Thursday 20 August 2009

In full flight

The flight to Bangalore is not something we are going to forget in a hurry …we had hours & hours[well ok I’m exaggerating a bit] of continuous turbulence & by the end of the 30th minute my better-half & I were half-resigned to the fact that we may be crashing into the Arabian sea. As the plane jerked & shuddered thru the black of the night, all my deepest fears magnified.

I fretfully wondered if they had enough life jackets if we had jump off into the ocean or was it going to be like the Titanic which carried just 20 lifeboats for 2,222 people. I even felt under my seat but there was nothing there. I thanked God for all his kindness & especially expressed my gratitude for the fact that we were kicking the bucket together…you know, as a family.
Thankfully the turbulence abated after 45 minutes & I fell asleep almost immediately, leaving my better-half to look at my peaceful posture in amazement. Yep, got up only when the pilot made his announcement to land & found him….. the husband, not the pilot, still shaking his head at my nonchalance.

In contrast, my flight back to Dubai was a piece of cake……..and that too, without the better half's moral support[he had left a week earlier].

The kids & I each had a tiny tv screen to ourselves & had some 55 channels to choose from…….aaaaah bliss. There was not a peek out of the kids except for when the pilot or airhostesses halted tv proceeding to say some irrelevant stuff ……I had to shush Naina quickly when she said loudly “ufff this pilot has no other wo…..”

Just once I had to take them to the loo. After Naina went back to the seat, Nikita came out of the loo with a white packet in her hand. I just about managed to glimpse ‘Sanitary Towel’ written on it before she skipped down the aisle. As I watched her go, the packet slipped out of her hand TWICE & both the times two good-looking fellas kindly picked it off the floor & gave it back to her with a quizzical look on their face & then automatically looked at me who was standing at the head of the aisle, transfixed. I had no intentions of going into the loo but the embarrassment was too much to bear. I dashed into the loo & stood there with both my hands on my head. Then curiousity got the better of me & I looked around that miniscule partition to see where in the heavens did Nikita get hold of that blasted thing in the less than a half-minutes time she was in.

I found it after a full minute right beside the commode[which explains how Nikita found it so easily] but try as I could I was not able to figure out how to open the panel. After some futile efforts I knew I had to stop hiding & get out of there. I got out, carefully placed my eyes on the aisle & walked directly to my seat. Just once I looked sideways & saw one of the ‘not so goodlooking anymore’ guy smirking. Idiot!!!!

I confiscated the packet from Nikita who luckily hadn’t opened it coz she was under the impression that it was one of those refreshing tissues. Then sat down to watch the remaining of “Billu Barber" to conclusion & compared it so wistfully with “Kadha Parayambol”, there was no comparison really. Sooner than I thought, the Tv screens froze to display landing announcements and I brightened up at the thought of going home but there were shouts of dismay from the kids who wanted the pilot to fly around for some more time so that they could finish the movie they were watching.

Finally as I got up to join the queue[all of you know what I’m talking about;-/] Nikita dives underneath the seat I presumed to gather her errant toys but she triumphantly places a white packet with LIFE JACKET written on it, on the seat. I was horrified & whisper fiercely to keep it back but she confidently refused to;
“That redlipstick lady on the tv said that we have to wear it when we leave the plane”.

“Yes she did, I heard it too” Naina stoutly supports.

"Yes I heard it too but only in the case of an emergency" whispering I look around hoping nobody saw what the kids did & find people behind me in the queue craning their heads to have a better look at the life-jacket.

I command Nikita to put it back where she found it & two out of the three of us exit the plane very mutinously.

As we walked down to passport control I couldn’t help grinning to myself…..atleast the doubt I had about whether they actually kept life-jacket under the seats was cleared, some comfort anyway”


p.s: Leaving you with a picture of Dubai taken from my seat which by the way was furtherest from the window[the kids wouldnt budge].

It took sometime to sink in that the giant band-aid-like thingie on the horizon was not some advertising gimmick but a sticker carefully stuck on the window by who-else. It had 'child-meal' printed on it;-/.

67 comments:

  1. hahaha traveling with kids is SOOOOOO much fun :D :D i had to travel all myself, looking at other people's kids do all the entertaining (and sometimes embarrassing!) stuff lol :D welcomeeeee back, we missed you!

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  2. hey, glad to see you back. hope you are all refreshed and rejuvenated and full of holiday stories for us. welcome back!

