It was a moment of wonder for 90-year-old KN Lakshminarayanan and 85-year-old Saraswathi, as they set foot in a helicopter from Kerala’s Palakkad and flew to Bengaluru on Saturday. The couple, who had never travelled by helicopter, got a chance as their son arranged a chopper for them so that the duo could attend their grandson’s wedding in Bengaluru.
The couple, a native of Kalpathy, left for Bengaluru from the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Palakkad on Saturday along with their son KLV Narayanan. Due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, the couple had been facing difficulty in travelling such a long distance by road. This is when their son finally decided to book his parents a helicopter service.
The visuals show the aged couple boarding the helicopter enthusiastically, and later waving happily as they geared up for their first air travel.
“We wanted to attend our grandson Dr Santosh's wedding. Journey on the road is very difficult. Which is why my son arranged for this. We consider ourselves very lucky to have this opportunity,” Lakshminarayanan said, before boarding the helicopter.
It would have taken at least seven hours to travel via road from Palakkad to Bengaluru. The helicopter service reduced this journey to one and a half hours, as per the reports.
The helicopter service was arranged by Bengaluru-based Chipsan Aviation. As per the report, hiring the helicopter for the journey cost close to Rs 1 lakh.
“During such a COVID-19 situation, this is a very safe mode of transportation. The chances of infection spread are negligible,” Sunil Narayanan, director of Chipsan Aviation, told News18 Keralam. Chipsan Aviation also provides private charters and air ambulance services.
Lakshminarayanan is an author who wrote the book, 'From Cauvery to Neela: A History of the Tamil Agraharams of Palakkad', while his son KLV Narayanan is an industrialist and runs a garment manufacturing company.
After attending the wedding, the couple will be coming back home to Palakkad in a helicopter as well on Monday.
Due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, wedding ceremonies for citizens have majorly been low-key events, both in Kerala and Karnataka. Not more than 50 people at a time can be present at a wedding, as per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
VENKITANARAYANAN KALPATHY LAKSHMINARAYANAN