I was checking in at the boarding gate in Doha for my flight to Delhi when I saw a jacket button sitting at the desk. Curiosity got the better of me.

“Who left a jacket button here?”

The person at the gate said something from behind the mask that I could not comprehend. I continued with my puzzled look. For a moment I thought may be he did not understand my question with the muffling effect of my mask.

He repeated again… “It is a microphone, sir!”

It was a microphone!! I touched it – sure enough it was stuck there. Very carefully masquerading as a button.

It was not till I had walked straight into the plane that it struck me – What was a microphone doing on the desk? For gate announcements? That would be fairly uncomfortable bending all over to speak into it. And if you did not have to reach near it (very powerful microphone), it was bound to pick up a lot of background noise.

I think I will ask them on my way back…

Just an overnighter and my laptop backpack. 36 hours of flight, 48 hours of dealing with Indian bureaucracy (related to my late parents’ properties) and 36 hours of flight back. In between, hope to see my siblings and their families and if the court documents are settled with early enough – one quick dash to the see the last of the parents surviving – my mother-in-law. What is a trip to India worth without the constant back and forth of her badgering me to eat more and me steadfastly refusing to do so?

One thing though – India still has some attraction for me to go back to. After all, I have been making quarterly trips even after the parents passed away. I still long to spend more time with my brother and sister (an evening without my brother narrating “Ami Kono Risk Niy Na” is almost a wasted trip for me) but without the excitement of being able to see my parents, the attraction of the location is fading. I keep asking myself – why can’t we meet somewhere else? That way we can all see a new place together.

Have you ever gone thru this?