Cotton Balls

While i was working with a company in Kolkata, India, at the beginning of this century, our company decided to bring in a set of consultants to advice us on how to make our company brands deliver better. Well, as it would have it, we hired a bunch of consultants. They worked with us for a few months and did what most other consultants do. First they conned us and then they insulted us. Put in a different manner, they borrowed our watch, told us the time and then charged us for the privilege.
Anyway, so thanks to the consultancy we were required to travel between Kolkata where our office was and Mumbai, where their office was. We were a total of 6 people. And we used to fly Kolkata - Mumbai about 3 times a week. So you can imagine how much of traveling that would be. You would also do well to imagine that we were a bunch of youngsters who thought it fit to really give our best to the work at hand and to really have a ball when not working.
Now flying on work was a grey area. While we were technically on work, yet during the process of flying we weren’t really working. Further, since we were flying like 3 times a week, naturally, it called for finding ever more creative ways to keep ourselves occupied. 6 youngsters, together. One can only imagine.
Flying however meant we had company and loads of it. That too, mostly, people far elder than us. Over a couple of weeks, we narrowed down our in – flight entertainment (since those days Indian flights did not have in-flight entertainment systems) options to playing Antakshari – the Indian film based verbal game where various teams have to keep singing different Indian film songs. The team or individual who continues to sing a different song till the end, wins.
Over the next couple of weeks, as soon as we would board the Jet Airways flight from Kolkata to Mumbai, we would start the game and continue till the flight landed on the tarmac at Mumbai airport. For some reason I do not quite understand, on the return flights we were always too tired to play the game. It became such a routine that even air hostesses started to recognize our gang.
In fact it was only after a few weeks that we realized that we were either genuinely getting popular on board or at least we were noticed. On a particular trip, we were not playing Antakshari since most of us were quite tired due to late night work the previous night. One air hostess, while serving snacks, when the flight was mid air, politely asked us why we were not playing Antakshari. We realized that in future we would need to sing more softly. But just out of curiosity we did manage to ask her if she appreciated our playing the game or if it irritated her or someone else. To our pleasant surprise she said that it kept the crew engaged during the otherwise routine and mundane flights. We were of course pleased no end.
On another such trip, one of our colleagues, let us say, KG, decided that he had had enough of Antakshari and did not want to participate in the game. He was tired from the previous evening’s work load as well. So in all his wisdom and innocence, he decided to take a nap while the rest of us continued with our singing game. To be able to sleep peacefully, he signaled the crew hoping in his mind to get some cotton for the ears. As luck would have it a steward came across.
To our horror and the steward’s surprise, our friend KG, in all his innocence asked, ‘hey I just wanted to know if you had cotton balls?’. The steward was of course taken aback. With a surprised look he responded, ‘Excuse me?’ KG, still in all his innocence, repeated, ‘do you have cotton balls?’ We couldn’t ofcourse control our laughter after that. The steward, to his and his training’s credit, understood what was being asked and responded, ‘yes sir, we do have cotton ear plugs for your ears. Would you like some?’
Now of course it was the turn of our dear KG to turn red and purple while the steward went off smiling, only to come back with a pair of cotton ear plugs!