Santa’s Flying Taxi vs Banta’s Moth in the Dragon’s Throat
—Risk Prevention Mitigation and Management Forum –
“Almost got it, Banta!” Santa exclaims, tapping furiously on his phone.
“The last two seats!”
“My parents will be so happy.”
“They will skip the long, difficult trek and reach the Kedarnath temple in just ten minutes!”
“This helicopter is like a Udan Khatola – a magical flying taxi!”
Banta sighs, his gaze turning towards the high peaks, where clouds were beginning to gather.
“Santa,” he says gently, “you see a flying taxi.”
“I see a tiny, fragile Patanga trying to fly through the throat of a sleeping dragon.”
Santa bursts out laughing.
“Banta, your imagination has taken flight today, just like this helicopter will!”
“Think about it,” Banta says, his voice serious.
“Our Himalayan valleys are not open highways of the sky.”
“These are deep, narrow, and treacherous – they are the dragon‘s throat.”
“And the weather here is the dragon‘s breath.”
“One moment it is calm, and the next, a sudden, powerful wind can come rushing down from the glaciers like a furious exhalation, swatting a helicopter out of the air like a tiny moth.”
He continues, “And what about the Kohra?”
“It can descend without warning, making the dragon‘s throat completely dark and invisible.”
“The pilot, however skilled, is left blinded, trapped between narrow valley walls with no space to turn.”
“This is not like flying…