Her Parents Took Loan To Support Her Dreams Of Becoming A Pilot, She Has Now Built A House For Them, Got Married To A Pilot & Has Helped Her Brother Become A Pilot Too

Indian lady who’s a pilot shares her career journey.

“‘Saara paisa ladki ke padhai me daal doge, to shaadi kaise hogi?’ – this was how my parents were scoffed at when I decided to become a pilot.

But they didn’t care; they were worried about arranging the funds for my training, but not once did they try to dissuade me from following my heart. Besides, becoming a pilot was not just a career for me, it was a dream I saw from my terrace.

So, there was a flying school close to where I grew up. And I remember how I’d stand on my terrace every day and wait to see an airplane fly right above me. I just loved watching it, and I’d always tell my parents, ‘Main badi hoke pilot banungi.’ Obviously back then they thought I was kidding.

But I wasn’t! So while I was in my 2nd year of college, I applied to the flying school and cleared the entrance exam.

But I felt my dream slipping away into an abyss when I found out that the fee was 28 lakh rupees. I come from a middle class family, and that was a HUGE amount of money.

Papa didn’t want to crush my dreams but he didn’t know how to arrange the funds. So he asked some relatives for help, but they refused. They thought Papa was wasting his time and money on a girl. But Maa was determined and said, ‘We’ll take a loan.’ So we took out 2 loans and invested all our savings, and some relatives helped too. I finally got into the school.

It was all so surreal, attending those classes, getting to know everything about a flight. After 3 months of ground training, I finally got to fly. You know, that was my first time in a flight, I’d never seen the inside of a plane, forget about the cockpit.

I was super nervous yet excited and as we took off,I felt so free, like nothing could stop me now! I could already see myself in the Pilot’s uniform showing off my strips to my parents.

But once again, life rolled a dice and I almost lost. In the 2nd year of my training, I found out that in order to become a commercial pilot I had to undergo another training which would cost another 25 lakhs. Disheartened, I decided to take a step back, and began working at the institute as the traffic controller. I worked for 3 years but I still couldn’t save enough.

But fortunately, a pilot friend offered to take a loan for me, which I’d pay him back.

It was a 2-month course, and upon completion I joined an airlines company in 2017. I remember the moment I finally walked up to my parents in my uniform… They were so happy and emotional.

We all hugged each other and Papa said, ‘Make us proud.’ And I did just that! It’s been almost 6 years since and I’ve been living my dream.

Today, I’ve paid off all our loans, bought Maa a gold ring, helped my parents build our house and even helped my brother become a pilot! And now, I’m married to a pilot. So basically life’s great. And every time I enter my cockpit, mentally I thank my parents for always believing in their daughter.”

Written by: Sonal Kaannde

Source: Humans Of Bombay

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com