“You live only once, why not to make most of it.”
These are the wordings of an adventurous person we have ever come across! Brace yourself here we introduce Squadron leader SPS Kaushik: The epitome of courage, fearlessness & patriotism. An Ex – Airforce Officer, Skydiving & Parasailing instructor all over the country. He has conducted 1, 10,000 Parasailing launches and ranked Number 1 for Parasailing with numerous world records. He has trained 5000 Paratroopers of Special Forces of Indian Army & Friendly Foreign Forces. He has also carried out 1250 Skydiving from various Aircrafts and Helicopters. His amazing risky Parachute trial jumps for Indian Air Force is best to be appreciated. His serving attitude towards the country always encourages him to lead the Republic Day Parade contingent of Air Force.
Vilasins got an opportunity to conduct an interview with him. While talking to us, he shared his opinion, experience and insight about the air force culture, country and life in general. We liked his informal attitude and the certitude level with which he gave answers. Take a look:
Were you self inspired to serve the country as an Air force Officer or any of your family members inspired you to become Air Force Officer?
In a deep voice he replied, “Actually, I am from that background only. My father was in Royal Air Force. He had joined it in 1943. He has served the nation for about 35 years. Then, I grew up in Kanpur. My residence was nearby to Air Force Base Association. I have received so much inspiration from the envrironment I have been brought up. My elder brother is also in Army. He is one of the India’s best helicopter pilots and a Kargil Hero. My classmate also joined NDA. So, all of these incidences collectively motivated me to join the Air Force.”
What are your qualifications and when did you join the Air Force?
I have done M.B.A and M.Com. Post that I joined Air Force in 1987. I was 23 years old at that time. It was little late, but never the less! I am lucky that I got an opportunity to serve my Nation.
I believe your focus has lead you to where you are right now. You must have stayed away from outings, drinks, parties, isn’t it?
In an exciting tone, he replied, “Yes I was focused towards my physical fitness because that’s the foremost priority to join Air Force. I am really disciplined at my work. But, we do party a lot! Infact, we party really hard. I do the best parties after landing from every performance of Skydiving/Parasailing. But Yes! We know our limit that tomorrow we have to get up and be ready for Parade, Sky Diving, fighting etc.”
Your achievements are the proof that the Sky is not the limit. Weren’t you ever afraid of uncertain ‘death’?
Very confidently, he said “No not at all, as I have discussed, I belong to the strong background – The people close to me my brother, my father and my class mates who belong to Indian Air Force and Indian Army always motivated me to stay positive and accept the situations with bold attitude. And when a person joins Indian Air Force, he has been taught physically, mentally, emotionally that Nation is first, and you have to overcome the fear of death. Each day of my life is full of danger. You never know whether your parachute will land correctly or not. Infact I have undergone through a lot of fractures due to parachute malfunction. I struggled, got better, slowly & gradually built up the courage to continue again. It comes from inside, you have to set an example for others.”
I also believe that if destiny decides death for you, it will grab you even if you are being kept within the safe zone.
What was your mother’s take on your decision to join Armed Forces? I think she must be the strong lady – she has experienced life with family members who are dedicated towards the country throughout their lives.
100% Strong lady! Infact we are Rajputs, the warrior class! It’s in our DNA. I was an Aircraft controller in the early days of my Air Force regimen and my mom was happy with that. She was satisfied with the fact that I am working for the ground duty. But one day I convinced my mom, that Skydiving is now in my mind. There is an interesting story behind it, haha… I was high in the sky with my helicopter and my school friends, college friends, relatives were cheering me up from the ground while I was proceeding towards the jump. I clearly declared that I will not jump unless and until, my mom and dad will not come to see me. So, when they came up. I took a jump. I was covered live and it was a proud moment for my mom, and from then she never denied me from Skydiving.
Is Skydiving Instructor a different sort of duty in comparison to Air Force Officer?
As an Air Force Officer, I was given the duty to instruct Parachute Jumping & I was training Army, Navy & Air Force. But Skydiving is a different branch of Indian Airforce, just like we have different branches in Engineering – Chemical, IT, Civil or Mechanical or in MBA – Finance, Marketing, HR or International Business. Actually when I was serving the Nation as an Air Force Officer, I was used to perform Skydiving once in a year for Civilians to motivate them, and then I decided why not to get into it on a regular basis. I volunteered myself as a skydiver for Indian Airforce. After 6 months of rigorous training, I was posted to Agra for around 8 years. Basically, that’s the Mecca Medina of Skydiving. As a Skydiving instructor, I taught the Armed Force Personnel how to land safely during the days of war or surgical strike. I was the leader of the Akash Ganga Sky Diving team of the Indian Air Force having an experience over 1200 sky diving jumps.
