Hindsight.

“Meeting a stranger can be totally fleeting and meaningless, unless you enter the individual’s world by finding out at least one thing that is meaningful to his or her life and exchange at least one genuine feeling. Tuning in to others is a circular flow: you send yourself out toward people; you receive them as they respond to you.”

Randomly stepping onto the airport some day with just a handbag, buying an airplane ticket to a place and travelling. Yeah yeah, it was one of those crazy wishes that we all have on our list. Those wishes where just the idea of them coming true are enough to lend us insane happiness.

"I want to speak to your manager. How the hell can you do that with us. She came 40 minutes prior to the flight time, I came 35." 

"Ma'am, we cannot allow you to check-in. You please go and speak at the reservation desk. Get your ticket cancelled. 20 minutes later, this ticket would be equivalent to zero." 

"Don't you have any higher authority person that I can speak to? How can you be so stubborn? None of your passengers has boarded the flight. First time with JetAirways and this is ridiculous."

Standing tall with beautiful big eyes, long hair and warm personality, she was admiringly beautiful as per Punjabi standards. She wore a pastel blue cotton silk suit with a rose gold MK watch shinning on the wrist of her left hand. I observed her as she yelled at the concerned person, there at Chandigarh Airport. While I pleaded him, she gave him even my share of bashing. A strong headed, loud and fierce Punjabi Jatti who roared and roared till they put a 'Closed' board on their counter. Ah! How we miss such fierce conversations in the far fetched land of Maharashtra, I thought to myself.

Amidst all this confusion, while one breath made me excited about extending stay at home, another would flash the dreaded face of my manager in front of my eyes and I knew I had to get back. Hence, I also tried persuading the official with full force. After the pointless discussion, a no-use-at-all spat, I rushed to check if I could find another flight to Mumbai if not Pune. While my mother stood outside the airport, observing everything yet failing to do anything for me instead of doubling the speed and intensity of her prayers, this lady called her dad and hence started another round of shouting.Yes, that's what we Punjabis do. When in doubt, shout! Sigh.

Thinking practically, I tried to figure out what could be done next. I rushed to the airline counters. Costing me a fortune, I finally had a ticket while this lady was still struggling to find a Jugaad. Punjabi, trait number 2. Irrespective of the situation, try and find Jugaad wherever you can!

‘This is the first time I’m going to Pune. Do you mind if I can accompany you from Mumbai to there? How do you go there via road? Taxi? Or bus? Actually I have never been to Pune before. I'll pay for the cab. Would you come along?’ 

She had oodles of questions. You don't have to search hard for spotting a Punjabi, especially, a woman brimming with questions to ask till she falls short of breath. I assured accompanying her which in turn assured her buying a ticket for herself and a peace of mind for me.

A little later, after the formalities, we sat in the waiting lounge. By then, her iPhone, LV bag, flawlessly royal style of carrying herself had already got a whiff of admiration from me. The moment she sat, she opened her laptop. I expected her to begin a session of online shopping or login to Skype, instead, to my utter surprise, she started coding. After having a short conversation, I came to know she was an engineer working for a US based software company. 

‘My nephew was telling me to get the ticket cancelled and postpone the plan. He is here to see us from Canada. I should've got it done. At least, I would've been saved from this sick hassle. ’ 

Pointer number four, see a Punjabi mentioning about his close/distant family living in Canada, fondly called as Kanneda and there you notice the sparkle in the eye as they talk about it. As if it’s the entire country that they own. 

Hours passed. Drawing similarities, we had gelled pretty well. We checked in, boarded the flight. Flew, changed states but one thing that continued, we kept on talking. I came to know that she was going to see her husband who is a Colonel in Army. The very moment she mentioned being an Army wife, I tried hard to concentrate on what she was saying because I just couldn’t focus, so I simply stared in her face, doing my best to hang onto sanity. 

It was quite sometime back when bowing to the Indian traditions, the family relatives start jumping and considering me as a probable daughter-in-law fitting into XYZ family. In spite of my mother agreeing to not marry me off anytime sooner, there were one after another befitting proposals coming in. To put an end to this for a while, I found a perfect escape mechanism. I stated, 'I want to marry an army officer. Talk to me next when you find one.' Annnnnd there was my peace! Having stated it without thinking about it, I didn't seem to care much. Later, even before I could realize, I got caught in my own web. With some of the friends joining Army after college, getting to meet their friends, I knew there was some alignment shift with men in uniform that made them grab-worthy. I was fascinated, mesmerized by Army men, Army wives and all that. And when this lady mentioned being one, Oh my God, all I wanted to do was snap my fingers and trade places with her.

The four hour road travel from Mumbai to Pune that I had dreaded during the former time of the day, all I now wanted was if we could stretch it a bit more. Surely a brief time is better than no time. She had loads to share, I had even more to learn. Yes, when two Punjabi-s strike the cord, there is just one thing. Endless chatter. And when it's women, I need not say more!

From sharing about her college years when she fell in love with this guy who later went ahead and joined Army as per the wishes of his family to how she struggled through the early years of being in US, it was like a pot full of things to unveil, to share and to know. 

Later, as the city drew closer with the journey coming to an end, it was nourishing to find a friendship so beautiful out of an experience so enriching. As they say, it doesn't harm you to shell out a few extra pounds if it gives you a great ride of experience!