JUST ANOTHER PASSENGER II

PART II

"Water: the Elixir of Life," a ninth-grade Essay Writing Competition’s Topic in a large four-squared classroom of my school. No, I did not take part in it cause then I believe I had my own tag line for writing activities which said "I struggle to put my thoughts in words”, I still do. Coming back to the elixir at hand, let me remind you that the Airlines has to offer water to every passenger on board, so much so that flight attendants can efficiently categorise flights, sectors and work loads based just on the amount of water they served on the very day. I had a mandatory self note to categorise my own work load into three classifications based on the sectors/locations — Level 1 -Chennai (MAA) to Bombay (BOM)[huge load] ; Level 2 - Kolkata (CCU) to Delhi (DEL) [extreme]; and finally the Boss Level, Level 3 - Bombay (BOM) to Delhi (DEL) [over the top]; and everything else in between these 3 Levels. As for the humid tropical climate of India, believe it or not, over a gazillion of H₂O provided on every sector is a fruitful part of the passenger profiling game. The covid epidemic has altered every aspect of our lives; formerly, water was served in paper cups, followed by the tedious job of filling jugs and cups. What a relief that it's now provided in little pet bottles. (Note: Regardless of how cute and convenient it is. These bottles are just detrimental to the environment; we definitely require a sustainable alternative.)

In those Hundred Days of obligatory Training at base: DEL, we were always taught to profile passengers as a mandatory procedure for the safety and security of fellow mortals on the plane, but in terms of Customer Service, we often profiled them based on their demands, which varies city to city and country to country. I can recollect one such incident as follows."May I have an Iced Tea with a dash of lemon?" Queried a Bombay passenger lady with a mere gleam in her eyes, on a very hot and scorching summer day up in the clouds. I courteously replied to her: "Ma’am, you may however allow me to inform you that we don't serve lemon on board," and she retorted with: “Why so?” I got right back at her "Service policy, Ma’am." “What for?”, "Ma'am uudhaan ke doran lemon khana aasubh mana jataa hai." Well, anything to get rid of the predicament. However, I did deliver her Iced Tea, obviously without a lemon but with the usual Attendant’s grace and smile (I tell you, flight attendants have been put forth a significant training to keep our smiles up all this time).

The essence of India can be well observed in its profound diversity, as demonstrated by the passengers. When it comes to the providing Service to the passenger’s demands, flying to North India is hysterical. Be it flying to Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Vadodara, I've seen individuals arrive with various affluent "Halwai" standard snacks to munch on without the moo sound for the entire journey; they are often generous enough to offer us too. As per common courtesy, we are obliged to accept their snack, however we are never allowed to have them as long as the Bird is still in flight. So as per Standard Procedure of Operations (SOP), we are to hold on to them until the “Safe Landings.”

The Delhi (DEL)-Bombay(BOM) sector is frantically busy, with a large number of passenger to be served. Some of them even request that a small cookie box be opened for them. I have around 40 folks to serve at any given moment, so the pressure was palpable but who are we after all, superheroes on board? When we were trained how to perform CPR on casualty and how to save lives in case of an emergency, I too felt like one of the superheroes. However, this is one of the most obscure side in a Flight Attendant’s career (which you never want to go through with until the emergency actually materializes). Emergencies when tossed upon you in a unprecedented way, it generally reveals what a typical looking Flight Attendant is made up of. I know for a fact, in a oddly bizzare way, like she/he has been possessed, a different set of characteristics takes over. An assertive, audacious, resilient and a fierce character ready to risk their own life to save those for whom they are currently accountable.

For a Homo sapien like myself, who may not even take care of pets at home, I wonder where I mustered the confidence to bear responsibility for people who supposedly I don't even know the names of. These passengers stay with us for a few hours on board, but even in that brief encounter, they become the most valuable lives on the line, reclining in our hands.

 The three double feathered wings on the hat are one of the most prized and hard-earned possessions for a Flight Attendant. Even though for the wider world, flight attendants arbitrarily may be meant to serve food and beverage, they are primarily and essentially trained to ensure the safety and security of the fellow passengers. Ultimately, we're all passengers with various roles travelling in different time zones and positions in space floating on a ball, somewhere between many distant dwarf stars, on this ever expanding Universe, that may be referred to as the Interstellar sense of being.

 (By the way, if the movie Interstellar doesn't pique your interest in wider sky of cosmology, I'm not sure what would. Spiderman?)