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Airborne to Chairborne
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| Photo Information |
Copyright: Subhash Ranjan (sranjan)
![Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 14 W: 0 N: 46]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/s-n-s.gif) (280) |
| Genre: People |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2008-05-22 |
| Categories: Daily Life |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2008-06-06 18:29 |
| Viewed: 396 |
| Points: 6 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
DRAMA IN REAL LIFE
It was great emotional moment meeting a person who happened to be an ace aviator from the Indian Air Force almost two decades ago. Yes, I am talking about a young man who used to fly a supersonic jet in the Indian Air Force from one of the forward airbases. Awarded the Best Air Force cadet at the National Defence Academy (NDA) and the best student of aerobatics at the Air Force Academy , Kumar was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in 1984. Barely at the age of 21 years, he suffered a major cervical injury in a road traffic accident leading him to lead a life of paraplegic (totally paralyzed below neck), which is to be seen to believe.
As a young pilot with his keen ability to fly an incredible machine, he was amongst few who were inducted to then newly commissioned supersonic MiG fighter jets frontline squadron. With his sharp reflexes & memory he was very much familiar with his flying machine & airbase’s every nook and corner; however this ability of his could not save him from what was fated on that unfortunate night when he was returning to Pathankot Airbase after a week’s detachment to a different air station from a night sortie. He was totally unaware of newly constructed sentry barrier on the road with no sign posts. He never knew that he was heading for a major disaster which will make him airborne to chair-borne for rest of his life.
After securing the aircraft in the parking bay, while driving back towards his mess, he was facing poor visibility perse unexpected rain & thunder which had narrowed his focus within the restricted field of vision more on the near ground than at a distance. The confident Kumar was maintaining his speed on the slippery road with multiple bends. All of sudden he saw something newly constructed on the familiar airbase road not to his recent memory, was a manned sentry barrier with no chance of getting through at that speed and moment. He knew he would hit it hard to die only but with survival instinct he took a chance to maneuver with closed sentry barrier on his bike and consequently he bent down maximally to negotiate himself through the restricted space available below the barrier arm. This was not the end of it; to give Anil more clearance the duty sentry rushed to hook off the barrier arm in good faith by lowering it further down to release it free to the officer. This act of sentry was not seen and calculated by this youngster, which led to massive impact on his head at the speed. With a thud next moment there was silence; the engine of the motor bike had stopped and an unconscious tall man was lying in his flying overall on the ground bleeding from his head & ears through the crushed helmet. He was taken to the hospital by the duty sentry in the same state and subsequently to various hospitals from Pathankot, Delhi where he underwent cervical spinal surgeries and many reconstructive surgeries for bedsores. He was finally shifted to Paraplegic Home for rehabilitation at Kirkee, Maharashtra to live rest of his life rather than going home to Trivandrum .
The fighter pilot continued his endless efforts to maintain his inner tranquility despite of many extreme swings of depression. One day in 1993, Kumar picked up his calligraphic pen in his mouth and wrote five impeccable pages on how he realized his dream of becoming a fighter pilot, and then saw it shatter because of a silly accident. A touching article, it was included in the English textbook for Xth standard of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Education since 1995. For many schools, a visit to the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre is now a part of the curriculum. The students of Xth class visit the centre every year. "It was to reaffirm my faith in myself that I decided to learn to write holding a pen in my mouth," says Anil Kumar. "Initially, my scribbles were illegible but I eventually perfected the art. Now, thanks to Wing Commander Murlidharan, I use a computer with a vertical keyboard that I can operate with a pencil," he adds. God bless Anil & people like him..............................Ranjan |
Niva, kross1, cdrgirish, ramthakur has marked this note useful
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- Niva
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 973 W: 0 N: 608]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(7161) - [2008-06-06 18:42]
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Emotional ! A brave man ... a hero indeed!
A curious note and photo, Ranjan.
TFS.
Nivaldo
A tragic and yet a inspiriing story of the young man. Thanks for writing the story. The photo has captured the essence of his small world. Thanks for writing the story Subash.
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- kross1
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 513 W: 11 N: 812]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(3216) - [2008-06-06 21:24]
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Great capture of this fine man. A motivating story.
Regards,
Kevin
Hello Subhash,
Thanks for leading me to this heart-touching episode from a brave man's life you have brought to light through this picture and the note with it.
Kumar has suffered all these years through an ironic quirk of destiny. Who could imagine a MIG flyer would be turned into a hapless ivalid after a ridiculous mishap on the ground?
My heart goes time and again to this brave-heart who has brought some meaning into his life through grit and determination.
May God keep on giving him strength to lead the rest of his life with a degree of success and satisfaction -- no matter how small.
Thanks again.
Ram
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 78 W: 77 N: 154]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-g-g.gif){kind=small}
![Gold Star Critiquer [C: 67 W: 4 N: 9]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-n-n.gif){kind=small}
Dr.Subash ranjan has paid rich tributes to a great guy by putting up the photo and the story line. Anil should be an inspiration to many who fumble and frustrate when faced with much smaller obstacles in our day today life. Salute to Anil, Thanks to Ranjan..........Girish