Flight from Hamburg to Mumbai


flight hamburg Mumbaiflight hamburg Mumbai

India’s National Anthem first played in Hamburg
Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore wrote India’s National Anthem Jana Gana Mana in Mumbai, while the song was first performed in Hamburg. During World War II in 1942, India was under British rule and was fighting for its freedom. A document in the private collections of the National Archives, depicts the anthem was presented by the Chamber Orchestra of Hamburg radio station before an audience comprising of Indian freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose, Hamburg governor Kaufmann, mayor Krogmann and other well-known citizens at Hotel Atlantic. According to the documents Bose had declared Jana Gana Mana as the country’s national anthem as one supporting point to win India’s freedom. It is not known if he ever took a flight from Hamburg to Mumbai, but Bose met Dictator Hitler to ask for his help in defeating the British, before he marched with his Indian National Army towards India. After independence, the anthem was sung in Mumbai.


On the run
Tesfaye Abera Dibaba, a marathon runner from Ethiopia was ranked among the top ten runners of the world in 2016 with a best timing of 2:04:24 hours. His world records were created both in Hamburg and Mumbai. In 2015, Tesfaye got a major breakthrough in his career by winning the Mumbai Marathon with a timing of 2:09:46 hours. A year later this feat was followed by his success at the high-profile Hamburg Marathon where he secured a prestigious eighth position. Tesfaye has competed in many long distance running events since 2011 and had also secured a place in the top ten at the Dubai marathon. If ever this runner took a flight from Hamburg to Mumbai, he must have thanked the two cities for bringing luck to his track records.


Connecting on field
Sandjar Ahmadi, a popular Afghan national team soccer player was born in Kabul. His family moved to Hamburg when he was young. Ahmadi started playing for the city’s youth clubs, SC Concordia and SV NetteInburg that honed up his brilliance in soccer. He became a popular name after being selected by Hamburg club, SC Vier-Und. Playing in the position of a winger, this football player is equally swift as a central forward. After years of performing for different German clubs, he took a flight from Hamburg to Mumbai to play for Mumbai FC in the Indian League. Playing for Hamm United FC in London, Ahmadi was back to premier league football. As a national level soccer player of Afghanistan, he and his team won the FIFA tournament by beating the Indian football team in the finals.


Of buildings and architecture
Hadi Teherani is an award-winning German architect and designer who resides in Hamburg. Born in Iran, his family settled in this city when Teherani was a child. Though he started his career as a fashion designer, Teherani later shifted to architecture. A member of Hamburg’s Academy of Arts since 1999, his works include famous buildings in Hamburg and in other parts of Germany. He got the contract to design the Lodha Altamount building of Mumbai and took a flight from Hamburg to Mumbai and therefore took numerous flights from Hamburg to Mumbai to work on his huge project. The designs were considered as good so that Altamount building is considered as one of the architectural highlights of Mumbai. So this great architect leaves his designer mark in both Hamburg and Mumbai.

Why Hamburg has strong trade links with Mumbai
Hamburg and Mumbai have a long trading relationship. The German city has played a significant role in Indo-German trade and economic relations with India for a decade. Its port is a leading container port of Europe, having maritime trade links with India due to its ideal location and accommodation facilities. Almost 11% of the total volume of trade between Europe and Asia takes place between Hamburg port and Mumbai port, one of the highest among thousands of other ports trading between the two continents. This business connection has helped in the economic development of both cities. So next time one takes a flight from Hamburg to Mumbai, he should keep an eye on the shores and sea routes that harbour these port cities.