Travelling in airlines through 'her' eyes. Blog marathon post- 28

'Didi this watermelon has dried up. You kept it for quite many days in the refrigerator' my cook giggled while chopping watermelon.

'Just check if it's not rotten.' I smiled and asked.

Phone buzzed.
She received the call.

A silent moment of shock. She shivered as she talked. Tears rolled down her cheeks like flood, breaking all barriers of control.

Her father had expired, leaving behind her mom and three siblings. My cook Lakshmi who is just 21, is the eldest in family. How life changes in a split second? It's unpredictability is nasty, a moment before she smiled teasingly.

I hugged to comfort her in uncontrollable sobs. But nothing can be comforting if you lose someone close.

'Di..I...didn't..meet..my father...since...last two years. So many times...I tried.. I met with an accident..and couldn't travel. Now they (relatives) wont even...wait for me...to see him for final time. My village is 8-9 hours far from Bhubaneswar. Train will...take long. How can...God be so harsh...so harsh.' She mumbled between sobs.

Me and husband (Tarunn) exchanged looks, we knew what we had to do. Everyone deserves to say goodbye to loved ones. We grabbed our car keys and left for airport immediately. It was better to buy ticket directly from counter rather wasting time booking at home.

'Lakshmi do you have an identity card? Call your neighbours in village and tell them to wait for you, not to do cremation.' I said.
'Di I will pick up ID card from home. Don't have balance in phone.'
I gave her my phone. She called all the people she could, yelled and cried. Then, we stopped for few seconds at her home to collect ID proof.

By 9:45 we left from Sarjapur to Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. On the way I searched for all the flights available. Best bet was Indigo. Tarunn called Indigo 24/7 customer care for help and briefed them about the situation. He requested to treat it as a special case under emergency. Lakshmi had to reach Bhubaneswar asap, considering a long road travel to her village henceforth after landing. The flight had to depart at 11:45 from Bangalore to Bhubaneswar. As we were travelling in peak traffic hours, it was anticipated that it will take almost one and a half hours to reach airport. Indigo personnel denied us. They kept mentioning the mandatory rule to reach at-least one hour before the check-in.

We kept driving. Lakshmi puked all the way. She was nervous, anxious, scared and insecure.

'Didi, I have never travelled in a plane.' she cracked.
'No problem beta, we will ask for airport assistance. They will help you through the journey. If you need anything, just ask them.' I assured her.
'Didi, will they talk in Hindi?' She enquired.
'Sure. They will.' I said.

Tarunn raced through the empty roads, but we got stuck in bad traffic as well. Finally, we reached at 11:10. We rushed to different counters, asking about flight details. Tarunn requested Indigo folks to let her in on humanitarian grounds.They denied saying rules cannot be changed, boarding had just started for 11:45 flight. Airlines are for people's convenience, if an emergency is also not taken into consideration then what is the purpose of its existence?  Jet Airways, Spice Jet and Air Asia don't fly to that destination. Air India's connecting flight was fully booked. From every where we heard one word 'sorry'. When we wanted someone to help us out! Finally, after requesting a lot to Air India, they accommodated and we bought one ticket for Lakshmi. But it was for connecting flight, Bangalore-Delhi-Bhubaneswar.

We asked a wheelchair for her, as her knee ached. She had met with an accident last year. I explained to her how to read her ticket. She could read Bangalore, Delhi and Bhubaneswar.

'Didi what is 15:15?'
'This means at 3:15 you will land at Delhi.'
'Didi how will I travel alone? I am scared. I don't even understand time written on the ticket. But my father is waiting for me.' she cried.
I made her write all the flight timings so that she feels a little confident. And, I could see it in her eyes.

Her words struck me hard. Airlines in India talk so much about budget travels. How it is for everyone, affordable and for masses. But a small thing like time is also not printed considering the less educated ones? How ironic is that!

'Didi can you not accompany me inside the airport?' she asked.
'I cannot. They don't permit it. Can you see the guy with wheel chair inside? He will assist you until you board the flight. Anything you need, you tell him. Give me a missed call if you want to talk to me regarding anything, I will call back.'

As she went inside. She waved at us saying thank you. We were choked. The policeman asked us to leave, but we couldn't. Our eyes followed her to the counter until her boarding pass was issued. We peeped through the glass stoned. She also knew we were standing far across and that gave her the assurance. I called her on phone and said not to worry at all, be strong.

Then I heard the lady at the counter say, 'You may proceed to gate number 5. Here is your ID card.'
The wheel chair guy came near the glass separating us and him. Through a small opening he asked, 'Can she walk a little just to climb the stairs for flight. I asked her, but she didn't reply.'

'Yes she can. But can you communicate in Hindi to her and request everyone to do the same?' Tarunn explained.
'Yes yes, why not.' he replied.
Being in India we have to request people to speak in Hindi! It is a huge satire on us!

As I write, Lakshmi must be travelling. I am not calling her as she might be on roaming. But, my thoughts are with her-
Will her family wait for her?
Will she say final goodbye to her father?
Is she fine?
What she must be going through?

I have no answers to them. All I can do is pray to Almighty to give her courage. And, all I know is, today me and Tarunn did what best we could do in our capacity.