The day of many firsts!

When I looked at Chennai for the first time through the window of the aircraft, as it circled to land, it looked like a serene village with many coconut trees. It is was a day of many firsts. It was my first plane ride. Though I tried my best to look the calm sophisticated traveler, with many air miles behind me, I don't think it worked well. My colleague Pratap, who was also flying for the first time, did a remarkable job of being nonchalant, probably because he was still in a liquor induced stupor from the wild party he had the night before. So there I was, at 5 in the morning, showered, shaved, hair slicked down and in button down formals; and there was Pratap in jeans, check sports shirt, stubble and ruffled hair.

After checking in (which of course Pratap handled like a pro), the first thing he said was" Why the fuck did we come so early? We are the first two to check in(remember this was years before web check in). I need a coffee." In my excitement and worry, I had actually hauled Pratap to airport about three hours before the flight.

So off we went for the coffee,to the restaurant on the first floor. I was naturally apprehensive, because the restaurant was an extension of a five star hotel and obviously the rates would be exorbitant. However, it seemed that Pratap had done his homework better than me. "We can charge it to the company" he said.

As we sat around, Pratap sipping his coffee and me looking around in wonder at the decor(first time, you see!), I spotted Anupam and Kiron Kher having coffee, three tables away. So with great alacrity, I gawked at them for the rest of the time, we were there. Pratap of course, like the man of the world he was, decided that it was a good time to snooze.

Suddenly, a beautiful girl in a skirt materialized in front of us asking" Is Mr. Sanyal and Mr. Pandit here?" I nearly put up my hand like in a classroom, but with supreme effort managed to nod. A frown creased her pretty face as she said "We have been announcing your names for over 20 minutes now. We have completed boarding long time back and all the passengers are waiting for you. Could you please hurry and come with me." We had completely missed the announcements in the coffee shop as it did not feature a PA system but a display board. So there we were running behind this pretty lady across the concourse having rapidly moved down the ranks from being the first ones to check in to being the last to board. Thankfully those days airlines used to wait for you if they had issued you a boarding pass.

Braving dirty looks from the other passengers we finally made it to our seats. I had a window seat while Pratap preferred the isle. I had always imagined that only beautiful stunning girls traveled in aircrafts, and I was hoping that such a creature would occupy the middle seat between Pratap and me.Instead we found a middle aged hapless British lady on her first trip to India.

By the time the air hostess finished her safety demonstration, Pratap had already started conversing with the lady or should I say the lady had started conversing with him. She was obviously full of questions about India, about Chennai, about traditions, customs, culture and bazaars. I on the other hand kept reaching across the lady to tug at Pratap's hand and was giving a running commentary on what was happening outside the window. "The plane has started moving. Now we are lining up against the runway. The wing flaps are moving. The plane has started taxing. The wheels are off the ground. We are AIRBORNE! How small does Bombay look from up here." and so on. The poor lady was stuck right in between my loquacity and the taciturn Pratap for the rest of the flight. All those who know Pratap well would agree with me that taciturn Pratap is an oxymoron!

Having spent those two and a half hours sandwiched between us, I am sure both Pratap and I are going to feature in her memoirs as "things to avoid when in India". Not too soon her ordeal came to an end as the pilot switched on the seat belt signs and we landed quite uneventfully in the beautiful city of Chennai. As we walked out of the airport to search for our vehicle, little did we know that Chennai will offer both of us a wonderful fabulous kaleidoscope of experiences which both of us will cherish forever and a bond of friendship that will be lifelong. Chennai was the city of many firsts, but that is another story altogether!