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Journalism of Courage
The Jagannath Rath Yatra is set to roll again and, alas, it brings to mind war chariots at home and abroad. It also recalls Satyabhama, Krishna8217;s warrior queen, who fought his battles. Satyabhama was both beautiful and daring, a brave fighter who loved flowers, especially the parijat harshringar. Princess Rukmini8217;s meeker style may have won her more brownie points with Krishna. But as a role model, it is Satya whom we count among the panchvama or five ideal women the others are Sita, Savitri, Tara, Mandodari. What is the common quality we celebrate in them? Surely it is their strength of character in keeping their dharma?
I8217;m reminded of my plane-mad brother8217;s childhood heroine, Lilya Litvyak, a Muscovite. It seems she was blonde, grey-eyed and stunningly pretty. She learnt to fly at 14 and served as a fighter pilot in World War II. She outshone her male trainers and perfected a flamboyant low-sweep-and-roll landing manoeuvre that became her signature. Mad about flowers, she painted a white lily on either side of her Yakovlev Yak-18217;s fuselage. She would pick wildflowers to take on sorties and pinned a postcard of yellow roses above her instrument panel. In September 1942, she became the first woman in the world to shoot down enemy aircraft. Having first helped scatter a group of German bombers, she brought down a highly-decorated German ace in a Messerschmitt Bf 109. She became so fearless and accurate that German pilots would scatter when they spotted the Yak-1 with the white lilies coming at them. She completed 168 missions and personally shot down 12 planes, sharing three more kills.
