I normally prefer carrying very little luggage when I go out - just the bare necessities. And so I don't need much time for packing. I generally do it in the night before the journey. It was the same case this time as well. I did buy one of those huge bags with wheels which most people do before they go to the US. Though mine wasn't so huge, it was pretty big by my standards. I still bought it, because my company was paying for it, and because I felt that to stay in the US for six weeks, I would need to carry more clothes than I usually do.
I washed all my clothes and got them pressed too, well beforehand. Packing was easy. I made sure I didn't forget the underworld and all the clothes, the books to study for the exam I am going to write here in the US on the 2nd of June, all the things which one of my collegues, who was already in the US, had asked me to get for him from India, my passport, the eTickets - 2 copies, Invitation letter from our client - 2 copies, the destination address in the US - 2 copies, my cell phone - fully charged and with all necessary numbers needed in case of emergency during the trip, the dollars my company gave me to carry along, etc. etc.
My company had booked space in a KK-Travels (also known as JJ-Travels sometimes - I never understood the connection) vehicle that picks up people from Pune and takes them to Mumbai International Airport. They also bring people back. Will get it booked while returning back to Pune.
It was May 04th - 2007. The vehicle that came was a Qualis. And it came an hour late. Thank God, I had planned to reach Mumbai Airport 7 hours before the flight departure time. Firstly the qualis came late by an hour, then the traffic in Mumbai and my own miscalculation about when I'd reach the Mumbai Airport led to a further delay. And I actually reached the airport only 4.5 hours before the departure time.
The qualis trip from Pune to Mumbai was a memorable one. There were only 2 passengers - an old lady and me. Her name was Sylvia. She had been in the US for the past 10 years. She stayed in New Jersy. Her daughter worked in New York and used to travel daily from New Jersy by train (first by car to the train-station). She was a nice person and spoke good english. Her legs were weak and she walked with a great difficulty.
The qualis was without an AC and it was a very hot afternoon. As usual I adjusted. It didn't even strike me that I could fight with the driver for not bringing a vehicle with an AC. Actually somewhere deep down, I was not sure whether I deserved one at the price I was going to pay. (This is funny but this is how my mind works.) When I cribbed mildly about the heat to the lady, she told me how much she had faught before they picked me up, about why a vehicle with AC was not sent for her and that the KK Travels guy had apologized to her but didn't do anything to fix things. Fighting against injustice is so important. You keep adjusting to what you get, you will always get less than what you might deserve. But for that you should have a clear and fair idea of what returns you deserve at your level of investment. And if you don't, you will end up creating disturbance in a smooth pattern of things. Some people don't bother about the disturbance they might end up causing, since in the end, they will know what is their fair share. I think they are fully justified. And of course if you do it with vinamrata, there will be no disturbance and you will only gain. So what if you look foolish 50% of the times initially. In the end, you will slowly reach a state where you will be fully clear of where you stand. But for some people, looking foolish is too big a blow to their egos. They never get rid of their foolishness in trying to avoid looking foolish.
The qualis stopped once at a Food Mall near Lonavla. I had Pani Puri there - last time. I am missing it so much. Not a day passed without Pani Puri when I was in India, and now, it's 24 days already. Sylvia got 2 samosas packed for her - for dinner. The flight was in the mid-night and she was travelling alone.
Sylvia told me that she was a Puneri and had spent most of her life at Pune and Mumbai. She also gave me her telephone number - the one in New Jersy, which I stored in my mobile phone. I later lost that mobile phone in the US and lost Sylvia's number too.
We reached the Mumbai International Airport around 8.30 PM. Sylvia stood in line for going inside immediately since hers was a British Airways flight, about an hour before mine - the Jet Airways flight, both to London. After I got my bill from the KK-Travels guy which I'd submit later in my office for reimbursement, I stood outside Gate-2, which is the entry for Jet Airways flights to London. I saw Sylvila sitting down close to her luggage, waiting to enter. It was the entrypoint for British Airways flights too. I stood at a little distance waiting for my Sister, Brother and Brother-in-Law who were coming to see me off.
They came. As usual, my sister found me much fatter than last time. We went to a restaurant close to the Airport to have dinner. Took a photo there. Then came back running, coz I was a little worried how the pre-flight process would go. Before entering, I hugged all of them. This was a very special moment. I had never hugged my sister and brother before.
