I just returned from a short three-day trip to Jaipur for a family wedding. However, this post isn’t about the wedding; it’s about the chaos at Raipur airport that reminded me of a much bigger fiasco from a few years ago. Since my blog is about sharing snippets and stories from my life, I thought this would be perfect to recount.

A few years ago, I was traveling from my hometown, Bilaspur, to Mumbai, where I had recently relocated for work. The journey involved a three-hour cab ride to Raipur followed by a two-hour flight to Mumbai. I had done this route at least a dozen times and knew every part of the journey by heart. I went through the motions like a machine: check-in, security, boarding, sleeping through the flight, and de-boarding.

After de-boarding and walking through the aerobridge, I realized I wasn’t just feeling light in my mind but also in my bag—it was practically empty. Both my laptops, a personal MacBook and a work Dell, were missing. I felt incredibly stupid and angry at myself. As I retraced my steps, the feelings of frustration only intensified. I remembered an announcement at the boarding gate about someone leaving their laptop at security. I had smugly thought how careless people could be, only to realize hours later that it was me who had left them behind!

Immediately, I went into problem-solving mode. The worst-case scenario would have been flying back to Raipur the next day to retrieve my laptops from security. After a few frantic hours of calls and efforts, I managed to get in touch with someone at the airline in Raipur. They arranged to send my laptops on the first flight to Mumbai the next day with the cabin crew. The next day, I returned to the airport and, after a small struggle to locate the collection area, I finally retrieved my laptops after spending 4-5 hours traversing various non-public zones of the airport.

I felt relieved to have my laptops back but even more relieved to realize that I could effectively problem-solve when things go wrong—which they often do.

Memories and stories like these made the airport feel like a second home. Although I no longer live in Mumbai, I still look forward to more interesting transits through that familiar and homely airport!