very close but far off !

The stand off between the pilots and the crew recently appearing in the media is nothing new! Travelling in the enclosed space for hours together brings certain degree of cordiality amongst the crew and the pilots. At the disembarking stations,both are put in the same hotel with facilities alike which allows the crew either to have a sumptuous lunch or dinner within the allowances. The modern times lure the humans alike who venture out to have fun and in this process, mutual invites are offered and accepted for spending joyous time together. I remember the days early in 70s when there used to be only Indian airlines and the Air India. I happened to know at least half a dozen Indian Airlines Pilots who used to fly the Air Bus from Chennai to Delhi and stay at the Lodhi Hotels. I could never see them in the midst of Air Hostesses or the crew as the divide between the jobs that they held persisted during those times. There used to be mutual respect for each other and the pilots had their place of importance! These days, pilots who are very young join this lucrative job and want to enjoy everything that is normally done by the modern youth which includes going out with the crew to Pubs and other joints to relieve their stress. This leads to familiarity and naturally breeds contempt! In what is said to be the aftermath of such relationships, liberty is taken and the extent is not known either to the young plots or the air Hostesses resulting in such situations where the management is compelled to suspend the pilots and the crew and order enquiry etc.. which suggests an ugly situation not only for the company but even for the families of those involved in such incidents. It will be better if both the parties understand their limits and draw out a Lakshman Rekha for a Happy Co-existence !!

We are also doing such similar mistakes while bringing up our children. Remembering our past and the distance that we had with our parents, we try to be friends with our children and allow them to sit with us and share our company which sometimes include a drinking session as well. This sometimes leads to dangerous situations specially with the boys when such generosities are misused without understanding the limits and becomes a challenge to yourself in many ways. Sometimes, I really ponder as to who is right? our parents- who always had a space in terms of our bringing up or us-in bringing up our children like friends and forced to face grim situation which is an embarrassment sometimes? We are left to ponder over this situation and are at Cross-roads X !!