Bihar girl first woman pilot of Indian Navy

MUZAFFARPUR: Bihar girl Shivangi became the first naval woman pilot on Monday.
Shivangi (24) was born to Hari Bhushan Singh, a schoolteacher, and homemaker mother Priyanka Kumari from Fatehabad under Paru block of Muzaffarpur district. She has been inducted into Indian Navy as SSC (Pilot) after completing her NOC course from Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala in Kerala. Now, she will fly the Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
Talking to this newspaper over phone after her passing-out parade at Kochi in Kerala, Shivangi said becoming a defence pilot was her childhood dream."Ever since I saw a helicopter hovering in the sky over my village during elections nearly one and a half decades ago, I wanted to fly an aircraft or a helicopter. Now, my dream has come true," said Shivangi, an engineering graduate in mechanical branch from Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology.
Shivangi's father, who along with his wife joined the passing-out parade at Kochi naval base on Monday, said it was a proud moment for them. "I had never dreamt of this moment in my life. My daughter has made us extremely proud. I am very happy to be here," he said.
Recalling Shivangi's hard work and ambitions, Singh said a naval presentation made as part of the programme conducted by Indian Navy in her college instilled the latent desire in her to fly an aircraft.
"She cleared the Service Selection Board (SSB) exam conducted by the ministry of defence in 2017, but failed to get a call due to fewer vacancies. Her luck favoured when she appeared in another SSB exam at Bengaluru in March 2018 hardly after five to six months of joining the Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, to pursue her MTech. After a six-month Naval orientation course at Ezhimala, she spent another six months in flying a Pilatus basic trainer at the Air Force Academy (AFA)," said Singh.
Shivangi, who has made history as the first Indian woman naval pilot just 2 days ahead of Indian Navy Day on December 4, said: "You don't need to be super talented to fly an aircraft; but you need to work really hard and stay focused."
Meanwhile, back in Muzaffarpur, Shivangi was the talk of the town on Monday. Not only fellow villagers but also her teachers and classmates were feeling proud of her success.
Ramesh Kumar of her village said Shivangi's success has set an example for other girls to fulfil their dreams. "She has emerged as a role model. It will boost girl education in the region," he said.
Sarika Kumari, one of her classmates at Class VIII in DAV Public School at Bakhari in Muzaffarpur town, was equally jubilant. "Shivangi always performed excellently, whether it was studies or sports. She even fared well in school debates and other extracurricular activities. She used to participate in all co-curricular activities in the school. Her nature during the schooling was very helpful and jovial," Sarika said.