Monday, May 25, 2009

Airports are strange places..

Airports are strange places. So are railway station and bus stops. But for the sake of completion of this post, I will be limiting my observations to Airports.

Airports are like tossed salad. Of what you may ask, of EMOTIONS says Professor Iya.

Sitting in the lounge, and too tired to go shop in the duty free store, I had an amazingly interesting time noticing people

- A young girl and a young boy. The girl still has her Mehndi intact and so are her Churhas. She mustn’t have been married for more than a week. All excited. Boarding pass tightly clutched. The boy on the other hand looks so love struck. He is unable to take his hands and eyes off her. No points of guessing that this is one smitten newly married couple off to their honeymoon.

- Exactly next to them is this group of 3 men must be in their early 40’s, engaged in some very energetic discussion. They are dressed in formals. Each pause from the discussion is spent in stealing a glance to the blackberry’s.

- At a little distance is this old lady, sitting anxiously. From the look of it, I think she is traveling outside India for the first time. She has her hand bag clutched close to her chest. Has to be a mother who is going to meet her child settled far far away.

- Then there is this lady sitting right next to me, busy giving instructions on the phone. It’s to her husband is my guess. All mechanical, without a single iota of emotions. Mundane stuff. She is finishing her duty before she looses connectivity for some hours.

- There is this couple standing in one corner, in a heated argument. They are trying to keep their voices low but still it’s evident that they are fighting. To save them the embarrassment I quickly look away but not before seeing accusing look the lady is giving the man.

- There is this man, must be in his 30’s and an elderly couple with him. My guess, it’s his parents. He is going all out to make them comfortable. He gets them coffee. He is constantly talking to them, trying to explain stuff (so it feels from his gestures). On the other hand this couple looks cheerless. As if they are being forced to leave the place that they so love and go somewhere else.

Then there are some lone travelers like me. Either on the phone, or immersed in a book or tapping away on a laptop.

In a radius of a few meters I see love, romance, monotony, career aspirations, fear, regret, hatred and a lot more.
Each one is traveling for a different purpose. Some happy, some not so happy. That’s life. We start and end at the same point but go through something so unique in the midst. That’s what makes it special and that’s what makes it worth it.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not at all a mundane stuff :) . Simply simple and amazing. I liked the "tossed salad of emotions part". I think most of us do this when we are travelling alone but don't even notice others when we are accompanied by someone. Life is indeed a JOURNEY of it's own.

Pinku said...

hey....

nice lil collage u have here of emotions and glimpses of lives lived differently...

Aman said...

Hey u have started writing like an author now a days... well written.. one of the best posts of the BLOG..

Monika said...

lovely post Iya, just day before I went to pick up N from the airport and sitting in the arrival lounge had thoughts which echo urs....

lovely post

Meira said...

hmm...you forgot to mention about the lady who was observing everybody else and thinking of how to pen it all in her blog :P
Nice.

mindspace said...

i do that too, always when i travel alone.. infact i love observing ppl all the time.. you have penned it down v well.

Milisha said...

a very gud way to pass time n well written too :)

Amit said...

nice collection of observations abt people...i love observing ppl:)

cheers,
amit

Anonymous said...

I agree to what Aman write just above. Wonderful observation and equally good presentation.

Solilo said...

Iya, There are times when I sit and look around and have similar thoughts. It is fun to see this hotchpotch of world.

Indyeah said...

In a radius of a few meters I see love, romance, monotony, career aspirations, fear, regret, hatred and a lot more.
Each one is traveling for a different purpose. Some happy, some not so happy. That’s life. We start and end at the same point but go through something so unique in the midst. That’s what makes it special and that’s what makes it worth it.
Beautiful to read Iya :)
you have captured quite a lot in a few words...

loved the post:)

Baatein unkahi si said...

Hi Iya

I have been reading your blog for quite some time but leaving a comment first time. This post of yours is really nice. I am sure each one of has felt/seen the same every time we flew in/out of the airports, but you drew it out in words really nice.
A really beautiful post.

Iya said...

@ Anonymous – please leave ur name next time.. this suspense kills me..

