- Raj Dabre helped an elderly Japanese couple on a flight using his fluent Japanese skills
- They discovered they lived near each other in Japan and exchanged contact information
- The couple became like family, supporting Dabre during the COVID-19 pandemic isolation
In 2019, Raj Dabre, a Senior Research Scientist at Google Research Australia, helped an elderly Japanese couple during a long-haul flight, leading to a lifelong bond where he eventually gained a "Japanese mom and dad". While flying from Japan to India while recovering from a severe bout of influenza, Dabre was seated next to a Japanese couple in their 70s. Dabre noticed the man struggling to communicate with a flight attendant about his in-flight entertainment system. Having worked in Japan previously, Dabre used his fluent Japanese to help the man set up Japanese subtitles.
The brief interaction led to hours of conversation, during which they discovered the couple lived just a 20-minute bike ride away from Dabre's own home in Japan. Before deboarding, the man gave Dabre his business card and asked him to stay in touch. Though Dabre initially hesitated, his biological father encouraged him to reach out and 'humor' the man. That single call transformed the relationship. Over the following years, the couple welcomed him into their home frequently and supported him through the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bond became so deep that Dabre's biological parents eventually met his "Japanese parents" in Japan. The relationship culminated in a significant gesture in 2023, when the Japanese 'father' travelled to India to serve as a witness at Dabre's church wedding. Dabre shared this heartwarming story in a post on X, reflecting on how a 10-second act of kindness can lead to a second family.
"Destiny is strange. You don't know who you will meet and become close with. Just say hi," Dabre said.
See the post here:
The wholesome story melted hearts, and people couldn't stop raving about it.
Reacting to the post, one user wrote, "Cheers to you, Raj, and your adoptive folks. May your adventures continue, with plenty of sushi and samosas along the way."
Another commented, "Wow, that's so incredible and wholesome!" A third user wrote, "That's how it is here. If you're friendly, humble, and respect the cultural norms, people will look out for you."
"What a beautiful story. As dark as it gets, there is still so much love in the world," added a fourth.
