Life s it happened- 8. Hopping around India
I was now on track towards what I wanted to do, however there was one obstacle. Air Deccan was a Domestic budget carrier and the airline did not have flights to neighbouring countries and neither did it have night stops around the country. We come back to the home base at the end of the day. Well, so it be I said, I shall find out a way to travel around the country.
Bangalore was a fun city to stay, the weather was really nice and was unlike Mumbai in a lot of ways, the traffic was less, had and still has a great pub scene and the one big thing I did not notice or rather was not aware that it’s a hub for starts-ups in India. Overall it was a great place to stay, well it’s a different story now,Bangalore is kinda not what when I had stayed there first.
So, my time was up in Bangalore and I was posted in Chennai for flying by my company. The capital city of Tamil Nadu, a state with great culture, amazing food, lovely beaches and some blistering heat in most parts of Tamil Nadu, Chennai being one of them…the last one was something one has to be prepared for, but one will realise that nothing can prepare you for it. There is joke about the heat in Chennai ‘ Its hot 10 months of the year and the remaining 2 months it's even hotter’. Flying was fun, but I wanted to see more, in less than 5 months I had now lived in 2 completely new cities and I was liking it.
On this one particular day, we were flying Chennai — Trivandrum — Chennai, a very short flight for the day, during landing into Trivandrum I was awestruck from above by the beauty of the place, the Shangaguman beach, the coconut trees spread all across and especially looking at Kovalam beach, I thought to myself this is the next stop, and asked myself why not ask for a voluntary transfer of base to Trivandrum. That Afternoon after landing back at chennai after the de-brief was over, I rushed to the base manager and put forth the request. I am told to wait for a week before I know if it will be considered. I had no doubt that the request wont be turned down because the company was growing and it was always in need of crew.
I did not have to wait even a week, on the third day after the request was made, the transfer was approved, and in July of 2006 I moved to Trivandrum. All the rosy picture of the place waned away in less than a month. What I did not understand was that Trivandrum was not like Chennai, Mumbai or Bangalore, it was where people came to relax and be away from the bustle of the city, people came here for yoga, for health retreats, for travelling and seeing the beaches, experience the culture, enjoy the food, me on the other hand thought I would have everything here that a city offers and that’s where I was wrong. I ended up being on an extended vacation whilst working, and now i wanted out, like really wanted out because i am city boy and need that rush and hustle and bustle.
Air Deccan was adding 2 new aircrafts every month those days, with that new bases where being opened up too, This time it was Ahmedabad, I volunteered and in Dec 2006, and without much fuss I got my transfer and I was in a new city. Ahmedabad was a tier 2 city in India, slowly making its way to become like the other big cities of India. I felt like home, back being in a city, Ahmedabad was not like Bangalore, Mumbai or Chennai, but it would work.
Come June 2007, I left Air Deccan and joined Go Air and I was back in Mumbai, during my 2 years with GoAir, I would spend 7 months in Delhi to cover up for shortage of staff and enjoy another memorable stay in a new city. Fast forward to Sept 2009, I resign from Go Air and join Malaysia airlines and leave for Kuala Lumpur in Oct 2009, and with that I fulfill another dream of staying abroad and seeing how life and work happens in another country…
