I was always connected with winds, be it kite-flying or parasailing. In 2016, I saw an advertisement on Facebook about a Tandem jump in Mehsana that cost Rs 35,000. I desperately wanted to do it and started thinking about asking my parents for permission and money for the same. When I dared to ask, their first reaction was, “Why do you want to waste money?”. It took some time and much convincing before they agreed and gave me consent. I still remember every second from the day of the jump. Going all the way to Mehsana and getting the feeling that it might be the last day of my life gave me a new level of adrenaline rush. My mother and sister accompanied me, and they were terrified. I could see it on their faces. I was scared too.
My First Jump In 2016
When we jumped, my face was blown wildly by the wind, I almost forgot to breathe, and each second felt like a gift from God. I enjoyed the freefall, and it was more than just the heart-thumping adrenaline rush. It was a combination of fear, freedom and happiness. An introduction to the existence of a new world. After landing safely, I asked the instructor about the procedure of doing it solo in India. I wanted to get rid of the fear I faced. On that day, I understood that my fear of height was real. But I wanted to be a part of this new world that I had just witnessed. After hearing the initial costs, I knew that it would take some years before I could do it. My family couldn’t understand it. I don’t think they know it now. However, my mother always gave me unconditional support and freedom. Freedom to fulfil my dreams without any restrictions.
I was lost in my business, determined to become financially self-sufficient. I was going through my Facebook profile in mid of 2018, and I saw my tandem skydiving photos. At that point, I saw my savings and I knew that it was time to work on this dream. I discussed the idea of travelling solo to a European country and doing something as dangerous as solo skydiving. The initial challenge was understanding that it is not as scary as it looks. It took some months and lots of research.
A Leap Of Faith To The Sky
I started by searching places to do it in India. Surprisingly, you can find many search results on Google, but there is not even one active place to learn Skydiving in India. The next stop was Dubai. It was nearest to India. But the facilities were 50-70 KM from central Dubai. While doing all the searches, Spain was the safest place (in the number of skydiving accidents) and the friendliest in answering all my queries. Right now, I am glad that I started my journey from Spain.
In Spain, I realized that skydiving was not the only challenge. Staying away from family, managing everything in a foreign country, learning to trust unknown people and going through all the hardship of failure, practice, and exams were all of it. It was the journey that made me who I am today. Somedays, I got injured while doing a secured landing, and I got my first minor fracture even before completing my certification course.
I started with the AFF Skydiving Program, where I was supposed to jump with two instructors initially and one instructor after level 3. I only injured my leg and hand on my first jump (I told my family about it when I returned). I completed my 8 Level course with bruises on my leg and hand. Just before flying back, I did a total of 29 jumps in Spain. My flight was scheduled for the 29th early morning, and I gave my written exam to get my USPA A license on 28th Dec. I learned to manage extreme situations independently. Till now, I have jumped in Spain, Dubai, and Russia.
When I became a certified skydiver, I started to look for people like me. My journey to Spain made me realize that many people are active from India. I started watching videos on Youtube and Facebook. In the end, I found a WhatsApp group of Indian Skydivers and that there are only around 100 active civilian skydivers. That was the first time I came across the term civilian. Indian Civilian Skydivers are people like me who went to foreign countries to learn skydiving without the help of the Indian Armed Forces.
Even after getting my license, I was not aware that not many girls like me. I saw in Spain that females were an active part of the skydiving world. So I presumed that it would be the case in India. After discussing with all senior members of the Indian Skydiving community, I realized that there are only three licensed Indian Civilian Woman Skydivers.
Skydiving taught me about happiness and fear, and it gave a new definition to feel alive and the power of Now. I hope to skydive near the statue of unity with other female participants to empower girls and the current and upcoming generation.
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