Mummy, Daddy, Son and Daughter at Delhi airport, waiting for their dreamt of and envied flight to Leh. How do you know its Delhi airport? The daughter heard giggly, shrill, Haryanvi accented girl voices go "Nazron se kha jaayenge!" Then the men at the airport, age no bar, elaborate on the meaning of the phrase!
From then on, everything that happens strange, could only happen because it is Delhi airport! That includes too much saffron in the otherwise tasteless biryani and women blabbering away on their phones for hours, inside the loo, while others are hopping in helplessness outside it. Leh! Aur Leh! Yeh Bhi Leh!
What then should happen if, God seriously forbid, they miss their flight? Let's add to that a rude, prissy hostess, open to quarrel, telling them that by no means will she let them in. Swad bigda aur mirchi bhi lagi?!
All hell breaks loose! Mummy thinks Daddy didn't listen to her and sat miles away from check-in. Daddy thinks Mummy took hours in the loo. Son thinks nobody understands a thing. If they had to listen to him, they would be in that flight. However, he does support his Mummy fiercely against his tyrant Daddy, (only until she hasn't begun with how its his fault too!) because Daddy always does this to his Mummy and the whole family! The daughter, who some time back slept with a gaping open mouth, dare not open her mouth now.
Daddy is a stubborn tyrant, who thinks he is right no matter what! Mummy can't let go of things and cope with crisis like a mature person! The son is angry at everyone and will actively participate in whatever or whoever is being bickered about! The daughter thinks to herself, 'once I open my mouth, everyone will shut up', being the apparently wise and most grown up there; in spite of being the youngest!
This always happens! You always do this! That hostess be cursed! Lord, they just won't stop! Finally the daughter bursts forth "This is not happening because of anyone or anything. Its happening because we cannot be together as a family anymore! At least when we are at home we can go away from this and come back to deal with it. We aren't stuck together like sardines in a can. But, not one more family trip, I promise you that!"
Grave silence! She was right. When she would open her mouth, everyone would shut up. It doesn't feel the same, though. Their crestfallen faces tell her that their raging battlefield just became a grim expanse of strewn corpses. She just told them that Santa Claus doesn't exist!
The father silently leaves to fight for his family, alone! The mother silently drowns herself in her prayer books, alone! The son keeps a hand on the mother's shoulder, trying to console her, or himself, alone! The daughter? Well, she just deserves to be alone!
The next few minutes drag their feet past, while the family prays for a miracle to cause a turn of events. Suddenly, Daddy comes with a smile that nearly eats into the rest of his face. They have got into this lucky lot of people that got issued free tickets on the next flight. Relief!
They walk to check-in, smiling. Each looks at the faces of the other three with silent contentment. 'This happiness on the face of my family? This is due to the miracle that I prayed for! Of course, I would do a lot more for them.'
The flight is cancelled for today. Damn you, fate at Delhi airport! Delhi smirks wickedly. It claimed Abhishek Bachhan from the dead in 'Delhi 6'; this flight is nothing! 'Kaun jaaye ae Zauq, Dilli ki galiyan chhod kar?'
Oh, how they hate Delhi and kingfisher flights, together!
