Ms Arohi Pandit to re-enact the historic flight of Air India in 1932 from Karachi To Bombay
Ms Arohi Pandit expressed her delight to be a part of the venture which also salutes the bravery of the women of Madhopur village.
A historic event is going to be recreated, an event that has gained even more significance today. 89 years ago on this day, the first commercial flight was successfully completed by the doyen of the Indian Airlines, J.R.D. Tata. He flew the first commercial flight from Karachi to Bombay on 15 October 1932.
On 15 October 2021, the flight will be recreated by the first solo Woman pilot, Ms Arohi Pandit who transversed the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean in an ultralight aircraft. Arohi will recreate the historic flight which will start from Bhuj, Gujarat. Since Karachi is in Pakistan the organizers of the flight choose Bhuj which is the closest one can get to Karachi.
The runway in Bhuj from where Ms Arohi will commence her remarkable flight is also special. The runway was completely destroyed by the Pakistani Air Force in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. At that time, the women of Madhopur village came together and reconstructed the runway in 72 hours. The popular Bollywood Flick, ‘Bhuj’ starring Ajay Devgun and others is loosely based upon the heroics of the women of Madhopur village who prepared the airstrip in record 72 hours under incessant artillery shelling.
Ms Arohi Pandit expressed her delight to be a part of the venture which also salutes the bravery of the women of Madhopur village. Quoting J.R.D. Tata, Arohi said that when you do something, think that everything depends upon you, just like in a prayer where everything depends upon God.
The event is being organized by the Indian Woman Pilot Association. Director, Bhuj Airport, Navneet Kumar Gupta said that this is a small gesture to commemorate the historic occasion. Ms Arohi will fuel up at Ahmedabad airport before flying to Bhuj to begin the re-enactment of the historic flight by J.R.D.Tata.
The event also has double significance since the Tata group has won the bid to take over Air India. It was a return to home for Air India which was created and nurtured by J.R.D. Tata until it was nationalized by the Jawaharlal Nehru government in 1953. However, Mr Tata continued as the Chairman of Air India till 1977 when he was unceremoniously shown the door when the Janata Party government lead by Morarji Desai was sworn in. He was back on the board as the Chairman of Air India when the Indira Gandhi Government came back to power.
