The first flight

The one thing I always enjoy during my morning walk is looking up at the planes just taken off from the runway. The sight of the plane soaring into the air reinvents the child in me and I wouldn't have minded clapping my hands and jumping with joy but for the concern about other people around. I can't recollect the experience of my first air travel which was way back in 1989 from Srinagar to Delhi.

That time I happened to have all the focus in tackling my little one, Rahul, who insisted we should open the window. I didn't feel either the joy or anything else about the flight. In fact I can say I had rather sleep-walked through my maiden air travel and didn't remember getting into or getting off from the plane  -leave alone experiencing the feeling of being air-borne.

So, it was natural that I was quite excited when we booked a flight to Goa.. As it is, it was my long-time pending desire of visiting Goa and enjoying the beach. Playing with the waves find almost the top slot in my list of enjoyable pursuits. May be the next slot goes to swimming. ( No wonder I am an aquarian. )

I was lucky enough to study in Queen Mary's in Chennai which was just across the Marina beach and our group of friends used to hoodwink the strict hostel authorities to run to the beach and make merry in the water and sneak back into the hostel without the slightest trace as our clothes used to get dried by the time we crossed  the sands.

Yes. I know I am writing about my flying experience but I can't help being carried away by the ocean. Okay, let me come back to 'My First ( actual) Flight.' and yes I sleep walked now too, but just up to the point of entering into the plane, a low cost carrier. A look at the seat was enough to dampen my enthusiasm. The seat seemed to face tough competition from ST buses. I was fortunate enough to be seated near the window and I instantly glued myself to it . after a little while, the  bird started moving and I cynically chuckled that it was moving like a cart. Then it happened. Having arrived at the runway, the plane gained  tremendous momentum  and so did my heartbeat as a result was watching the  fast receding  ground. And before I realized the sudden jerk, I found the ground below growing farther and farther down and completely disappear.

I pressed my head against the window to look harder but there was nothing but the vast expanse of the silver ocean of clouds.  Then dread suddenly gripped me. why the hell has the plane stopped! It was no longer moving! I wanted to scream but simply turned to my neighbour who also happened to be my life partner. Being so grown up I couldn't muster the necessary courage to express my fear which clouded my mind. Then suddenly the mist in my mind cleared as I remembered the  physics principle: Motion is in relation to some stationary object. Here the stationary object, the ground was no more visible, hence the plane seemed to have come to a standstill as though it was moving at some thousand and odd kilometers per hour (I am not sure about the speed but at least I know it is many  times more than a train.)

The next thing that bothered me was some odd feeling in my ears, I felt they were going to explode. I tried to close my eyes and sleep but found no luck on that front also. The 75 minutes of flight to Bombay seemed to last forever with only blankness outside and total silence inside the craft except for the brief interludes of the mechanical voices of the air hostesses giving some or the other updates. After a brief stop at Bombay the flight onward to Goa was more tolerable as I knew now what to expect unlike  the initial excitement- laded expectation of some thrilling experience when I took off from Nagpur.

I still feel excited to look at the flying machines taking off and touching down and soaring majestically in the sky and gliding gracefully and I prefer it  to be that way!!!!