UNIDENTIFIED BAGGAGE AT HYDERABAD - SHAMSHABAD RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

It was the day after the twin blasts at Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad. We were scheduled to board a flight from RGIA, Shamshabad.at 2.55 PM on 22^nd February 2013.  As we drove into the enclosure for departure it was evident that security had been beefed up. Documents of passengers were closely scrutinized by two security personnel before they were let in.

The terminal was crowded. Security arrangements were flawless. Though unobtrusive the security personnel were doing a great job.   We went for check in one hour before the flight.  There were several counters marked ‘all flights’.  There was a long queue at the first counter. The second and third counters were unmanned. Boarding passes were being issued from all the counters. When we spotted an official taking his seat at the third counter, my wife went there with our documents while I had kept my place in the queue at the first counter. The trolley with our baggage was with me. The official directed her to stick to the first counter. Meanwhile another official took up his seat at the second counter. As my wife was returning to join the queue along with me, the official asked her to present the documents. She waited at the counter while the official verified the records.

I saw an official in uniform making his rounds. He spotted a bag behind my wife. He went around asking everyone if it belonged to them. No one knew anything about it. It was unclaimed. The processing of our documents was over by that time.  The official asked us to deposit our check in baggage at the conveyer belt. I moved the trolley up to the counter and had deposited the baggage there. The trolley was inches away from the unclaimed bag.

As we waited there for our boarding pass a security official came up to me and politely asked me to move far away from that area with the trolley. While complying with his order I told him that we had not been issued our boarding passes. Noting our plight he advised me to wait outside the cordon where the passengers were meant to queue up. My wife waited at the counter for the boarding pass since she was not ordered out of the area.

As I was moving out of the area I saw security personnel converging there in strength. The unclaimed bag was cordoned off within seconds. The passengers queuing there were evacuated. They asked my wife to proceed to the spot where I waited. The officials at the first three counters were ordered to close the counters and vacate at once. Nothing was left to chance.

Time was ticking away. We wondered how we would board the aircraft without the boarding pass. The official did not abandon us. He sought us out and handed over the boarding passes and wished us bon voyage.

We went through the security check and waited for the call to board the aircraft. There were three more verifications before we could settle down into our seats.

The flight took of right on dot. As we were flying realization dawned on us that we were closest to the unidentified bag and if anything had gone wrong we would not have lived to tell the tale. We really admired the security personnel for their professionalism. They were courteous. They never had tried to put a scare into people though they were battling against heavy odds. They were unassuming. They kept us safe.

They remain unknown. 

SALUTE KESAVENDRAKUMAR IAS

Kesavendrakumar was unknown when grew up in his native Bihar. Bihar happens to be the most underdeveloped state in India. It is rich in mineral wealth. A large number of major industries are located there. Yet, the people remained poor. Try as much as they could they found it extremely difficult to catch up with the rest of India. Parity in achievements in the field of education could never be conceived.

Kesavendrakumar grew up in a difficult environment. His father did not have much to provide for his son. But Kesavendrakumar was highly intelligent. He passed the Higher Secondary Examination, Bihar with a very high rank. Though he wanted to join for higher education the plight of the family made him join the Railways as a booking clerk (information garnered from newspaper reports).

The thirst for knowledge and the urge to do well in life saw him join IGNOU for BA Hindi. After successful completion of the degree he had appeared for the IAS examination. He was selected to join the IAS. The rank was forty five. It was the first time in India a degree student from IGNOU had been selected for IAS. He was twenty two. It tells us the universal truth. If you are tenacious, if you do not give up when the odds are stacked against you and if you believe you can win nothing can stop you.

Kesavendrakumar was posted to Kerala. In course of time he was appointed Director, Higher Secondary Education. He became famous when a few members of the student wing of the ruling party in Kerala had poured waste oil, black in color over him as a mark of protest for the hike in fees for Higher Secondary Education. The fact that the hike was a decision of the Government of which their party was a constituent did not deter the hooligans. The ruling party had dissociated themselves from the unethical violence. The Chief Minister had called up the official and had apologized for the misdeed.

The photo of Kesavendrakumar with the oil on him was widely circulated in the newspapers and news channels.There was no rancor. He looked courageous.

Salute Kesavendrakumar.

. 

KASHMIR – AN UNFORGETTABLE TOUR

We had always been looking for an opportunity to visit Kashmir. When a tour package came our way with two days in Srinagar we had gleefully joined it. We knew that confining the visit to Srinagar would not divulge what the entire Kashmir had in store for an admirer of nature.  But our constraints forced us to keep aside the venture beyond Srinagar   for another occasion.  

