Age is just a number for Leela Jose. At 71, Leela has set a record by becoming the oldest woman from Kerala to dive 13,000 feet from the sky. She now has her eyes set on space.
A resident of Konnathady in Idukki, Leela had always wanted to experience the thrill of skydiving. “How much fun it would be to do skydiving!” she had told a group of neighbourhood friends a few months ago as she spotted an aircraft flying across the sky. Her friends teased her about her age and dismissed her ambition as being unrealistic. But Leela, a homemaker, knew she could realise her dream. She just didn’t know how.
The opportunity landed on her lap during her trip to Dubai last month to visit her son, P. Anish, who works as a civil engineer in Karama.
Leela told Anish about the adventure that she wanted to undertake.
Leela Jose
“Initially, Anish thought I had gone senile. But when he realised that skydiving had always been my dream, he immediately called up the team who conducts it. The funny thing is that the team thought it was Anish who was keen on skydiving. They were shocked to see a 71-year-old woman turning up,” Leela told The Telegraph.
Anish spent close to ₹2 lakh on the flight charges, a guide who accompanied Leela, and the videographer who recorded the dive.
Leela said when she jumped from the aircraft along with the guide into freefall, she experienced a concoction of emotions ranging from pure joy, excitement and fear. At one point, she felt weightless and decided to let go of all thoughts.
“When the parachute was deployed at 6,000 feet, I knew I would make a safe landing,” she said.
On her return to Idukki, the first thing Leela did was show her friends videos and pictures of her accomplishment.
“My friends were left gaping. They were aghast! But after seeing the video and photos, they hugged me and praised my determination and resilience. That’s how the news spread,” Leela said.
Asked about the next adventure on her bucket list, Leela quipped: “I wish to go to space, if possible. If age is not a hindrance, I want to appeal to the Indian Space Research Organisation to consider my wish.”
Leela’s husband C.J. Jose Puthiyaparambil, a former bank employee, died six years ago. She credits her late father, Maanikutty, an Indian Army official, for instilling in her
the courage to achieve the impossible.