Up In The Air : Giving Wings To Dreams

Man always had a fascination to be able to do the things he was not physically capable of doing and somehow or the other he always found a way of doing it. Though never meant to but man had always wanted to fly and because of this desire of man airplanes were invented and man's dream of flying freely like birds has finally become a reality.

I had a dream of flying since my early childhood and first flight experience is unforgettable for any one and it was fun and my heart was fluttering with happiness like a kid who explored something very new. The child in me couldn't wait to share it with his peers. Being a kid in middle class Indian family my idea and attachment with aeroplanes was limited to waiving at them thinking the commuters would wave at us one day.
Though it was a dream to travel by air, whenever it came to real situation mixed feelings involving fear of travelling alone overpowered anxiety and happiness.
As I entered the airport for the first time I felt like that I was somewhere in a five star hotel as we didn't have that kind of glossy buildings in my hometown and I was thrilled. All the processes of check in were taking time and adding to my anxiety. When I got my ticket and found out its an aisle seat and not the window seat I was little sad . I must add throughout this in the back of my mind Zakir Khan's stand up punchlines relating to this were playing and I was smiling but ensured that I wouldn't look mad. When I went to our seat then a kind soul offered to exchange his window seat with me and I was chuckling with happiness.
When the plane started accelerating, it felt unreal. When we took off and were airborne, I had the most memorable feeling - being in the air for the first time. Feeling the pressure, being pulled back into my seat. The feeling of almost loosing your conscious because of changing the altitude. Almost being high! Fell in love with that feeling right away!

When the plane was at sufficient height, I looked through the pane of window. The earth seemed to be “falling off” from us. The big buildings looked like small spots of beauty. The sky was clear. Its Line colour added to its beauty. Everything looked new and strange. Men and women seemed to be like so many Lilliputians creeping here and there.

Vast unending fields lay before me. But one could never know what was grown there. Big trees and bushes appeared very small and the waving corn seemed to be nothing but small grass. Once we flew over the river. It was very big and mighty but it appeared to be like a thread of water.

But the most beautiful thing was the scene around me. One saw nothing but was surrounded by pure air. Occasionally one saw clouds floating here and there. Sometimes one felt as if one was like a bird flying in the air. I felt how powerful man was. He had conquered nature. He had won victory even over the air.

When you take flight, things that you thought were dominant look powerless. Everything from 35,000 ft. looks diminutive. Skyscrapers look like matchboxes and vast rivers look like little streams. Suddenly, you feel almighty because you've conquered the sky. Then a gust of wind sends your plane tumbling and your nerves jangling. You say a silent prayer. You realize that even if you say you've conquered the sky or a mountain, you'll always be at nature's mercy. Only she is omnipotent.