The Deccan Experience

My first real post.Wouldn't have posted even this, if I were not to write this as a mail for a friend of mine. But why didn't I post all this while? Because there weren't any good stuff. But it's only lately has it occurred to me that this goes against the very idea of blogging!!! u can shit anything, only it scares others away, that's all!

In any case, here it is

hahaha...
deccan was a nice experience....a second flight of mine though.
and it has indeed brought aviation to the layman (just a second, am i one?)

but be patient, or better still,take a day off for, this mail which is more like a travelogue, is too long!

so it was like this:
friday,29th,3pm,SINP guest House,Saltlake,Kolkata:
I started to airport reached there at 4.
flight was scheduled at 6-40, but unfortunately (and expectedly!!) the dames in sky-blue shirts and black pants politely announced a delay of 1 hour :-)

allige bittu Rs400 katri, because i had to spend 3 hours somehow. and since there was a book shop selling only legal books i had to spare my rs400 on a robin cook's collection of short stories :-((

and later after i got security-checked-in we were to wait before one of several gates.
one guy was siting beside me, while i was reading robin cook.he had a brief talk with his friend (in chennai) over his mobile. the guy was quite curious about everyone. not to mention i too was, but only on some good looking girls, and one little child which was happily roaming around, stamping it's leg on the floor for "ages"

contd..

The Deccan Experience (contd)

half an hour passed.
that guy:aapka kaun-si seat hain?
me: (after seeing the boarding pass) 17F
t.g.: oh, mera 17A, matlab hum dononka window seats, aapka eik taraf ka aur mera doosri taraf ka.
me: (agreeing)oh, vaisa hai kya?
2 min later,
t.g.:madraasi hai kya, aap?
me: (doubtfully) haan..
t.g.:kitne din pehle ticket kaatliye the?
me: er, kareeb eik maas pehle
t.g.: to daam kitna laga tha?
me: (smililng)woh to around do hazaar aath sow rupya
t.g: (betraying a sense of achievement, with a broad smile) mera yeh paanch so rupai ka ticket hai!!!  :-))
me: (returning his smile) oh, calcutta sector mein bhi panch sow rupai ka ticket milta hai kya?
t.g: haan, zaroor. lekin woh deccan log jab announce kartein hai, tab jald se khareedna hai. aur mein to bas aise hi jaa rahaa hoon, 500rs ka ticket milgaya na!!!! bas 2-3 din ghoom ke aane waala hoon!!
me:haan, abhi yeh dec.airways aake bahuth kamaal kardiya...

The Deccan Experience (contd)

airbus has quite a conjested seating arangement kaNo. kaalu sariyaagi needikoLLokku  jaaga illa. Boeing, or even KSRTC rajahamsa is better!

but anyways, deccan is capitalizing on all space available in plane.all economy!
very less free baggage allowed (only 20kgs);extra baggage charged at 40rs per kg!;
the cabin luggage box doors (i.e. horizontally hanging , like the ones in our KSRTC for conductors!) are pasted with NDTV stickers,while the white papers on head-rest bear the name of Sri Krishna Sweets,chennai.!!!
i, fortunately had less luggage.

oh yes, u'd be thinking about hostesses; there were 4 of them, mostly pubjabis , filled with flesh.  there was a usual  initial safety demonstration. soon,as one of them passed by, the row-mate on the aisle seat - a regular - asked for water and also enquired about  snacks and stuff. she promptly replied that they will be serving it soon.

given that decc air was a no-frills concern, i wondered about the modalities of snack serving. honestly, the first thought that came to my mind was the shoutings "pudinaa soppuu, sabbaske soppuu, mentye soppuu, paalaak soppuuu..... amma sopp bekenravvaaa, soppuuu" and similar shoutings on tomatoes to carrots to aaloo geddes, moolangi, to even flowers!!. that would be  our good old maaramma/kaaLamma/kaaveramma/akkayya from the villages who roamed our localities, back in chickmaglur every morning making half their day's living.

meanwhile, she brought a half-a-litre Aquafina and gave.  we two beside him thought that was all our (3 co-benchers) cup of tea. we did share it among ourselves.
(i did bring a bottle of water with me from the guest house. but now that i have kept it up there, why take it down again?)

and guessing started again! this time i thought that the previous possibility was quite silly, these days, they have a more decent system in hotels, that of providing menucards, so quite possibly they'll do the same here too.

The Deccan Experience (contd)

15 min passed and ironically enough, they didn't have menucards!
nisha came dragging along a pullcart(!) loaded with stuff.
wasn't feeling like eating anything - it was only 8pm - but just for the heck of it asked what the cost of a noodlecup was? it was Rs40 and, just like that, i ordered for one. she opened the lid in half and put somehot water in it and gave.
myself looked straight at the MRP and it was Rs22 :-) nothing to be surprised at; in IA, Jet, Sahara they charge more - onlythey don't say how much!!
now,now all said and done i have to pay! took out a Rs100 gari-gari note and she gave a rejecting look.
 "No change sir!"
"okay, let me see if i have enough"
searched all my pocket and got only three Rs10 notes! should i dispense with my coins too?!! there was no other way! i had to! gave a Rs 5 coin, two Rs2 coins and a Rs1 coin. i myself was left with only one coin! (never mind, you are done,right?)

realisation an hour later: i wasn't done after all! that half-a-litre of aqafina was over long back and i did feel thirsty. requested for a bottle of water. got it too. but 5 min later, "Sir, you need to pay for water!!"

(Oh, do I need to?!, okay, but how do I!!! i have no change!)
Took out the same Rs100 note! and held it in air. (just held it, didn't give!)
nisha's face did turn sour, but what could i do?!!

politely and smilingly , "Sir, I don't have change"
politely and smilingly, me too! "But i already gave you all the small notes i had!!"
going away, "I'll come in a minute, sir".....

she never came later! only i myself went - to the exit door, at the end of flight. and there she was, saying "Thank you, Sir" to everyone.

"Thank you sir"
"But I haven't yet paid for my bottle of water"
"It's OK, sir"