For the uninitiated, "Airlift" is a recent movie about a rescue operation of Indians from Kuwait after Saddam Hussain attacked the country. It was a shocking tale of suddenly how the ex patriots lose everything in one night n are willing to go to their homeland.
So I take off from Zurich to go back home. The plane does not take off for a while and we are delayed by an hour to start with. I start sensing the delay in arrival at Istanbul but tell myself to feel better and go off to sleep. My connecting flight to Mumbai from Istanbul is at 7:50 pm and we land at Istanbul at 7:50 instead of 6:15!! No way to get the flight now I tell myself and start rushing towards the transfer deck to get the new boarding pass for the next flight.
And now the drama starts! It's a sea of humanity here, looks like every other flight to Istanbul has got delayed and people are anxious about getting on to the next plane. I stand in the queue which is pretty huge. Just behind me is a newly married couple returning back from their honeymoon and continuously talking to each other. In the 2.5 hours that I stood there they spoke about their school marks, pranks played on siblings, respective office gossip finally ending up in all the accounts they hold in banks, investments they have made and how to save taxes!! So much power in that long wait that a couple traveled From all romantic honey talks to straight practical money talks. I spent most of my time reading some stuff and listening to music. Finally I get the new boarding pass after 2.5 hours and it's for the next day evening. The airline guy tells me to get a visa, go to hotel organised by them who will give food coupons etc and thanks me. I am too occupied by thoughts to ask him anything more...
Now a search for visa counter where they tell me that only eVisa is available for Indian passport holders. I come to the eVisa machines row, 4 of those with 3 with tags of out of order! The only working machine has a big queue of Indians trying their hands at it. Passport scanning doesn't work, so adding all details manually and then debit card pin not being accepted, it had all elements to frustrate the users reminding them how helpless they feel when technology does not work as expected. But wait, we know that things work either by "dhakka start" or "restart"! Finally it works and I get my eVisa (which looks very much like a receipt we get at ATM machines) after 5-6 people,all Indians in the queue. Then we stand in queue for immigration and once out of the airport I have no clue where to go. With phone with no working sim and no wi fi, I almost starting to feel like a refugee not knowing where to go. Well then I use the ancient method of finding information, asking multiple people face to face and finally land at the hotel desk of the airline.
After being in another queue for submitting my details I start feeling "Aakhir Queue???"
Then we are asked to wait at a cafe and by then it's almost 11:30 or so and my mind has stopped responding or asking questions. I wait for the contact person to return with a printout of names, huddle around him, hear him saying something like "burvv yes' and understand he is trying to pronounce my name "Barve yashasree", he says "follow me" to all of us 25-30 zombie like passengers. We are then taken to the hotel by a bus. My mind starts coming back to Senses looking at the beautiful city and then even more beautiful hotel that we are taken to. I grab the Internet password and wait in another queue to get my room key. I enter my room at 12:50 am after all this drama!
Even after knowing fully that I am safe and airlines will take care of my safety n stay n food, I could not avoid feelings of helplessness and anxiety. I wonder how hundreds and thousands of people are dealing with it day in day out. They may be stranded ex patriots in Libya or Syria or just pure migrants who do not really know what's in store for them tomorrow. What a human crisis the world is facing today! Just wishing everyone strength to deal with it. Amen...
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