Sameer was all ears when Capt. Mehra of Air India Flight AI 127 announced, "arm all doors; cross check and report". The constant announcements, safety instructions and brisk activities inside the airplane were more of a palaver. The feel and warmth of Simba's clutch at the Hyderabad airport, while bidding him goodbye, was still fresh. The torrent in his eyes would barely let Sameer catch up on the lost sleep of past few days. The calm poise could hardly camouflage the tempest within. He realized that physical toughness had nothing in common with mental grit. As the Boeing 747 taxied to the runway from Terminal 3, Sameer's heart started pounding harder. It was getting increasingly difficult to cope with his agony. With pictures of Simba, Mansi & parents etched in his hearts, Sameer took a deep breath and sat back with eyes closed. The airplane emulated a charging Spanish bull ready to take on the Picador and be let off into the ring. However, the din of high-bypass turbofan engines could hardly stand up to the tremor within him. The excruciating force exerted on his head-rest made him spare a thought for astronauts when their launch vehicle hits escape velocity. For 14 hours that's where he would be, glaringly lonely in the midst of 294 people. With a heavy heart, he also realized that he had taken to the skies, miles away from where his heart and soul were.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
The Big American Dream
It's Wednesday, August the 30th. Getting out of bed in the morning has always been a tough ordeal. But what's up with Sameer today? He hasn't slept beyond midnight and is ill at ease in hiding the tire of an unsaid concern behind the dark circles beneath his eyes. It is obvious that he isn't at peace with himself, or rather more aptly put, quite worried. It was difficult for people at home to fathom Sameer's unusual plight. His wife stepped forward to feel the temperature on his forehead and then steps back sensing that nothing was wrong on that front.
To glimpse a mute and pensive beholder of monody in a usually fun-loving and jovial character like Sameer was a tough proposition for the others around him. Why did he adorn the forlorn look? In fact it dawned on them that he wasn't his normal self since many days now. Was it something at work which was bothering him? Was it that he had an ailment and not sharing with them for its fatality? They wished he came clean with whatever was bothering him. In lines with the old saying and belief, they too trusted that sorrow when shared, gets divided.
Simba, Sameer's 4 year old son wakes up, sensing a silent melee outside his room. He inches closer to Sameer with his tiny steps and seats himself on his fathers lap, all the while staring at him. A little drop of tear escapes the clutches of Sameer's will power and juts out of his left eye. He was caught in the whirlpool of deciphering the right from the wrong. His elderly parents could only pray within that he didn't desert them in their old age. He was unsure of the impact of his absence from Simba's growing years. He didn't know how it would be like to be not beside Mansi, his spouse, in her hour of need. He didn't know how they would cope with the distancing, for it was the day he was set to disembark on his big American dream. A dream which poised greater hope in life than realizing just a new-found passion,
The flight for Delhi was scheduled at 8.15 pm and the subsequent one to Houston was at 2 am. In the hustle and bustle at the Hyderabad airport, Sameer wished he didn't let go Simba's cuddle knowing fully well, that wasn't to be. The racing clock hands along with the endless stream of onlookers and passengers behind him ensured that even the tightest embrace around his loved ones that day wasn't strong enough to hinder his physical distancing from them.
To glimpse a mute and pensive beholder of monody in a usually fun-loving and jovial character like Sameer was a tough proposition for the others around him. Why did he adorn the forlorn look? In fact it dawned on them that he wasn't his normal self since many days now. Was it something at work which was bothering him? Was it that he had an ailment and not sharing with them for its fatality? They wished he came clean with whatever was bothering him. In lines with the old saying and belief, they too trusted that sorrow when shared, gets divided.
Simba, Sameer's 4 year old son wakes up, sensing a silent melee outside his room. He inches closer to Sameer with his tiny steps and seats himself on his fathers lap, all the while staring at him. A little drop of tear escapes the clutches of Sameer's will power and juts out of his left eye. He was caught in the whirlpool of deciphering the right from the wrong. His elderly parents could only pray within that he didn't desert them in their old age. He was unsure of the impact of his absence from Simba's growing years. He didn't know how it would be like to be not beside Mansi, his spouse, in her hour of need. He didn't know how they would cope with the distancing, for it was the day he was set to disembark on his big American dream. A dream which poised greater hope in life than realizing just a new-found passion,
The flight for Delhi was scheduled at 8.15 pm and the subsequent one to Houston was at 2 am. In the hustle and bustle at the Hyderabad airport, Sameer wished he didn't let go Simba's cuddle knowing fully well, that wasn't to be. The racing clock hands along with the endless stream of onlookers and passengers behind him ensured that even the tightest embrace around his loved ones that day wasn't strong enough to hinder his physical distancing from them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)