They had always wanted to go to India. This summer they finally took the plunge. A large part of their life savings were to be sacrificed for this enduring wish. The flight was a little more than ten hours and they were helping themselves to delicious Indian kebabs washed down with generous gulps of a brilliant red wine that the airline reserved for its first class passengers. They could not wait to land. Unable to control the excitement of landing into the mystical land of Taj Mahal, old forts, Rajah’s and Maharajah’s, they kept looking out of the window and smiling to each other. It was raining heavily and while the aircraft tried to land its mammoth body onto a brightly lit runway below, a few violent splashes on the window revealed the tenacity of the rain. Still, inside the cabin of the aircraft, this felt quite dreamy and adventurous. Until…
‘You may please wear your life vests!’, the captain announced in a casual voice. The passengers were confused. The plane was about to land on the runway and yet the captain was preparing the visitors for a landing on water. ‘I know some of you have questions. We will take these questions later. Right now, I just want you to wear your life vests in an orderly fashion. The stewardesses will help you inflate them and ensure that they fit properly’, the captains voice resounded in the cabin.
People started to wear their vests hurriedly. Some were confused; some thought this was all a prank. They smiled knowingly and felt sorry for the others. The plane landed on the runway and out looked three hundred passengers wearing their fully inflated life vests, looking like orange candy. The plane came to a stop and the aerobridge turned towards the plane, ready to gobble up the consignment of orange candy. They trudged through the aerobridge, carting their luggage with some difficulty. Once they came to the end of the corridor, there stood a water slide. Each one of them was gently helped into the water slide and given a little push. In a minute they would land in a pool of water from where they would have to swim gently towards the floating immigration counter. The immigration officer himself wore a vest. He had an anchor tied to his waist that kept him almost stationary. The coast guard had been kind enough to provide a few anchors at a short notice.
Of course, the immigration officer had to wade a little bit every now and then. As soon as a passenger would float up to him, he would flash a big broad smile and say ‘Welcome to India, how may I help you!’. Then, he would slowly remove the passport from the chattering teeth of the passengers (the receiving officer at the end of the water slide had placed the passport and some currency there so that their hands were free to wade in the water). After completing the formalities, and if the papers were correct, the immigration officer would tuck the passport back in and give a gentle push to keep the passengers swimming forward. If the papers were not in order, he would summon a few “guys” and deflate the life vest.
As passengers made their way from the immigration counter, they would cross the shopping arcade. Shopping arcade generated a lot of revenue for the airport. They didn’t want to lose out on sales. So, today, boats stood in front of the entrance with goods stacked neatly and guarded by a boatman-cum-shopkeeper. A floating passenger, mouth holding the passport and currency and hands busy wading in the water, could indicate interest through a vigorous nodding of the head. When a floating passenger indicated interest, a fishing rod would be forwarded to him and he would be helped near the boat. The shopkeeper would sell the item and remove a few notes from the clenched teeth of the passengers. After the purchase the shopkeeper would gently push the visitor towards the exit gate. Sometimes these shopkeepers would get bored and they would play with these passengers. They would keep pushing them from one boat to the other. Of course, every now and then a speed boat with a red beacon light would slice through the water directly to the exit gate with passengers dressed in white, looking refreshingly dry.

The belt was out of order and so people anchored behind the floating baggage counter told everyone to return when the rain stopped and the airport was not a water park anymore.