Jan 22, 2004 02:44 PM
7379 Views
(Updated Jan 22, 2004 02:44 PM)
I last flew from The Varanasi Airport to New Delhi 3 years back, around the same time. The flight was to take us to Khajuraho, so South and then fly North again to New Delhi. It was indeed a memorable day. My family and I were actually to get the train to ND. We were in Varanasi during the Kumbh Mela Celebrations in January 2001 and looking at the crowd there, I wondered if the rest of the world had any people left in there? Everyone was there at the Kumbh!
We realized just 1 hour before the departure of our train that the train would never move - spaced out. There were soooooo many people waiting to be accomodated in the trains - Talking of reservations? No chance! There were 20 people squeezed in the Toilets, about 700 in a room for 70, more than 200 by the doors - not to forget the windows - every bar had more than 5. Oh! The top of the trains - had mmm....could'nt get to count. How were we to find our 'reserved coaches'?
We then decided that we should be taking the flight, and thats when the Airport came into the picture. The airport is situated in Maharashtraaa.....Ooooops! Very far from the city, is what I mean. We took a three wheeler, flushed ourselves (a group of 4) into the vehicle and drrrr drrruued to the airport.
The airport is a very simple building oblivious of pomp and show. There were still fans on the ceiling, that made it look so humble. The security was manageable - we were able to shoot our camera till we almost got on to the plane and make pictures and video inside the aircraft also.
The Airport has so much to represent of the city - The Purity, The Simplicity and The Warmth. I was totally at home.
