I was still in a daze after attending my daughter’s wedding reception the previous night at Savera/Madras. In the morning we had a fairly good breakfast at Savera hotel. Venu’s father and his sister Vandy drove us to the airport After bidding them a brief goodbye, we entered Meenambakam airport
Soon after we wheeled in our luggage it was screened after which we had to fill in all the –personal details on leaflets provided by the air port. Next, we joined the long immigration queue. “Shreyas Shreyas,” screamed a distraught, jeans -clad mom to her restless son. Hand luggage checked . Body check. Onwards to an official to have the gold jewellery we entered into our passport. He denied us this right by saying,”There is no goldsmith on hand to verify the purity of your gold.” “No problem” we replied.. “We will cooperate the next time you come to Meenambakam” the official assured us.
There was no time to tell him, that the next time would be transiting either via Mumbai or Calicut. Next we had to identify our baggage. We were rushing past when another official , asked for our boarding passes, ticked off something on a hand held letter pad. We took the escalator. Waited at the lounge. Took a look at the pearl jewelry in a boutique. The announcement for boarding was made . Once again 2 separate queues were formed one for men, the other for women. This time our hand luggage was manually checked. Once again another body check. Boarding pass check. before we were finally allowed to enter the plane, only to find that we had been assigned cramped seats in the middle row.
Soon after take off we changed seats.
The flight was to Colombo first, where we disembarked and waited in the transit lounge of Colombo international airport. After an hours halt we boarded the aircraft bound for Dubai. My thoughts were a mixture of joy on returning to Dubai, and intense sadness on leaving my daughter, Anjali behind. Soon I nodded off in time to see that we were an hour away from Dubai. I thought this was a chance not to be missed. I just had to write down all the flight information flashing across the tiny TV screen built into the back of the seat in front of me. I wanted to record every pulsating detail of the flight as I experienced ,till we landed in DUBAI. So here it is:
1hr. away from, Dubai
Crossing Muscat
Barren land, deeply gashed ,possibly a gorge or ravine
In the distance tiny sea craft glinting in the sea below
Land spreading out to a tiny end point
Waves battering the far end of the shore.
Land mass absolutely barren
A window seat all to myself
I was so engrossed looking out I did not notice the smiling stewardess passing round orange juice
ORANGE JUICE OVER MUSCAT Ahhhh!
Dark patches below with white dots
Habitation?
Could this be Salalah, the famous land of Frankincense?
505kmph ground speed
But it does not feel as if the plane is moving
White striations
Low cottony clouds
The utter desolation , marked by white lines of clouds, casting greenish shadows
Brown stretches turning to murky brown
Puckered mountains
Clouds sailing on the wind, seawards
White dots again, possibly habitation, for there were roads cutting across desolate stretches, connecting pockets of human habitation
Smooth basin with white wrinkles, following water patterns
Veins of white on the brown basin making it appear like giant leaves
The land sleeps quietly undisturbed down the ages that have gone by ,and will remain so for ages to come
Imagine getting lost in their sharp folds
Altitude: 38,000 above sea level
Ground speed 783kmph
90mins to go
We are over air space of the other shore
Full of settlements hugging the entire curve of the shore
A highway connects the settlements
From the plane the habitation looks like micro chips of a computer board
At sea land strips ribbon out
30 mins to go
Descent begins
-54degrees C outside temperature
Motors change of sound
I look out to see the Rolls Royce engine encased in giant shells
Warning- on its body --before thrust reverser maintenance, put isolation( ears are shutting down) unit lever to shift position and install safety sleeves... all technical jargon
- WARNING PILOT DOOR DEACTIVATION POINT. RED PIN THRUST REVERSER. MANUALLY INHIBITED.
- So many joints in the engine encasing
- 24,500ft above sea level
- 418mph
- 612kmph
- 25 mins to go
- 24,00ft above sea level
0:24
23,000ft asl
407mph
22,500ftasl
403mph
650kmph
0:23 400mph
20,500ftasl398mph
637kmph
20,00ftasl
387mph
622kmph
0:22 first signs of a port
93miles to Dubai
Plane shudders
0:21 land below
142kmph
0:20 still over Muscat
138kmph
0:19 129kmph
0.01 estimated time of landing
The screen shows we are still Oman territory. Fleecy clouds sail past desert land
72 miles to DBX
0:18 71miles
0:17 70 miles
We are descending, engine sound cut off, muffled, passengers making a last minute dash to the wash room
Just crossing over sea
62miles
107kmph
0:15
Map on the tiny screen mounted behind each seat, shows Kabul to the east
Muscat-Doha and Abu Dhabi are shown on screen in relation to Dubai geographically
57kms
Plane banks sharply
first settlements
0:13 54 miles/85km
rugged mountains below
seat belt sign flashes Cabin crew asked to be prepared for landing
0:12 73km
“We hope you have had a pleasant journey as much as we have enjoyed having you on board.”.. Announcement in Sinhalese follows
The interior of the plane is fully lit up
0:1- 64km
The plane bounces around a bit
I can pick out scattered scrub below from my window seat
59km0:10 34miles to go
0:09 A huge mountain ridge below
First road snaking past desert land
0:08 46kms to go
The second road comes into view
Plane wings retracting, 40 kms to go
0:08 24miles to go
Low clouds marching up to greet us
21miles 0:07
Right wing dips sharply
Stewardess running down the aisle, back tracks and tells me to put the back pack on the floor of the plane on the vacant seat next to me.
First signs of green patches below
Sprawl of city outskirts
Villas can be clearly seen0:06
Roads and roundabouts come clearly into view, cars crawling
The engines whine of descent is so sharp and clear
I don’t know whether I am happy or unhappy because Anjali is not with us
A BIG THUD- the wheels are being released
Dubai city sprawls out at an angle Cabin crew requested to be seated prior to landing
A glass fronted building glints in the distance, mirroring so many suns
Huge high rises loom in the distance
Streets below busy with evening traffic
We are over an underpass
Almost touch down
We have touched down with a convincing bump!
We roar past the airport buildings
Speed throttled back
Taxi-ing gently past the most majestic runway in the world
So many yellow markers and numbers painted on the runway
We go on and on and on. There are utility trucks cruising alongside, buses ferrying passengers to and from various aircraft, just landed or re3vving up for take off .
Security surveillance cars keep us company
Ground crew are checking out the runway.
The giant jetliner gently swings slowly to the left. Air Lanka Flight No. 514…. turns 180 degrees, and noses into its Slot no 38
Ahlan Wa Sahlan….”when one acquaints with someone and says “Ahlan wa Sahlan” it is in essence opening up the door of becoming part of ones family. As this door opens, it becomes the responsibility of the individuals to make sure that the rights of one another are fulfilled in order to gain His Ultimate Compassion; and equally it becomes important not to abuse one another or forsake one another such that the ties become shaken.
“Ahlan Wa Sahlan….Dubai International Air port welcomes you” resounds the warm welcome from the aircraft’s intercom.
I AM HOME AT LAST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!