A friend of Alice in wonderland - part 1

At 30.000 feet above the ground, I was trying to get a good day’s sleep. But circumstance sandwiched me between two huge people in the plane. However, the experience was worth remembering nonetheless. It was on a month long journey to a place far, far away from home. A place that is considered as the bull’s eye of Europe, it is Prague.

All the preparations were done on the day before the d-day. Thanks to Lata auntie and mom, because they saw to that I don’t have to go through any rigors of purchasing and packing. They saw to that neither bad weather nor availability of food could bother me in any way. However sometimes it’s risky to allow ladies to take the lead in shopping. The magnitude of risk was known only after I got the credit card bill. In one day i owed Rs.25000 to HDFC and SBI.

Though we can prepare for any unforeseen events there is one hard moment that is hard to handle, that is parting with the loved ones. Mom, bro and cousin sister had come over to see me fly off (bro came to see me buzz off :) ). It was hard to see moms face and even harder to get some words out my mouth. So I just gave her a warm hug and she gave me a kiss that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Through out the day I felt like a hero in a movie played at 2x speed. I came to senses only when the uncomfortable Lufthansa economy class seat and the two guys compelled me to cave in from all four sides. However, my mind never registered the signals from the strained muscles. It kept reassuring me that I am not in Alice’s wonderland.

Noisy crowd scurrying off in all directions brought the scenes of “The Terminal” into my mind. Just like Hanks made friends with Zeta Jones, I made friends with Lucie (she is a citizen of Prague settled is US). We met up near the gate that leads us to the plane to Prague. I have to mention her skill in inferring characteristics of people she meets. She found that I was vegetarian from the list of miscellaneous translations that I asked her to review. She was a Sherlock hidden behind a beautiful face. We spent the remaining time talking about our schooling, interests, work and so on. In the mean tine Hours looked like minutes and minutes looked like seconds. Probably this is what they call flirting.

Now was time to bid farewell to Lucie. I am not sure if we will ever meet again during our life times but one thing that will never be forgotten is the list that said her that I am a vegetarian.

to be continued ...