Air India Hai Hai

Today's one of those days when I feel helpless, frustrated... I recollect my bad experience with Air India... In January 09, I lost my unaccompanied baggage while travelling from Hyderabad to New York City by Air India. It wasn't actually lost, it was in fact "stolen". The logs show that it arrived in Newark Airport's Air India godown. I was intimated by phone to collect it on a wednesday. I went there on the weekend, on a saturday, and they couldn't find my bag. They tried to track it and then told me to file for compensation.

That is when I realised what a bunch of lazy incompetent people they are, cheats... It's all collusion... They tried their best to frustrate my attempts at lodging a claim... I somehow managed to post my claim before the deadline.. But every time I called up, the secretary told me her manager was out/on leave/in meetings, that my claim papers are missing, will I please fax them a copy once again.

Finally I realised that there is little I can do with a bunch of lazy cheats, customers don't matter to them beyond being a revenue milking machine.

An employee at the godown discreetly (but very clearly) told me that things disappear all the time from Air India godown..

Well, all my anti-blessings on that carrier, I prayed hard to seek my revenge (I never forget, I am like an icchadhaari naagin)...

I did everything possible in my hands, like sending emails to all the email ids mentioned on their website (most of which bounced back, or I didnt get replies to).

I do not have a receipt for my claim since that shrewd secretary Debbie didn't give me one, their systems are designed for seamless collusion between all employees... I told her on her face that no other carrier behaves this way (it's true, my luggage was misplaced by Gulf Air, they processed my claim instantly), Debbie had the nerve to retort, "Well, this is Air India"! Now what can one say to somebody who says, "Well, I AM shameless, well, I am lazy, well I am incompetent, this is the way we work!"

When I read in news that Air India was going bankrupt, my joy knew no bounds. I wanted to call up Debbie (that lazy callous secretary who told me to fax my claims again and again) and tell her I am so happy for her and all the employees who won't get paid on time.

My heart broke when I realised that the Government was going to bail them out... But thank God, my parents aren't in India, nor is my husband, nor do my parents-in-law pay income tax in India, because I don't want my family's hard earned money to bail out those lazy bastards.

I can't change the whole world, I can't make shameless people feel ashamed, I can't find justice for every situation, but surely, I can try my best to disassociate myself from cheap opportunists, lazy incompetent bugs, may God bless them in their impunity, for they don't realize that there is an account for everything, and that they will pay for their behavoir. What goes around, comes around.

As for me, I have learnt to overcome my loss, it was only baggage... It was only material things.. I can collect more material things later in life, I take it as "nazar utaarna". It was very sad, I cried a lot, I lost every single memory that my husband & I collected over the years.... All his letters to me, his notes to me, were in that bag... They are all gone. I always dreamed of going through them years later. But I lost them within a fortnight of marriage... I cried a bit, a lot actually, but I gave up, it's a sign from God, that He'll keep us happy ever after, after this initial loss....

There is a fear somewhere inside me that our horoscopes don't match, this sad event was like 'nazar utaarna', its like the death of the old 'us', and the birth of a new 'us'.

It's okay as long as I have my husband's company, I can do without the things!

In a very small way, I tried to understand how my music sir's family must feel about having to flee Kashmir... Auntyji was ever complaining, every flower, every fruit, every rain drop, every drop of sweat, reminded her of her own house, her own garden, her own trees, in Sopore... She must have felt so much grief on being uprooted, but she managed to smile.

I shouldn't be too petty all about a small bag...