Never Lie - Never Ever Lie .!!

I was on a routine flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad .I flew a lot on that sector , either  for official work at the DPS Society ,or to meet my son at Delhi University ,or to meet Sangeeta who was the Principal at the Himjyoti School in Dehradun .

Delhi Domestic Airport was crowded like a railway station .Packed with people – most of their faces  looking drained and greasy .Understandable – it was Delhi weather at its worst – hot and humid .

The travelers were  impatient to get their boarding passes ,which would entitle them to enter the lounges where they could relax a bit – security check ins suck your patience  most of the times .Being a experienced traveler ,I was carrying only hand baggage – it helped me  having not to wait at conveyor belts at my destination .As I waited , I was  lookjn  forward to reaching home ,having a shower , a nice cup of Lipton Darjeeling tea , and slip into my airconditioned room .

The problem( sometimes a ego inflator !),  of having been a Principal for 3 decades is that there is someone or the other who will recognize you at a public place .Thats one of the reasons that I dress up reasonably well – (tie intact !!)- when I travel  or go to a mall or the movies . Everyone who smiles at me , appears  to me to  be either a student who I have taught ,or a parent with whom I have interacted .Someone who smiles a lot  is sometimes greeted with “Oh hello , how are you doing”? This sometimes shocks people – and sometimes makes them happy !!. I have noticed however ,that it has never hurt anyone .

As I waited – I caught the eye of a young man ahead of me in the queue .He had been looking at me and giving me a smile .

I thought ,I had seen him somewhere . But I let it pass by pretending to look at my ticket , and at the queue behind me .As he edged ahead and moved forward  he looked back and   waved at me . I waved back .Very soon  we were next to each other – but on different sides of the queue .( In airports ,people line up and sometimes queues take the form of a “U”. So you come across each other on the two straight lines of the U before  you turn round the curve ).

“ Good evening ir”, he said rather enthusiastically .Enough enthusiastically to make people turn their heads and look  towards me .By now ,I was convinced that he was a student whom I had taught .

“ Good evening”, I said .” How are you”,?

“ Fine thank You Sir. Do you recognize me” ? he asked expectantly .

I have learnt not to lie .But  there were so many people who were now part of the conversation , that I thought it would be rude and arrogant for me to say no .Besides ,my memory was reconnecting with him .Oh yes – he was a terrific sprinter in school .I also knew that he was from Soma House .But for the ife of me I could not recollect his name .But yes – I knew that below those cotton trousers he wore – were a pair of very hairy legs !!

“ Of course ,I do” !! I said . “So you are going to Ahmedabad ?” I enquired .

 “ No Sir , I am going to Pune . ( It was a Delhi Pune flight with a stopover at Ahmedabad ) .Sir do you remember  my name” .?

“ Yes I do” ,I , answered  without thinking .He was now near the counter  . I knew that I had made the cardinal mistake of telling a unnecessary lie .I was very uncomfortable – not because I had lied ,but because what do I tell someone who thinks I remember his name .

While he checked in , I phoned up a fellow Principal friend of mine who was working in Panipat .

“ Vinoo – yaar ,what is the name of the boy ,we used to call “ Harry”,  because he had a lot of hair on his legs?”.!!

Vinoo pondered – I could make that  out in the pregnant silence at his  end  of the phone.

“ Kulu , I will get back to you .Aur sab theek thaak hai”

“ Yes ,yes .Please get me his name fast .Treat it as a emergency “ . I was panicking !! I was not interested in polite conversation .

I was cursing myself as to why I had lied .

I checked in .The boy was waiting for me .I did  not  want to meet him yet as I did not remember his name .I pretended I was talking to someone  else on my  cell ,as I shook his hands !

And then the worst happened .While I pretended to speak , the phone rang .We both looked at each other . He was too smart not to know that I had been on a fake call .

The   call was from Vinoo .He told me that the name of the boy was Devinder (name changed ). I thanked him and rushed to Devinder and gushed

“ How are you Devinder. Such a pleasure meeting you .Its been ages”.

Devinder was over the moon that I remembered not only his name ,but his House and the fact that he was hairy .

“ You are amazing Sir .You are phenomenal .And Sir you are right about the hair . See.” He pulled up a bit of his trousers .And sure the hair were still there .!!

I wonder though – what he must  have thought of the phone call that I faked while waiting to know his name ?

The bottom line – never lie .Its damn inconvenient .!! And never  never lie if you are ageing !! It compounds the problem !