At least in the past decade, we’ve seen Indian women spreading wings and achieving the unthinkable. They are breaking the stereotyped thoughts, the conservative jobs reserved for just women (teachings, homemaking, etc.) and are proving every soul out there who thought that women cannot do miraculous things in life as wrong. From being an Indian Air Force officer and an Indian cricket sportsperson to heading an entire missile project alone in India — these modern women of the 21st century are etching their names on stones in every part of life. We’ve seen women become lecturers of reputed science universities, we’ve seen impeccable women-researchers whose knowledge can never be questioned, but now, we’ve seen this woman for the first time, who solely, single-handedly, lead an entire missile project for India, and this job sure does require enormous courage, doesn’t it?
This article describes the story of Tessy Thomas, the extraordinary Indian woman who is respectfully known as the Missile Woman of India and much dearly known as the Agni Putri. And mind you, she’s not just another Wonder Woman of the country, she’s also a loving mother and a wife, an exceptional homemaker, and also considered to be a good neighbor. Her achievements, her story as a whole, truly serves as an inspiration for all the women out there who dwell in a male-dominated family or society. Let’s know more about this Wonder Woman.
The Story Of Dr. Tessy Thomas, The One Who Paved Way To Achieve What Very Few Indian Women Have
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Tessy Thomas was born in the most beautiful state of India, Kerala, which people all over the world refer to as “God’s own country.” She was born in the Allapuzha district in the year 1963 in April to a mother who was a homemaker and a father who was an IFS officer. Her love and fascination towards rocket and science started from her childhood as she witnessed the activities of the Thumba rocket launching pad which was not that far from her house. This exposure sparked off of her passion for scientific research.
She was very lovingly nurtured and brought up by her mother. It was during her school days that she developed her liking towards solid-state physics. She later went on to obtain a B.Tech degree from the Thrissur Engineering College. While in college, Tessy actively took part in playing badminton and talking about political issues of the country. Her next step was to pursue an M.Tech in Pune’s Defence Institute of Armament Technology. And it was during her masters that she met her now husband, Saroj Kumar who is a commodore of the Indian Navy.
She didn’t stop her education there, she has her masters followed up with an MBA (Operations Management) and a Ph.D. (Missile Guidance). Incredible, right?
Meet Dr. Tessy Thomas, Project Director For Agni-IV Missile, DRDO
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Tessy’s unwavering focus and hardworking nature landed her into being a part of DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization). She feels that she was fortunate enough to work under her role model, APJ Abdul Kalam. It was he who made Tessy a part of the missile program called Agni. And from that very day, there was no looking back for Tessy ever.
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Tessy’s expertise in the solid propellant system made her contribution to the Agni’s V re-entry vehicle very crucial. This ground-breaking technology helps a Missile to re-enter the atmosphere. But this success of Agni V wasn’t a cakewalk for Tessy. She was always greeted by disappointments and failures, but she never bogged down because of it, she took them as opportunities to rethink, improve, and rework the missile models.
The biggest setback she faced was in July 2006 when the missile team she was heading failed to meet the basic parameters. This made her team face a lot of criticism. But Tessy was stoic, she considered it as a challenge and by putting in 12-16 hours of work every day (including few weekends), in just 10 months of time she managed to iron out the failures into her success! Her team managed to successfully launch the missile and it marked history as for the first time a woman, an Indian woman was leading the team.
Tessy — The Agni Putri Of India
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The above term translates to “woman of fire.” She never thought twice to make sacrifices for the work that she was so dedicated too. She even left her unwell son, Tejas behind to work on the missile launch.
Tessy is a woman of gratitude as well, in most of her interviews you’ll find her thanking her parents, her in-laws, her husband, and her son for the unconditional support, encouragement, and love they’ve showered upon her. Today, Tessy is considered to be a leading expert in what’s called Ballistic missiles. She is also a fellow of various professional universities of India — INAE (Indian National Academy of Engineering), IEI (Institution of Engineers-India), TAS (Tata Administrative Service), etc. The Agni Putri of India is nothing short of a trendsetter for all those Indian women out there who’re seeking inspiration for thinking about managing a career along with their family. If Tessy can do it, why can’t other Indian women do? So, all you beautiful ladies out there, go figure your dreams out and start paving ways to achieve it. It’s never too late to follow your heart. Start NOW!
The post Meet India’s Missile Woman, Tessy Thomas, Inspiration For Everyone appeared first on STYLECRAZE.
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