I'm going to narrate some miracles that have occurred in my life that more or less convince me that there is a greater force that has power over our bodies, minds, and even what lies beyond.

 Let me start with an incident that will resonate better with you all, to begin with. Let us call this Miracle 3 The year was 2012. I had entered my name for the Department of Personnel sponsored 2-week executive management course on Leadership for Managers at the Columbia University in the USA. The classes were reasonably stimulating, being taken by good professors, including the likes of Jagdish Bhagwati. We had a great time as we were well looked after, the course content was easy and we got a chance to reconnect with colleagues in other cadres. We were booked to return to India after two weeks on a Monday evening.

The flight was Air India, departing JFK airport at 4.30 pm. I had decided to hang around with friends over the weekend, take a few local tours, do some shopping, and then demurely board the Monday afternoon flight along with the others. However, somewhere in the middle of the course, my elder sister who stayed in Cincinnatti began to insist that I come over to her place for that last weekend and take a few days off. I tried to wriggle out because I had to be back for my son's birthday party on Tuesday evening to which some of my friends too had been invited. But when my sister said that even my brother-in-law was keen to meet me and that I should come over at least for the weekend I melted and so I booked myself to reach Cincinnatti on Saturday morning and my return flight was on Monday at 7 am, scheduled to reach La Guardia (New York’s domestic airport) by 10 am, from where I was to take a taxi to JFK's international terminal to reach well in time for the 4.30 pm flight. My sister drove me to Cincinnatti airport at 6 am in morning.

As I waited for the 7 am flight, there was an announcement. All flights to Pittsburg and beyond, including mine, were rescheduled because of a heavy windstorm. As I waited, fresh announcements kept coming, announcing further delays. I was now completely anxious. The normal time from La Guardia to JFK is about 60 minutes by taxi. I was told that as per the current situation, we would land by about 1 pm. But just then the flight got further delayed. It was a hopping flight via Pittsburg and the windstorm it seemed was unrelenting – throwing all flights out of gear. We finally took off at noon.

At Pittsburg, we were asked to change planes. But, because of the disturbance in schedule, I was told to wait and that I would be given a seat on a plane leaving at 3 pm, reaching La Guardia at 3.30 pm. I had an international flight to India leaving JFK at 4.30 pm. Now I panicked and began praying hard in my mind. As luck would have it, one passenger did not show up and I was allowed to board a flight leaving at 2.15 pm scheduled to reach La Guardia by a little short of 3 pm. To add to the tension, my bags had already been loaded and dispatched on a different flight. I rang my colleague Dalip Singh to inform Air India that I would be late.

 As I sat on the plane I fervently prayed for a miracle. My sister kept calling to say that if I missed the flight she would pay for my hotel and stay in New York. But, on the other hand, I had my wife calling me and telling me about her preparations for the party and what all I had to do once I landed. I buried my head between my knees and enhanced the level of chanting of my mantras. Suddenly the passenger to my right, a stranger asked me, "Why are you so tense. Something wrong?" I told him reluctantly of my sorry situation and that I would miss my flight because the earliest I could reach JFK was about 4 pm. The stranger gazed compassionately at me and said he would try and work out things for me. He said he had an old Italian chauffeur who had mastered the New York roads over the years and he would personally drop me to JFK. I was dumbfounded that he was agreeing to cancel his schedule and was going to help me.

The plane reached La Guardia at 2.55 pm. The stranger, Sunil Thomas held my one handbag, I held the other, we raced out toward the baggage room. Again, I was lucky – my bags were right in the front – I just scooped them up and ran to the main gate. Sunil’s Italian chauffeur raced his car towards us. We boarded and Sunil said, “Tony, it’s a busy traffic day … so take us by the shortest route to JFK.” We zipped up and down steep bends and slopes, cutting across residential colonies and at 3.45 pm we were at JFK. Imagine my surprise to find an Air India manager waiting for me near our car: “Are you Mr. Chandra … come with me.” I wished Sunil goodbye with profuse thanks and was waived past security – no frisking, no taking off of shoes – like a VVIP and towards the boarding gate. What a pleasant surprise to see my colleagues marching out, just then, from the premium lounge!