The Path Paved by Wings

“Who cares about the crowded, broad road? I’ll walk the single-plank bridge into the night.”

As a part of the Special Talk series organized by IIT Tirupati, the institute hosted Retd. Air Marshall and Padma Shri Awardee, Dr. Padma Bandopadhyay (PVSM, AVSM, VSM, PHS) in the first week of November 2022. We, the editors at Udaan, had the golden opportunity to hold a small interview with her. With so many insights into her journey from tailoring to medical school and from surgeon to flight surgeon, here is a small article based on this very interesting interview.

Before we dive into the exciting interaction, let us tell you just a little more about her.

Dr. Padma Bandopadhyay is a woman of many firsts. She is the first woman to become a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Society of India and to conduct scientific research at the North Pole. Talk about something you’d only dream of experiencing! Dr. Padma is also the first woman armed forces officer to have completed the Defence Services Staff College course and was the Director of General Medical Services (Air) at the Air Headquarters. In 2002, she became the first woman to be promoted to Air Vice-Marshal (two-star rank) and subsequently the first woman Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force. Bandopadhyay is an aviation medicine specialist and a member of the New York Academy of Sciences. She has received many prestigious awards like Vishisht Seva Medal in 1973, the Indira Priyadarshini award, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2002, and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2006. 

The first question that arises in a youthful mind like ours is where she gets the inspiration to keep on working tirelessly with the same fervor and rigor. “Upar wala ¹! gives you the courage to keep doing it”, she replies. "Family motivation, support, and hard work are the three main pillars that keep one going. Wonders do happen, but every wonder needs hard work", she adds.

Society plays a major role in shaping your dreams. But is it always right to hand over your reins? Society has never been a strong woman confidante. And surely, being the first woman to tweak the then customary traditions, the doctor did receive her fair share of resistance. She explains the several stereotypes that played against her favor:

“It was not uncommon to have lady doctors working in the air force from the civilian side. (But) almost all lady doctors then were either gynecologists or pediatricians. A lady doctor meant either a pediatrician or a gynecologist. Bacche dekho ya bacche banao ²!  One of the two. They don’t consider you as being anything else.”

These stereotypes and societal pressures added more to the already skewed confidence of patriarchically-governed women, she explains.

“This wasn’t because women were not capable; it was the society and the mindset. They didn’t deem us fit to touch other subjects. You won’t believe me when I say that there were ladies qualified from AIIMS who did nothing. They got married and did routine work because their husbands did not want them to work. This also happened. Imagine what they could have done- imagine a topper and what they could have done! Imagine an AIIMS qualified doctor doing nothing. An MS in surgery is not a joke. Toh aise bhi hua hai³! And another problem was the social problem. Ladies don’t go to male doctors. Even if the female doctor is the worst gynecologist, they will go to them. Even today, the situation is not very different.” 

Like everything out there, it takes time to change deep-rooted norms. Whether it is the skewed boys-to-girls ratio in IITs or women hesitating to enter men-dominated fields, she adds:

“If you keep on thinking like that, who is going to do it? Somebody has to do it, right? There was one Lakshmibai, there was one Ahilyabai Holkar. There cannot be just one, there has to be more than one! Somebody has to tread the path. I am not saying it’s going to be easy. The one who is the first one will go through very tough times. It is not easy; it is difficult.”

Things do change with time. Comparing today’s situation to the one at her time, she shares:

“There was no engineering college for girls as well when I passed out. There was only one in Bombay (Mumbai) and that too in chemical engineering. No girls were allowed otherwise as engineering was meant for boys.” A lot has changed, she agrees, as she is interviewed by one of the many girls in an IIT today.

Dr. Padma Bandopadhyay feels wonderful coming to Tirupati, it being her birthplace. Being a mother to two kids, both being IITians, she feels she resonates more with the IIT culture.

“This IIT at this point of time, though it does not have many buildings; has wonderful equipment. I don’t know much technically; but these things are not seen there (in older IITs). Once all the buildings come up, this will be the best IIT out there. Today it is coming up but it will take time. Nothing happens in a day.”

Commenting further on her vision for IIT Tirupati, she says:

“…within a decade, it will be one of the best. No, not one of them, but the best. It is very, very beautiful. And its location is also very beautiful. I am very sure of these things.”

Apart from being a pioneer in many fields, Dr. Bandopadhyay is also a source of inspiration. She explains her reason behind writing her book:

“I don’t know how to write a book! My husband suggested that I write something as an inspiration to girls. After two years, I started writing the book. Not for me or for others. Many of us are not in good situations. I thought, ‘Let me show you the way. If I can do it, then so can others.’  Thinking that usne kiya ya isne kiya doesn’t matter⁴. Thinking that, ‘I will do it!’ matters. If help comes, take it. But don’t depend on it.”

She has seen medicine, the army, the country, and the multitude of cultures packed within its borders. Incorporating others' cultures needs an open mind and an accepting attitude.

“First, leave the idea that you are the best. The problem with Indians is that he will say, ‘I am the best’, and she will say, ‘I am the best’. We all have pluses and minuses. This has to be wholeheartedly accepted. Har ek culture mein kuch na kuch galtiyaan hai. Kuch improvement chahiye⁵. If you do that, then it becomes very easy to adapt. Our mindsets should change; you have to take pride in all languages. Each culture has something unique and wonderful to give.“

Looking back, Dr. Padma has some advice for her younger self and younger minds back then. The essence of it is making lifelong friends, developing a passion and never saying it’s over.

“Sirf kaam karke pagal ho jaoge⁶!! Develop a passion to relax and release your tension. There is a lot of competition. And a lot of tension. If you don’t get friends, make friends with seniors. Learn a thing or two from them. You can’t share everything with your parents or teachers; you can share some things only with friends. Andar ka jo keeda ho wo sirf friends ke saath bahar nikal sakta hai.⁷! Make good friends with whom you can talk freely. Learn and move ahead. You must try again and again. Do something that is great till the last moment of your breath. And at my age, do service.” She smiles.

Being a fauji, she strongly believes that everyone should feel Indian first.

“Feel Indian! Unless you do that, nothing will happen. The forming of groups must stop. He is a Hindi bolne wala⁸ or a Marathi bolne wala. Doesn’t matter. Stop this! This is what I want all of you to do. Be proud of your language but don’t try to impose it on others. We are all very intellectual people; we should inculcate this quality in us.”

She concludes with a vision, which she leaves for us to attain:

You people should be the best! You are the country's future!

A special thank you goes out to Krithi and Sathya for conducting the interview.