Delhi’s T3 Has It All Figured Out
How do you ensure the success of the biggest airport terminal ever built in India?
By invoking the gods, going by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL)’s example.
Pujas and hawans were performed for five days at the ramp leading to the new terminal, which is scheduled to be inaugurated on July 3.
More than 300 priests from across the country (most of them from south India) were specially flown in to Delhi to perform the rituals. [link]
This is the same DIAL that had built the new 1D terminal, whose roofs had got blown away by some strong winds, and the terminal had ended up getting flooded.
(Can’t help wondering about the reason for the emphasis on South Indian priests. Are North Indian ones any less? How about some diversity?)
For the uninitiated, Terminal 3 is the state-of-the-art integrated terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) set to be inaugurated in July, ahead of the upcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
T3 is is poised to be the world’s third-largest, after Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Beijing in China, in terms of size, with a capacity to handle 33 mn passengers annually. It is being developed at a cost of $2.6 bn, and is (hopefully) going to be India’s answer to Singapore and Atlanta.
Once T3 starts operations before the 2010 Commonwealth Games in October, IGIA will become the world’s sixth-largest in terms of capacity. T3 would increase the capacity of IGIA to 60 million passengers annually, from 23 million after it starts commercial operation in July 2010.
For the amount of money being spent, and the prospective gains from doing this well, i sure hope they didn’t miss out on any God.
Hopefully Pawan Dev (God of Wind) will not play spoilsport tag-teaming with Varun Dev (God of Water). Hopefully, Surya Dev (Sun God) will blink when he comes around the airport to allow the air conditioning to work more efficiently. Hopefully they will all just get together to prop up the building in case of structural flaws.
Architecture, design, and planning can only do as much. For everything else, there’s myriad hawans to be performed, by not one, not two, but at least 300 priests chanting away in perfect unison.
Can’t help wondering about the reason for the emphasis on South Indian priests. Are North Indian ones any less?
Actually , yes. Its very well known that Only in southindia the handing down of religious texts have been perfect and the incantations have been retained perfectly.
So very true.. everything can wait but havans and poojas cant to .. So by the note I see this terminal may not be good for sikhs.. as no sikh religious things were done.. I better not take the risk then .. this may only be for hindus
he heheheeh… :) loved reading it
Actually sikh religion doesn’t involve any sort of rituals and stuff.. it’s just a book full of the words of various men and women[i hope] who’ve attained nirvana and left a directional map for it.
P.S. if u meant akhand path or something.. that’s just a recent sham..
Last time they didnt pray to the wind god and he blew away the roof. Now they are placating him :D
no wonder you are all Amreekan Desi’s…absolutely confused cases!!!
I am afraid that has to be one of the most irrelevant comments this blog has seen. Congrats!
very amusing…and the comments, even more!!
Actually all that was needed was Lord Vishwakarma :)
That’s because the guys who built the airport are from Vizag. These guys are building all the airports in India these days..Bangalore, Hyderabad and now Delhi…besides, does it really matter where the pundits are from?
I think that the terminal will prove to be a blessing to New Delhi and India especially from the point of view of international visitors who have had to endure long flights into Delhi, to be welcomed by the facilities of the new terminal will be a pleasing sight.
I had a screen shot of the thing because I thought it was interesting but I cant’ find it.
Trminal 3 is really world class . I have must say one thing domestic flight from delhi shhould mention the terminal no also