Airports ...

I am sure you know this by now ... but, just to state the obvious ... India is in the grip of modernization of airports. Which is a very nice thing. If you go by the new airports which have come up (ok, so i think Hyderabad is the best, by far ...), you will find that airports have a personality of their own, have quirks which they can call their own, distinct identity. And, if you go there often enough, you would definitely find them.

Beginning at Delhi ... the airport believes that you should spend as much time there as possible. Especially if you are landing at Delhi, by a late night flight ... with a serpentine queue at the taxi counter ... one wonders why they cant have more counters, or, rather, do away with the counters, and simply have the Hyderabad/Bangalore way of hiring a taxi.

Onward to Mumbai, they are still renovating one of the terminals. Which is nice ... if the already renovated terminal is anything to go by, this one should be very nice. In the meantime, though ... they are playing a game of hide and seek. Should you have the urgent, insane urge to commune with nature, while waiting for one of your oft-delayed flights, you need to play the guessing game ... where is the washroom. You would seem to know where it is, instinctively, but not quite find it. And find it, just in time, if you are lucky.

On to Bangalore ... should you be one of the smoking kinds, or should you reach the airport too early for your flight (which is quite probable, given that if you leave from M. G. Road at 4, you would reach by 5, but should you leave by 5, you would, in all probability, miss your flight!), and think that one nice way of waiting, is to have a beer, or to light up, and burn your lungs with a cancer stick, cheer up ... they have decided that no one should be doing either, at Bangalore airoport.

Moving to Kolkata ... here again, the idea seems to be similar to that at Delhi. You must spend as much time as possible ... how else do you expect to reach the pre-paid taxi counter, which can seem to be a daunting task, once you set eyes on the queue.