There are a lot of things in today’s growing India that we take for granted, that weren’t as easily accessible to the generation before. Flying on plane for example.
While this has become a common mode of leisure as well as work trips for the constantly evolving middle-class of the country, there are still some elderly folks from the previous generations who have never set foot on a plane.
Recently a viral story was shared on social media, wherein an elderly couple was clicked on-board their first-ever flight and as a kind gesture, the man who clicked their pictures and interacted with them also bought them in-flight food.
The Linkedin user Amitabh Shah shared the post on his handle on the platform and stated how he approached the couple after noticing that they appeared sort of clueless in the boarding area, which is when he stepped-in to help.
“This awesome but tired couple in the picture had a long journey – came from a remote village in UP, rode a bus for 8 hours to get to the Delhi Airport and then boarded a flight to Kanpur with me. I saw them in the boarding area completely clue less and could tell it’s there first time & they didn’t understand English. I walked upto them with a smile and asked them to simply follow me. They thought I worked for the airline.”
Here is his full post:
While Amitabh’s gesture has been lauded by some as an ‘act of kindness’, as he himself proclaimed in his post. There are also some who have expressed their disappointment at the fact that he shared their picture on his social media, publicizing his ‘act of kindness’ without their consent.
A humble moment indeed. But the breach of privacy, as often seen on many such inspiring social media posts, puts a different kind of discussion to the table.
Let us hope the elderly couple doesn’t feel exploited.
What do you think?