30 years on, 'Captain Rohan' pilots playschool teacher on flight to US

New Delhi: Sudha Satyan was settling in her seat on Air India’s long-haul flight from Delhi to Chicago on Sunday, when the announcement of the captain’s name took her 30 years down memory lane. As a young playschool teacher, she had come across a 3-year-old who had introduced himself as “Captain” Rohan Bhasin.

Today, he was actually in the plane’s cockpit.
Once settled, she requested the airhostess to meet the pilot. When he came to meet her, the tearful teacher hugged her grown-up “Captain” .

Later in the day, Rohan’s mother shared two photos of the pilot and his teacher, one from 1990-91 and another from Sunday. “#WarmsTheCocklesOfMyHeart.... During Playschool admission, the teacher asked my son his name. Nonchalantly he answered, ‘Capt Rohan Bhasin’. And he was just 3. And today, the same teacher was enroute to Chicago. And he was indeed the Captain. #StudentTeacherReunion,” she tweeted.

Captain Rohan’s early romance with the skies was fuelled by a rich family history. His grandfather, Captain Jai Dev Bhasin, was among the first seven pilots in India to become a commander in 1954. Rohan’s parents were with Indian Airlines, and now fly AI’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Rohan started his pilot training after Class 12, and started his in-air experience as a co-pilot in 2007. Satyan used to run the play school in Mumbai. Her husband was an engineer with AI, and they were in close contact with the Bhasins during their time in Mumbai.

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com