@ Pinku – Thanks, I couldn’t help but nitoce..

@ Aman – thanks so much, coming from you it means a lot and u know that..

@ Monika – thanks Monika..

Iya said...

@ Meira – welcome to my page.. actually I didn’t think about writing a post then.. I was so enjoying watching it all

@ Tara – don’t we do that all the time.. this time I thought I should write it as well..

@ Milisha – nice to see a comment from you..

@ Hopeless Romantic – yeah I love watching people too, but I rarely do it..i am always so busy doing my own thing that I hardly notice others…

Iya said...

@ Krulanc – welcome to my page, and thanks for the compliment.

@ Solilo – I did that after a long time and enjoyed it so much

@ Indyeah – Thanks so much.. its so nice to hear people say that they loved what they read!!

@ Dil se – so finally this post made you come out in the open  I am so gald..Welcome to my world.. thanks for such nice words..

Masood said...

Awesome post Iya. I would rate this amongst your best till date.

So many emotions, but all so relevant to the situation, captured perfectly.

Great read :)

Anonymous said...

How does it matter who I am. What matters to me is the good article I read and I feel the writer desrves the appreciation for the same. Therez nothing in the name.
Keep writing !

Iya said...

@ Anunymous - to u a good article matters and u come here and appreciate it.. thats very nice of u..
but it will be equally nice if u tell me who u are.. from the look of it i think i know u.. whats the point in hidding ur identity..
drop me a mail if u dont want to disclose ur identity here..

Iya said...

@ Masood - thanks buddy, u r being missed from the blog world//

Mampi said...

Professor Iya,
I loved this post.
I do that observation stuff most of the times too.

~anu~ said...

Professor Iya, I loved the post too! :) I too love observing people in such places. Very well written. cheers!

Imp's Mom said...

Oh I loved this post!

Observing people is a great pass time.. and have done it too...esp while waiting :D

Just call me 'A' said...

i noticed similar stuff few days ago in the airport :). it's like dejavu reading this :)

Kanupriya said...

Wah,nice read.Very good post!
Me also keep on observing people - be it airport, theater or restaurants & N calls this habit of mine as "catalysis - analysis" :P. Its really engaging to watch so many behaviors at one place.

Iya said...

@ Mampi – Thanks lady.. aap aaye bahar aayi!! Now no more disappearing acts please..

@ Anu – thanks sweetheart.. when r u coming back?

@ Imps Mom – thank u thank u..

@ Just Call me A – I guess what I have written here is not unique, these emotions are there everywhere.

@ Kanu – lolzz on “catalysis – analysis”, thanks for liking the post!!

Indian Homemaker said...

Tossed salad indeed!! Beautifully written Iya... and I agree with Aman this reads like a professionally written article!
The emotions, the people, the private moments shared in a public space.... have been captured so beautifully that we can all relate to it. :)
I had loved the one in which there is a boy on the sidewalk lighting candles, and now this one - I would say these two are my favorites!

Ekta said...

I was about to write exactly what Aman said... I felt as if i am reading a book... and you wrote so so well... U know Iya, you startle me with the simplicity you write with...

How do we know said...

hey.. i like doing that too.. watching and observing people at public places.. the Other thinks its not right.. but it tells me so much about them, and about people in general.. more than coversation ever can!

Great post!!

Anonymous said...

Interesting observations there!!
Wonder how chaos can actually make you see the individual pieces so clearly!

Iya said...

@ IHM – Thanks so much.. ur comment has made my day!!!

@ Ekta – I am so happy u have finally starting leaving comments.. thanks so much for the kind words..

@ How do we know – that’s true.. sometimes looking at someone can tell so much about the person..

@ Puja – u know there is a specific order in chaos, u only need to look for it!!

Swaram said...

Nice one! I do this all the time. All along the mrng walk, I play these guessing games. Had even wanted to do a post on it once; but somehow slipped from my mind. Loved the inferences drawn. :)

Mama - Mia said...

thats so true!

wondered what someone else who was observing people thought about you?! :)

lovely post!

cheers!

abha

roop said...

i enjoyed this post verr much, iya.

well written. :)