I hate goodbyes in public places and so I opt to say my bye-byes at home rather than at the railway station or airport. I rarely alter this behavior and so when I decided to accompany the arien to the Airport, I think the arien could not believe his ears. After reminding me that I have to get up at 5 am if I planned on accompanying him, he said "Great! I am so glad you are!"
When the arien woke me up at 5 am, I wished I could abandon the plan. Of course, I did not do so. Because the arien gets maha tense on the day of the travel except when he is driving, I thought we should opt to travel to the airport by the volvo bus. We took an auto from our home to the K R Puram Railway station bus-stop (isn't tht the funniest?) and reached in less than 10 mts. And then we waited n waited n waited for the airport-bound volvo bus to turn up. It was a solid 45 mts after we got off the auto when I saw the volvo bus drive past us. I franctically signalled to the driver to stop and as he sped past, I waved to the passengers. The bus did not stop and I was very shocked. Another shock was that the bus was bright green in color. Both of us were on a lookout for the red bus! As I realized that the impossible had jes happened, I noticed that the arien had not even seen the bus or my funny actions!! I signalled that we had jes missed the bus and pointed in the direction of the bus.
And then I saw that the bus had stopped at a distance. I ran pell-mell and as soon as the door opened asked the driver why he had not stopped at the bus-stop. He replied angrily that the airport bus stops at specific locations (a few meters away from the regular bus-stop). "Sorry" was my response as I ran back to help the Arien carry the bags. By then, the Arien was so tense, he yelled that I should get into the bus instead of helping him!! As soon as we got in, the conductor insisted we sit immediately. The arien lost his cool and yelled that if I do not sit, the conductor may not give us tickets. (It is absolutely hilarious when I recall it now -- at tht time, I was ready to punch the arien -- I mean it!!) We spent a tense, unfriendly 10 mts sitting in the back seat of the bus while we ignored each other. The arien apologized and added that he was tense that he would miss the flight. I was not planning on letting him off easy but I dropped it. I know he gets tense when he is late.
The arien asked me to wait while he checked-in. As I stood eyeing the nearby cafe that was serving breakfast and planning the rest of the day, I saw Sarath Kumar, the tamizh actor, at the airport. He was wearing a black jogging suit and looked quite good, considering he must be in his late 50s. He is supposedly a fanatic when it comes to fitness, a former Mr. Madras, and it shows. He gave me a superstar smile which I reciprocated. I then quickly called the arien with the news. The arien said "Oh!! Really? Ok. I have checked-in -- paid extra for the extra baggage -- will call you wen I reach Delhi - ok bye". I walked to the cafe and had pongal to celebrate waking up early to see the arien off and managing to see a celebrity :D
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