On the 7th of
August 1994 at 11.15 AM, my train came to a halt at Allahabad
junction. I came out of the station and ten autorickshaw-drivers
rushed towards me. But as soon as I said "Bamrauli" all of them melted
away as if I had uttered a blasphemy? Finally I managed some
conveyance and reached CATC. At the welfare office, I was immediately
allotted a room in the barracks. As I entered the room, a pencil
sketch of "Cambay" airport stared at me, with an inscription "THIS IS
MY LIFE, THIS IS MY LIFE".
The next day
after the registration formalities we were admitted into the school.
We were informed that in divergence from previous batches, we shall
have a two weeks orientation programme. During t
he
orientation we were taken through the intricacies of Aviation,
introduced to one Mr. ICAO (initially we had difficulty in pronouncing
it) informed of our functions in Airports Authority of India( at that
time National Airports Authority). We were also given tips for
effective communication. Initially, seven hours of regular classes
seemed grilling enough. But our seniors warned us "Enjoy as much as
you can, as this is the time for relaxation at Civil Aviation Training
College. This is just the tip of the iceberg, As far as grilling was
concerned, we wondered about times to come.
During our
orientation, we were taken for a visit to the Varanasi airport. That
day I could see all what I had only heard of so far the runway,
taxiway, apron etc. I also had a peep into the the lives of ATCOs and
the nature of their job. It was on that day I realised, that as
against
my degree
course at college where theory was taught, the course at CATC was
intended to make us competent professionals viz. Air Traffic
Controllers. And then when I noticed the clock, I thought it was
either displaying the wrong time or it had ceased to work. The time
was 12.30 and the clock was displaying7.00. The truth held a surprise,
we were told that towers all over the world worked on UTC. (UTC is
5.30 hrs. behind 1ST). I was impressed to have a world fraternity. It
was the first and a very important lesson in change of culture. At the
Varanasi Airport we were witnesses to a Bomb threat. When I saw the
flurry of activity, I could not but remember the words of the Chairman
of the panel which had interviewed me, "An ATCO's life might look
glamorous to you. It is not, I assure you. lt carries a lot of
responsibilities. Human lives are involved here".
