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New Delhi: Group Captain Varun Singh, the Directing Staff at the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, and the lone survivor of the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter crash near Coonoor on Wednesday, is battling for his life at a military hospital in Bengaluru. The Air Force officer, who was onboard the IAF helicopter with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, is the only one who has survived among the 14 who were on the flight. However, his condition remains critical. He was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra in August for averting a possible mid-air accident after his Tejas light combat aircraft suffered a major technical glitch last year. Soon after he was decorated with the Shaurya Chakra for gallantry, he wrote a letter to the school’s principal on September 18, the contents of which he desired to be shared with students, especially the teens to inspire them as they near adulthood with its complexities of societal pressures, academic challenges and sometimes an uncertain and frightening future.
“I was mediocre and today I have reached difficult milestones in my career,” he wrote. “It is ok to be mediocre. Not everyone will excel at school and not everyone will be able to score in the 90s. If you do, it’s an amazing achievement and must be applauded. However, if you don’t, do not think that you are meant to be mediocre. You may be mediocre in school but it is by no means a measure of things to come in life,” he said.
At NDA, he said, he did not excel either in studies or sports and lacked confidence as he thought he was meant to be mediocre. It was only after being commissioned and posted to a fighter squadron that he realised that he could do well if he put his heart and mind to it. “It was at this point that things started to turn around in my professional and personal life,” he wrote.
“Find your calling, it could be art, music, graphic design, literature etc. Whatever you work towards, be dedicated, do your best. Never go to bed thinking I could have put in more effort,” he added.
He further asked the students to never lose hope and never think that think that they cannot be good at what they want to be. “It will not come easy. it will take effort, it will require sacrifice of time and comfort. I was mediocre, and today I have reached difficult milestones in my career. Do not think that 12th board marks decide what you are capable of achieving in life. Believe in yourself, work towards it,” Group Captain Varun Singh wrote in the letter.
READ THE FULL LETTER HERE:
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