Iyer's Impending Trip!

 

“Yes you heard it right! We are going to Nepal!” Susheela trilled into the phone and Iyer cringed.

It had all started as an innocent reminder from Susheela. Wait, not just one reminder, but a series of ‘innocent’ reminders.

Our thirtieth anniversary is coming up! We should do something adventurous.

Thirtieth comes but only once! (What about the other anniversaries? Iyer had wisely refrained from remarking).

This anniversary let us surprise each other with something extravagant!

I don’t know… we are growing old. Probably we should have traveled more in our younger days.

I have never traveled by plane!

It was the last one that had struck Iyer, not just with an idea but also with dread.

Iyer was afraid of heights.

Nobody in the family knew this. He had managed to keep it a secret all this while. But one look at Susheela’s eager (and more importantly, aging) face had made him chin up and plan a trip to Nepal. His son - that rascal - had immediately booked air-tickets without even consulting Iyer. 

It was going to be a trip of four days. Iyer couldn’t muster enough excitement, though.

Mainly because he needed to get past his phobia of air-travel. Just thinking about flying in a plane made his palms sweaty and cold. How was he supposed to do that without panicking?

He had tried his best to avoid the flight. Oh he had tried and how!

Sushi, we can travel by train too! It will be fun!

Huh! Train? From Hyderabad to Nepal??? You have officially lost it, old man.

No, no. Listen to me! You need to take a train from Hyderabad Deccan to Janakpur.

Where is Janakpur? How long will that take?

Janakpur is the nearest station to Nepal. Uh.. the journey will take only about a day and 15 hours. We will enjoy!

Susheela had looked at him in a comical mix of terror and concern.

And then, from Janakpur, we can go to Kathmandu taking a taxi, a train and finally a bus.

Uhuh… and how long will that journey take?

Umm… just about 32 hours.

Susheela had casually nodded and then screamed out her son’s name, asking him to check Iyer.

What was wrong with train journeys? They were awesome.

To begin with, you would be on the ground. Solid, reliable, dependable ground. Then there were the chai-waalas, the cutlet-sellers, the Bhel-puri vendors – they all had interesting stories to share. Iyer loved talking to people. He often made it a point to talk to vendors and hear about their lives.

Where could he get this comfort in the plane? The air-hostess, steward and the entire crew always looked so plastic and fake. Iyer didn’t blame them. Doing the same thing every day must finally catch up with them. Not to mention the risks they undertook by flying every day.

No. Iyer would do everything in his power to skip the plane and travel by road or train.

Even if he had to spend the entire week in a train.

Iyer had always taken pride in being determined. When he decided one thing, nothing and no one in the world could change his decision.

He was a manly man’s manly man through and through.

One month later:

Iyer tried his best to not look scared. One step at a time. Get down from the cab and without looking at any plane, keep your head down and proceed inside the airport.

His son had other grand plans. There were a zillion photos to take. Outside the cab, with the trolley, then one with Iyer and Susheela showing their flight-tickets, then one beside the police who stood at the entrance and checked their credentials to let them inside.. really, Iyer was minutes away from screaming in sheer terror and frustration.

Then Susheela, who had never stepped inside an airport, took her sweet time, gawking and admiring everything that she could see.

What a beautiful shop!

Ooh, the ground looks so clean and shiny!

The toilets shine resplendent!

Even the garbage bin looks so cute!

Iyer appropriately oohed and aahed and stuck to his decision of not looking at any plane.

Finally after what seemed like eternity, they both were seated inside the plane.

Iyer’s heartbeat accelerated as the air-hostess started giving safety instructions. Why were the seats packed so closely? He felt slightly claustrophobic. He took some deep breaths as the plane started moving on the runway.

Susheela clutched the arm of her seat tightly. Iyer looked at her and saw fear on her face.

The plane picked up speed, still very much on the ground.

“Are you all right?” He asked her.

She smiled and nodded.

It was the smile that did it for Iyer. He knew Susheela enough to know that she was scared but she was trying to act brave.

In that moment, Iyer forgot his own fear. He gently pried Susheela’s fingers off the seat and held them with his own. She looked at him in concern.

“Don’t worry. We are together.” He told her gently.

She smiled and relaxed visibly.

Of course the plane chose that exact moment to take off. At the first feeling of being air-borne, Iyer panicked as he felt his stomach drop. But then he looked at Susheela who was smiling gleefully, apparently having left her fear on the ground.

They both burst out laughing.

“Look! I can see the land below! We are so up!” Susheela exclaimed in awe as she looked out through the window.

Iyer knew that he would be taking it too far if he gazed out of the window and watched the land below. For now, he was enjoying the feeling of being airborne, his wife of thirty years beside him, happy and excited, and he realized that’s all he wanted.

He leaned back on his seat with a relaxed sigh and heard the airhostess announce that their meal would be served shortly.

He looked at Susheela who was gazing out, an expression of awe on her face. He smiled and took out his newspaper. Flicking the paper once, he started reading.

Really, airplanes were all right.