PRE BOOKED AND PRE COOKED

From the 25 C, the isle seat of the GOINDIA Airbus flight from Delhi to Chennai I can see right up to the far end to the flight cabin. In the near vision is 25 DEF and also, with a slight twist of the neck 26 DEF.

 There is a group of Marwaries men, women and children, as learnt later, on a tour of various religious places, noisily trying to settle down in their allotted and also the unoccupied seats

 I, twist the neck and  look back and what do I see: before fully settled the lady in  26 E has already unwrapped a packet of Snacks from her bag  and is busy dipping in  it and  offering  from the same to  those  seated near of the group..

 Even before the plane has started its takeoff run she unties the knots of the cloth bag revelling, a stack of Aloo Puree, GOINDIA is a low fare airline and food is available on payment at exorbitant rates, wise people bring their own food an drinks on board, soon starts the distribution of the Aloo Purees,   served    on plastic plates up and down the isle to the other members of the group.

  I slight hungry, having   missed breakfast due to the early flight, am reminded of   our train journeys as a child, when Mother would bring the Aloo Puree and mango pickle for the journey and even before we had settled in the compartment Father would ask mother   to   serve the goodies, so bidden she would start with giving two purees, a dollop of the potatoes and a slice of pickle to each one of us..

 The setting is  the same, except it is  the   aircraft’s AC  cabin of  the plane flying at

25 000 feet at 800 Kms per hour  instead of the Inter Class, hot or cold, depending on the season,  railway  compartment of East India Railway  chugging along at 25 Miles per hour, with   mother no where to serve the Aloo Purees,  that   I covertly watch in the hands of  others in s nearby seats ,   while waiting  for the trolley  being trundling  up the isle bringing my prebooked  and precooked, tasteless, Paratha Rolls while  savouring, with nostalgia,    the wafting aroma from the Aallo Puree being devovered with  relished around me.