Mumbai: Good Samaritan takes poor kids on chopper ride, lunch at five-star

Yash Mane took two kids on a joyride

A 23-year-old student and a real estate agent in Nalasopara, who has been helping the poor and child beggars through his NGO, recently fulfilled a couple of children's dream of flying. He took two child beggars on a joyride aboard a helicopter, and also treated a group of them to delicious food at Taj Lands End in Bandra.

The good Samaritan, Yash Chandrashekhar Mane, lives with his mother and a younger brother in Nalasopara. "I run an NGO, Yuva Prerna Pratishthan, and have been helping the downtrodden people and children who beg. I have been doing this to bring a smile to their faces. It satisfies my soul, too."

Mane said he often speaks to beggars and poor people living on footpaths or on the roadside, to know if they are hungry or need drinking water. A couple of days ago, two child beggars told Mane that they wanted to eat pizza and ice-cream. "I asked them if they want to enjoy sumptuous food at Taj hotel, and the children said that they have heard about it, but have never actually seen it," Mane said.

A treat at Taj

He then took them to Bandra Bandstand. "I wanted to take more such children with me, so I spent a few minutes speaking to a few child beggars. Initially they thought I was joking with them… but I won their confidence and took them for lunch at Taj Lands End," Mane told mid-day.

He treated a group of child beggars to a meal at Taj Lands End in Bandra. Pics/Hanif Patel

"However, on reaching there, the security guard stopped us at the entrance, as the children were not well dressed, some were barefoot and one of them was handicapped. "The security guard asked us awkward questions, like if we had booked a table, why the children were not well dressed, why they were barefoot, etc. The children were asked to leave the premises, but I did not give up," he said.

"I spoke to the senior executives of the hotel and after 20-30 minutes, the children were finally allowed inside. But by then, their excitement to have food at the Taj hotel had disappeared. I somehow managed to cheer them up again, and the manager helped as well to bring back the smile on children's faces. The hotel also offered us complimentary dishes to revive the mood of the children," Mane added.

The children thanked Mane for the lunch. "The senior executives at the hotel were very cooperative, but the security guards were a little adamant. The children should not have been stopped at the gate and asked to wait outside the hotel campus. If they are poor, it does not mean the food bill will not be paid. I had been trying to convince them, but it took me around 30 minutes," he said. Taj Lands End refused to comment.

The joyride

Mane also took two children on a joyride in a helicopter. "During the lockdown, I saw a group of child beggars in Nalasopara. When I asked them why they were begging at a traffic signal, they told me that they had no other option. Just then, an aeroplane flew over us, and one of the children said to me that he also wanted to fly in aeroplane some day," Mane said.

These children are aged between 10 and 12 years, and they often beg at traffic signals in Nalasopara and trains. Mane promised to fulfil his dream once the pandemic has subsided and the lockdown has been lifted. Around 10 days ago, Mane took two of them to Vile Parle for a 40-minute joyride on a helicopter. "These children would see helicopters and airplanes flying high in the sky, but had never imagined that they would be able to enjoy the ride themselves. So their excitement was at the next level," Mane said.

The children were extremely happy to see Mumbai, Mira Road, Bhayandar, Vasai-Nalasopara-Virar and Thane from a bird's-eye view. "The children were always asking me if their shanties were visible from the sky, so just to keep up their happiness I pointed towards a shanty area to tell them that they were flying just above their homes in Nalasopara. Hearing this, both the kids started to jump in joy and also waved their hands towards the shanties," he said. After returning home, the children narrated their experiences to their peers, said Mane. A 10-minute ride on a helicopter costs not less than Rs 6,000.