Leaving on a Jet Plane

It was 5.30 pm and I bid goodbye to my relatives in Chennai and headed to the airport. My internship begins in 2 days from now at Hyundai Heavy Industries, S. Korea - the largest Shipbuilding & Offshore Construction facility in the world. And my excitement at the prospect of being "there" knew no bounds. My mind was running ahead of time but the Chennai traffic slowed me down.

"Ini etra samayam (how much more time)?", I asked the auto driver. He shrugged and gave no response. After thinking for some time, perhaps, whether to answer my question or not, he cleared his throat and announced, "Minimum 2 hours sir... traffic jam." I nodded in acknowledgement. I would really have been happy if he criss crossed Madras in 2 hours in rush hour. Bumper to bumper traffic is so much an understatement - the highway looked like a parking lot!

"Chennai first time? You a Bengali? Flight at 9? Tickets all ready?" the driver was shooting questions at me left, right and centre. Reminds me of DARCP (Desperate Arbit Random Class Participation) at Hel(L). Or is he trying to do a Sherlock Holmes on me? I let him pass his better judgement on me and conceded in reverse order, " Tickets ready, Flight at 9, Bengali but have come to Chennai before." His face lighted up on confirmation of his prediction. So much to make people happy and now that I've got the guy smiling I asked him in the little Tamil that I could manage, "Sheeghram Pokuma? (Can you go faster please?)" He nodded and pulled up the accelerator. This has been the seventh time I have been "Bong"ed in the last two years, starting with Mr. Paleti, the football captain at Hel(L), and I have been wondering about it ever since! Baffled and slightly amused at my bong connection! Fish? Football? Communism? Only God knows!

My cell-phone beeped the 4th time since I left to the airport. Incoming SMS from good ol' friend Raman - "Change of rendezvous - Come to Hotel Sangeeta at Guindy." Had met him only once after college and we had 4 years of catching up to do. I SMSed back, "Just around the Corner, almost there." Fifteen minutes later, another incoming SMS from Raman- "Which Corner? The diagonally opposite one?". I could only laugh. Reached the place in another 5 minutes and there he was waiting. Got some grub and chatted over the usual arbit stuff but more importantly capitalized on pulling his leg on relinquishing bachelorhood. Bid him goodbye and like always agreed to 'catch up better' next time.

Checked in very early at 9 pm. The boarding time for my flight to Kualalumpur was quarter past eleven. So made a few calls and ere... waited. MH181 took off just in time, rolling towards the starboard, flaunting a breath-taking aerial view of Chennai lit up by the city lights. And I sat there in my window seat reading 'Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde', sipping some red wine and occasionally gazing at the beautiful night sky.