It was a beautiful Sunday morning in Nashua....it had rained all night....Saturday had been wonderful with the trip to the snow clad mountains, I don’t rem the name of the place though....we had plans to visit a few places in Boston today....I had a flight to catch at 4 in the evening and I would be back in Chicago by 6....though the start was not so great, I have been enjoying this trip……we had to leave the house by 8....but by now, it had started pouring..the guy on the television was talking about this cyclone in the east coast....worst ever in the past few years in the united states...they forecasted the weather conditions to be pretty bad for the next 4-5 days...our plan for the day was cancelled......we decided to leave the house at 12, it would take us at least 4 hours to reach the airport by road in this weather....it didn't occur to either of us that we should check the flight status ....it was pretty late when I realized it...I still called them only to hear that all flights from Boston have been cancelled due to bad weather.......only next available flight to Chicago was on next Thursday.....I had no idea what was happening...all I could think of was somehow I need to get to Chicago....the lady on the phone was kind...she asked if I would mind taking a flight from Rhode islands....I had no idea where Rhode islands was.....I checked with him...he thought for a moment and then asked me to confirm the ticket....flight was at 6 and it would take 5 hours to reach the airport......it was already 11.30...we had no time to waste....we just rushed to the car and he realized that he needs a map....his gprs had stopped working....quickly went to his office, got the print out and we started.....it was raining cats and dogs....visibility was very poor....road was blocked at a stretch due to couple of accidents....I couldn’t see the road at all...I wonder how he drove that day.....it was already 4 and we hadn't even covered half the way....I was hoping that the flight is delayed.....most of the flights with american airlines generally get delayed...I was only counting on that...we reached the airport at 5....it was a pretty small airport....I ran to the AA counter while he went to park the car...I found no one in the counter....the guy next to me knew I was running late, he helped me screen my baggage fast and checked it in...I still see no one in the counter....its 5.40.....I run to the adjacent counters, but no one has any clue about the guys in this counter.....here comes this fat guy..the airport staff....he asks me to calm down....he gets my flight details....after a long pause he tells me...you can’t take that flight....we have only two member staff from AA...they first issue the boarding pass and then get into the flight to help the passengers...it’s too late now and I cannot get them out to issue your boarding pass........so what do I do now....I just stood there for about five minutes trying to think of other options...and suddenly I realized that I have checked my baggage in....I again ran to the counter and they say I can collect the bag at Chicago because the flight has already left...shit man....what’s happening with me...by then he had parked the car and joined me....I explained him the situation...I had missed my flight...my bag was gone....next available flight was only after 2 days and I had to report to office the next day...I checked all other airlines and fortunately there was one last seat available in the flight to Chicago run by southwest airlines and the flight was scheduled to leave at 7, the next morning....I had no other choice....I bought the ticket paying 400 bucks while I had got a two way ticket earlier for 250 USD which was not valid anymore....I was kind of relieved...I had a confirmed ticket and the flight was in the morning.....we started discussing about what do we do now...it was 7.30 and going back to nashua wouldn't make sense....while we were discussing this, my mind was only thinking about my bag....I didn’t have a receipt or a boarding pass or anything to prove that my bag was checked in....I was a li'l worried.....I again went to AA staff to check how I can collect my bag....they asked me to check at the baggage counter downstairs....I got to know from the guy at the baggage section about an orphaned suitcase which was wrongly checked in and was not loaded into the AA flight....but he had no clue where the bag was...I ran back to the AA counter only to be sent to missing baggage section....after running up and down for about 3-4 times, I found a black suitcase lying outside the baggage section.....was that mine...yes it was...
ok everything is fine now... flight...ticket...bag...there were three options for me to spend the night....go back to his place or rent a room in a hotel or stay back in the airport..going back to his place was ruled out, it just didn’t make sense....I wasn't comfortable renting a room alone in that place....I thought the best option would be to stay back in the airport....I told him I would stay back.....and I also insisted that he should leave because it was still raining and it’s not safe to drive late in the night.....he just smiled….I can take care of myself...of course I can....we had dinner in the nearby Mac'D and then he left...
I came back to the airport....took a closer look....it was a small airport...but very neat and tidy....there were two floors....ground floor had 'mayihelpyou', baggage section and the arrivals.....first floor was bigger than the ground floor....with all the ticketing sections and departure....the 'mayihelpyou' counter had a huge yacht model made of fabric I guess which stood tall reaching the first floor...I came to the first floor and sat on one of the metal chairs in the waiting section....there were about 15-20 people around me...the elevator in front of me caught my attention....it was a transparent one completely made of glass...one could see the machine and the metal inside...it looked pretty cool....I clicked a snap on my mobile....I wanted to share the pic with aysh, I thought she would love it.....called up mom and told her that the trip was really nice..surprisingly and thankfully she didn’t specifically ask me where I was.... she probably assumed that I would be back by then....made a few more calls...by the time I was done with the call, I realized that I was alone and all others had left in the last flight for the night....most of the lights were switched off and a very few dim lights were glowing....that's when I realized it was a bad decision....in Mumbai airport, you cannot say if its 3 am or pm...it’s always crowded and buzzing with people....how would I know that the stupid airport I was in closes down after the last flight........while I was waiting there, I realized that my mobile battery was almost dead....I very badly needed to charge it...that was the only device I had to connect me to my world....except alol no one had a clue where I was that night...I went around looking for a plug point...I found one in the rest room......I put my mobile for charging and sat on a stone slab just beside the mirror with my two bags with me....it was a long and tiring day so far and I was feeling very sleepy...I dozed off and woke up to realize that I was there for pretty long...it was 2 am in the night.....now this is the most interesting part of the story..I got out of the rest room with my bags and the airport was completely deserted....it was cold and windy and I could see lots of papers and other stuff flying around.....I walked a little further and saw two cops walking towards me and were yelling at me.....I was still sleepy and was finding it difficult to understand what they were trying to say....I just gave them a dumb look and told them I had a flight to catch in the morning....all they wanted to know was how I got there and I wasn't saying anything....one guy got pissed off and he walked past me to check if there were more people in there....our conversation was something like this....hey who are you and how the hell did you get here.....I have been here since last night..have a flight to Chicago in the morning....we have cleared this area, where exactly were you......I was in the rest room.....how long were you in there......I was charging my mobile, but why are you questioning me.....lady, all flights are cancelled and the airport is shut down indefinitely, one of the airport walls has collapsed due to rains.....but I have a flight in the morning....madam do you understand when I say that the airport is shut down...no flights are operating..now please get to the ground floor immediately....as I climb down the escalator, all eyes were on me....there were a bunch of cops and airport staff on both sides of the escalator wondering how did I get to the first floor when the complete airport was cleared off the passengers long time back....there were ambulances, fire engines, cops (trust me these guys are hugely built and very scary and its worse when they yell at you)....
