FLYING HIGH

Tue, May 6 01:35 AM

The first time young Aanchal Arora checked into a five-star hotel and boarded an aircraft, it was a dream come true. Soon, this was part of her life and she she quickly turned a role model for many girls from middle-class families in her neighbourhood who had similar dreams.

Aanchal belongs to a joint family in Devpura in Muzaffarnagar in UP where her father runs a small grocery shop. But a strong desire to do something different took her to an airhostess training institute in Meerut.

"I groomed her with other students and one day she came to me with a beaming face holding an appointment letter from a private airline," recalls the owner of the institute. Aanchal's success story was not a cakewalk - her mother Madhu fought against all odds to help her take up the job as a flight stewardess.

Scared of being a social outcast, Madhu told relatives and neighbours that her daughter was doing a course in fashion designing. It was only after a year that people came to know her success story and soon she became the subject of discussion of envious neighbours and relatives.

"Many in the neighbourhood are interested in an in-flight career. They are keen to break social barriers for a bright career," Aanchal told Hindustan Times over telephone from a five star hotel in Hyderabad.

Aanchal, who studied in a Hindi medium school now speaks fluent English and has no hesitation in wearing knee-length skirts on board.Back home she still prefers the salwar-kurta.

"I had taught my daughter how to maintain a balance between her two lives - professional and social," said Madhu. Ramnaresh Khera, who works as a clerk, is another example of courage.

He went a step further to break the barriers of the middle-class mindset by selling his village land to fund his daughter Indu's education and training as flight stewardess. When relatives came to know that she worked as a flight stewardess they snapped their ties with her family.

"We faced severe criticism from our near and dear but never gave in to their pressure," Ramnaresh said, adding, "Now people look up to her as a role model and we are very proud of her success. She was one of the three girls selected by a Chinese airline.

" There are many girls like Aanchal and Indu who are flying high and have tasted success as airhostesses.

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