SOAR IN THE SKY

Captain Karan Singh walked the aerobridge path with a spring in his feet. He was greeted with a warm handshake as he entered the big Jumbo airliner. This was a dream come true for Karan Singh. He had risen to be the Captain of one of the largest commercial airliner in the World. He entered the freshly prepared cockpit and welcomed his crew as they closed inside the jumbo. The plane got loaded and soon enough the ATC gave all clear to Captain Karan to roll down the plane till the far end of the runway for a take-off. Karan had been a passionate Pilot and had thousands of hours in his log book for various types of aircraft. He saw the weight sheet of the jumbo under his Command, did his trim calculations and rolled the jumbo down the tarmac. On a thumbs up RT call from the ATC, Karan throttled up the massive jet’s engines and began the run down the runway. With deft controls, Karan pulled the joystick backwards and the plane’s nose lifted for a smooth take off. His co-pilot congratulated him and the jumbo began its climb to the designated altitude. The thrust of the engines kept the plane on its course and it continued to soar in the sky. Captain Karan Singh had soared in the sky to achieve his passion- Fly a Jumbo Airliner.

         

As the plane moved, air flowing around the wings created the lift. The lift increases as the plane gathers speed. The plane takes off once there's enough lift to overtake gravity. When the plane's in the air, thrust from the engines pushes the plane forward. The Pilot in Command sets the Course and the plane moves on the designated path to reach the desired destination. Karan Singh had taken all the correct actions to get airborne in his dream-liner. He had achieved this dream with the dint of his hard work and focused approach. After all flying a plane is a passion and no passion comes to reality with a lot of hard work and focused approach. As Karan settled the plane to its designated flight path, his mind brought back the memories of his journey to this day.

         

Born in a village of a remote town, Karan was the eldest amongst his 2 other siblings. His father was a soldier with the Indian Army. Shuttling their lives between occasional stay with his father whilst on peace station postings, Karan had lived with a dream to fly an airplane. He would watch the airplanes in the sky as a young lad and chase their flight paths on the ground. His mother, though from humble rural background, noted the spark in young Karan. She would excitedly call out his name when an airplane zipped the skies above their home. The peace posting with the Army brought Karan’s father to New Delhi. This gave Karan an opportunity to see the airplanes as they took off and landed. A bright student, his passion for flying itched him to scale better results and Karan would be the leader in his class. With every success, he would look up towards the sky and plunge for another milestone.

         

The circumstances of his family and his father’s military income was meager. Time had come where a bold decision was to be taken by the family to support Karan’s dream. Karan’s younger siblings had also followed their elder brother’s path. His younger brother cleared the competitive exam of the Military School and moved on to a stable education path with limited expenses. His sister was also sharp in her studies and aimed to be a Doctor. Calculating the future of his children, Karan’s father decided to hang his Military Uniform to plough back his accumulated benefits and begin the life of a pensioner. The decision was not easy as he had to leave a life that he had begun as a young and raw recruit of 17 years of age with the Indian Army. Moving in and out of field and peace postings had not enabled the family to own a stable home other than the shared ancestral home in the remote village. The village greens had taken the shape of concrete dwellings as the nearest town emerged as the hub of a throbbing pharmaceutical industry. Karan’s father finally hung his Uniform as Karan was about to finish his graduation. The monetary benefits accrued over the years vanished in thin air as Karan signed on the dotted lines to train as a Pilot. There were tears in his eyes as he hugged his parents before catching a flight out of the country to train as a pilot. As the airplane ran down the tarmac, Karan clenched his fists to return home successful.

          

The life began a new turn for Karan’s family as his father and mother returned back to their roots to wait for the future’s turn. The Veteran had no option but to move on with a second job to support his family’s needs. Karan’s father had led a disciplined life with honesty, integrity and commitment to the Nation’s cause. The local industry had a few jobs to offer and Karan’s father had not much choices. Skills sets become a complex word for job seekers in their middle ages. There are not many takers for Veterans and exploitation of humans is rampant. As is the trend, Karan’s father joined a small Company in the town near his village in the Security Department. The Veterans have had a say in the field of unflinching Security towards the Nation and the first opportunity arises in the same field post hanging the Military Uniform. The meagre pension had to be augmented to meet the growing family demands and to meet the challenges of wavering economy. As his children toiled in their respective arenas, Karan’s father began giving his best in his second career too.

          

Time flew by even as struggles continued. Finally, Karan got back with his flying certification and commenced his life as a trainee pilot. The sacrifices of his father and the reason for taking a pre-mature retirement to arrange funds for his training were not lost on Karan. His vow to do better than the best was more firm now and he followed his dream with unflinching passion. His time to repay back to his parents had begun. As Karan climbed to the designated altitude and shaped the plane’s course to its destination, his mind ran the entire flurry of life as it gone by for him. He had not forgotten his father’s sacrifice and his ever smiling mother who willingly relocated every time the Nation invoked the call of duty. The passion of soaring the sky in turn meant that each one of the family members had to soar in the sky to achieve Karan’s aim. Karan felt tears building up as his plane cruised using the thrust of its powerful engines and the various parts responding to the massive thrust. Inside the cabin, all was stable and calm whilst outside the temperatures plummeted many notches below dead zero.

         

It is not easy to soar in the sky and behind every successful human there are many unsung humans. These unsung humans pay a heavy price to ensure that the passions of the individual are scaled successfully. How many get their due rewards when the individual they have strived for soars in the sky? Not many would be able to recall that they were ever thanked by those humans who climbed upon big shoulders to scale their aims. The corollary is also true- it is not easy to sacrifice one’s life to support someone else’s dreams. Both the sides of the coin reflect one message- It requires guts to reach the glory. The supporter and the supported both end up reaching the peak of their respective destinations, one who gains touches Zenith and the one who sacrifices touches Nadir. The gap between the two needs a bridge and that is where the sky kisser has to help the broad shoulders which launched the journey.

         

Many a soldiers of this country head to become Veterans at an early date and time in their lives for various reasons. They launch many a lives by standing tall and offering their broad shoulders. The Flag soars as high as the pole takes it. Sky is the limit and we must take care of those who launched us to soar in the sky. The Veterans need you more than ever before. They have been the Flag bearers of the Nation and end up sacrificing over and over again for various facets of their lives. The Nation will soar the sky, all that we need is to honor the sacrifice for the Nation.