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Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Tarini is back home, Dilna & Roopa sail into record books
PANAJI: At 5.22pm Thursday, as Lt Cdrs Dilna K and Roopa Alagirisamy stepped on Indian soil after a 239-day historic voyage, they became the first Indian duo to sail across the planet. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Yes. We made it." These four words from Dilna summed up the poignant and emotional 25,400-nautical-mile journey that began Oct 2 from the banks of the Mandovi. "We saw the ocean and waves rising in anger some days. The waves were as high as 20 feet tall, looking like a wall. But we also had days when the sea was as calm as a mirror, and it felt heavenly, and time felt meaningless," said Roopa, narrating their audacious endeavour to fly the Tricolour and naval ensign "in every sea and land across the world". The circumnavigation took them through four oceans, crossing the equator twice and rounding the three great capes - a route acknowledged as the gold standard in ocean sailing. The mission was part of the Navy's broader initiative to showcase women's role in maritime operations. It also aimed to inspire a new generation of women to embrace adventure and take to the seas - a domain long dominated by men. "I feel I lived all my seven lives in these eight months. This is not going to be my last journey, I am sorry," said Roopa with a laugh, as she addressed her family. The voyage tested not just mental endurance but seamanship too. The naval officers navigated some of the world's most treacherous waters, including the South Pacific and the Southern Ocean. They battled towering waves, gale-force winds and long spells of isolation with only each other for company and their 56-foot yacht as their shelter. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now During the circumnavigation, the duo suffered a complete navigation blackout in the middle of the night in the Pacific Ocean. "We lost GPS, boat heading, wind instrument, auto-pilot... everything. It took us three hours, but it felt like an eternity to get back the systems. This actually gave us a false sense of security in modern equipment," Roopa said. The duo covered 25,400 nautical miles over a period of eight months with port calls at Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falkland Islands) and Cape Town (South Africa). Commander Abhilash Tomy (retd), the first Indian to sail around the Earth non-stop, provided mentorship to the duo. His survival and maintenance experience helped the duo master the critical skill of dual-handed sailing. Captain Vipul Mehershi, Captain Atul Sinha, and Commander Nikhil Hegde also played a key role in preparing the officers and the vessel for the expedition. The two naval officers' triumphant return at Mormugao Port was witnessed by defence minister Rajnath Singh and chief of naval staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Battling waves and time, Dilna & Roopa 1st Indian duo to sail into record books
Panaji: At 5.22pm on Thursday, as Lt Cdrs Dilna K and Roopa Alagirisamy stepped on the Indian soil after a 239-day historic voyage, they became the first-ever Indian duo to sail across the planet. 'Yes. We made it.' These four words from Dilna summed up the poignant and emotional 25,400-nautical-mile journey that began on October 2 from the banks of the Mandovi. 'We saw the ocean and waves rising in anger some days. The waves were as high as 20-feet-tall, looking like a wall. But we also had days when the sea was as calm as a mirror, and the sea felt heavenly, and time felt meaningless,' said Roopa, narrating their audacious endeavour to fly the Tricolour and naval ensign 'in every sea and land across the world'. 'With this journey, we joined a special group of people who went around the planet, and we haven't come across another two women who have done a double-handed circumnavigation. Halfway around the world, the sea humbled us and made us students again. This journey showed the entire world what Indian women are made of,' said Dilna. The circumnavigation took them through four oceans, crossing the equator twice and rounding the three great capes — a route acknowledged globally as the gold standard in ocean sailing. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Shubh Aarambh with Honda Shine 125! Honda Learn More Undo The mission was part of the Navy's broader initiative to showcase women's role in maritime operations. It also aimed to inspire a new generation of women to embrace adventure and take to the seas — a domain long dominated by men. 'I feel I lived all my seven lives in these eight months. This is not going to be my last journey, I am sorry,' said Roopa with a laugh, as she addressed her family. The voyage tested not just mental endurance but seamanship too. The naval officers navigated some of the world's most treacherous waters, including the South Pacific and the Southern Ocean. They battled towering waves, gale-force winds, and long spells of isolation with only each other for company and their 56-foot yacht as their shelter. During the circumnavigation, the duo suffered a complete navigation blackout in the middle of the night in the Pacific Ocean. 