The Aroras live a few minutes from the airport - "Vantaa is a home away from home"

- Vantaa is my home away from home. We love it here, says Shefali Arora, the mother of the family.

Her house is currently located near the Leinelä railway station in an area known as Old Koivukylä. The family has also lived in Kartanonkoski and Myyrmäki in Vantaa. The family moved from India to Finland originally because of father Rajiv's work. A job at Wärtsilä first brought him to Vaasa.

For someone who travels a lot for work, living close to Helsinki airport is incredibly convenient, says Shefali.

- Every minute of sleep in the morning is so precious. You can get to the airport from Leinelä in a few minutes. The airport is amazingly close, she says.

Kartanonkoski in the scenery of the film

Gandharv and Kashika, the now grown-up children of the family, have fond memories of the International School of Vantaa in Kartanonkoski. It was the English-language school that attracted the Arora family to move from Vaasa to the Helsinki region.

All four were attracted by the colourful, child-friendly and community-oriented area.

Gandharv Arora recalls that his childhood in Kartanonkoski felt very safe and that he could easily walk to school. Once a wallet forgotten on the bus was found with the help of a friendly bus driver.

- I loved Kartanonkoski. It felt like being in a Risto Räppääjä movie every day, Kashika says, referring to the films shot in the area.

Kartanonkoski has also been Rajiv’s favourite spot.

- Everything you need can be found within a kilometre.

Language skills from the library

Shefali Arora also likes the colourfulness of Leinelä and praises the area's good transport links.

- It's easy for visitors to come here too, she smiles.

Even in the family's first home in Vantaa, in Myyrmäki, everything seemed to be close by. Myyrmäki library and especially its customer service desk is a special place for Shefali: in Vantaa, Shefali studied Finnish at the Vantaa Adult Education Centre in Tikkurila, and it was at the Myyrmäki library that she acquired her language skills in practice.

- I enjoyed working in the library. It was nice to talk to people and experience a sense of community. It was my first experience to Finnish work life. I wanted to use language to integrate and learn the culture, she recalls.

After her language training, Shefali, an electronics engineer, went to work in her own field, first at Nokia and then at Wärtsilä. At Wärtsilä Shefali is leading product lifecycle management & engineering globally in information management.

Shefali is also the president of The Finnish-Indian Society, which is celebrating 75 years anniversary this year. She has been actively arranging various events with the friendship association in capital region.

- I love meeting the people. Inclusivity and connecting communities is very important.

Cricket in the backyard

Kashika Arora, who moved to Vantaa at the age of 3, is now a professional dancer, choreographer and a dance teacher. Her hometown has also been a background for her journey to the profession, as the spark for dancing was ignited at the local dance school in Louhela. 

Brother Gandharv, for his part, now works at Fazer as a finance specialist. His favourite sport is cricket, which he can also practise in the family's backyard.

Rajiv Arora, the father of the family, has become an entrepreneur whose company is providing project management services. Rajiv shows off the cricket pitch and ball machine in the yard.

- This is my favourite place. Me, my son and sometimes our friends play cricket here.

Shefali's favourite parts of the house are the terrace and the trickling pool in the backyard. All in all, this is how Shefali describes the charm of Vantaa:

- I love Vantaa. Vantaa is cosy, but it also has a capital region feel.