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,...
A thrilling display of coordination between the magnificent air warriors and their flying machines was held at at the ‘Air Fest 2022' at its Headquarters Maintenance Command of Indian Air Force in Vayusena Nagar, Nagpur on Saturday. The Air Fest was conducted as a part of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav,” an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate 75th Anniversary of Indian Independence and the glorious history of Indians, culture and achievements.
Air Marshal Vibhas Pande, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Maintenance Command was the Chief Guest for the Air Fest.
The Air Fest commenced with fourteen NCC Air Wing cadets demonstrating their skills in aero modeling wherein both remote controlled and control line models were flown in full view of the spectators. The remote controlled aircraft carried out an aerobatic display consisting of loops, rolls and figure of eight whereas, the control line model displayed inverted flying, loops and vertical figure of eight.
Thereafter, a Paramotor pilot enthralled the audience in his Paramotor with his aerobatic manoeuvres including a spiral descent from 1,000 feet and a ‘wingover’ at a height of 300 feet. The Dare Devils of “Akashganga” IAF team comprising of six air warriors displayed a breath-taking demonstration of skydiving from a Dornier aircraft from a height of 8,000 feet and landed with precision in the designated landing zone. The leader carried the AF Ensign, which was followed by the second para jumper landing with the Akashganaa flag and the demonstration culminated with three of the team members landing with the Tricolour. This was followed by an Avro aircraft, a medium-size turboprop transport aircraft, flying low at 500 feet above ground level in front of the spectators. Thereafter, a synchronized rifle drill performance by eighteen air warriors of the world renowned Air Warrior Drill Team (AWDT) of IAF left the Nagpurians in a state of awe. The next event was flying demonstration by Sarang, (lit. peacock, the national bird) helicopter air display team of the IAF comprising of four modified Advance Light Helicopters (ALHs) Dhruv. The Sarang team performed some breath-taking manoeuvres like approaching the dais in wine glass formation and then displayed very crisp and elegant India and diamond formations. This was followed by gravity defying Dolphin’s leap which is a three aircraft synchronized stall turn. The aircraft formation, thereafter executed spectacular high speed crosses. Meanwhile, two aircraft painted a white heart in the sky. The last was the signature manoeuvre wherein the Sarang split and the team leader presented an aerial salute to the esteemed guests. The choppers flying just two propellers distance from each other showed superior skills and expertise of the pilots. The No. 5 Air Force Band played martial tunes of ‘Sound Barrier’, ‘Ae watan watan’, ‘Mera Mulk Mera Desh’ etc to connect the public with the IAF so as to instill the fervour of patriotism.
The performance by the Air Force Band was followed us a scintillating air display by the Surya Kiran Aeroatic Team (SKAT), comprising of nine Hawk Mk. 132 aircraft. The SKAT display included flying in various formations like the diamond formation, Tejas formation, Prachand formation, barbed wire cross and inverted Vic. The perfect crosses and the breathtaking manoeuvres executed by the pilots were definitely a treat to the eyes.
After the Air Show, static display of aero models, Mi-17 V5 aircraft and various operational equipments was opened up to the audience.
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