I am sure you have by now read/heard/watched the "shocking news" that Shah Rukh Khan was detained by US Immigration authorities when he landed in New Jersey last week.
Everyone's so damned upset about it. Everyone is wondering how this could happen to SRK?
This event gets instant media coverage. Politicians are jumping to his defence. So are Bollywood glitterati.
I just wonder where the @#ck were these nitwits when a former President was put through security check in the capital of THEIR COUNTRY.
That news itself came out so many months later and even then, it didn't come through Dr.Kalam and nor did it come out through the Government. It was an issue raised in Parliament by the Opposition; and if they hadn't, then the whole country would have not been aware of the humiliation.
But one good-for-nothing-over-hamming "actor" gets detained in an US airport and everyone is now concerned? What the @#ck? Is this the first time such a detention has taken place? If the USA can literally strip search an ex-President of India (on Indian soil that too), can strip search an active Defence Minister of India, when they can detain thousands and thousands of people landing/leaving their country, then they have all the bloody right to detain Mr.Khan.
If you think this was racial profiling, are you supporting every Indian/East-Asian who gets profiled thus? If this was religious profiling, then where were you when Kalam and Mammooty went through such checks - are they any lesser Muslims than this Khan?
I can even understand the reaction from the numskulls and bimbos of Bollywood responding with profound statements like:
1. Juhi - feels that the detention was "as absurd as Brad Pitt coming to India, being strip-searched, investigated and interrogated"
2. Farah Khan - "he can be discriminated (on the basis of religion), who else is left."
3. Mahesh Bhatt - "is shocking that Shahrukh Khan, who is by every definition a global icon, should be subjected to something like that".
4. Priyanka Chopra - "Shocking, disturbing and downright disgraceful. Its such behaviour that fuels hatred and racism. SRK's a world figure for Gods sake. GET REAL!!,"
Oh my God! He is a global icon? A world figure? Goodness gracious. Billions of blue blistering barnacles. Outside of North India and wannabe North Indians everywhere else, who knows SRK?
Like I said, I can understand these boneheads making such statements. But read what our Central Minister for Information and Broadcasting has to say: "I am of the opinion that the way we are frisked, for example I too was frisked, we should also do the same to them".
What the hell is happening?
I have a very simple request to all these geniuses and the million others who have said "that's right" to any of the statements above - why don't you try Satyagraha? Boycott anything and everything that is American. Don't watch Hollywood movies. Don't copy Hollywood movies. Don't buy American products. Don't stand in line at the US Embassy asking for visa to visit your child. Don't let your child stand in line at the US Embassy asking for visa to study in some college there. Do this to your friends and relatives as well. Stand in front of the US Embassy daily and ask them to leave your country. Don't sign the nuclear treaty with US. Cut off all ties with them.
People, please. Do wake up to the ground reality that whatever is done is only for (y)our safety. And you know what - my name itself has its roots in Farsi. And there is a big declared terrorist whose name is just a variation of my name in terms of spelling and pronunciation. So if this makes any Immigration officer pull me out of the Immigration line and check me - I don't mind.
All that Shah Rukh Khan is achieving is getting mileage for his next movie. He's well known to create such publicity stunts and this one is no exception (I am not saying that detention didn't happen; I am only saying that the stunt started when he advertised this to the media).
Wake up you moronic sycophants!
Showing posts with label airport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label airport. Show all posts
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Client and Hyderabad Visit - Day 0 - 19/Oct/08
19th October was the date identified by the Tamil Nadu state government to inaugurate the fly-over (bridge in local parlance) in front of the airport at Chennai. The time was set as 5:30 PM. I had decided to fly out to Hyderabad that same Sunday evening. My boss also got her ticket in the same plane.
So, in order to avoid the traffic jam expected in front of the airport (after all it was the Chief Minister who was inaugurating it!), we decided to leave quite early from home. We reached well ahead of time and got our boarding pass issued by 4:45 PM.
That’s when my boss said “Why are they boarding us in at 6 PM?”. I too was equally bewildered. Domestic flights usually board some 15-20 minutes before the departure time and this looked like a lead time of almost 90 minutes. After flipping over the boarding pass a couple of more times, we then looked up our e-Ticket. And it was printed in a very clear font that the flight was scheduled to leave at 18:20 hours and reach Hyderabad at 19:20 hours.
You see, I’d originally been booked on another flight at 19:30 hours. But since it was an ATR flight, I asked my agent to book me on another flight leaving at around the same time. He got me this new one, but I happily assumed that the flight was only at 19:30.
If there was no inauguration function that day, I’d have started at least an hour later that day. And I’d have reached the airport just around the boarding time. I’d have had the ground staff of Air India (nearing their retirement date) come look for me!
Anyways, I called up my parents after the Security clearance was done and told them that I was all set to fly out and would call them after reaching Hyderabad. I then made a resolution not to tell my parents about this near goof-up and decided to call them around 20:30 hours when the flight (per my schedule) was presumed to land there.
But the minute we left the Hyderabad airport by cab, by force of my good nature and habit, I called up home and informed them that I’d reached Hyderabad and was in the cab headed towards my office. It was around 20:00 hours and so my mother was shocked. She wondered out loud as to how come I’d reached there so soon. At that point, the cat was clearly letting itself out of the bag and since I don’t lie (about such trivial things) I told her about my mistake.
I got my second reminder dose of the Hari incident in 2 months. I could only sheepish grins and rest the issue.
