Captain Vivek Bhagat, devoted pilot lost tragically
The laughter was louder, the tea sweeter, when Vivek was home. For him, success meant nothing without his village friends by his side.
The soft evening light of Luti village usually brought with it the sound of laughter spilling from the small tea stall near the bend in the road. But tonight, there was only silence. The men who usually gathered there, debating everything from politics to the price of vegetables, sat motionless, their cups untouched. The one voice that always brought energy to their conversations was gone.
Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat was supposed to be home in just a few days. His childhood friend, Uday Narayan, kept staring at his phone, as if willing it to ring with a message that would say it was all a mistake. Just last week, Vivek had called, his voice crackling with excitement about an engagement ceremony on February 27. Uday was to be the groom. Vivek was to be his wingman, the friend who would tease him mercilessly and stand by his side through the rituals. Now, Uday would walk through that ceremony alone, the empty space beside him echoing with a silence no music could fill.
In the Bhagat household, time had stopped. Dev Sahay Bhagat, an engineer who had spent his life building roads and bridges for the people of Jharkhand, sat in a corner of his home, staring at a photograph. His only son, the boy who had once chased butterflies in these very fields, who had carried the red soil of Luti on his shoes even as he flew through the clouds, was never coming home. The news had reached them late at night, a cold whisper that turned their world to ash.
Vivek had always been different. Even as a young boy at St. Thomas School in Ranchi, he dreamed not of the ground beneath his feet, but of the skies above. His parents watched him leave for Chaitanya Academy in Visakhapatnam, their hearts swelling with pride and aching with the distance. He returned a man, with wings on his chest and a fire in his eyes.
When he joined RedBird Aviation in 2022, the entire village had celebrated. And just six months ago, when he was promoted to Captain, Luti had felt like it had its very own hero touching the sky. Every time his small aircraft passed over the district, someone would look up and say, “There goes our Vivek.”
He never forgot where he came from. Despite the crisp uniforms and the prestigious badge, Vivek remained the same boy who would sit by the river with his friends, sharing stories until the stars came out. Whenever he had a break, he would escape the city’s glare and return to the simple warmth of Luti. The tea would taste better here, he would say. The laughter was louder. The friendships were real.
On Monday, he was at the controls of an air ambulance, a machine built to save lives. Somewhere over the forests of Chatra, tragedy unfolded in the sky. The aircraft went down, taking with it seven souls, including the young captain who was just days away from dancing at his best friend’s wedding.
Now, the village mourns not just a pilot, but their boy. The fields he ran through as a child seem to bow their heads. The river where he fished with Uday flows a little quieter. And on February 27, when the engagement drums beat, there will be a shadow in every frame, a missing verse in every song.
Dev Sahay Bhagat, the engineer who built roads, now faces a journey no road can ease. His only son, who once soared above the clouds, has returned to the red soil of Luti forever.