She's trained 'over 20,000 Indian soldiers from every elite force - that too, without any compensation.
Highlights
- The woman's story was shared on the Humans of Bombay Facebook page
- A doctor by qualification, she always wanted to serve the country
- She's trained over 20,000 Indian soldiers from every elite force
In case you need some inspiration, not just to make it through yet another Monday (or the week that'll follow it) but also through life in general, look no further than this Mumbai woman who became India's first woman commando trainer though sheer determination. Her story, shared on the Humans of Bombay Facebook page, has touched a chord with several already, with over 12,000 reactions and more than 1,200 shares since being posted some 17 hours ago.
A doctor by qualification, the unnamed woman always wanted to serve the country like her father, who was a freedom fighter. Her dreams began turning into a reality when she met the man who would be her husband at 18. Their parents disapproved of their relationship, so they set out on their own.
"He knew that I wanted to empower myself and do something for the country so as a stepping stone, he began to train me in martial arts," she says on Facebook. They'd work through the day and train all night until dawn. She was determined to become a commando trainer so worked even harder to reach her goal.
Things changed when she and her husband bumped into a group of army personnel in Pune one morning. "We approached them, told them who we were and asked them if they would like us to demonstrate our form of training and they agreed," she says. "Since then, we haven't looked back. We began to train army personnel all over the country and I became India's first woman commander (sic) trainer."
Now, 20 years later, this bad-ass woman has trained "over 20,000 Indian soldiers from every elite force including the NSG BlackCats, IAF Guards, Indian Navy Marcos, BSF and many more" - that too, without any compensation. She was even called in to train the police in 16 cities after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
"I spent most of my youth in freezing high altitudes, scorching hot deserts, dense jungles and hostile LOCs and I loved every minute of it," she says.
Things were even hard on a personal and financial front but nothing deterred her. She even talks about how she and her husband adopted their daughter. "I was at the peak of my career and I didn't even want to stop for a second, so this way we could balance our work and the child without having to give anything up," she says. "We adopted our little girl, who is now a doctor and what can I say...she makes us proud every single day."
And if you think this woman couldn't be more inspiring, read her post in its entirety to know her thoughts on what equality reality means. You'll be left amazed, we promise.