Unique ‘Abhinandana’ to IAF Pilot ‘Abhinandan’ from Owner of a Kudla City Bus
Unique ‘Abhinandana’ (In Kannada it means Congratulations, Greetings; Felicitous; Welcoming) to IAF Pilot ‘Abhinandan’ from Owner Vikram Shetty of a Private Kudla City Bus
Mangaluru: Referring to the courage of IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier said the word “Abhinandan” has assumed a new meaning. “The strength of our country is that it changes the meaning of words in dictionary. ‘Abhinandan’ in English until now meant ‘congratulations’, but it will be different from now on,” Modi said towards the end of his speech at an event in Delhi.
The Prime Minister’s remarks come a day after the Wing Commander was released by Islamabad after over 60 hours in captivity. Following a prolonged delay at the Attari-Wagah border, Vardhaman crossed over into India after he was captured by Pakistan on February 27 as his MiG-21 Bison fighter jet was hit by Pakistan Air Force jets near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. He returned to India a day after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that the IAF pilot will be released as a “peace gesture” amid heightened tensions between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan.
PM Modi welcomed him back with a tweet, “Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians. Vande Mataram!” Tensions between the two neighbours escalated after the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, claimed by Pakistan-based JeM, in which over 44 CRPF personnel were killed and several injured. Ever since Abhinandan was returned back safe to India, never one to shy away from expressing its feelings, India reacted to the homecoming by celebrating the brave pilot through songs, posters, slogans, advertisements and more.
Even India’s favourite dairy giant “Amul” always manages to get it right when it comes to making sensible yet touching advertisements and its latest video ad celebrating Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Vartaman is yet another example. After releasing one of its signature Amul girl print cartoons to mark the homecoming, the dairy cooperative has now released a video advertisement on the ‘mooch’ – the moustache. Abhinandan’s full handlebar moustache became symbolic of the bravery and tenacity of the Indian armed forces. Amul posted the ad on Twitter on Mar 2 with the caption, “#Amul Mooch: To Abhinandan from Amul!”. Within just 24 hours the video has over 170,000 views and over 3,000 likes.
And for that matter locally in our Kudla aka Mangaluru, Vikram Shetty, a owner of three city private bus decided to pay his respect to this India’s brave pilot wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman by incorporating a artistic photo of the pilot on one of his bus Route No 14 D, bearing Reg No KA 20 A 7527, plying between Mangaladevi and Kavoor via Valencia, Kankanady, Mallikatte, Nanthoor and Yeyyadi. Along with the artistic photo of Abhinandan, there is also a saying “We Salute Indian Army”- an art which was done free by Artist Yashraj of “Yash Arts”, in love and respect for the Indian Army and IAF Pilot Abhinandan.
Indeed a thoughtful and kind gesture both from Vikram Shetty and Yashraj, showing their true spirit to their Country. Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Vikram Shetty said, “Earlier when Swachh Mangaluru kicked in, I had painted the image of Swachh Bharath/Mangaluru image on the same bus, and then later, Swachh Bharath image was replaced by “Save Kambla” when the Kambla issue was going on, in order to bring awareness about the love that people had towards Kambla in this region”.
Owner Vikram Shetty in front of the bus 14 D with Abhinandan image……..
“And recently when the whole nation was celebrating the homecoming of one of our pilot who survived in the crash, and Indians were adoring him with wishes, flowers, posters, banners, I thought why not paint his heroic face on one of my buses, and the plan went ahead, and two days ago, my friend artist Yashraj did a quick job in painting a beautiful and catchy image of pilot Abhinandan and also a phrase “We Salute Indian Army”. And I have decided to keep this image permanently, with no replacement, since I feel that our soldiers, and also Abhinandan are doing great service to our country by protecting us from intruders, and risking their lives. Ever since the image has been on this bus, I have been receiving tons of compliments on FaceBook, WhatsApp, and bunch of reporters from TV and other media have approached me and done review” added Shetty.
…….and seen ( L-R) are driver Vinod K and Conductor Chaithan Kunjathbail
Even though the bus with the name “St Antony” was bought by Vikram from Vivian Lobo nine years ago, Vikram decided not to change the name since the commuters/passengers were very much attached/familiar with the “St Antony” bus name! Having two other city buses that run in town, namely 13 H (Bondel route) and 60 (Akash bhavan route), when Team Mangalorean asked Vikram, if he plans to incorporate any other touchy images on the two buses, he replied that at the moment he has no plans, but his decision may change depending on what comes forth. But it’s a very nice way of Vikram Shetty paying tribute to our IAF hero Abhinandan on his bus, which spreads the message of Indian Army across the City while the bus moves around its route. Kudos and job well done, Vikram!
Long Live the Indian Army and IAF Hero Abhinandan Vartaman!
