Exchange

Exchange

The first time I flew, I flew international. Not that I didn’t have any idea about the internals of an aircraft before this. I had climbed inside the cockpit of a Gnat aircraft that was grounded after the 1971 war and was kept outside the city museum. Of course, I found the interiors of the Singapore Airlines Boeing quite different from that of the Gnat cockpit.


The big bird took off from the Bombay airport and I found my stomach trying to remain behind on the mother earth. By the time the ascent was finally over, I think everyone on the airport could have seen the thin string of my intestine extending all the way up to 33000 ft into the sky joining the Boeing to mother earth! Luckily, that was only a feeling and my intestines were still inside me.


Then the pilot told us that we were 33000 ft up in the air and that we could look down and see Mumbai like a small glowing board. I didn’t look. Who wants to see where bits and pieces of yourself are going to fall if the aircraft breaks up? The problem was that I had to spend almost 24 hours at that height till the aircraft landed at Los Angeles (of course there were stoppages in between – Singapore and then Tokyo).



After the seatbelts sign was off the airhostess came with her offers. There was a Japanese guy sitting beside me. Straightaway he asked for his free peg of liquor. The airhostess asked me but I declined.


“You don’t drink?” the Japanese asked.

“I do,” I said.

“Then why don’t you have one?”

“I am afraid.”

“Afraid of what? Your behavior? Nodbody knows you here.”

“Not that. Afraid of being less than conscious if the aircraft crashes.”

“If the aircraft crashes? Why do you want to be conscious when the aircraft crashes?”

I had no good answer to that. Come to think of it, there cannot be any good answer to that question.

“I think I am so afraid I cannot even think straight,” I said finally.

“This is your first time flying?”

“Yes,” I admitted.

“Oh! I can understand. Take my advice, have one. At least. It helps you sleep. You want to sleep if the aircraft crashes. And you want to sleep even if it don’t.”

So I had one.

“Are you afraid of the aircraft crashing now?” the Jap asked.

“No. Why should I be?”

I had a second one on his advice.

“Are you afraid of the aircraft crashing now?”

“The aircraft cannot crash,” I said. “After Wilbur and Orville, several others have worked and made them safe.”

I took a third one on my own advice.

“Are you afraid of the aircraft crashing now?”

“It does not matter. Even if it crashes, I am going up only. God lies that a way,” I said pointing my finger up.

I then lit a cigarette. The Jap did likewise. I must have smoked something like 6-7 cigarettes in a row before I went to sleep. The Jap was still drinking.

I woke up just in time to hear the pilot asking us to tighten the seatbelts for our descent to Singapore.

I tightened the belt and lit up a cigarette. The Jap did likewise. Then suddenly he asked, “Indian?” pointing at the cigarette.

“Yes,” I agreed showing him the Wills Navy Cut packet.

“Exchange?” the Jap proposed and immediately rummaged in his handbag to come up with a fresh twenties packet of Mild Seven.

I opened my used packet and showed him the lonely remaining cigarette and told him that that was all I had left with me.

“Exchange, exchange,” he still persisted and I gave in to his doggedness.

I brought out the lighter from my shirt pocket and lit my cigarette. He brought out his. Then he said, “Indian?”

For some reason, I found myself nodding my head.

“Exchange?” he asked.

I looked at his lighter. It was a sleek, deep red musical lighter that had a smooth press-button operation. Mine was a rough, no nonsense flint and spark wheel type lighter that you bought for just two rupees in those days.

“Exchange, exchange,” he said impatiently when he saw that I was not replying.

Then, without waiting for an answer, he slipped off my lighter from my hand and handed over his sleek one to me.

In the peace of his hotel suite, when he would have looked at the lighter, I am sure he must have uprooted the remaining hair on his scalp seeing the “Made in Hong Kong” imprint at the bottom of the lighter.

On the other hand, waiting for my connecting flight, I lit every cigarette with a casual flick of my finger. However painful the foreign exchange rates may normally be, this was one exchange that proved quite favorable. Who says consuming liquor is not good?


Avinash

dear Avinashjee,

welcome to IL....enjoyed your narration......that was one favourable exchange deal ...

mindi

Hi Avinashjee
Welcome to Indusladies..........nice to have one more person with katti methi baathay with day to day gossips..........
Your write up was good to read.

Dear Avinashjee (Ji),

A Warm Welcome on board dear !

A good write up intoxicating us.............keep more coming...........

Namaskar Avinashjee,

Welcome to the IL family.

a nice write up on the first flying experience that too international.

Good exchange deal...i hope you are not one of those who read the warning as

Cigarette smoking is INSURANCE to health.

Dear I Lites,

I have introduced Avinashjee here, so say thanks to me.

He writes very well, and is very funny.I hope u will like his posts and laught yr way .

Regards.kamal

Dear Avinashjee,

Very nice write up.
No wonder .. Kamalji wasthe one who introduced you to IL..cos as I was reading thru... i saw traces of Kamalji's blog.

Very good. Looking to read more.

Anu

Originally Posted by Mindian

dear Avinashjee,

welcome to IL....enjoyed your narration......that was one favourable exchange deal ...

mindi

Really good exchange this one. Otherwise I have had shoes exchanged at the temples where I have come back home in shoes torn in exchange for my brand new shoes!
Thanks for the comment
Avinash

Originally Posted by Arunarc

Hi Avinashjee
Welcome to Indusladies..........nice to have one more person with katti methi baathay with day to day gossips..........
Your write up was good to read.

Aruna,
I have many such khaati meethi baatein. Meanwhile thanks for the appreciation.
Avinash

Originally Posted by lalitha shivaguru

Dear Avinashjee (Ji),

A Warm Welcome on board dear !

A good write up intoxicating us.............keep more coming...........

Hi lalitha,
Thanks for the appreciation. Will definitely post more.
Avinash