I stared at my ticket in disbelief : 4 and a half
hours of waiting at the airport for a connecting flight to go home ! After 3 days of hectic activity at a Lit Fest in Jodhpur, the thought of
sleeping in one’s own bed was irresistible ! I chided myself
for not having asked the travel agent for other options! No wait, she did send
me the ticket well in advance and I did have an opportunity to ask. Well, the
answer was simple, at that point of time, I was not supposed to travel again
the next day . So I will have to be content with lesser sleeping hours. I
forgave myself for this lapse.
The day of travel and the onward flight was delayed. I did
not have to worry cause there was 4+ hours gap before the next flight ! I
surprised myself by making this entire situation, which started off as a blame
game of self to a “dekha I told you “ wala shabaashi ! As I waited and waited
for the boarding announcement in Jodhpur Airport , I was overwhelmed with the
company of this vivacious lady , who had not only seen my performance at
the storytelling sessions but also chatted up at dinner the previous night .
She remembered my story and while doing so she was so magnanimous in paying me
compliments . It made me feel so special . The conversations meandered on this
and that and ended up in a discovery of mutual friends to mutual interests. How
those couple of hours breezed by patah hi nahin chala. As she offered me
some jalebis , I hesitated , giving her my usual retort, that I am already
sweet ( read diabetic) She just casually commented ..”just before you eat
it, look at it and say you can do me no harm” and savor it !
Janaki Khush hui and the box was one jalebi minus !
I landed up in Delhi Airport (no.2) with 3 hours to spare .
The 1st hour went off quickly as I tried to figure out the
boarding gate, walking through security, browsing through books and other
stores, indulging in some limited retail therapy and finally ending up in a
Lounge , thank you Mastercard !
A book to read, a fresh lime soda for company, a match to see, a conversation
with a friend , long distance, and 3 hours was not enough !
As I finally stood in the line to board the flight
home, I was overcome with a sense of gratitude on how beautifully the hours of
waiting had melted away and couldn’t help recollecting what Deepak Chopra had
said “ Accept people , circumstances and events as they are in the moment. When confronted with any challenge , remind yourself "This moment is as it should be " because the entire universe is as it should be !
