First woman marine engineer sinks male bastion

Though Sonali is the first woman marine engineer of the country, she is not the first to join the untested waters of the marine engineering course. Says Shyamal Mukherjee, director MERI, quot;In 1949, a woman had enrolled for the course in this institute. But, for some unknown reason, she quit half way.quot; Says Sonali, quot;My stay at the institute taught me a lot about a woman8217;s place in the society. My presence as a student in the campus was not welcome to all, including a section of my fellow students. The fact that I was a girl always haunted the men around me.quot;

But,soon Sonali learnt to overcome the quot;inhibition and the pressurequot;. quot;Gradually, with time, my presence became acceptable,quot; she said.

To start with, she had the advantage of having some of her uncles in the profession, whose tales of the sea and the calling ports engraved in her a desire to take to the profession that would soon give her an opportunity to go around the world.

Sonali successfully took the Indian Institute of Technology IIT entrance test and enrolled for the marine engineering course in 1995.

She recalls: quot;Though students were a bit apprehensive, my teachers were cooperative, and took special care to put me at ease with the physically demanding schedule.quot;

In spite of being open to women, marine engineering has been the domain of men. This is more than evident by the fact that MERI, a premier institute in the field, did not know where to put up their only female student, when she joined in 1995.

After much deliberation, Sonali was given a place in the officers8217; quarters. Two otherwomen, who joined the course after Sonali, have also been accommodated in the officers8217; quarters. The institute authorities are now contemplating building a separate women8217;s hostel, as they expect Sonali8217;s success to attract more girls towards the profession.

More than anything else, Sonali8217;s teachers admire her ability to quot;make the psychological adjustment, necessary to do something pathbreakingquot;.

Says Mukherjee, quot;We must not forget that Sonali8217;s achievement lies as much in her indomitable spirit to overcome conventional opposition as in the ability to break the shackles of physical disadvantage.quot; He explains that the job entails a lot of physical labour, necessary to keep a ship8217;s machinery going. quot;We are happy the institute, whose training is comparable to the best in the world, has added another feather to its cap by producing India8217;s first women marine engineer,quot; says Mukherjee.

Even before she passed out, Sonali had a job offer from Mobil Shipping as a fifth engineer. As for the secret behind hersuccess, Sonali said: quot;I never allowed anybody to make me feel that my femininity is a liability.quot;