So finally I made it to the Aero show 2005. It was for the first time in almost a decade of living here that I had been to an aero show in Bangalore - the fifth time it was held. It has occured to me that I had been gravely underestimating my ability to enjoy such an event. Like many other girls ,I am not all that fond of cars ,bikes ,planes... but the ecosystem had to keep its balance, so I am blessed with a brother who is just a lil more than obsessed about them. It is not to say that this show has changed me inside-out... but it defintely has refined my taste for planes, for good. The astounding display,view and of course the planes,spoke a common language of hypnotizing amazement and pride definitely to any person , no matter the lang he spoke or his nationality,educated or not.It didn't matter whether they could understand the brilliant commentry in English.If they couldn't afford a ticket , they climbed up walls, stood at the gate, stood over the police van and simply enjoyed it. It felt good to be a member of the human race , who have achieved the amazing feat called flight.
I have now become air-craft-educated, if I may say so... from someone who had been familiar with the names and pictures of these air-crafts (thanks to having to put up with some wallpapers- courtesy my brother) ,to someone who can 'feel for machines' to some extent... is definitlely some good improvement. It was thrilling enough to be on the ground and staring into the blue sky. I wondered how many times more exillerating it should be , to be so high up in the sky, zooming away with no roads, no traffic lights, no traffic jams , (esp) no one-ways,just mother nature's mood and fate's mischiefs standing in your way. Whizzing away so fast in the sky that it would have given the wind a severe bout of depression. Its lovely sight to see the sunlight bounce-off the cock-pit glasses. It was an earth rocking aero show- thanks to the thundering and roaring mig29, jaguar, sukhoi 13 and the sea-harrier . Seeing the sea-harrier's maneuverability on the TV is one thing.... experiencing it live was definitely another. The part of the show that would lock your attention into place was definitly the aerobatics put up by the SuryaKirans- a team of 13 amazing pilots 'ballerinaing' thru the sky in their Kirans( the planes) making amazing formations boasting of precision, focus and guts. Not to mention , the simple demonstration of how copters(lancer,chethan) are crucial in a team insertion and extraction. We have to bow down to the dedication and grit of all these men and women who safe-guard our land ,water and sky . They put up such a fantastic show.
Buddhism, a religion that preaches calmness, tranquility and stability - ironic it may sound- happens to be the mother of several forms of martial arts. They were not designed to be a channel to vent out anger but its simply for the honourable cause of self-defense. Choosing not to defend your self at hard times is to sin. I actually admire that ideology. Even if we speak of 'NO war', don't we all know deep inside that, a world without wars is almost impossible- simply because of the fact that we are humans,and not Gods or saints . Greed, sadism will breath in us till the end of our existance. So with that realisation comes the need to protect your self . I am proud of our army and military , under whose protection we all sleep so peacefully , mostly oblivious of their existance and their sacrifices. This show made me immensly proud of our defence guys , who stand guard to the noble cause of 'self-defence'.
For those of you who missed it this time...it was TOO GOOD. Its held every alternate yr. Visit it the next time to enjoy a grounded flight-seeing.
