LUCKNOW: Right from early morning, amid the roaring drums and nagadas, the City Montessorie School (CMS) children, dressed in crisp uniforms and rehearsing on the roads leading to their auditorium, added a special vibe to a wet Monday in Lucknow.It was a morning destined to go into the annals of history in golden words, as the city was decked up in its full glory with a sea of waving tricolours to welcome Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the city’s own astronaut. He returned from his 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Axiom-4 crew, carrying the nation’s pride to the skies and creating a legacy for generations to come.The Group Captain returned to his native city for the first time in nearly a year and a half to a rousing welcome, making his homecoming as momentous as his journey to the depths of the universe.The ambience at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport was replete with energy and emotion as thousands, holding the tricolour, gathered since early morning to catch a glimpse of the astronaut who scripted a significant chapter in India’s space story.Ten schoolchildren dressed as astronauts stood in the front rows, their gleaming silver suits reflecting the rising sun, embodying the aspirations of millions of young Indians. When Shukla finally emerged from the terminal, the airport exploded with chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram.” Nagadas reverberated in the air, drowning out aircraft engines, as flower petals rained down from the gallery above.UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, accompanied by the party’s state unit chief Bhupendra Chaudhary, was present at the airport to welcome Shukla personally. The Deputy CM described the day as one loaded with “immense pride.” “Every young person in Uttar Pradesh is looking up to him today. His journey shows us that with courage and determination, even the skies are not the limit,” he said.Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, who also reached the airport to receive Shukla, called it “a historic day for Lucknow.”
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