Hyderabad Reds

The past few days have been so full of weird things tha it is difficult for me to stop myself from writing a summary about the happenings.

It al began on Monday the 9th of July 2007. I was supposed to go to Hyderabad for an audit in Advanta India Limited. I was really excited as it was an audit after a long time and I was really bored and was desperately looking for some work.

Secondly it was the first time I was sitting in an aeroplane and I was totally excited. The whole experience was mind blowing. Though it would have been better if my senior had let me sit on the window seat. But lets begin from the beginning.

I entered the airport, checked my luggage in, got my tickets, got myself frisked by a frail looking security guard, got in the waiting lounge, visited an airport toilet for the very first time, called papa, then Prachi and then tried calling Richa but could not get through to her.

At 6 a.m. we checked in, got in an airport bus, took 4 minutes in that thing to travel some 100 meters. And then I entered an aircraft for the first time in my life. It was so exciting that I almost missed the hot air hostess. Well almost I was excited but I was still Aditya. She so sweetly told me how nice it was to have me aboard. It almost made my day. But then I heard her saying the same thing to a 40 something uncle looking like he had ran all the way from Sakinaka to get on the plane.

We sat on our seats, my being the 25 E, which if you have forgotten was the one next to the window seat. It took us some 20 minutes to move, and another 25 minutes to fly off the ground. Till then the airhostess and another heavily gelled haired steward showed us a funny little drill about how to put on our seat belts, an oxygen mask and how in case of an emergency take out a safety jacket from under our seats and wear it and pull the strings. Informative. But boring.

We moved for some 5 times during the latter 25 minutes of my stay in the plane. Then I saw that an Indigo Airlines plane was in front of us. Which was waiting to be on what I came to know was the runway. I saw it taking off and was amazed at how it gathered speed so quickly and flew away until I could not see it. Then we moved for the sixth time on to the runway and this time we did not stop. We gathered speed and the engines started making a hell lot of noise. In what I thought might have been 12 to 15 seconds we were air borne, as I felt a knot in my stomach.

Within 5 seconds we were hovering over Juhu beach. A distance, that takes atleast 30 minutes by road, from the airport. To the left we went and I saw a bird’s eye view of the city I love. It was looking absolutely breath taking. Mumbai was cloudy that day otherwise it would have been even better.

The hostess came with another aunty type hostess with the food trolley. First the gelled steward gave us some fresh lime soda bottles and then the hostess gave us some snacks of which only the pastry was nice. Suddenly I looked outside the window again, we were flying above a thick carpet of clouds. Could not see even a speck of ground. The sky that was looking all cloudy some 5 minutes ago was clear blue and the sun was about to set, throwing its slanting evening rays at us. The whole setting was so perfect, a beautiful view, and a pastry in my mouth. I was the happiest man on earth at that time. It made me suddenly so peaceful that I almost could not hear what was happening around me. I almost forgot that I was also part unhappy about going to Hyderabad, as I was not expected to return back to Mumbai for the next 2 weeks.

The whole setting will remain with me till I am burned to ashes. The clear dark blue skies, a carpet of thick gray clouds and golden slanting sun rays. The sky was getting darker by the minute and as we started descending some 30 minutes later it had become very dark. When we pierced the clouds, I saw the city of Hyderabad sparkling with lights that reminded me of the Happydent White Chewing Gum ad. Mauskuralay Jagmagalay!

We touched down at the NT Rama Rao Airport at 8.05 p.m. and then entered a dingy airport bus. Collected my luggage and then went in the company’s car to the company guest house situated at 401, Krishe Gardens, Begumpet. Soon I called papa and told him of my safe arrival in the Naawabi city.

The guesthouse was in a very posh society where we never saw more than 4 people together, it was empty all the time, the room was really nice, but the bed and especially the pillows were a nightmare. I took a shower and left the fill our stomachs. We walked almost 2 km in search of some Hayderabadi restaurant. But we only saw the places we see in Mumbai. Finally we settled in at Pizza Hut and ate our meals.

Came back to the room at around 11.05 p.m. Saw Seinfeld after the first break was over. Went to bed at around 11.35 p.m. Read a bit and then slept at about 12.15 a.m. Well that how my first interaction with an aeroplane went and I gave my first greeting to Hyderabad!