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A Village Burnt Overnight: Tears, Loss and Survival in Dhamangaon Blaze

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  Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
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IAF to induct first three women fighter pilots today

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By Dheeraj Fartode 

NAGPUR, June 17: 
A new chapter will be written in the history of Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday when first three women fighter pilots -- Mohana Singh, Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi -- will be inducted in the IAF after successfully completing advanced training. 
Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister, will confer the President’s Commission on behalf of the President of India, to these first women fighter pilots along with 126 graduating trainees of various branches including 19 women trainees in the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP), which will be held on Saturday at Air Force Academy, Dundigal, on the outskirts of Hyderabad. 
Avani Chaturvedi in cockpit of training aircraft.
This CGP will be a landmark event in the history of the IAF as the first three women pilots will be commissioned in the Fighter stream of the Flying branch. Parrikar will also present the ‘Wings and Brevets’ to the newly commissioned officers of the Flying branch and to the officers from sister services, that is, the Navy and the Coast Guard who have successfully undergone Flying training, which is a significant milestone in every Military Aviator’s career. 
The Reviewing Officer will present the President’s Plaque and the Sword of Honour to the Flight Cadet standing first in the Order of Merit in Flying Branch who will have the privilege of commanding the Parade. The Reviewing Officer will also award the President’s Plaque to the toppers (first in Overall Merit) in the Navigation and Ground Duty Branches of the Graduating Course. 
On the eve of graduation, the Reviewing Officer will also attend ceremonial guest night and interact with graduating trainees and their proud parents. During this event, he will award trophies to the Flight Cadets who have excelled in their respective streams. 
The pre-commissioning training at Air Force Academy for various branches such as Flying, Navigation, Administration, Logistics, Accounts, Education, and Meteorology commences in January and July every year, and culminates with CGP in December and June respectively. On commissioning, they are awarded with the rank of Flying Officer in the IAF. 

Mohana wants to carry on family legacy 

Mohana Singh

Mohana Singh, a girl from Jhunjunu in Rajasthan, wants to carry on the family legacy of serving the nation. 
Mohana’s father ---- is currently serving in the IAF while her mother is a teacher. She has done schooling from Air Force School, New Delhi; and did her B Tech (Electronics and Communication) from GIMET, Amritsar. 
An official release of issued by Ministry of Defence (MoD) informed that her parents and grandparents had instilled in her the dream of joining the IAF as a pilot. As a Flight Gunner in Aviation Research Centre, her grandfather used to go to different places on various missions and she wanted to carry on the family legacy of serving the nation. 
She aspired to make her parents proud of her by becoming a fighter pilot and fly the best of the fighter aircraft in the IAF. She wants to be a part of the future combat missions and fight for the nation when duty calls for guarding the nation’s skies. 

For Bhawana, it is dream come true 

Bhavana Kanth
Bhawana Kanth hails from Darbhanga (Bihar). Born and brought up in Refinery Township, Begusarai, she completed her BE (Medical Electronics) from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore. Her father  is an engineer in Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) while her mother is a home-maker.
Bhawana said, states an official release issued by MoD, it is her dream come true. Her dream was to fly like a free bird since her childhood and this inspired her to join the IAF. After clearing Stage-I training, she got the golden opportunity to opt for fighter stream. Before opting for fighter stream, a lot of people cautioned her that challenges would keep on increasing and so will the gradient. But, for her, it sounded cliched. It was her aim to become a good fighter pilot and fight for the nation and make her parents proud.

Avani wants to be a dependable fighter pilot 

Avani Chaturvedi
Born at Satna (Madhya Pradesh), Avani was inspired by military life of Army officers in her family. Now, being among the first three women fighter pilots in the IAF, she wants to become not only a good fighter pilot but also the one on whom her seniors can rely when it comes to flying for live operations.
Avani’s father was an Executive Engineer with Madhya Pradesh Government. After completing her schooling from Adarsh Higher Secondary School in a small town Deolond located near Rewa, Avani did her graduation in B Tech (Computer Science) from Banasthali University, Jaipur. 
The MoD release informed that apart from military life of Army officers in her family, a few hours of flying experience in flying club of her college inspired Avani to join the IAF. She got the golden opportunity to fly two different aircraft, one very modern and advanced, and another a stalwart trainer, with the best of instructors.  

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