'I want to become an astronaut. My mother won't agree at all. Could you please tell me how to convince my mother?' Upon hearing this question from Samriddhi Haldar, a Class III student at DAV Model School in Durgapur, the astronaut was stunned for a fraction of a second. After returning from the International Space Station in July, he has had to attend numerous events. He has heard many intelligent questions. But he was completely unprepared for such a question.
Shubhanshu Shukla filled the auditorium with hearty laughter. The hundreds of spectators present joined in. Then Shubhanshu's 'secret' advice to the little girl: 'You don't need to tell your mother everything you do. You have to try secretly.' Now the auditorium erupted in applause like the sound of a thousand pigeons taking flight.
Also Read | Bidhannagar Police launches new mobile app: Here's how it will help citizens
He came, he saw, and he conquered. He is Shubhanshu Shukla, the first and so far the only Indian astronaut to set foot on the International Space Station. This is his first visit to Kolkata after training at the Indian Air Force base in Barrackpore a few years ago. However, much has changed in these intervening years. The person who trained in Barrackpore was just a pilot in the Indian Air Force. And on Wednesday, the person many crowded to see at the Indian Centre for Space Physics (ICSP) in Kolkata was astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla. The astronauts' beloved 'Shuks'.
A few years ago, the country's first space museum was created in Kolkata through the initiative of astronomer Sandip Chakraborty. Besides this, many conduct research at the Indian Centre for Space Physics. Group Captain Shubhanshu came to Kolkata to visit that space research center and simultaneously share his space mission experiences with school and college students. Along with this, a discussion meeting was also organized about India's progress in space research. Everywhere, Shubhanshu received the status of a hero.
Many crowded at ICSP that day to see the hero who journeyed through space up close and hear the stories of that experience from his own mouth. Among them was Soumyajit Biswas, a Class XII student from Ghasiara Vidyapith in Sonarpur. Soumyajit, who suffers from cerebral palsy, cannot walk properly. He came to ICSP supported by the shoulders of two classmates, Rohit Basu and Souradeep Maiti. The three students said Shubhanshu is their dream hero. They want to become like him.
Also Read | Key trains from Sealdah, Howrah to be affected from Dec 9 due to maintenance. Here's a list for you
From imbalance in space to the spacecraft's external temperature reaching nearly five thousand degrees Celsius during the return to Earth, while narrating various aspects of space travel, Shubhanshu said on Wednesday, 'A small boy from a village in Manipur asked me how he could journey to space. That day I first felt my going to space had become meaningful.' If Shubhanshu's attention fell particularly on Soumyajit from Sonarpur in the packed auditorium at ICSP on Wednesday, there is no doubt he will mention Soumyajit in some future talk show.
Soumyajit is not alone; Shubhanshu has inspired many like him to dream of journeying to space. This is perhaps his greatest success.