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  3. LOL Nancy! And welcome home. Hope you had a good time, girl :-)

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  4. Oh no more comment moderation -- I love it!!!

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  5. You are back with a bang!!Soon as the planes shakes a bit,I too wish I should've paid attention to the safety procedures demo by the air staff!

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  6. Ok so... welcome back!

    And obviously only your kids go do things like that :)

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  7. Its only when something the plane starts shaking violently do I curse myself for not reading/listening to the safety instructions.

    Man your kids are a riot! I am just wondering what you would have written if you didn't have those personal TVs!

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  8. ohh what a trip this was! :):) I remember a friend`s kid sister roaming around with a sanitary pad,using it to blot ink patches, until the mother finally caught her!! :):) Kids,I tell ya!
    Sooooooooo glad to have you back Nancy!!

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  9. LOL, what a flight!
    the sanitary napkin incident made me ROFL... poor u! oh well... flights with kids are always entertaining! :D

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  10. heheheheheh :P so you are back!!!!
    WOW!!! :P
    flights with kids are always a pain :P hehehehehehehe :P

    this turbulence thing reminds me of a flight I took about 2 weeks back......
    we had to fly thru a thunder storm... and the turbulence was very bad..... had my heart in my mouth :P literally..........

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  11. :)welcome back and interesting travel account there!

    i like experiencing turbulence and even earthquakes for that matter :P

    anyways, glad you are back safe and hopefully with lots of stories and pictures.. waiting waiting..

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  12. yay ur back!!! :) :) :)

    haha thats hilarious! and a more embarassing situation is having to buy sanitary pads in front of ur very grown up 17 yr old brother who is impatiently asking you to hurry up and what are you dallying about in a pharmacy in any case!!!

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  13. enjoyed your travelogue nancy and welcome back again!

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  14. hoyi...welcome back :)
    goody..now there'l be loads of stories from India ...*Meira waits witha mug of hot cocoa*

    Didn't Nikita ask about the 'white packet'?:P

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  15. Welcome back. Blogosphere lost a bit of the lustre in your absence. make it up with a vengeance, will you please ....

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  16. Yay! Welcome back :)

    Nikita n Naina rock :) Actually, u hv to thank them for giving u so much fodder for ur blog :P

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  17. Snow: Nope dont agree with u at all, travelling with kids is pain really but yeah arnd abt after 3-4 months after the funny things happen we tend to look back indulgently & blog abt it for lack of any other topic;-D
    And thank u for the welcome:-))!!!!

    Wanderlust: Refreshed & rejuvenated I am, it is the holiday stories I'm fresh out of...dunno why but I dont really have anything to tell:-(.
    Thanks for the welcome:-D!!!!!!

    Agnes: Thank U, I had a great time:-).
    As for comment no-moderation it was not intentional, I had forgotten tht I had removed it before leaving for vacation. I still am not sure I like it;-P

    Sara: Seriously, all tht while I was wondering abt how I'm supposed blow air thru some tube in the life-jacket & was hitting myself for not listening properly.

    Rakesh: Thank U:-))!!!! Nope I'm under no illsuions tht way. There was 1 kid on the plane who dropped his OJ on his neighbours pants & another who cried from start to finish;-D

    SJ: Have u seen Shrek II where Shrek, Fiona & donkey go to visit Fiona's parents & donkey keeps asking Shrek every 5 mins
    "Are we there???"
    "Are we there yet???"
    Frankly the Tv screens saved my sanity;-P

    Piper: Gosh she really did tht....luckily for me Nikita was going to use hers[she thought it was a refreshing tissue] after lunch to wipe her hands;-D
    And thanks so much for the welcome:-))!!!

    Ashwathy: It was not at all funny then...even now I cringe when I think of it. The only gain I see here is tht for lack of another topic I got to make a post out of it;-P

    OG: U knw I have gone thru mild turbulence & air pockets before but this went on & on for so long. The Air France tragedy also was still fresh in my mind & hence all those depressing thoughts;-(

    Mindspace: I have a friend who like to experience such things like U. Maybe if I knew for sure tht I was going to survive tht ordeal then I'm sure I too would have enjoyed it;-D

    Sunshine: LOL....hmmm u r right, thts really embarrassing;-D
    And loved ur welcome:-D!!!!!

    Lan: Thank U & thanks again for the wishes:-))!!!!!

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  18. Thank God, Nancy, you posted. I've been waiting for this. Missed you on the blogosphere.

