Titanic

I have had great luck with kids on any of the flights I have boarded in the past. There is usually some wailing six month old baby that makes me wish I'd never been born and has me scurrying deep into the tiny comforter and pillow the airline staff provide me with. "God, why me, simply why does it have to be me" I keep crying inside as the toddler wails away.

This time was different. There were no toddlers aboard my flight from New Delhi to Toronto. I beamed with confidence after having surveyed the scene. It was too good to be true. Flying across the Labrador Sea from Brussels to Toronto, I noticed the in-flight Navigator display -79F outside with the plane traveling at 500 mph at an altitude of 39K ft. I noticed a flurry of activity in the seat directly in front. A couple of harmless kids jostling for window space. No big deal, we must have all done that at some point. I relaxed. The entertainment channels were very masterfully packaged and I began slipping into the second movement of Beethoven's haunting Op.61 played out by Karajan and Anne-Sophie Mutter.

"Dude, do you think we will all freeze to death like in the Titanic if we fall into the sea below?"

"What do you mean if we fall", asks the second one, peering almost outside the window now.

"...like if the plane crashes into the sea".

Even as Annie Sophie-Mutter effortlessly spun out those mesmerizing notes, my ears picked up the disturbance. Drat that kid.

Various gory scenes of the doomed Titanic flashed before my eyes and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"Dude, we will be eaten by the sharks before we can freeze to death".

Beautiful. I wondered why I hadn't managed to think of that possibility.

"Ravish, do you think the helicopters will come to save us like in the movies?"

I gulped twice in quick succession.

"See that is why I wear this thick jacket when I travel. Dad says this is like a life jacket. But don't you worry, the Canadian government will save us in no time, you silly boy."

I gulped loudly this time. These were no ordinary kids. I craned my neck to see whoever this Ravish kid was. My thoughts returned to my poor self immediately and the pall of gloom descended once again. I knew I was doomed. I looked at my passport. With my Indian passport, my chances of surviving the cold Atlantic waters seemed quite bleak.

"Coke sir?", the smiling angel-faced air-hostess seemed like a different world.

"Ah...um...oh...sure, why not, thanks." I might as well I decided. Who knows when the next contact with a glass of Coke might be made? My mind and soul totally disturbed by the sudden thought of the drowning Titanic, two kids in front spinning out doomsday stories by the minute, sharks coming out of nowhere to give me a dirty look, I took out my PDA and promptly added a new To-Do item in my To-Do list :

"1. IMPORTANT : Apply for Canadian Citizenship immediately. ASAP.".

Beethoven's Op.61 seemed different for the rest of that flight. I continued to stare at infinity, unable to sleep for a split second. A bit later my eyes drifted to the seat right in front of me. There were two little heads popping out of a tangle of comforters and pillows, sound asleep. I had to smile at these two. "Goodnight", I wished them. "May you always sleep so soundly."

From Kolkata, With Love

You folks have been a real inspiration. I am vacationing in Kolkata currently. Wanted to share a couple of pictures I took (with a very crappy camera) and which I would like to dedicate to my readers.

With lots of love from Kolkata and best wishes for a rocking 2009!