Flying has been this young woman’s dream right from her childhood and she realised it when she earned her wings after a lot of struggle

KOCHI: Flying has been this young woman’s dream right from her childhood and she realised it when she earned her wings after a lot of struggle. Sub-lieutenant Shivangi made history when she completed her training and flew a Dornier aircraft, becoming the first woman pilot in the Indian Navy. In the process, Sub-lieutenant Shivangi also managed to break into what was until then a male preserve. “Becoming a pilot was a childhood dream but I never knew how to fulfil it. And the Navy helped me realise it, “ she said. According to Shivangi, it was while in college that she first came across a Navy personnel.

“I hail from a landlocked area,” said the young pilot from Bihar currently posted at the Southern Naval Command at Willingdon Island in Kochi. “Navy personnel had come to the campus to recruit prospective candidates under the University Entry Scheme. The ‘whites’ attracted me and on the spur of the moment, I decided to join the Navy,” she said. 

According to her, if anyone chooses to do something different then obviously they will encounter lot of things which will come in the way. “But you have to overcome those difficulties. Coming from a civilian background, people always want to be in a safety net. Hence, it was a big decision for me to join the defence,” said the sub-lieutenant. Shivangi, who was a novice in swimming, shooting, sailing and equestrian, had to master all these to achieve her one single goal in life -- becoming a pilot.