Front-facing jet engine, its metallic fan emerging from darkness
A LIFE IN PROGRESSINDIA
PILOT IN TRAINING

AVIATION · PHOTOGRAPHY · TRAVEL · WRITING

Aranya Bhadu.

SCROLL TO EXPLORE

ARANYA

अरण्य

forest

AIFTAAmravati, Maharashtra

01 / THE LONG WAY UP

Flying.

One flight.
Then another.

I’m training to become a commercial pilot in India.

AIFTA, Amravati.
Piper PA-28 Archer · Diamond DA42.

The world, as I see it.

Looking
closer.

All 179 photographs
A cycle rickshaw beneath a sunlit avenue of trees
022 / Under the canopy
A small aircraft beneath cloudy skies and a traffic signal in black and white
001 / Beneath the flight path
A silhouetted waterbird holding a fish above the water
027 / The catch

Light, life, and the moments in between.

03 / FURTHER ON FOOT

Outside
the frame.

My high-altitude trekking experiences

Four treks.
One thread through the mountains.

SCROLL TO WALK

01 / 04 · ON FOOT

Gaumukh–Tapovan

My first real test at altitude.

02 / 04 · ON FOOT

Chandrashila

A journey of ascent and loss.

03 / 04 · ON FOOT

Kuari Pass

Strangers at the start. Friends by the end.

04 / 04 · ON FOOT

Goechala

Pushing my limits beneath Kanchenjunga.

Select a trek for the story and photographs.

01 / ROOTS

More treks

Notes, photographs and recommendations from the trail.

Travel

Places, food and photo spots.

Choose a place to explore.

N ↑
Places I have visited in IndiaNorth-up India outline, including the Northeast, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Numbered clusters can be opened. Every destination is also in the searchable list.

Regional entries use representative anchors.

Outline: DataMeet / LSIB / Natural Earth · Locations: GeoNames, CC BY 4.0

Map sources and regional anchors

Generalized DataMeet country composite (CC0), showing India’s claimed boundaries; composition checked against the Survey of India political map. Islands remain in their geographic positions.

Destination points: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); Kumarakom: Wikidata (CC0); Kasauli: Wikidata (CC0); Mawlynnong: Wikidata (CC0); Chopta Bugyal: DBpedia / Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Ladakh, Goa and Coorg use regional administrative anchors; Rann of Kutch uses a salt-marsh anchor and Ranthambore a national-park anchor. These indicate regions, not specific visited venues.

61 places

Writing

Essays and observations.

About me

Continue ↓

Saint Xavier’s

Jaipur

Growing up

Lawn tennis · Swimming · Football · Cricket

Thapar Institute

Patiala

Photography

ZS Associates

Flight training

AIFTA · Amravati

One flight.
Then another.

A record of the moments that shape a pilot.
Not just hours. Everything learned along the way.

TRAINING AIRCRAFT

Piper PA-28 Archer
Diamond DA42

01
THE CHAPTER I’M IN

Pilot training

I’m training at AIFTA, Air India Flying Training Academy, in Amravati, Maharashtra, towards my commercial pilot licence.

02
MILESTONES TO DOCUMENT

First flight. First solo.

Stories and dates to be added.

03
THE ROAD AHEAD

Beyond the familiar.

Cross-country, instrument and multi-engine flying. Then the next chapter.

CURRENT TRAINING BASE

AIFTA, Amravati.

Air India Flying Training Academy.
Amravati Airport, Maharashtra, India.

About the academy ↗
Amravati Airport location diagramA north-up schematic of runway 08/26 and the airport reference point at 20.8147 degrees north, 77.7178 degrees east. Not a navigation chart.0826VAAM / AMRAVATIN ↑20.8147° N77.7178° E
AIRPORT REFERENCE POINT · SCHEMATICOpen map ↗
—

TOTAL FLIGHT TIME

—

AIRCRAFT FLOWN

—

AIRPORTS

—

LANDINGS

Statistics are placeholders. Verified totals will be added as the journey develops.