Sarla Thakral - wikipedia Sarla Thakral Sarla Thakral Sarla Thakral 1914 New Delhi, India ( 2008 - 03 - 15 ) 15 March 2008 Spouse ( s ) P.D. Sharma, R.P Thakral Sarla Thakral ( 1914 -- 15 March 2008 ) was the first Indian woman to fly an aircraft. Born in 1914, she earned an aviation pilot license in 1936 at the age of 21 and flew a Gypsy Moth solo. She had a four - year - old daughter. After obtaining the initial licence, she persevered and completed one thousand hours of flying in the aircraft owned by the Lahore Flying Club. Her husband P.D. Sharma whom she married at 16 and comes from a family which had 9 pilots encouraged her to achieve it. While Sharma had been the first Indian to get his airmail pilot 's license, flying between Karachi and Lahore ; his wife would be first woman in India to attain her ' A ' license when she accumulated over 1000 hours of flying. Tragically, Captain Sharma died in an airplane crash in 1939. After some time, his young widow tried to apply to train for her commercial pilot license, but World War II had begun and civil training was suspended. With a child to raise, and needing to earn her livelihood, Thakral abandoned her plans to become a commercial pilot, returning to Lahore and attending the Mayo School of Art where she trained in the Bengal school of painting, obtaining a diploma in fine arts. Thakral was a dedicated follower of the Arya Samaj, a spiritual community dedicated to following the teachings of the Vedas. Within this community, remarriage was a possibility for Thakral. After the Partition she moved to Delhi with her two daughters where she met her second husband R.P. Thakral and married him in 1948. Sarla, also known as Mati, became a successful businesswoman, painter and began designing clothes and costume jewellery. She died in 2008. References Jump up ^ `` First National Pilot Licences : Sarla Thakral -- India ''. Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide. 2015 - 07 - 25. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 04. Jump up ^ `` Women 's Day : Top 100 coolest women of all time : 72 / 100 ''. CNN - IBN. 2011 - 03 - 08. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 04. Jump up ^ `` Down memory lane : First woman pilot recounts life story ''. NDTV. 2006 - 08 - 13. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 04. Jump up ^ `` In 1936, she was the first woman pilot to enter the cockpit in a saree ! ''. NTDTV. 2017 - 09 - 16. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 25. ^ Jump up to : Ramachandran, Smriti Kak ( 2006 - 02 - 05 ). `` Flying colours & ground reality ''. The Tribune. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 04. Jump up ^ Kulkarni, Jayant ( 2009 - 11 - 25 ). `` Remember Sarla Thakral 's maiden flight of fancy ''. Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 04. Jump up ^ Chavan, Vivek ( 2007 - 10 - 17 ). `` India 's First women in air -- India 's first lady pilot -- Sarla Thakral ''. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 04. Jump up ^ Austa, Sanjay ( 2003 ). `` Sarla Thakral - India 's First Lady Pilot - Still Flying High ''. Archived from the original on 2008 - 12 - 26. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 04. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sarla_Thakral&oldid=815602799 '' Categories : Indian aviators Aviation pioneers 1914 births 2008 deaths Hidden categories : EngvarB from March 2015 Use dmy dates from March 2015 Articles with hCards Talk About Wikipedia Français हिन्दी ქართული मैथिली മലയാളം ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ संस्कृतम् தமிழ் Edit links This page was last edited on 15 December 2017, at 21 : 31. About Wikipedia

Question: first woman to fly a plane in india
Answer: Sarla Thakral