Today, I can perfectly sum up what happened with me at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Friday, 8 October, with the famous quote by Ibn Batuta: "Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller."
I left my home in Thane for the airport at around 7:45 am. I had a flight to catch for Darbhanga, Bihar at 11.20 am. I always keep a safe margin of time when I travel. But it turns out, even that wasn't enough on Friday.
I always do all the checks-in on time and I have never missed a flight. But for the first time, despite being before time, I wondered if I would be able to board the flight. I wasn't alone in this feeling, many other travellers were also feeling helpless. We were so close to our flights, yet so far.
As I entered the airport, there was a sea of people. I stopped to check my flight's time and noticed that literally all flights were 'delayed'. 'Excuse me, please,' 'Excuse me, please,' was the only sentence I kept saying on a loop from the time I stepped into the airport.
Usually, we are welcomed with long queues at check-in counter or at the security gate but this time, there was chaos everywhere and long, long queues at each and every stop. It took me half-an-hour to clear my check-in and nearly an hour for the security check.