The first flight

by A. F. Dawood

Appuhamy couple led a life of privation with their two children. The family eked out a frugal living. Appuhamy did odd jobs in the village and his wife supplemented his meagre earning by working in affluent houses in the vicinity.

However, a silver lining appeared in their dark cloud of life, when they were both selected for employment in the Middle East. Appuhamy was selected as a driver in a house and his wife as housemaid in the same house.

The couple was as happy as a lark as they will be able to provide better facilities for their children, who were both attending school; but they faced a problem owing to their lack of English knowledge and they had to work in the house of an American. So they took a few lessons in English to enable them to understand the words and phrases of basic communication.

The day of departure arrived. For the first time Appuhamy wore a pair of trousers and his wife a saree.

A van took them to the airport. While travelling they went through their English lessons given in the class and what the 'sudu mahattaya' will be asking them. So Appuhamy questions his wife. "What you name?" "My name Manga Nona" "You what country?" "Sri Lanka" "How do you do?" "I'm pine". Appuhamy was happy how his wife answered the questions and told her to ask him questions. Manga Nona asked the following questions. "Where you going?" "Airport going" "Where airport is?"

"Katunayake" "Your name what?" "Appuhamy" "What country you?" "Sri Lanka" "How do your health?" "Pine, Pine, I pine".

The van reached the airport; the couple was excited seeing such a massive crowd; they were really befuddled seeing the hustle and the bustle in the airport. Appuhamy went to a security officer. "Sir, I going to Oman, my bags."

The security officer remained indifferent. After seeing what others were doing, he also wheeled his baggage inside; so did his wife. At the baggage checking counter, they saw the custom officers opening the bags of passengers.

"Manga, you see they opening bags?" "Yes, yes, why opening our bags?" While there they heard the whir of aircraft and the rev of engine. "Manga, that I think our plane." "Yes, we late, what if the plane go?" "Ah! miss the plane? Than we going another plane, like bus."

Appuhamy explained. After every formality was over they were waiting at the departure lounge. They saw some buses. "Manga, there buses in this road." "Then we going Oman in bus?" Manga Nona expressed her surprise.

Suddenly, there was an announcement over the mike regarding a flight. Some people gathered their hand luggage and rushed to form a queue; there was a lot of noise and shuffle of feet. Appuhamy and Manga joined the queue.

While in the queue, they saw passengers were checked and sent to a bus which was parked a couple of yards away. "Manga, we're going Oman in bus." "Then why coming airport, we can going road bus, no?" When Appuhamy's turn came, he produced his ticket and the boarding pass.

The officer smiled and requested him to be seated. "Why I going Oman." "This is a flight to London." They both returned to the place where they were seated before. "What he telling?" Manga Nona asked. "Plite to Lamben." Replied Appuhamy. "Must be no seat in the bus." Manga Nona said. A Sri Lankan seated next to them observed their predicament. "Oya golloa kohaatada yanne?" "Api Oman yanawa" "Eyker London flight ekek." "Ei kiwwe? I no understand." Appuhamy said. "Ay plane eka London walata yanawa." "Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir."

After about fifteen minutes a voice came over the mike. "All Italy bound passengers please gather at Exit No. 3" The Sri Lankan seated next to Appuhamy couple took his hand luggage and marched to Exit No 3. Appuhamy and Manga Nona were following him. The Sri Lankan passenger advised them. "This is not your flight.

This is going to Italy." They returned to the lounge. "What he telling?" Manga Nona questioned. "He telling Italy, I no understand." "Apey karmaya, all going in plane, we not going." "Manga, you see the crowd, senege dakkade?" "Aney, aney, can get seat for us?"

"If no seat, we going standing like in bus." Appuhamy told. At last after much fuming and fussing, the flight to Oman was at the tarmac at the scheduled time. The exuberance of Appuhamy and Manga Nona knew no bounds, when they climbed the staircase of the aircraft. The engine revved and still they were struggling to tighten their seat belt.

They were helped by an air hostess. "Miss, this plane Oman, no?" The air hostess smiled and knew their rustic quality. "Manga, I asking that because if we getting in the wrong plane?" Soon the flight was airborne. After a little while they saw an air hostess pulling a trolley laden with food. "Ane Manga, no use of buying food here, must be costly."

"Any way you ask the price and see." An air hostess came to them. "Good morning, your meals." "Moanin, moanin." Appuhamy responded. "How much money this food?" She smiled and knew of their ignorance. She helped them to spread the dining tray fixed to the back rest of the front seat and placed their food packets.

"Here you asking this food price?" "Yes, I asking, this food pree." "This food pree for all?" Manga Nona expressed surprise. While eating they saw an air hostess asking a passenger "tea or coffee?" "Manga, we take tea and coffee, it is pree no?" "Yes, we take both."

The couple continued eating the food. They found it difficult to manage their meal in that tiny make-shift dining platform. "Manga, this food no good, no? Kohomada ape gewalwala, batui kosui." "And how to eat like this? Pingan netuwa kanna puluwanda?"

They were struggling to prepare their tea. Appuhamy took the small packet of sugar. "What is this, Manga?" "Mata teyrenne na me packet deken koakada seeni, koakada lunu kiyala." Manga Nona grumbled her discontentment.

The flight landed in Oman in three hours. After the clearance of their baggage, they wheeled them out to the main entrance. From there they did not know where to go. Taxis, came; some passengers left in those; some others got into cars or vans and left the airport. Little by little the crowd thinned out and only a few remained.

There were two or three cars in the vicinity. Appuhamy couple did not know what to do next. Just then a tall, fair-skinned man came to them. He was an American.

"Good evening, I'm Brixton, you are.....?" So saying he shook hands with Appuhamy.

"Yes, good eening, eening, I Appuhamy."

"Oh!. You're Apahamy? You're welcome to Oman."

"Yes, we come to Oman."

"Very well, now let's go." Brixton said.

"Go where?" Appuhamy queried.

"To my bungalow."

"Manga, mehet bangala handiya tiyanawa." Appuhamy meant 'bungalow' to a place. Both Appuhamy and Manga Nona travelled in Brixton's car to commit more comedy in his bungalow.