Nothing personal: 2 pilot couples attend call of duty

SQUADRON Leaders S K Pradhan and Khushboo Gupta fly long hours through the day,negotiating the treacherous terrain and fickle weather to rescue the stranded people in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand. It is only in the evening that the two IAF pilots — married for the past four years — get time to catch up. But they are not complaining.

They say they are here to do their job of saving precious lives,and keep a vow with the IAF.

The Squadron Leaders are among the two IAF couples involved in the rescue operations in the flood-affected areas of the state. The other couple — Squadron Leader Vikram Thiagaraman and Flight Lieutenant Tanya Srinivas — got married only last year.

Together,they have have flown more than 100 hours so far to rescue stranded men,women and children amidst the tragedy unfolding in the devastated areas. While the husbands fly the heavy lift Mi-17 choppers,the wives pilot the Cheetahs. This is the first first time that the two pilot couples are operating together for a similar task.

“Well the only thing probably that makes us special is that we have the most important vow to keep with the IAF. We never thought we would be together on this mission,” Pradhan said just as his wife was readying for a sortie to Rudraprayag.

Flight Lieutenant Tanya Srinivas said she was eager to being a part of the rescue operations. “It was so nice when I found I was also coming for the operation. But we have been trained to keep work and personal life apart. That keeps us taking to the skies comfortably,” Srinivas,who met her husband in the IAF,said.

Every time her husband takes to the air,and she is not engaged in an operational briefing,Srinivas makes sure she gives him a ‘thumbs up’.

While Pradhan is “comfortable and confident” even when his wife flies through dangerous terrains,Thiagaraman said he just wishes his better half good luck as he knows she is a top notch pilot.