HYDERABAD SHUTTLE

Born and raised in the North-eastern region of India and modestly ensconced in the magnificent countryside of never-ending green hills, gifted with the spectacular grandeur of the Himalaya's snow-clad peaks I have a special place in my heart for the mountains. However, I have always adored the essence of living by the beach near the far stretches of the coastline where the world seemed to continue nonchalantly towards the debunked possibility of existence, and that was the very reason I chose Chennai as my base.

India, is a vast country and moving to south seemed like going abroad, with several unfamiliar faces  speaking hardly intelligible language and tropical weather which I am not used to. But how far could it go? If you smile, they grin back, and if you say hello, they say Venakamm, and that's how it all starts. In fact, one of the many reasons I enjoyed flying and living in South India is the sheer fresh perspective it provides on human existence and parallel resemblances. I find the people to be decent, pleasant, and courteous, and while they are exceptional at keeping their roots alive, they are also open to new ideas and people. For a distinct facial feature like mine, which prominent researchers such as B.S. Guha (1937) in The Classification of Racial Elements in India coined “The Mongoloid” or, in simpler terms, North-eastern like features, little had I imagined I would fit effortlessly into the Chennai metropolis, but I suppose it was for the best. Despite the sweltering summer heat, which I was not used to, enjoying the coastal landscapes eating discrete seafoods and travelling the East Coast routes, making incredible new friends has compensated unobjectionably and aided me in acclimatizing to the tropics.

Yet the shuttle flight from Chennai (MAA) to Hyderabad (HYD) had to be no less than the satire war novel — Catch-22, extremely onerous and daunting (I mean it), therefore the go-to name was Hyderabad shuttle, which comprises of four sectors in a row, i.e.,Chennai to Hyderabad (MAA-HYD), Hyderabad to Chennai , Chennai to Hyderabad and Hyderabad to Chennai (HYD-MAA) back and forth, each with a flight duration of 45 minutes (probably on the Hobbs Meter). I often retrospect — Why had it been so difficult back then? The 45 minutes never would have been sufficient to serve all of the passengers (approx. 90 pre-booked meals in a typical day, an upper-limit of 100 seconds to serve the hot meal per person, 90 x 100 divided by 4 crew members would take 37.5 minutes [2250 seconds] per crew member, but it doesn't happen that instantaneously), especially when we had to prepare the hot meals and beverages on board, likely to result in the chaos of not being able to serve the pre-booked meal. There is enormous internal pressure to receive the grievances or go through a shortsighted questionnaire if we are unable to provide the services before the metal bird lands.

I got myself caught in a constant state of turmoil, the prepare for arrival has been announced, and I still had rows left to serve, like a zillion tray tables to be cleared before the descent (followed as a safety protocol), and I could tell with a quick glance that my colleagues were struggling in their own zones. As soon as the seat belt sign comes back on and the exit light glows steady, my cart has to be back in its place and me on the jump-seat without catching a breath.

While keeping all these in my mind, my hands are working as speedily as they can to serve the orders robotically, almost failing to mention "Enjoy your meal". In one of these four sectors of chaos, I saw myself zooming out from reality to recollect some fond memories of me sitting with a backpack on the lawn near Aruppe House of my college, basking mercifully in the sun with my friends laughing and making future travel plans, and then the image of my home where I long to be, my Grandmother would bring my favourite mangoes from the market or make hot Momo served with Peero ahchar (hot sauce), that whenever she got a chance looking skyward she would think of me either in joy or melancholy, I doubt. But my home is in the faraway hills tucked in mountain ranges nowhere to be seen from the clouds densely scattered in sky 35,000ft. above the ground.

Every day on this giant bird is a new day, and every flight could be an eye opener too. Hyderabad shuttle is one such experience of entirely losing myself in responsibilities and discovering myself amidst the chaos, the shuttle of highs and lows in life's journey. Today, whenever I get confronted by a circumstance that requires guts, I think of the Hyderabad shuttle; if one could do it above in sky, here we are still on the ground with an enormous resiliency to keep on.