    Nothing is uneventful for you, right ?? With two kids like that, always on top of their toes to do things ???

    She thot that Sanitary towel was a refreshing tissue pack !!! hahahahaha !!! So cute and innocent. Wait till she grows up and you tell her this incident. She'll look at you like -What ? Me ? Did that ? Come on, Mom, dont joke. This is experience that talks.

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  19. haha..that was entertaining:)
    I love watching movies on flights so so much i actually stay up all throughout and watch them one after the other. In fact its even come to a point where i select my flights based on in-flight entertainment..how practical right:)
    And nice pic..btw. Good to have you back

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  20. Was beginning to miss you Nance :D ...glad you and the family got home safely and provided random weird strangers some great entertainment! :D

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  21. Wow, what an avid blogger you are Nancy, you started writing from air itself. Hilarious indeed and welcome back. Really missed you. So much water flew down the 'ganges' of blogworld in your absense.

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  22. Nan, so good to see you back. I have missed you! I was in hoots imagining the kids shouting the airplane hover till they finish their movie! :D

    Welcome back and do post more of your madness!! :-)

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  23. Pucca Nancy Style....//“That redlipstick lady on the tv said that we have to wear it when we leave the plane”.

    “Yes she did, I heard it too” Naina stoutly supports.//

    I imagined the scene, Lol!!Chanceless!! Hope holidays were too good, what else with the two lil ones, known for their intrigues!!

    By the way,I am amazed by the way the two get together, in all the posts you have put down, I see how Naina acknowledges and follows whatever Nikita does/says!! This wouldn't be possible without your conscious effort. Kudos on that!!

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  24. I always knew there would be one story about the flight !!! I'm just brilliant.. it was the very first ;-)

    as usual had me smiling :) all 3 of u must have been one cute sight.

    -rohitha

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  25. Meira: Not really, I strangely have no stories to say this time;-(....yeah maybe some pictures which I might put up in the photoblog.
    Hehe Nikita thought it was one of those wet tissues and she was planning to use it after lunch to wipe her hands;-D.

    Ramesh: You just know the right things to say....thank u for such a beautiful compliment:-))

    Swaram: Thank U:-))!!!! Hehe u r right, whenever I'm stuck for a subject their antics come in handy;-D

    Umsreflections: I'm beginning to feel so good with all the 'feel-good words' everybody has kindly penned....I was planning to start blogging only from september. Was actually going from blog to blog & catching up with so much I missed:-)).

    An Open Book: Haha really;-D....cool idea, I'm gonna follow ur example henceforth.
    Except for trains & autos I usually suffer from travel sickness in all vehicles and air travel usually comes with painful stuffy ears & other nonsense[thank goodness the kids havent taken after me]. I dont even read or watch movies for fear of triggering off any symtoms but this time I dont knw how but it was really cool;-D

    Shades of Grey: Hehe I console myself for the same reason...u knw, tht we are not really going to meet those people after tht;-P

    Balvinder Singh: "So much water flew down the 'ganges' of blogworld in your absense."
    U knw u r absolutely right. I came 10 days back & have been checking out all the blogs one by one & I still havent covered even half of them. By the way I read ur comment on Shobha de's blog abt SRK & thought it was great;-D.

    Thethoughtfultrain: Yeah they were hopping mad.....u see, it was for the 1st time they were watching Peter Pan & didnt at all like being cut off in the middle;-P

    Athivas: Oh I have to be honest here...they do have their moments but since the real party- pooper is their Mother they've realised they have to stick together to get their work done;-D

    Rohitha: Seriously, U knew???? Oh U r just brilliant I tell U;-D!!!

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  26. :D:D:D the kind of post i smiled through :D

    sweet...pucca mommy material :D

    n ur kids have nice names...nikita n naina...n whose idea was the "child meal" label? ;)

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  27. A huge welcome back Nancy. And U have been missed terribly. Its amazing what kids can do and say. This post of yours had been a breather for my otherwise cluttered mind. Thanks to you and your kids for that.

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  28. wow:) its really fun to travel with family...I am dreading my 12 hr flight ntomorrow:( all alone.

    Once in a flight from NGP to HYD we had so much of turbulence that many started puking, for me it was like a dsiney ride not ending at time.

