Electric Air Taxi Operations in India by 2026: Archer COO Nikhil Goel

By Raza Elahi

By 2026, flying taxis will whiz through the skies of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai-Pune and other urban centres like Bengaluru. The air taxi will cover in 7 minutes the same distance that would take 60-90 minutes in a car in New Delhi or Mumbai and its fare would be approximately 1.5 times that of an Uber/Ola car, Nikhil Goel, chief commercial officer, Archer Aviation, said this at World Leaders Forum in New Delhi on Saurday.

The California-based company is all set to revolutionise urban mobility with safe, sustainable, and low-noise air taxis. Archer’s 4-passenger air taxi is capable of travelling at speeds of up to 150 mph and is 100 times quieter than a helicopter cruising at altitude. The company is in final stages of getting approvals for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, dubbed 'Midnight', from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States.

Besides the US, UAE and India are the countries where Archer plans to start the air taxi and it has recently struck a deal with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, which gives it, over the time, hundreds of millions of dollars to build out the technology in the country.

Nikhil Goel (in pic left), former Uber Elevate co-founder and recognised as a Forbes 30 Under 30 awardee in Consumer Technology, has worked at NASA, Microsoft, Google, McKinsey, Uber and now Archer.

'Our aim is to keep the air taxi service very affordable and the lower labour costs (for pilots and maintenance) in India will assist in achieving this goal,' Goel said.

Archer is in talks with Indian airport operators and DGCA as well as with InterGlobe Enterprises, which is the owner of India's largest airline, IndiGo for setting up of vertiports inside airports, necessary clearance, finalising routes and establishing other infrastructures etc.

Its manufacturing contract deals are in place with Stellantis, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and others and has plans for an air taxi network in Los Angeles ahead of some major sporting events: the World Cup in 2026, the Super Bowl in 2027, and the Summer Olympics in 2028. The network includes vertiports at Los Angeles International Airport, University of Southern California, Orange County, Hollywood Burbank and Santa Monica etc.

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Below are Some Pics of World Leaders Forum

Romance with Urdu Shayari in Rains

By Raza Elahi

After a hot and humid summer when the skies open up and bring rain with cool breeze, there is nothing better than sitting in the balcony watching the little raindrops beating feverishly on the railings and sensing the aroma of the wet earth. Succulent jamuns, irresistible bhuttas, garma garam chai-pakoras and mouth-watering jalebis are inseparable part of the monsoon and so is the romance with Urdu shayari during the season.

For many Urdu poets love blooms in the rains while for others it is time to describe pain. And for a few, downpour is a time for remembrance as it weaves together the emptiness and contentment or the moment to recall old memories. Interestingly, for a good number of Urdu poets, rainy season is the excuse to drink some wines.

I consider something magical about rains - a season of love and joy. Here goes the two couplets of mine:

Kitna sehr-bayaan hai uff ye mausam-e-barsaat

Dekhta huun tera aks giirti buundon mein

#Raza Elahi

(sehr-bayaan = magical description)

Patte pe giri baarish ki ye do boonden

Jaise sadaf-saan si teri do aankhen

#Raza Elahi

(sadaf-saan = resembling sea shell)

Some more ashaar (couplets) on baarish, barsaat, abr (cloud), ghata, baadal, paani, and boonden (droplets) that best describe nature's bountiful creation - rains!

Barsaat ke aate hi tauba na rahi baaqi

Baadal jo nazar aaye badli meri neeyat bhi

#Hasrat Mohani

Mausam-e-abr ho subuu bhii ho

Gul ho gulshan ho aur tuu bhii ho

#Anonymous

Saath baarish mein liye phirte ho us ko 'Anjum'

Tum ne iss shahr mein kya aag lagaani hai koi

#Anjum Saleemi

Ghalib chhuti sharab, par ab bhi kabhi kabhi

Peeta hoon roz-e-abr, shab-e-mahtaab mein

#Mirza Ghalib

(Ghalib, I gave up drink but even now sometimes I drink on a cloudy day and on moonlit night).

Aaye kuch abr, kuch sharaab aye

Uske baad aaye jo azaab aaye

#Faiz Ahmad Faiz

(Let there be some clouds, and let wines come. After that let any disaster comes).

Main thakaa haaraa thaa itane mein jo aaye baadal

Kisi matwale ne chupke se badha di botal

#Moin Ahsan Jazbi

Ab bhi barsaat ki raaton mein badan tuTtaa hai

Jaag uThtii hain ajab ḳhvaahishein añgḌaai ki

#Parveen Shakir

Mujh pe chhaa jaa.e vo barsaat ki ḳhushbu ki tarah

Añg Añg apna isii rut mein mahaktaa dekhūñ

#Parveen Shakir

Yun barastain hain tasauvvar pe purani yaadein

Jaise barsaat main rim-jhim ka samna hota hai

#Anonymous

(Old memories fall on the surface of my mind, like raindrops in monsoon).

