I found an unusually big crowd of people just behind a newly wed girl draped in a red silk sari and laden with gold, befitting a princess. She had well chiseled sharp features, a smile on lips, and a curl of hair descended on her forehead. I stood mesmerized by her beauty. Suddenly, I found someone charging towards me.
‘ Rahul, what are you doing here?’ asked Girwalkar, a ship mate of mine. ' I am off to New York for a training', I replied. ‘Let me introduce you to Sonali, my cousin, she is also leaving for NY to join her husband ' he said, as he took me along to meet the girl in red sari!!
Sonali was a charming girl and after a brief introduction, her parents insisted that I assist her in flight and ensured that we got seats next to each other. After bidding goodbye to her relatives, Sonali accompanied me and soon we settled on our seats . It was a maiden voyage for both of us. I was still a bachelor and was at a loss to find a right subject for conversation with her. A little later the flight took off and headed in the westerly direction. As the aircraft climbed altitude, I could see the receding landmarks of Mumbai till everything merged into the blue horizon. The seat belt sign was switched off and the air hostess got busy in flight service. I asked Sonali if she hailed from Mumbai? She replied that she was from Pune and her folks resided there. Soon she took over the conversation and in place of a coy and shy girl I was now talking to a bubbly girl full of all kinds of queries and opinions. I gathered that she had been adjudged 'Miss Pune' in the previous year's beauty pageant and was married only two months earlier. Her fiancée was working as a Chemical Engineer with a company in New Jersey.
She kept chatting along and the stewardess mistook us to be the newly weds and kept devoting extra attention to make our journey a comfortable one. We were served with lunch and our conversation continued. The flight next landed at London's Heathrow airport. It was cold, as we stepped out of the aircraft. The crew changed and after re fuelling and a halt of about two hours the flight took off once again. Sonali fell asleep after a while. It was still a long haul to New York as I tried to catch some sleep. A few hours passed when the loudspeakers cracked to life and announcement was made by the pilot that we would soon be entering the US and were required to fill the Immigration Forms. I helped Sonali in filling her form. The flight slowly started the descent as the glittering lights of the skyscrapers loomed large. It resembled a fairyland. The tiredness which I was experiencing a short while ago vanished all of a sudden. The aircraft landed smoothly on the JFK International airport. We picked up our hand baggage and after clearing the immigration walked past the customs. The duty official checked the passports and asked us if there was anything to declare. He smiled and said' Enjoy your honeymoon'!! Both I and Sonali went red, on hearing this. Sonali's husband was waiting for her and after brief introduction with her husband we parted our ways.
‘ Rahul, what are you doing here?’ asked Girwalkar, a ship mate of mine. ' I am off to New York for a training', I replied. ‘Let me introduce you to Sonali, my cousin, she is also leaving for NY to join her husband ' he said, as he took me along to meet the girl in red sari!!
Sonali was a charming girl and after a brief introduction, her parents insisted that I assist her in flight and ensured that we got seats next to each other. After bidding goodbye to her relatives, Sonali accompanied me and soon we settled on our seats . It was a maiden voyage for both of us. I was still a bachelor and was at a loss to find a right subject for conversation with her. A little later the flight took off and headed in the westerly direction. As the aircraft climbed altitude, I could see the receding landmarks of Mumbai till everything merged into the blue horizon. The seat belt sign was switched off and the air hostess got busy in flight service. I asked Sonali if she hailed from Mumbai? She replied that she was from Pune and her folks resided there. Soon she took over the conversation and in place of a coy and shy girl I was now talking to a bubbly girl full of all kinds of queries and opinions. I gathered that she had been adjudged 'Miss Pune' in the previous year's beauty pageant and was married only two months earlier. Her fiancée was working as a Chemical Engineer with a company in New Jersey.
She kept chatting along and the stewardess mistook us to be the newly weds and kept devoting extra attention to make our journey a comfortable one. We were served with lunch and our conversation continued. The flight next landed at London's Heathrow airport. It was cold, as we stepped out of the aircraft. The crew changed and after re fuelling and a halt of about two hours the flight took off once again. Sonali fell asleep after a while. It was still a long haul to New York as I tried to catch some sleep. A few hours passed when the loudspeakers cracked to life and announcement was made by the pilot that we would soon be entering the US and were required to fill the Immigration Forms. I helped Sonali in filling her form. The flight slowly started the descent as the glittering lights of the skyscrapers loomed large. It resembled a fairyland. The tiredness which I was experiencing a short while ago vanished all of a sudden. The aircraft landed smoothly on the JFK International airport. We picked up our hand baggage and after clearing the immigration walked past the customs. The duty official checked the passports and asked us if there was anything to declare. He smiled and said' Enjoy your honeymoon'!! Both I and Sonali went red, on hearing this. Sonali's husband was waiting for her and after brief introduction with her husband we parted our ways.
A sweet post, I adore your style of writing.:)
ReplyDeleteThank you Saru! Coming from a prolific writer like you, I treasure this!!
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