FLIGHT TO BANGKOK
Romance in the Air
Flight to Bangkok covers an eventful journey that has an unexpected outcome for some of those on board. It is not a travel odyssey and really deals with two individuals, who meet accidentally, ‘in the air’.
The two travellers on this flight from East Africa to Thailand sitting side by side get to know quite a lot about each other. Turbulence over the Indian Ocean compels the airline to take an unplanned stopover on a tiny island. In the hotel arrangements, passengers are allotted only the limited double rooms available, according to their pair-seating on the plane. The two from Africa –a man and a lady— have to share a room. The lady has an anxious request for a separate bed at least, in the room.
After less than an hour in the hotel, the lady, who appears to have emotional baggage, uses the room situation to seek help from the man. The chat earlier on the flight leads her to believe that he is the ideal person to rescue her from the uncertainties in her life. She finds him knowledgeable, supportive and trustworthy and wastes no time in thinking out a plan to win the man’s sympathy and confidence. She employs ingenious moves to get closer to the man.
The narrative describes how the two quickly slide from a casual acquaintanceship to a closer relationship. Flight to Bangkok, a fascinating tale of how two people get drawn to each other, also deals with snippets of African and Thai history and culture, and of some eastern traditional practices.
This story whose alternative title is ‘Romance in the Air’ is and isn’t about ‘romance’. It is a tale that could easily be played out in today’s world where ‘religious’ involvement in ‘secular’ situations can lead to surprising outcomes. The book seeks to portray situations that even those living committed lives could have to face. Dedicated living by definition is moored to established principles and statutes. However, varied influences from social pressures and from work situations could in subtle ways misdirect the focus of individuals from a commitment to laxity or perhaps even to frustration. The book seeks to analyse what happens when cracks appear in training or performance schedules. The narrative takes up a few instances of committed individuals who veer away from their goals and objectives under unexpected pressure.
Flight to Bangkok serves up some typical examples of how pitfalls occur or perhaps of how constructive programmes might bolster flagging dedication. Romance is a natural phenomenon, and people who live committed lives are not above its influences. Managers who are responsible for training may be able to take a leaf out of this book and include wholesome and perhaps innovative programmes to add to their training schemes.
The Author draws from his experience of travel and of working across a few countries delivering programmes, and projects. His involvement with people and cultures comes across in the six books he published earlier. In some of these books he tries to be the ‘voice of the voiceless’ or perhaps the ‘speaker’ taking up causes. His books attempt to delve into what happens when theories, systems and traditions collapse, and human emotions take centre-stage.
Flight to Bangkok, his seventh book (published: September 2016), picks up this emotive theme and shows how relationships do not always develop or evolve. They can sometimes just happen, as incredible and refreshing surprises, with people walking into them or perhaps ‘flying’ into them, as happens in the story.
The Author’s books throw up sensitive flashpoints and show how empathy helps in resolving tangled human issues or settling complex emotional situations. In Flight to Bangkok he seeks to demonstrate how what often really only matter are Understanding and Love, and perhaps Patience as well.
[See http://www.trodza.wordpress.com for more on his books.](Flight to Bangkok: published September 2016)
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–T.D’Souza (oct 2016)
trodza 