CHANDIGARH: “Don’t lose hope in life under any circumstances.” Prophetic words from Group Captain Varun Singh, lone survivor of Wednesday’s helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor that killed CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 more people. Singh wrote this in an inspirational letter three months ago to his alma mater, Army Public School, Chandimandir, a cantonment near Chandigarh.
Singh is critical and undergoing treatment in a military hospital, Bangalore.
In the four-page letter addressed to the school principal, Singh said he was an average student, barely scoring first division in Class XII. He said he was average in sports and other co-curricular activities.
Exhorting students to “never lose hope”, he said: “I was mediocre and today, I have reached difficult milestones in my career. Do not think that Class XII board marks decide what you are capable of achieving in life. Believe in yourself, work towards it,” he wrote, informing about the award he won—Shaurya Chakra, the third highest peacetime gallantry award, for critical landing of light combat aircraft Tejas in an air emergency.
“You may be mediocre in school, but it’s by no means a measure of things to come in life. Find your calling, it could be art, music, graphic design, literature etc. Whatever you work towards, be dedicated, do your best. Never go to bed thinking I could have put in more effort,” he wrote. He said he didn’t excel either in studies or sport in NDA, but found his wings in Air Force Academy. “My passion for aviation gave me an edge over my peers”, but lacked confidence, he said. “After commissioning as a young Flight Lieutenant in a fighter squadron, I realised that I could do well if I put my mind and heart to it…(and then) things started to turn around in my professional and personal life…”
Singh wrote that he would be deeply humbled if some part of this story is shared with children.“If I am able to inspire even one child to believe him/her in himself/herself, I would have achieved my objective,” he signed off.
Singh is critical and undergoing treatment in a military hospital, Bangalore.
In the four-page letter addressed to the school principal, Singh said he was an average student, barely scoring first division in Class XII. He said he was average in sports and other co-curricular activities.
Exhorting students to “never lose hope”, he said: “I was mediocre and today, I have reached difficult milestones in my career. Do not think that Class XII board marks decide what you are capable of achieving in life. Believe in yourself, work towards it,” he wrote, informing about the award he won—Shaurya Chakra, the third highest peacetime gallantry award, for critical landing of light combat aircraft Tejas in an air emergency.
“You may be mediocre in school, but it’s by no means a measure of things to come in life. Find your calling, it could be art, music, graphic design, literature etc. Whatever you work towards, be dedicated, do your best. Never go to bed thinking I could have put in more effort,” he wrote. He said he didn’t excel either in studies or sport in NDA, but found his wings in Air Force Academy. “My passion for aviation gave me an edge over my peers”, but lacked confidence, he said. “After commissioning as a young Flight Lieutenant in a fighter squadron, I realised that I could do well if I put my mind and heart to it…(and then) things started to turn around in my professional and personal life…”
Singh wrote that he would be deeply humbled if some part of this story is shared with children.“If I am able to inspire even one child to believe him/her in himself/herself, I would have achieved my objective,” he signed off.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’, ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’); fbq(‘init’, ‘593671331875494’); fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
More News
Number of tests by 2 private labs at Mohalla clinics sees 80% dip since ACB report | India News – Times of India
Adhir Chowdhury Reveals Why Congress Attacks Adani-Ambani; BJP Hits Back
Murder convict gets furlough, victim’s kin move Supreme Court | India News – Times of India