It was one of those typical summery mornings in early June – mugginess in the air and an overcast Mumbai sky. There was a general sense of purpose and urgency all around. We were at the arrival section at T2. A few yards away, a bunch of kids from an NGO were spending their Sunday listening to the virtues of being eco-friendly in today’s world. Cool shades, Batman-printed pajamas, anxious grey-haired aunties – the airport, as most of us would agree, is a perfect laboratory to observe human behaviour of all kinds, with no real prototype.

Most of the flights that arrived in the hour that we were around, were from the Western Hemisphere – New York, London, Paris et al. Boots, tweed jackets, moccasins and an assembly line of fluorescent sneakers (what is it with Indian fliers [male and female] and sneakers!) made their way, ears plastered to their smartphones or headphones. Many, particularly flight pursers from other nations, were spotted taking off their work jackets, as soon as they got a whiff of the sweltering humidity. Nattily turned up, and with a sense of purpose, they appeared proud to wear their country’s colours on their sleeve.