Kolkata: There were many things unusual about flight 6E-283, which landed at Kolkata airport at 6.55pm sharp on Tuesday. Chief among them was the fact that not every day does a domestic flight to the City of Joy carry a Nobel Prize winner. The minute the Airbus A-320 landed, every other passenger and the crew walked up to Abhijit Banerjee. Some congratulated him heartily, some posed for selfies, while others simply wanted to look at him from close range without uttering a word.
India’s — and Kolkata’s — newest Nobel laureate was back home, and the city was overjoyed.
At 5.14pm, the take-off from Delhi, too, had been different. The usual on-board announcement was preceded by another line: “Today is a day to celebrate as we are fortunate to have Nobel laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee on board,” the captain announced. This was followed by a standing ovation by Banerjee’s co-passengers, after which the captain handed him a hand-writen congratulatory note, saying he had made the country proud.
Banerjee, looking tired, spent the better part of the 1-hour-41-minute journey napping in seat 1A. But as soon as the seatbelt signs were off, passengers kept approaching him with congratulations and selfie and autograph requests, which he obliged.
Banerjee even refused to take coffee so that he could sleep on the flight. Even when he did manage to get some shut-eye, passengers walked up to him.
The flurry of activity of the past few days had evidently exhausted him, but Banerjee did not disappoint anyone who approached him. He even did not mind getting mobbed either at the Delhi or Kolkata airport.
At Kolkata airport, airport director Koushik Bhattacharjee went to the aerobridge to welcome Banerjee himself. “We were relieved when he finally stepped out after a good 12 to 15 minutes,” Bhattacharjee said.
22/10/19 Sumati Yengkhom/Times of India
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India’s — and Kolkata’s — newest Nobel laureate was back home, and the city was overjoyed.
At 5.14pm, the take-off from Delhi, too, had been different. The usual on-board announcement was preceded by another line: “Today is a day to celebrate as we are fortunate to have Nobel laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee on board,” the captain announced. This was followed by a standing ovation by Banerjee’s co-passengers, after which the captain handed him a hand-writen congratulatory note, saying he had made the country proud.
Banerjee, looking tired, spent the better part of the 1-hour-41-minute journey napping in seat 1A. But as soon as the seatbelt signs were off, passengers kept approaching him with congratulations and selfie and autograph requests, which he obliged.
Banerjee even refused to take coffee so that he could sleep on the flight. Even when he did manage to get some shut-eye, passengers walked up to him.
The flurry of activity of the past few days had evidently exhausted him, but Banerjee did not disappoint anyone who approached him. He even did not mind getting mobbed either at the Delhi or Kolkata airport.
At Kolkata airport, airport director Koushik Bhattacharjee went to the aerobridge to welcome Banerjee himself. “We were relieved when he finally stepped out after a good 12 to 15 minutes,” Bhattacharjee said.
22/10/19 Sumati Yengkhom/Times of India
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