can anyone tell me Kalpana Chawla was born in a poor or rich?? I think poor because in Google it is telling that he work as street hawker, a cloth seller etc but I am getting confusion that how can be a girl of poor family can study in two University of USA? So please can anyone tell me se born in a rich or poor family??
Answers
Originally from Multan district of West Punjab (now Pakistan), Kalpana’s parents came to Karnal in Haryana during partition. Her father Banarasi Lal Chawla took up several petty jobs (working as a street hawker, a cloth seller and even a metal fabricator) to provide for his family. He eventually set up a tyre manufacturing business while his wife Sanyogita managed the household.
Born on March 17, 1962, Kalpana grew up in an environment where hard work was encouraged. The youngest of four siblings, Kalpana was a precocious child. Her natural curiosity, independent nature and delight in discovering how things worked were encouraged by her mother, a supportive and liberal woman who ensured that all her daughters went to school at a time when education was considered an unnecessary luxury for girls.
Another thing that caught young Kalpana’s fancy were aeroplanes. Back then, Karnal was one of the few Indian towns with a flying club called Karnal Aviation Club. As her house was just a few kilometres away from the club, she would often clamber up to the roof and watch them go roaring over her head, waving her hand at the pilot if the plane flew low over the house.
In an interview she gave before the Columbia mission, Kalpana recalled how she and her brother would be on their bicycles, trying to see where the aeroplanes were headed. She said: “We’d ask my dad if we could get a ride in one of those planes. And he did get us a ride on the Pushpak and a glider. I think that’s really my closest link to aerospace engineering. Also, growing up, we knew of J.R.D. Tata, who flew some of the first mail flights in India, one of which now hangs in an aerodrome out there. Seeing this aeroplane and just knowing what this person has done during those years definitely captivated my imagination.”
In school, while her friends drew mountains, forests and rivers on being asked to draw scenery, Kalpana would draw colourful aeroplanes flying amidst clouds. She also loved making aeroplane models in her craft classes. One of Kalpana’s school teachers remembers the question the inquisitive and sensitive girl had once asked her: “How can people be divided into classes, sects and religions, when they all look alike from the sky?”
Hard-working and focused, Kalpana was a good student who enjoyed subjects like English, Hindi and Geography. However, her favourite subject was science. Other than dancing, she also enjoyed cycling, running and playing badminton. A complete tomboy, she kept her hair short, never put on any make-up and rarely paid attention to fashion. During her elder sister’s marriage, she insisted on wearing the same dress for three days, saying that it was wasteful and unnecessary to do otherwise!
After her class 10 board examinations, she got admission in DAV college for her higher studies. It was here that an interesting (almost prescient) incident took place.
During a mathematics class, Kalpana’s teacher was explaining the concept of null set (empty set in algebra). To give an example, she said that a set of Indian women astronauts was a classic example of null set as till date no Indian woman had become an astronaut. To everybody’s surprise, Kalpana quipped, “Who knows, Ma’am, one day this set may not be empty!” At that time, no one in the classroom could imagine, let alone know, that the girl who had spoken these lines would herself go on to fill the set!
After completing her class 12 board exams with flying colours, Kalpana decided to pursue her dream of an engineering career. Her father was not in favour of Kalpana doing engineering as he believed that it was not a suitable career option for girls. He advised her to become a doctor or a school teacher but Kalpana was determined to become a flight engineer and for that, an engineering degree was essential.
So Kalpana left for Chandigarh where she took admission in Punjab Engineering College. During counseling for the selection of various engineering courses, she chose aeronautical engineering, the only girl to do so.
The surprised counselors tried their best to dissuade her from joining aeronautical engineering as it had limited job opportunities in the country but Kalpana refused to budge. When they asked her what was her second option, she replied that she had none.