The Night I lost My Glasses…

Everybody did let me know that they were glad that I reached home during the initial days of the pandemic without any trouble. They told me that I had made a wise decision by returning to home on time but none of them know the story. This is the very first time I’m sharing about my experience on reaching home safely.

It was 13 March 2020 (Friday), when we received the notice stating that our exams had been postponed which were supposed to happen the following Monday and also got break for 2 weeks. To be honest, it was kind of a relief because I had not prepared anything as I was busy in Fashion Show for our Annual Day. But the 2 weeks’ break and delay in our preparatory exams also meant that I would reach my home late this year which led to an anxious thought. After discussing the situation with my best friend, I realized that I should take the next flight I get to my home as our hostel had already asked everyone to leave. I called my mom and told her my decision without bothering about her opinion.

Yes, I was really excited even though a lot of my hostel mates and friends told me how this could be a waste of money, even though the flight rates were really high where it went up to twenty thousand rupees and even though there were no direct flights available. Ignoring all of these I tried to book but there were no flights available for the next week. Next day, an Indigo flight became available, costing me seven thousand rupees for the ticket, only to realize that the booking failed and my money also got deducted (complain was raised and I also got back my money after a few days). The trauma of that night could not be explained with any word. Next day, I woke up at 6 AM, checked for flights without any hope and I actually managed to book a morning flight on 16^th of March for the same price. This was the ray of sunlight in my dark stormy night. Immediately after that I packed my luggage and a hostel mate of mine also contacted me for the purpose of sharing a cab. Mostly I prefer to take these trips solo but, in such a situation, I didn’t mind the change.

The “D Day” – 16 March 2020, after we were ready, I booked the cab at 3AM (my flight was at 7 AM) and here the real journey began. We waited for the cab for more than 10 minutes which included calling the driver and confirming that he would fulfill his service, only for him to cancel the trip like a Bangalorian cab. We tried to book cabs for the next 20 minutes and finally decided that we will go by Airport Bus. We got an auto to the Majestic bus station and after reaching there, it became really hard to locate the airport bus stop. While looking for it many auto drivers were suggesting that we should not take the bus because it was unhygienic, instead hire them as they could take us to Bangalore Airport in a safer way. After a few minutes we gave into their idea and bargained the fare from one thousand rupees to six hundred rupees.

Later we realized how these cabs and autos were working together and making a fortune out of the situation in Bangalore. So, the thing was that the auto drivers picked up passengers from the bus stops and took them to a spot where the airport cabs waited. The airport cabs would start the trip once all the seats were filled. Hence, it happened to us too. After finding a cab, the auto driver asked for the money and we gave him 600 rupees out of which one note was kind of damaged (I had no idea until then) but they could have made it work but they didn’t. It was past 4 AM, I had a flight at 7 AM and my companion had her flight at 7:30 AM adding a lot of extra security plus health checking in the Bangalore Airport (as told by my other friends). So, to get out of that situation as there were four men and two girls, I told them to take us to the nearest ATM where I could withdraw new notes. We checked more than 3 ATMs and finally found one that worked. I withdrew, paid them and got another cab where the driver was not friendly. Till then we didn’t realize that it required 3-4 passengers for them to start the trip. After the realisation that he would wait for more passengers, we panicked as time was flying. However, we found our third travel companion and finally it started and I was able to put on my earphones and lay my back on the seat by listening to Blinding Lights by The Weeknd.

When we reached the airport toll gate, the driver asked for the toll fee which was supposed to be included in the already paid amount. He started fussing about how we didn’t consider him a human and how his other partners had only paid him 200 rupees (although I remember him getting two 200 rupees notes). Even after paying for it, he didn’t bother to stop murmuring. I reached the airport at 6:10 AM. Luckily, I cleared the security check as there were no extra health checks going on. After clearing everything I was in my morning – direct flight, which meant I could reach home after 2 hours and 50 minutes. I couldn’t manage to get rid of the flashbacks from that night’s frightening experience.

I reached Guwahati right on time, looked around the airport if any extra checking was going on. Realising that everything’s fine, I booked a cab immediately and started my journey to my home through the traffic on that sunny day. I fell asleep in the cab and woke up when the cab stopped in front of my home. I paid the cab with the same damaged notes just to check if that would actually work or not and he accepted it without any hesitation. I collected my belongings immediately because I was starving and moved ahead to take the required precautions in my home.

That evening, I realized that my spectacles were missing. I freaked out inside my head but didn’t let anyone know about it and started recalling where I could have left it. Next day, the cab driver called me inquiring about the specs. He told me that he would bring it back after a few days. A sigh of relief released which was immediately taken away by the news of lock-down.

Through the occurrence of few events in a single day, I’ve lost and found so much more. This experience lies in the grey because I am unable to analyse what is wrong here and what is not. Recalling this experience everyday made me realize that this story is something that I would like to be aware about, hence, it’s worth sharing. I did lose my first pair of glasses but gained a lifetime experience on how to survive by relying upon myself.