The way back home during Covid -19 - Flying back to Bangalore

Don't wear a mask like this gentleman here! The three ply mask is roomy enough to accommodate all kinds of noses. And really there is no point in wearing it if your entire mouth and nose are not covered! You'd be surprised at how many people I saw at the airport nonchalantly hanging their noses in the air - breathing in, breathing out like everything's normal.

I was in Bhopal when the lock down was announced. And extended. Again, extended. And yet again, extended. But  I have no complaints. I was well taken care of, surrounded by friends who are like family, and plenty of good food. I became something of a culinary expert myself. But then again, who hasn't become one during the lock down? When all else fails, turn to food!Eat food, cook food, feed others.

But the way back home was fraught with challenges. I have had flights cancelled five times and had to cancel three train tickets because of the confusion surrounding travel.

Nervous, paranoid I stepped into the airport at Bhopal. It was eerie, like something out of a horror movie with barely four or five passengers at the entry gate. The mask was suffocating me and my face was like a Turkish hammam - A few more minutes and I'd be swimming in my own sweat! Discreetly I would turn away, remove my mask, use the sanitizer, wipe my face with a tissue, replace mask, use the sanitizer and wait in suspense until the security guard told us to step inside. Agony to wear a mask. Particularly painful in a Bhopal summer.

At 1 PM we were asked to make a move. An attendant sprayed disinfectant all over our bags and we were allowed inside. Our suitcases and bags were screened, while we showed another ground staff member our Aarogya Setu app that showed us we were safe. Not a very foolproof way but hey, who am I to complain. There were two men and two women - doctors I am presuming - who took our self- declaration forms, took our temperature, recorded it and gave us the go ahead. I was relieved when I was allowed to step forward. Our bags were screened yet again and we were allowed to get to the baggage drop area. I was asked to show my registration on the Seva Sindhu App. And allowed to proceed to security check.

The boarding pass was scanned. And finally onward to the boarding gates. Raja Bhoj airport is very quaint. You can pretty much see most of the airport from the boarding gates  upstairs. All the shops were closed except for a cafe. I decided to eat my packed lunch ( lovingly cooked by my dear friends) when it was relatively deserted and it was such a relief to remove the mask!

Slowly more people started coming in. Everyone was bound for Delhi and then onward to various places. Just like me, who had a layover of about an hour and a half in New Delhi before catching another flight to Bangalore. Fully suited attendants with elderly passengers in wheelchairs stood waiting for the boarding to begin. All of us were handed brown paper bags which contained hand sanitizer pouches, three-ply mask and a face shield. Not to forget the branding on the face shield :-) On my left, with space in between us was a man without a mask. He was praying - his continuous hum of Hare Krishna, Hare Rama interrupted by his two phone calls and then he would resume his steady humming.

We were asked to dispose the masks we were wearing, thoroughly sanitize our hands and the face shield before wearing them. ( The face shield has a polythene covering on both sides - removing it is advised for better vision. Luckily, I had a friend who told me. I very rarely realize these things on my own!)

At last the boarding began. And we were seated inside the sanitized 'lean, clean flying machine.' There were less passengers flying from Bhopal to Delhi, so most passengers had the entire row of seats to themselves. I sat near the window seat - curious to see what Bhopal looked like during take-off. There was a child in front of me who had discovered the cabin crew call button. And kept jabbing at it. One of the crew members with a steely glint in her eye, came and patiently explained to him that he could ring the bell only when he needed to urgently use the bathroom or urgently needed something.

We took off and it was a glorious sunny day. I love how the passing clouds shower light on only some parts of the land below and keep others in shadows.And rivers and lakes shimmer like jewels.

It was a short flight to New Delhi. Despite repeated instructions by the cabin crew to not dispose any personal hygiene items such as gloves and masks anywhere on the plane and to keep them with the passenger, I saw a middle aged man who had removed his plastic gloves do nothing. He had removed them earlier and kept it in the pocket of the empty seat next to his.

The flight landed in New Delhi and after much confused wandering, I was guided to this section called transfers. It was extremely crowded and ill-managed. I think the problem was that there were people flying all over India with different departure times and there were some who needed to get into the security check immediately because their flights were scheduled to depart in less than half an hour. There were some security guards who were helping them - allowing them to cut through the crowd so that they could go through security faster. Once I was done, I went on to the boarding gates. The scene is New Delhi was chaotic. There was no social distancing. People clung together in clumps. Luckily, the boarding call was announced almost 15 minutes after I reached so I didn't have to wait around for too long.

Things were a little strict on this flight from Delhi to Bangalore. An attendant checked our boarding pass, ID and Seva Sindhu registration before allowing us to board. There were a few disgruntled passengers arguing with the ground staff about this but they were firm. Everyone who didn't have the registration number was asked to download the app.

Notice how some masks make you look like a bird. And boy, this was one angry bird!

But the app comes with its own set of problems. Back in Bhopal, for two days I had continuously tapped away in frustration, only to get some errors from the Seva Sindhu website - they changed the interface every time I used it! You can imagine my relief when I finally got it sorted and got the acknowledgement.

I was given a window seat. And an elderly man occupied the aisle seat. Although we had some space between us, most other rows were full of people without any room in between.

I have dry cough which is sometimes triggered by the AC, by disinfectants, by temperature changes so it was a nightmare to keep myself from coughing, what with the mask and the face shield. I think the chemicals used to disinfect the airplane were particularly terrible for people with allergies. We were also asked to refrain from using personal care products since they could have a negative reaction with the chemicals used to clean and sanitize the airplane.

The flight from Delhi to Bangalore was harrowing. There was a delay in take off and it was hot inside. I read for a little while. People would remove their shields sometimes and the air hostess would constantly announce " Keep it on at all times."

The flight took off at last and three and a half hours later, landed in Bangalore. The crew went hoarse asking us to maintain social distancing, to de-board row by row and wait until the previous row had completely cleared out of the airplane, but to no avail. When faced with citizens as disregardful and disorderly as this, what can you possibly do to control the situation?

Attention ladies and gentlemen! boys and girls! Please yawn into your mask and keep them germs inside! Thank you. 

In Bangalore airport, there were a lot of staff to shepherd us around so the situation was slightly better. Our thermal scanning done, we were ushered through to some desks where our boarding pass, ID and Seva Sindhu registration number was noted down and our hands were stamped. "Home Quarantined until 21 June 2020."

It's good to be back.