Do you remember your first ever flight experience? Was it absolutely surreal or were you a nervous ball of energy throughout. Did you get a glimpse of the cockpit? No matter which emotion you felt, I’m sure you’ll all agree that it was quite memorable. Firsts generally are. The same was the case with these 115 senior citizens who took their first flight on Saturday.
M. Ravikumar is a 44-year-old textile businessman hailing from Devarayampalayam, a village in Tamil Nadu. Five years ago, he travelled in an aeroplane for the very first time and it left him speechless. Since then, he had harboured a wish to give the same joy to others in his village. On February 2nd, 2019, he turned this wish to reality and gifted 115 elders a flight experience from Coimbatore to Chennai.
Most of the passengers were women from the textile industry in the 50-102 years age bracket
They travelled to Kancheepuram, Tiruvannamalai and Vellore before returning home. According to the Times of India, the trip cost him INR 4 lakhs. Another anonymous sponsor from the textile industry also contributed towards this gift.
In an interview with NDTV, the businessman said,
“My late father was so fond of the people and he had done a lot for them. I wanted to take the legacy forward.”
“There is joy in making others happy. That’s what I’ve done. All are like my family. We are not going to take our wealth anywhere after this life.” His generosity brought a sense of marvel to the entire village with many exclaiming that this was a dream come true. A few of the passengers revealed that they hadn’t even been on a train before.
I tip my hat to you, sir. Hopefully, more of us can emulate your example in our own lives.