On February 1, 2003, seven NASA astronauts perished over Texas as Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 disintegrated while re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. One of those killed in the disaster was Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-origin woman in space.
A role model for countless Indian women, Kalpana was an ordinary girl from Karnal whose lofty dreams and indomitable courage took her to space. Here’s the little known story of her childhood in India. Hailing from the 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....
