Off late, I have been travelling a lot for work and getting ample opportunities to objectively observe the behaviour of fellow passengers.
Having studied psychology, I anyway enjoy observing people.
Today, I was compelled to write after my short but torturous 55-minute journey from Delhi to Lucknow via Indigo.
I am lucky to get a vacant seat next to me most of the times. However, today it seems, was not my day. A rather healthy man (can't say fat or those who are bulky will mind) was stuffed in the middle seat.
First, I wanted to ask him to spare some of my space, which his obese bulges were invariably occupying, but soon I decided otherwise. I started observing him.
He sat as if he was the king. While I shrank (even with my kind of slender physique) towards the window, whereas the poor passenger sitting on the isle seat crossed his hands close to his chest.
Now this guy in the middle rested his hands on both the arm rests. With a smirk on his face, he looked victorious and I am sure he must have felt comfortable.
Expectig courstesy may have been asking for too much!
55 minutes passed and by this time I was feeling amused by the little pleasures of my co-passenger. I had decided that I have to share this experience with my friends at large.
Meanwhile, the flight landed. The wheels of the plane touched the ground with a thud sound, which got lost in the clink-clank of unfastening the seat belts.
Indians have a few funny habits, especially when travelling by air. Their unrestricted souls force them to not wear seat belts when they are driving on the road. And the same free soul compels them to unfasten their seat belts the moment the aircraft touches the ground.
Another funny habit - Indians can't survive without staring at their phones every two second. However, they leave all their important calls, especially related to business and work, for the take off and landing.
All the million dollar deals are done just before their flight is taking off and the airhostess is shouting her lungs out to switch off the mobile phones.
The phone seems to be linked to their heart beats. They start making calls the moment they start getting signals at the rimw of landing.
The clink clank of seat belt, and the chorus of 'hello' 'hello' 'where are you' are so synchronised that if it is quiet in any journey , I will feel suspicious and weird.
Now, even the airhostesses have given up and they don't react to this actions, which comes to these passengers involuntarily.
By the time the plane reached the bay, barring me and a couple of other lazy ones, all the passengers were standing with their luggage in their hands.
Yes, they had already opened the overhead bins and taken out their huge over size bags; and were waiting to get out of that jail. Some of them had already started pushing others because they wanted to be the first one to get out.
Anyway the doors open and the steps were arranged and by this time many passengers were at the door.
Now, the shuttle came to ferry people to the arrival lounge and in a hurry to get back to their business, again there was a race to take the first bus. At least 50 people were already in the bus like sardines, hanging till the door.
Waiting for the next shuttle is so not VIP like! Isn't it !
(If there is any award for those who get out of the plane first and get the first shuttle and then get the first trolley and reach the conveyor belt first, no one will be able to beat Indians).
So, we 10 people were the last one to take the last shuttle. We sat lazily in the bus and reached the arival lounge only to find those who were rushing, to have been desperately waiting for the luggage to start coming in.
Of course, those who know the value of time, were standing at the point where the luggage pops out of the conveyor belt with their trolleys blocking the way for others.
Meanwhile, standing on the other side of the belt (the less privileged one) I spotted my luggage and walked out, while some of those who were the first to get out of the plane were still waiting !
PS: It is just a candid observation (check the photos which I took when the plane had not even reached the bay), so please friends don't take any offence.
