Close encounters with fellow flyers

ON flights around the world, we come across all kinds of passengers. After all, people embark on journeys for myriad reasons. While we forget most of our co-passengers, some end up making a place in our hearts.

Some years ago, while I was flying from Riyadh to New York, it was a joy to connect with an elderly couple from Varanasi. They were going to North America to meet their sons — one in New York, the other in Vancouver. Having frequently thought about visiting Varanasi, I hit it off with them. We soon started sharing our travel tales, and by the end of the flight, exchanged our contacts too. “You have to be our guest when you come to Varanasi,” the couple told me. I continue to be in touch with them.

This January, on a flight from Helsinki to Doha, I was seated next to a middle-aged woman from Pakistan. It was her first trip abroad. She had gone to Finland to meet her daughter, who had given birth to a girl a few months ago. Our conversation commenced with thoughts about peace and amity between India and Pakistan. We were curious to know about cities on either side of the border. But she was a nervous flyer and was also worried about her connecting flight to Karachi. “The take-off scares me. Once in Doha, can you guide me to my flight’s gate?” Of course, I did. She bid me adieu, remembering Allah. “Shukar hai Allah ka aap mere pass bathe thhe.” I was glad to have helped the woman. Her calm, soft voice is etched in my mind.

Back in 2006, when I was flying to Switzerland for the first time, an elderly Swiss couple familiarised me with that beautiful country and also gave me their Zurich address. Just before landing, our plane flew over Lake Constance, which is surrounded by Austria, Germany and Switzerland. “It’s a must-visit spot. And don’t forget cycling or walking along the lake,” I was told.

Two days before Diwali in 2017, on the Delhi-Amritsar flight, a young and excited boy from the holy city was sitting beside me. “Nobody knows at home that I am coming back — after almost six years. I am all set to surprise them,” he said, informing me that he had commenced his journey from Rome. I could imagine the joy his unannounced arrival would bring.

Hours before that encounter, while I was on the Amsterdam-Delhi flight, there was a co-passenger who seemed angry and didn’t care to reply to anyone. I went to the food galley and casually enquired about him with a crew member. What she said shocked and saddened me: “His mother passed away just a day ago.” Suddenly, my attitude towards him changed. After all, not every passenger is going on a holiday!