My Adventures in Scotland

It’s my first day in Scotland. I de-board the plane and slowly move toward the exit, trying to absorb my surroundings. My body is a little cramped after the 10 hours journey. Oh, I forgot the one hour spent in travelling from Heathrow to Edinburgh. But the journey was uneventful, except perhaps my encounter with the nurse at immigration counter.

I had dutifully got a chest X-ray, but my ignorance led me to place the report in the check-in baggage, instead of my hand baggage. The nurse was pretty furious, when I told her the reason, for my not having the x-ray. Her reply was “ Oh I hate you college kids. You guys forget something everytime”. Amused at her comment at my being a Kid, I tried to remember when in the past had I been called one. When I told her that I wasn’t a College student, and had come here on a project, she gave me an even nastier look. “ I have 9 people who are ill, and they can be rightfully called as patients, so you have increased my work, which I could do very well without”. I didn’t reply anything and waited for her to stamp the papers.

The chilled air snapped me from my retrospective memories, I had reached the Airport exit. Reality dawned on me and the first thing I did was to reach for my Cigarette pack stowed away in my jacket. I was quite happy, seeing the slightly chilly weather. However, my happiness was short lived when I couldn’t find the book of matches in my jacket. My jacket had 5 pockets and I searched every pocket at least 4 times.…that makes it 20 pockets.

At this point of time, my highly intellectual but completely disoriented brain was analysing a highly complex problem. What if there would have been 10 Pocket in the jacket? Would the probability of finding the book of matches increases by any factor? Well, I know I might be boring you by this complex stuff, naturally its not meant for you, Its significance can be truly realized only by highly mathematically oriented, logically streamlined intellectuals researching for a book of matches. Oh did I say research, I meant search! Ahem…I hope you will pardon me. My brain was again calculating the probability of... Well, Never mind.

Hmm...coming to the grave problem in hand, I Searched frantically for some saviour who would be killing himself while smoking. All scholars, can actually ponder on the irony in the previous sentence, the rest of my dumb friends can read on. Somehow found such a person, of course, as the fate would have...She was a girl. My naturally shy self was a little hesitant asking a girl for a light. However, steeling my nerves, I overcame all my fears and for that fraction of moment, I became the deadliest warrior that ever walked on the face of mother earth. “Hello, err..err...Miss...I am sorry to ...But can I ask you for a Light?” And as they say, the brave conquer all... And I finally got a Light.

So after the back-breaking fight, I was standing there in full glory, enjoying my cigarette. Of course the adventures of the bright Indian Techie, in Scotland didn’t end here. But then, as they say, was another day.