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How an act of kindness on a flight gave this Indian-origin Google scientist a ‘second set of parents’ in Japan

The Indian-origin Google Research scientist's X post about finding “Japanese parents” through a simple act of kindness has struck a chord with users worldwide.

3 min readNew DelhiJan 27, 2026 12:21 PM IST

The relationship continued to grow across borders (Image source: @prajdabre/X)

In a post on X, Raj Dabre recounted an experience from 2019, when he was seated next to an elderly Japanese couple on a long-haul flight. The couple, he said, were struggling to communicate and were recovering from severe influenza. Having previously worked in Japan, Dabre spoke their language and helped them navigate the in-flight entertainment system.

What began as a small act of kindness soon turned into hours of conversation. “We got talking and spoke for more or less the whole flight. The craziest thing is that his home was only a 20-minute bike ride from mine. Talk about coincidence,” Dabre wrote, adding that the man gave him his business card and asked him to stay in touch.

Encouraged by his biological parents, Dabre later contacted the couple, whom he affectionately began referring to as his “Japanese parents.” He said they played a key role in helping him cope with isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The relationship continued to grow across borders.

“At one point, my parents visited Japan and met my Japanese parents, a memorable event. And just as a parent would, he visited India in 2023 and was a witness at my marriage in the church”.

“Destiny is strange. You don’t know who you will meet and become close with. Just say hi!”

See the post here:

Story time!

I have a Japanese mom and dad!

In 2019, I was on my flight back to India and unfortunately I was recovering from a bad bout of influenza. I had cough in my inner ear and that led to vertigo every time I moved my position. Unfortunately I couldn’t cancel so I… https://t.co/DpxdrtsW0N pic.twitter.com/HE9UpdLYhM

— Raj Dabre (@prajdabre) January 25, 2026

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The post has since gone viral, drawing emotional responses from users across the world.

“Cheers to you Raj and your adoptive folks. May your adventures continue, with plenty of sushi and samosas along the way,” a user wrote.

“Thank you very much for your wonderful message. I got to know Indian people who were very kind and friendly to me when I was Cambridge, England, then I went to my favourite Indian restaurant with my British friends to have dinner very often,” another user commented.

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“What a beautiful story. As dark as it gets, there is still so much love in the world,” a third user.