Twenty seven very special children in Kanyakumari were waiting for the ride of their lives, courtesy the Indian Air Force, recently.

The kids, all of them from a local orphanage, were victims of the tsunami that took away their parents a day after Christmas last year.

Kanyakumari was abuzz with talks about this 'loving gesture' that brought smiles on the young faces.

The IAF gesture? Taking the kids for a spin in the heavens in a Microlight aircraft.

The ground was laid for the grand entry of the 280 kg aircraft that morning. A rough airstrip was prepared in Kanyakumari using road rollers.

Coordinating the IAF's efforts on the ground were Kanyakumari district Collector Sunil Paliwal and Additional Collector G Prakash.

The normally quiet premises of the Tamil Nadu government guesthouse reverberated with the excited chatter of the kids... waiting for the 'IAF uncles' to arrive.

Design: Rahil Shaikh