A bit (actually a lot) late, but here are some of my favourite photos from my India trip last December. I didn’t take many photos, wanting to savour experiences, but in hindsight, I should have taken more photos!
This photo looked interesting to me. It was taken in Singapore’s Changi Airport while we were taxiing and queueing up to take off to Bengaluru.
As soon as we took off from Changi Airport
Landing into Mumbai…
Mumbai’s overworked runway, where we had to wait for quite a while before we could take off from Mumbai. Flights are queued up, and a departing flight waits until an arriving flight lands before it takes off, and the arriving flight circles the airport, waiting for a departing flight to take off before it can land. It’s a very delicate operation, and kudos to the team at Mumbai airport for working with what they have.
A smoggy photo of Mumbai’s coastline with the Bandra Worli bridge visible off-centre.
And finally, a view of the airport toll plaza as the flight prepares to land in Bengaluru.
As I mentioned previously, this year I will be posting posts about Mumbai, my childhood, and my grandparents under Mumbai Memories. So to kick off this series, here are some of my favourite photos of the city of my birth, Mumbai.
This photo was taken in 2022 and shows Mumbai around 2-2:30 am. During this trip, I flew to Mumbai to move my parents to the retirement community in Bangalore they currently are in. Because of COVID, I could only use a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flight. This meant that I could not take a direct flight from Bangalore back to Singapore. So I flew back to Mumbai and then took a VTL flight back to Singapore. This was my first trip back home after the two-plus years of the pandemic.
The same image, but during the day! This was taken last year in 2023 when I went back to India to drop my parents back home after they spent a couple of months with us in Singapore. Because of my father’s condition, this was probably their last international flight. I flew to Mumbai on a day trip to take care of some bank business. This was on my flight back to Bangalore.
A photo again from my 2022 trip. This was taken during my morning walk on our building’s terrace. I had the entire terrace to myself since I used to walk around 5:30 am. I loved how the light played with the trees and the scenery and created this ethereal photo.
This photo is from 2019 on a trip to Elephanta Caves. I clicked this just as the boat left Gateway of India. The Gateway itself was closed due to some Navy ceremonies, and I couldn’t take any photos of this iconic structure. An arch-monument, the Gateway of India was completed in 1924 to commemorate the landing of George V for his coronation as the Emperor of India in December 1911, the first British monarch to visit India.
This last photo is again from the 2022 trip and from my building terrace. I used to enjoy the sunrises when I walked there, and the colours were simply amazing. I feel this photo looks like a painting, with the clouds creating illusions of peaks.
I have more photos coming up from my recent trip, so look out for them.
Tomorrow is the festival of Ganesh Chaturti, the festival that pays homage to my ishtadev, the elepant god, Lord Ganesha. In my home state of Maharashtra, it is celebrated in a grand way, with upto 11 days of festivities. It is at this time of the year that I miss Mumbai the most. So here are some photos of Lord Ganesha from my personal collection, with one photo, the last one, from Chiang Mai.
In many South Asian cultures, particularly in India, the concept of maika refers to a woman’s parental home, where she was born and raised before marriage. It symbolises her family of origin and is often associated with fond memories, love, and support. On the other hand, sasural is the term used for a woman’s marital home, where she moves after her wedding. It represents her new family with her spouse and in-laws. The transition from maika to sasural is a significant cultural shift, as it often involves adapting to new family dynamics and roles.
In my case, the two places I call home, Mumbai and Singapore are my maika and sasural respectively. My city of birth, Mumbai and the city and country I now am privileged to call home, Singapore, both celebrate their independence in August. So here’s a toast to both of them – of photos from the air. Some of you may have already seen them while for my newer subscribers, this is the first time you may be seeing these photos. In both cases enjoy Singapore and Mumbai from the air.
Memories and Such 