SARLA THUKRAL, artist, painter, jewellery and saree designer and one of India's first female pilots.
Her words:
Life can be very harsh and cruel but one has to look for the pearls among the pebbles. I was married early, learnt to fly a plane, became a widow (at a young age), struggled as a single mother then remarried.
But when I look back all I can see is a sharp learning curve that went higher and higher, giving me an opportunity to tap into my inner strengths and make me what I am today. I was able to break moulds and set trends.
I was born on August 8, 1914, just when the First World War began. We lived in Ajmer (northern India) and I went to the Government Central School for girls. I was the firstborn and studied up to the ninth grade.
At 16, as was the tradition then, I was married off to Prabhudatt Sharma, who belonged to a distinguished family from Lahore, all of whom loved flying.
Sharma was undergoing flight training in Delhi at the time. He was part of the first batch that graduated from the Delhi Flying Club and was the first airmail pilot to carry postal mail between Delhi and Karachi.
My father-in-law, Pandit Moolchand Sharma, inspired me to take up flying. I was 22 when he got me enrolled as a trainee at the Northern India Flying Club.
My instructor, Timmy Dastur, told me to be gentle and patient, and to handle the machine "as you would your spouse". I took his advice seriously.
(The first aircraft I flew) was a two-seater Gypsy moth. Eventually I did 9 hours and 10 minutes of dual flight and cleared my examination where I had to take off, trace the figure 8 in (the) air and land. Now I was ready for my first solo flight.
Gaining my solo flying licence was a memorable moment.
(Getting a licence) for solo flying was an amazing feat for women in Lahore and I was the first lady in that region to fly. I bagged many awards as tokens of recognition. The next lady to get a solo licence was Imtiaz Ali Taj and she took 100 flying hours to qualify.
Once, I set off on a solo flight and went a little (further) than planned. However, when I turned around, I realised I had lost my way. (Eventually,) I saw the aerodrome in the distance but then realised that I was low on fuel.
I had to make a forced landing in the fields (but) I managed to land safely.
My husband and my instructor saw the entire drama and later my instructor said he was very proud of me. He said I (made) the forced landing smoothly, like a professional.
And then tragedy struck ?
? in the most dramatic manner. My husband and his brother, both pilots, met with accidents in two separate air crashes on the same day at almost the same time.
On February 23, 1939, my husband was flying an important US dignitary from Delhi to Karachi, while his brother, Brahmadutt, was transporting the senior secondary examination results from Karachi to Lahore when both met with accidents.
Neither survived. My brother-in-law was a bachelor.
Here I was, in my early twenties, with two daughters who were aged 1 and 6 at the time. I accepted my fate and braced myself to be a single mother.
Many people advised me to adopt a son, but I told them my daughters were like my sons. That is how I brought up my daughters.
I decided to become a commercial pilot.
I moved to Jodhpur and joined the flying club there. But for some reason, civil flights were suspended.
I was always fond of arts so I joined the Mayo School of Arts in Lahore, where I completed a four-year course in the fine arts. I learnt the art of doing wash paintings with watercolours, which was taught in the Bengal School of Art tradition.
My mother came to live with me and she helped me a lot. Then I took up a job in Alwar, Rajasthan, as a personal pilot to (the royalty) of Alwar.
That lasted six months.
I settled in Delhi and made a living stitching clothes. I earned Rs4 (less than a dirham) a day and things were tough. I couldn't (send) my 10-year-old daughter to school because I couldn't afford it.
The school fee was Rs7 a month!
Things got better later and I managed to (give my children a good education). I later enrolled at Miranda House, Delhi, to complete my bachelor of arts and bachelor of education degrees.
(I had also started designing jewellery at the time) and I began doing handcrafted costume jewellery for the Cottage Industries Emporium.
I had 25 craftsmen working on my designs and the cream of Delhi's social circuit wore jewellery designed by me. I loved my work.
I remarried in 1948.
My second husband, R. P. Thukral, was a colleague of my son-in-law. He proposed to me and I accepted it. He was a fine gentleman, a true father to my girls and a wonderful husband. He died in 1971.
My jewellery designs were doing very well in the market (but I began to look at other avenues where I could use my talents). That is my temperament. I take a thing to its zenith then leave it abruptly.
I once visited Jaipur and was enamoured by the Sanganeri block prints. I then decided to branch out into textile printing. I got a contract to do block printing for Finlay sarees and did that for nearly 20 years.
I travelled to villages near Jaipur, handpicked craftsmen, brought them to my workshop in Delhi where we printed sarees. I would do nine sarees a day and they became quite a rage on the Delhi fashion circuit.
Well-known socialites and politicians such as Vijayalakshmi Pandit and Mrs Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (wife of the former president of India) would come to my workshop to choose sarees.
I have lived a full life and still believe in living (life) to the fullest. I have had no dull moments in my life and the word 'bored' does not exist in my dictionary.
Now I am 91. I live alone in my bungalow (in India), but I'm not lonely. I have wonderful memories of the days gone by.
I have travelled widely and have many friends. I love work and am never tired. I like to keep busy with work, painting, designing, cooking and stitching.
I have rented out (part of) my home to female European paying guests who come to India to learn the fine arts and performing arts, as I live very close to those centres in Delhi. I have a good time cooking for them and chatting.
I am proud to have flown airplanes and done things that most other women of my age may not have done. I believe in being original and that is the inspiration for my paintings that I still do.
