ALAPPUZHA: Satheeretnam’s dream of flying on an airplane was reignited every time she saw one whiz past her village. “I never thought it would happen, but the dream has come true,” said the 84-year-old from Mukkumpuzha in Alappad village, on Kollam’s border with Alappuzha.
The Sree Muruga Kudumbashree unit of Mukkumpuzha joined hands with Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin airports to arrange the trip of Satheeretnam and nine others. According to Saleena Vinayakumar, former president of Alappad panchayat, most of the group had never expected to travel in an airplane.
“The two oldest members, Satheeretnam and Suprabha, 76, were the most keen. We booked the tickets with IndiGo for November 22,” Saleena said. We started the journey from Karunagapally to Kochi airport in a KSRTC bus. We reached the airport by 9am. After completing clearances we boarded the plane around 10am.
We also got the chance to meet former finance minister T M Thomas Isaac on the plane. He was also travelling to Thiruvananthapuram, Saleena said. The experience was amazing, said Suprabha. “We were most anxious when taking off. However, after the plane settled the view was interesting. We moved past clouds that looked like cotton candy. The view of the coastal areas was also exciting,” Suprabha said.
We reached Thiruvananthapuram by 11.30am and visited Lulu Mall. After lunch we returned to our village in a KSRTC bus, said Sindhu Kumaresan, group president. The flight cost Rs 4,900 per person. Another Rs 500 was spent per head for travel by bus and visiting Lulu Mall and other places.
“The unit’s savings were used to fund the trip. This is generated through a catering service that it runs. We have a total of 10 members but two were unable to make the trip,” Saleena said.