“Trinng, Trinng,” the telephone rang in the middle of my favorite TV program. I called out to my mother and asked her to answer the phone. But her reply was in-he negative so I had to answer the phone.

Thus, grumbling about not being able to watch one’s favorite program peacefully, I lifted the receiver and said, more out of habit rather than courtesy ‘Hello, 472-9142. whom do you want to speak to?

“Hello,” came a rather pleasant voice over the phone. It was a lady, s voice.

“I am speaking from the number one game show on TV, ‘Hit the Jackpot,’ which was shown daily, in the evenings, on Aar Kay TV Can I speak to Master Rahul Mehta, please?”

“Speaking, “I said in a very excited voice.”

“Sir, you’ve won the bumper prize that is awarded every month for answering all the 30 questions asked on, Hit the Jackpot, correctly.”

I was shocked and sat there stunned. Then I thought that this might a dream. But after a painful experience on my thighs, all such doubts were dispelled.

There were two reasons for my thinking this. The first reason was that no member of my family had ever won even a consolation prize on the umpteen number of windows, awarding prizes on TV. Secondly, no one had addressed me as’Sir’throughout my life of 13 long years.

As I was thinking about all this, the lady spoke again, “Sir, are you on the line?”

“Yh … yes, yes.”

“Sir, as you must know, the prize is a four day trip to Singapore for four so that your whole family can enjoy the trip. Do not forget to watch Hit the Jackpot, every day. Bye, Bye. ”

“I, thank you very much.”

She had already hung up, but I was too excited to notice that.

“Mummy, mummy,” I ran to the kitchen, and at the top of my voice shouted, “Mummy, ‘ve won the bumper prize hit the Jackpot!”

“Oh! Have you? What is it? What is it? Tell me, “she exclaimed in a voice which sounded pretty excited.

“It is a trip to Singapore, for four nights and days and it is for four people.”

“Your father will be very happy to hear this. Well, you were always dreaming of going abroad. Now, your dream is about to become reality.”

Yes, I know, and I am very happy when I think about it.This must be the happiest moment of my life.Yahoo!”

When my father came home, we explained everything to him and he was very happy just as my mother had said. We received our tickets two weeks later. They were valid for about a month from the date on which we got them.

It is really an ironic thing, that when we are waiting for something that we would like to happen, each day or hour seems like an age, while when we are enjoying ourselves, time passes in the twinkle of an eye. This time as usual, the days took a long time to pass and so what was only a month, seemed like 30 long years.

At last, the much-awaited day came and we were off to the airport, in a taxi, to board the plane. After going through all the formalities we went and sat the airport lounge where we had made, for them to stay till an announcement was made, for the passengers to board the plane.

Inside the plane, I got the window seat, while passengers to board the plane. my motherandfathergot the middle and the aisle seats respectively,

Across the aisle was seated a very old man His back was bent. His condition seemed very pitiable But, somehow n e did not look very natural to me. Maybe he was a hijacker, who was in the guise of an old man to fool everybody.

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the pilot’s announcement asking us to fasten our seat-belts as the plane was going to take off.

The plane took off with great speed and was soon over the city.

Time passed, and I was looking into the vast Bay of Bengal thinking that I had seen a whale when I heard a sharp cry behind me, I turned around and saw that the air-hostess was standing there. She had dropped the lunch tray on the lap of a young man sitting behind the elderly person.

Slowly, he got up, I was expecting him to scold her for her carelessness. Instead, he kept quiet and was looking at the plane. Now I could see why the air-hostess had acted as she had. The young man had a gun on her hip.

“Nobody moves or el …” he fell down with a thud and the air-hostess screamed again.

The old man got up, surprisingly with a straight back and said in a commanding voice, “Passengers, there is no need to worry, The dangerous hijacker has been taken care of.” It was very surprising that such an old, senile man had such a commanding voice.

Suddenly he took off his mask to reveal the face of the great C.I.D. detective Karan “sharp-eyed”, Malhotra. “I know that all of you must be eager to know how this was accomplished.”

As most of you have identified me, I think there is no point in introducing myself. But anyway, I am Karan Malhotra, also known as sharp-eyed, Malhotra by the media — I am C.ID. detective and have come here as a representative of that organization. We, earlier this week, received information from secret sources that this plane was to be hijacked by the member of the notorious terrorist group Ol-Gawn.

I boarded this plane disguised as an old man so as not to arouse suspicion. When the hijacker stood up, I took my chance and shot a tranquilizer dart in his legs- This will keep him unconscious for three hours. But first, we have to search him and tie him to his seat, so that even if he wakes up before the end of the flight, he would not be able to do any mischief.

Now I realized why I had not been able to understand why the hijacker had become unconscious suddenly. It was because of the puny size of the dart which made it almost invisible.

The search on him demonstrated useful as two bombs and cyanide capsule tied around his neck were found on him.After the search, he was tied to his using a rope provided by the air-hostess used by the hijacker as a hostage.

The plane reached Singapore safely and I had a whale of a time. Even the room was very big as it was for four and we were only three. The return journey was uneventful and we reached

Calcutta safely. I related the story to all my friends showed them the autograph I had taken from Mr. Malhotra on the plane. At first, they did not believe me, but the autograph did the trick. I became a celebrity overnight. All this was because of the trip and I will remember two things throughout my life because of this. One, the trip itself and the other, to watch “Hit the Jackpot, every day!”

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