From Kolkata To Glasgow via many happy moments!!

 

My boarding pass beeped red!

I panicked! Like omg-did-I-do-something-wrong type of panic!!

I had my passport in hand, ready to board my flight to Dubai. The girl in front of me had just scanned through fine. The family as well. But in my case? Red.

The airline staff smiled. 

Said, ‘Congratulations ma’am! You’ve been upgraded’.

And just like that my journey begins — with nervous packing, tearful goodbye, and a bag full of hope!

Packing for a new country is not just about weight limits. It’s a choice between your past and future. Between that old top that smells like home and the extra new jacket for the new weather. Between your favourite kurti and your lucky flip-flops. 

I packed and re-packed at least a thousand times. Emirates is strict with baggage - I knew about it. I weighed everything to the gram but still ended up buying excess baggage allowance. Not because of the weight, but how can you fit your entire life into 45 kg? You can’t! You make compromises. And then you cry silently at night, knowing nothing will ever be the same.

I felt like leaving a part of me when I was saying goodbye to my parents. I tried my best to smile through the tears. I waved and waved and waved till I couldn’t see them standing outside the gate. Home wasn’t just the city for me. It was the people who’d seen every version of me — from the kid who dreamed reckless to snappy teenager who pretended to know too much to the 21 y/o who was flying across the oceans to chase her dream!

Bags checked in! Boarding passes secured. Immigration was on auto-pilot. The officer next to mine overhead my answer and said his kid is into astronomy too. I smiled. Small conversation in an empty airport — they kind of ground you. 

Passport stamped. Security done. Way to the boarding gate.

When the boarding started, I stood in line for Zone F - front seats in economy. I saw so many students, chatting nervously, some with headphones popped on, laptops and iPads peeping out of backpacks. We all looked the same — a bit sad and nervous and tired, but with excitement.

The girl in front of me scanned her pass. Green light.

The family of 4. So did theirs turned green.

Mine thought, ‘this girl love red flags so much, let’s give her that!’

Cue a mini-panic attack!

But then the sentence that came after, changed my entire travel experience: ‘Ma’am you’ve been upgraded’

Every passenger standing (who could hear) froze for 2 seconds. I called my family, screaming, ‘GUESS WHO GOT UPGRADED TO BUSINESS, BABY??’ I’m damn sure the entire airport heard that!

The male flight attendant beamed at me saying, “You’re lucky.”

He was not wrong at all.

It took me solid 25min to figure out all the buttons - hey! some slack, it’s my first time in business class. There was so much space. And food. And a menu. A freaking three-course meal, drinks and chocolate menu. Emirates didn’t disappoint!

Dubai was a 9hr pause in between. 

I wandered around. Ate something. Found a tiny corner to rest. This layover felt like standing between two lives — one I’m leaving behind in order to pursue the other. Neither here, nor there. Just the in-betweens!

There’s this subtle kind of loneliness only airports know. But then it’s filled with hope too — hope about what the future holds. Some people reunite, some depart, some arrive, some fly to chase their dreams, some return home.

And then it was time for flight no. 2. If you are wondering, nopsy, it wasn’t an upgrade. A normal economy seat. I watched the screen. I counted hours, stared out of the window. Seven n half hour later — there it was beneath. My dream. Green. Cottages. Soft countryside with meadows. I touched down — the 10 y/o girl who wrote in her journal to study abroad was now a 21 y/o stepping out to fulfil that dream. 

Tired? Yes. Excited? Double yes. Nervous? Yes.

The immigration officer asked me two questions.

“Which University?”

‘University of Glasgow’

“Which course?”

‘MSc Astrophysics’

He smiled. Stamped my passport, and said: ‘You go girl. You’re gonna rock it. All the best.’

It was one sentence. A throwaway, maybe, for him throughout the day. But for me? It meant so much. It was comfort. It was a warm hug. A boost that a 10 year old’s reckless dream is more than that. It was as if the universe said - you’ve got this!

That day I didn’t just board a flight! My dream took wings! A nervous-excited girl standing to board, freaking out but hopeful too. Then I remember: sometimes, red beep isn’t a warning. It’s simply an upgrade.

And maybe. Like just maybe, life is full of them — only if you decide to show up everytime!