บท 6: Meeting at the Airport
The month of March, marched ahead and soon it was April and then May arrived. Tania's thesis had been accepted and as the college was giving out the degrees in May that year, her grandparents would be there to applaud her success when she went on stage to accept her Degree.
By now she was regularly talking to her maternal grandmother as well as her paternal grandfather and grandmother. Both her grandmothers had informed her that they had to fight with the menfolks to get them to agree to meet her and if possible to bring her to their folds. It was up to her to decide with which family she wanted to spend the rest of her life till she got married etc. Tania had to act in such a way that she did not hurt the sentiments of either party.
Hence, she informed them diplomatically that both sides were close to her heart and mind. She could not make a decision over the phone. However, she would need to spend time with both the families separately, amidst their local surroundings. Only then could she make up her mind. This would mean staying at Khayenky, the small village near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine as well as going to Dharmshala, India to spend some time there.
Both sides were agreeable to this suggestion of her as obviously, there was no other option. Soon the day of their arrival started to draw near. Both sides of her relatives were trying to make bookings at the hotels near her home. Tania would have none of this, and she told them that the house was big enough to accommodate them all. They should stay with her as the families should get to know one another. She added that she would love to eat whatever her grandmothers cooked. Saying this clinched the issue. The relatives decided to stay in her huge house.
Tania was sure that the souls of her parents would be at peace knowing that she had called their parents, from both sides, to come to their house and bridge the difference that they had not been able to overcome.
Her paternal grandparents had left their home as planned and were on their way to Delhi on the train. They would reach Delhi early morning and at night they would take the flight from Delhi to reach the airport at Moscow on the morning of the 21st May. Her maternal grandmother and her uncle would also be leaving their village tomorrow night and stay at a hotel near the airport at Kyiv. They would catch the early morning flight on 21st morning to reach Moscow airport at about the same time as her paternal grandparents.
Tania was on cloud nine, the happiest person one could find on this side of the equator. It was as if God had given her the prized treasures of heaven.
After having a sumptuous dinner she went to sleep early as she had to get up at the crack of dawn to rush to the airport to receive her relatives.
She slept soundly without having any dreams. Perhaps the excitement and the fact that she had to get up early to receive 4 people made her sleep without waking up in the night.
She had set an alarm for 4.30 am, for just before dawn. She got up went to the washroom to complete her ablution. She had a few Indian dresses as well as a few pinafore dresses that the Russian girls sometimes wore. Besides this, she had normal western clothes and jeans that she used to wear to college. She did not know if she should wear an Indian suit or the pinafore one. Since she did not want to annoy any of her grandparents, she decided to go in her normal jeans, warm sweatshirt and her jacket with matching bluish shoes.
It was still cold in the mornings. She made a sandwich and tea for herself. She sat down to eat the sandwich and washed it down with a cup of tea. It was a long drive to the airport, and she had no intention to reach late. Late meant when the passengers had disembarked from the flights. She knew that she had to do a bit of juggling to gather both sides to one point. But she would handle that at the airport.
She locked up the house and went to the garage to bring out the car and back it through the driveway. While she was reversing, she kept thinking what would the relatives prefer to eat? She had stocked the fridge with fruits and vegetables. The fridge had been stocked with curds and ice cream too. She was not an excellent cook but had managed to make the dough and cut a few vegetables to be cooked for lunch.
At this time in the morning, there was hardly any traffic on the roads. Within an hour she reached the airport, parked her car and was rushing around to look to where her grandparents would be clearing the customs etc at the arrivals' area. She checked the board for the arrivals. Both the flights, from India and from Ukraine, were arriving within a few minutes of each other.
Luckily she had made a placard so that her grandparents could read that. She had written her name on it as 'Tania Gagarin Sharma'. The name was unique but could be read and recognized from the Gagarin in the center by her maternal grandmother and her maternal uncle as they were Gagarin too. The Sharma on the placard could be recognized by her paternal grandparents as they were Sharma too.
She had to wait for some time. The flights had not yet arrived as per the announcements being made. However, the flights were on time and would be landing shortly within 20-30 minutes. The time was moving so slowly. Tania was waiting in anticipation.
Soon the announcement was made that the International flight from New Delhi had arrived. Tania was very happy. Within half an hour or 1 hour, she would, at last, meet her grandparents from India.
The announcement came again that the flight from Ukraine had come and would be landing shortly.
Tania kept waiting anxiously for her grandparents to come out. After about 45 minutes she saw an elderly woman in a sari and an elderly man in trousers and coat with tie walk out, pushing a trolley loaded with luggage ahead of them. They saw her placard and then changed directions to come towards her. Both her grandparents hugged her so tightly that she was almost out of breath. Her grandmother, Mira, had tears of joy flowing down her cheeks. The eyes of her grandfather were moist. Tania and her grandparents were emotionally charged.
Just then an elderly woman with snow like hair, dressed in trousers and jacket accompanied by a younger person dressed in a three-piece suit, who resembled her mother, came out, and they too were pushing a trolley full of luggage. They spotted the placard with Tania Gagarin Sharma on it and made a beeline towards her. She was soon engulfed in a huge hug by her maternal grandmother and then by her Uncle. They also had tears flowing down their cheeks.
After picking up her four relatives, two from her mother's side and two from her father's side, Tania guided them out of the airport to the driveway of the airport's arrivals. She told all to wait while she got her car.
"I think beside's Tania's car, we will need a taxi as there is quite a bit of luggage," said Pandit ji, her grandfather.
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