The next leg of my journey from Incheon has now brought me to New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. I have been travelling for over 20 hours now and I am dropping dead, with extreme exhaustion.
Exciting things have happened at Mumbai. While Jet Airways hasn't yet moved its domestic operations to the swanky new Terminal 2, incoming international passengers can now directly check in for their domestic flights after clearing customs. Then after clearing security, a bus drives along the airside to Terminal 1B or 1C.
This new arrangement came as a surprise to me. I was expecting that I have to take the inter-terminal bus shuttle to head to Terminal 1B. This was a pleasant surprise, a nice, workable example of Indian jugaad!.
As I got into the bus, I spotted the Korean Air Airbus A330 that came in from Incheon a shortwhile back. Korean Air operates a direct 9-hour flight but is majorly expensive and that forced me to fly Cathay!
The flight to Delhi was quite uneventful...
Overflying Jaipur...
Descending into Delhi...
Somewhere over Bhiwadi..
The approach into DEL...
Face to face with the fascinating art installation that greets visitors to Delhi. The installation features a series of giant hands jutting from a wall of copper discs along T3′s main concourse...
These sculpted gestures are what we call mudras — the simple hand gestures of classical Indian dance forms and of yoga. They do give visitors from abroad a feel of not only India's rich heritage and culture but also the timeliness of Hindu heritage...
I did a bit of digging online on these mudras and came up with a detailed description of each of these.
Akasha Mudra: This mudra conveys the aspiration to harness the energy of the air and the sky and guiding this energy to positive activities where it is most needed.
Mayur Mudra: Just as a peacock’s fan-like plume dances in the wind, this mudra symbolises flow and joy, new directions and the oncoming of novel tidings.
Chatura Mudra: This mudra connotes the presence of aesthetic pleasures or sweetness in life; connoting eyes or a face; and lastly, the proof of being/ promise. It is also a symbol of genesis.
Tripataka Mudra: Denotes the application of the tilaka or victory mark on the forehead, but specifically denotes the hoisting of a flag composed of three fabrics or colours, hence tri-pataka. It symbolises journey, travel, arrival, welcome and victory.
Abhaya Mudra: A sign of blessing / greeting that denotes protection or reassurance. The idea conveyed here is that ‘you are safe, be fearless, I am here to shield you from all harm’.
A display in the colours of the Indian tricolor, reminding us all about the patriotic fervour of the Republic Day just gone by...
Waiting for my bags, before I head to my parents' place and steal a few winks...
And I stepped out to catch a cab, I noticed everyone here was decked up in thick warm clothes, even though it was a mere 7 degrees Celsius. Coming a temperature of minus 15 in Songdo, this was nothing, in fact I was feeling quite warm in a cardigan. That was a sign that I had adapted well to Korea!
But then this is home, this is India and I am happy to be back for just about a week!
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