Tea seller’s daughter becomes Indian Air Force Officer after topping academy
NEW DELHI/BHOPAL: Fighting all odds and pursuing her dreams with grit and determination, Aanchal Gangwal, the 24-year-old daughter of a tea seller in Madhya Pradesh, recently joined the Indian Air Force as Flying Officer.
She was commissioned into the Indian Air Force (IAF) a few days back, but it was not an easy journey for her as sometimes her father did not even have the money to pay for her education fees.
“Her commissioning was a proud moment for our family, but we could not make it (to the Air Force Academy at Dundigal) to see her due to the Corona virusinduced
restrictions,” her father Suresh Gangwal, who works as a tea-seller at a bus stand in Neemuch district, said.
He said his daughter dreamt of joining the IAF after seeing the bravery of its personnel in helping people during the 2013 Kedarnath tragedy.
It was not easy for Anchal and the family to make her realise this dream, but she was determined, he added.
“She was a bright student and also a basketball player. She first wished to join the Air Force after seeing the IAF personnel helping people during the Kedarnath tragedy.
“And, now her dream has come true,” the proud father said. Slowly, she started collecting information from bookstalls on how she could get into the defence force and started preparing towards it.
“She was determined and got success in the sixth attempt,” he said.
But, it has not been easy for her and her father, who has been selling tea for the past 25 years in Neemuch, located around 400 km from Bhopal.
“One can understand my financial condition. At times, I faced problems with depositing her school or college fee. I had to borrow money from others on many occasions to deposit the fee. Sometimes I had to pretend to be out of town to delay fees deposition,” said Suresh, who has studied till Class X.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan congratulated Anchal Gangwal for making the state proud and extended best wishes to her.