All for some good coffee...

Yes, it was almost so good that it prompted me to consider blogging after a 2 year hiatus! Hi blogger! :)

A month ago, I was so excited to be flying back home after more than a year that nothing, not weeks of 12 hour days at work, banking glitches, car trouble, an impending dinger from b-school, no nothing, could take away the spring from my step nor wipe the silly grin off my face. And then came 9th evening, the evening I'd been waiting for ever so eagerly. It was supposed to be a simple affair: go to the bank, withdraw some cash, go home and check luggage and apartment one last time, and be on my way to the airport !!!...Sure!

Step 1, bank. Got the cash, easy enough. Backed car out of bank, and BANG!!! Not me!!! (not this time!) (As a side note, it always fascinates me how the human mind conjures up a zillion vivid images and thoughts within seconds and then springs right back into present time! Dear God! Exchange numbers, call insurance, won't be in town for 3 weeks? Great! Then don't count on insurance! Another trip to Auto Body repair....wait!) The pleasant pat on the back was from a gentle old lady whose spectacle rim got in the way of her clear sideways vision and a blinding glare completely eliminated my car from her view! Was this a fore-runner of things to come??? I'm not normally superstitious...but you'll see...The good part, if one might call it that, was that there wasn't so much as a scratch on either of our cars and the poor grandma was so nervous and apologetic, that I got moist-eyed. Phew, thank God for small mercies. Anyway, slightly distracted, but back on track to simple town...

Step 3: A breeze to SFO international? Uh huh. It did seem that way initially, but 15 minutes into the ride, traffic on the left lane of 101 N had suddenly built up out of nowhere and we were barely moving. There'd been a 3 car crash close to San Mateo and CHP had the lane completely blocked. News suggested we might enjoy the balmy breeze for close to an hour. Not panicking! We were still early. But you know how one hour can become 3...At any rate, a small miracle happened and we were able to inch out on to the right lane after half an hour and were finally cruising to the airport...And nothing of import really happened for the next several hours as I flew from SF to HK to Singapore. I even took the customary city tour and, sadly, slept through all of it. I briefly awoke and remember thinking how very alike the commotion outside a temple there was to its Chennai counterparts! (It's a small wonder that I actually slept through every single hour of every flight until I reached Singapore! Just as well, it was.)

Where's the coffee, you ask. Well, it's coming.

The flight to Chennai was to leave at 9.00pm. And waited, we did till 9.40, IST and all. What else can one expect with Indian Airlines. The transformation from international travellers to fish market- mongers took place within seconds of boarding IC558. After what seemed like an eternity, the captain warmly welcomed us aboard and wished us a very pleasant journey with IA. I was duly thrilled. But nothing happened. We were served some apple juice and asked to remain seated with our seat belts fastened. Not that anyone paid attention to that, least of all to the request to keep cell phones turned off. A few minutes later, we were once again told we would be taking off in just a few moments. This time the wheels started to turn. As we taxied out and picked up speed, the engine to my right shuddered and sighed, the pilot braked with all his might, till the wheels nearly burst sending sparks flying. Completely rattled as I was, I reached out to steady myself against the seat in front, only to find it wasn't tightly bolted to the floor and was now rocking back and forth! Horrors! This time round, my mind couldn't nearly conceive of every possible consequence of what might have been that it just went blank.

After many agonizing minutes, we came to a standstill. Out came the cell phones and a dozen voices narrated the story of the failed take-off to anxious spouses and families, peppering it with their vivid imagination for good measure. In the midst of this mayhem, the PA crackled to life and the kindly captain announced that there may have been a slight issue with the engine and they were looking into setting it right and we would be on our way soon!!! Nobodoy was convinced. Twenty minutes later, the captain once again introduced himself and this time announced that we would we would be served dinner, at Changi. Just what I'd hoped for.