    Naina and Nikita both are very cute:)

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  29. hey nancy,
    glad to see you back !!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Nice adventures you all had on the flights, I can tell..how was your stay in India??? me wants a nice long post with pictures on the trip :)

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  30. ha ha ha ha..
    Nancy--GREAT to have you back--with a bang and a laugh as usual :)
    Nice post :)
    Fortunately mine are drugged on cola and chips and my son is these days into impressing the red lipstick ladies :)
    Cheers
    preeti

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  31. hope u enjoyed here[in bang].....!!..:)

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  32. You're back!

    How were the holidays?

    Please thank Nikita on my behalf; she finally set my fears at rest as well - SO THEY DO HAVE THOSE JACKETS!!! Phew! Thank God! ;)

    P.S: In case you're wondering, Still just changed to Sparkling...

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  33. lol its amazing how each kid has one interaction with the 'sanitary napkin' while growing up ....causing some amount of embarrassment to the grown ups around them. hee hee.

    hope u had a wonderful vacay!
    u know ur kids are adorable dont ya :D

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  34. I'm laughing my heart out...its so nice to read you again,Nance!

    Nikita didnt open the sanitary pack??Namnam not only opened it,she even put it to an entirely different use.
    you'll know what when you hop over to my page :D

    so how was your stay?had mauj-masti to the hilt?

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  35. hii, glad to c u bac and hope u had a gr8 holiday... hehe looks like u guys did provide some entertainment to feloow passengers heheheh....
    Ahh travelling with kids r a pain and i just go crazy wen the kids keep wailing and i know i am goin to join that category soon as me also gonna be a momma soon and dreading the travel already...pheww... otherwise i enjoy the travel (and a secret --hehe i pick the flight based on the ones where i get good drinks and stuff LOL, infact me and my hubby end up drinking cans and cans of beer LOL, celbrating teh joy of getting out of kuwait :P)

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  36. welcome back! Oh my God, that was some flight. With the kids stuck to their own screens I am sure u were on the ninth cloud! the sanitary napkin bit was hilarious.

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  37. Welcome Back Nancy,hope you had a great time in India, missed reading your interesting blog, even checked in few times to see if you are in :)

    So back all happy and refreshed haan??

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  38. Blunt edges: Thank U & thank U:-)). Hehe since Nikita was sitting near the window it had to be her;-P.

    Anusha: Thank U...I missed everybody too:-)). Hope u r feeling better now!!!!!

    Renu: U r joking....its NOT fun to travel with children under the age of 10;-o. I keep postponing all other trips simply because I'm not ready to go for a vacation where I know for sure tht the children will spoil it for me. But to be fair they were so much better this year. Till a yr back they gave me nightmares;-P

    Prashanti: Trip was great & was very happening but somehow there's nothing much I have to say except that I was super busy;-P. Maybe I'll post a few pics:-)).

    Preethi Shenoy: LOL tht must be great fun huh ie watching ur son in action;-D

    Brocasarea: Oh yes I had a really good time....met family, friends, went to places, loads of shopping...inshort was very busy. Thank U for asking:-D!!!!!

    Sparkling: :-D....have to tell u something. As soon as I saw ur link thru feedjit I followed u to ur blog. I scanned thru ur page & was wondering who u were;-o....and was thinking AHA new blog, lots to read.... & then I come back & read ur comment. How I laughed at myself;-D

    Limenlemons: Hehe when I'm not yelling at them & infact mostly when they r sleeping that I knw[tht they r adorable, in case u r wondering wht I'm going on abt], thank U:-D!!!

    Deeps: LOL yep I found out when I reached ur page;-D....sure makes us wonder "inne endhoke kaanaaan kedakunnu";-o

    Enigma: Hahahaha...I notice all the women who make extra noises abt other children & their behaviour are going to be getting double when their own kids arrive. I knw I did;-P.

    Butterfly: U knw I havent written half of it....I just didnt want to bug the kind people who read my blog...but to be fair have to admit they were marginally better than previous trips;-P

    Sadia: Hey thanks:-))!!!!
    I dont knw abt refreshed[was so super busy there] but it was really a shock to face this torturous heat after the cool weather in Bangalore;-(

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  39. Welcome back!

    That was hilarious! The things the kids get up to :) At least you figured out where the life jackets are kept - I still have no clue. Have to wait for daughter to be old enough to search it out, I guess :) And hope against hope that she does not ferret out sanitary towels instead :)

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  40. How wonderful to have you back!!!! I see I'm late!! Aaah, but late or not, I'm glad I read your blog update- it did bring back such memories of traveling with children. You had me laughing so hard. :)

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  41. oh! Was that you and your angels?? Missed!!!!!

