It is MON at 1120 lcl and it has been a most interesting day. I set out early this AM to drive around town a bit with, hopefully, little or no traffic before going to the airport for my 3 students starting at 0800. Few vehicles on the road but not due to the early hour. They forgot to tell me there was a Bandha. I learned when I came to a crowd obstructing a round-a-bout and was stopped. They reached over and took the bike key. A very aggressive act. No driving is allowed, I guess. There were at least 50 of them so I deliberately showed little resistance. Once we agreed that I was just a stupid tourist (hellooooo, do I look Nepali), they returned the key and waved me through. I sneered and turned around. On the other side of town, I saw another roadblock so I turned around and went to the airport. Strike ONE!
Upon arrival at the airport, I was, for the first time, challenged by a weapon toting soldier (very young) who would not accept my statement of "Shivani Air". No, he wanted "Airport ID". Like I have one of those. So, I showed him my NH Driv LIC (seems to carry undue weight here) and, duly impressed, he allowed me through.
Upon arrival at Shivani Air hanger, I noticed an increased level of activity and agitation. The students had decided to Bandha and refused to fly. Strike TWO. Now, there's a new one. It got quite heated. The workday for most, by law, starts at 1000, so we had to wait for the VP of Administration & Personnel, Reena, to come in and adjudicate this dispute. I note a trend. Never did find out what the problems were, both here and on the street. Just don't care.
So, no flying today. Trend noted. Come back tommorow.
Did I mention it is dangerously HOT & HUMID.
No comments:
Post a Comment