A ride in the clouds

Geeta had a strong desire to become a pilot even at that young age, and to that end was ready even for a crash. 8220;I think that it is largely due to my father8217;s encouragement that I could become a pilot. When he noticed my love for them he bought me a book on plane models and kept the planes that I made in a special showcase in his bedroom.8221;

At the age of five Geeta8217;s most urgent need was to be 18 years old because that was when she could learn to fly. Till then she had to feel content with whatever exposure she could get to aviation. 8220;In 1936 the first Indian Air Race was to be held from Delhi to Mumbai. This was a dream come true for me because my friend8217;s cousin G.V Gadgil who participated in this race finished second. 8220;Shortly after the race I met Gadgil when he came to Belgaum where we were staying at the time to visit his uncle. When I met him at my friend8217;s place he asked me if I wanted to learn flying. I said yes8217; but that was the end of our conversation.8221;

Some months later Gadgil who worked as an instructor at the Karachi Flying Club, flew back to Belgaum along with a friend in a Tiger Moth. Says Geeta 8220;When he asked me if I wanted to take a joyride on the plane I was so thrilled. I would actually experience what I had only imagined all these years. 8220;However unknown to me his friend Pardhi had advised Gadgil not to risk the life of the girl he wanted to marry. So Pardhi himself offered to check the Tiger Moth before I was taken for a joyride. That particular aeroplane had a problem and would overshoot the runway upon landing. Although Pardhi took three rounds before landing the plane still overshot the runway and collided against a tin shed. Unfortunately Pardhi who made the mistake of putting his head out to see what the plane had hit had his neck severed in the process. Gadgil ran to the rescue of his friend while my friend and I stayed put. In those days girls did not take the initiative of running to rescue an accident victim.8221;

This horrific accident did not in any way affect Geeta8217;s intense desire to learn flying. 8220;From my childhood days I had conditioned myself to accept this as a part of flying.8221;

Gadgil who later married Geeta promised to teach her flying as soon as she turned 18. As soon as she reached the age that opened the doors of opportunity the first thing her husband, by then a pilot with Tata Airlines did was to complete the paperwork required to obtain a learner8217;s licence.

8220;My husband decided that I should learn flying from the Karachi Flying Club. Before our marriage he had already mentioned my desire to fly to his colleague, William Jones who had agreed to be my instructor.8221;

Learning from Jones meant staying in Karachi for a few months. Though it was not the done thing for an 18 year old lady to live all by herself in the 8217;30s, this posed no problem for Geeta. 8220;My husband rented an apartment for me and in October 1939, I began my training.8221;

Firstly she was required to clear the oral examination.Next came the practicals, a moment she had waited for right from the time she was five years old. 8220;My first lesson was a joyride. I had already flown several times with my husband so I did not find it so exciting.8221; 8220;In those days the cockpit used to be open. The instructor had a set of controls along with the learner. I had to wear a set of earphones. Jones initially told me what he was doing. For instance during the take off one would do so against the wind or that one should turn left after a take off never right. Landing which is quite difficult was taught at the end.8221;

Before she finally got her private flying license, Geeta had to satisfy several conditions. 8220;Flying meant not just taking off, turning and landing, but also being able to do a loop, leafing and so on. Leafing especially is difficult because you have to drop the plane the way a leaf falls, with the aircraft losing 100 feet per second.8221;

On February. 14, 1940, when Geeta finished her training, she was asked by her instructor to fly solo. 8220;Jones asked me to go up take three rounds and land right at the centre of the circle on the airfield while he watched me from the pavilion. When I landed right at the centre as instructed Jones was so thrilled that he ran to the cockpit and hugged me.

Though she was the first Indian woman to become a pilot, Geeta did not feel that hers was a great achievement. 8220;The Karachi Flying Club threw a party in my honour and even presented me with the propeller of the Tiger Moth in which I had trained. To be honest, I did not feel great about being the first Indian woman to fly. To me it was something I had always wanted to learn from my childhood and I did just that.8221;

After obtaining her private flying license, Geeta returned to Mumbai. She did not fly much after that except for an odd flight with the Karachi Flying Club. 8220;My husband had planned to buy a secondhand aircraft so we could both fly around the world. He died in an air crash in 1943. Later Geeta, like the woman of substance she was, tried her hand at leather work, embroidery and even became a stockbroker. 8220;I did all I could to forget the absence of my husband.8221;

But life goes on and in 1948 she married Capt. R.V. Godbole and set up home in Pune. She still retains the same gusto and enthusiasm she had when she learnt to fly the Tiger Moth. She keeps herself active, managing her own financial affairs and in social work.