Moment Indian-origin brothers unite after 44 years

Ask any expatriate in Dubai or elsewhere in the world what it is like to meet family members who live hundreds and thousands of miles away from them.

The distance adds to the longing that haunts the heart each day to see the loved ones - a feeling difficult to put into words.

Happiness knows no bounds, when most expats see family every year or two when they head back home. 

Now, can you imagine seeing a dear one after having spent nearly half of your life away from him/her?

These were the emotions that gripped a man originally from India, now settled in Yorkshire, England.

The 64-year-old man, Anoop Kapitan, speaks of how his heart longed to see his brother after 44 years.

Kapitan is waiting at the Manchester Airport to fly to Melbourne, Australia, where his brother lives.

“I landed in England in May 1970 and I was the first in the family to go abroad to study. It was a very emotional time for me,” he says.

Clutching his passport, he recalls how then he looked back at his family members waiting at the airport gates to see him off, as he went to the airline counter.

“They were all standing as a family, waving at me and we really didn’t know when we would meet again,” he says.

“My elder brother immigrated to Australia in the 1970s. He led his life and I lived mine. I always wanted to reunite with my brother, but I never thought my wish would be fulfilled.”

“But somebody, somewhere gave me this opportunity to see my brother. People say home is where the heart is and now it’s on its way to Melbourne. We are probably not the same youngsters. I don’t know what man I am going to find there, but I will try my best to impress him and win his heart again. I am still his younger brother,” he says trying to fight back his tears.

But Kapitan really didn’t have to impress his brother. His brother hugs him as he weeps at Melbourne airport. After all, as he said, he was still the younger brother.

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