On Shiv Jayanti, Marathi 'mulgi' skydives over Egypt pyramids

On the occasion of 389th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on Tuesday a Marathi mulgi girl from Pune performed a successful skydiving over the Great Pyramids of Egypt near GizaSpeaking to IANS over phone soon after landing this afternoon an excited and breathless Shital RaneMahajan 36 said it was amongst her most exciting skydiving challenges jumping over one of the Seven Wonders of the World on an auspicious day like Shiv JayantiIn order to make it even more memorable and a tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj I performed the jump both in a traditional nauvari Maharashtrian sari as well as the royal costume of the legendary ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti who ruled some 3700 years ago Shital told IANSThis morning when the weather was perfect she stepped aboard the Hercules C130 aircraft in Cairo and jumped solo from a height of 15000 feet above the cluster of six pyramids sporting the nauvari glittering in the cool desert skyAfter a couple of hours she returned for another flight and jumping again over the pyramids situated barely 10 km to the south of Cairo this time in an Eygptian costume as once worn by the Queen Nefertiti she saidIts truly a great honour and the Egyptian authorities are extremely supportive to such adventure sports as they boosts tourism Since I am an Indian top officials asked me why I have not jumped over the Taj Mahal Todays experience has inspired me and now I shall request Indian government for an opportunity to skydive above the Taj Mahal she saidThere were around 156 skydivers from 35 countries around the world who assembled at Cairo on Tuesday to jump over the Great Pyramids either solo tandem in groups and formations as part of a major tourism initiative by that countryThis is the second international event in which Shital performed sporting a Maharashtrian sari the last one being in midFebruary 2018 jumping in nauvari sari from 13000 feet above Pattaya in ThailandShe says that skydiving in a Maharashtrian sari is a huge challenge as the attire is nineyard 825 metre long compared to six yards of the regular Indian sariI must drape the nauvari sari properly plus wear the parachutes on it the safety gear and communication equipment helmet goggles shoes etc add to the weight and challenge said Shital a mother of 10yearold twins and who was awarded the Padma Shri Indias fourthhighest civilian award in 2011She explains with a laugh that there are lots of extra precautions to be taken while draping the sari including pinning it up tightly and taping it in many places to ensure it does not come off her body from the staggering height of 15000 feet as she soared down over the Great Pyramids with strong winds from all sides lashing her during the descentShital holds around 19 national skydiving records six international records and complete over 710 jumps around the world bagging several domestic and global honoursShe shot to world fame on April 18 2004 when she made her maiden jump without practice dies on the North Pole from a Russian MI8 helicopter hovering at 2400 feet in minus 37 degrees becoming the first woman in the world to achieve the featBarely two years later on December 15 2006 Shital made the worlds first Accelerated Free Fall Parachute Jump on South Pole in Antarctica coming down from 11600 feet from a Twin Otter aircraftThat made her the first and youngest woman aged 23 then in the world to accomplish successful skydiving feats on both Poles On April 19 2008 Shital tied the knot with Vaibhav Rane a Finlandbased engineercumskydiver with over five dozen jumps to his creditEven their wedding set a new national record The couple became the first to get married in a hotair balloon complete with a priest performing the ceremonies and parents in tow with the kanyadaan at 750 feet in the air above Pune cityIn 2017 she became the first Indian woman nominated by Aero Club of India for the prestigious FAI Sabiha Gokcen Medal for completion of skydiving on all Seven ContinentsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever