Heading into a flight going to Kolkata, it was fair for me to assume there would be at least a couple of folks wearing the Bengali “Kurta” in the flight. The question in my mind was – Will at least some of them be “batik” print?

Sure enough, I spotted a guy soon in a very nice light blue colored kurta. Looked around a little more. Found another guy. Same color. Must be brothers, I reasoned.

But then soon, way too many people showed up with the exact same kurta around the gate. Could it be a big occasion or something?

Eventually, I walked up to the gate and asked the lady if she knew what was going on. I don’t think too many people have laughed at me like that.

Turns out, in this airline, if you are in the middle seat, you have to wear a PPE gown given free by the airlines. So, that was what it was all about.

Btw, the lady also gave a face mask AND a face shield. Apparently, everybody has to wear both!!!