Of Flights, Foreign Places And Fears!

 

I am Rajesh, and I am travelling in a flight for the first time.

The last two months have been a whirlwind affair. When I applied for a job in Mumbai, the city of dreams, I was absolutely sure that I would not get it. How could I, a simpleton from the village of Palakkad in Kerala, hope to get a job in what people refer to as the industrial capital of India?

And yet, I got the offer. Before I knew it, my parents were making preparations to send me off to Mumbai. There were numerous calls every day from my relatives who were scattered around Kerala. Funnily enough, while many of the relatives had their family members working in Dubai, they still spoke and behaved as if Mumbai was a bigger deal.

While I am excited, I am anxious too. First things first, I am somewhat familiar with the Hindi language and I can speak English very well. But I feel that language could be a problem there. Then there was the city’s lifestyle. Mumbai thrives and comes alive at night, while for me, the day ends at 7 in the evening and my entire family usually goes to sleep by 8.30. A few of my colleagues from Mumbai who spoke to me over the phone for HR-related work teased me that while I was all gearing up to sleep, they were still working in the office. Would I be able to adopt this work culture?

Mumbai is one of the most active cities in the world, and in comparison, my village in Kerala leads a peaceful and unhurried existence.

As if all these differences weren’t reason enough to worry about, I had the big issue to deal with.

I was afraid of heights and the company had arranged a flight for me.

Looking around the airport, I feel a crazy urge to run outside where my parents are still waiting. I want to work in the comfort of my own village. I want to be surrounded by my parents and familiar people. I want to live the unhurried life of my village. I want to work at reasonable hours and enjoy peaceful evenings at my simple home. I want to sit at the front porch of my  home with my parents after dinner and watch the empty lane outside the gate of my house.

I take a deep breath. It is too late now. I will have to make peace with my decision.

The shuttle –bus transports me to the stair affixed to the aircraft that would take me away from my homeland to a land that is entirely foreign to me. I take a good look at the enormous plane and it fills me with awe and fear at the same time.

To my relief, I have got a window-seat. I quickly call my parents and have a very short conversation with them before I switch off my cell.

The plane starts running on the runway after few minutes. I grip the arms of my seat tightly, the speed of the plane both exhilarating and scaring me.

I am not prepared for the feeling of weightlessness as the plane leaves the ground. Even though I am not leaning out of the window, I can see the ground below and also that the plane is tilted. A cold palm settles on my heart and I quickly avert my gaze.

After a few terrifying seconds, the plane seems to fly steadily. The sign for seat-belts is off now. But I still wear it, afraid to remove it.

“First time in a plane?” The lady next to me asks gently. She looks middle-aged and like me, she is also on her own. I nod, unable to trust my voice.

She smiles. “I remember my first flight too. I was scared beyond words. On top of it, I was flying away from my maternal home to my husband’s home in an unfamiliar city, all on my own. My husband, not knowing that I was scared of planes, booked me a flight ticket as a ‘surprise’.” She laughs lightly.

I smile at her easy banter.

“There was the fear of flying but mostly there was the melancholy of leaving behind my parents. For a married woman, every visit to her childhood home brings both happiness and grief.”

I nod, her words comforting my own inner turmoil.

“But then you know what helped me deal with my fear and my melancholy?” She says. “I looked out of the window of the plane and saw the ground below. It filled me with peace for some reasons. May be the fact that I could still see the ground was a reminder that I am not that high.”

I gulp and peak a look outside the window. To my surprise, I see tiny buildings and thin twists that are roads at some places and streams at others. I keep watching for a few minutes, feeling settled.

I feel a tap on my hand. I turn around and see the lady smiling at me.

“The sight of the earth below also brought in the realization that wherever I go, I will always belong to the same good old earth and the majestic sky. No place is foreign as long as you have the earth beneath you, and the sky watching over you.”

A deep calm settles over me and I drop back my head in relief. With steady hands I get rid of the seat belt and give a grateful smile to the lady whom the universe had sent in my time of need. She smiles back and takes out a book from her bag to read.

I keep watching out of the window, the sight of the earth below me, and the sky in brilliant hues of orange and red filling me with peace and calm. I am ready for a new chapter of my life.