Barse baġhair hi jo ghaTaa ghir ke khul gayi

Ik bevafaa ka ahd-e-vafaa yaad aa gayaa

#Khumar Barabankavi

Baarish ho rahi thii kambakhat yaadein taaza kar gayii

Apni har ek boond ka hisaab mujh se le gayii

#Bushra Iqbal

Baarish hui to phuulon ke tan chaak ho gaye

Mausam ke haath bhiig ke saffaak ho gaye

Baadal ko kya ḳhabar hai ki baarish ki chaah mein

Kaise buland-o-baalaa shajar ḳhaak ho gaye

#Parveen Shakir

(saffaak = tyrant; shajar = tree)

Duur tak chhaa.e the baadal aur kahiiñ saaya na tha

Iss tarah barsaat ka mausam kabhī aayaa na thā

#Qateel Shifai

Der tak baithe huye, Hum dono ne baarish dekhi,

Woh dikhati thi mujhe, taaron pe chalti hui boondein

#Gulzar

(We sat till late and watched the rain; she showed me raindrops walking on the stars).

And one really goes down the memory lane and feels that childhood is the best time to enjoy rains if one listens to Jagjit Singh singing Sudarshan Faakhir’s poem:

Ye daulat bhi le lo, ye shohrat bhi le lo

Bhale cheen lo mujhse meri jawani

Magar mujhko lauta do wo bachpan ka saawan

Wo kaagaz ki kashti wo baarish ka paani

International Readers of The Fascinating Tales of Urdu & its Courtyard — Dilli

Below are the picture of international readers of my book, "The Fascinating Tales of Urdu & its Courtyard - Dilli”. The book (Price: Rs 350) is available on Fipkart.com, Amazon.in and Urdubazaar.in. The Fascinating Tales of Urdu & its Courtyard — Dilli offers a glimpse into Delhi’s changing history, culture, language and society. The book gives an insight of the seven fabled cities of Delhi along with an interesting journey of Urdu, which was born and brought up here. It has stories — from kings, nawabs and poets to saints, faqirs and courtesans.

Mr Ashraf Imam, Mr Ishtiyaq Abedin, Mr Nehal Hasan and Mr Nasir Abedin of San Marcos, California, USA, are seen below with my book. The pictures of some other readers from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Germany, UK and USA are also posted below.

Mr Khalid Baig (Australia)

Click on the link to buy the book

https://www.amazon.in/Fascinating-Tales-Courtyard-Dilli-Hardcover/dp/B0BR9R4D8N

Urdu Live Spl on Shaher-e-Lucknow

Following is the link of Urdu Live (episode 50) on Lucknow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnimD4OxANQ

Icy Wind

New Ghazal

By RAZA ELAHI

Likha hai tum ne sochaa kam hai

Dil diya par vo dhadkaa kam hai

Ishq ko ranga to hai jaana

Par ghazal main ab vo sja kam hai

Kya kaha tum hi payar ho mera

Rahne do, aisa to suna kam hai

Himmat kar ke kahta hun ab ye

Tere wah mein sadaa kam hai

لکھا ہے تم نے سوچا کم ہے

دل دیا پر وہ دھڑکا کم ہے

عشق کو رنگا تو ہے جانا

پرغزل میں اب وہ سجا کم ہے

کیا کہا تم ہی پیار ہو میرا

رہنے دو، ایسا تو سنا کم ہے

ہمت کر کے کہتا ہوں اب یہ

تیرے واہ میں صدا کم ہے

Details of My Five Books

Details of my books - two on Journalism & Media education & two on my Poetry (bilingual in Urdu and English) and one on Delhi's history & Urdu's journey (English)

1.THE FASCINATING TALES OF URDU & ITS COURTYARD - DILLI

It is available on Amazon, Flipkart & urdubazaar.in

2. HOW TO BECOME A GOOD JOURNALIST

It is available on atlanticbooks.com, Amazon, Flipkart etc

3. AAYIE DIL SE SHAYARAANA HO JAYEN

(Sold out)

4. JAZBA-E-MOHABBAT

(Sold out)

5. NUANCES OF JOURNALISTIC WRITINGS

(limited copies available with the author; elahi.raza82@gmail.com)\

Below are the photos of some readers of my books and some links

https://www.flipkart.com/become-good-journalist/p/itmesxebbmfmsags

https://www.amazon.in/Fascinating-Tales-Courtyard-Dilli-Hardcover/dp/B0BR9R4D8N

https://twocircles.net/2008dec17/book_release_how_become_good_journalist_hits_market.html

Happy Readers: In pics from top; Mr Khalid Beg (Australia), Mr Yusuf Beg (Australia); Mrs Raushan Naseem (Muzaffarpur); Mrs Rupa Singh (Faridabad); Mr Syed Mohsinuddin (Noida); Mr Sanjay Singh (Ghaziabad); Mr Zahid (New Delhi)