Family, friends elated at Divya wins coveted honour

CHENNAI - The family and friends of Lt. A. Divya, who received the Sword of Honour from Indian Army chief Gen. V.K.Singh for being the best cadet in her course at the Officers Training Academy (OTA), are elated at her winning the coveted award.

The soft-spoken Divya was selected as the best cadet amongst the 2010 batch of 244 cadets, of which 157 are men, after tough 11-months of training.

“‘I made it mom’ was what Divya told me soon after she was named as the best cadet for the Sword of Honour. I understood what she meant as she wanted to be the OTA topper,” her proud mother A. Binah told IANS.

Divya has carried on the tradition of her mother. Binah, a daughter of a police officer, was an active member of National Cadets Corps (NCC) during her college days and had won an award at the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi.

In 2008, Divya bested her mother’s record at the Republic Day Parade winning the best NCC cadet and the best parade commander awards.

“We all knew Divya would get into uniformed services and thought it would be IPS (Indian Police Service). But it has turned out to be the army,” Binah said.

“Army fascinated me when I started interacting with its officials at NCC camps,” Divya said.

A commerce graduate from Stella Maris College here, Divya is a multi-faceted personality with varied interest that ranges from singing Carnatic music, practising Bharatnatyam, playing the drums, reading Jeffrey Archer and taekwondo.

A black belt in taekwondo, Divya has won the bronze medal in the 2006 National Championships.

“The taekwondo training helped me at OTA as physical exercise and endurance is one of the important aspects that are measured,” Divya said.

Speaking to IANS from Pune, Divya’s buddy at OTA Sujata Srivastava said: “She has the innate leadership qualities. What ever the situation be, Divya would create an environment that would make people think it is the easiest one.”

“Divya used to excel in all the fields be it physical training, academics or cultural programmes,” she said, adding there was all-round celebration amongst the batch mates when announcement about Divya’s selection for the Sword of Honour came.

“The gentlemen cadets did not sulk at losing out to a woman,” Srivastava added.

Divya’s father, R.N.Ajithkumar, said: “She was not tomboyish during younger days. But Divya is a girl with determination. She is the role model for the kids in the family.”

Interestingly Divya’s elder sister Pavithra is a contrasting personality.

“My elder daughter was always interested in books. Finishing her engineering degree, Pavithra has joined a software company,” Binah said.

Asked about the change she sees in Divya - pre and post OTA - Binah said: “I can sense the commanding tone in her voice. She does not speak aloud but the determination is evident in her speech.”

“Perhaps that is due to shouting out commands at OTA,” Divya responded.

Queried about future plans, Divya said: “I have just passed out and am starting my career. I have to join duty. We will see about the future as it comes.”