It was September 2009. We were required to report at the Domestic Terminal of the Trivandrum Airport at 5.30 AM. The flight had been scheduled to take off at 6.30 AM. We had set off from our residence at 5.00 AM. It was fifteen minutes’ drive to the Airport.  When heavy rains lashed the city the previous evening we felt nature had finally relented and had blessed Trivandrum with much needed succor. The rain had continued unabated the whole night. We reached Sanghumugham in fifteen minutes.  We could not proceed further as a traffic snag had developed blocking movement of vehicles. The discomfiture was compounded by the phenomenal stupidity of the malayali driver on the roads in Kerala that converts a two lane track to multiple tracks impeding all traffic to the nth degree. As we waited there patiently, we saw  minutes ticking by at a furious pace. We could have reached the Airport in fifteen minutes if we had chosen to walk. But we could not do it as the rains were merciless.  And we could not abandon the heavy baggage, an essential ingredient of all tours.

It was five minutes to 6.00 AM when our son finally managed to drop us at the departure gate. The staff of Air India was courteous. Check in had been extended by half an hour considering the plight of the passengers braving the inclement weather to catch the flight to New Delhi. The hold up delayed the departure by half an hour. 

The aircraft flew on top of the clouds. The flight was pleasant. The view was magnificent. We had always been eagerly waiting for the breathtaking view whenever aboard as the bird soared higher and higher.

Though we reached New Delhi in time the aircraft did not receive permission to land. We could see from the screen in front that we were going up to Jaipur and then back to Agra. The aircraft had to spend almost an hour in the air till it was permitted to touch down.  The Commander was apologetic for the delay. He said there were a lot of VIP activities at the Airport that had forced us to remain airborne. It was the day the Helicopter carrying YSR, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh went missing. We found the TV flashing the news in the evening after we reached Srinagar.   The air hostess while signing off advised passengers proceeding to Srinagar to contact the commercial staff at the Tarmac. The staff told us that the same aircraft would be flying us to Srinagar. As the flight to Srinagar had already been delayed it would be futile to proceed to the terminal and return.

The aerial view of Srinagar was fantastic. Mountain ranges stood high and majestic around the valley. There was a strong presence of the Indian Air Force at the Airport. It was all green from the sky. The terminal was full of Army and Air Force personnel waiting for their flights. We were allowed to exit after an examination for bird flu.

We proceeded in a Taxi to our Hotel. Later when we went out to visit places of importance in Srinagar we could see that the Army was every where in full battle gear. We were frisked at some places.  At one point after the frisking was over we were asked to proceed on foot for some distance. The vehicle was allowed to move slowly and picked us up after we had covered the mandated distance. There was a long stretch of a road. It was heavily fortified. A few Ambulances were also there. The driver told us that several VIPs had their residences on either side of the road. He advised us it would be unsafe if were venturing out after 10.00 PM. We replied we could not do it as we could not withstand the cold weather. The driver further told us that the roads in Kashmir were superbly maintained in comparison with roads across the line of control.

Our visit to the shops was a revealing experience. The shopkeepers were cordial and courteous. The fact that we were from the southern tip of the subcontinent had amused them. They offered us Safron Tea.  It tasted excellent.

Shalimar Gardens was a display of colours. We had never seen such flowers and trees elsewhere. Buildings from Mughal era adorned it.

Chinar trees lined up on the road skirting the Dal Lake. The House Boats in the lake were a treat. Though we had planned a Shikara ride the next day, incessant rains during the night and the morning prevented us.

It was time for us to leave Srinagar. The vehicle was stopped at a check point on our return to the airport. We were asked to show our tickets and the baggage was sent for scanning. Though we thought we had reached the Airport we were told there was some more distance to the destination. The baggage had to be reloaded in our vehicle.  As we moved on we had to negotiate a zig zag path to reach the airport. There was scanning once again before the check in.

The flight was on time. As we were bidding good bye to the magnificence the mountains and the valley had offered the aircraft encountered turbulence. It was scary.  We were asked to put on  seat belts. The aircraft began to shake. The captain ordered, ”Crew to stations.” An Air Hostess who was serving lunch found it difficult to control the trolley. Cups and bottles were flying off.. She jumped into a seat next to ours and fastened the seat belts. She held on to the trolley as she sat there. Finding that we were scared she assured that the turbulence would be over soon. There was pin drop silence in the cabin.

The captain managed to steer the aircraft safe. The seat belt sign went off. The Air Hostess went on with her chores. It was a big relief when the announcement came that we were about to land at the New Delhi International Airport.

Our next stop was Colombo. As our onward flight had been scheduled for the next day, we were provided accommodation at ‘Tamarind’, half an hour from the airport. Sri Lanka was fighting the LTTE at that time. We saw young soldiers with advanced weapons everywhere. The next morning as we were returning to the airport to catch our flight, Gun wielding soldiers stopped our vehicle and would not allow us to proceed. They demanded production of Passports and travel documents. They took a long time over it. Finally they allowed us to proceed through a different route. The journey took more than an hour. We heaved a sigh of relief when we managed to catch the flight.