Sunday, February 21, 2010

Flying without wings...

I travelled in a flight for the first time, a few days ago. I was excited the moment I saw my tickets!! It was a Kingfisher ticket!! "Wow!", I thought, "Flying for the first time and that too KF!! Ah! Life is a blessing!!"
My sister was as excited to know this as I was! She told me quite a few things that I should keep in mind before, during and after the flight. I did not want to know how it feels when the flight takes off, or lands. Since, I already had heard about nausea and such stuff!!
Putting my foot down at the airport, and knowing that I have to board a flight, felt so good. I was like a kid, smiling and excited all through. That great feeling of being waved at by my sister when I was getting in, was unmatchable. Even getting through the formalities in a rush, since we were late for our flight, kept me smiling. The morning fog welcomed us, when we were being taken towards the airbus. Felt fresh after a long time, and that too on an airport!!
Luckily, I got the window seat. What else could I ask for! When the flight took off, it felt like a roller coaster ride!! And snap! I was flying almost instantly! It was like a dream come true for me! In a few minutes we were between the clouds! It was as if the clouds accumulated to form a new land....
I kept looking out of the window throughout the flight. So much so that I sprained my neck!! :) We were flying over Kolhapur when I looked down at the mountain ranges. They looked exactly the way I've seen in books. Beautiful. Geography lessons would be much better and interesting this way, I thought to myself.
The experience somehow reminded of my childhood. We could see the Nagpur airport from the terrace of our apartment. So clearly so that the runway, the signal, everything was visible. Everytime a plane would roar by, we would rush to the terrace to see it wandering in the sky for a while, and then land. The take offs were more interesting as the plane would turn a few times on the runway and zoom! It was in the sky! That was a regular schedule, running to the terrace for that view. Especially during nights, when we would judge the flight's existence by it's colourful lights. And here I was, sitting in the same plane I always saw from my apartment.
Yes, the kid in me came to life again. The excitement, the joy, the realisation. The smile and the grin on my face could only be justified by me. And I didn't care what other people thought about my excitement or happiness. The experience mattered to me a lot.
And all through the flight, I couldn't help but remember the lines, "I'm flying without wings...."

5 comments:

prashant said...

how did neighbour react to this whole incident? hehe....and now I am the only one left to Fly Without Wings :D

Nirupama said...

Hey! The neighbour was my colleague :D So no issues there!! I hope you get to fly soon :)

Vineet Rajan said...

there are a lot of hangups people have around doing things the first time. I did too, especially the first time i traveled. there are people who have done it for ages and are pro at it. and you dont want to look like a dork.
But what you did was brave and how one should ideally be. Be a kid, and thats what that counts!

Priya Iyer said...

lovely write-up! :)
glad you enjoyed your first flight with Kingfisher and with us!! :)
wishing you many more such flights!! :)
and ya, always keep that child alive in you!!

Nirupama said...

Hey Big B!
I think it's better to be a kid at some points of time. The experience becomes more clear and worth remembering :)

Hey Priya,
Thanks for the wishes :) I did enjoy the flight with you. And I really hope the child in me stays alive :)