'Pushpak vimaan': Passengers on IndiGo inaugural flight to Ayodhya give the plane a new name

AYODHYA: "A pilgrimage on

Pushpak vimaan

." That's how passengers described going on IndiGo's Airbus A320 (VT-IQA) on Saturday afternoon which was to operate the first commerical flight to

Ayodhya

soon after Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport Ayodhya Dham. The epic Ramayana and its warrior hero - Shri Ram - was on the hearts, minds and lips of people who had flocked for this epic flight from all parts of the country.

"We just had to be on the first flight to Ayodhya and will be returning after a darshan of "Ram Lalla" (baby Shri Ram) temple when it inaugurated on January 22. This is our good fortune with divine blessings, to be flying to Ayodhya," said Kamal Kumar, a readymade garments dealer from Sikar in Rajasthan.
Shashi Kant Sharma had come from Bengaluru, carrying holy soil and jal from what said is Hanumanji's birthplace Kishkindha Parvat. "We will take the same to Hanumangarh and then to Ram Lalla. Where Shri Ram is, Hanumanji has to be there. This is a gift from the birthplace of his sevak for the Lord's renovated home," Sharma said.
Ayodhya Jain Mandir peeth-aadhish Ravindra Kirti was also checking in with his followers. "Ayodhya is the birthplace of our first Tirthankar Rishabh Dev ji. For us also it is a very important pilgrimage," said Anil Kumar Jain, 64, who was travelling with eight family members -- the youngest being 11-month-old Deshna.

However he had one regret. "We just had to be on this flight and bought tickets as soon as bookings open. So we bought at Rs 15,000 per person for Delhi-Ayodhya. Tha fares later dropped to Rs 9,000. Low cost airlines say but early pay less. But for us it was a we wbuy early and pay a lot more," Jain said.
After everyone checked in, cleared security and assembled at gate 23 for boarding, the atmosphere there was simply electric. There was chanting of Ram dhun and the devout gave a Shri Ram patka (printed scarf) to the airline staff at the boarding gate. Captain Ashutosh Shekhar, a senior pilot who has been with IndiGo for 12 years, also got a bhagva Jai Shri Ram-printed patka from devotees who thanked him profusely for operating their Pushpak vimaan.

Passengers chanted Ram Dhun and

Hanuman Chalisa

as they waited for 6E-2128 to take off. When it did so with a roar, these lines from

Tulsi Ramayan

describing Shri Ram's departure from Lanka to Ayodhya in Pushpak came to life:
चलत बिमान कोलाहल होई जय रघुबीर कहइ सबू कोई।।
सिंहासन अति उच्च मनोहर। श्री समेत प्रभु बैठे ता पर।।
(When Pushpak plane took off amid excitement, everyone was chanting the lord's name. The plane had an elevated throne where Sita Ram were seated).
"It's a chamatkaar, even IndiGo cold sandwich is tasting good today," quipped a "very hungry" passenger.
Kiran Modi, who flew in with his family to Delhi from Ahmedabad, to be on the flight said: "We are very proud of the change that Ayodhya is seeing. Now the upcoming grand temple will be just a direct flight away from many places in India and then abroad" he said.
The aircraft swiftly made its way to Ayodhya, something that Tulsi Ramayan describes as: रुचिर बिमानु चलेउ अति आतुर।

After a short flight just over an hour, passengers alighted at Ayodhya Airport amid warm welcome.
Shortly after IndiGo, Air India Express inaugural landed at Ayodhya with 99 passengers from Delhi.
As of now IndiGo and AI Express have announced regular flights to Ayodhya from January 6 onwards from Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Bengaluru.