    Welcome back

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  42. Nancy,

    u write sooooo utterly well.. I had just started reading u r posts a little before u were gone.. really missed your writing. am glad u r back now :)

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  43. Smitha: LOL...that was a perfect comment...u put together everything u learnt from my experience;-D

    Anjuli: Hehe...u must be having better stories to tell since u travelled so much & U had 3of them to keep in order;-o

    Maddy: Oh u were there...thank goodness u missed;-P

    Anonymous: Thank U:-))!!!! Why r u anonymous....get a gmail id & join in:-)

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  44. welcome back and nice to know that you got blog fodder on your way back itself!!

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  45. Nancy what an experience...glad all turned out well...I'm this wont stop you from flying...

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  46. red lipstick ladies..heehee...

    the kids are a riot...it is so noce to read about them, but i guess must be quite amusing/exasperating at the time

    thanks for the comment welcoming me to Dubai. Which part of dubai are you put up?

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  47. Roshini: Thank U.....seriously, if not for them my blog would have shrivelled up loooong ago;-D

    Sukku: It may not stop but it certainly makes me think 10 times before making one;-(

    Suma: Yeah sure is exasperating, luckily for them I tend to see the funny side of it soon:-)).
    I stay in Deira, wht abt u???
    If its of any use to u, this is my email id....lexaxel at gmail dot com.

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  48. one heck of a trip isnt..i can very well guess it was an emirates flight..;-P

    My cousin in singapore says she doesnot have the guts to travel with her two daughters unless accompanied by the dad..;-D

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  49. Nancy - I would love to travel with you - I think it would make a boring long trip into a very interesting one. Your post even wanted me to fly now.

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  50. Nancy, Onaashamsakal! Didn't get a chance to go through the post yet.

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  51. that was one plane ride or should I say two?Atleast u had TV when u came back, we didnt have and my elder one actually cried...and I was alone handling their tantrums...I felt like throwing one myself...a tantrum, u know!
    And Onam enganeyundu...I am at Kottayam, enjoying my vacation, the blogs are going to be delayed...but one will soon come up!

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  52. have you settled back into life there? We are eagerly awaiting another update :)

    oh and my daughter just started a blog- if you could check it out- maybe leave a comment to encourage her- that would be so wonderful

    http://www.withahumblehand.blogspot.com/

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  53. Mathew: Yeah it was an emirates flight but how did u guess??? Is it bcoz of the individual tv screens...I mean as far as I knw Air India, etc dont have it;-P

    Colors: LOL sitting very safely across the ocean u'll want to do it but 1/2an hr in our company u'll be looking for the nearest exit;-D

    Solilo: Hey thanks, same to u...infact will come over to ur page & wish u;-D

    Anusha: Thank U:-))!!!!!!

    Sindhu: LOL really!!!!!! My heartfelt wishes....;-D.
    And Onam was great.....infact we are going to have a sadya again tomorrow;-D

    Anjuli: Ofcourse I will...anything for u:-))!!!!

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  54. belated Onam aashamsakal,Nancy :)

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  55. Deeps its not belated yet...I'm sure u knw tht in the gelf we celebrate it in a BIG way on a friday...which is 2morow;-D

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  56. Happy Onam to you and your family Nancy!!!

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  57. have a great ona-sadya,Nance..wishes to you,your husband,Nikita & Naina :)

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  58. Nancy not finding ur new post...we really missed u 2 months.....:( ...waiting 4r ur new post....

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  59. Awww thats really so nice of u to say....I dont, if u'll believe it have a thing to write;-(

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  60. Corollary 1:-
    The flight was between Dubai and Bangalore

    Corollary 2:-
    Based on the window pane design it is clear that the aircraft you took was a Boeing 777.

    Corollary 3:-
    The airline Emirates operates the Boeing 777 between Dubai and bangalore..

    Corollary 4:-
    The plane has excellent flight entertainment system


    Therfore it can be concluded that you were flying on a Boeing 777 from Emirates...:-P

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  61. Wow Matthew that was awesome deduction!!!!!!

    p.s: ummm....u pilot or something;-o???

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  62. lol..NOOO...
    but i work at airbus (though not employed with airbus)..so i have lot of interest in airlines and aircrafts..neverthless it was quite a guess based on ur descriptions and what i said..

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