As the saying goes, age is just a number. At the age of 16, when most of us fantasised about getting behind the wheel of a car, Vadodara's Varija Shah has gone and gotten a student pilot licence.
Shah, a student of class XI at the Navrachana Sama School, has wanted to be a pilot ever since she was in class VII. Fortunately for her, she has supportive parents and she joined the Gujarat Flying Club last year, she told the Times Of India.
Shah has her future plans all chalked out. "I will get a private pilot licence, join National Cadet Corps and then join the IAF," she said.
On her birthday on Monday, 17 October, she flew a Cessna 152 over Vadodara for 20 minutes, as the co-pilot.
But flying is not all that Shah does. She is also a state and national-level tennis player.
Before Shah, there was Ayesha Aziz, who had received her student pilot licence at the age of 16 and at age 20, went on to become the youngest Indian pilot.
Shah's proud mother told TOI that she herself had wanted to be a tennis player and her husband had wanted to be a pilot, and now their daughter was fulfilling both their dreams.
Shah is still not eligible for a permanent driving licence, but with a licence to fly who needs one to drive.