Generally speaking, I think the Indians have mastered security protocol better than we have in the States. Upon entering the airport the carry on bags are scanned and locked with a little plastic device, so one doesn't have to worry about losing one's things to inscrutable airline employees. Then after checking in and getting a boarding pass, you pass through another security area where they scan the carry on bags and do a body search of each passenger. They do this in a little covered area with a metal dectator baton. It appears that the they hire the most depressed and disgruntled women they an find for this job, but that's fine - it's not the most interesting job after all.
You are allowed to bring water into the secure area, the only thing is that you have to take a sip of it in front of a security officer to make sure that it's not toxic or dangerous in other ways. All of the carry on bags are tagged and they check the tags carefully when boarding. I did have one rather hilarious experience at the airport in Bangalore yesterday when the young female security officer looked through my bag and found my medicine cache (two kinds of antibiotics, anxiety meds for the plane, malaria meds, cholesterol, pain killers, to name a few). She then asked me to taste them all! Happily, after I patiently explained that I could go into cardiac arrest if I tried them all at once, she relented and let me through.
At the Chennai airport, we enjoyed the digital monitor at the check in counter which itemized a long list of items that are not allowed in the carry on bags.
We were cautioned, for example, to take out any dynamite, machetes, explosive devices, bombs, hand guns, automatic weapons, anthrax, axes, swords, brass knuckles, knives that we may have inadvertently packed.
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