Kerala boy who wants to become a pilot has a taste of cockpit life thanks to Rahul Gandhi

Gulf Today Report

Some dreams do get fulfilled. But you need a benefactor or kind soul to help realise them.

In the case of Advait Sumesh, it was the scion of the Gandhi family who came to his aid. The nine-year-old boy from Kerala has been dreaming of becoming a pilot for years. But it was not until Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi intervened that he got some idea of what life in a cockpit was all about.

In a video that he shared on Instagram, Gandhi can be seen inviting Sumesh to visit a helicopter and taking him through the workings of the chopper's control panel.

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It all began on Saturday when the Wayanad MP met nine-year-old Advait at a tea shop in Kannur district while campaigning in poll-bound Kerala. Reportedly impressed by the boy's proficiency in English and Hindi, Gandhi asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up.

I want to be a pilot, the boy said. He added that he had never seen a helicopter from close quarters before, according to a report in a section of the Indian media.

Rahul Gandhi then invited Advait to visit his helicopter. The next day, he was shown around the cockpit by Gandhi and a woman pilot at Calicut International Airport.

"We've taken the first step to make Advait's dream come true," reads the caption alongside the video shared on Rahul Gandhi's Instagram. "Now it is our duty to create a society and a structure that will give him every opportunity to fly."

The video has been viewed more than 1.6 lakh times since being posted on Instagram yesterday.