First jump is like first love, exciting and exhilarating: Capt (Retd) Sharma

It was the second time in two months that Capt Sharma was being felicitated by President Ram Nath Kovind. But, this time, it was at the golden jubilee of her alma mater, MCM DAV College, Sector 36, on Wednesday. “This college has contributed a lot to what I am today. The then principal, Sneh Mahajan, was an inspiration. Studying here, living in hostel made me a confident and ambitious individual,” says Sharma.

Praising the arrangement for the President’s visit, she adds that MCM DAV College is known for its well-organised and disciplined outlook and sets an example for students through such events. The Captain, who shattered the glass ceiling a long time back by joining the elite paratroopers, was a science student here from the 1995 batch. “The first batch of woman officers, besides doctors, had just been commissioned into the Army when I left college. Many of my seniors had joined the IAS. I wanted to be a brain surgeon, but didn’t study hard enough for it,” she says.

Sharma was commissioned into the Army Ordnance Corps in 1996 and did her first jump in 1997. She explains how the Army has paratroopers in the adventure cell, but they, operational paratroopers, underwent intensive and rigid training during probation.

“First, you have to volunteer to become a para and then you have to pass the probation period, akin to the infantry’s commando training, to earn the maroon beret. There’s a saying among the paras, ‘Men apart, every man an emperor’,” she says, adding that it is a tough life where they test your optimum performance under duress.

Married to an army officer, Capt Sharma has a 16-year-old daughter, Varija. “My daughter often asks me if it is difficult to lead the jawans. But, I tell her that all they need is an officer worth their salt to lead them. My daughter wants to serve her country, but she feels she’ll be more useful as a civil servant or a politician, the latter scares me no end,” laughs Capt Sharma.

Talking of politicians, Capt Sharma says every ruling government has used the armed forces for their personal discourse. “I don’t question the government. In the Army, we are apolitical, but it is important for each government to instil faith and respect in the citizens towards the armed forces.”

Her message to the students of MCM DAV College and women at large is that we should stick together and help each other out. “One woman can help another only if she’s empowered. Our qualities of compassion, passion, fighter’s spirit, ambition and empathy will make us stronger if we band together,” says Sharma.