How did you explore Parasailing and got inclined towards it?
During initial years of my Armed Forces, we were doing Ground Parasailing for the civilians, Independence Day, NDA students etc. The crowd was always excited to cheer up for us. So, after spending 15 years in Indian Air Force, I decided to join Parasailing. In December 2003, Jaisalmer, we launched the first parasailing campaign in front of the Jaisalmer Administration and it was a huge success. Since then I am enjoying parasailing. Till now, we have conducted 1, 10,000 parasailing launches all over the country. We have conducted Parasailing events for Schools, Colleges and Corporate. We are promoting Parasailing for the Tourism Purpose across Nation.
You have traveled a lot, which place do you think is most heart throbbing one to perform adventure activities like Parasailing?
I have practiced Parasailing across the country. I provide parasailing training to youngsters all over the country. So, I would say all of them were incredible experiences – be it: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jaisalmer and from the last 3 years we have been performing in Hyderabad, so I am equally enjoying there too.
Can you tell me something about your venture – Kaushik Aero Sports located at Jaipur?
Ofcourse! This initiative is really close to my heart. It is started to remove the fear of height among children and build leadership qualities. It motivates students to build concentration and confidence resulting into better life performance. It can be undertaken by all age groups (4 years onwards). Click here to know more
http://www.blueskies.in/parasailing index.html.
Do you enjoy any other activity besides Skydiving and Parasailing?
Yes, Golfing. I feel very happy while playing Golf. That’s the only Sports that can be played till 95 years. All other Sports still have age limit, but Golf is the one Sport that can be played even in old age. And also, I love playing Water Sports like Paragliding etc.
What are your comments on Revocation of Article 370? Will situations be improved in Indian Armed Forces after this revolutionary step?
Definitely! What a bold and pleasant step it is! But this decision is not undertaken to bring relief for Indian Armed Forces or to reduce the chances of death among Indian Armed Forces. Anyway, we are dedicated to serve the nation. This historical decision is undertaken by our strong PM Mr. Narendra Modi to improve the situations of J&K. The life was not normal here. The kids did not have normal lives like the children of other states. There were no proper schools, universities, malls or shopping complexes. But I am sure, now the situations will be improved in J&K and in the new neighboring Union Territory – Leh & Ladakh.
What piece of advice would you like to give to today’s youngsters?
Please don’t be selfish. Life is not just about Me. Me and Me. Respect your parents – they have sacrificed life for you. Your parents work hard just for your happiness. Never ignore them. Introduce Gratitude in your life. Help people, find ways to bring happiness for needy people. Simply put, try to explore life which is beyond you and your desires.
What a piece of advice would you like to give to today’s parents?
Don’t pamper them; rather build a fighter attitude within them. From initial days of their life, give responsibilities to them according to their age. Make them independent. They must be disciplined and perform task by their own. Their decisions should not be based on the Society. Also, make them grounded and humble; don’t let attitude and arrogance handle their lives. They should be flexible to accept and adjust with any situations of life. Teach them to thank God for food, clothing and shelter because many people are even deprived of basic needs. Also, introduce Golf in their lives. Golf is the best Sports for mental and physical fitness of children.
What are your future plans?
He laughed a bit and then replied, “I have no plans. I am not a planner person. I don’t like stagnant life. Life should have a lot of adventures. Today I am enjoying Skydiving and Parasailing. Ummmm……But, I don’t know towards what I will fall in love with after 5 years. I just want to live my life fully and cherish every moment of life. I want to live life in my own terms.”
Your last message to the people of country.
Enjoy Life! Have fun, make most of every moment.
Hope you all had enjoyed and took a great motivation while reading the interview of one of the most enthusiastic country lovers. He is an inspiration for us to live life with fearless and bold attitude. He has set up an example for the youngsters to live life vivaciously, spread happiness and serve humanity. He is always willing to help people in need.
Pic Courtesy: SPS Kaushik
Special Thanks: SQD. Leader SPS Kaushik, Contact him at – 9730008676, 9414305121.
