New Delhi Outside the gates of the Indian Air Force base at Race Course road, hundreds of young boys are waiting — some walk around to pass time, others sit on the pavement fighting the muggy monsoon day with ice creams.
These are aspiring Airboys, waiting for the results of the Air Force exam. Newsline joins in to ask what motivated the youngsters to apply for the Air Force.
Answers vary from Air Force being the dream they nurtured for years to a hunt for a secure job and a good livelihood. There are also some who are attracted to the idea of flying, uniforms and guns, while some turned up, well, just like that.
Most aspirants are from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other neighbouring states and the crowd outside the building displays a mix of opinions and emotions:
For Amit Dalal, 18, from Haryana, Air Force was a dream since childhood and it turned into an aim as he grew up. As he grew up, it turned into his aim. “I always wanted to be in the Air Force and now my dream can come true,” he says. Though Dalal is applying for a non-technical job, he wants to fly fighter planes one day. “I will do it,” he avers.
Sonu Naresh, 18, wants a secure government job. His plan includes not just the Air Force but also the Navy and other defence forces. He knew all about the tests even before his neighbouring bookstore in Ghaziabad started selling the forms. “I want to get a government job and a steady income. Life will be then on a track,” says Naresh, who wants to retire before he is 30. “The pension will keep coming every year and I will do my own business,” he says.
Hem Chandra Pandey, 17, wears glasses and is dressed in formals. Pandey, an NCC cadet from Jharkhand, likes discipline and that is why he turned to the Air Force. “I want to be in the Air Force because I want my life to be disciplined. I want everything to be in order,” says Pandey, a B Com student at the Kumao University in Jharkhand. He aims to be a commissioned officer.
It is 1 pm and the result is being announced. From the two batches of 500 applicants, only 48 have been selected. Hope gives way to dejection and for some, a resolve to try again.
Near a plinth, Vinay Kumar, 18, gets up to go back home in Ghazipur, UP. He has not been selected. His father is already walking ahead, sad that his son didn’t make it. Kumar, though, is coming here next year again and before that he will apply for the Navy as well. For Kumar, a career in defence runs in the family. “My father is in the Army, my uncle in the Navy and even my grandfather was an armyman. I have always wanted to be in the Air Force or Navy,” he says. Kumar lost out this year by one mark. “I will do it because I have to,” he says as he follows his father.
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