F(P)light of Emotion

The below article writer's name is not mentioned protecting his identity.

I am an ordinary software engineer who jumped into this IT fraternity after my cool college days. As I grew up in the IT environment, a lot of things grew along. To name a few, stature (Ego), confidence (over confidence) and money for spending spree (for all NON-SENSE). As days passed, I gradually attained maturity in life and what’s going around. At this stage, obviously a man will become responsible and committed. I am not an exception. I too lodged into those stuffs and had things to accomplish. As my goals were set, my ultimate aim became to earn for my living. Literally to say “survival of the fittest”. So I wished for an Onshore role in my company. When I completed my tenure in my team, as usual they initiated my visa. I was eagerly waiting for my turn.

One fine day, my dad was on a business trip to Singapore for 5 days. So I went to airport to give him a send-off (even though it was not that big). I reached the airport soon and was waiting for my dad who was struck in the traffic. So I started ogling at the glimpse of beautiful NRI girls and Air Hostesses there. After sometime, it became boring. Then I saw a small Muslim family comprising of elders, many middle aged people and children standing a few meters away from me. From the way they were talking, I came to know they had come to send off one of their family person. Probably the bread winner belonging to one of the families. They were looking so simple with all ladies in burka and men in their authentic loongis. The person who was going to board the flight was alone in casuals.

They were all chatting about the good times which they had during the traveler's trip to India. The elderly person reminded about the things which were part of the travel and luggage. Children were running and playing in between the crowd there. Women were chattering about family happenings. As time became tight (I would like to use this word TIGHT because the time for flight departure was nearing, everyone’s inner instincts were holding tight), he started hugging all men and wishing them good luck for their endeavors. He got the blessings from the elders. He went to his children and advised them to be obedient in his absence. Then kissed them. Went near his spouse to wipe her tears and said something to make her strong. In all these moments, I found him smiling. He didn’t show a sign of grief like his family. The reason why he is carrying the smile is a belief that his son or daughter would achieve big feats in life. A smile is a belief that his better half would bear the entire burden in his absence. At last he left the emotional scene with the rub of his child’s finger. I was so keen in noticing his face. I saw the tears by the side when he left near the gate while dragging his trolley.

This created a big impact in my heart. Until then I was not so serious about the send off to my dad. But by then my love and affection hormones started over working. My dad arrived in a car with luggage. I helped him to transfer it into a trolley. He didn’t have much time as the traffic ate much of it. I just shook his hands holding that incident in my mind. That moment the reflex went to my heart and felt happy for some time. After the send off, I rode my bike and left the airport. When I rode over the bridge near airport, I saw an Emirates flight above my head in the sky. A small thought flashed in my mind that this flight is carrying so many dreams, commitments, tears and responsibility. I hope the flight reached its destination safely.

The discovery of Titanic

Everybody loves Titanic. The love story of Jack and Rose has been imprinted on our hearts deeply so much that the sinking of the majestic Titanic has made us cry as we watched the lovers tearing apart. Not to forget, the luxurious decks which adorned Titanic astounded us each time we saw Jack showing Rose the dolphins. And who can stop thinking about the famous arm- in- arm pose that became a worldwide symbol of love.
For us, Titanic is just a movie that definitely deserves all the Oscars that are being given away. James Cameron, the creator is worshipped for his highly talented soul to make such a stupendous movie. Even today, 15 years after the movie’s release, if aired on television, the movie has everybody glued to the screen to watch the ship sink for the umpteenth time. Ever wondered how the ship actually sank? Ever wondered how anybody discovered the Titanic after it sank? I never thought about it until I came across the book “The discovery of Titanic”. Until then, it didn’t matter how it was found. It never mattered for us to know who brought the story of Titanic alive to the world. We saw the movie, the majestic ship sinking into great waters, a heart wrenching love story – that was Titanic for us.

In the book “The discovery of Titanic” Robert Ballard, the author who is an explorer, oceanographer and Former Navy captain explains the intricacies, challenges and the conflicts involved in finding the wreck of Titanic. As the book progresses, you will comprehend that searching the Titanic was indeed a titanic task itself. Titanic was long thought to have sunk in one piece. After it sank in 1912, many schemes were implemented in vain. The essential problem was the sheer difficulty of finding and reaching a wreck that lay over 12,000 feet below the surface, in a location where the water pressure is over 6,500 pounds per square inch (simply unimaginable). The explorers would need equipments with high definition cameras to locate the debris area in the waters of the Atlantic. A number of expeditions were mounted to find Titanic but it was not until 1 September 1985 that a Franco-American expedition succeeded.

They discovered that the ship had in fact split into two before hitting the sea bed. The separated bow and stern sections lie about a third of a mile (0.6 km) apart in a canyon on the continental shelf off the coast of Newfoundland. They are located 13.2 miles (21.2 km) from the inaccurate coordinates given by Titanic's radio operators on the night of her sinking,[184] and approximately 715 miles (1,150 km) from Halifax and 1,250 miles (2,000 km) from New York. Both sections hit the sea bed at considerable speed, causing the bow to crumple and the stern to collapse entirely. The two sections are surrounded by a debris field measuring approximately 5 by 3 miles (8.0 × 4.8 km).
Robert Ballard and his team first spotted a boiler lying on the ocean bed which resembled from the pictures they had from Titanic’s maiden voyage. The boiler was the turning point that led to the discovery of the ship. The debris contained hundreds of thousands of items, such as pieces of the ship, furniture, dinnerware and personal items, which fell from the ship as she sank or were ejected when the bow and stern impacted on the sea floor. The debris field was also the last resting place of a number of Titanic's victims. Most of the bodies and clothes were consumed by sea creatures and bacteria, leaving pairs of shoes and boots – which have proved to be inedible – as the only sign that bodies once lay there.
Titanic has proved that everything that is big and proud doesn’t sail through everything safely because an ice berg can bring it all down. The legendary ship has proved to be a tragic reminder for 1500 lives that sank with the ship altogether taking down all hopes. Yet, Robert Ballard and his team were courageous enough to hail in the cold waters for days together to pay condolence for those who died on the night of April 12th, 1912.

The bow of the wrecked RMS Titanic, photographed in June 2004