“The day I entered the academy, I told myself one thing– ‘There’s no place for fear in this field!’ But the truth is, there’s no scarier place. When you’re in the army, every day is your last – at least that’s what it feels like. There have been so many instances when I was in the middle of a war and thought, ‘I won’t survive.’ And yet, I’d go back for another one. Because being a fauji comes with an acceptance that one day, you might go and not come back… but until then, we have to give it our all!”

Major Prajakta Desai was 8 when she watched the movie Border and decided that she wanted to serve the nation by joining the Indian Army. While one would think that a childhood dream would be forgotten with time, it was not the case with Prajakta…

With determination and her family’s unparalleled support, she not only became an Army Officer but also the first female Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Observer Pilot!

Be it the Pulwama attacks or the Galwan attacks, for Major Prajakta Desai, her country always came first. From taking part in evacuations to rescuing people during air strikes, Major Prajakta Desai was a formidable force!

She knew that someday, she might not return home alive, and she accepted the reality gracefully. Today, she has retired from the Army, but there’s no stopping her as she continues to train young girls and inspires them to join the Army.

In this episode, join us as we take a sneak peek into her experiences as an Army Officer, her days at the Academy, finding her place amidst the male officers and dealing with the tense situation of the retaliation on the Pulwama attacks, amongst other things.

We spoke about:
. Her childhood dream
. Training and punishments at the Academy
. The first time she held a weapon
. Her first posting
. Gender equality in the Army
. Balakot incident
. What it's like being married to an army officer
. Life after retirement

#humansofbombay #independenceday #podcast

TIME STAMPS:
00:00- Precap
00:21- Introduction
01:18- Embarking on the Academic Expedition
04:48- Family’s Reaction on joining the Armed Forces
05:37- Life in the Academy
07:13- Holding the First Weapon
09:44- The First Posting as Young Lieutenant
12:12- Culture within the Academy
13:26- An Unforgettable Evacuation
14:01- Mindset during Evacuation: Balakot Incident
18:38- Life as an Army Officer’s Spouse
21:22- Completely taken on the Role of Wife
22:42- From Dream to Reality: Participating in Mrs. India
24:29- Show & Tell
27:54- Advice to Young Generation

The Humans of Bombay Show, hosted by our CEO and Founder Karishma Mehta, is a Humans of Bombay original where we celebrate real-life heroes. From the single mother who had a baby out of wedlock to a female officer who served the army for 11 years, we want to bring out the extraordinary stories of seemingly ordinary people.
India is a melting pot of stories, and with the Humans of Bombay Show, we want to bring these beautiful stories to you and give you a peek into the unique minds of people who have excelled in their fields.
The track 'Kahaaniyaan' has been Created & Sung by Harshil Karia.

𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 – 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲!

Links:
Humans of Bombay
Instagram:   / officialhumansofbombay  
YT Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/@humansofbomb...
LinkedIn:   / mycompany  

Major Prajakta Desai
Instagram:   / bhavesh_yuj  
LinkedIn:   / bhavesh-bhimanathani  

Karishma Mehta
Instagram:   / karimehta05  
LinkedIn:   / karishma-mehta-b22151174  

About Humans of Bombay –
Humans of Bombay is a movement that started 9 years ago. We believe that every person has a story to tell and we want to help them tell these stories. In these years we’ve published stories across genres – stories of love, hope, faith, and courage. And through our storytelling, we’ve built an engaged community of over 5M!

Our idea is simple – to strike a chord with our community and catalog the beat of humanity, one story at a time.