Together in skydiving as well as in life

Reproduced by courtesy of The Hindu, Indias National newspaper.

Kochi: Cdr. Rajiv Ashok and Lt. Cdr. Rashmi Singh took to skydiving in 2001, two years after their marriage. They were among a group that underwent training in skydiving with the Indian Air Force in 2001, as the Indian Navy did not have the training facility then. They find mention in the Limca Book of Records for being the sole skydiving-instructor couple in India and for their jump together into INS Viraat (India’s sole aircraft carrier) during the President’s Fleet Review in 2006. Lt. Cdr. Rashmi holds another record — the first woman skydiving instructor in India.

Photo: Vipinchandran

Cherished moments: Lt. Cdr. Rashmi Singh with her skydiver husband Cdr. Rajiv Asok at the Kochi Naval Base soon after a skydiving demo. —

They can be described as an inseparable couple — together at home, in the office or in the air

At present, the couple is based at the Southern Naval Command in Kochi. They performed the skydiving feat here in in connection with the Navy Day celebrations. The crowds gathered as Lt. Cdr. Rashmi touched down from a height of 5,000 feet, with Cdr. Rajiv helping her get out of her parachute.

“We could have climbed higher, but for the cloudy sky. The maximum height we have attained is 14,000 feet, beyond which oxygen is in short supply,” says Cdr. Rajiv. Of late, the Kochi skyline has become hazy, either due to weather conditions or air pollution. In spite of it, the port city looks awesome from the air. The numerous water bodies and greenery stand out. We could see Munnar and the Cochin international airport from 5,000 ft. on Saturday, as the sky was clear, he said.

As to what motivated them to take up skydiving, Lt. Cdr. Rashmi said: “Being the fastest non-mechanical sport, it is both an extreme and exclusive sport.

“We fall down freely (sans parachute) from 14,000 feet for 55 seconds, at the rate of 200 to 400 feet a second, till the parachute is opened. The subsequent descent is at a speed of 20 to 25 feet a second.”

Cdr. Rajiv has mastery of not just the skies, but the seas too. He is the chief instructor at the Diving School of the Naval Command and is an expert in deep-sea diving. Lt. Cdr. Rashmi is an air-traffic controller at Kochi’s Naval air station.

The couple, who got married in 1999, spoke of the fear that engulfed them in the first few free falls during training. They were provided static-line parachutes (parachutes linked with the aircraft) during the initial five falls and later on they fell freely out of aircraft and helicopters till the parachutes were opened in the last few minutes of the fall.

“I was scared during the first 25 jumps. We would not know what’s happening to us, because of the sensory overload (the senses getting worked up together). Cdr. Rajiv has so far done 525 jumps. Lt. Cdr. Rashmi did her 480th jump in Kochi on Saturday. “We have even kissed during a free fall and it is a treasured photograph,” she said.

The most-cherished moments in their life is when children crowd around Lt. Cdr. Rashmi, expressing interest to join the Navy and become “Rashmi aunties.” Anyone with general fitness can do skydiving, she says.