The Slightly-bearable Lightness Of Being Airborne

Read Part 1 Here!

"Psst! Remember that anti-histamine tablet that makes you drowsy? Why not gulp two of them at once! You won't feel anything on the flight!" Came my mind's brilliant idea.

Of course I brushed it off. (But the temptation was too great to numb myself to not to feel any turbulence).

The kid was hyper-excited, the husband was hyper-worried and I was hyper-paranoid. Still when we made it to the departure gate to walk towards the flight, my kid's enthusiasm turned infectious and we found ourselves smiling at his antics.

That smile lasted on my face until I stepped inside the flight. Instant claustrophobia. Have the seats shrunken in flights in the past seven years? Was the flight always this congested?? Did I usually have only so much of leg room? The thoughts wreaked havoc on my mind.

But the icing on the cake was yet to come.

I and my husband hyped up the kid about the take-off process. The kid had the window seat and I was in the middle. All was going well until the pilot started announcing. 'Due to foggy conditions we are expecting a bumpy flight for a short while during the take-off as well as the landing. Once we cover a suitable altitude the flight would be smooth.'

All I could focus was on the 'bumpy' part of the announcement. A cold feeling settled upon me and the numbness that I was wishing for finally made its presence felt.

I deserve a gallantry award for not screaming in sheer terror and bolting off the plane then and there. The announcement plus the awfully small space to move plus my claustrophobia all hit at once. I was minutes away from hyper-ventilating.

But then, something changed. The announcement. It made all the difference.

Because when the pilot gave a heads-up about the bumpy flight, I sort of accepted it (all the while screaming inside in silence). I have experienced that the fear of facing a thing diminishes when you have an idea about what to expect. Also, take-offs have taught me one thing - when the plane is airborne, you sort of trust the process because there isn't anything you can do. 

The flight was indeed bumpy during the take-off and the landing but somehow, since I was better prepared (but mostly because of the incessant praying that I was doing), I didn't panic. In fact, I found myself cheering and laughing along with the kid during the moments of turbulence. Along with the gallantry award, I am going to make space for the Oscar for best acting too. Inside, I was still screaming. 

Once the landing was dealt with, we exited the airport and walked into a furnace. 

Instant regret. 

Coimbatore heat. We weren't prepared. (And to think we hail from Hyderabad where 43 - 44 degrees is 'normal' in the month of April). Our ride had already arrived and we rushed inside the car, eagerly soaking up the cool air that the A/c vent was blowing. 

The route from Coimbatore to Palakkad is best enjoyed during train journeys. It is one never-ending panorama of huge mountains, grasslands and green vegetation that creates a picture-perfect scenery. 

By road, the route is picturesque too. Most of the journey is through a highway which offers stunning views of mountains. 

As if taking pity on us, clouds started gathering in the sky, bringing some much-needed respite from the heat. We enjoyed the ride and reached Palakkad.

Kalpathy village where my parents stay, has a temple in every lane. It is sheer pleasure to walk on the neat lanes with bungalows bordering both the sides. Some houses are big with multiple storeys while some are small but every house is a matter of pride for the owner. 

I and my husband stepped out in the evening and visited some temples. The humidity was unbearable. Just when I thought I would faint, a rumble echoed in the sky with the flash of lightning. 

Blessed rains were here!

We soaked in the cool showers as we walked. I saw two ladies praying to the sky with folded hands as they turned their faces upwards with smiles, welcoming the rain with gratitude. It was touching to see how eagerly the people here await rains, and how happy it makes them when the sky finally blesses them. 

As I stood outside my parents' house later that night, enjoying the cool breeze, I mentally reflected upon the day.

- Stepped inside a plane after seven years.

- Didn't scream in terror / Didn't try to run away.

- Managed to not to hyper-ventilate inside the plane.

- Got roasted in the infamous heat of Palakkad.

- Enjoyed a keralean rainy shower.

All in all, a good first day of the trip. 

I was all set to retire for the day, for, the next day's schedule included an early-morning - sorry, dawn - auto-ride to Palakkad station to pick-up my cousin and her family. I set the alarm for 4.15 and fell asleep, relishing the feel of ground beneath me. Sometimes that is all you need - stable ground beneath your feet and no looming terror of a 'bumpy' flight.