Now that it was official that the flight was in dire need of repair, people were in a mad hurry to exit the cursed boeing...in case it should go up in flames all of a sudden eh? One wonders, at least, seeing people elbow one another in the narrow aisle. In the chaos that ensued, a neat little package was delivered onto my nose from above. There was no time for apologies, you see, this was an emergency!

At any rate, an hour or so elapsed. After some comic relief provided by fruit thieves at the dinner party, an urgent voice beckoned us all back to terminal C21, or some such. This had to have been a record of sorts. The IA engine repaired in under 2 hours?!...Ah! The real story emerged; the engine had failed, the damage irreparable, and the solution? Spare parts to be flown in from Chennai! (It should've made us proud. No spare parts to the rather state-of-the-art air craft in all of Singapore...) Better yet, no flights in the forseeable future to Chennai. I sincerely regretted taking the city tour already, asleep or not.

We were then read out our rights and privileges; We could request seating on the already over-booked early morning flight out, we would however not be guaranteed any space! Not to be disheartened- a luxury suite in the aiport lounge awaited us till kingdom come. I am not entirely sure what I was thinking, but I believe I agreed to the luxury suite option and trudged out of the boarding area. I was half aware of some passenegers, 3 in particular, employing all means of persuasion, in turns, to convince the now weary Mr. Suresh of why they absolutely deserved to be on that flight to Chennai. In fact one of them had now taken on the role of that gentleman in fending off irate passengers to the lounge to end all distraction from his immediate goal, and I must admit did a much better job at it.

As I sat down to fill in my immigration forms, a strain of conversation from the babel came back to me and I realized an option to fly to Bangalore instead had been offered. What in heaven's name was I signing up to the airport lounge for?! I ran back to the boarding area and managed to get assigned to that flight just in time. While s1 and s2 came out beaming with me, relieved to be on a flight headed anywhere in India, s3 , our very able public relations cum logistics expert lingered behind to make his final pitch...

Our altered itinerary demanded an additional 6 hours at the airport. I spent the first two making frantic calls to my parents, already perplexed after a 3 hour wait at Anna International to no avail, and then rousing from sleep my uncle and aunt in Bangalore. Very pleased with the way things had turned out (it could have been much worse, you know. Much.) I emailed the adventures to my friends back in the BA. Finally exhausted from all the action, and with no clue as to what time zone my body was operating on, all I knew was if I had to be awake to get on that fated flight, I would need a ton of caffeine. And starbucks won't do.

At that precise moment, s3 strode out into the transit lounge, looking very smug. I knew it couldn't have been the thought of Bangalore that was having this effect, there had to more. Cautiously I asked him if he had managed to get on the flight to B'l anyway. Of course, he said. Now that the flight is re-scheduled and everything, we have plenty of time get some coffee and toast as well. In fact that little coffe pub called Toastbox over by the kiosks serves some excellent coffee, he added. Re-scheduled?! Doesn't matter. Excellent coffee- a more pressing matter. I unceremoniously ended our conversation right there and made a bee line to the Toastbox.....

Words cannot adequately describe the exquisite aroma and the rich flavour of the gourmet coffee made from freshly ground beans, foamed with full cream and condensed milk, and sugar to top it off. The boy serving at the kiosk even had the accent intact (likely a Singaporean one, but to my ears, it rang like music from the land of filter coffee) when he said 'kopi-ya?' and whisked out this incredible intoxication, with a side of thick toast buttered on both sides, nay, soaked literally and yet crisp...I believe the very act of sipping into that manna set things right with the world; as s3 came and sat down at my table, and narrated the story of how he'd badgered Mr.(another) S (I'm afraid) into summoning an IA representative out of bed and into re-routing the flight to B'lore via Chennai, it confirmed my belief. This called for celebration. The news was relayed to s1 and 2 and a third set of boarding passes made for the night (or morning or who cares!). And what better way to celebrate than over another cup of kopi! :).... Bliss- served in a cup.