Kalpana Chawla my inspiration
Location: Kolkata Posted on: 2/1/2026 2:55:22 PM
In a small town called Karnal, a little girl would lie on the terrace at night and stare at the stars longer than anyone else.
While others saw dots in the sky, she saw destinations.
Her name was Kalpana — which literally means imagination. And imagination is exactly what she used to redraw her destiny.
People around her had ordinary dreams for girls:
Become a teacher. Get married. Stay close to home.
But Kalpana had an extraordinary dream:
“I want to fly. I want to touch space.”
They smiled at her. Some laughed. Some ignored it.
But she didn’t argue. She didn’t complain.
She simply studied harder.
Step by step, she moved from Karnal to engineering, from India to the United States, from books to aircrafts, from aircrafts to NASA.
And one day, the same girl who watched the sky from her terrace…
was looking at Earth from space.
She became an astronaut at NASA and flew aboard the STS-87 mission, proving that dreams from small towns can echo across the universe.
But her journey didn’t stop there.
In 2003, she flew again on STS-107 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia.
For 16 days, she and her crew conducted experiments that would help humanity.
And then… tragedy struck.
Columbia disintegrated during re-entry.
The world cried. India stood still. Karnal wept.
But listen carefully — this is where her story becomes immortal.
Kalpana Chawla did not die because she failed.
She died doing exactly what she loved, exactly where she always wanted to be — among the stars.
And that is why her story is not a story of loss.
It is a story of limitless courage.
Today, on her death anniversary, we don’t remember how she left.
We remember how far she went.
She taught us:
Your birthplace does not decide your destination.
Your gender does not limit your sky.
Your dreams are valid, even if no one else understands them.
If you truly love something, the universe will one day make space for you.
Some people live long lives.
Some people live large lives.
Kalpana Chawla lived a life so large that even space could not contain her.
And every time you look at the night sky and feel small…
remember, a girl from Karnal once went there and proved:
“The sky is not the limit. It is just the beginning.”
I also say the same thing that sky has got no limits...
#kalpana