So I was on a flight to Madras yesterday at an obscene hour in the morning. I hadn’t even woken up properly. I was pretty confident that no one else had either. I was mostly right except that there were three children on the flight. Traveling together with their parents. And they were off for a vacation. Would other sleepy headed passengers concern them? Would the obscene hour of the morning bother them at all? Absolutely not. And while most passengers were irritated at the ruckus they were creating I could not help but laugh out loud to myself at some of the conversation they were having with their parents.
Here are some snippets that I remember.
**
-“Mamma! Give me my cheeps. Where are my cheeps?”
- “It’s too early in the morning. And its chips. Not cheeps.”
- “You are no fun. Try saying cheeps! It is so much fun! Cheeps! Cheeps.”
**
“Papa! Are we over the sky or under the sky?”
“Ummm….we are…”
“”Ooh! Papa! Look such a big cloud! Can I ask pilot uncle to take us in the cloud?”
“Umm..”
**
“Papa! The sky is not blue. See, see. Red, yellow, grey also. No? Teacher is wrong no?”
**
“Mamma! Look! I can see India!!” (On seeing the coast line of Chennai). “India! India! India!”(Three voices in unison)
**
“Mamma. Sheep! There are sheeps in the sky!”
“That is not sky budhhu that is water.” (said a sibling)
“No budhhu. We are over the sky. How can that be water?”
( Budhhu means “silly” in Hindi)
**
“Papa. That is an ocean no?”
“Umm..”
“Oooh! Papa! Look! There are white white things on water! Looooook!”
“Umm. Yes. Clouds.”
“Why are clouds in the water? I thought clouds are in the sky”
**
Right before the plane touched the ground
“It has landed no?”
“Not yet.’
2 second gap
“Has it landed now?”
“No.”
2 second gap
“It hasn’t landed now also?”
“No. It will any moment now”
2 second gap
“Ohhh! Papaji! The plane is running away!”
“Yes. It has landed.”
**
“Mama. I’ll take off this belt.”
“No.”
“But I am not scared. I am brave and strong.”
**
Papa says: “I think there is a mistake. The plane has come back to Delhi.”
“No.”
“No.”
“No papa. Dilli hota toh kitne sardarji dikh jaatey abhi tak” (If it were Delhi, then we would have seen many sardarjis by now!)
“Mama. Papa ko Dilli bhej do. Mujhe to ji idli dosa khana hai aur holiday karna hai” (Mama, please send dad to Delhi. I want to eat idli-dosa and have a god holiday)
(“Sardar” is a Hindi term used commonly for turbaned Sikhs)
**
(Once on the bus to the terminal)
“Papa yeh sabko kahan leke ja rahe hain? Sab kitne pareshan lag rahe hain” (Dad, where are they taking all of us? Everyone is looking so troubled)
**
Needless to say. I did not get any sleep on the flight.
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Filed under: midweek crisis, Nostalgia, The everyday stuff | 2 Comments »
