The Terminal

“Sir, are you travelling by flight SG 219 to New Delhi……”

I looked up to find a Spice Jet ground attendant beaming artificially at me.

“Yes….”

“Sir, the flight has been canceled. Sorry for the inconvenience Sir.”

“Excuse me….what do I do with this?” I showed my boarding card which reserved the seat 33C for me in the canceled voyage!

“Sir, we will refund your fare on producing this…..”

As I headed for my refund I saw a stream of people swarming the counter.

“I need you to reschedule me in the morning flight….”

“Why is the flight cancelled?”

A host of questions flooded the flight attendants……

As I entered the Kolkata Airport, I found an eerie loneliness…..very few people, fewer open counters and even fewer open food stalls. I felt something was not quite right and as you would have it, SG 219 cancelled my appointment.

After collecting my boarding pass, I sat down at the lobby and looked around. I was immediately taken into rewind mode…..back to IGI at New Delhi!

The scenes were quite different in the two airports….. Kolkata was silent, serene, lonely and cold on the other hand IGI was buzzing, sparkling, filled with people and definitely freezing. In IGI there wasn’t even a single dull moment, I plugged in my laptop, got the headphones out and had a great time just observing people who were on the phone, people at the book shops, at KFC, at the laptop stations and of course in the toilets! Kolkata gave me a feeling of being Viktor Navorski from Krakozhia! There were hardly anyone around, the stalls were empty, no food, one water cooler in isolation and definitely no plug points!

Though my country wasn’t being bombed or I wasn’t being chased around by rank Dixon, the whole setting at the Kolkata airport did remind me of the Spielberg movie the Terminal…..though my flight was cancelled I loved the creepiness of the huge airport! Only wish I could have met my Catherine Zeta Zones!

Lucky Tom!

Ibn Batuta - itchy feet!

“….Ibn Batuta…….ta ta ta

Bagal mein juta ta ta….”

The radio of the Toyota Innova started as soon as we left 207, Okhla.

May be not as dramatic as Ibn Batuta…still we had a destination….Chandni Chowk…..

Okhla to Patel Chowk in a cab, then Patel Chowk to Chowri bazaar by the tube…..You must be thinking, what is the big deal anyway?

But as soon as I walked out of the Chowri Bazaar tube station…. I thought I have seen this a hundred times before: the shops, the signboards, the masjids, the tangas and even a large tree…..but suddenly, something grabbed my attention I looked around again being truly aware of my surroundings for the first time that day.

I knew that I was in for a treat at Delhi-6.

Normally, one drives around a city….but a place like Chandni Chowk doesn’t allow that luxury. So one is forced to walk around…… the best way to take in the sights and sounds of any place. Especially walking without a purpose forces one to slow down and notice the smallest details that make things seem new and different. It lets you stop for golgappas, watch the monkey business, to take photographs…..smell the fuming kebabs…..actually feast on them at Karim’s (world famous in Delhi!) or just stare and assimilate.

Close on the heels of eating authentic mughlai food is visiting the local market – The Kinari Bazaar… A stroll through a marketplace offers a variety of experiences, many of them new even to a long-time resident. There is truly nothing that radiates the essence of a city better.

Every time one starts to feel tired of Delhi, just head to the lanes of Chandni Chowk with your camera and get yourself into the rediscovery mode…..

The golgappas, Karim’s kebabs, Nataraj de bhalles, paranthewali gali, lassi, rabri, khurchan….even the Banta…..the buffet just seems endless!!!!!