The airplane had landed onto a dirt and rocky surface. The passengers all groggily waking up from their sleep. Some rubbing their eyes, while others sipped the last drop of water from their plastic cup. A young adult woman was adjusting her thin black frame shaped glasses to the bridge of her nose with her index fingers while running her fingers through her short black hair. She was petite for her age with a thin oval shaped face. Her brown eyes darted to the small square shaped window of the plane. The sky was a clear blue and the clouds were stretched over the horizon in a straight line. There were goats and cows on the roads pulling giant carts filled with mechanical parts for an airplane, rice bags, and fruits. Olive colored security jeeps were everywhere. Short and tall tan colored men and women in brown uniforms and small triangle shaped hats were in those jeeps. The badges on the uniforms were reflecting off the sunlight. The roads weren’t even a road, just dirt with cars, people, and animals stepping on it like elephants.
Back home she was familiar seeing the large landscape of buildings and trees in her neighborhood, not cows or goats. The hard pavement filled with cars parked cars instead of jeeps. She was used to the city life of New York. Not the simplicity of India. This is what she noticed the moment the tires of the airplane touched down on the dirt road, the people here were so simple minded, probably even the animals. The passengers around her shuffled to their feet moving along the tiny aisles to take out their luggage from the compartments above their heads. The white long compartments had the ‘Air India’ insignia on it, with a gentle push the frame of the compartment slowly opened. There black, red, blue, green, and plaid colored luggage above the woman who was still sitting in her adjacent seat trying to wipe the fatigue look in her eyes. The time difference wasn’t helping either. She looked at her silver wrist watch on her right hand reading 3 am. That explained why the fatigue wasn’t going away. It was 12:30 pm in the unfamiliar place which her family called home. A sleepy yawn escaped the woman’s lips as she stood up almost hitting her head on the open compartment.
She sleepily grabbed her black carrier bag and back pack. The passengers slowly filed out of the airplane saying thank you to the stewards and stewardess who offered to care for their passengers for the past 24 hours. The passengers left the plane like tiny ants in an ant farm. All single files carrying the many belongings they had in their hands. Everyone shuffled out of the cramped space that was available to them. Once outside the airplane, the intensity of the heat from the sun and a heavy gust of thick wind hit the woman’s face. The weather was spring-like, cool hair and hot sun, which came to a surprise to her since she along with her family was in India in the middle of February. She took off her light jacket and hung it around her suitcase as she followed her family towards the arrivals check in station.
She saw how cautious the security checks were. There were five metal detectors and pat-downs before anyone could leave. She looked at her mother giving an exhausted sigh, “The security here is so much better than in the states.” Her mother turned giving a wishful nod and a satisfied expression while she wiped the sweat from her shapes brows, which also wiped off some makeup from her tired and heavy face. “That’s how security is like here,” She heard her uncle reply from behind as he held onto a black laptop carrier bag. He handed the carrier bag to his son who was making an attempt to tie his Nike sneakers. A girl next to the boy took the laptop carrier bag instead.
“Imagine coming back after every other year for the past four years. You have to go through all this every time.” The girl added in a knowledgeable tone while straightening his suede suit coat. He smiled at his daughter giving a light chuckle of some private joke.
The young woman followed her mother, uncle, and cousins towards the security checks. The security guards welcomed them in the native tongue with a forced tone. “Welcome to India!” While swiftly stamping the blue US passports like machines. The family exited out of the security check, towards the arrival tunnel where they were greeted by a group of ten people. Five women and five men. The women were dressed in pink, blue, red and yellow saris. They were obviously sisters since they had the similar features; tan skin, long braided black hair, expressive wide eyes, a narrow nose and mouth. The tall and heavy men were all wearing white cotton shirts and pants. They call it a kurta. Men normally wear kurtas on special occasions.
No one could react or say anything as they were all pummeled in family hugs and kisses. Blurs of pink, yellow, blue, red, and purple saris could be seen around the woman as large friendly arms closed around her tightly one by one. She smiled exhaustedly as she was being hugged by strangers who were family. She never met or knew any of these people that were hugging her and greeting her, but she was happy that she would finally be able to get to know them.