On a side note, the flight to Hyderabad was really empty. I would put the occupancy at only around 70%. Agreed this was Air India and was a bigger Airbus plane, but still it was quite surprising to see so many empty seats on this sector. Perhaps the business travelers mostly prefer flying out really early on Monday mornings and with the evident increase in prices of air tickets, those travelling on personal reasons had perhaps stayed away from the flight.
After dinner, I went back to our Guest House complex and before I hit the bed, I met the Program Manager for my project. I didn’t want to have any surprises and guesses to be done in front of the client as to who was who. After a quick chat, I returned to my room. The TV was not working in my room at that time and I didn’t want to connect my laptop to the internet anyway. Also factoring the long day ahead, I decided to sleep early and so I hit the sack by 11 PM.
So, in order to avoid the traffic jam expected in front of the airport (after all it was the Chief Minister who was inaugurating it!), we decided to leave quite early from home. We reached well ahead of time and got our boarding pass issued by 4:45 PM.
That’s when my boss said “Why are they boarding us in at 6 PM?”. I too was equally bewildered. Domestic flights usually board some 15-20 minutes before the departure time and this looked like a lead time of almost 90 minutes. After flipping over the boarding pass a couple of more times, we then looked up our e-Ticket. And it was printed in a very clear font that the flight was scheduled to leave at 18:20 hours and reach Hyderabad at 19:20 hours.
You see, I’d originally been booked on another flight at 19:30 hours. But since it was an ATR flight, I asked my agent to book me on another flight leaving at around the same time. He got me this new one, but I happily assumed that the flight was only at 19:30.
If there was no inauguration function that day, I’d have started at least an hour later that day. And I’d have reached the airport just around the boarding time. I’d have had the ground staff of Air India (nearing their retirement date) come look for me!
Anyways, I called up my parents after the Security clearance was done and told them that I was all set to fly out and would call them after reaching Hyderabad. I then made a resolution not to tell my parents about this near goof-up and decided to call them around 20:30 hours when the flight (per my schedule) was presumed to land there.
But the minute we left the Hyderabad airport by cab, by force of my good nature and habit, I called up home and informed them that I’d reached Hyderabad and was in the cab headed towards my office. It was around 20:00 hours and so my mother was shocked. She wondered out loud as to how come I’d reached there so soon. At that point, the cat was clearly letting itself out of the bag and since I don’t lie (about such trivial things) I told her about my mistake.
I got my second reminder dose of the Hari incident in 2 months. I could only sheepish grins and rest the issue.
On a side note, the flight to Hyderabad was really empty. I would put the occupancy at only around 70%. Agreed this was Air India and was a bigger Airbus plane, but still it was quite surprising to see so many empty seats on this sector. Perhaps the business travelers mostly prefer flying out really early on Monday mornings and with the evident increase in prices of air tickets, those travelling on personal reasons had perhaps stayed away from the flight.
After dinner, I went back to our Guest House complex and before I hit the bed, I met the Program Manager for my project. I didn’t want to have any surprises and guesses to be done in front of the client as to who was who. After a quick chat, I returned to my room. The TV was not working in my room at that time and I didn’t want to connect my laptop to the internet anyway. Also factoring the long day ahead, I decided to sleep early and so I hit the sack by 11 PM.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Life's small pleasures
Not many might know this, but till date, I am thrilled while watching a plane land. More than the take off, I am somehow enchanted by the landing.
One of the best things I like about my drive to work, is that I get to go by the airport everyday. So invariably, I tend to see a lot of flights taking off or landing - that depends on the season or the way the wind blows. Around this time of the year, the planes land from east to west and take off from east to west. After a few months, they land from west to east and take off along that direction.
Anyways, during my return trip to home, I always look for a flight that is landing. Sometimes, if I can spot one in the air some distance away, I even slow down, move to the left lane and ensure that I somehow see it within the airport's boundaries.
But I am always not that lucky. The way Chennai airport works, it has a lot of flight movement during certain phases in the day. For that short period of say an hour or so, the number of flights that land and take off, its quite comparable to any foreign country.
Once again, with me having to spend quite a lot of time in the office these days, I am usually near the airport well after 9.30 PM. That usually means that the probability of me spotting a plane landing is very high. And for that fleeting minute or two when I watch the planes approach the runway and land, I forget all troubles that are in my life.
Last week, I was near the airport around 12.15 AM and got to see a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 land. Gave me immense satisfaction.
Ah, life's small pleasures....
One of the best things I like about my drive to work, is that I get to go by the airport everyday. So invariably, I tend to see a lot of flights taking off or landing - that depends on the season or the way the wind blows. Around this time of the year, the planes land from east to west and take off from east to west. After a few months, they land from west to east and take off along that direction.
Anyways, during my return trip to home, I always look for a flight that is landing. Sometimes, if I can spot one in the air some distance away, I even slow down, move to the left lane and ensure that I somehow see it within the airport's boundaries.
But I am always not that lucky. The way Chennai airport works, it has a lot of flight movement during certain phases in the day. For that short period of say an hour or so, the number of flights that land and take off, its quite comparable to any foreign country.
Once again, with me having to spend quite a lot of time in the office these days, I am usually near the airport well after 9.30 PM. That usually means that the probability of me spotting a plane landing is very high. And for that fleeting minute or two when I watch the planes approach the runway and land, I forget all troubles that are in my life.
Last week, I was near the airport around 12.15 AM and got to see a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 land. Gave me immense satisfaction.
Ah, life's small pleasures....
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