By Ratna Manucha
The other day, while on a flight to Jaipur, I was pleasantly surprised and a little touched when just before landing, the air hostess gently tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a card that read, ‘It was lovely having you on board today. Hope to see you again soon.’
Now what did I do to deserve this? Honestly, I haven’t a clue. Was it because I ordered a snack on the short flight (when it made no sense to do so) or was it because I kept flashing my prettiest smile at the hostesses? The kind of smile that says, ‘Notice me! I’m an understanding passenger. In case of any eventuality, please make sure to save me first. Look, I didn’t complain even though the flight was delayed’.
Whatever the reason, the card made me put myself on a pedestal and gloat to Boss Man! ‘Ghar ki murgi daal barabar’ and all that jazz. But now I’m no longer ‘Ghar ki murgi’. This murgi has flown the coop and is now flying high…literally! I kept fanning myself with the card, trying to catch his attention. But to be fair to him, he looked the other way and ignored me completely.
‘Understanding man that he is, he is probably letting me have my moment in the Sun’, I thought. Or is he?
When they wrote that they hoped to see me again, did they have a premonition? Because exactly two days later I was back on board, heading home.
At the airport, just after checking in our bags, as I was moving towards the scanning machines, I made eye contact with a Pretty Young Thing in indigo blue. She smiled at me. I smiled at her. We both smiled at each other. I was still floating on cloud 9 after having received a card of appreciation from them.
That was her cue to strike.
‘How has your experience been with Indigo while checking in? Did you experience any difficulty or delays?’ she asked sweetly.
‘It was seamless (the checking in part, which was true),’ I beamed back.
‘In that case, would you mind if I took a selfie with you, since you are our satisfied customer?’
‘Not at all’. My smile got a little wider. I stopped short of preening.
A phone appeared miraculously from a magic pocket in her uniform and she took a selfie. I flashed my pearly whites (though truth be told, they are turning into a slight shade of yellow). Indigo really had the hots for me.
We smiled some more. My halo got a little bigger. Then I moved towards the gates. Sat back pleased as punch and waited…
A short while later, another pretty young thing in indigo blue appeared and announced my name.
‘May we please upgrade you to a front row seat?’ she asked.
Uff. This was too much to handle. I really was Indigo’s chosen one.
‘Of course you may.’ I smiled my widest smile yet. ‘But why?’ Curiosity got the better of me.
‘The plane is nearly empty and we need to balance it.’
Ouch. That hurt. Granted I may have put on a couple of kgs but how did they know? The ticket didn’t have my weight. The Indigo sheen was beginning to rub off a little.
I went back to my seat with a fresh boarding card and waited. The screen flashed.
Instead of ‘On time’, it now read, ‘Delayed’.
That rumble one heard in the skies as the plane finally took off?
That was the Man Upstairs having the last laugh.
(Ratna Manucha is an author and columnist. She lives, dreams and writes in Dehradun, her happy place).
