Sarla Thakral
Sarla
Thakral was the First Indian woman to fly an aircraft and to earn an aviation
pilot license at a very young age. She was just 21 years old when she owned her
pilot license. She was a mother of a 4-year-old girl child. when equality and women's empowerment were
still just arbitrary concepts She flew a Gypsy Moth solo and was dressed in a
saree.
She
was born in 1914 in Delhi. She was married at the age of 16. Her husband PD
Sharma had 9 pilots in his family and motivated Sarla to fly. She got Licence A
after successful 1,000 hours of flying. Her husband was the first Indian pilot
to get pilot’s license to fly between Karachi and Lahore. Unfortunately, Sarla
lost her husband in a plane crash in 1939. And she was not able to attain
Licence B as world war 2 broke out.
She
then returned to Lahore and joined the Mayo School of Arts and got a diploma in
fine arts. She was re-married to PP Thakral and moved to Delhi. Sarla succeeded
in establishing herself as a renowned painter and supplied her jewelry designs
for over 20 years.
Her
life was not smooth, beyond all the turn, Sarala lived her life to the
perfection. She crossed all phase of life and travel in all ups and downs. She
was a true inspiration for many women. Even in the later years of her life, she
was just as active and involved in writing. Sarla became a successful
businesswoman, painter and began designing clothes and costume jewelry. She
breathed her last when she was 91 years old in 2008.
Salute
Sarala...! We Miss You...!
Great informative post.. 👍👍
ReplyDeleteThank You :)
DeleteReally a great news!!!! Superb info!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Revanth :)
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