a "Thank You Moment!"

As my traveling increased, I took to reading fiction during the flights (there was a time when I used to think reading fiction is wasting time – but times change and so does the taste!). My favorite Author these days has been Agatha Christie with her riveting Murder mysteries.

This was one of the seriously early morning (5.50 am types) flights which all of us in corporate dread but keeps taking once in a while. I took out my Novel (which was gifted to me by my special friend – about whom you’ll hear more in next couple of days) in the hope of catching few pages but with eyelids drooping and sleep seducing, what chances I had? I snored mostly through the flight to Ahmedabad.

Next day while checking out of the Hotel, I realized that I had lost the novel. I asked the reception to thoroughly check my room if I had left it there. Through the housekeeping they got it checked and reported convincingly that nothing was left. It occurred to me that I might have left it in the Flight.
Hmm…another lost thing due to carelessness.

While I was about to board this Indian Airlines Flight to Delhi, the Airline woman looked at my boarding pass and asked, “Sir, did you also traveled with us yesterday Delhi-Ahmedabad?” After I nodded, I was pleasantly surprise to hear that “Sir, you left a book in the flight. It is with us. It is too late to get it now, can you collect it when you’d come next time?” She thus filled in hope and then kind of punctured it. Who would remember next time? Whom would I contact?

Now, it so happened that I was again at Ahmedabad a week later. Before boarding my flight to Delhi, I went inside the Indian Airlines counter and said, “Last week I was traveling through your Airlines and….” the man at the counter interrupted and completed the sentence for me “….and you left your book in-flight, right?” He then rushed to the Almirah dig out my Novel and joyfully handed it back to me saying excitedly, “So many people leave their books in flight, we keep them all, hardly anyone comes to claim them, I am happy you are back….”



It was a genuine heartfelt “Thank You Moment” for me, despite being Indian Airlines, the staff at Ahmedabad Airport is sure doing a great job. Kudos!