Police Constable Gursimran Bains will join the Air Force Academy to train as a military pilot next year.
In a few weeks Punjab Police Constable Gursimran Bains will travel to New Delhi for his medical tests before joining the Air Force Academy in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, later this year.
The son of a driver from Ropar, Punjab, Bains had long harboured the desire to become an armed forces officer. He secured a government job with the Punjab Police two years ago, but did not give up on the dream to join the armed forces.
He joined an online course to prepare for the Service Selection Board, the rigorous selection process for entry into the armed forces.
The course was run by Major General Yash Mor, a retired officer from the Brigade of the Guards who started online courses, especially for youngsters from rural India who could not afford costly coaching offered elsewhere.
The classes are priced between Rs 4,000 to 7,000.
Constable Bains had appeared for the selection process thrice in the past, but had stumbled in the interview round and failed to make the cut.
The course and the team of mentors helped him especially with his communication skills and personality enhancement.
'Dream big, not small', 'Fear No One', 'Be Honest', 'Don't compare yourself with others' are some of the mantras that General Mor armed the young man with during the preparations.
Gursimran aced the interview this time and finally got through in his fourth attempt.
"I played a very minor role. It was his resolve that made him succeed," says General Mor who runs the coaching classes with a team of ex-defence officers, including two lady officers.
Though Genral Mor had coached him online for a while, he only met Gursimran face-to-face at an event at a college in Chandigarh last year.
"I was struck with his curiosity, his keen sense of observation and desire to learn," says General Mor who considers the coaching classes as his "personal social responsibility" towards society.
"If one young person goes into the armed forces, s/he can change the course of a family for generations."
"It is a stepping stone to a new and life of discipline and dignity."
Constable Gursimran is still serving in the Punjab Police. In the middle of next year, he will enter the Air Force Academy and train to be a military pilot.
And in two years, he will take to the skies in true motto of the IAF, 'Touch the sky with glory'.
His life would have already changed by then -- and a whole new world will await him.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff