Home Again

It was on 16th January, 2008 when I again flew back to Dubai.


The Captain announced in English which I never had understood all those thirty two years of my sky travel. All I could understand was that he spoke something about the seat belt which I always keep fastened throughout my journeys. Small eyed cabin attendants of the fair sex did not amuse me. I lacked the usual enthusiasm of my gulf bound flights. After a break of about one year I was travelling to Dubai, again, to my disbelief. It was like home going, to the best home of my life. I had lost every hope of going back to the land of opportunities and to witness the colourful Arabian Nights all over again.

The Emirates airbus pierced through the white skies at an altitude of thirty thousand and odd feet. Small video player in front of my seat had a touch screen. I had no mind of watching movies or hearing songs. The passenger sitting on my right was coughing rhythmically which induced a dry cough in my throat. He was trying to gain more territory by pushing my right leg sideways with frequent shoving with his left thigh. Girls and boys walking along the aisle reminded me of my grandchildren at Bangalore. The usual painful stretching of my heart strings was not there, but instead a pleasant feeling of having spent playful days with them for the past few months, spread a coolness over my heart. The love and affection of my near and dear ones had cultivated green meadows through my mind, and the hangover of the same nullified the effect of the temporary separation.

The aroma of the impending dinner reached my stuffy nose. The screeching sound of the wheels of the food container pushed by the waitresses, otherwise known as the air hostesses, mingled with the noise of the jet engines. Some of the women of extreme beauty had their cheeks redder than their lips. They were donning pseudo smiles, sensual enough to captivate any first time flier and placing the food trays in front of the cramped up seats.

On request, a small bottle of red wine was given to me. I kept the glass on the food tray taking good care that it did not fall on to the advancing leg of my coughing neighbour. A sip or two of the red liquid, sweet and sour, induced a new vigour in me. The ice cold bun was cut into two and I applied butter, as hard as rock, on to the split surface. I drowned the bun down my throat with a gulp of wine. When I ate the hot rice with black meat pieces, my tongue was burnt. My right hand was brushing the hand of my neighbor every time I took the spoon to my mouth. As the red wine started to spread and mingle with my red blood, a certain amount of tranquility pervaded my body. The appetite rose to its azimuth and I started to hog the food with my eyes reducing in size. At times there was a burning sensation deep inside my stomach but soon it vanished by the onslaught of the meat and rice. The lights were dimmed. I closed my eyes and invited the queen of sleep to seduce me.

The noise of the downing of the landing gear woke me up. I had slept very soundly with all the sound around. The aircraft was jerking and losing its height. I knew we were about to land. Yet again, I was going to land at Dubai. I was excited.

I carried my briefcase and the small bag and walked fast towards the immigration counter, up and down the escalators. The familiar sights of the inside of the airport filled in me great awe for the place, Dubai, my own Dubai. I collected the original of the visit visa from one of the counters and was directed to go to the eye testing counters. Arrogant looking young boys were sitting at the counter with cameras. My eye was tested, free of cost, but without the test results.

There was an ocean of passengers at the umpteen immigration counters. Immigration officials were taking their own sweet time to dispose off the crowd. When I got out with my luggage, there was another ocean of humans thronging at the entrance to receive their friends and relatives.

When the car rolled over the cold asphalt roads, I looked in all directions. My home had changed, phenomenally. But I was home again.