First in flight

First in flight - Synonymous to the title I'm currently put up at Charlotte the place where the trial run of the first flight happened. It is because of this speciality all vehicles in Charlotte were tagged with title 'First in flight' in their number plates. This is just a piece of information and has a relevance with me choosing this title. This is totally about my first international flying experience alone. This might sound cynical  to many and even to me now. But before I could board the flight i could sense my tummy churning... Is it excitement , anxiety, fear, accomplishment..I really do not know which emotion to tag. It was all together.

The preparation to flight is an awesome time synonymous to how we prepare for festivals , the joy of the festival is more when we prepare more, likewise was our (my entire family i should say) preparation to the journey. I was starting a new life in the US from the scratch. So i had to purchase for the bare essentials cheaply available in our country, from little spoons to tawa. More than cutlery it was the sambar podi, rasa podi, vathal, vadam , milagai podi, oorukai(pickle), that was indispensable for living. Any tambrahm married girl travelling from india to any foreign country will surely have the above in her list. Life is almost nullified without the above items to us.

The heedful preparation of  all these items are taken care by moms and grannies in the family. Packing, weighing and ensuring it doesnt spill even if the suitcase is tossed from few feet height , is taken care of by dads and grandpas. They hold lots of experience packing for their cousins or brothers in laws or some distant relative of the family. So we can totally rely on their expertise.

Having got all the items ready, the next herculean task is to fit in all the items into the suitcase and ensure it doesnt go beyond the stipulated weight. Yes. Economy class has its weight limits and this being the middle class boon , we had to fit into the limit. The worst part is all the time i get overloaded, I get terribly confused as to which item to discard. But luckily I had one of my friends and cousin travelling to US on the same month and they were generous enough to carry few items for me. Atlast i was all set with 2 suitcases and 1 hand luggage fully loaded to his maximum occupamcy. The night finally arrived. Despite the fact i was going to miss my family, i was excited to meet my husband and about the new country and new life.

My sister and mom had prepared thachi mamu(curd rice) and idly for me with extra scoops of love. Although the flight provides food, not a thing stands before home made food. I finally reached the airport and checked in the luggage. Amazingly all of them weighed perfect, on the dot. I got my boarding passes and stepped in to pick the immigration slip. My family was waiting at the waiting arena. I went and bid a final good bye before i could join the queue. Everyone must have left with mixed feelings. As i stood in  the queue i was lost in thoughts. After I had completed the immigration I had to wait for an hour or so to board the flight. I completed a series of phone calls with parents, inlaws and husband when they announced passengers could board the flight. It was 4 am in the morning and I was feeling fresh. Paying less heed to all that was flashing in my mind, i boarded the flight. Less did i expect i would enjoy my journey as much as I did.

I could sense the bliss of solitude like how wordsworth had exclaimed. I was feeling completely independent and passionate about travelling alone. Soon the nightmare of the flight being highjacked and blasting mid way and crashing in the middle of the sea withered. Yes i had always had trouble flying, reason being i watch and imagine such incidents. I brushed behind all these thoughts and had my own time. Me and only me. I had taken my most favorite novel. What could be more blissful !Flying amidst clouds, coffee served at ur place, getting to read the most favorite book, watching movies or just simply sitting . I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my time. I had 2 transits. The first part of my flight was less than 5 hrs and that being mid night , I could not have much time for myself. I soon landed qatar, after few rounds of security clearance ,I boarded the longest leg and had the total bliss.

I sat beside the window, watching the flight take off. I was awestruck and feeling as light as a feather while the airplane was travelling amidst clouds. I started off my book and was engrossed in it. Then came the first meal time. I had a hearty meal and got occupied with movies from life of pi to Cinderella. I took a short nap here and there and the time had come for landing. Oops that was pretty quick. 16 hrs of travel whisked away so fast. Then the usual procedure of port of entry, immigration, luggage checkout and customs. I had to take the domestic flight, so i had this procedure of luggage recheck in. This part was little cumbersome since i had really huge suitcases. Once that was done, i got my tickets and walked towards the terminal. I was early and had to wait here again for an hour. I relished the idly mom had given and was very relaxed. I had couple of hours more to meet my husband. There were very few passengers in my terminal to board the flight.

This flight was really short that i felt the flight landed almost immediately. Few more steps to reach the exit  and i met my husband at the baggage counter. He was waiting wide eyed and gave me a quick hug. I had an extremely awesome time. It was when I understood that such simple joys in life are those that stand by as blissful memories.