Joe Speak

It was a great relief, to exit from a very rare Air India flight at Trivandrum which had flown in from Dubai. The great relief was in that the flight was not cancelled and that the temperature outside was twenty four degree Celsius, twenty degrees cooler than the hot and arid desert climate from which I have escaped. Getting out of the airport was rather hassle-free, and I moved to the cab which was designated to take me home. I opened the right side door only to realize that the passenger seat in India was essentially at the left side – some of the desert habits had rubbed itself on me, though my stay was rather short. The cool atmosphere around me soothed my ailing heart and the skin for that matter. Three months out in the desert was not a small feat in itself. Dubai – Land of dreams, as the saying goes in numerous Mallu masala flicks, turned out for me soulless without any real life to it. All the glitter and glamour, for a lesser layman, could be amazing. It just turned out...