'We lost GPS, boat heading, wind instrument, auto-pilot —everything. It took us three hours, but it felt like an eternity to get back the systems. This actually gave us a false sense of security in modern equipment,' said Roopa. The duo covered 25,400 nautical miles over a period of eight months with port calls at Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), and Cape Town (South Africa). Commander Abhilash Tomy (retd), the first Indian to sail around the Earth non-stop, provided mentorship to the duo. His survival and maintenance experience helped the duo master the critical skill of dual-handed sailing. Captain Vipul Mehershi, Captain Atul Sinha, and Commander Nikhil Hegde also played a key role in preparing the women officers and the vessel for the expedition. The two naval officers' triumphant return at Mormugao Port was witnessed by defence minister Rajnath Singh and chief of naval staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
A voyage of grit: From riding bikes and surfboards to becoming circumnavigators
Panaji: As a child, Dilna K was afraid of heights. Today, she climbs the INSV Tarini's 25-meter-high mast in the middle of the ocean. In Puducherry, another family watches with similar awe as Roopa Alagirisamy, once a girl with dreams of space, returns after conquering the world's oceans. The two naval officers — Lt Commanders Dilna K and Roopa Alagirisamy — will sail into Mormugao Port on Thursday evening, marking the end of a historic, eight-month-long voyage. Their journey covered 25,400 nautical miles, crossing four oceans and rounding the three Great Capes — a feat attempted by few, and achieved by even fewer. Though they grew up on opposite sides of the Anaimalai Hills, what binds them is a relentless grit — a refusal to accept ceilings, whether on land or at sea. From the age of 10, Dilna was never one to be found indoors. While other children studied for tests, she was outdoors — wielding a cricket bat with the boys from her colony or chasing football down dusty lanes. 'She found her passion for rifle shooting in NCC and became a national shooter. Shooting is expensive, she always had to compromise on training and good equipment. I remember her travelling from Kozhikode to Idukki almost every two weeks to practice at a good range,' Dilna's sister Deepthi said. Before her father, an Army man, passed away in 2015, Dilna made a promise that she would represent India at the international level. On Thursday, as Tarini sails into Mormugao Port, she brings that promise home. Dilna has always been a daddy's girl and still rides her father's old Royal Enfield as an ode to him. 'She used to pull out 100 buckets of water per day from our well as a young girl to build up her muscles and we used to make fun of her. She would climb coconut trees at home to develop agility, even though she was scared of heights,' said Deepthi. Like Dilna, Roopa's journey was shaped by setbacks, and a stubborn refusal to give up. Roopa grew up dreaming of space. With a BE in aeronautical engineering, she even worked a stint with the National Aerospace Laboratories, Bengaluru. But her true launchpad came from the Indian Navy. 'Roopa faced so many SSB interviews. It felt like she was going in circles,' said her younger sister Durga Monica. 'She decided to make one final attempt. And she cleared it.' After being commissioned in June 2017, Roopa's job at the Naval Armament Inspection division in Mumbai required her to inspect weapons, guns, rocket launchers and torpedoes that went into warships and submarines. It is here that she picked up sailing, first as a dinghy sailor and then in competitive sailing. 'She never wanted an ordinary life, with a 9-5 job. She wanted something that others would not do,' said Monica. 'If you give Roopa an opportunity, she will grab it and there is nothing that will stop her.' Whether it was bungee jumping or her decision to take up surfing, the Alagirisamys had no inkling of Roopa's adventurous streak. 'Nobody knows the truth about when she volunteered for sailing in the circumnavigation. She never told any of this to us,' said Monica with a laugh. Behind the Tarini's voyage are two stories of persistence, parallel, yet bound by the same wind. Roopa and Dilna's journey echoes the trail first charted by INSV Tarini's all-women crew in 2018, who sailed around the globe as part of Navika Sagar Parikrama. In 2024, Roopa and Dilna made it their own. Panaji : As a child, Dilna K was afraid of heights. Today, she climbs the INSV Tarini's 25-meter-high mast in the middle of the ocean. In Puducherry, another family watches with similar awe as Roopa Alagirisamy, once a girl with dreams of space, returns after conquering the world's oceans. The two naval officers — Lt Commanders Dilna K and Roopa Alagirisamy — will sail into Mormugao Port on Thursday evening, marking the end of a historic, eight-month-long voyage. Their journey covered 25,400 nautical miles, crossing four oceans and rounding the three Great Capes — a feat attempted by few, and achieved by even fewer. Though they grew up on opposite sides of the Anaimalai Hills, what binds them is a relentless grit — a refusal to accept ceilings, whether on land or at sea. From the age of 10, Dilna was never one to be found indoors. While other children studied for tests, she was outdoors — wielding a cricket bat with the boys from her colony or chasing football down dusty lanes. 