Flying at Easter times.

Am I sad to leave Cambridge after my first trip to abroad? Well I don’t know; I was having a neutral feeling.
The taxi driver asked me:” which terminal? “. I went to Norway by 3rd terminal of Heathrow few days back, or did I have any special affinity to that terminal. I had a faint memory that I read about that terminal in the Srilankan airlines website. Though I have a bad memory, I don’t lack confidence.
Confidently I told him: “3rd terminal”. I reached Heathrow airport terminal 3.I reached there by 6:00 pm well ahead of my flight timing i.e. 9:45 pm.
I searched for my flight details in the monitor. No flight to Colombo was displayed there. I was a little panicked… I went and asked a guy sitting in the enquiry...regarding this.
He also looked at the monitor and told me this startling observation, that my flight was not displayed in his monitor also. So I asked him ‘politely’ where should I board it was already 6:15 pm.
He searched and told me you have to go to terminal 4.I asked rather requested:” can you please tell me how to reach terminal 4? “He told me to go straight and then take a left, then walk a bit more then take a right. Then he paused a bit. I felt I panicked unnecessarily it is so close. By the mean time he started giving me directions again. He told me to walk a few 100 meters straight and to take a left again where I can find a lift to basement and added from there I can catch a ‘free’ train to Terminal 4.My closed mouth become wide-open in awe.
Run Lola Run….This time I want to be super sure. I requested him to repeat the instructions. I listened carefully. Then I held the handle of my trolley….I closed my eyes and prayed to the pantheon. Jet set go….I ran pushing the trolley as fast as I could. Taking left right up and down and when finally I reached the platform by 6:40.

And it was written in queens English that I can’t take trolley into the train…So I had to reduce my break neck speed right away to snail’s pace. Carrying around 30-35 kgs of luggage with my physique is not very easy. I wonder how Dhanush lift Nayanthara.May be a special effect or is it what is called rising to the occasion. And at last poor sweating me…got into the Heathrow express bound to terminal 4.And thankfully the train was kind to me she didn’t waste much of my time
I reached the terminal 4 in 10 minutes or so. It was around 6:50 pm.I stood in the queue for check in…it was a very long queue. I waited for over one and half hours. Finally I reached the counter and handed over the travel documents to the guy sitting there. I was again praying to the same pantheon whose response record is quite impressive, this time my need was that he should not charge me for excess baggage. But that guy had another plans. Without having an apologetic look in his face, He told me that the flight is full and he can’t let me in. He weighed my baggage and put a tag a on it and give all my 35 kilos back and asked me to report to Srilankan airlines office. I asked but why???He indifferently told me that it is Easter season and ‘they’ have overbooked and everybody turned up so they are not in a position to offer me a seat in ‘my’ flight. Anyway I don’t have any hurry to return back to India. But still my blood was burning, heart was beating fast.How dare they can deny me a seat in the flight.I thought about the injustice Gandhiji faced in South Africa Gandhi and Shilpa Shetty in Big brother while walking towards the airlines office. With a stiff look in my face i reached the counter.A srilankan belle was sitting at the counter; she wiped all my anger with her 1000W smile. You need to be born as a revolutionary. Not everyone can become one; it should be in the blood. Distractions are too very much for revolutionaries in this beautiful world…phew….

I explained the situation to her, and note never did I lose my calm. Though she never would have felt sorry for anything, she told me that she was sorry for the inconvenience caused to me. Blatant lie what else? Though the MCP/Gandhi in me was raging with anger, I always let the gentleman in me to speak. I told that it is alright and asked her how she could help me to reach my destination.
She calmly told me that either I could sue them or accept their compensation and leave the travel arrangements to them. I told her about the meeting that I would miss and all…Both of us knew it was a lie. I asked her about the compensation they were going to offer me…She told me 600 euros. If I say that I was happy that would be a real understatement. By 12 hours sleep is not worth 600 euros anyway.
But I don’t want to look cheap and I clarified regarding sueing.She told that I need to fight the case at Colombo and I need to make my own travel arrangements back to India. As fortunately
my dad chose not to compete with poor Ambanis in creating wealth, I had to choose the compensation route.
I had a nice stay at one of the five star hotels of London for a night, a chauffer driven car to pick me up next day morning, a window seat in morning flight to Colombo and a top up of 600 euros. Can I ask anything more…??? .When I reached Chennai airport I was again praying to all the gods both favourite and not so favourite ones….that my luggage should be lost….I waited for 1 hr…I was meticulously planning what to do with the 2000$ compensation I am about to get. But this time Gods were a little less co-operative. My 35 kgs arrived…showering water over my plans! .600 euros in hand is better than 2000$ in the baggage.is'nt it...???