Thursday, March 17, 2016

Kalpana Chawala

Today is the birth anniversary of Kalpana Chawla.
‘किस्मत की खूबी देखिये टूटी कहाँ कमंद,
दो चार हाथ जब कि लबेबाम रह गया’
was the Urdu couplet our English teacher in Class IX used to recite along with its English version “there is many a slip between the cup and the lip.”
This was the first thing that came to my mind on the 1st of February, 2003 as after waiting with baited breath , I along with millions all over the world was glued to the TV screen to watch the return journey of Space Shuttle Columbia used in the NASA space venture, heard the sad news that the Space Shuttle had met with a disaster just a few minutes before it was to complete its 28th mission, killing all the seven crew members aboard including Indian American astronaut Kalpana Chawla.This sent shock waves the world over and in India particularly because of her.She was also the first Indian woman astronaut.
Our humble tributes !