'She found her passion for rifle shooting in NCC and became a national shooter. Shooting is expensive, she always had to compromise on training and good equipment. I remember her travelling from Kozhikode to Idukki almost every two weeks to practice at a good range,' Dilna's sister Deepthi said. Before her father, an Army man, passed away in 2015, Dilna made a promise that she would represent India at the international level. On Thursday, as Tarini sails into Mormugao Port, she brings that promise home. Dilna has always been a daddy's girl and still rides her father's old Royal Enfield as an ode to him. 'She used to pull out 100 buckets of water per day from our well as a young girl to build up her muscles and we used to make fun of her. She would climb coconut trees at home to develop agility, even though she was scared of heights,' said Deepthi. Like Dilna, Roopa's journey was shaped by setbacks, and a stubborn refusal to give up. Roopa grew up dreaming of space. With a BE in aeronautical engineering, she even worked a stint with the National Aerospace Laboratories, Bengaluru. But her true launchpad came from the Indian Navy. 'Roopa faced so many SSB interviews. It felt like she was going in circles,' said her younger sister Durga Monica. 'She decided to make one final attempt. And she cleared it.' After being commissioned in June 2017, Roopa's job at the Naval Armament Inspection division in Mumbai required her to inspect weapons, guns, rocket launchers and torpedoes that went into warships and submarines. It is here that she picked up sailing, first as a dinghy sailor and then in competitive sailing. 'She never wanted an ordinary life, with a 9-5 job. She wanted something that others would not do,' said Monica. 'If you give Roopa an opportunity, she will grab it and there is nothing that will stop her.' Whether it was bungee jumping or her decision to take up surfing, the Alagirisamys had no inkling of Roopa's adventurous streak. 'Nobody knows the truth about when she volunteered for sailing in the circumnavigation. She never told any of this to us,' said Monica with a laugh. Behind the Tarini's voyage are two stories of persistence, parallel, yet bound by the same wind. Roopa and Dilna's journey echoes the trail first charted by INSV Tarini's all-women crew in 2018, who sailed around the globe as part of Navika Sagar Parikrama. In 2024, Roopa and Dilna made it their own.
Time of India
02-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Karnataka SSLC results: Students from Belagavi, Sirsi buck the trend from government schools
Belagavi/Sirsi: Defying stereotypes about govt schools performing poorly in public examinations, two girls — one from Sirsi and the other from Belagavi — have topped the 2025 SSLC examination with 100% scores. Roopa Chanagouda Patil from Govt High School, Devalapur, in Bailhongal taluk, Belagavi, and Shagufta Anjum from Govt Urdu High School, Sirsi, Uttara Kannada, are among the 22 students who secured 625 out of 625. Shagufta, a resident of Tipu Nagar, Sirsi, is the daughter of Mohammad Manjarul Islam, a cleric at a mosque in Sirsi. Shagufta's mother Saheera Bhanu had migrated to Karnataka from Bihar. Shagufta, who is now looking forward to pursuing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) studies, said: "I am proud to secure the top position – thanks to the encouragement and support from our headmaster Anand S Koravar and the SDMC [school development and monitoring committee]. They motivated me throughout." Shagufta further said: "Hailing from Bihar, I initially struggled to read and write in Kannada. It was only after joining govt Urdu High School in class 8 that I started learning the language and eventually began speaking in Kannada. I will continue with further studies in Karnataka and aspire to excel in science." Meanwhile, sweets were being distributed at the Chanagouda Patil household and in the neighbourhood in Kabanur of Shiggaon taluk, Haveri district, as news came in of daughter Roopa, who was born in the village, emerging one of the toppers. Roopa's father Chanagouda, a farmer, and her mother Lata, a homemaker, are proud of their daughter who aspires to be a doctor one day. "I studied for 5-6 hours daily. My parents provided me with a dedicated space to study. While in school, teachers were a constant source of encouragement, too," an overjoyed Roopa said. There are four students from Roopa's school who have secured more than 600 in their SSLC exams this time. "There is ample evidence that govt schools are not inferior in any way. Children put in a lot of hard work, while teachers are always around to guide them. The programmes organised by the zilla panchayat this time to improve SSLC results also made a big impact," said GD Marennavar, principal in charge at the school. He lauded the role played by zilla panchayat CEO Rahul Shinde, who motivated students through a 'talent search exam' this year. As many as 29 of 58 students from the school have passed the exam. Ashok Chandaragi, the district president of Kannada Sanghatanegala Kriya Samiti (KSKS), congratulated Roopa and added: "She will be felicitated by the Samiti soon. KSKS will also award Rs 5,000 to each student who passed SSLC, studying in the Kannada medium."
