They had a free, feisty grandstand view

 Theirs was a great, grandstand view. Far from the milling melee that thronged the air base at Yelahanka.

A far pavilion, free, feisty and less fussy than the harassed lot that had ticketed its way to the airshow.

For these motley adventurous folks, the National Highway-7 that separated the air base from being virtually in the thick of action, did not matter. They did not allow the distance deter them from soaking in and savouring all the action that the air base’s azure skies offered them.

For them, fortuitously or otherwise, there was nothing to hinder them from the scene of scintillating action though they did not pay a pie.

They were more fortunate as they were free enough to take any possible position to enjoy the enthralling entertainment that the brave men in their mean, fighting machines provided.

Standing along the kerb of the highway, impervious to the furiously and speedily passing by vehicles, they watched awestruck as the jets, aircraft, copters flew just above their heads, as if with in the stretching distance of their hands. Parking their cars and two-wheelers alongside them and keeping a wary eye on the patrol police, they fully enjoyed the spectacle.

A bit more physically robust and daring among them took key, strategic positions, be it prettily and perilously perched on the poles and advertising pillars alongside the stretch of the highway that made a convenient spot to catch the action.

Similarly, a few other lucky ones, whose houses are nearby, too stood along the highway or in the near vicinity of the air base, braving the scorching sun, heat and humidity, seated in chairs or standing on their balconies, with towels, kerchiefs, bandannas and sun shades to protect them, to savour the dazzling action.

The traffic and patrol police had a hectic and harassing time to drive and shoo away these men and women who took on a bovine-like attitude to their entreatments, till finally taking to the only tool at hand — their lathis.