Of fogs, planes, chaos and Cheema's marriage...

Disclaimer - The first three items in the title are not related to the fourth :-)

Was off to Delhi last weekend, and it was a wonder that we were able to get there at all. Am not an extensive traveller, but I guess any airline management, with an iota of common sense and general knowledge, would know that Delhi is (in)famous for its freezing winters and foggy mornings - despite that, it was a trifle sad to see the same old lines of frustrated passengers, uncertain flights, chaotic counters et al...and a spate of delays and cancellations.

The whole problem has just gotten worse with the advent of low-budget, half-budget and no-budget airlines, which are rapidly making our airports look like railway stations (or worse), and which, in the name of low-cost ops, are filled either with aircraft unable to operate in low-visibility conditions, or with pilots not trained in CAT III ILS systems, or (usually) both.

It was in the backdrop of this general airport mayhem that we took off for Delhi from B'lore (a coupla hours late), and then kept circling Delhi for close to an hour before finally landing - the pilot did announce a visibility range of 300 metres, but I guess he was talking about night-vision (not human vision for sure !). Its been quite some time since I've seen that thick a sheet of fog, obscuring even the palm of your hand !!! Good ol' Delhi.....

Anyhow, got a cab, whose driver turned out to a cross between an F1-driver and a fighter pilot - the way he drove us to the venue that night, is a tale I might probably be recounting to my grandchildren.

The trip back was just as eventful, what with one of the flights being overbooked, and an irate passenger on another flight completely losing his cool, and general scenes straight out of "Fight Club"...or maybe "Mortal Kombat"...Suffice to say that we suffered yet another delay for a couple of hours, with an extensive display of the abrasive side of human nature and tempers, and finally made it back to B'lore - tired, sleepy and worn out.

Then again, to have seen "Harjan" that Christmas morn, resplendent and glowing beside his bride, was a sight that can warm any heart - something that made it all worthwhile - God bless them both.