We often see couples gifting flowers, chocolates, or surprise dinners on birthdays, but a Bengaluru man's recent gesture has truly raised the bar.
The man, Avik Bhattacharya, recently went viral on Instagram after sharing a heartwarming video of himself running 26 kilometres to celebrate his girlfriend’s 26th birthday.
The video quickly captured the attention of social media users, with many praising the effort as “raising relationship standards.”
Bhattacharya shared the video through @simranxavik, a joint Instagram account of him and his girlfriend, Simran.
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A thoughtful 26 km run:
The video opens with Simran saying she had wanted to run 26 km herself on her birthday but was unwell. She expressed her surprise at Bhattacharya’s gesture, saying, “I don’t know how to match this guy.”
The video then transitions to Bhattacharya, who says, “My girlfriend just turned 26, so I’m going to be running 26 km for her birthday.”
{{/usCountry}}The video then transitions to Bhattacharya, who says, “My girlfriend just turned 26, so I’m going to be running 26 km for her birthday.”
{{/usCountry}}He starts running while recording small videos, sharing his thoughts and prayers for her well-being.
During the run, Bhattacharya mentions he is running without earphones to stay mindful and reflect on happy memories with Simran.
He also reveals that he and Simran are preparing for the Mumbai Marathon, which is just in two and a half weeks, but took time out to dedicate this special run to her.
As he runs, he prays for Simran’s good physical health, highlighting that it is “the base for everything.”
HT.com has reached out to the user for more details. This report will be updated when he responds.
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Check out the video here:
Here's how people reacted to the video:
Instagram users were touched by the video, flooding the comments with praise for Bhattacharya's dedication and thoughtfulness.
One of the users commented, “Bro setting standards.”
A second user commented, “My throat just got heavy.”
A third user commented, “Now, should I write no way 26 times. I mean, where on earth can one find such a guy, damn.”
“For the sake of my mental sanity, I’ll think it’s AI,” another user commented.
The video was shared on January 5, 2026, and since then, it has gained 7.5 million views and 6.8 lakh likes.