Sky's the limit

Closeted in the almost reclusive environment of their village, 21-year-old Gayatri Dinker Bhoye and 20-year-old Leena Suresh Kedam had not even dared to dwell on their dreams for too long. Such was the chasm between their ambitions and the life they were living at that time.

But just as the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so it was for these two tribal girls, who decided to take that vital step to realise their ambitions and have not looked back since. Today as they stand at the Pune airport dealing charmingly with clients, it takes nothing less than a pinch to believe that they ever belonged to far-flung tribal areas.

In 2007 when the Maharashtra government chose to sponsor some students from tribal areas for the aviation and hospitality industry under the tutelage of the Air Hostess Academy, Pune, the doors were finally opened for those who had it in them.

“I still remember the day when my friend read an advertisement in the paper where Air Hostess Academy was conducting interviews for tribal students. My friend knew that it was my dream since childhood and gave me the information,” reminisces Bhoye, who was not even aware of the term aviation before she entered the academy. Coming from a tribe called Thanapada in Nasik, she was living a rather cocooned life. “I was out for a whole day without telling my parents and even when I got through the interview my father was mad at me,” she says.

But her strong conviction overcame these hurdles and on April12, 2007 Bhoye along with her parents touched the roads of Pune, with a single-minded focus of becoming an airhostess. “When I came to Pune to join the academy, it was my first visit to the city, my parents and I spent the night on the road,” she says. And now as Bhoye spends most of her life at the airport as a ground staff member with Kingfisher Airlines, she looks back at that night as a turning point. “The fact that I am what I always wanted to be is a huge high,” she says. Her year- long journey of learning to dress up, look good and talk well had its own highs and lows. “Our teachers never gave up on us, we were constantly motivated to get better and better,” she says. And during her Industry Training all her hard work transformed into a job with Deccan Airlines. “They liked my work and gave a me a job of a ground staffer. Now that the airline is merging with Kingfisher, I will be working with them,” she says.

But what she really wants is a flying job. Despite all her and her teachers' efforts this still looks like a far-fetched idea though. “It's a fact that I am a completely reformed person today and all this was possible only because of AHA but I still need to work on my communication skills, I know I can do that too,” she says.

Kedam on the other hand was pursuing a Polytechnic course when her family advised her to appear for the interview. “My family thought I could be an airhostess though we never had the means or the resources,” she says. Always the one to excel at studies and school, Kedam was sure of her capabilities but being an airhostess was not something she thought could ever happen to her. “I was the school captain, I always wanted to do well in studies so when I appeared for the AHA interview I was happy to get through but then I had to leave my studies mid way,” she says. Unaccustomed to either makeup or the high flown English language, Kedam took baby steps and learnt it all. “Personality Development classes gave me a lot of confidence. There were times when I felt lost but then teachers like Uma Nafday encouraged me. I couldn't speak in English at all and now I can express myself with ease,” she says. In fact just recently she took her first ever flight to Delhi for a flying job with Indigo Airlines. “I have appeared in many interviews but some airlines look for five feet three inches tall girls whereas I am five feet two inches. But I am not disheartened for I know something will workout,” she says.

Sapna Gupta, founder- member and director of AHA says that the students can only improve if they take up job assignments. “I tell them to take up a job in any industry because this will be the best way to gain exposure, to improve and then flying too will no longer be just a dream,” she says.

Meanwhile Bela Goel the AGM, corporate communications, AHA, Pune office is more than happy to see them go places. “The main difference between them and other urban students is that these students have that fire in their belly to go all out and do it,” she says. The only hitch in the whole scene is that most of them want to fly. “In one year we did our best and made sure each one of them is good enough to earn his own living, but it’s not always possible to get flying jobs. They need to be eloquent and speak perfect English. All my students can speak in English but they still have their native language influence, which is why we have put them on industrial training at the Pune airport for the time being. They are bound to get a lot of exposure here,” she says.