ID :
138821
Mon, 08/23/2010 - 02:14
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/138821
The shortlink copeid
Woman BASE jumper aims to dive off Mt Everest
Philem Dipak Singh
New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) There is no dearth of people
aiming to climb up the Mount Everest but an Indian woman BASE
jumper wants to dive off the world's highest mountain to raise
awareness about social evils like female foeticide.
Northern state Chandigarh-based homemaker Archana Sardana
claims that she is India's lone woman BASE jumper. The
38-year-old says she wants to show the world that Indian women
are second to none and empower them to fight social evils like
female foeticide.
"It is a myth that women cannot take up extreme adventure
sports because of physical reasons," she said.
"To the outside world, I want to show that Indian women
are second to none and at home, I want to send the message to
the women of the country that they can do anything men do. So
they should not tolerate any injustice," asserted Archana.
Archana plans to skydive down the Mount Everest on
November 19, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Birthday.
"Skydiving as an adventure sport is in nascent stage in
India. Very elementary training facilities are available in
certain places and that too for static line jumps. Organised
skydiving training facilities are available in the country for
defence forces skydiving team only," she says.
"You have to go to United States to be a BASE jumper.
Only there you get formal training. BASE jumping involves
jumping from buildings, antennae, spans and bridges. In USA,
they call it earth instead of bridge. It is done with a single
parachute (no reserve parachute as in case of skydiving) and
very little time to react for emergencies. The free-falls last
for a couple of seconds, after that it is a question of how
you fly your canopy. It is definitely far more exciting than
skydiving and infinitely riskier. In fact it is daredevilry,"
explains Archana.
"My riskiest and the proudest achievement so far is the
free fall from the Perris Valley in California, USA. I did
that with my body wrapped with Indian tri colour. I was
allowed to do that after completing 200 jumps and qualifying
for 'Flag Jumps'. It required a minimum of 200 skydives to
qualify for the Flag Jump. In July, I completed my 25th BASE
jump from a 400ft high bridge in Utah, USA," she says.
Her interest in adventure sports began only after
marriage 12 years ago and she was influenced by her husband
Commander Rajiv Sardana, a submariner in the Indian Navy.
"It involved rigorous training of 16-20 weeks in USA done
in three phases for proper assimilation. Also I made an
expenditure of Rs 15 lakh for training visits to USA. I have
had to sell my wedding jewellery, car and whatever I have. I
had to dig into the my husband's savings. All along, my
husband, parents and family have been supporting me in my
endeavour," says Archana, a 'C' license holder from the United
States Parachute Association.
Archana, a science graduate and a diploma holder in
interior designing, did her Adventure, Basic and Advanced
Mountaineering courses from the Himalayan Mountaineering
Institute, Darjeeling and Nehru Institute of Mountaineering,
Uttarkashi.
She later did a course in Accelerated Free-fall Training
at the Perris Valley Skydiving School in California in 2007.
"Skydiving is unconventional only in India. I my last
trip to USA, I witnessed a large number of American women
'Jump for Cause' (to awareness for breast cancer) jumping to
make a world record formation in the year.
"My vision for Indian women is to break the glass ceiling
and achieve greater heights to prove to the world that Indian
women are second to none. My mission is to create awareness
about the social evil of female infanticide," says the mother
of two, school-going children, 10-year-old Parav and
8-year-old Ayush.
"I am now preparing for skydiving on the the highest drop
zone on Mt Everest with the Indian tricolour. It will be like
flying up the Mt Everest and drop down with a single parachute
on the highest drop zone. This I want to do on Indira Gandhi's
birthday and I have to take permission from the Nepal
government," she says.
"I am also planning to jump down the Pitampura Tower in
North-West Delhi. I am in the process of taking permission
from the authorities for that." PTI PDS
RBT
New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) There is no dearth of people
aiming to climb up the Mount Everest but an Indian woman BASE
jumper wants to dive off the world's highest mountain to raise
awareness about social evils like female foeticide.
Northern state Chandigarh-based homemaker Archana Sardana
claims that she is India's lone woman BASE jumper. The
38-year-old says she wants to show the world that Indian women
are second to none and empower them to fight social evils like
female foeticide.
"It is a myth that women cannot take up extreme adventure
sports because of physical reasons," she said.
"To the outside world, I want to show that Indian women
are second to none and at home, I want to send the message to
the women of the country that they can do anything men do. So
they should not tolerate any injustice," asserted Archana.
Archana plans to skydive down the Mount Everest on
November 19, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Birthday.
"Skydiving as an adventure sport is in nascent stage in
India. Very elementary training facilities are available in
certain places and that too for static line jumps. Organised
skydiving training facilities are available in the country for
defence forces skydiving team only," she says.
"You have to go to United States to be a BASE jumper.
Only there you get formal training. BASE jumping involves
jumping from buildings, antennae, spans and bridges. In USA,
they call it earth instead of bridge. It is done with a single
parachute (no reserve parachute as in case of skydiving) and
very little time to react for emergencies. The free-falls last
for a couple of seconds, after that it is a question of how
you fly your canopy. It is definitely far more exciting than
skydiving and infinitely riskier. In fact it is daredevilry,"
explains Archana.
"My riskiest and the proudest achievement so far is the
free fall from the Perris Valley in California, USA. I did
that with my body wrapped with Indian tri colour. I was
allowed to do that after completing 200 jumps and qualifying
for 'Flag Jumps'. It required a minimum of 200 skydives to
qualify for the Flag Jump. In July, I completed my 25th BASE
jump from a 400ft high bridge in Utah, USA," she says.
Her interest in adventure sports began only after
marriage 12 years ago and she was influenced by her husband
Commander Rajiv Sardana, a submariner in the Indian Navy.
"It involved rigorous training of 16-20 weeks in USA done
in three phases for proper assimilation. Also I made an
expenditure of Rs 15 lakh for training visits to USA. I have
had to sell my wedding jewellery, car and whatever I have. I
had to dig into the my husband's savings. All along, my
husband, parents and family have been supporting me in my
endeavour," says Archana, a 'C' license holder from the United
States Parachute Association.
Archana, a science graduate and a diploma holder in
interior designing, did her Adventure, Basic and Advanced
Mountaineering courses from the Himalayan Mountaineering
Institute, Darjeeling and Nehru Institute of Mountaineering,
Uttarkashi.
She later did a course in Accelerated Free-fall Training
at the Perris Valley Skydiving School in California in 2007.
"Skydiving is unconventional only in India. I my last
trip to USA, I witnessed a large number of American women
'Jump for Cause' (to awareness for breast cancer) jumping to
make a world record formation in the year.
"My vision for Indian women is to break the glass ceiling
and achieve greater heights to prove to the world that Indian
women are second to none. My mission is to create awareness
about the social evil of female infanticide," says the mother
of two, school-going children, 10-year-old Parav and
8-year-old Ayush.
"I am now preparing for skydiving on the the highest drop
zone on Mt Everest with the Indian tricolour. It will be like
flying up the Mt Everest and drop down with a single parachute
on the highest drop zone. This I want to do on Indira Gandhi's
birthday and I have to take permission from the Nepal
government," she says.
"I am also planning to jump down the Pitampura Tower in
North-West Delhi. I am in the process of taking permission
from the authorities for that." PTI PDS
RBT
