Wake up Zoya! You have a flight to catch. My mother’s voice echoed though my ears and i recollected that I have to go back to Delhi today. Bone lazy and downhearted, I woke up. Didn’t feel like dressing up so just wore some ‘notmyprettyclothes’ and reached the airport to find the flight delayed.
I waited until the boarding started, and was finally seated at seat no. 1C ( thanks to our super agent , Mr Anil). I was busy texting good bye messages, then to my fancy , saw a familiar face entering the flight.Dhoni!!! hell yes,it was him. He entered, kept his bag right on the cabin above my head, and sat on seat no 1 E, along with Sakshi on seat no. 1F. All passengers were seated by then.
Thrilled and titillated i texted in my WhatsApp home group ,’ I’m sharing the flight with Dhoni’. My sister thought i’m bluffing around because she herself bumped into him last week , at the Bangalore airport. (I know Dhoni’s getting luckier) 😉
So, now what?
I wanted to talk to him but then being a shy girl, I thought,i shouldn’t go up to him because he clearly wouldn’t have wanted to be bothered and also, it kind of felt weird to just walk up to a celebrity stranger and say hi. Lol
The flight took off and soon after there was this beep sound and the on-board services resumed. So did my anxiety. Soon afterwards, I couldn’t stop myself from acting like a complete goof! I asked, in actions, to the middle aged guy sitting next to Dhoni if he could please exchange his seat with me. Okay now, don’t judge me because that guy clearly didn’t have any interest in sitting next to the captain or talking to him. He was being a complete bore by working on his laptop in sheer ignorance with his earphones on. ( I know right ). Well, he happily agreed and while we were exchanging seats, he was looking at me with the expression- what is this crazy girl upto!? But then he greeted me with a warm comforting smile.
This was so not me, but then guess what, I landed up sitting next to the Captain Cool for 1.5 hours! I told him how my sister thinks i’m bluffing about him being in the same flight and saying, ‘pheko mat’. He said I could go ahead and click a picture with him to show her as a proof. Lol (Asking me to keep the phone low to avoid the other passengers from seeing this. )Sakshi offered to click our picture but he said he would click it himself. I was overwhelmed by their politeness. He clicked two pictures, didn’t like any so asked him if I could click some more 😀 (so me)
Here’s the picture.

I asked him about the movie on him, his terms with Yuvraj, about his sister. I told him how amazingly he used to manage the team. Also about, how beautifully he brings back life to a dull drying match. And that whenever I say, I’m from Ranchi, people are like, okay Dhoni’s place!!
I also told him about the 2011 Cricket World Cup match, where India lost so many wickets in the beginning and was about to lose. My brother in law was in tears and had switched off the tv. Then, how he showed up, running the risk to bat in place of Yuvraj thereby warming the cockles of billions of hearts by bringing the Cup to India . A country and a generation which was deprived for 28 years of a World Cup glory finally could moisten its parched dreams.
For that, I hold him on the highest pedestal possible !
Everyone around was so jelaous. There was an Uncle ready to exchange seats with me. I told him a guy is asking me to shift. He asked me not to look there and keep sitting. 😂
After landing,I stepped out and boarded the bus to the airport building. He too came by bus. Simplicity! He could have got a VVIP ride. Gee wizz! Three people stamped on my feet to click pictures with him. There was a girl running after him and crying out loud, ‘ I’m from the same school , same school please, can I take a picture with you ‘ and what not ! It was a sight to see. And then, soon after stepping out from the bus he, along with Sakshi briskly walked away.
His charms though, still remains.He is the spitting image of what I thought him to be. Somebody with strong convictions and perhaps, a stronger moral compass. Highly chivalrous and free from vanity!
PS – I asked the laptop man to return back to his seat, but he comfortably denied. 😀
PPS – For the world cup night, he will always be my brother’s HERO. 🙂
PPPS – I love Yuvraj for his 6 sixes in an over days. 😀