I went down...ignored everyone around me....went to a corner which was quiet and a little dark....kept my bags....first thing I did was called up the southwest airlines.....I told them the condition at the airport and asked them for any other flight from a nearby airport....she sounded confused...she was repeatedly telling me that they are not informed of any such mishaps and the flight is still as scheduled......I explained once and twice and the third time I lost it.....I had no idea what I was saying....I just shouted at her....I am bloody stranded here at 3 in the morning nowhere to go...know nothing about the place and this female is waiting for a formal announcement of the shutdown to reissue my ticket.....she finally looked for other flights to Chicago and offered me a ticket for the flight from new Manchester to Chicago at 3 pm.....I asked her to confirm the ticket and hung up....I sat on the baggage conveyor...I had tears rolling down my cheeks....and in few seconds I was crying uncontrollably.....I had no idea where new Manchester was, how far was it from here or how to get there....thought of calling alol...but didn't feel like...I had to deal with this myself....I enquired a couple of cops...I had to take a train to Boston and then a bus to new Manchester....
how do I get to the metro station....there was not a single passenger in the airport....I could only see cops and ground staff running around to fix up things..not a single cab in the vicinity of the airport...and it was still pouring like hell making it impossible to walk out of the airport....I just sat there waiting for the dawn...it was not safe to go out at this time of the night....at arounnd 6, when it started getting a little brighter, I ventured out of the airport and fortunately I found a taxi...I ran up to him and asked him if he could take me to the nearest metro station...he was a little reluctant and over that I did not have cash on me...I asked him if he will accept debit card..he was silent for a moment, looked at me and said Indian with a question mark on his face...I said yes...he asked me to get in the cab.....we left the airport...we started talking....I told him I had to get to the new Manchester airport..he suggested not to go by train to Boston. because there are chances that tracks are blocked due to rain...instead he said if I can pay him 50 dollars, he can drop me to the bus stop which is in the outskirts of the city and I would get a bus to new Manchester...I wasn't sure if I should trust this guy....but I had to take this risk...I knew anything could happen, but my instincts told me I should trust him....I agreed to go to the bus station....we had an interesting conversation on our way to the bus station....cab drivers generally prefer not to strike conversations with the customers....but this person (I guess his name was mike) was an exception....he asked me if I was a student and was surprised to know that I was working and had come all the way from India to pursue a job here...I explained to him the model and how I’m not an employee of a US based company and was here only for an assignment.....he still had that appreciative look which made me feel good..we also talked about India and I was surprised to know that he had actually heard about a place called mysore in India........every time someone asked me which part of India I was from, I always try to give a reference to blore...but to my surprise, people over here have heard more about Mysore than Bangalore.....Mysore is quite popular mostly for yoga and of course the world famous palace....I was shocked when one of my colleagues in chicago asked me if I knew Mr. puttur narasimhachar who lived in vijayanagar in Mysore!....having lived all my life in Mysore and having loved this place so much, I should definitely feel proud about this...
Mike safely took me to the bus station and waited patiently while I got cash from the cash machine inside the bus station....after all the 'thank you’s and 'all the best's and 'nice meeting you’s and 'good bye's, he left and I entered the bus station....by now I had a very positive feeling and was kind of sure that nothing can go wrong now...I bought a ticket to new Manchester...I had to change the bus at Boston......Boston bus station was huge and amazing....I changed my bus at Boston and finally reached new Manchester bus station at 10....the shuttle to airport had just left and the next one was at 11...no problems..I had my 'god of small things' with me as always....this is one book I don’t mind reading any number of times…...I can just open any page and continue to read and will never get lost..rahel and estha are so very part of my life :)....
I got into the shuttle and reached the airport at 11.30...I got my tickets and checked in the luggage.....flight was at 3 pm...I had plenty of time to explore the airport...it was pretty huge...I bought three chotu model airplanes...one for myself and one each for Nik and Shikha....we had this habit of getting something for all three of us whenever we went out of Chicago...this time it was a plane so that they would rem my story every time they see this model....I reached Chicago midway airport at 5 pm....took red line and got down at the canal street stop......I started walking… canal street, Clarke street and west Madison street.....I don't have words to explain what I felt when I entered the street...never was I so happy to see the four tall towers that stood in the middle of the Madison street....after all I was home.....after a really long, tiring, scary, unpredictable, thrilling journey....the gal who had never dared to venture out of Mysore alone all her life had successfully completed this trip from Chicago-Boston-Nashua-Rhode Island-Boston-New Manchester-Chicago...wow...it was an experience in itself....I can never forget this wonderful trip in my life... :)
