Martyr’s widow to youngest cadet, grit and passion on display at OTA
The completion of training saw many stories of grit, passion and tales of surmounting challenges as seen in the case of one jawan trained as a civil engineer hailing from an agrarian family.
Cadets at OTA in Chennai
CHENNAI: In a poignant story, the widow of an IAF aviator, who died along with India’s first CDS General Bipin Rawat in a chopper crash in the Nilgiris, was commissioned into the Indian Army on Saturday at a function held at Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai.
The completion of training saw many stories of grit, passion and tales of surmounting challenges as seen in the case of one jawan trained as a civil engineer hailing from an agrarian family.
Cadets performing stunts at the passing out event conducted at OTA in Chennai
Scores of cadets who underwent gruelling training at the OTA included Shauryan Thapa, who is the sixth generation member of his family to don the Army uniform, especially the youngest (21 years) candidate in the academy. He was awarded the OTA gold medal at the passing out parade today as the best performing cadet among the 184 officers. Shauryan would join his father Col Mohit Thapa in serving the 7/8 Gorkha Rifles.
Yashwini Dhaka, daughter of an Army man, widowed with the death of Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, a pilot of the Indian Air Force’s helicopter, who died on duty flying Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat to the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Udhagamandalam in 2017, when the aircraft crashed. She surmounted what was in store for her and four years later passed out of the OTA as an Army officer.
This tragedy altered the life of Yashwini and she chose to don the olive green uniform. “Conventionally, the OTA intake is for those aged 21 and 27. This Veer Nari had to get acclimatised to an all new life while keeping up with her batch mates much younger than her,” a release from the OTA said. Recovering from her personal loss, she became an Army officer to make her husband proud.
In the case of Saranya M, hailing from an agrarian family in Tamil Nadu’s Erode district, a career in the Indian Army seemed to fascinate her. This civil engineer and also the first graduate in her family spurned her job in an IT firm and opted to train at the OTA and become a commissioned officer.
