I, Navigator

What I like about the Mian-and-C partnership is that we are so gloriously complementary. I cook, he bakes. I oversalt, he undersalts. Statistically speaking, we are perfect.

And this is extremely obvious when it comes to a sense of direction. I consider Brownian motion to be a valid navigation technique, Mian is a geographer who goes through this world with a precise sense of his location at any given time. (He also gives directions like 'go north-northwest from pt A for 200mts before turning southeast..' but that's a whole different story, and how could you not love a man like that?)

But this sense of direction meant that I was pretty relaxed when the two of us set off to Delhi Airport and our driver S confessed that he 'approximately knew the road to Delhi, but not how to enter the city or where to go once he enters it.' As I have said, my Mian knows his roads.

He however was worried about how S&I would be able to find my way back home. I got thoroughly coached in the route from the Delhi Airport to our little corner of the world. Several times. Till even I felt reasonably sure I could get back without taking the scenic tour. Despite that, when Mian told me to mail him when I reached home, I couldn't resist saying "Or if we end up in Jaipur instead, I'll just send you a postcard."

Anyways, we reached the airport in good time. S stalled while Mian and I hugged our goodbyes and sorted out our luggage. And then, I got in the car to go home. Only instead of going ahead to the exit, S tried to make a u-turn on a one-way drive, got stuck, set a dozen cars honking and screeching, and attracted all the security guards in the vicinity. So much for establishing our competence as a driver-navigator team in Mian's eyes.

But this meant that instead of getting teary-eyed over a farewell, Mian and I were laughing till our sides ached.

And yes, S&I did manage to get onto the Delhi-Jaipur highway, but fortunately managed to get back on the right track before we came across any vendor of Rajasthani postcards!