Akanksha says her mother helped her choose this as a career and gave her the initial lessons in grooming.

Priyanka’s mother says her daughter’s success has more than compensated for her inability to become an airhostess: a dream she had harboured in youth.

“I wanted to become an airhostess but those were difficult times for a village girl to think big. I suppressed my dream but couldn’t kill it. Today, I am on cloud nine seeing my daughter’s success,” says Suman Lata Joshi, Priyanka’s mother.

Priyanka’s father, Rakesh Joshi, works as a junior telecom officer with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.

Priyanka, 19, was raised in Bara Pind village near Gurayan, which falls under Jalandhar’s Phillaur subdivision.

“I didn’t study in an English medium school. I was an introvert and would find it difficult to converse with people. But I was determined to fulfil my mother’s dream and spent hours either speaking in front of the mirror or with my grandmother, who encouraged me to talk to her though she didn’t understand a word of English,” says Priyanka Joshi.

Priyanka says she had to travel two hours from her village every day to reach her institute in Ludhiana.

Says Savita Chadha, centre head at Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training, Mall Road, Ludhiana, “I still remember the day she kept standing outside my room for more than 15 minutes gathering courage to speak to me. But all that is history. She is all set to join Kingfisher Airways in Mumbai now”.

Akanksha, too, credits her parents and the institute for her success.

“My parents have supported me all through the last one year. Initially, I was confused about my career but my mother guided me. I was a reserved girl and lacked the will power and confidence to become an air hostess. But my determination and the lessons I got at the institute paved the way for this journey in air,” says Akanksha.