The Hindu Business Line : There's pride in this fall

Everester Bachendri Pal and Antarctica explorer Kanwal Vilku are daring Indian women who have captured the nation's imagination. There is yet another intrepid lady who combines the skills of both.

For India's first and only civilian woman skydiver Rachel Thomas, who was honoured with a Padma Shri this year, it has been 25 years of `flying like a bird and swooping down like a vulture.' "Skydiving is a sophisticated form of parachuting. In normal parachuting one jumps from around 1,000 ft but in skydiving the minimum jump begins from 5,000 ft," says Rachel, who has dived from aircraft ranging from AN-32s to Otters.

At 23, Rachel enrolled for a skydiving course at the Indian Skydiving Federation in Agra. She remembers the initial fear that gripped her when she went for her first jump. "Once I was outfitted I headed toward the jump altitude. I was told to step into the jump bar, hold on to the wing strut and wait for the signal when the pilot would cut back on the throttle and minimise turbulence."

But when the signal came, she panicked. This happened twice more. "It was only after the instructor pushed me out of the aircraft that I overcame the fear of flying. The training was excellent. It created the right frame of mind and (taught me) how to deal with emergencies," she recalls.

"Modern parachutes are square, not round. The design allows the diver to control direction, and manoeuvring is not difficult once the person has dealt with the somewhat irrational fear," says Rachel, whose other claim to fame is her daughter Anne Thomas, the Miss India-World 1998.

Till date, Rachel has completed a record 670 jumps. "The passion and the thrill are immeasurable. At one point, I even stopped thinking that I was leaving behind two children to participate in a potentially dangerous adventure sport," she laughs.

Rachel has had a number of unforgettable experiences, but three stand out. She remembers with pride the first time she was part of a circle in the air. The second was her jump at the Seoul Olympic Stadium in 1987, a year before the Olympics.

The third was the most memorable. It was a jump at the North Pole with the temperature hovering around minus 55 degree Celsius. Rachel was part of the International Complex Arctic Expedition that travels to the North Pole once in two years. In 2002 it was the first time that fun events like scuba diving and skydiving were included.

Rachel wore six layers of clothes and dived from 8,000 ft. "It was my most adrenalin-pumping attempt ever. I was mesmerised at the sheer beauty and the vastness that, in ecstasy, I even removed the sunglasses that are a must to protect the eyes from the sun's reflected glare in the snow. Luckily I didn't damage my eyesight," she reminiscences.

A senior publicity officer in Northern Railways, Rachel knows the downside of the sport as well. Like many skydiving enthusiasts, she too has had near-fatal experiences. The first brush with death came in Australia when her chute did not open and the reserve chute opened only in the nick of time to save her from a free fall.

The second was in Turkey in 1987 when she was preparing for a competition to be held in Indonesia. She had injured her shin the previous evening but was still going to attempt a practice jump from 3,000 ft. When she opened her chute she crouched to protect herself — a normal reflex action — but she accidentally hit the button that opened the reserve chute.

"In such a situation, the rulebook says that the reserve goes between legs but I didn't want to injure my shin further. In that split second I decided to cut away my main parachute. That was a wrong decision. Because of the jerk, the reserve chute was pulled towards my main parachute and both got entangled. That's when I said my prayers." Luckily for her she landed in a field and suffered only minor bruises. Had she come down on concrete she might have been paralysed forever.

But the two near-death experiences did not scare her away from the extreme sport. She says they made her bolder. "Death can occur any time, why be scared of it. So I became even more determined and since then I've been participating in numerous shows around the world," says Rachel, who has enthralled people in 15 countries including the US, Australia, Seoul and Turkey.

She possesses all four diving licences — A, B, C and D. Licence A is awarded after 10 free falls and Licence B after a diver becomes adept with manoeuvring techniques. A formation in the air qualifies a diver for Licence C, and Licence D is given to those who are ready to become instructors.

Winner of numerous accolades, including the Air Chief's commendation 1992, Railway Minister's Award 1993, National Adventure Award 1994, the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshni Award 1995 and the Padma Shri this year, Rachel feels the government and the corporate sector should do more for skydiving. "The government must encourage skydiving by making available cheaper flights for the sport. This is a normal practice in the western countries and also in Singapore and Thailand."

But she points out that skydiving is not all fun and games. "It is the hard work, skill and mind control that go into making a champion. But once you have done that you can expect big thrills. Once you are in the air you too become like the birds and the clouds. When you look down you get the awesome view of the world thousands of feet below. It is an unbelievable feeling. Nothing can ever prepare you for it!"

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