One of the things that starts hitting you hard are the early morning 5 am or 6 am domestic flights. You have to get up practically around 2:30 or 3 am and ensure you are out max by 3:15 or 3:45 am to reach the Airport on time for your security clearance and ensure to be not running your wits out to reach the boarding gate.

The next to experience is something that I feel I would like to move above from is the cattle class boarding and sitting, however, as long as I can’t afford an upgrade to the business class, I am here to stay among the cattle as its own. Suddenly you are among 200 odd people of the same type… travellers for reasons of their own.

It’s a very small part of your life, a 2-3 hour journey and you move to the next flight or journey to continue. While in one of these flights, fighting for the handrest caught in between the aisle and window, I decided to just give up and fold my hands and let the other 2 travellers win. I dozed off and went back to my Super 60 class of 10th standard… a cattle class in comparison to today’s 24-30 students in each class.

I was just among the other 59 without a name and identity which was taken up by the top scorers, similar to the Business class travellers. But then it was never about folded hands and never about an identity crisis amongst ourselves. We were together and we are together, even after 20 years have gone by, the cattle class is still connected with the same ethos.

Recess and mischief were something we still connect with after all these years while the journey we started was much agnostic of who we were and neither do we worry about it as of today. We are just the Super 60…. I was playing football during the recess in the corridor of my class with everyone who had finished their so-called lunch when the lights in the cabin came up with the announcement of the approaching landing.

Hating to wake up for the known next to follow and lead me to the travel to my meeting, I opened my eyes to find myself in the crowd of the unknown. I remember how the Super 60 had become from the unknowns to the brotherhood we carry even today… while this journey of our friendship will continue forever… my flight of 200 odd unknown was to get over… but in my last 20 years of this travel, I can assure of times when I have connected with someone for life with a mere good morning or a good evening.

I think I have another 60 now… or inching towards. But the class of Super 60 will be forever.