Indian Express
02-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Smart work, practice and consistency: Karnataka SSLC toppers reveal secret sauce for academic success
The Karnataka SSLC results 2025 saw 22 students secure the maximum marks (625/625) in the board examination, up from just one last year. One of these 22 is Roopa Chanagouda Patil from Devalapura village in Bailhongal taluk, which falls in the Belagavi district. A student of Government High School in Devalapur, Rupa credited her success to her teachers' guidance and her parents' steadfast support. Her father, Chanagouda, is a farmer, and her mother, Lata, is a homemaker, who, despite their humble circumstances, nurtured Rupa's academic ambitions. At the time of the result announcement, Roopa was visiting her grandmother in Kabanur village in Shiggaon taluk, Haveri district, where celebrations broke out, complemented by sweets and joyous smiles.'I studied 8 hours daily outside school hours, focusing on understanding concepts rather than just memorising. My parents gave me complete freedom to pursue my studies. I aspire to become a doctor,' Roopa said. Roopa's academic excellence has echoes in her family, as her elder sister, Vaishnavi, secured 90 per cent in the second-year of Pre-University Course (Science). Meanwhile, Belagavi district's rank in academic performance rose from 29th to 25th in the state this year. Pride of school Shagufta Anjum, a native of Bihar, moved to Karnataka for her education. A student of Government Composite Urdu High School in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada district, her perfect score has brought pride to her school and her family, who are set to travel from Bihar to Bengaluru to celebrate her success. Shagufta's father, Manjarul Islam, a maulana (Islamic scholar), and her mother Manjarul Islam, a homemaker, have been her pillars of support. Shagufta's preparation was a blend of hard work and smart work. Starting her studies in December, she dedicated 2-3 hours daily to revision, ramping it up to more than three hours from January. Her approach was methodical: she participated in essay quizzes, revised extensively, and focused on understanding concepts rather than rote memorisation. 'Science and maths were tough, but if you understand the concepts and practice, you can excel,' she said. Quoting her love for mathematics, she added: 'Maths is a loved treasure, and practice is the key to unlock it.' Her science preparation was equally strategic. Shagufta used tricks to simplify complex topics. Her father's dream of seeing her pursue an MBBS degree to serve in the health sector aligns with Shagufta's aspirations to become a doctor. Jahnavi SB, a student of Vijaya Bharathi Vidyalaya High School in Girinagar, Bengaluru, was overjoyed yet astonished by her perfect score. 'I expected above 620, but never 625,' she said. Her journey to the top was marked by consistent self-study up to two hours daily, rising to five hours during exams. Jahnavi's success was a team effort, with her teachers and parents playing a crucial role in clearing doubts and encouraging extra practice. She revised thoroughly, ensured no panic during exams, and found the question papers manageable. 'The three months of preparation were easy because I stayed consistent and appeared for back-to-back preparatory exams,' she said. Her teachers' efforts in addressing doubts and her parents' support kept her motivated. Jahnavi, who has opted for PCMB (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology) in her further studies, aspires to become a scientist. Beyond academics, she is also an accomplished veena player.
