeping my luggage within the limits. I had brought the exact same cabin bag and my backpack with its electronic items when I traveled from Los Angeles to Mumbai on the same airline and it was ok. And here I was being told that the rules are different from airport to airport. 


I was told to step aside while I made up my mind so she could help other passengers in that time. My internal frontiers were crumbling rapidly. I half heartedly dialed my cousin’s number. He had probably turned it off for the night. I didn’t try again. It was unreasonable to call him back to the airport at that hour anyways. What do I do now ? I leaned on the trolley and hung my head between both hands helplessly. 


Suddenly I noticed I was only holding my passport. My visa document( OCI card) was missing. I checked my purse, the backpack, my jacket, trolley. Went back to the counter where I was earlier. The lady insisted she had given it back to me. 


I just broke down crying that moment! That’s it! Now I can’t go anywhere! Not on this flight! Not on any!


Seeing me standing there alone and crying like a baby a couple of employees came over to console and comfort. Don’t worry, look carefully. That card must be in your pocket or purse. I looked again. It wasn’t there. They went back to the counter and a few minutes later waved from there. The card had fallen under the counter, under the conveyor belt. It’s a miracle they found it. 


Ok. Now one calamity was averted. But I still had to figure out the cabin luggage issue. I opened all my bags. Sorted out things. Took out valuables from the roller bag, added other items to it from another bag and went back to check it in. I was sent to the cashier to pay for the extra check in bag. I could have treated the entire staff to dinner with the amount they charged me for that bag! Anyways. Finally I got the boarding pass and luggage tags and an ok to proceed to security check. 


Just then I noticed my jacket is missing. I hurried back to the counter. My bags were still sitting on the side. I asked to look in the cabin roller bag that was now a check- in bag. The jacket wasn’t in it. As I was leaving , the lady asked “ you have removed all power banks, batteries from it, right ?” I was already upset with the whole episode and really not in my best frame of mind. I told her, that’s your problem now, deal with it. She said they will call me back if they find those items in the bag. I said fine, just keep me here forever then! ( I knew she was just doing her job and I was lashing out at her in my frustration. But then that moment I just wasn’t myself. ) 


I went back to my trolley. The jacket was hiding below my backpack. I wheeled the trolley in the direction of the security checkpoint. As I was walking away I looked back. The two employees who had consoled me and helped find my document were standing there helping other passengers. I waved to them. One came over to me. I pulled out cash from my wallet and handed it to him as a token of gratitude. 


That was perhaps the only sign of civility left in me at that ugly moment! I was already feeling bad about my reactions in the preceding hour or so. The breaking down, the curt response to the staff!! 


In that shattered state of mind I reached security checkpoint. Here too there wasn’t a smooth sailing. My purse was diverted aside for inspection. I had been careful to not carry water or liquids, no sharp tools etc. So what was in my purse that they would want to open and see ? A forgotten phone inside! And some loose coins from India !! Having made sure I wasn’t hiding gold coins or laser pointer or such things I was given my purse back and allowed to proceed to the gate. 


All my happy time to look around duty free shops was already lost by then. I made a stop at the lounge. It was quite crowded. Got myself tea and was headed to the departure gate. The same staff I had encountered at check-in was now here to facilitate boarding. I was no longer angry. Embarrassment had replaced the anger and frustration. I hadn’t been nice to them. Oh well. I could understand what they must be going through each day with irate customers like me. Wonder if they could understand why customers tend to become irritated like I had ? Amidst all these thoughts I boarded the plane and spent the 2.5 hours from take off till landing in Dubai trying to regain my composure. There was work to be done, introspect and realize my limitations. Try to fortify my tolerance for rude surprises and tense situations. It took time to reconcile with what had happened earlier and to move on. Only then was I able to enjoy the take off in Dubai during the next flight. 


Saree is a silk paithani with a brocade border and pallu. Attended the celebration of 35 years of my workplace Kaiser Permanente in Kern county this afternoon . They had booked an entire open air arena at the Kern County Fairgrounds. Every year in late September the place hosts a county fair. Today was the last day of the fair. Lots of locals attend this 10-12 days long event with children and friends, enjoy various joy rides and



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