Open Letter to Air India: A Disgrace to the Country.

26^th Sept 2014: AI022 – Delhi to Kolkata – delayed for 2 hours than its scheduled departure.

TOI Report – 20^th Sept 2014 – Air India officials danced as a flight ‘waited for 3 hours’ to take off.

(Full story)

TOI Report – 7^th Aug 2014 – Narrow escape for passengers of Air India flight.

(Full Story)

TOI Report – 2^nd Aug 2014 - Air India plane’s tyre bursts while landing in Kozhikode.

(Full Story)

If I put up all the news updates from Google on Air India, the draft for this open letter would be complete, and the best part is no editing shall be required too, as one can barely edit facts – just like for an accountant its impossible to modify the P&L or the Balance Sheet of a loss making company, and especially one that has a burden of debt hanging as wind chimes on its flight windows.

When my father flew for the first time, he flew Air India and he said, this airline will take us places on the world map – this is our own airline. It was some thirty years back. Least did he know that Air India today has announced free air tickets to its 24,000 employees, even after an expected loss of Rs 3,900 crore this financial year with a heavy debt on its shoulders of Rs 35,000 crore. But then who cares for burdens when your employees get free tickets. While your top officers such as functional directors and joint managing directors are shamelessly entitled to get 24 free tickets each year, deputy general managers and above get 20. The not so funny part is; you guys call it a company policy named, 'Passage Entitlement-Vacation Travel'. I’m yet to find the right word to describe my feeling – a huge shame shall be an understatement of that very understatement.

I have been travelling both on domestic and international circuit for about ten years now, and for the first time in my life I thought to fly Air India, God knows what curse fell upon me at that moment when I made this choice. There are still places on this planet where one wants to reach on time, and that place is called home; especially when your mother is sitting by the window waiting for her son who is coming to see her after one long year. His father left early from office so that he can have dinner with his son, he has his stories crafted – yes the ones he always tells on the dinner table. The younger sister is waiting for her gifts that his brother will be getting for her. But I am very sure that you and your staff can’t feel such emotions of human bonding. And to tell you the truth I am not a bit surprised that you are a loss making company.

When my flight AI022 got delayed by thirty minutes, I and other co-passengers were angry, but somehow we didn’t react – I must say we appreciate challenges that an airline experiences sometimes. And so we all were waiting in the ever beautiful and huge Terminal 3 – New Delhi. Just when the time came for the gates to open, there was a confident announcement – “We apologize, but AI022 will now depart at 21.30 instead of 20.45.” Now what do we do with your apology, lay eggs, make omelets and sell at the airport, or do you suggest we play hide and seek in the airport with fellow passengers? Feel free to give me a shout if you have any other ideas – on how to utilize a passengers wasted time. When a few passengers walked up to the announcement desk to complain, they were simply given an email ID, “Yeh email id hai, yahan par aap feedback de sakte hain. Mujhe kuch nahi pata, flight 21.30 baje hi chalegi (This is the email ID for feedbacks, please email your complaints here. I don’t know nothing, the flight will take-off at 21.30 only).

Well I have been in the Service Industry for more than ten years now, and this was the most perfect way to speak to a frustrated customer, I found. Whoever says courtesy and politeness is what keeps a service industry alive in the market; but then, you are already dead and buried. And nothing you can do now that will bring your life back – neither tax payers’ money which is your ventilator nor government funds which also comes from us.

Now let’s get back to AI022. Well we didn’t take off at 21.30, that actually was the boarding time and your boarding procedures are so speedy and swift – that it took about forty-five minutes to complete the boarding. While entering the plane, when I was greeted by the Air-Hostess, I couldn’t stop myself by saying, “A couple of more hours and you would have said, Good Morning.” Well I was taken aback by the audacity of your staff, “After landing Sir.”

Well then, “Make sure you get me my early morning coffee, and I like it black.”

So we took off at 22.10, actually that was the time I was to land in Calcutta to be home on time for dinner. So now we took off, no water served to passengers who were waiting for more than two hours, no juice served – no refreshment. So no guilt in your hearts that passengers waited for so long, you could have at least served some water, forget about juice, which I know you can’t afford, as you have reserved that money for free tickets for your employees. Just then your Captain walked into the economy class and started speaking to a gentleman (he must be in his 50’s, and beside him was wife in the window seat.)

“Sir, why are you travelling in economy, that’s just not done? I am flying the plane and you will sit in economy. No, No" – he said in his hinglish accent. "Please come to the business class.”

And then both of them got up from their seat and parked themselves into business class. Well I would like to ask you something, “Who gives the right to a Captain to upgrade someone just like that?” I don’t know who that man was, some bureaucrat or some corrupt government official – or whoever, I don’t care. He paid the same amount as I did, I waited as much as he did, or may be more, and others too in the plane. Why this hypocrisy? Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, the food you serve; they serve better food in road-side dhabas. Try it some time, you will have to come out of your big car though, but I am sure you will attain value for money, which you have been incapable of providing, for I don’t know how many flying miles.

Now when we landed, I missed seeing that air-hostess, as I was in a mood to have coffee. But then I thought it would affect your P&L and your Balance Sheet; you are already running into huge losses and debts – consider that a gift from a passenger who for sure had a sukhadmay yatra (pleasant flight). I have written to all the Hindi and English dictionaries to change the meanings of sukhadmay and pleasant. It should be at par with its real meaning, don’t you think!

Air India – do us countrymen a favor, remove the word India from your company name. We Indians don’t like our country’s name to be used with such disgraceful demeanor and shameful act of providence.

Unlike You

Truly Indian

Amit Gupta

The Nameless Grave

Amidst realism and shadow I stood wearing an ordinary face, inconspicuous but rebellious. I had left home in search of illumination, my grave was lying breathless, the flowers on it looked stale, the soil had turned grey being tired of carrying the color red, the trees had turned black being burdened of the color green, there was nothing around me that had life, nothing that breathed anything other than the truth; the truth of the dead and the buried.

I looked at my grave only to find, my name was erased, I kept rubbing the stone to find some trace of my name that was once inscribed on my grave, but apart from the last alphabet of my last name, there was nothing to be found - "E". I sat down on the ground feeling like a stranger in my own house, more like a guest. I was unaware for how long has been my name erased from the grave-plate! And for how long I have been a stranger and a guest in my own house? Just when my mind began contemplating some questions and their truthful answers about myself and my identity, about my life that has gone-by, and the number of years I have spent in this dark den; I heard some sounds coming from the nearby park located near the graveyard. I paid attention and found it was none other than one of my own written verses which was being recited by a young male voice. A moment of ecstasy ran through my heart, but before this moment could build to a permanent state of happiness in my mind my nameless grave took over the entire space in my mind, heart and eyes, and therefore turned me into a blind soul towards contentment and joy. This being the perks of being a famous poet after more than seventy years of my death.

I decided to take my rebellious legs to the park and hear my verses more clearly. Upon reaching the park, I found that a huge picture of mine was kept for display, decorated with flowers and scented candles, and a huge gathering was listening to this young man's recital of this dead poet's verses which I wrote some eighty years ago.

I stood there inconspicuous and rebellious amidst realism and shadow wearing an ordinary face. For I am yet to know which is my house - that nameless unattended grave where there are dry flowers or these people who are celebrating my birth anniversary with fresh flowers and scented candles in a park?