Sarla Thakral was India’s first ever woman to take to the skies. She got an ‘A’ grade license after 1,000 hours of flying, making history as she was the first one to do so.
Married at the tender age of 16, Sarla Thakral was mother to a 4 year old when she created history. In pre -partition times, the young woman took off in the two-seater plane in 1936 in Lahore.
Sarla Thakral turned out to be a natural pilot. After only eight hours and ten minutes of training, her instructor deemed her ready to fly solo! Sarla, clad in a sari, climbed into the cockpit of a Gypsy Moth plane. She proceeded to climb to the required altitude and managed to land the plane on her own, passing her first solo with flying colours. She then underwent intensive training and successfully earned her “A” license after accumulating more than 1,000 hours of flying, becoming the first Indian woman to ever do so, that too at the age of 21.
When India gained Independence in the year 1947, Sarla was still living in Lahore, which was now in Pakistani territory- because of the Partition of India, which had created the two independent states of Pakistan and India. Thakral’s neighbour, worried about her safety because she was a Hindu, warned her of potential threats and advised her to leave Lahore with her daughters. Soon, Sarla and her daughters got on a train headed to Delhi and came back to the city where she was born.
Sarla Thakral passed away on March 15, 2008, at the age of 94, leaving a glorious legacy behind. Juggling the roles of a wife, a mother, a pilot and eventually a successful businesswoman, she not only inspired other women to navigate the skies, but also became an epitome of perseverance and resilience.
Picture Credit : Google