A couple from Varanasi found a heartwarming and adventurous way to celebrate their son’s sixth birthday, onboard Kashmir’s first-ever Vande Bharat Express. Rakesh and Neha Jaiswal marked the occasion with a cake-cutting ceremony alongside their son Moksh, right as the train crossed the breathtaking Anji Khad Bridge, India’s tallest railway bridge.

With the majestic mountains in the backdrop and the train journey adding a touch of thrill, the family turned a simple birthday into a once-in-a-lifetime memory.

The Jaiswal family’s celebration happened to coincide with a landmark moment for Kashmir. On June 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the region’s first Vande Bharat Express, flagging it off from Jammu after the completion of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link—a major milestone in connecting the Valley to the rest of India. On the same day, he also flagged off another train from Srinagar to Katra, marking a new era of railway connectivity in the region.