Behind the Corporate Travel and Meetings
It has been a while now, that I dont enjoy travelling much. It is primarily because, I miss my home food and also the game of badminton that has done my hurting back a world of good.
Being in corporate, sometimes with teams spread far and wide, travel becomes a necessary evil and hence I do a lot of early morning flights and late evening return flights.
Through all of these, I find it interesting to travel. Most of us who travel are corporate citizens who all begin the day with a great hope. You would find everyone neatly dressed, the creases of the ironed clothes intact, striding with a purpose. They are chirpy and some are even carrying their corporate authority on the sleeve. Some engage in a banter with the air crew, and some in demonstration of arrogance. Yet, all of us (including me) are headed towards a meaningful day.The departure is announced and there is the mad rush and we see the not so civilized corporate citizen. We are busy with our cell phones early in the morning. We seem to be very busy, making calls even when we have been asked to switch off the phones. The elegant smart dressed corporate citizen does not seem to bother about the air safety regulations.
We are busy trying to catch some sleep (early morning flight) when some one by the side decides to go the toilet and we get up from our seats to give way. We wait until he comes back and go back to our nap again. The inflight crew now comes and wakes you up, saying that you are a corporate citizien and hence there is a corporate package of breakfast available. We are tempted and go ahead with the food. A very insipid but filling food. By then you hear the pilot mumbling a few english words, which has no beginning and end. It is so much of an accent and words overlapping into each other, that we are confused as to what he was saying and I wonder as to why do they do this at all!! In a short while we hear that we are preparing to land. This is almost like an annoucement to use the toilet. Everybody rushes to the toilet as though they were only waiting for the landing announcemnet. They settle down after a lot of announcments. Finally the flight lands and there is the mad rush to get out of the aircraft, even when the aircraft door is yet to be opened. Finally we are all out and go our own ways.
Tough day, a day when people listened to us, did not listen to us, listened to us, but did exactly the opposite way and we did what we were told since we were told so by the bosses..........By the end of the day, we have lived a full life of certainity and uncertainity , security and insecurity, ambiguity and clarity and finally confused and not so confused.
We head back to the airport. The wrinkles on the shirt and forehead shows the state of mind. The neat crispy corporate citizen of the morning heroism is weak with the days load of work and meetings. The meaning in the stride has dropped and he wanders across the airport... book stalls to Croma to eat outs to bars. Yes, the bars in the airports offers some solace to the disturbed soul, though not for all. This corporate citizen is longing to get back to home food and the comfort of his home and beloved ones, for he knows that even if the world forsakes him, they will not. He labours towards aircraft and sleeps tight, and when he wakes up he has a sign of relief on his face that he has reached home. He strides purposefully again and the tail lamp of his car merges and disappears into the city traffic and as we drive back we are ready for another day in our life.....He then longs for a weekend, where he would socialize, discuss world issues and unwind for this is what keep him charged for the work days of the week. Yes, this seems familiar and like a leaf out of our life :)
Being in corporate, sometimes with teams spread far and wide, travel becomes a necessary evil and hence I do a lot of early morning flights and late evening return flights.
Through all of these, I find it interesting to travel. Most of us who travel are corporate citizens who all begin the day with a great hope. You would find everyone neatly dressed, the creases of the ironed clothes intact, striding with a purpose. They are chirpy and some are even carrying their corporate authority on the sleeve. Some engage in a banter with the air crew, and some in demonstration of arrogance. Yet, all of us (including me) are headed towards a meaningful day.The departure is announced and there is the mad rush and we see the not so civilized corporate citizen. We are busy with our cell phones early in the morning. We seem to be very busy, making calls even when we have been asked to switch off the phones. The elegant smart dressed corporate citizen does not seem to bother about the air safety regulations.
We are busy trying to catch some sleep (early morning flight) when some one by the side decides to go the toilet and we get up from our seats to give way. We wait until he comes back and go back to our nap again. The inflight crew now comes and wakes you up, saying that you are a corporate citizien and hence there is a corporate package of breakfast available. We are tempted and go ahead with the food. A very insipid but filling food. By then you hear the pilot mumbling a few english words, which has no beginning and end. It is so much of an accent and words overlapping into each other, that we are confused as to what he was saying and I wonder as to why do they do this at all!! In a short while we hear that we are preparing to land. This is almost like an annoucement to use the toilet. Everybody rushes to the toilet as though they were only waiting for the landing announcemnet. They settle down after a lot of announcments. Finally the flight lands and there is the mad rush to get out of the aircraft, even when the aircraft door is yet to be opened. Finally we are all out and go our own ways.
Tough day, a day when people listened to us, did not listen to us, listened to us, but did exactly the opposite way and we did what we were told since we were told so by the bosses..........By the end of the day, we have lived a full life of certainity and uncertainity , security and insecurity, ambiguity and clarity and finally confused and not so confused.
We head back to the airport. The wrinkles on the shirt and forehead shows the state of mind. The neat crispy corporate citizen of the morning heroism is weak with the days load of work and meetings. The meaning in the stride has dropped and he wanders across the airport... book stalls to Croma to eat outs to bars. Yes, the bars in the airports offers some solace to the disturbed soul, though not for all. This corporate citizen is longing to get back to home food and the comfort of his home and beloved ones, for he knows that even if the world forsakes him, they will not. He labours towards aircraft and sleeps tight, and when he wakes up he has a sign of relief on his face that he has reached home. He strides purposefully again and the tail lamp of his car merges and disappears into the city traffic and as we drive back we are ready for another day in our life.....He then longs for a weekend, where he would socialize, discuss world issues and unwind for this is what keep him charged for the work days of the week. Yes, this seems familiar and like a leaf out of our life :)
Comments
Love the way you describe the mundane trips that people undertake across the skies :)
I've often thought to myself how the airplane resembles a BMTC bus post landing ;) (Everyone standing up even as the door shows no signs of opening !! )