‘Yeh Mera Deewanapan ..’: Mumbai Man Pays ₹4,200 Extra To Carry ₹5,000 Biryani From Hyderabad, Says ‘No Regrets’
'Yeh Mera Deewanapan ..': Mumbai Man Pays ₹4,200 Extra To Carry ₹5,000 Biryani From Hyderabad, Says ‘No Regrets’
Chef consultant Velton Saldanha says emotional value of bringing food home for family mattered more than the cost
A Mumbai man’s unusual travel story has gone viral after he revealed that he paid more than ₹4,000 in excess baggage charges to carry biryani worth ₹5,000 from Hyderabad to Mumbai.
Velton Saldanha, a 33-year-old restaurant chef consultant, shared that the incident happened during one of his frequent trips to Hyderabad. While returning home, he carried multiple packs of biryani for his family and friends. However, the extra food pushed his luggage weight beyond the airline limit, leading to an excess baggage charge of around ₹4,200.
Despite the unexpected fee, Saldanha said he had absolutely no regrets about the decision.
According to him, the idea of bringing biryani from Hyderabad originally started for his father, who enjoys the dish but has never visited the city to experience its famous food culture.
“I carry it for him—that was the main reason,” Saldanha said, adding that over time it became something his friends also eagerly look forward to whenever he travels to Hyderabad.
Saldanha explained that he often buys local food from different cities during his trips because many dishes cannot be replicated elsewhere due to differences in ingredients and even the local water used in cooking.
This time, however, he did not realise that the quantity of biryani he bought would push his luggage into the excess baggage category.
He later shared photos of the different types of biryani he carried in a viral Instagram post, which quickly caught the attention of social media users.
The story also amused his family members. Saldanha recalled that his mother reacted strongly when she heard how much he spent on the extra baggage.
“My mum was like, ‘You’re insane for spending so much over bringing the biryani to Mumbai,’” he said.
But Saldanha believes the emotional value behind the gesture made it worthwhile. He explained that throwing away the food would have meant losing ₹5,000 anyway, so paying the baggage charge felt like a better option.
For him, the joy of sharing the food with family and friends was more important than the money spent.
“All the biryani was shared and eaten,” he said, adding that the happiness it brought to everyone made the extra cost a small price to pay.
