That human beings have always been fascinated with “flying” is an absolute no-brainer. So much so that many scientists would want to believe that after the invention of wheel, the concept of travel via airplanes/gliders was the most radical invention which ensured that the gates between east and west came crashing down. So, when I heard of the Indian Aviation Show 2008 being conducted in Begumpet, Hyderabad, I was raring to go for this. I couldn’t wait to see these man-made birds on display and in action. The entire event spanned across 4 days with the first three days dedicated for business visitors and the last day for the general public.

I first thought that the first 3 days were purely for business visitors. But when I saw the online forums reporting of photography enthusiasts also getting in and managing to take some cool pictures, I decided to give it a try but could actually make it only on the public day (18th Oct, 2008). Thanks to BookMyShow, I managed to book tickets for the show a day before and was actually very happy with my smart decision. Little did I know that all this would turn out to be such a farce!! Yes, even if you book your tickets online, you need to stand in the queue for atleast 30-45 mins to convert your confirmation email into their pre-printed passes, which I thought was a criminal waste of time and paper. If wading through heavy traffic just to get to the Begumpet Airport doesn't tire you, then standing in the queue to get your passes will surely do the trick. And if this wasn't enough, you are forced to wait for another couple of hours to get past the heavy security and get into the exhibition area. It's during this time that I ran into fellow shutter-bugs who were so put off by the crowd that they decided to beat the retreat and go back home without even trying to get in. My friend and I somehow managed to get through the "Press" entry, thanks to a police patrol guy who quickly sized up the situation and diverted a major part of the crowd onto the Gate 2 (Press) from Gate 3(General).

Once inside, it’s almost a carnival-like atmosphere. It instantly reminded me of the scenes at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport when it was inaugurated on March 23rd, 2008. I guess that was the first indication that the citizens of Hyderabad take their Aviation as serious fun!! So, coming back to the Aviation Show, there were thousands of people (official figures are close to fifty thousand) all doing their thing. On one side you could see some waiting in the queue to catch a glimpse of the history of Indian Aviation Industry, on the other side there were others who were busy gazing and gesturing animatedly towards the man-made birds while a lot others were just generally having fun. In the middle of all this there were some fellow photography buffs like me who were busy finding the right angle and position to click their pictures.

We decided to first have our lunch (remember it was almost 1 PM when we went inside) and then go about looking at the stalls of various Aviation related players. All the big names like Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, EADS, Bell Helicopter, ATR, etc., were in full attendance. This was a fantastic platform for them to showcase their products and services to ministerial delegations from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan and yes, not to forget the general public. No prizes for guessing, which was the most visited stall of all – the Airbus stall for its mini models of Airbus A380 and Bell Helicopter stall for its huge chopper on display. Some of the stall volunteers were kind enough in letting people pose and take pictures with their models while others had a tough time keeping the crowd at bay.

Talking of crowd, never before have I seen such crowds in a single place. Well okay, I forgot about our cricket matches. But crowds and cricket go hand-in-hand. Events such as the Aviation show are not generally associated with crowds. There is one particular incident on that day which will remain etched in my memory forever. After visiting all three exhibition halls, we were feeling so thirsty and walked over to the food courts to pick up some water bottles. But the crowd at the stall was so unruly, that we couldn’t even get any closer to the payment counter. That’s when we saw some Bisleri water bottles stacked up at a corner beside the Executive Lunch area. When we asked the attendant over there to sell us a couple of bottles, he said that they were being distributed for free by Vodafone – wow!!, sounds great. Actually, not that great ‘cos the mob surrounding the water bottle distribution counter is far worse than that at the food court. So, we requested the attendant to start another counter to distribute the water bottles. He obliged to our request and got 2 cartons of the water bottles. But even before he could open the carton boxes and distribute the bottles, the crowd around pounced on him and tore away the carton box and the bottles along with it. The scene was a lot like the ones they show on Discovery or Nat Geo where a piece of meat is thrown into a cage full of hungry wild animals and how the meat just disappears into the hungry mouths even before you could blink your eye. I guess this would give you some idea of the crowd at the show.

All and all, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Federation of Indian Chambers and Commerce Industry (FICCI) need to be complimented for a good show inside. But one is bound to get a feeling that the show “outside” – am referring to the traffic problems caused on that day was something which we all could have done without. It’s shocking how a single event in the heart of the city can bring the entire city to a stand-still. I guess it’s a case of poor planning and poorer execution on the part of the concerned officials. If this is going to be a regular affair as announced by the Civil Aviation ministry, then they better put their heads down right away and work out an intelligent solution to handle the traffic snarl. As far as I am concerned, am already looking forward to the 2010 edition…!!


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