Toronto Diary -The Journey to Toronto Begins

The whole house was in disarray . Things scattered in every nook and corner .Packages here, weighing machine there. One shoe under this sofa , another in the farthest corner. It was already two pm and we were supposed to start at 4. I feebly make a suggestion; my wife immediately shouts at me: "Will you shut your mouth for a minute!" Duly rebuffed, I slink away. जहाँ क़द्र न हो वहाँ क्यों रहना! 

The temperature meter shows 43 degrees.My daughter ,Tuna is huffing and puffing . She has been to the market five times today. Her face exhibits perspiration and fatigue. Her elder sister Kanu too looks anxious and tired; she came all the way from Chandigarh to give us a goodbye hug. A state of panic pervades everywhere. The wife is worried lest anything, including gifts, should be left back. I am worried about the passports, the tickets, and the checking documents. To make things trickier, neighbours come to say good bye. 

The taxi has arrived.But it has to wait. We are scrambling hard to put our house in order.To see that all the electric switches are off, the windows properly closed,the dogs handed over to the neighbours for proper care during our absence. Well, now the time has come to board the taxi .But before doing so , the wifey wants to do a double check on doors and the main switch . I am deeply annoyed because of the unnecessary delay being caused. However, I merely watch on: I am not in a position to interfere with the Royal authority of the mistress of the house. 

An eventless journey to the IGI International Airport, except a short stopover for a relaxing cup of tea somewhere near Farrukhnagar . A oven- fresh road, bypassing the devilish traffic of Rajiv Chowk,enables us to reach the glittering airport in a wink.

Tuna gives us a soulful farewell hug and we hurry towards the baggage clearance counter. At the end of a serpentine queue, we patiently wait for our turn to reach the weighing counter. The beardish boy at the counter looks at our hand bags and casually says," Why not send these bags too with the main bags?" I say," Yes, yes . Send them too." My wife interjects, " No, no . Not these handbags . We have our warm clothing in them . We'll need them in the plane . It will be chill in there, you know". " ठंड कहाँ है, मैडम? आप चिंता न करें! " I also said bravely," हाँ, कहाँ हैं ठंड? " The dear wife was overruled. She glared at me in impotent anger as she watched the handbags along with our main baggage slide over the conveyor belt. Of course, in the course of events to come, I had to rue my hasty decision.But you will have to wait to know what actually happened to make me regret my haste. 

After the security check, we proceeded towards the gate no 37 from where we had to board our plane. But to reach our gate , we had to walk through the Delhi Duty Free zone: it was a dream world having an existence, an entity of its own; a wonder world beyond the drab, colourless world of faceless working class people. A world which existed beyond the most flashy phantasies of the ordinary masses. 

Crossing the glittering खुल जा सिम सिम world, we walked lightlfooted in the brightly lit corridors.Whether it was the anticipated joy of uniting with our beloved children in Toronto, or our having been freed from the burdensome hand bags I know not,but our steps were as light as our hearts .

We didn't have to wait for long when there was a call for boarding the Swiss Airways plane . Beautiful and courteous air hostesses greeted us with their warm smiles and reached us to our respective seats.With all our baggage gone to the belly pit of the huge airbus,we truly felt happy, cozy and light .

However, this cozy feeling did not last long; a chilling sensation passed through my body. The two small blankets provided could not keep us warm. Soon, I found myself shivering as the air conditioning system of the plane was at its full blast.My wife retrieved her woollen shawl she had in her bag. But poor me, I had no shawl, not even a scarf! Hence, soon I found myself shivering. Of course,very soon we were served with hot beverages. But they would hold fort for me but for a short while .The elevation of spirits did not last long . Again, the shivering session began. I stole a glance at my wife. She seemed cozy. And a mischievous smile danced on her lips, suggesting, perhaps, " लो, और मत मानो मेरी बात!" …