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| Dr.Rohini, Thiruvananthapuram |
Hearing her fighter-pilot father recall the thrilling tales of flying, Rohini, then a school student, used to pray to be able to fly atleast in her dreams. Those before-sleep prayers were expressed perhaps a quarter century ago. But at the age of 35, she became the first Asian woman to fly the Rowered Para Plane (PPP).
A Gujarati diamond merchant purchased a PPP but sold it to National Adventure Foundation (NAF), New Delhi since he could not locate a pilot for it. As no member of the Foundation came forward to fly it, it was given to the Kerala Chapter of NAF. It was then that Rohini, now a dentist with two daughters and a member of NAF, came to know of it and desired to fly it.
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear, even if from the other side of the globe. Clide Poser from USA, twice world champion in PPP flying, was contacted through internet and he readily agreed to guide a member of NAF.
For two weeks, he taught her the operation and control of the flying machine. Starting with warm up at 4o’clock in the morning, the actual flight would take place against the rising sun at Manimuthar in Tamil Nadu. By the time Poser left for US, her father had mastered the controls. And he guided her from then on, with occasional on-line inputs from the remote guru.
On 19th April 2006, she taxied the PPP alone and took off from Nankaneri village near Nagarcoil, Tamil Nadu. Against the backdrop of soft sunlight, she circled the village in a 50km radius. And as she landed, her father S.K.J.Nair and her husband Dr.S.Radhakrishnan came running to congratulate her. She wept in sheer joy of accomplishment.
A childhood dream and prayer had found fulfillment.
Courtesy:
P.Sanitha (text), Mathrubhumi, July 13ff, 2008
Contributed by: Administrator
