Airport Scene

As I trudged into the airport after a rather long walk under the Chennai sun, soaked to the bone in sweat, I braced myself for the rush hour jostling crowd of businessmen and ilk in the waiting zone. I was there to meet someone in my extended family and he was not expected for a decent half an hour atleast. So what does someone of the newer generation do in such a situation: Yes, you got it right. Fish out the phone and start browsing, texting, whatsapping, facebooking and what not…That’s precisely what I set about doing, only to realize within seconds that my battery had drained with about an hour of continuous application usage on the phone after its charge. Much to my chagrin, I had to preserve the charge and turn off the phone to atleast ring up the person and coordinate the meeting point. Alas, what a misfortune or so does it seem. BUT stop! It was an opportunity to rewind, and take in the moments there..Nothing to do, no emails to respond to, no calls to attend, no texts to reply, no comments or posts to ‘Like’, no such chores…What does one do then…Just sit back and watch and observe. Brake lagaao…

That’s what I did. I found a nice chair at the end of the Gate I was supposed to be at, facing the pristine new glass walls, savouring the exquisite backdrop of a lush green hill agains the glass mirrors, enjoying the wind playing with my short hair, tossing and turning it, a head massage.

That’s when I started noticing that the crowd seemed different. No longer did I behold, busy blazer clad junta with smart overnight suitcases, ears stuck to the phone or eyes glued on the tablet/smartphone screen as they typed out responses to probably a sales pitch or so. There were people with time now.

It was an entirely different sight which I beheld – Old couples probably off to meet family over the Diwali break, to meet grandchildren and celebrate along with them, gift parcels carefully packed, joy on their faces, walking hand in hand. Some children enjoying a puddle on the floor, not a care in the world, jumping into a pool of water tipped over from a water carrying truck, enjoying the splashy splashy sound it makes. A set of twins, coasting around on the trolley, taking turns to push each other in their makeshift cart, peals of laughter as they pretend to crash into a wall; An ambulance draws in and a very old man (probably >95 years old) is wheeled out. I was amazed to see him very cleanly dressed inspite of his condition with a Spartan white veshti and shirt. He could clearly not even sit up straight and was helped onto a wheel chair by someone who looked like his granddaughter and the ambulance attender. He had lots to tell them and was eagerly looking forward to the journey; Even the security guard seemed in a much lighter mood – either enjoying the lull in the footfall or eager anticipation of the festive season; He seemed to dance and actually did not observing that he was being watched. He was trying to mimic Michael Jackson’s foot moves and I would say he did a good job at it.

Such were the sights and sounds, much different from the usual style of the airport lounge. Or was it indeed different? May be I was on a different receptive plane (pun intended). With no gadgets to hold me on, had I not indeed paused and observed rather than scuttling around strolley in tow and ears glued to the phone??? We have to learn to apply the brake in our journey of life. Atleast for a while so as not to miss out on the little joys and wonders that life may unfold.  Let me pause and reflect.