It is the evening of 11th of august. The day that Pheebs is flying out to Melbourne. Yeah she claims it is her hometown now. 2 years in Australia and she is more Oz than Indian these days. Her vacation was short and her schedule was tight. So tight that I have seen her only about couple times this whole month that she was here. Or rather not, she was on a week long trip for a couple times this vacation and so effectively that makes it just a couple weeks out here.
She has got to check in at 10:30 PM for a Malaysian airlines flight to Melbourne. I call up Aunt and she is not feeling too well, I suspect it is also the prospect of breaking down before a crowd of relatives that is pulling her strings. Pheebs has always been a lone solace for Aunt in the troublesome patches of her eventful life.
So that leave us both to visit the airport. We have dinner and start at around 9:30 PM. As usual just joined the main road and the traffic melee starts. Sony World Junction is, I should say a intersection where the traffic is slow but moving. But today we are not that lucky. When it rains it pours and when it does everything in Bangalore stops. But its been sometime since the rain stopped and the traffic goes on.
Intermediate ring road is a stretch that I love biking on and this time around it is smooth. We go up the Domalur flyover and join Airport road. Its after this that the real fun starts. Manipal hospital signal and it goes on and on. I really don't know what held us out there but we were held up for about 10 mins there.
We pass all obstacles to finally enter - HAL Airport - Departures. I turn right from Airport road into the Departures section entrance road to find a endless pile of vehicles all jam packed and locked on. There are vehicles of all makes and types. From bikes, small cars, luxury cars, SUVs, cabs and even trucks it all lying there doing nothing and moving no where.
The wait seems to be indefinite. Pheebs rings up to say that she is in the Airport and waiting for us and she must check in for departure at 10:30. Its already 10 minutes past 10 and time is running out. On the pavement we see Dims and her friend waking along. I wish we could do the same and reach before Pheebs is gone for another 2 years, but I had my vehicle to attend to. I had to park and get to the departures terminal.
And then, some vehicles get cleared and start moving and lo, the unending wait is suddenly over. Being on a bike also helps in such situations. I navigated my bike between the gaps between the stranded bigger vehicles and finally hit the parking lot. 2 minutes and my bike was parked and we ran in to meet Pheebs and bid farewell to her.
All was not lost, Pheebs was just entering the boarding area as we joined all our people. Couple of minutes she managed to be with us and then waved the final bye. It was a happy ending after all. Putting up with the rain, the endless traffic, the blazing horns and the ceaseless chaos, for this last minute adieu to some one who will be gone for sometime now.
I guess life is all about the little moments of happiness that pass by. All we need to do is to slow time during those times of merry and enjoy the joy when it lasts! :)
She has got to check in at 10:30 PM for a Malaysian airlines flight to Melbourne. I call up Aunt and she is not feeling too well, I suspect it is also the prospect of breaking down before a crowd of relatives that is pulling her strings. Pheebs has always been a lone solace for Aunt in the troublesome patches of her eventful life.
So that leave us both to visit the airport. We have dinner and start at around 9:30 PM. As usual just joined the main road and the traffic melee starts. Sony World Junction is, I should say a intersection where the traffic is slow but moving. But today we are not that lucky. When it rains it pours and when it does everything in Bangalore stops. But its been sometime since the rain stopped and the traffic goes on.
Intermediate ring road is a stretch that I love biking on and this time around it is smooth. We go up the Domalur flyover and join Airport road. Its after this that the real fun starts. Manipal hospital signal and it goes on and on. I really don't know what held us out there but we were held up for about 10 mins there.
We pass all obstacles to finally enter - HAL Airport - Departures. I turn right from Airport road into the Departures section entrance road to find a endless pile of vehicles all jam packed and locked on. There are vehicles of all makes and types. From bikes, small cars, luxury cars, SUVs, cabs and even trucks it all lying there doing nothing and moving no where.
The wait seems to be indefinite. Pheebs rings up to say that she is in the Airport and waiting for us and she must check in for departure at 10:30. Its already 10 minutes past 10 and time is running out. On the pavement we see Dims and her friend waking along. I wish we could do the same and reach before Pheebs is gone for another 2 years, but I had my vehicle to attend to. I had to park and get to the departures terminal.
And then, some vehicles get cleared and start moving and lo, the unending wait is suddenly over. Being on a bike also helps in such situations. I navigated my bike between the gaps between the stranded bigger vehicles and finally hit the parking lot. 2 minutes and my bike was parked and we ran in to meet Pheebs and bid farewell to her.
All was not lost, Pheebs was just entering the boarding area as we joined all our people. Couple of minutes she managed to be with us and then waved the final bye. It was a happy ending after all. Putting up with the rain, the endless traffic, the blazing horns and the ceaseless chaos, for this last minute adieu to some one who will be gone for sometime now.
I guess life is all about the little moments of happiness that pass by. All we need to do is to slow time during those times of merry and enjoy the joy when it lasts! :)
