To commemorate India’s 77th Independence Day, Ladies Study Group hosted an inspirational talk session with three women from different wings of the Indian Armed Forces on August 11 at Suryodaya Auditorium in Fort William. Titled ‘Inspirational Women of the Indian Armed Forces’, the panel included Captain Shiva Chouhan, first woman officer in the Indian Army to be deployed in Siachen; Squadron Leader Avani Chaturvedi, one of the first woman fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force; and Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, the first woman pilot in the Indian Navy. The session was moderated by Arthi Karthik, a voiceover artist and host of the podcast How’s the Josh.
It was an evening full of unique inspiring stories for the LSG members as Squadron Leader Avani, Captain Shiva and Lieutenant Shivangi shared their journeys, the experience of being the first woman in their respective fields and snippets from their personal and military life. “The moment I got to know that there is a door open for me, I have not thought even once should I choose it or not, I just walked in,” said squadron leader Avani. During the discussion, the three ladies who are proud citizens of our country, shared their experiences of the rigorous training process that they had to go through and spoke about the physical and mental preparation that was required for them to perform their roles.
The audience members were all ears as Shiva narrated her experience of the five-day journey to Siachen and Avani recalled her feelings of the moment when she had to sit in the cockpit alone.
“The best thing about being in a cockpit is that it is a machine. It won’t know whether the person driving is a man or a woman. It does not matter in our job. If you are capable, there is no reason why being a woman should stop you from getting an opportunity,” said Avani, highlighting her experience of being a woman in a male-dominated profession.
Shivangi joined in saying that when one is sitting in the cockpit, the time required to act is the same for a man or a woman; as long as one can prove capable, there is no differentiation. Shiva, while sharing her experience of the journey to Siachen, mentioned the various responsibilities she had to shoulder for the wellbeing of the soldiers under her.
Arthi, as a moderator, in a concluding statement highlighted the importance of extreme hard work and consistency to break existing boundaries. The conversation was followed by a Q&A session, felicitation of the speakers and a short talk by Major General H. Dharmarajan. LSG members also entertained the audience with a musical presentation. It was a moment of pride and enthusiasm for the audience when they were introduced to the Sainik School Purulia students, who happened to be among the first all-girls batch of their institution.
