Elderly father's viral first-ever Vande Bharat ride has an emotional backstory

For the past two days, the Vande Bharat train ride of an elderly man, who was taken on the experience for the first time by his son, has been popular on social media. A traveller and influencer with the Instagram profile 'Bhukkhad Musafir' shared a video of his father's train journey on his social media page. The video clip shows the elderly man waiting on the railway platform, entering the train and settling into his seat, soaking in the experience with a smile as his happy family looks on. As the countryside rushes past his train window, he is seen enjoying it all.

The video, captioned 'Papa experiencing Vande Bharat ride,' also includes the man's backstory. Apparently, to save ₹5, the man used to walk to the office instead of taking an auto rickshaw. Now, whenever I get the opportunity, I spend that extra money to help my father live a comfortable life. The video has received many emotional responses from netizens. One of the comments says, 'This is what true success looks like. Being able to give your parents the comfort and peace they never allowed themselves because they were too busy fulfilling their responsibilities."

Meanwhile, certain comments opined in jest that the son shouldn't share the fare details with the dad as it would invite some scolding. The Vande Bharat has no specific senior citizen discounts or concessions. The Indian Railways had also withdrawn fare concessions for the elderly passengers during the pandemic years. However, IRCTC still offers a 75% discount for patients who have certain medical issues like cancer, thalassemia, heart problems, kidney ailments or tuberculosis. Persons with disabilities or the 'divyangan' individuals also get up to 75% discount. However, these concessions are not available on Vande Bharat trains either.