IAF daredevil pilot Abhinandan inherited major part of BRAVERY gene from his mother Shobha

While the entire nation eagerly awaits the return of IAF fighter pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who was freed by Pakistan earlier in the day, after being held in their custody for two days, few know about how values of bravado ran in his blood, a trait which he exhibited while shooting down a Pakistani F-16 to repulse an enemy air attack on strategic military installations along the Line of Control.

Abhinanadan Mother (Source: ABP Video grab)

New Delhi: While the entire nation eagerly awaits the return of IAF fighter pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who was freed by Pakistan earlier in the day, after being held in their custody for two days, few know about how values of bravado and courage ran in his blood, a trait which he exhibited while shooting down a Pakistani F-16 to repulse an enemy air attack on strategic military installations along the Line of Control. Perhaps a select few outside the Air Force fraternity know that a large portion of his “bravery genes” came from his mother Shobha. While his father served the Indian Air Force with distinction for over three decades and retired as an Air Marshal, his mother, Dr. Shobha Varthaman, served humanity amidst violence, nursing war casualties in some of the worst conflict zones around the world, including Liberia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Papua New Guinea, Haiti and Laos. While playing a significant role of giving the “fighting spirit” to her son, Abhinandan, Dr. Shobha ensured that mothers survive post-delivery complications in the high-intensity conflict zones, gifted smiles to hundreds of children worldwide. A graduate from Madras Medical College, and a post-graduate in Anaesthesiology from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Dr. Shobha provided voluntary service to humanity as a member of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), literally translated ‘Doctors Without Borders’. MSF gives a detailed account of some of the most troubled places in recent times. Her exemplary service as a doctor in conflict zones started with a mission inside a rebel country, in northern territory of Ivory Coast in 2005.  Then, Dr. Shobha went to Port Harcourt in Nigeria in the southern belt where the marshes are, where they mine the petroleum and the conflicts were in plenty. Amidst continious conflicts between the villages and the oil companies, oil thefts, intra and inter-tribal fights, she accomplished setting up of a theatre comprising an emergency section for casualties, a blood bank, and an intensive care.