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Sunday, October 26, 2014

Be The Rain.....

Don't be the storm,
That comes in all it's fury,
Devastates me,
Beats me,
Scars me forever....

Instead be the rain,
Soft, gentle and fragrant,
Be the rain that heals me, 
Caresses me....

Be the rain...
Be the life giver....
Be the joy...
Be the spring in my step...
Be the joy in my smile....

Be the rain in my life....
Soft, gentle and fragrant!

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Livin' It Up.... On The Dream)liner

The long Diwali weekend has come, and it was time to head back home to Delhi....
This was a well-planned trip from an aviator's perspective - we were to be flying on the Dream)liner, Air-India's Boeing 787. We had carefully chosen AI348, the flight that heads to Shanghai-Pudong via Delhi - the flight departs Mumbai at 0750 hours, reaching Delhi at 1010 hours.
Being an international flight, with a domestic leg, we were asked to report for checkin at least two and a half hours before the scheduled departure time.


We reached Mumbai's Terminal 2 before dawn.... The terminal was lit up and illuminated for Diwali... It looked awesome...


This left me speechless....
(Thanks to Neeti for grabbing these magical sights on her camera!)


We were flying on VT-ANL - this Dream)liner was fabricated at the Boeing facility at Charleston, South Carolina. It undertook its maiden flight on  October 28, 2012, and was delivered to Air-India on December 29-30, 2012 when it flew on the CHS-FRA-DEL route... 


We had an unusual takeoff from the 09 end of the primary runway 09-27 and took off over Kurla, overflying Vikhroli and the Vashi creek....


The GEnx-1B engines looked massive - there was indeed much lesser noise in the cabin and takeoff was much smoother...




We turned northwards over the Vashi creek overflying Mulund and Thane towards our left....


Once the seatbelt signs were turned off, the cabin crew dimmed the windows from their controls...
The Dream)liner windows are 65% bigger than conventional windows and passengers have a knob that helps in electrically dimming the windows...
The dimming effect is the result of an electrified gel sandwiched between two thin pieces of glass. As the electric current increases, the gel darkens and as it drops, the gel lightens. The system is a technological marvel...




Three stages of dimming.....


Overflying Rajasthan...


Dimmers at work over Rajasthan...


Notice the curvature of the Earth...


Overflying the Aravalis...



Approach into DEL


Landing on DEL's 29-11...
Landing was super smooth like running a knife through butter... wish Jet Airways learns a thing or two about smooth landings...
Winter is setting in with perceptible haze...


Three sisters - Boeing 777s from Emirates, Jet Airways and British Airways on the ramp at Delhi's Terminal 3...

The Dream)liner experience was an awesome one. Not only was flight a very smooth one, service on board was excellent. Air-India's in-flight entertainment was pretty decent - I watched the movie, Godzilla. Breakfast was excellent as well - omelettes and sausages with a flaky croissant... The stewards were kind with endless refills of lemon tea... Leg space is always awesome on Air-India, the Dream)liner was no different.... In all Air-India scores highly over domestic carriers like Jet Airways and IndiGo.
With today's flight on the Boeing 787-8 Dream)liner, I have traveled on all Boeing commercial aircraft from Boeing 707 to the Boeing 787 with the sole exception of the Boeing 757. Chances on traveling on a Boeing 757 are remote today. In India, the aircraft is operated Blue Dart for their cargo operations. A few carriers in the United States still operate the Boeing 757, but they would be taken off service soon.
My track record with Airbus is a lot better - I have flown on all their commercial aircraft - Airbus A300, A310, A320-series, A330, A340 and A380. Now look forward to the Airbus A350 entering commercial service. 

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Sunset At Castella De Aguada

A holiday in the middle of the week and what better way to spend the evening than to visit Castella De Aguada.... 
Ahhh well, I am not talking about some exotic far off location, I am talking about the Bandra Fort, which was originally called Castella De Aguada.
After the Portuguese defeated Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1534, they went about securing their territorial posessions along the western coast and many forts and fortresses were built. The Bandra Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1640 as a watchtower overlooking Mahim Bay, the Arabian Sea and the southern island of Mahim. During the Portuguese rule, it was armed with seven cannons and other smaller guns as defence.
The name, Castella De Aguada, indicates its origin as a place where fresh water was available in the form of a fountain (Aguada) for Portuguese ships cruising the coasts in the initial period of Portuguese presence.
After the Portuguese ceded the seven islands of Bombay that lay to the immediate south of Bandra to the British, the British faced a new threat from the Marathas - the British were afraid that the Marathas would capture the fort and use it as a launchpad for attack on the British possessions - the areas we know as South Mumbai today. To prevent such attacks, they partly destroyed the fort.


We entered the fort moments before sunset....




The fort was teeming with people enjoying the long weekend...


This is what Mumbai is.... the Bandra Worli Sea Link right beside the fort... the old thrives with the new, or rather the new grows around the old...





Interesting silhouettes...




Finally, sunset time....





The cloud behind us was glowing in the warmth of the setting sun with occasional streaks of lightening....




Finally the sun set over the horizon and that's when I got a bit poetic...


The cloud behind us changed its shape and lightening intensified...


Overall, an interesting evening spent at Castella De Aguada....

Horizons....


The Sun sets on the horizon,
It goes down in the distance,
And I look on...
Mighty waves break on the rocks...
Darkness creeps in on from behind,
The night is setting in...
I have indeed come far...
But the horizon beckons,
I have to leave the darkness behind...
And move forward towards the horizon... 
...where the Sun will shine tomorrow!