Happy to report that the tickets were issued today. My parents were made to fill out few forms, but otherwise it was a quick process. Phew.

I noticed the general commentary in the thread that "all this happens in India". I work with Indian clients every day and yes, I probably should not have had high expectations from an Air India office. People would argue that it should not be compared to other private airlines or US airlines/systems. I agree to that, but my only harrowing aspect of this whole thing was with regard to senior citizens. We claim to be a country with strong values and sense of family, but we don't seem to give due respect to people. I will stop here before going on a rant

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement and support.