"We are orbiting the Earth. This is the start of India’s human space program. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.”

With these words, 39-year-old Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the voice of a new era in Indian spaceflight.

The Indian Air Force pilot, now the second Indian to travel to space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s Soviet-backed mission in 1984, delivered this message shortly after the Axiom-4 mission entered Earth orbit.

His voice, relayed from the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after separation from the Falcon 9 upper stage at 12:01 pm IST (2:31 am EDT), marked a historic milestone , not just for India’s space ambitions, but for every household watching back home, most of all one in Lucknow.

Tears roll down mother's cheeks

Back in Uttar Pradesh, his mother Asha Shukla sat frozen in front of a large screen, hands folded, eyes full. Her son was now in orbit.

Minutes after liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, she said to ANI, “We are delighted, we are very proud… We cannot describe this in words...We are not scared for Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla at all.”

The launch was carried live across national broadcasters and projected in schools and public venues.

“Namaskar, My dear countrymen!”

Aboard the Dragon spacecraft, Shukla said.... “Namaskar, my dear countrymen! What a ride! We are back in space once again after 41 years,” he said. “We are revolving around the Earth at a speed of 7.5 kilometres per second. The Tiranga embossed on my shoulders tells me that I am with all of you.”

“This journey,” he added, “is not just to the International Space Station (ISS), but the beginning of India’s Human Space Programme.”

As he spoke, his message beamed not only to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) but to his family, his friends, and his hometown, where students at City Montessori School (CMS) in Lucknow erupted in spontaneous chants of “Hip Hip Hurray!”

Posters congratulating Shukla lined the streets of Lucknow.

CMS, where he studied from Montessori through Class 12, organised an event dubbed Vyomotsav, a watch-party that transformed its Kanpur Road campus into a replica of a mission control centre. From telescope viewings to a mock ISS Cupola module, the entire school community rallied behind its alumnus.

As the rocket soared through the Florida sky, CMS students broke into bhangra while some teachers cried quietly. “It’s a great moment not just for us but for our country,” said Shambhu Dayal Shukla, Shubhanshu’s father. “What can we say at this moment, I am struggling for words now. My blessings are always there with my son,” he told PTI.

“I know he will be successful,” Asha Shukla added. “Though I am eagerly looking forward to his return after a successful mission, I also know that even after returning back on Earth, it will take a while before he actually gets to be back amongst us.”

On launch morning, his mother performed a traditional ritual via video call, offering him dahi-cheeni...a customary mix of curd and sugar believed to bring good luck.

Prime Minister Modi also took to X to extend his wishes to Shukla. "We welcome the successful launch of the Space Mission carrying astronauts from India, Hungary, Poland and the US. He carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians.", he wrote.

Right now, the nation and one family in particular holds its breath, its pride swelling with the weight of 41 years.