As I enetered the Airport through the Gate, I had a strange feeling... I knew, I was stepping into an unknown world... I realized it was too late to stop or walk backwards...
To Be Continued...
I washed all my clothes and got them pressed too, well beforehand. Packing was easy. I made sure I didn't forget the underworld and all the clothes, the books to study for the exam I am going to write here in the US on the 2nd of June, all the things which one of my collegues, who was already in the US, had asked me to get for him from India, my passport, the eTickets - 2 copies, Invitation letter from our client - 2 copies, the destination address in the US - 2 copies, my cell phone - fully charged and with all necessary numbers needed in case of emergency during the trip, the dollars my company gave me to carry along, etc. etc.
My company had booked space in a KK-Travels (also known as JJ-Travels sometimes - I never understood the connection) vehicle that picks up people from Pune and takes them to Mumbai International Airport. They also bring people back. Will get it booked while returning back to Pune.
It was May 04th - 2007. The vehicle that came was a Qualis. And it came an hour late. Thank God, I had planned to reach Mumbai Airport 7 hours before the flight departure time. Firstly the qualis came late by an hour, then the traffic in Mumbai and my own miscalculation about when I'd reach the Mumbai Airport led to a further delay. And I actually reached the airport only 4.5 hours before the departure time.
The qualis trip from Pune to Mumbai was a memorable one. There were only 2 passengers - an old lady and me. Her name was Sylvia. She had been in the US for the past 10 years. She stayed in New Jersy. Her daughter worked in New York and used to travel daily from New Jersy by train (first by car to the train-station). She was a nice person and spoke good english. Her legs were weak and she walked with a great difficulty.
The qualis was without an AC and it was a very hot afternoon. As usual I adjusted. It didn't even strike me that I could fight with the driver for not bringing a vehicle with an AC. Actually somewhere deep down, I was not sure whether I deserved one at the price I was going to pay. (This is funny but this is how my mind works.) When I cribbed mildly about the heat to the lady, she told me how much she had faught before they picked me up, about why a vehicle with AC was not sent for her and that the KK Travels guy had apologized to her but didn't do anything to fix things. Fighting against injustice is so important. You keep adjusting to what you get, you will always get less than what you might deserve. But for that you should have a clear and fair idea of what returns you deserve at your level of investment. And if you don't, you will end up creating disturbance in a smooth pattern of things. Some people don't bother about the disturbance they might end up causing, since in the end, they will know what is their fair share. I think they are fully justified. And of course if you do it with vinamrata, there will be no disturbance and you will only gain. So what if you look foolish 50% of the times initially. In the end, you will slowly reach a state where you will be fully clear of where you stand. But for some people, looking foolish is too big a blow to their egos. They never get rid of their foolishness in trying to avoid looking foolish.
The qualis stopped once at a Food Mall near Lonavla. I had Pani Puri there - last time. I am missing it so much. Not a day passed without Pani Puri when I was in India, and now, it's 24 days already. Sylvia got 2 samosas packed for her - for dinner. The flight was in the mid-night and she was travelling alone.
Sylvia told me that she was a Puneri and had spent most of her life at Pune and Mumbai. She also gave me her telephone number - the one in New Jersy, which I stored in my mobile phone. I later lost that mobile phone in the US and lost Sylvia's number too.
We reached the Mumbai International Airport around 8.30 PM. Sylvia stood in line for going inside immediately since hers was a British Airways flight, about an hour before mine - the Jet Airways flight, both to London. After I got my bill from the KK-Travels guy which I'd submit later in my office for reimbursement, I stood outside Gate-2, which is the entry for Jet Airways flights to London. I saw Sylvila sitting down close to her luggage, waiting to enter. It was the entrypoint for British Airways flights too. I stood at a little distance waiting for my Sister, Brother and Brother-in-Law who were coming to see me off.
They came. As usual, my sister found me much fatter than last time. We went to a restaurant close to the Airport to have dinner. Took a photo there. Then came back running, coz I was a little worried how the pre-flight process would go. Before entering, I hugged all of them. This was a very special moment. I had never hugged my sister and brother before.
As I enetered the Airport through the Gate, I had a strange feeling... I knew, I was stepping into an unknown world... I realized it was too late to stop or walk backwards...
To Be Continued...
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