Axiom Mission 4: How Shubhanshu Shukla sneaked out during sister's vidai to secretly appear in NDA exam
LUCKNOW: As Group Captain
prepares to become the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, a story from his youth in Lucknow reveals the quiet resolve that shaped India's space icon.
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In the chilly winter of December 2001, during his elder sister Shuchi Shukla's wedding, teenage Shubhanshu vanished for hours, leaving his family anxious and his father Shambhu Dayal Shukla furious over his apparent irresponsibility. Exhausted, the boy returned on his bicycle, saying only, "Now, tell me what to do." His secret? He had sneaked away to take the National Defence Academy (NDA) exam, inspired by an
(IAF) airshow at Bakshi-ka-Talab.
Shuchi, now a private school teacher in Lucknow, recalls the day vividly. "Gunjan—that's his pet name—was 14, when the Kargil War stirred him," she says.
"Two years later, he borrowed an NDA form from a friend and applied without telling us. It was only after clearing the exam that he revealed why he disappeared during my vidai."
Their father, a retired joint secretary from the UP secretariat, scolded him then but now beams with pride.
"We're proud of Gunjan, not just as a family but as Indians," says his dad from their Triveni Nagar home. "His posters are everywhere, and we pray for his mission's success."
Commissioned into the IAF's fighter stream on June 17, 2006, he became a Fighter Combat Leader and Test Pilot with over 2,000 hours of flying experience on aircraft like Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, and Hawk.
His ambition to become an astronaut, sparked by the IAF airshow, initially alarmed his mother Asha. "She told him to stay on Earth," Shuchi says. Yet, Shubhanshu quietly enrolled for the
, keeping it from family, just as he did with the NDA exam.
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Now 39, Shubhanshu is the youngest of three siblings, with sisters Nidhi, an MBA graduate, and Shuchi. Married to Kamna, a dentist, he's a father to six-year-old son Kiash, and the first in his family to join the defence forces.
At home, he's reserved about work. Shuchi recalls the Balakot airstrike in 2019, when Shubhanshu was unreachable for days. "I asked if he was involved, but he just said, 'Let it be, Didi, talk about something else,'" she shares.
Shuchi marvels at Shubhanshu's clarity of purpose. "From NDA to Gaganyaan, Gunjan never wavered," she says. His dad adds, "He's ready for this mission. He always performs perfectly."
As Shubhanshu gears up for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the ISS, backed by ISRO's Rs 5 billion investment, his family in Lucknow watches with pride.
"The boy who cycled back from the NDA entrance exam, fuelled by an airshow's roar, now carries India's hopes to the stars," adds Shuchi.
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